Pretty wild weekend in Carolina; though was the day after the snow fall on Saturday February 13 when I stopped in RideNow, Concord, NC to take these photos. The photo at left is a Honda Shadow, and as a former Honda Shadow owner I like that line of motorcycles. Had one (the VTX600) for eight years, and it was a great bike. I am not sure to be honest...think this might be a 2010 model (should have looked on the bike) but like the styling of it. Honda makes some real fine motorcycles, and I have been fortunate to have a few (though...knock on wood over the years have never really had a "bad" bike. This seems to be the new "bobber" style that I read about coming out this year.
As for this one, I do know for sure this is a brand new 2010 Honda NT700V. I think of it sort of as a pocket verson of the ST-1300. I have read that it has the same 700cc V-twin engine as the DN-01 Honda (the red bike) next to it; said to be a very good motor. For sure should give good fuel economy thanks to the fairing, and the size will also help. Has good storage for a day or overnight trip, and when I sat on it, seemed to have a lot of room for a taller rider (of which I am one). I liked this motorcycle when I read about it, liked it when I sat on it. Think this could be a real good econo-tourer and a fun motorcycle.
As for my Kawasaki Vulcan 1500, attempted to start it, but the battery is once again dead. I could recharge it again, but after almost five years, I think its time to invest in a new one which I plan to do soon. I might wait until early March; be nice to get it before the really cold weather of late can take a toll on it. Riding this weekend was out of the question anyhow thanks to the weekend snow in the Concord area. Many winters do little more than a short pause to the riding season (if that) but this has been an un-typical Carolina weather. I even got photos today of snow (and not just flakes, but actual measurable snow) from a friend in Charleston, SC. Good news though is Spring is just a few weeks away!
Got back to Concord the weekend of February 27-29 and had a great visit with my family. I was not able to get the bike started again (battery has for sure bit the dust) but did get out to Iron Thunder in Concord, NC and enjoyed hanging out with motorcycle people there while my bike is down. A friend from work here (Keith) and former riding buddy (he sold his bike last year) visited with me. Got a photo of Iron Thunder above. I also took a photo of the new Camaro (I used to have one of those a few years ago) and the bikes next to it from the Iron Thunder parking lot. Behind those is Pat Rogers Harley-Davidson in Concord, NC and we visited that for a little while. 
Real fond of the V-Rod "line" which started with one bike, and has turned into a few. This version of the V-Rod has a 1250cc engine, and of course like all the V-Rods is water-cooled. I think it is one of the finest Harley's on the road, and a really neat design. Of course the purists are not big fans of the V-Rods but rather like the air cooled engines. To each their own, but all the Japanese motorcycles I have ridden the last couple of decades are water-cooled, and I love them (prior to that had Japanese air cooled bikes...a long line). Really like the look of the Harley's, but those price tags are pretty scary. For the price of this one, I would be able to get two of my 1500's (though the 1500's are no longer in production). Still it is a remarkable piece of engineering. Hopefully by the next visit home, I will be back on the road again, although my big Kawasaki is waiting for me to fire it up!
