Recently some forum members have recounted tales of taking their offspring for their first motorcycle rides.
Since it is Father's Day here in OZ and my 2 sons are interstate I thought I would start this blog, hopefully
to entertain you readers and as a record for them, of my version of this aspect of their childhood.

Meet Tom, Gordon and Nick 2004



Tom first rode with me at about 6 months of age, just around the backyard (40 acres).
Nick is 2 years younger and had his first at a similar age. the criteria was when they could hold their head up for 
sustained periods.



Nick requested this cake. I think the seed was sown.
A year before this I decided to visit my parents, in South Australia, from Tassie and surprise them by bringing Tom.
What a fantastic trip that was, and yes, the look on my mothers face when I arrived was priceless!
I don't have a photo of us at hand so to give you an idea, imagine the kid on the back is not there.



To be continued

classic photos gordo ....

thanks for sharing with us

Preparations for this epic journey of 1000kms each way were extensive, trust me, I didn't take this trip lightly.
One thing I did "forget" however was to check the legality of the undertaking. It was winter 1988 so I had a lap rug
in front of Tom to keep us both warm and the leg to Devonport and onto the Abel Tasman ferry was quite cosy.
      That boat trip was fantastic, the reaction from other passengers was amazing, pity I was married, on a bike with
my 4 year old was way better than a dog as a chick magnet!
      Docking at dawn to a rainy Melbourne brought the euphoria level down a notch but we were in too deep now, so 
off through the jungle and soon enough the familiar Ballarat, Aararat etc. Again, the reaction from people was stunning
or maybe it was stunned? No admonishment however, only positive vibes, perhaps that's all I allowed. It soon dawned on me
that making Adelaide that day would be too much for both of us, the motel in mid afternoon at Bordertown.. wise move.
See.. I'm not being irresponsible am I? The next day was fine weather as was the return journey a week later.
      Not once did my boy nod off to sleep in those 2000kms, I checked him regularly and he always turned to me bright eyed,
he was loving every minute.
      When we got home my son Nick made me promise it was his turn next, unfortunately I didn't keep that promise but it won't be 
top of the list at the Pearly Gates. :pirat: 

      We all started here.. 



ATGATT ! whoops



Not long before this..



And Nick shows early form as a Landscaper.



Some ATGATT

But this Forum is about motorcycles.

      Tom's first, Kawasaki KH90     $100 plus some labour.



      

     And Nick's    Yamaha GT 80   $100 and some labour



The Yammie was a gem but the Kwaka just wouldn't rev out, always went, probably just needed crank seals.
They had been sitting for many years so we went right over the main stuff before riding them. When I say we
I do mean WE. Sure they only handed me spanners or cleaned stuff or.. you know... WE.
This was to pay off in a few short years, WE would be working on something and I would be handing them spanners.
Yeah okay I admit we didn't have TV or computer games, sorry about that boys, they were probably bored shitless
and just humoring the old man!

Tom and Nick learnt to ride around our property then we would venture out onto the forestry trails often clocking up
20 -30 kms, crossing streams, logs and the usual off road stuff. They still do this for recreation to this day.
      One of my proudest moments as a father came at this time, and on those old dungers. They came to the shed where I was working 
one afternoon and asked if they could go to their mates place, 25kms away, they were about 11 and 9 yrs old. I asked what they would take
with them and after a brief think Tom replied "tools". Good answer. So bumbags were stuffed with sparkplugs, spanners and screwdriver.
"What else?"..... Food. "OK, get some up at the house, and tell your mother." Back with muesli bars and apples, fuel up and... "Make sure you 
stay on the tracks we usually take in case I have to come for you." Yes Dad... then off.
       As the signature two stroke ring a ding exhaust noise faded with distance I started to think, what the f... have you let them do that for?
I couldn't concentrate on the job at hand but I stayed in the shed for the next couple of hours planning the search party logistics. The main factor was time,
when do I go?
       What's that noise? am I imagining it? NO it's them, or at least one of them, then closer, yes 2 bikes and cool as, they roll into the garage.

