December Motorcycle News

First off want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Photo was taken in my front yard in Carolina. Santa rides this time of year, and often in Carolina we do too. Big ride was held on December 4; the Gaston County Toy Run. The Charlotte VRA rode in that (I unfortunately was here in Richmond) along with a huge number of riders. The video of the group heading out was 11 minutes long...a few hundred riders in all, and on a cold and wintry like day. There was even some sleet at the end of the ride. Well done guys, wish I could have been there! A great group of bikers out for a good cause, the need is real this year and people appreciate your riding for a good cause.
Much of the fall has been a combination of some really nice warm days, followed by some damn cool ones. Now with winter which officially starts on December 21 near, the cold days are here. Still some good riding, but requires some bundling up. Cover that exposed skin, watch out for leaves which can be really slick on the roads, and especially watch out for the other guys out there out on Christmas shopping expeditions. Their minds are often elsewhere, not on the motorcycle in the next lane!
Some interesting news on the Honda front; Honda has pricing on its CBR1000 (a very nice looking bike) and its (also nice looking) CB1000R at $10,999, and its CBR250R at $3,999. This matches the price of the Kawasaki Ninja 250R. Will be interesting to see what happens with these two manufacturers on the 250 front. The Ninja 250 is a very fun, and very popular motorcycle. Frankly, I would like to see more being done toward smaller motorcycles, had some great times back in the day on my 250 and 350cc bikes. Good combination of power and price can be had if the development is there.
Read that Harley-Davidson got $2.3 billion in loans from the US Government in 2008-2009. I also read that it has been paid back. There was a lot of grief from the right wingers over the bailouts, but glad that it was done to help out this iconic brand which along with Victory is the only remaining American manufacturers (though many foreign bikes are assembled in the USA). My only problem with Harley is that, being over 6 foot tall many of their more affordable bikes (such as the Sportster) are built for smaller people. They don't make a smaller bike that fits a tall person. Heck the Japanese do a better job in that regard with their Ninja 250R. I have sat on it, and have more room than on a Sportster. Be nice also if they could get the prices down a bit; they make some really pricey motorcycles imho. Beautiful bikes and I love the sound, but the wallet does not want to take that sort of hit.
Oh well, looking forward to some great riding at the end of the year, and a very good year of events and rides in 2011. Merry Christmas to everyone, and a Happy New Year to you all!