Have been riding Bikes since i was 16 years old, am 39 now!
First ever Bike was a Suzuki FR70 step through! More a Scooter than a bike, but it opened my eyes toi the world of two wheeled freedom, and enabled me to learn the basics of riding bikes, without having too much weight, power, or technique required, so i did not kill myself!
Next was a Yamaha SR185...great first "bike"...simple single cylinder motor, reasonable handling, and a little bit of get up and go...dirt cheap to run.
Had my first accident on this bike....my fault, overtaking a car on the inside illegally, car decided to turn left, and cause he did not see me, or expect me to be there, he drove straight into me...bike and me bounced off his tyre, and slid for 30 metres...was at least smart enough to wear riding gear...only injury, bike & pride!
then some crappy beaten up Suzuki 185 trialbike...that promptly blew up after about 4 weeks of me buying it for $200...you get what you pay for!
Then my first bike with decent power, and real suspension for the time...a Honda VF400...Great bike, loved it to death, caught the modifying bug with it, rode it hard, sold it to partly fund a trip to the UK.
Then when i got to the UK at 20 years of age, in 1988, i bought a Yamaha XV750 Shaft drive...and travelled around Europe for 9 months on it with my Girlfriend, a tent, 2 saddle bags, and a tank bag of gear. Did 20000 km's on it in the 15 months i had it, and apart from petrol, it cost me one service, a pair of brake pad's, and 2 tyres....never broke down once, and when i sold it i got 100 pounds more for it, than when i bought it! the Yamaharley, as one english cop called it once, as i was lane splitting past him, rocked!
Then when i got back to Australia in 1990, i took a job that was 330km's from my girl, so i bought a Suzuki GS400, she was as plain as all hell, but got up and boogied ok, and handled the 660km round trip every weekend to and from my work to my girl, in her stride!
Never touched this bike, in terms of mod's, but i looked after it, and got what i payed for it, when i sold it.
Then it was the mighty Honda VF500, the VF 400 replacement, a little more power, but other than that, they were almost identical, until i painted it ferrari red, put a laser pipe on it, had the head polished, valves grinded, etc, etc...ended up shooting flames out the exhaust, going like the clappers, giving much bigger bikes the hurry up, and was incredibly noisy..this was definitely my Hooligan period! ended up blowing it up, and selling it for much less money than i put into it...but hey i have real fond memories of that bike!
Had the VF500 for a couple of years, then when she blew, i was doing ok with money, so splashed out on a Ducati 500 pantah, it was 10 years old when i bought it, but was still more expensive than the Honda, and was in real good nick! This bike became, and still is a passion of mine, whilst also being a harsh mistress at the same time....
In the 16 years i have owned this bike, i have ridden it all around Australia (63000 km's and counting), have rebuilt the motor, the gearbox, crashed it once, very badly, high side, lots of damage, which required the frame to be straightened, forks, front discs, front wheel, engine rocker covers, footpegs, handle bar's, instruments all replaced, plus a total re-spray including, powder coating the frame, and taking the wheels back to their original colour...basically a total rebuild.
Have also replaced ignition, all electrics, and upgraded suspension.
The ol girl is still in immaculate condition, but sadly, over the past 4-5 years, i have not ridden her much, as parts are getting very hard - read impossible to find, i have been concentrating on my kids, rather than ride for pleasure, and at some point i lost the motivation to ride...until recently!!!
Yes, after threatening to get back into the world of two wheels for about 2 years, rising petrol prices finally got me to pull my finger out and get back into riding again...
But seeing as my Ducati aint really an everyday bike for a 39 year old bloke, who aint as fit, or flexible as he used to, and due to the high service costs and lack of service back up for what is a very rare bike in Australia, i decided to let my Duc remain in a state of suspended animation, and decided to buy a bike with a more sensible seating position....enter the FZ6!!!
A couple of months ago i bought myself a 2006 orange fz6 naked. Have done 3000km's on it since, which has included commuting, both one up, and with my eldesty son on the back, and some decent sport riding through the twisty's and i enjoy it more each time i ride it.
Have already started modding the bike to my liking - De-baffled exhaust, new mirrors, screen, frame sliders, painted indicator mounts - front, & radiator covers. Am getting Braided lines for brakes this week, and will be putting a power commander, with a trip to the dyno after, soon.
At first i was buying this bike as a practical commuter, and since buying the bike, have found that the FZ6 is so much more, which in turn has re-ignited my passion for bikes, in a very big way...thankyou Mr Yamaha!
Sorry for such a lengthy post, but my renewed passion for riding bikes, has caused me to get all gushy about my biking experiences, by the way, this forum is dangerous to your hip pocket!
I usually preface my comments with, "I'm sure someone who knows more than me will tell you different, but..."
I turn 44 this year and I still feel 18, well, on most days. 300 on the last PT test! 
