The Outlaw Bike

[Dispatcher]

Sometimes we do stupid things we regret. And sometimes we do stupid things we don't regret.
This falls into the second category.
Back in '94 I bought a used dirt bike...cheap. I lived out in the country and it had been decades since I had owned a motorcycle.
But kick starting a 2 cycle engine got old...fast.
A friend of mine offered a swap. He wanted a dirt bike for his son, and in trade, he would give me his 1985 suzuki 425 street bike. There was only one problem....the guy he had bought it from had lost the title.
I checked out the bike. It was in good running condition and it was kinda cool because it was a 6 speed (most bikes are 5 speed).
Still, I knew that no title meant no tags and no registration. It could even have been a stolen bike, but my friend didn't think so.
I made the swap. And being the rebel that I was, I figured I could get away with driving it on the back roads out in the country.
My friends began calling it the Outlaw Bike.
I had no tags, no registration, no insurance, and no motorcycle license.
And despite staying off the main roads for the most part, I did have some close calls. I once dodged a sobriety checkpoint by detouring down a side road.
After driving the Outlaw Bike for 2 summers, however, the law of averages began to catch up with me. I was out driving on the back roads on a warm summer day when I came to a "T" in the road. There across from the "T" was a house with a State Trooper car in the driveway. My heart skipped a beat, but I told myself that he was inside the house and probably didn't see me. I took a right and gradually hit the throttle.
I was SO sure he didn't see me that I passed several side roads I could have gone down, and he would have never seen me turn because he was still so far away.
A few miles down the road, I took a right turn to head towards my house a few miles ahead. The next thing I saw was a police car with flashing lights in my mirrors. He must have been doing 100mph or better. He must have seen me take that last turn.
I pulled over. I knew I was busted. He gave me a $300 ticket for having no tags. He asked me if I had insurance. "Of course", I lied. That would have been a much larger fine. He told me to take it home and park it and he followed me home to make sure I did. And I DID park it and I never rode it again. I went to court and had the fine reduced to $150 and no points. In total, including the cost of the original dirt bike I traded and the fine I had to pay, it cost me $300 to ride a motorcycle I loved for 2 summers. A bargain in my book. I have never done anything like that again, and I probably never will, but I don't regret what I did whatsoever.

[7960]

I originally learned to ride on a ninja 600 (this is going way back). A friend and I golfed every week and I paid for the cart and he let me take his motorcycle for a spin when we got back to his place. I didn't have a license.

So one day I'm tooling around the side streets obey (I though) every law and this cop comes up the other way and slowed WAY down as he passed me. Then he leaned out the window and yelled "STOP!" so of course (not having a license) I took off. I lived relatively close to the area and felt confident that I could weave in and out and get to my friend's house before he caught me. I did.

So we're sitting on my friend's porch with the bike in the garage and door closed (that's how far ahead I was) and the cop goes by at like 100mph. A few minutes later he comes back and asks if we saw a motorcycle and we both said no. He left.

So sitting there laughing and I said "I wasn't speeding. I can't figure out why he yelled stop." My friend says "because there's no license plate and the inspection sticker is 3 years old. I make sure to park it out of the way and when I'm riding and see a cop I just take off."

That was the end of my riding fun for that summer.

[Stylerod]

My best friend and I growing up rode dirt bikes constantly. I had a Honda CR125 Elsinore and he had a Honda Trail 90. When I was 15 I started dating a girl that lived on a farm way outside of town. I rode my bike there a few times but it would take me over an hour and I would be sweating like crazy, not that she seemed to care. But then I realized my friends Trail 90 had blinkers and a headlight. I asked him if I could use his bike to ride to my girlfriend and he said sure.

I would ride his bike to her house a few times a week at least. As much as I loved riding in the dirt riding on the road was even better. It was so relaxing and I loved the breeze and I loved how other riders would wave as we passed each other.

I had to be careful as well since it was not licenses either, but as far as I remember I never had a close call. She was in the middle of nowhere.


From 19 to about 30 bikes were my main form of transportation. For our first 5 years of marriage we only had one car. My wife would take it to work and I would ride my bike. Rain or shine. And if it snowed or if it was icy, I live in NC! My boss never expected anyone to come in on those days anyway!

It's been about 10 years since I have had a bike, sold my 900 Ninja expecting to buy a new bike the following year. And then life got in the way. I miss it like crazy. Maybe next year......

[jimeigh]

i had a Haro Revo, in chrome

[WickedLou9]

I had a Honda MR 50, A kawasaki KX 80 and a Suzuki SP125 4 stroke dual sport. when I was young. Not at the same time, but in that sucession. I rode them on the trails mostly, but the streets alot too. I ran from the cops on more than on occasion