Dirt Bikes Review - Introduction

Dirt Bikes Review: My name is Edward. I’m a retired senior who loves riding motorcycles.

As a member of the United States Air Force, I developed a love for riding motorcycles. Through out my Air Force career, I always managed to keep a motorcycle around. Even when I served tours overseas, the lure of riding caused me to find some two wheeled motorized bike to ride. Renting a bike or borrowing a bike - when I didn’t have one of my own, would be an obsession for me. Dirt bikes and riding of road was a thrill for me, especially being stationed overseas. Of course, my first experience with bikes was just the thrill of learning to ride. I was taught to ride by an Air Force friend, who saw my anxious exuberance and wide-eyed amazement of the beautiful BSA 650cc Lighting that he owned. So after much begging, pleading and attempted bribery, my friend took me to a vacant lot and proceeded to teach me about bikes and how to ride.

It wasn’t until my first overseas assignment to Thailand, that I was introduced to Dirt Bikes. To me, the 350cc’s of fury I rode on and off road, was just a motorcycle. Then one day, I went to pick up my rented 350cc and the owner asked my why I was riding the bike off rode? He told me that “if I wanted to ride off-road, then rent a Dirt Bike”. I was bewildered. What’s a Dirt Bike I asked? He took me aside and showed me an array of smaller 60cc to 250cc bikes with high ugly looking fenders and big knobby tires and said to me, “this is what you need for off-road riding”. So being young, energetic, and eager to try something new, I cranked up a 250cc – I was afraid of the smaller bikes. Boy! Was it loud, but I climbed aboard and took it for a spin. As I left the road, in a mad dash for the wooded area, I gunned the throttle and noticed its quick response and how well the bike handled in the dirt. Jumping a small stream and almost landing on my butt, I couldn’t help but notice the adrenalin rush and how much fun I was having. Alas, I grew older and as my off road riding days seemed to wan, I acquired a love for street cruisers. But, my encounter with Dirt Bikes still has a special place in my heart to this day. Next post, I’ll shed some light on the history of Dirt Bikes – what they are and how they came into existence.