ah well, I will but not just yet. one thing that's deffo not on the list is another sports bike.... been there, done that for 5 years, managed to survive as did my licence, though in all honesty I'd probably be a danger to myself and other road users now (providing I could manage to assume the position again!) It will probably be either a naked r1200r, a r1200gs a r1200rt or equivelent from another manufacturer depending on whether SWMBO will be riding shotgun, but that's for another thread at some stage.....but I will remain a Harley free zone.....

This sounds exactly like my dad lol, feels to old for a sports bike so wants a naked one.

Keep telling him you're only as old as you feel haha

Learned to drive in an Opel Kadet and practised in my dads Austin Maxi which was replaced by a Ford Fiesta. The maxi had a stir and guess gearbox and no power steering, bit of a barge to drive.

Tractors (normally towing), forklifts, knackered old landrovers, after those, driving anything is easy.  I didn't drive a car until the day before I took my test. Although I failed, I was told I was really good on my mirrors, especially the centre one. The truth was, it was the first time I'd ever had a centre mirror and I kept wondering what that thing was in the corner of my eye. 

 

 

My mums 1966 Fiat 500. Crash box, so double declutching all the time. No power at all. Failed 1st time for not keeping up with traffic, you couldn't. Didn't have a 0-60, it didn't go that fast.

 

Andy

 

I took my advanced in a 39hp 1 litre Polo. When I had the pretest assessment the bloke wanted to fail me for "insufficient progress". 

My parents bought me a knackered 175cc BSA Bantam D7 for my 15th birthday.  

I spent the next 12 months doing it up, then rode it legally on my 16th birthday (no CBT then).  

I passed (what excused for) the driving test within two months and part-ex'd the 175 for a 650.

Those were the days......

 

I nearly killed myself in a Del-Boy Reliant a couple of years later, before passing my test in a Hillman Imp.

 

I still have the pink licence and sure I have my old red one somewhere.

 

Great thread, Aspman.

Initially my Father's Humber Sceptre + My Mother's Hilman Imp

Then lessons and my test in a Vauxhall Viva

BSM Triumph Herald 1968 (it was new then) in 1968 a very tight steering lock and good visibility due to the slim pillars of the Michelotti bodywork made it easy to manoeuvre. Passed first time but had about 22 lessons.

Learned to ride on two wheels from the mid 1960s on a push bike, NSU Quickly moped 23mph maximum speed and eventually got round to my bike test which I passed first time in 1973 on my own Honda C50. I suppose 5 years of car driving helped there.

Car test was a Ford Anglia (unfortunately rolled it on the M6 later)

 

Bike was a BSA 125 bantam with a "proper saddle" now on a 1200 Bandit

 

John

Simca 1100 in 1978

Learned to drive and passed my test in a Triumph Toledo 40 years ago.

 

My first car was a Ford Cortina Estate Mk1, then a Comma Motor Caravan (useful - had a bed in the back) followed by a Capri, Polski fiat, Citroen BX (x2), Nissan GT, Saab 95 Aero and now a Skoda. Hope to try a VW Pheaton and a Merc before I pop my clogs!

Passed my test in 1985 using my driving instructors B reg Austin Maestro.

 

My own car at the time was a 1974 Mini 1000, which was sold for more than my dad paid for it, replaced it with a brand new Austin Metro which was on a C reg (C935 GBH). Even though it was a new car, it was plagued with problems (mostly starting ones) it was soon replaced by a D reg Vauxhall Astra (D254 PBH) which never let me down (I was doing 20K miles per year) in 1987.

I passed my test in a 1989 Vauxhall Nova 1.4 SR, although I only drove this car four times as I could already drive well. My own car was a 1972 automatic Mini I had bought for £200, white with a bronze metallic roof and alloy wheels, it lasted a few months before it want in a ditch.

 

 The first thing I ever drove was a 1976 Land Rover series 3 long wheel based van when I was 11, it was in a field and I used the hand throttle to set the revs then just crept around in 1st gear, once this was mastered it was easy as I was allowed to drive my Dad's car around the yard where he worked, by the time I was 14 I was able to drive his Foden Haulmaster concrete mixer, backing it under the batch tower or moving it to the  wash when washing it off. At 16 I got a job on a farm driving tractors, combine harvester and loading shovels, after all of this it was really easy to pass a driving test.

1989...started in a 1.4 dual control Nissan and then the instructor got a 1.6. Failed first test, so lots of practice in my mother's 1.1l Polo and I passed in December '89.