Demo Rides; Victory Motorcycle(s) July 9, 2011

Certainly not a professional motorcycle reviewer, and in fact this was my first test ride event at RideNow Powersports in Concord, NC. Victory Motorcycles brought their demo truck. Road a pair of bikes, photo at left is the second I rode, which was the Cross Country. All the Victory line has the 106 cubic inch engine which is rated at 97 hp, with 113 foot pounds of torque. Hydraulic lifters are also standard in this engine. The Cross County was the second Victory I rode, and I found that engine to move it along quite well. Noted the Speedometer had a gear indicator built into it, and liked that (do not have that feature on my Kawasaki Vulcan) though its not a big deal.
Photo here is from my first ride, the Victory Jackpot. Bike had a big wide rear tire, and a real skinny front tire. As the woman leading the ride (one of Victory's reps noted) handling with that combination was a bit wild. I also noted on this, and on the Cross Country, that the transmission is really noisy. Big meaty clunks were a part of riding it, and it was rather strange. If loud pipes save lives, then nothing will save lives like a Victory Transmission. The Jackpot had a nice seating position though, with footpegs and the brakes were really good. It was a smooth bike, and as I noted it had a lot of good grunt; really moved along well and quickly.
The Jackpot is seen here. Love the styling of the Victory line, with a sort of factory custom look. Bike also had a very good sound to it, clutch pull was fine. Mentioned the gear indicator on the speedo, liked the placement of that between the handlebars, and the amount of information that you could get from that. Did not get up to highway speeds on the tour, but did get a few bursts up near 60; vibration was never bad, and the bike was not very buzzy. I would like to have tried this bike with a better tire combination, this one was not the best for handling. Also wonder of the cost of replacing that big rear tire on the bike's back wheel.
Looking here though the windshield of the Cross Country. Again, the same mount position of the speedo. This one though had a tachometer built into it. I think the windshield was an accessory, the web site shows a different set up. Being 6'2" got a lot of buffeting from it, coming off the top, which I did not like. Of course, I don't ride with a windshield, so it was a different thing anyhow for me to do.
Like the Jackpot, the Vibration was fine on this bike, again the transmission was very clunky noise wise. On this model, getting it into neutral was not as easy as the first one; took some doing at times.
Overall, it was a neat experience checking out these motorcycles. They are beautiful bikes, and well built, a different sort of thing. Not sure I am a big fan of air and (in the case of these) oil cooled motorcycles, but many people are. I like the connection they have with custom bike builders, and great to bring the bikes on tour and let people ride them. I enjoyed riding both of these motorcycles.

Bikes and Planes at the Carolinas Aviation Museum (July 8, 2011)

Took this photo at the Carolinas Aviation Museum on Charlotte, NC ride, though this is at the airport viewing area which we rode to after visiting the museum. It is a great area at Charlotte Douglas International Airport to watch planes takeoff (and sometimes land). The airport is one of the busiest in the US, and the busiest in North Carolina, and is the hub airport for US Airways. On the day we rode it was a very hot and humid day with a lot of haze, but a great ride and a good time as it always is whenever I ride with a good friend, on fine motorcycles, and get to check out some amazing aircraft. That to me is a combination that can't be beat!
The museum has a fine collection of aircraft such as this F-4S Phantom. The Phantom was a Vietnam era fighter bomber. There is quite a collection of aircraft, though many of them have been moved to an outside area due to the arrival of US Airways Flight 1549. That plane seen below was the famous "Miracle on the Hudson" plane which was flown into the Hudson River on January 15, 2009 when both engines failed after striking a number of Canadian geese. All 155 on the plane were rescued from the river. The plane arrived at the museum by truck on June 10, 2011, and will be on display at the museum. Restoration is being done by US Airways and Airbus mechanics.














On the way back from the museum, we took a ride though Charlotte, NC where I snapped this photo. A great city to explore, it is a fun town, and always enjoy rides though the area. Though we did not have a lot of time to ride around following our adventures at the airport, we had a nice ride and look very forward to the next one. For the record, the museum is open 10-4 pm Monday-Friday, 10-5PM on Saturday, and from 1-5pm on Sunday, though it is closed some holidays. You can get more information from the web site, as well as information on ticket prices. You can also get directions there. It is well worth the price, and is a very interesting place to visit.

