HD of South Richmond

Would like to have been at VIR for the motorcycle races this weekend, but that was not in the cards unfortunately (this year anyhow). I did however make it out to HD of South Richmond which is located at 10011 Hull Street Road in Richmond, VA. Found it to be a nice friendly shop, apparently one of two if one goes by the very good web site. This one is not one of the "upgraded" stores, being in a shopping mall, but had a good collection of motorcycles, clothes, and a nice look to it. An Aerosmith (get well soon Steve Tyler...who fell off a stage at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally) video was playing on a big screen tv in the store.
They had a good selection of motorcycles in the store. Something I have not seen very often is one of the salesmen fired up one of the bikes on the sales floor, I thought that was pretty cool (and it was a new one not a used bike. I did get a real good look at the red XR-1200 at the bottom right; I have been to a few flat track races (in both Louisville, Kentucky and in Concord, NC) and really like that styling. Said to be the most powerful of Harley-Davidson air cooled bikes, and an interesting motorcycle to check out. Started out being an overseas model, but has been made to sell in America "by popular demand".
A very enjoyable visit, was neat to check out the bikes; being far from mine nice to be around the shop and checking out a few of the new 2010 models. Will be checking out many more motorcycle shops and events during my time here in Virginia.

Hot Riding in NC (August 8-10)

Actually, did not go riding with Ray in the first photo, he I ran into riding with a friend (can sort of see the other bike at far right) on Sunday at Three Monkey's in Harrisburg (stopped in with my wife for a quick order of Fried Pickles and a cold beverage). Ray rides a Kawasaki Vulcan Drifter. Due to the style had it done up as an Indian Motorcycle (sort of a tribute bike) and has had it a number of years. Used to work with Ray at the factory. I did get a ride in Sunday morning; had ridden to Harrisburg, NC. I really enjoy the Sunday morning rides in North Carolina; the traffic is light and the air is cool. That was a big deal this weekend...

Monday, I did go riding with Steve, who rides a 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. Like Ray, Steve was a former co-worker of mine, and also like Ray he took early retirement. This is his third bike; started with a Honda Sabre (1100), had a HD Wide Glide, and then went to this bike. Steve likes to ride a great deal, and especially likes long distance rides. We have been on many epic rides in the mountains of North Carolina, and have seen a lot of the state when we have done that (with a few rides in South Carolina thrown in). If you want to get some miles on the bikes, Steve is for sure the person to ride with.


Steve took this photo of me on the 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 1500 which is my ride. Monday was one of the hottest days of the year so far; with a heat index north of 100 degrees. While we usually make long rides, due to the heat we did not get out so long. We rode around Downtown Concord, and out on Old Concord/Salisbury Road; which has a number of twists and turns, plus is one of the most scenic roads in the local area. The heat though made it feel like we were riding face on into a blast furnace. Still though, when so much of my time is spent working in Richmond, Va...riding when you can is critical. I did enjoy the fact that rain did not come by for its visit this weekend. This has been a big year for storms in the Charlotte, NC area....good for the area which had been under a drought for the last few years, but not the best weather for motorcycling. I have been lucky though during my visits home; have missed few days due to rain in the day time (nighttime would be a different story).
No big rides, but riding is always a joy, especially when the motorcycle is not normally "close at hand." Enjoyed some good riding, and saw some interesting sights during the weekend. Even in the heat; always a joy to ride!

