Bikes in Colonial Heights (January 4, 2014)

 Did not get to ride, my girlfriend got a Harley-Davidson gift certificate over Christmas (from yours truly) and we went to redeem it at Colonial Harley-Davidson at Colonial Heights, VA. Nice Harley dealer, though a lot of the bikes have that usual Harley pricetag. Pretty expensive (though it tends to vary from shop to shop) but some remarkable motorcycles. This is one of the CVO models, with the bigger engine and a fantastic paint job, plus a lot of bells and whistles. A beautiful thing, and they have a lot of bikes like that at the dealer. I do like to check them out.

Went to Commonwealth Powersports (within sight of Colonial Harley-Davidson) and took a look at some of the Victory Motorcycles. Interesting brand, in that they are also made in the USA. Last year Victory brought out three new Indian Motorcycles to rave reviews from their purchase of that brand. I have ridden Victory bikes (they have an aggressive test ride program) and they are impressive motorcycles. Tend to be priced between the Japanese bikes and the Harley-Davidson's. I find the to be a bit clunky sounding shifting (least the ones I have ridden) but said to be reliable.     

This is a Yamaha (aka Star) FZ-9, an improvement (again according to the reviews) of the FZ-8 of last year. Priced at a remarkable $7,990 it has 106 horsepower and weighs 417 pounds. Engine is a water cooled 847cc triple. Not a bad deal. Some of the Japanese manufacturers (Yamaha and Honda especially) are really lowering the price of motorcycles. Commonwealth also had some Vulcan motorcycles (from 2011 and 2012) with zero miles at prices way below normal.
Had a great time checking out the new rides. Very happy with my motorcycle, and not in  the market right now, but always interesting to see what is out there, and happening in the amazing world of motorcycling.