Between the Handlebars: October

Actually took the photo of this CVO Harley-Davidson, and the Sportster below at the Naval Air Station Air Show earlier this month. Had a great time at that event; was simply a hell of a thing. Some great flying (and featured the always amazing Blue Angels) and just a remarkable experience. Hell, it was fun being back on a Navy air base (I served in the USN some years ago) and it just felt good. Lots at a air show, including motorcycles; both those ridden in, and these on display there. Lots of interesting new bikes are coming out, and there will be some real nice (hopefully) new iron from various manufacturers gracing these pages. Tough times for sure still exist, but there will be some new eye candy coming out in the very competitive motorcycle market.
I though will be sticking around the Richmond area at least into early October, thanks to my employer (who despite that, I am thankful for). My "Virginia motorcycling" consists largely of remembering previous great rides on my Kawasaki Vulcan Classic (photo of that can be seen on my previous post). Some great rides are coming up, because fall is here at last; with the promise of cooler temperatures after a pretty brutal summer heat wise, and of course those fall colors. I usually make a ride to the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall, and I hope to make this year no exception. Still I am looking forward to the next ride on the bike, and it can't come soon enough! Still, do see some interesting things here in the Richmond area from time to time.
....Have been missing a great Carolina web site (Carolina Motorcycle Events) that did a remarkable job of posting motorcycle events in the Carolina (and even some in Virginia) area(s). The man who did it, sure did an outstanding job. What I am left with now is "Full Throttle (Carolina) and Thunder Roads (Virginia) magazines; and while they are better than nothing, finding that I often come across things just by luck. Stumbled across a few bike shows (both at Hooters; one in Chesterfield, and one at Short Pump) just by chance (being at the right place at the right time). Course, some great events can be found at and via various Motorcycle dealers, who post a number of events.
....That said do have some rides of note (some will get more mention). In Carolina on October 2 is the Cruising Carolina Charity Ride....info is sort of lacking, but tends to be a big ride. Info on that can be found on the Full Throttle site. Of SPECIAL note, is 11/21 Arzie Rogers Toy Run which will leave from the Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium in Kannapolis, NC (sometime around 10-11, get there early for registration/food). I have been on that ride a few times, it is a MASSIVE ride, police escorted (and seeing those howling police bikes running up to block intersections is remarkable) and is a really, really great ride. The ride is put on by (and ends at Speedway Harley-Davidson); its the most fun you can have for the price of a toy!
....Virginia news is a bit more lacking. Did see that Departure Bike Works will have an open house (38th, which I assume is the number of years they have been in business) on October 9. There will be music and food. Colonial Harley-Davidson (nice shop by the way, I have been there) will be having its "Teddy Bear Run" November 6, and will leave from Colonial at 1PM. Like the charity rides, they tend to be a lot of fun, have some nice "extras" (such as food, music) and its a neat way to do some good over the holidays, and have a great time too.
....When I was in the Navy (by the way photos from that air show can be seen on my Photo Page, there is a link to it on the site) we would check accident reports to learn from the problems of others. What bikers have is the newspaper, and read of an accident this month (fatal unfortunately) where a bike at a light was rear ended by a car. ALWAYS a good idea, especially at a stop (but lets be honest anytime is a good idea, and often) to check your mirrors. Always be ready for anything, have an escape route if needed. Ride like people are trying to kill you, cause to be honest, and though it is not their plan....they are!
....Hope you enjoyed this update; be watching for more news (and hopefully more tales from the road of my rides very soon) and photos in the near future!