Motorcycling....Riding the Internet

With my bike in North Carolina (will be riding that in a few days) have been in Richmond doing some internet surfing. I am always looking for interesting events both in North Carolina, South Carolina (Charlotte is on the border of that state) and also in my part time home of Virginia. Have found a few good events here (such as the Saturday morning Childsavers Ride a few months ago....a massive gathering of bikers riding for a good cause), and always on the lookout for more.
Been looking at a lot of the new bikes coming out; as usual leading the pack is Harley-Davidson, and now Victory both of which have some new models (or in some cases new versions of older ones). One thing I got a kick out of is the Buell site.....the sport bike line of Harley-Davidson which is the brainchild of Erik Buell. Punch up Buell Motorcycles; and check out the video at his site on "The New 2010 Buell Blast". It is one of the funniest ads I have seen in a long, long time.
Also of interest is a trailer for the new movie "Tron". I remember the old one (a groundbreaking movie back in the day using computer animation). It was also a pretty good video game back in the early days of (good) video games. Trailer features the "light cycles" and is pretty cool.
Though there is not a lot of information on it (of yet) Honda has a site for the new 1200cc V-4 (apparently) sport bike coming out later this year. Its more of a teaser site, though a concept bike did show up at one of the bike shows last year. Always thought a lot of the V-4 Honda motorcycle engine. Some great bikes used that such as the Interceptor (which still uses an 800cc version), and it was even used in a very fine cruiser called the Magna (which was discontinued some years ago). Looking forward to seeing that bike; whatever it turns out to be.

Short Rides During a Three-Day Visit (July 25-27)

I really enjoy Sunday morning motorcycle rides. The streets are quiet and the traffic is light; both wonderful conditions on a ride. Along with that was some wonderful weather, the early morning cool, and the amazing blue skies. It was a really nice ride. Rode for an hour to Kannapolis, NC. That used to be a great mill town; with the giant Pillowtex complex. Now, its a town which is hoping for a new future with the NC Research Center. Those great buildings continue to go up on the site of the former textile mill buildings. Its a remarkable transformation.
Monday, I visited a friend from work; as fate would have it rode by the old factory which is ending production in Concord, NC today as I write this. A-shift (which I used to be on, now in Richmond working B-shift) was letting out for one of the last times. That will soon be a giant empty complex. Its for sale, think the asking price of the around 2500 acres is something like $500 million (give or take a few million). The loss will add a few thousand to the growing unemployment rolls in Concord, and will make for difficult times for many friends I worked with over the years.
Still, as I have found, life is full of changes, challenges and difficulties. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to take a ride. It does make for a fantastic escape. It was good to be out on the bike, and back home again!

Norton is back, and new bikes from Victory

While exploring the internet the other day, came across a bit of news I had to check out. Seems that in England, the Norton brand has been revived. Right now its one bike (aka Indian) but a second is in the works. Has a very classic look, a bit over a 900cc engine and you can see it at http://www.nortonmotorcycles.com. Right now its a limited (around 200 bikes) production run, and not yet available in the US, but interested in that. Saw a real nice Norton Commando at Velocity Motorcycles in Richmond, VA (previous post talks about that) and that is how I came to check on Norton. Back in the day, they were fast motorcycles.
Victory has put out its new 2010 motorcycles. Surprisingly during this recession they have a number of new models. Brought out two new touring models, also a new addition to the (lower cost) "8 Ball" lineup; a Hammer and the Vision have been added (others are versions of the Vegas, and a Kingpin version added earlier to the original 8-Ball) .
Its been a tough year for the motorcycle shops (at least for new bike sales). When I go into RideNow, its like getting swooped on by vultures (probably the same if not worse at new car dealierships, though have not been into any of those).
I did note that Louisville (mty former home town and the first stop in the "factory job world tour" I am currently on) is going after a DUI driver who killed a motorcyclist in a crash. The charge is MURDER, which is a positive in my book. Too often drivers get off with that "I did not see the motorcycle". However, as riders its important that we take charge of our own safety, and watch out for the other guy, and expect the unexpeced. Watch out for drivers on Cell Phones (they are in another world often, and are probably more dangerous than drunk drivers according to studies), and especially watch for cars turning left into your lane. Statistically, that is the most danger to riders on motorcycles...and it happens often.
Hope your rides are great, always ride safe!

