I have been riding motorcycles for about 35 years. It started out when I got a 100 cc Yamaha dirt bike. It was so handy for herding and moving cattle, that it was quickly upgraded to a Yamaha 360cc DT3.

I have ridden a lot of two stroke bikes, including the Kawasaki three cylinder bikes from the 70s. But my main bike for college and everyday use was the Yamaha 360. That 360 Yamaha eventually made its way to California with me and became the first bike that I raced in the Mojave Desert.

There were also enough street riding opportunities for me that I also owned a Suzuki 750 cc rice rocket. That sucker was fast and handled like a dream for its day. It would corner so well that the center stand would occasionally drag on the pavement and it was beveled off on both sides. (Perhaps the Japanese engineers had not considered a street bike turning so tightly. )

The Yamaha DT360 was too heavy and eventually was replaced by a Suzuki RM370 that was lightened and tweaked for Unlimited Class Desert racing. That bike would do nearly 100 MPH on a dry lakebed. When the tree huggers started shutting down the mostly treeless Mojave desert to motor vehicle traffic, many of us started moving our racing activities to Baja Mexico. Four stroke bikes are king in Baja due to the better gas milage, changes in altitude and variance in the fuel quality that is available locally. A Honda XR350R suited that purpose very well, and I still have it. Even at age 20, it still does well in the desert and even in the forest. (better than I can do anymore, at least.)

When I moved to NM in 1998, I gave away all my old motorcycles to charity and only kept the Honda XR. I sometimes get the itch to have another street bike, but drunk driving is a problem here, and motorcycle riders always end up as the loser in that contest.

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