The Early Years

I started riding motorcycles at age 14, and like your first love, a boy will always remember his first motorcycle! Mine was a 1965 Yamaha YG1-K, 80cc Rotary Jet; black and chrome, gently used, and purchased at a Yamaha dealer in Hyde Park, New York for tidy sum of $100. The money came from a winning raffle ticket the weekend before at my dad’s local Rod & Gun club. I remember hauling the bike back home, on its side and sticking out of the trunk of my dad’s 1965 Cadillac Sedan Deville. I learned my clutch-throttle-shift-braking technique on the back roads and corn fields of upstate New York. I wanted a mini-bike, but my father said: “If you are going to learn to ride a motorcycle properly, it’s best if you learn on one with a real transmission.” That was a very happy time of my teen years and I was the envy of all the neighborhood kids! Soon, almost all of the other kids convinced their parents to let them buy a motorcycle as well.  Over the next few years, that same motorcycle was bought and sold locally for $100 about 5-6 times!

My next two motorcycles were a 1966 Honda S-90 and a 1967 Kawasaki F2 175cc two-stroke single.  The S-90 was a robust little bike and a 4-stroke single compared to the 2-stroke single Yamaha 80.  Ironically, the S-90 was the only Honda I have ever owned. My good friend 'Mike D' from “the hood” had a ’67 example as well. One night in 1969, after watching “Easy Rider” at the local movie theater we came home and in protest to what happened at the end, we removed the mufflers on our F2s and terrorized the neighborhood by making as much noise as possible. I did not have the Kawasaki very long...maybe just one summer. I remember that it smoked a lot, but it was quick and had a lot more power than either the Yamaha or Honda.

My next bike was also very memorable, as it was my first brand new motorcycle; purchased at the age of 17. My brand new 1971 Yamaha RT1-B 360cc Enduro had an MSRP of about $995, so I put 20% down and my dad co-signed a loan for the balance. I washed dishes at a local restaurant every weekend for 2 years to pay that loan off! I recently purchased another RT1-B, and you can read more about this experience in the story entitled:  “Recycled Enduro”

(http://www.vintagemotorcyclesonline.com/features/stories/149-recycled-enduro)  

I had a lot of fun with that bike in my Junior and Senior year of high school, and as it was my first street legal motorcycle, I rode it everywhere and often.

After honing my street skills, I decided it was time for something  a little more road worthy, so I traded the RT1-B in for a new 1974 Yamaha TX-500A, 500cc 8-valve twin. This was a smooth running, middleweight that I always considered to have nice lines, but they never sold well in the market-place, even after switching to XS500 guise (with cast wheels and re-tooled bodywork) in 1976. By 1979, the 8v parallel twin was dropped by Yamaha. I commuted to Community College on that bike, weather permitting.

As a confident, cocky 21 year-old, I was itching for more power so I flipped the TX for a new 1975 Kawasaki H1-500cc two-stroke triple, resplendent in Kawasaki green. It was (and still is!) quite fearsome looking and the rapid Kwacker was my first 3-cylinder motorcycle. The hype you hear is true; the Hi is insanely quick with a peaky, ultra-high revving engine. I remember twisting the throttle wide-open and struggling to keep my 130 lbs on the seat!!  “Light-to-Light” the spirited Mach-III was unbeatable and I unmercifully smoked many an unsuspecting muscle car, as well as the occasional naive Harley or Triumph owner. One night at about 80 mph while racing a Triumph Trident on a local back road, I experienced the infamous H1 “death wobble” and it literally scared the hell out of me! I was lucky to regain control and not crash...or worse. I sold the H1 outright the following week.  

Shortly after college in 1976, I moved to Connecticut for a job, and that spring, my “hood” buddy Mike (yes, the same guy with the S-90!) and I walked into Danbury Yamaha and purchased a matching pair of 1977 Yamaha RD-400s! They were two-tone blue with white stripes, and another first; 6-speeds to play with. These middle-weight two-stroke twins earned the nickname “Pocket-Rocket” and for good reason; they were light, agile, had excellent handling/braking characteristics and were very quick. It was on the RD that I started to really enjoy on long, overnight weekend trips, mostly to Lake George and the surrounding Adirondack Mountains. I have many found memories of that little Yamaha, and today these bikes are highly sought-after in stock condition, or as modified café racers. Great bike!

In 1978, I moved to Austin, Texas for another job and bought another Yamaha this time a 1978 XS-750 Special. This was also a 3-cylinder (four stroke) and my first motorcycle with shaft-drive. I rode that bike all over the beautiful Hill Country of central Texas and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, and with only about 5,000 miles showing, that bike was stolen from my apartment complex despite being chained to a metal support pole. I remember the sickening feeling of walking out, looking down at the cut-chain and realizing that my bike was long gone. In 40 years of riding and 28 motorcycles, that was the first and only bike that I've had stolen. I hope it's the last.

After my insurance check arrived I recall thinking that my next motorcycle should be something really different and unique. Maybe a European model? Visiting the local Guzzi dealer in Austin and at the ripe old age of 24, I sat on my first European motorcycle; a red, 1978 Moto Guzzi Le Mans 850. I knew I wanted it the instant I sat on it and stretched my arms to the bars! This Guzzi shaft-driven v-twin is now the stuff of legends. After riding mostly Yamahas and Kawasakis for the first eleven years of my two-wheel career, it was time for me to graduate from motorcycle rider to motorcycle enthusiast.

As they say, the rest is history...JJ Cerilli