Cornelius/Huntersville, NC (July 5, 2011)

Ok, a bit out of order photo wise, but a good ride to Huntersville, and Cornelius, NC. Both are really neat areas of the "Charlotte area" with a lot of things to see. For instance, finally came across this place at left, and amazingly it was Michael Waltrip Racing in Cornelius, NC. It is easy to find there, though I just came across it. Address is at 20310 Chartwell Center Drive in Cornelius, NC. Unlike many of the race shops they charge admission, though told you get amazing access for that price. I did not tour it this time, more due to time available than cost (will do so at a future date). It is open weekdays only from 9-5, and seemed to have a good crowd there.
Seen at left is Mac's Speed Shop, one of the many bbq places to be found in North Carolina. I like the location in Charlotte, got to this one before it was open, again, as was the case with Waltrip Racing, I just stumbled across it. It is right across the street from the race shop. Also nearby is Gators, was a favorite restaurant of my family in University City, but it closed a few years ago, this is a new store. I rode out along Lake Norman, where I took the photo of the boats. Lake Norman is really cool; a huge lake, and there is a lot of development around it. I like the places there, and always nice to ride around the water.














I took a ride out to Birkdale Village which is in Huntersville, NC. Nice place with a number of stores/shops, also apartments there. Those type of developments are really springing up in NC. Think a lot of those appeal to what are known as "halfbacks". Northerners who moved to Florida and found the cost and the heat to be more than they figured on. It is a really nice development.
Finally, went by Interstate Cycle in Cornelius, NC. Nice bike shop, which deals mainly with Yamaha (also Star which is a division of Yamaha), and Suzuki motorcycles. Nice bike shop with some very friendly people. They like motorcycles there, and it shows. Told it is a great place to get a bike, not that familiar with it, as I never have purchased from them, but will give them a good look next time "down the road." Speaking of down the road, got some more riding to do, hope you all have good and safe rides. Thanks for visiting!

Charlotte Vulcan Riders

On Saturday, July 3, prior to my motorcycle maintenance project (see previous post) I visited with the Charlotte Vulcan Riders. From just a few short years, the chapter (which is Chapter 1-7 of the Vulcan Riders Association) has grown by leaps and bounds. In fact, for the second year in a row they are hosting the 5th Annual Vulcan Rally, which will again be held in Robbinsville, NC. The rally location will be Kickstand Lodge there, and the location in the NC mountains also is very close to the legendary "Tail of the Dragon". Though I will be unable to attend this rally, I look forward to news and photos from friends there. It will be a great time.
It was great to see so many good friends, I have been on a couple of rides with them; unfortunately due to my current life situation (in a sort of limbo between Richmond, VA and Charlotte, NC) with work, I don't get to ride with them as often as I would like. They are a great riding club, as well as having some awesome gatherings of other sorts. If you are looking for a fine bunch of guys and gals to hit the open roads with (and there are few finer roads to ride than those of North and South Carolina) this group is well worthy of your attention. I hope before the Summer/Fall is out to make a few rides with them, they are a ton of fun!

The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (July 2 and 3, 2011)

Not my bike, this is a pre-North Carolina built (and they have been sold now to Polaris, so that factory will be closing) Indian with an S+S engine (came out with that before they starting making their own engine. Best of luck with this classic brand to Polaris (they also make Victory Motorcycles by the way).
Saw this during the test ride (the second one actually) following two days of motorcycle maintenance. Take care of your bike, and it will take care of you. Had a few "two year things" and some other items to do on the Vulcan (which is my ride) this weekend. On Saturday; I changed the oil. Though the mileage is not due, had some 2,000 miles on an old bit of oil in the engine, thought it a good idea to freshen it up with some new. I changed the rear gear oil in the shaft drive, again for the same reason as the oil change. Anti-freeze had been in the bike for two years, time for some new Honda anti-freeze, I like that because it is pre-mixed and is made for motorcycle engines. Took the bike after that for a short 20 mile ride around the area to make sure nothing bad happened, and nothing lit up; but all was perfect.
On Sunday morning, I put new brake pads on the front wheel of the Vulcan. Thankfully I had a manual, and a great Vulcan web site to help, ran into a few confusing issues, but it all worked out, and got those on. Good idea to test them out, had to pump them up a bit before they worked after I had pushed the Pistons in on the calipers (part of the installation). I also bled the brakes front and rear (rear brakes are still good with a bit over 50% left on them), and the clutch fluid as well. Then I took the bike for a short 35 mile ride, and again, it was all very good. No problems and this bike is ready for a few days of some serious and hopefully interesting rides.
I am going to make sure everything is still tight before the next ride, and will also be lubing the throttle cable tomorrow, as well as checking the tire pressures . That will keep it up to date. Good maintenance is important, and vital for that matter both for the protection of the investment in the bike, and also for your own personal safety.

