Motorcycle Museum at Iron Horse, Monroe, NC (December 30, 2011)

Took a windy ride on the next to last day of 2011, went to Iron Horse which is a Suzuki/Honda dealer in Monroe, NC. They also, as do many dealers have a sort of motorcycle museum there (no admission charge either) and some great old classic motorcycles on display. This one is better than most, as the bikes are very old, such as this old Indian. While some are tagged better than others and some I can talk about some this bike is a bit of a mystery. Still though, you can see the bicycle roots of this old Indian which was the bike that competed with HD for so long. For a time they were built here in NC. 

Bike below is a 1929 Excelsior-Henderson motorcycle. That engine is unique, being an in-line four , but running along the frame. Triumph uses an arrangement like that with its Rocket III triple. This type of engine was also used in cars and in aircraft. The company was owned by Ignatz Schwinn (also famous for bicycles) and was formed from a merger of two companies. It ended production during the Great Depression around 1931. There was an attempt to re-start the brand just a few years ago, but it did not last long, coming out with one model. I think I have a photo of that bike in a long ago previous post.    

This black bike is a 1947 Indian Chief. It was 74 cubic inches, and put out 40 horsepower. Brand new this bike cost $475 dollars. Indian as I noted had a long history, and there have been a number of attempts to restart the brand. Currently the company puts out three versions of the Indian Chief, all of which are very pricy. It is owned now by Polaris, which is the parent company of Victory Motorcycles. That resulted in the closing of the North Carolina factory in Kings Mountain-I believe they are now being built in Iowa. It will be interesting to see what happens to the brand in the near future.     

Amazing old Harley-Davidson, this is a 1914 model. According to the info near the front tire it was one of the first chain drive models of Harley-Davidson, was around 500cc and put out a whopping 4 horsepower. Once again you can see the bicycle roots of the motorcycle, and this was just a few short years into the history of what is the longest produced American brand. Harley-Davidson has had an amazing history, and has turned out some legendary motorcycles over the 100+ years it has been in business. Truly, Harley-Davidson is not just a great motorcycle, but it is an American icon.

Bikes below are at left a Pope (that is the Gray one) and next to it is a Cleveland. Both of those are two of the many brands that came out in the early days of motorcycles. Henry Ford came out with the famous Model T which due to its low price put many motorcycle companies out of business, the car certainly being a lot more practical for families. However, motorcycles and motorcycling has endured over the years and there have been some remarkable advances during the over 100 years that men and women have been riding in America and around the world. 

Japanese Classic Motorcycles in Indiana

Went by S+S Powersports in Clarksville, Indiana during a Christmas visit home. Nice motorcycle shop (in fact I purchased a bike from them a few years ago...the last bike I purchased in Indiana) but love their small collection of classic motorcycles. This bike is a HondaV-65 Sabre. It came out about 1984, and had an 1100cc version of the Honda V-4 engine. That engine really got a lot of use having been built in a number of versions. A really good cruiser, the V-45 Magna (750cc) was a good version, but it was most famous in the Honda Interceptor. The engines were compact and powerful for the day.

 This bike has had a huge impact...it is one of the first versions of the famous Gold Wing. Originally a four the bike was evolved into the touring bike today largely by the people who owned it. Aftermarket fairings and baggage was added (these were famous with Vetter "Windjammer" fairings) over the years, and finally Honda came out with the touring version today. The Honda Gold Wing is probably the most popular touring motorcycle out there. It has grown a great deal over the years both in engine size and weight-hard to look at this and realize this was where it all started. However, this is the child so to speak that grew into the legend.

Street/trail bikes were popular in the 1970's and 1980's, and this is a Honda version of one. The pipes were made like that to give better ground clearance, and the engine in this bike is a 450cc twin. The bars were also designed to hold up against flexing on dirt. There were a number of these types of motorcycles then, over the past few years they have made a comeback. BMW, Ducati and the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers all make some version of what were known as Street/Trail bikes, and they are very popular. BMW's big GS1200 has even been used in around the world rides...most famous on the show "Long Way Around".
   

 Finally, few motorcycles have had the impact of this one. Known for basically small motorcycles Honda's 750 Four changed the game for those companies. Amazingly powerful and reliable for the day, the 750 Four lead to changes in motorcycling which still ring today many years later. This bike had a chain drive, kickstart and was air cooled. Current in-line four versions are usually water-cooled and still exist in a number of sizes. This bike though is no longer made by Honda, though they still do make in-line fours which remains a very popular engine type .

