Asheville Trip/News from the World of Motorcycling (September 3-4,2011)

Couple of photos here from the Asheville trip over September 3-4. My bike is still in the shop, but the news from that is good; price will not be bad for the repair (was an electrical problem), and it should be out in a few days. That will be fantastic! My wife Patty and I took the Versa (that is in the background) but Asheville is a motorcycle paradise. I saw a slew of bikes such as this Harley Davidson trike (a lot of trikes for some reason) and motorcycles of all types. Enjoyed that, and though in a car, nothing like a long ride (in my case, 100 miles on September 4) on the remarkable Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a wonderful time, and always a wonderful place to visit.
Second photo is a Victory Motorcycle and this time a Honda Gold Wing Trike. I have some more photos on my Richmond and Me blog of some of the views there-just remarkable. Course had a good place to stay, wonderful weather, and a great woman to spend the time with.
Do have some news of note. Was reading the new issue (October 11, 2011) of Motorcyclist-one of my favorite motorcycle magazines. Did not know that Kawasaki no longer builds touring bikes or cruisers at its plants in Maryville, Missouri or Lincoln, Nebraska..that ended in 2006 (however the Vulcan I ride is a 2005, so I assume it was made there). Kawasaki does make its ATV's in the US at those factories according to the article. Honda of course ended production at its Marysville, Ohio factory in 2009; Gold Wings and Cruisers were made there. Great article on where motorcycles are made-some of the places were a real surprise to me. Check out the issue for more information.
Of note- the OCC event scheduled for October 22 has been cancelled-no reason given. Shame, I was looking forward to attending that one. Lots of other events coming up, and will be covering some of them in a future post. Always be sure to check with the event though before you ride-things can and do change, especially with motorcycles where weather can be a very important factor. Ride safe, I hope to be joining you all again real soon!