G' day !

I wasn't allowed to buy a bike ( or skydive ) when I was 16......... ....... but I did ride a friend's Honda 50 down the street and back once.
1968 working in Alberta I got my chance and bought a Honda 90cc for $180 split 50/50 with my roomate.
We had one day off each week so my job was to hitch hike to Calgary, find a bike and ride it back to Banff.
I left at rush hour learning how to shift and rode it back with no plates or insurance.
The float kept sinking and the bike would die every 20 miles. Then I would pull the bowl off the carb, take the float out and shake it empty. Luckily I had rebuilt a model T motor when I was 14 and knew all about brass floats....... five cents of Seal-All would have fixed it.

After I got home to Banff, I taught my Lebanese roommate how to ride it without killing himself. He had never driven anything before and quickly became a chick magnet. We had different days off each week so the bike was always busy, him picking up girls and me trying to see how far I could get in 12 hrs. ( with the bike ...... )

When I came home to NS I went in for a new driver's licence. They asked if I wanted a m/c licence also, I said sure since Alberta didn't issue them and let me ride on my car licence. He asked how long I had been on bikes and then said ' Well you're still here so it looks like you know what you're doing. '
He reached over and stamped my m/c endorsement.
40 years and still no test . Don't tell my friends or they may stop riding with me.....

It's been steadily downhill ever since then.... Honda 305 Hawk, Triumph 500, AJS 600 in NZ,
a couple of Suzuki Titans ( here and in Oz ) , XL250, CX500, XT500, R100RT and now the R11RS oilhead.


...... and I still haven't found that elusive chick magnet bike.

I thought one of your beemers would qualify as a chick magnet....