Monday (Cruises) in the Carolinas (September 13, 2010)

Great Monday ride thanks to a day at a time vacation day, enjoyed a nice ride around the area. Did a bit of a different ride on the Vulcan (which is seen at left...all shined up last weekend, but still looking good in the photo I took today) as I rolled down my favorite backroads to Mt. Pleasant, NC. Nice little town with a lot of history, and some really fine old houses. Got off the bike and wandered around a bit, and enjoyed that a great deal. Photo here was taken at a friend's house, stopped there for a while to visit with him, and to also check out his new bike. Not really new, but a nice ride nonetheless. You can get a great deal on used bikes...and Steve did.
That bike is seen here, its a 2000 Dyna Wide Glide with a little over 8,000 miles, got it for a really good price. Used motorcycles CAN be a good value, many people do not ride that much (though I am not one of them) but with reasonable care a motorcycle can last a good long time. Looking forward to some good rides with Steve in future visits. Today did a combination of riding and visiting; nice to see friends, also rode by my wife's work, but got in some good roads. Nice that it was just a wonderful day with bright blue skies, low humidity, and reasonable temperatures for late summer. It was a beautiful day to ride.
You can see some of those blue skies in the photo below. Don't know who this guy is, but liked the handlebars on his Harley..Ape Hangers seem to be the current "thing" on cruisers (though not on mine, and I don't see that happening.
After getting back home, went for another visit with Steve (who had a good job interview...in this economy a good interview rates some celebration) and a nice night ride. Love the big headlight on the Vulcan, its a very nice thing in the dark. All in all, a great pair of rides, and visits as well...covering some 70 miles today. This will be a good thing to keep me smiling over the upcoming days in Richmond, VA.

Cannonball Motorcycle Race (September 11, 2010)

A very unique motorcycle event made a stop on September 11 in Concord, NC. The Cannonball Motorcycle Race is being run from Kitty Hawk, NC to California on pre-1916 motorcycles, and they made a stop at Pat Rogers Speedway Harley-Davidson. I went to see them with my wife Patty following an earlier stop (on the way back from Richmond) at the Winston-Salem Air Show. More photos of that event can be found on my "Richmond and Me" blog, plus photos from both events can be found on my Photo Page (a link to that is on this page). The photo at left is of one of the riders coming in to the checkpoint; they came in at different periods, but most of them had arrived when I got to the event around 5:30PM. It was very unique to see 100 year old motorcycles and to hear them running engines that in many cases have long not been in production, or riding bikes that have not been made in decades. Not just taking about bike models not made, but also brands of motorcycles that were just history book items until I visited yesterday!

Here are a few of the bikes, seen lined up along the dealership. They had a real bicycle look to many of them, which is what early motorcycles were taken from. Mechanical breakdowns were common, and the bikes leaked a bit of oil, but they were remarkable to see run, and to hear them was really something. Many of the early features on modern motorcycles could be seen on some of them, and it was really cool to see and smell the engines running. Early engine technology was something to experience, and there were some unique engined on hand, especially the Henderson in-line four.

There was a very big crowd of people there, earlier there was a poker run held, and there had been a band playing. The bikes and the very interesting riders were fun to check out, I also enjoyed seeing the crowd; as typical of a motorcycle event, they were also interesting. Some friends of mine from Concord were also there, and it was good to meet up with them. This event had been in the news a bit, plus I had spread the word and it was good to enjoy it with my wife and some riding buddies along with some former co-workers in Concord. They also had a dinner for the teams which was really nice. Pat Rogers put on a great event.

It was a very fun time, and I was very glad that I made the trip there (the dealership is located near the giant Concord Mills Mall). As noted many more photos of the bikes; I got mostly Harley's on this page, but some of the other brands were even more interesting.
Speaking of interest, got a few more things of note to show, but will save that for the next post here.
I hope you enjoyed these photos of this very unique motorcycle event.

Labor Day Ride Two: Rolling up NC-115

An excellent day for a ride on Labor Day itself, September 6, 2010. Took the bike out via NC-73 to NC-115, which is one of my favorite roads in the area. First stop was Davidson College, which is in the town of Davidson, NC. Some very nice houses can be found there, also the very cool school there. I like wandering around the town (its not all that big) and the school itself. Photo at right is the church that is on the grounds of the school there. A private school, its pretty expensive to attend, the education though is very highly rated. President Woodrow Wilson (was President of the US during WW1) went to school there. Davidson is a mix of the old and new; they are working to regulate growth and are giving it some planning. It makes it a very nice place to visit. It also is a town where people ride bicycles and jog; a nice place to just wander around and check out the scenery. It goes at a slow pace, but its nice to just relax and check it out from time to time. Nice pause from the ride on Monday. Lots of students there; school is underway!

