1979 Honda XL250 Street/Trail

 I bought this motorcycle in the summer of 1981. After riding my brothers' Suzuki 90 for a couple years, I knew I had to OWN my own motorcycle.

Unfortunately, I didn't have a motorcycle license, and after buying it, I had to find a way to get it home 235 miles north. Memories are vague (years later when I write this), but I've been told that I got a drive to the area (long distance), bought it, and drove it home!

After getting it to my apartment, it's obvious the ride home got me used to it. It wasn't long before I made an appointment with Motor Vehicle to take my motorcycle test.

The test day came, and I rode the 250cc downtown to take a written and driver test. It was located behind the Town Hall and after I passed the written test, it was time for the driver test in the back parking lot.  It wasn't too complicated since it was in the rear parking lot with pylons and I passed it easy enough. This was enough to get an "A" next to my Class 5 license (probably the first "A" that I received).  My former bike experience on multi surfaces (and accident) helped enough. Now, I could ride with no chance of being ticketed..

Since this bike was on/off road type, I rode it on all surfaces. At the time, the local Highway #11 upgrade was being constructed, so I spent enough time riding off-road in the construction area. This bike  allowed me to ride multi miles on many surfaces, from paved road, to gravel/dirt - which led to a local river where a bridge would be built in the future. Up/down huge banks for the future highway was another blast..

The nice weather was here, so I drove it to/from work enough times.
One weekend later in the fall, I decided to ride to the "south-east" (because it was there).  The area is traveled mostly by pulp trucks on the well-packed dirt roads to harvest trees for the local mill.  Generally, you don't see a lot of trucks, and the roads are very barren with not much traffic (other than others exploring).  I drove enough distance on this colder day, and the weather turned foggy which made it very cold.  It was time that I turned around to make it home without totally freezing. Due to the longer time, the return trip seemed colder and enough for me to start shaking early on. Unfortunately I was quite far in the woods, and there were many more miles to ride.  The shaking turned more intense with more miles to ride, and would eventually reach paved road. I still had 8 more miles to ride, with the shakes possessing my ride, I FINALLY arrived at my girlfriends' house.

I continued to take the bike out of storage and ride in the spring, summer, fall.
One memory has me riding in the autumn/fall up one of many hills in the area with wet leaves that had fallen from the trees. At the top of the large uphill, I had to make a left turn, and had many leaves in my path. Turning, I slipped on the wet leaves, lost the road grip, and crashed on my left side. The traffic was low, so getting back upright and grabbing my bike in the middle of the road was easier. With time, I was upright, on the bike and continued on my way with no major damages - other than my pride.  After a few years, it was time to sell the bike, but it wasn't long before I wanted another.

Eventually, I was feeling the need of a larger street motorcycle, and during a trip to my parents, I had a serious eye on a Honda CB400F Super Sport with 4-into-1 exhaust. Although this seemed like a rare bike, I saw one for sale at GW Sampson Honda dealer in Kingston, Unfortunately, I returned home without buying it, but it held my interest for many years.

The interest in a larger bike stayed with me till I would buy one very soon....