First Post for Expanded Blog Page

Moto Mania is more than a passing interest of frame of mind. It is a state of being. An infection of sorts. As the profile of this site mentions, it started for me when the garage door of my childhood buddy, Pete Mahoney, raised to reveal an orange tanked Indian mini bike and a silver and red Honda XR75. I was sick. I was stunned. I was infected. The memory of standing in his driveway and watching him and his sister ride laps around his yard is still vivid and vibrant.
It took me many years after that fateful day to get a bike of my own. I started with a rolling basket case of a Honda SL100. I'm not sure what modifications my brother and his buddy made to that bike, but it would drain a battery in minutes. It wasn't long before that machine was retired to a spot in my dad's shack. It was replaced with a drool producing 1976 Suzuki RM100. Sweet. Metal tank, low pipe, 2 stroke beast. I remember doing the pre-mix in one of my mother's Mason jars because it had small quantity measurements on the side of it. This was a total necessity because the only gas I could get was the small amounts I could steal from my dad's mower or edger. I don't recall him ever asking me if I knew why his mower was always empty. I suppose he just figured it out. I rode the shit out of that bike. After school I was no longer a Tom Browne middle school student. I was Roger DeCoster or Bob Hannah or Broc Glover or Marty Smith or any other Sunday afternoon hero. That's how we did it back then. We scratched up whatever we could to put two wheels under our dreams.
What next? A 1981 Yamaha YZ125. Off the showroom floor. I paid for it by working day labor on my dad's construction sites one summer. That was the first bike I ever raced and I raced the wheels off of it.
Then came more YZs of various years, then the Kawasaki years, then another YZ. I borrowed and traded to keep my habit alive. What a life.
Now I love the Triumphs and the Ducatis and the vintage Japanese machines. Really, I love them all. I bet you do too. That's why your here.
I'm glad you stopped in today to check us out. Come back soon and often. We will always have alot to talk about. Bring a friend next time. The cold beer is on the house.