Next photo was taken in nearby Cornelius, NC....its just outside of Davidson and is a very interesting town also. Got a really good motorcycle shop (which I did not visit this trip on the holiday) and is really growing fast. On up this road is Lake Norman; which is a very big lake with some nice looking houses. I headed just a bit up this road, as I like the houses there and the streets. This is also a peaceful place to ride, though on regular working days it gets quite busy. Linked by NC-115 it is a nice town with a lot of shopping centers on up the road all the way to the lake. I do a lot of riding in that area, and I really enjoy it a great deal.

Finally, had to get a bike photo in, but like this old store in the background also. This was on the furthest point of my ride on NC-115, just past the town of Huntersville. That is also a neat town, another small sort of town, again with a great many shopping centers, but also a nice "old section" to check out. Course like the other two, Huntersville is getting a lot of growth as well.
Back up NC-115 to Huntersville, got to ride some favorite backroads (Huntersville/Concord Road) past the big greenhouses...they look like something in the first X-files Movie. Stopped at Quaker Steak and Lube near Concord Mills before heading back to the house after a total ride of some three hours, and around 65 miles. It was a remarkable day with low humidity, nice temperatures, and sunny skies. I can feel the first hints of fall, at last, in the air. Looking forward to that, and my next ride in the Carolinas!

Labor Day Weekend in Concord: Ride One! (September 4, 2010)

Pretty close to wonderful in Concord, another sunny day, low humidity, and mid-80s for a high; was cooler as I wrote this. Nice day to get out. Did not get a lot of miles in today on the Vulcan, visited a friend and former co-worker (Ray Kellis) but did get in a few miles. I also rode out to Ride Now in Concord, NC. This Honda Fury at left was in the parking lot and met the woman who rides it. Nice bike, and a great design. Honda has actually carried this into the Sabre and Interstate models. Shaft drive, water cooled, and the 1300cc engine, all is a good combination. I think this is a great looking motorcycle and a nice re-work of the "Shadow" line.
If you are looking for a starter bike (or just a fun bike) I don't think there are many better than the Kawasaki Ninja 250. Great mileage, light weight, good power and great gas mileage (plus very easy to maintain) this is a very good motorcycle to get some experience on. In fact, I started out on a smaller bike than this (a Kawasaki 100) and went to a 250 for my second bike (that one was a Yamaha though) before moving up to bigger bikes. Smaller bikes are certainly more "forgiving" and things happen slower on them, but they are a great deal of fun too. They also keep the cost down. Though I am 6'2", this Kawasaki Ninja 250 has great ergos, and fit me well, would be an excellent around town bike, or something fun to explore. Also of note, nothing on the bike says it is a 250. I also believe this is either the best selling, or one of the best selling Kawasaki motorcycles out there. The Kawasaki Ninja 250 is well worth a look; as I remember when the fuel prices got over $4 a gallon a few years ago, it was real hard to find these motorcycles in the US. Been a while since I have ridden a sport bike, and that is a real different experience than the cruiser I ride currently, but a cool thing about motorcycles is that there are some really different and interesting types out there to enjoy. Nothing like riding a motorcycle!

Finally two great motorcycles that happened to be side by side. The first at left is the Kawasaki KLR-650. A great design, and a long running (though updated a year or so ago) bike, it is a street/trail sort of bike, with a lot of power and also I am told great reliability. These are very popular. Next to that at right is the Suzuki V-Strom 1000, which is raved about for its engine (also made in what may be an even more popular 650 version) v-twin motorcycle. Both of these are excellent motorcycles, great selling bikes, and fun to ride.
I enjoyed my ride today, fun to be around motorcycles, and looking forward to see some of the new ones coming out, but enjoyed seeing these bikes, plus being out on a wonderful day in North Carolina!