I briefly had a 1998 Shadow 1100 but it didn't even last a week. Insufficient highway speeds made me turn right around on the first attempted trip and put it up for sale.

2014 GL1800 Valkyrie ABS was my first real bike.

If I knew then what I know now, I would have just started on an FJR1300 like I replaced the Valkyrie with and ride now.

 

First powered bike of any kind?

Honda Z50. I could pick it up and toss it in the trunk of my mom's car when I wanted to ride it at a local dirt trail system.

I didn't get it to have a high thrill ride;

I just wanted to go along logging roads and hiking trails out in the country at a faster speed than I could walk.

First bike I used to get a motorcycle license and actually take out on public streets mixing in with traffic?

Yamaha DT-250 enduro. But I didn't really like how this very lightweight bike with knobby tires handled on public roads where the speed limit was greater than 35MPH, so I didn't use it much under those conditions.

It was used on trails in the woods 99% of the time.

 

In 1988 when I was 21 I bought a Yamaha Seca 650 from an acquaintance on a whim.
The only instruction I had was his tutorial on how it worked on a side street.
I kept the bike a couple years, didn't ride it much, sold it in 1990.
Nice looking bike, IMO. (Internet pic)

Never thought about having a motorcycle again until...
34 years later in 2024 my 19 year old son wanted a motorcycle.
Him wanting a motorcycle made me think about a motorcycle.
Thinking about it led me to wanting needing one.
Prior to buying a motorcycle I had to take the Motorcycle Basic Rider Course in order to get a motorcycle endorsement on my license.
Once I had a motorcycle license I bought this Yamaha R3.
Unlike when I had a bike 34 years ago this time I was into riding.
This wasn't technically my first bike, but substantially it was.

 

My first sort of motorcycle would have been a mini bike, those Briggs and Stratton lawn mower engined contraptions us kids rode around on back in the early 70s, not even close to street legal but we rode there anyway and usually ended up running away from the cops to escape .
My first legal road machine was a Taiwanese made moped, interestingly branded as an Indian, my first real motorcycle would have been my 1978 Honda Hawk II. I sadly let that bike go but a few years ago I stumbled across one identical to it and I couldn't resist adding it to my stable. This one is great, it's not perfect, it's a survivor. I'm the 3rd owner, the last one had it for 30 years, it's been on the road all these years, ridden occasionally, 48 years old, 17k miles I don't want to restore it, I love the patina, I just keep it maintained. Its runs like a Honda should, I've done a 500 mile day on it, my butt gave out, the machine was fine to keep going.

 

This is the bike I learned on. Fast for its size, did great in the California desert

 

1991 Beta Zero, made in Italy. I absolutely loved riding trials...

That's so cool!

First bike I rode was friend's RM80. We rode it for hours after school in huge backyard instead of doing homework.
Due to crashes, we learned to do lots of repairs quickly before parents came home!

After 3-years, I was old enough to get licence and my own bike. Got one of these which I've put through h3ll and back.
Have taken it down to every last nut & bolt for repairs, engine rebuilds, etc. Still have it to this day with 80k-miles.
Currently fitting 17" wheels from CBR600F3.

 

My first was a 2018 Harley Street 750, not too wild, but it felt like a beast to me at the time 😂. I still remember stalling it at a light on day one, heart racing, but I was hooked right after that ride.

 

I consider this to be my first bike. This is a few minutes after the dealer dropped it off:





I suppose it's not technically not my first bike. I let a friend talk me into buying a inexensive Honda Magna that weighed 600 pounds and had 70HP, which was too much for some with zero experience other than the riders course, so I sold it and got the bike I used in class.