   Tom gives his cousin Christopher (3yo) a tour of the block.




With Matty at mate Louis' place, Louis is a gun motocross/enduro/trials rider who teaches and inspires them, in fact
Louis lent them their first ride, a Honda Z50, monkey bike. Forgot that till now.


    Eventually "new" bikes are needed. Nick and Suzuki DS80. He's 9 and a half.


Tom and a borrowed bike? Can't remember that one.


Eventually a road registerable DR250. Both sons took to the road on this at 15 years and 9 months... exactly.. to the day!

The 'borrowed bike' is a Honda.

I'm jealous as hell - my first ride was pillion on a Honda C50 at nine years old. I was hooked, but in the UK we don't have the wide open spaces you do. I had to wait until I was fourteen before starting to ride myself. At this point I was in Derbyshire and just up the road was a WW2 B-17 base, so you can imagine the size of the runways and perimeter tracks. We rode anything and everything, from 50cc mopeds up to 750 roadburners. Public transport was lousy, so as soon as you turned legal you got a bike. This was also the reason why we had access to such a wide range of machinery - parents stuff, borrowed for the day!

Thanks for the reply Dai, good to hear about other folks early experiences.

    I was a latecomer to motorcycles at 19, suburban raised and car licensed for 3 years by then.

 My Dad had offered to buy me a Lambretta as inducement to go to University, not sure whether I declined 'cos I wanted out of schooling

or was horrified by the hideous grey expanse of sheet metal we were viewing. I knew ZIP about 2 wheelers then, so it's strange that I had

this aesthetic insight. Fast forward three years and good mate Simon Boyce, sadly deceased, rocks up on a Suzuki B120 P of pressed steel frame

and inclined 2 stroke engine fame. "Have a go at this Gordon." 100 metres down the street, around the square and back home I say to Simon

                           " I GOTTA HAVE ONE OF THESE!"

And I have, continuously ever since. Amazing really after no more than about 300 metres test run.

The boys took to motos like moths to the flame. They even did some grasstrack racing with moderate success given the wheels they had.

   Will insert video here later of Nick on the DS doing a fair job of keeping a KX 80 honest. (Proper MX bike) Video is home in Tas.

Meanwhile down at the quarry... Tom


Nick


Nac Nac? or...?



      No Hander Lander.

 No Freakin' Fear. They didn't get that from me, musta' been that Louis.

G'day Gord, Thanks heaps for the great blog,great photos. My first bike was a BSA Bantam 125 used mainly to commute to work but was also used to rumble around some bush tracks near Home. Great stuff , you must be extremely proud of your sons. Cheers Tom

Thanks Tom, the old Bantam eh? you know they are fetching $3000 plus these days, admittedly fully restored.

How hard can that be, they are so simple and many of our Ks would struggle to realise that! Strange world.

I am amazed also by how well these old prints have scanned.

On with the story while I have access to my sister's BIG PC and unlimited Broadband, Luxury.

Cut my teeth on bro Tom's 125 Bantam. Had a circuit around the yard, back of the shed etc. Got pretty good at it!

Years ago, I had a similar session with my young bloke, Ben. Still at high school, never ridden a bike before. Bought a couple of PE250 Suzikis, one going,and the other not, but complete. Spent heaps of time up in the shed, teaching him all I knew about 2 strokes, 4 strokes, motorcycles in general. (...and he still knows nothing!) Got them both firing, a few laps around our local circuit, then into the deep end...Gloucester Tops, Terrible Billy, Berrico Trig, Porkchop Hill...killer hills, wheel deep creek crossings...the works. I couldn't believe how well he went, considering the small amount of riding that he had previously. Learnt a lot...which I truly now believe, that if you survive years of trail riding, at speed, makes you a better road rider.

Of course, that is all gone now. Access to the trails is limited, suburbia has fully taken over, litigation, insurance, political correctness etc. But, sometimes, lying in bed at night, the reminiscence is a great fillip.

Thanks, Gordo, for bringing back great memories of a previous life.

