Bikes! In the RVA! (October 6, 2012)

 An open house at Colonial Harley Davidson brought me to Prince George, VA to see some of the new 2013 Harley line. For this year no real engine upgrades, just a few new colors and paint jobs, but some fine motorcycles nonetheless. Harley is all about history, and for 2013 they are celebrating 110 years in the motorcycle business, which is pretty damn impressive in my book. While in most cases they have really changed very little, they do have a big line of air cooled bikes, and of course the water cooled V-Rod line of motorcycles. They are certainly iconic motorcycles.

 I really like the CVO (Custom Vehicle Operations) which has made special versions of their bikes (with a "special" price tag to match) using the 110 cubic inch Screaming Eagle Twin Cam Engine. They are certainly beautiful motorcycles, and if it can be said that motorcycles are a work of art, nothing says that more in my opinion than a Harley. I was hoping that they would have a few more from the line, but they did have this Road Glide which is the new version for 2013. I do like that when the new bikes come out, they come out first at Harley-Davidson; and it is cool to see what The Motor Company has to present. 

 Liked these, called the "72" liked the metal flake, and the high handlebars of these bikes, so much like the choppers of the 1970's (without long raked out front ends, but some degree of ape hangers for sure). The small peanut tank would not give you a great deal of range mileage wise, but certainly the styling is pretty cool. Not a lot of Harley-Davidson's really fit me, they seem to be made for smaller people (I am for the record 6'2") and this bike is no exception to that. Still, it is a neat motorcycle, and really brought back some memories. If you are looking at a classic, Harley is your bike for sure.  

Near Colonial Harley Davidson  is Commonwealth Power Sports which is a Suzuki, Yamaha (Star), Kawasaki, Honda and now Victory dealer. There was a Victory dealer in Richmond (just outside of Hopewell) but it went out of business, well now they have the line. Big dealership, and very friendly people there, I often have visited to the shop. Victory Motorcycles are also made in the US, and have a more modern feel to them than the Harley-Davidson line does. They are pretty aggressive as far as marketing, with a very good test ride program, and in fact I have ridden quite a few.

I have a few more photos from the day at my Flickr Photo Page, and it was a good time. I also did a few more events in Richmond which I have on my Richmond and me blog page, it was a very good day for some fun events in the RVA. More riding in Carolina is coming up in a few day and that will be the subject of my next blogs!