  

Uptown on Christmas Eve (December 24, 2011)

 Yesterdays post was mostly about motorcycles, but riding is also very much (if not more so) about the places we ride to. Today, took a ride to Charlotte, NC which is one of my favorite places to ride, as it is a very interesting city. Stopped at Bank of America Stadium where Tampa Bay played Carolina on a cooler than yesterday Christmas Eve. Good crowd there though a little light from what I have seen, did not go to the game, but enjoyed wandering around for a bit. That is a very nice and fairly new football stadium, have been to a number of games there with my son.

This is the Mint Museum in Uptown Charlotte, and as you can see, its decked out for the holiday! There are a number of museums in Charlotte covering a wide range of interests from art, to history to science. I have been to a number of them (but not all, not yet). There is a lot to see and do in Charlotte and on any given day its not a choice of what one will do, but rather what one can fit in. It is a fun place to explore and I like wandering around the streets seeing what there is to see, and what is new. Charlotte seems to be constantly evolving and changing and is never the same from day to day.

This is the new Duke Power Building-it just went up a couple of years ago. Neat building as they do all sorts of things at night with the lights on the building, and it puts on quite a light show during the course of the evening. Like to watch that when I am downtown (or Uptown as it is known) at night.
Charlotte has a lot of fine places to eat and especially fun out on the outskirts of the city. There are a lot of interesting neighborhoods with a lot of different character. Many have changed from what they were having been redeveloped or redesigned. One of the best examples is North Davidson or NoDa as it is known-once a declining textile area it became a mecca for artists, and is now one of the most hip and happening parts of the city. I have been there a number of times, and there are a few past posts with photos of that area.
I enjoy the rides around Charlotte, my only problem the last few years is so many places to see...so little time.
Want to take this time to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas! May it be a wonderful time of joy for each and every one of you!

Badin Lake/RideNow (December 23, 2011)

 Photo was taken by Phil of me on the Vulcan (that is his bike in the background) at Badin Lake on December 23. After a few days of rain, got out and enjoyed a nice ride-sunny as you can see, temperatures in the 60's which is really, really nice for late December. Enjoyed a fine ride, hit some backroads and that is fun especially considering the "getting off from work and last minute shopping" holiday traffic near the malls. Badin is a very nice old town, and enjoyed that along with a ride though Rockwell, NC. Nice two lanes past farms, fields, and small businesses....covered close to 80 miles.  

 Phil and I met up at RideNow which is located in Concord, NC. Had to keep driving off salesmen- I know you guys are in the business of selling bikes, but I already got one from you a while back, and its fine. Also fine is the Kawasaki Ninja 250. Did you know that is Kawasaki's best selling motorcycle? Well it is, and with good reason. A nice vertical twin engine, easy maintenance, remarkable gas mileage, and a stone cold reliable engine. Great bike for a beginner, or for someone looking for cheap, reliable and fun transportation. Honda has joined the 250 types with its new single, and Suzuki also makes a nice 250 as well.
 

I had a Yamaha 350 a few years ago, this is the FZ-1 (1 as in 1000cc) but liked how it was done in the old Yamaha racing colors (though as I remember my RD-250 was yellow). A nice bike, not a sportbike but what is known as a "naked" or standard. Has a more upright riding position than the sportbikes, and though it uses a sportbike engine, it is de-tuned from those types. It also has less fairing than the sport bikes, which saves on repair if it falls over, and also makes jobs such as changing oil easier. Good compromise between raw naked power and also has a much more comfortable riding position.  

 I am rather fond of the Vulcan line (as I ride one) and these are two nice cruisers. At the left is the Kawasaki Vaquero (which means cowboy in Spanish) and to its right the Kawasaki Voyager. Both have 1700cc engines, V-twin, and water cooled. The Vaquero is a "bagger", while the Voyager is a full out touring bike along the line of many of the HD line, though not as equipped as the Honda Gold Wing. On either of these motorcycles long distance touring would be a piece of cake-they would take you anyplace you would want to go-coast to coast without a problem.   

Finally, this is a Kawasaki ZX-14. I am 99% sure this bike is a modified version, but it looked too sharp to pass up. The 2012 version of this bike is currently the king of horsepower, having been designed to out muscle the famous Suzuki Hayabusa. A detuned version of the ZX-14 is the engine used in the Kawasaki Concours sport touring motorcycle. Kawasaki unlike many of the other Japanese manufacturers has been both upgrading their older bikes as well as coming up with brand new models as well during the current recession. The are currently the best selling Japanese brand of motorcycles in the US.
So, thought I would share some of the bikes that got my attention today, and also a photo from the ride today. Plan tomorrow is to get out again, this time to roll into Charlotte, NC...one of my favorite places to ride, and one of my favorite cities in the region. That will be the subject of my next post! 