Great stuff Ulli, explains our addiction I reckon.

If I were organised I'd .. I'd.. I'd be someone else :pirat:

I missed this story,


Perhaps I'm part Asian.
     1990, summer of, and heading for the TAS Rally which that year was held near Mathinna. It dawned sunny and promised to be hot
for the overnight camping weekend. Mathinna is only about 60 - 70 kms from home but that was on the gravel road over the famous
Mathinna Plains. The tar alternatives were between 200 - 250 kms, guess which way I went?
As you can see T & N are putting on a brave face, humoring the Old Man.
I have so called Euro bars on the /5 and I admit it was a tight fit, ditto the Adelaide trip with Tom. Also they are a bit narrow for dirt riding
but we got there OK. The reaction of the guy on the reception desk was priceless,  other rally goers were pleasantly amused as well.
Fellow Riding Instructor, Fiona Boville 20 years later introduced me to her friend as the guy that took his 2 son's etc etc. WOW I'm a Legend 
Come on, gimme a break... gotta hang my hat on something... tough crowd you lot!!!!
      Two negatives from the rally,  first,, we had to spectate about 50 metres from the stage during the Wet T shirt competition, Dammit.
Secondly, the boys were so knackered that night I could not rouse them to see the GSXR750 burning like a Roman candle after a game of
"Fill the condoms with petrol then light them" got slightly out of sync! Boys will be boys! I reckon the candle was 100 feet in the air, speccy!
That Ally and Magnesium do burneth rather well.
Despite these disappointments, the boys still like motorcycling, another of life's great mysteries.

Fabulous series of posts. Bet you are proud of them now. You look it in the first photos! A great idea.

                                                                   
 It wasn't all fun, there was work to be done

A couple of weekends ago, grasstrack racing 1st and 2nd overall, 4 heats.

So Tom and Nick this a brief summary of one part of your upbringing, just a bit of fun and maybe some pictures you haven't seen for a while.

I am extremely proud of you both. Proud that you work hard in your careers and proud that you play hard too. I love that you 

                           Work to Play.... I mean Live
                                           Not
                                    Live to work

This photo of Tom, taken by Nick, will always represent to me the things I got right, as a parent of boys.


I am looking forward to seeing the next 30 year episode.

Thank you guys,    DAD 

Fathers Day 2014

One post went missing so I'll try to add it in. Annoying really.. stuffed up the flow

5 years of the above use took it's toll on the second hand to us Suzuki. Tom and Nick rebuilt the little beauty,
advertised it and sold it, for the same dollar that we paid. 5 plus years of use cost rebuild parts.. 100 bucks or so.
I had nothing to do with the rebuild, not even this photo! Tom was 16 Nick 14yo.

Suzuki DS80 and Nick


This DS80 was a fabulous bike, powerfull without being tempermental, reliable as an axe. Check your local Suzuki dealer,
they will sell you the same bike today, almost exact, say no more.

One whole post went into the ether, at least one, maybe two. The last couple are obviously out of order
but we will pretend that this is an appendix of sorts.

             ATGATT       or     All The Gear All The Time.

 We started with stuff like this..

 In the late 80's child helmets were rare, if at all. This Little Bell Shell, polystyrene basically was the best we could find.

Not many years later and we have brand name/quality gear. Early use of protective clothing results in a pride in wearing
what is really a "uniform" a symbol or badge, This is who I am!

Tom and R1
I don't preach the wearing of proper clothing, I wear it myself, my boys don the "uniform" too, after all,
 they have been riding for OVER 20 YEARS!

The sub heading for this thread was Fathers Day Boast,

And so it is, I am really chest expanding PROUD of My sons.

I gave Tom and Nick the link to this thread, Tom replied by txt

"Just finished reading your blog. Great job some good photos I'd forgotten about

I'm proud to have you as my dad I wouldn't be the person I am or be able to do

so many things you taught me. Thanks old boy"

Hope you don't mind me boasting some more by posting that?

Gordon

Not at all. In all the crap that's flying around today it's refreshing to read.