Ready for a ride down memory road? It’s our 30th birthday this year here at Carole Nash, and we wanted to go back to our roots a little bit to celebrate, indulging in some killer 80s nostalgia as well as casting our minds back to our favourite biking memories.
Recently we asked you to join in by submitting pictures of your first bikes and – after a fair bit of debating and arguing – we’ve managed to choose our favourites. Take a look at them below!
Do you have a picture of your first bike? Do you have a story to share about it? Send them to us via Twitter (@insidebikes using #nashtalgia) or upload them to our Facebook page if you want them to be part of our very special celebration.
Alan Portsmouth
“My first bikes: Suzuki RG125 and RG250 – two-stroke beauties! 1989, I think.”
We couldn’t get enough of this pair from Alan – you’d be hard pushed to find a more typically 80s design than these, from the square headlights and mirrors to those blocky colour schemes. It’s bikes like these that got most of us on two wheels in the first place.
Geoffrey Sonnichsen
“Yamaha RD400. 3/4 fairing, clip-ons, rear set pegs, and expansion chambers!”
Just look at this beast – they were only in production from 1976 to 1980 so it’s pretty safe to say that this model is even older than us! The standard model looks like a weird mashup of styles now – that timeless naked look with chunky 80s lines – but Geoffrey’s mods make it look futuristic even now.
Louise Tommo
“I’m 18, and my first bike is ten years older than me. It’s a 1987 Suzuki GP125.”
One of our youngest submissions, and it looks like Louise is off to a great start in the life of a classic bike owner. It’s an absolutely timeless look for a nice and compact little bike, and we love the fact that new riders are still taking these things out on the road.
Adrian Hull
“Here’s my first bike after I passed my first test in 1988. It’s a 1990 Kawasaki KLR650 A3. I still have it – and the turbo.”
It doesn’t get better than that classic colour scheme – the bright blue and green, you just don’t see bikes this bold anymore. We’d love to take it for a spin with that turbo – it looks like Adrian’s kept it in pretty good shape for the last few decades.
Sean Givens
“Honda C70, bought when I was 17. After having a car when I was 18, it was left until I was 28 – when I resurrected it for practicing for my bike test. Memories!”
What an absolute beauty of a bike. Part of the legendary Super Cub line (“You meet the nicest people on a Honda” – anyone old enough to remember that?) these things were seriously hard-wearing, and made for a functional approach to taking on the world. We’re very glad that it saw the road again after ten years in the garage – it would have been a crime if it stayed in there!
Gari Machin
“Kawasaki LTD 1000”
We’re not sure you could find a more classic look than this, the ultimate California highway patrol American-style cruiser. They used to ride them on CHiPS, if you remember it (we would love to pretend that we don’t), and we’re pretty jealous of anyone who got to have one of these as their first bike. Nice.
Richard CM
“Kawasaki AR 50. Bought when I was 16 years old – I spent six months flipping burgers at McDonalds after school to buy it. I wheelied it onto next door’s car bonnet in week one.”
While we definitely advocate a safer approach to biking than Richard took, we love the hard-earned story behind this bike because it rang true with all of us here who toiled away in summer jobs to save up for that first ride. A worthy effort in Richard’s case, too – that black and red style and bold classic look still looks great today – we hope it survived its first ordeal.
All in all, a fantastic crop of first bikes – some seriously enviable first steps (first wheels?) in the world of biking. We hope some of them still get out on the road every now and then!
