Do you remember when you got your first bike? For most of us, it’s one of the best days of our lives. Thanks to the support of our friends at Spy Optics, we’ve decided to start a new Saturday column called “My First Bike.” The subject of our inaugural column is none other than Hinson Racing’s Ron Hinson, who has fond memories of the hand-me-down three-wheeler that sparked his passion for motorcycles.
“My first bike was a 1982 ATC250R. In 1985, my dad, Wayne, got a brand-new ATC, so he gave me his old 1982 model. I was thirteen years old. Together we took a bunch of stuff off of it, repainted it, and just cleaned it up. He prompted me to order a new pipe for it from CT Racing (my first time dealing directly with an aftermarket company and my first high-performance product). It was a really cool way to spend some father-and-son time. Then, when we went riding for the first time in my life, I had a bike I didn't have to get off of to share. I could ride that thing all day long, and there was nothing more that I wanted to do! Growing up, I never really fell in love with a sport until we started riding, and I've never been able to shake that desire. I only had that ATC250R for about a year when I broke my collarbone on it. At that point, I downsized to an ATC200X (four-stroke). The picture below was taken at our usual spot that was only a couple miles from the Ontario Airport. That place is all Industrial buildings now.”
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If you work in the industry and have a story you would like to share with our readers about your “first bike” experience, contact Fubar: mikef@racerxill.com.