Zero Motorcycles and the Future of Motorcycling

I have read about this bike in magazines such as Motorcyclist and on-line as well. This 2009 Zero X Electric Dirtbike is quite remarkable in many ways. I photographed it at Velocity Motorcycles in Richmond, Virginia yesterday. The designer of the bike (Neal Saiki) worked for NASA for many years, got into designing mountain bikes, and then took on this project. The bike has a weight of 151 pounds, the electric motor puts out 23bhp, and an impressive 50 lb-ft pounds of torque. Many of the components are from mountain bike suppliers, and the frame (fitting his aviation history) is aircraft grade aluminum. The bike provides almost instant full power and full torque. The battery pack is the heart of the design; weighing 45 pounds, the lithium-ion battery puts out 300 amps, which can get the bike up to 55 mph. Range is one to two hours depending on how it is ridden. No oil changes, no tune ups, no clutch....just twist the grip and go (and refueling is a recharge). Price is about $7450 or $9450 for the "extreme" model. In checking out the web site for Zero Motorcycles I have read that there is a street bike in the works as well.
Of course, I have also read that Vetrix (who makes an electric scooter) is on its last legs. Zero Motorcycles seems to be doing well, though the current fall in gasoline prices (and the recession) has to be taking a toll on sales (Harley-Davidson announced more layoffs this week due to the drop off in big bike motorcycle sales). Still, the Zero is a great and on-going advance in motorcycle technology.
Electric motorcycles are quickly becoming more than toys. An electric drag bike called Killacycle is running on two 1850 amp, 500 bhp total hp (800 lb.-ft of torque) at a speed of 174.05 mph at 7.89 seconds. This is 1.02 seconds less than the NHRA Pro-stock motorcycle ET record! Plus it does it on 7 cents worth of electricity, getting a recharge after each run which takes 4 minutes!
The bikes will continue to improve, battery technology will as well. Fuel prices, while down now will eventually be heading back up. I believe that electric motorcycles will eventually give remarkable performance, and lower the cost both of fuel and maintenance (got to remember no oil changes or valve adjustments on electric bikes) and still be something remarkable to ride.
This technology will be worth following!

Velocity Motorcycles

Among my adventures in Richmond today was a very good visit to Velocity Motorcycles which is located on The Boulevard in Richmond, Virginia (just up the road from The Diamond, and directly across from Buz and Ned's...both of which I also took a look at). Velocity really looked like a good shop to visit. For one thing they have a good number of classic bikes, and also they have some interesting brands that they sell. I found the people there very friendly, and were very nice about my photo taking. I took quite a few motorcycle photos. They had some old Honda, BSA, Norton, Ducati, and some newer used bikes (such as a very nice BMW as well).
I have seen a lot of Russian made Ural motorcycles, but all the others had the sidecar attached. This one was neat in that it did not. I have heard two stories about the Ural. I do know it was based on a WWII era model BMW. Some have said that the Russians copied it from captured German Army models, others that BMW gave Russia the old design having a newer one in the works. At any case a great blend of old and new. Much of the bike has been updated over the years with better electronics and brakes. I am told that they need to be kept up with maintenance wise, but are easy to work on, and pretty solid rides.
As for the Royal Enfield, that was an old British make, which somehow ended up remaining in production in India for the past few years. Like the Ural, the bikes have been updated over the years, getting more modern components. This is a more modern version (and that is another Royal Enfield in the window) of the bike. Like the Ural not the kind of bike for high power rides, but a very inexpensive way to get into motorcycling. As a bonus both brands are very unique, I have seen them but not a great many of them. One drawback would be that dealers could be hard to come across if you break down far from home.

Velocity also sells Hysung motorcycles (nice and up and coming manufacturer from South Korea), and also sells the new US made Zero Motorcycle. Zero is really cool in that its all-electric, but its no toy playbike ; has some really good performance.
It was a great visit, and really enjoyed the time spent there. I will be making additional trips from time to time. Another bonus, they rent motorcycles there (as mine is in North Carolina, not out of the question that I will do some riding in Virginia while here which would be great).
As a bonus, got the motorcycle magazine "Motorcycle Times" and that was fun to read too (always like the free ones). Next post will be on the Zero Motorcycle, be fun to give some of the details on that bike! Until then, ride safe!