Formerly Davis Harley-Davidson, and News of the 2012 Motorcycle Racing Season

 Prior to the ride in the previous post, I made a stop on my journey to Davis Harley-Davidson in Burlington, NC. Harley is the iconic American motorcycle and have a few examples of them seen in this photo sitting outside on that December 10 day. Noted that the classic motorcycles they had on display (and they can still be seen in photos at the Davis Harley-Davidson web site) are gone. I also met the (very nice) new owner, for it has been sold and is going to be "Down Home Harley-Davidson" (again, according to the web site) in the very near future. Has been a lot of changes in motorcycle dealerships in the last few years and this is another example. 

However, this is another example of change this time to Harley-Davidson. For the last 10 years Harley-Davidson has been making motorcycles with water cooled engines. There are a number of reasons for that; water cooled engines make greater and more reliable power, nd burn much cleaner reducing emissions. Formerly the Revolution engine displaced 1130cc, they are now up to 1250cc and around 125 hp. Some of the much higher priced CVO models of Harley-Davidson may come close in horsepower, but pound for pound the V-Rod line is the most powerful stock Harley-Davidson line out there. 10 years ago the V-Rod was part of a push to appeal to a wider world market as well as to appeal to a younger one. This bike as well as other models that have come out in the last few years has hit the mark on those goals in many cases.

In the upcoming year I hope to bring more news of motorcycle events both in the Carolinas and Virginia but also of national interest. Be looking for those each month. Unfortunately, this being wintertime, such events are few and far between. Rides tend to be shorter and certainly slower (I made some comments on winter riding in my previous post). Of course when its too cold to ride its not too cold to enjoy some motorcycle racing. Speed Channel covers a number of motorcycle races, and they can also be seen on a number of national tv channels from time to time. Of course the first big event which goes along with Daytona Bike Week is the Daytona 200 in Florida. This year the races will run from March 15-17. The AMA road racing series used to have a stop in Virginia, but that was cancelled last year, and they will not return for 2012 either apparently. Flat track racing and motocross will also be held during Daytona's "Speed Week." Other series events of note include MotoGP which starts April 8 in Qatar but also has two American races- July 29 at Laguna Seca, and August 19 at Indianapolis.  If you like Supercross (you will believe a motorcycle can fly!) that season gets underway in Anaheim, Ca on January 7. AMA Pro Motocross starts May 19. As noted, AMA Flat Track racing starts at Daytona during Speed Week. I have been to quite a few events in that series-went to a few races at Louisville Downs in Louisville, Kentucky when younger, and also went to the two events held at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor  Speedway. Unfortunately, neither track holds those events any longer, and there are no NC or Virginia stops for what is some great racing.

Finally, a final note. He is an NBA Hall of Famer, perhaps the greatest player to play the game. Now the owner of the NBA Charlotte Bobcats Michael Jordan is also the owner of Michael Jordan Motorsports and fields a two bike team in Superbike. The team has won a number of races, and will be heading back to the racetrack in 2012.

Be looking for some more upcoming events in future posts, and as always-ride safe!

Brrr.......Cold Riding in Carolina

 Winter does have a bite to it, as does late fall. Took a ride on December 11 around the Concord, NC area. Amazingly I was not the only motorcyclist out on that day-there were a few people out riding (counting two other motorcycles; one Harley and one Honda VTX) along with a few hardy scooter types. I wanted to go by Charlotte Motor Speedway, like this spot. The tree is near the main entrance (the pole in the center with lines running down) which is neat when lit up. Drivers handprints and shoe impressions are in that walkway-aka "The Walk of Fame:"  

 The track has a great Christmas display, I hope to share some photos of that in a later visit this Christmas on my "Richmond and Me" blog. As for my ride, here I am dressed for the conditions. It was sunny, but it was barely above 30. Bare skin can quickly freeze, light layers, help keep you warm, I have my face covered, and cold weather gloves and boots. I also wore lined insulated jeans. Late fall/early winter riding is possible, but you have to fully dress for conditions. Though not a factor on this ride, also important to keep an eye on changing conditions. Rain when temperatures can quickly turn to ice and snow.

It was a bright sunny day though on my December 11 ride. I like Sunday mornings, traffic tends to be really light, and it is a good time to cruise down some quiet streets. It also is very important in late fall/winter to be especially careful-motorcycles can be a rare thing on the roads, and "out of sight" is often "out of mind". Always a good idea to be careful around other vehicles-even more so in the "off season". Riding this time of year is fun, as long as you consider such things as wind chill. For the ride I took I took it slower than usual and did not cover a great distance. This time of year a short ride is often better than no ride at all.
While on my way to Carolina this weekend, made a stop at Davis Harley-Davidson and enjoyed my visit there. That will be the subject of my next post very soon! Thanks for visiting, and ride safe!