Photo courtesy of Paggio
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 this week’s column is Oakley’s Anthony Paggio, who has fond memories of the 1987 KX80 that sparked his passion for racing motorcycles.
I remember we use to go to Dade City Raceway in Florida almost every weekend. My mom and dad flipped the main bills for me, and I had some support from Lake Wales Kawasaki until I got my Team Green ride. The cool thing about this bike was the sticker placement, and it tells the real story. I was pumped on, it and every sticker I got was strategically placed in every possible open area. I remember this bike would hall ass, and I pulled every holeshot at Dade City Raceway and they started calling me the “Holeshot King.”
I also want to say thanks to Bubbs for seeing the true potential in the number and running it in my honor (I told you I was the OG # 7). This picture sure brings back memories. I also remember racing the Halloween Pumpkin Race on this jewel against some stiff competition like Big Rick and little Ricky when RC was on PW50s. And Big James was in the race, but Bubba was to small, if I’m not mistaken. See, you would have a partner and you would each take a turn towing the other guy in a huge pumpkin around the track. Then you would switch and the other person would have to tow you and the pumpkin. I have some great video of this race because it has Big Rick gassing it down the straightaway and little RC can’t hold on and he goes sailing off the back of the bike and breaks the pumpkin. It’s priceless! Also, there’s a clip of Big James doing the wheelie competition down the start straight and looping out. Wow! Thanks for bringing back those memories.
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
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