Tilley Harley-Davidson, July 1, 2011

On the way home from Virginia, made a stop at Tilley's Harley-Davidson.It is located in Salisbury, NC just off of I-85 (just follow the signs). The store is one of two (there is also another location in Statesville, NC. Seen at right is a Screaming Eagle Harley-Davidson V-Rod. Basically uprated customs of some (varies from year to year) Harley-Davidson models; they tend to increase performance of the bikes so done. This is Harley's highest performance model, the V-Rod series has the most horsepower of any of the Harley line (which is due to the end of the Buell line of motorcycles) and also is Harley's only water cooled motorcycle engine.
Seen here is the Harley-Davidson Blackline. It has the air cooled Twin Cam 96B engine, split drag bars, and is the typical cruiser configuration. This bike is nice in that it uses smaller tires (moving away from the ultra wide tires that have been popular the last few years. Read a review of the bike in Motorcyclist this month; they noted it is rather "pricy" and at around $15K I could see that. Harley makes some lower priced bikes (mostly in the 883/1200 cc "Sportster line up) but they tend to be small for a tall person. Back in the day, the 883 was considered a big bike, now its considered a girls bike (which in the movie Wild Hogs was a point of some humor)
Harley though is beefing up that image somewhat with the XR1200X which is a more performance based version of the Sportster. In fact they have quite a line up of Sportster based bikes. This one at left (which is the XR1200X) uses the Evolution engine. Styling is based on the XR-750. Buell did a lot with these engines which was the basis of most of their line, but they still tend to be underpowered in comparision with many other brands of motorcycles. Still this one is said to have some better than average handling (for an HD) and pretty good performance for an air cooled motor. I sure like the look of this bike, though small for a 6'2' in rider.
Seen here is the outside of the Tilley Harley-Davidson Store. Ed Tilley had a long career as a car and motorcycle racer including a number of championships in 84,85 and 86 on a bike that had the neat name of "Lucifer's Hammer" (and has reached somewhat legendary status), and a three year championship run in HD Twin Sports in 91,92,93. At one time Ed also worked with the NASCAR legend Richard Petty. Among locals, the dealership is held in high regard, know a few who have purchased bikes from them, and say they will again.
The dealership is having what it calls the "Biker Blues BBQ Rally and BBQ Classic September 23-24, 2011 at the dealership. There will be bands, "Favorite beverages", vendors, food, a bike show, a poker run (those are a blast) and other fun things to see and do during the two day event. Check the Tilley Harley-Davidson web site for more information on the dealership, and the upcoming event.

VA State Hog Rally, June 25, 2011

Found out about this, and had to check it out, even though in Richmond I am "sans Motorcycle". Still a day spent with bikers is a good day, riding or not. This was a pretty cool event, though most of it was only open to "registered riders". However, the festivities at Colonial Harley-Davidson were, and so I went by there around noon on the last day of the rally. All the photos were taken there, including the one at left. I liked that bike which to me is what a chopper should be...long and (especially) lean. There is nothing extra on that motorcycle (other than the front fender) but its a fine looking bike, and sounded good too!
Thought this was one of the finest looking customs there. Ape Hanger handlebars seem to be the thing of late (in fact both Harley-Davidson and Victory Motorcycles have models which come standard with those type of bars. This bike really had a nice look to it. Nice air breather cover as well, and the paint job just flat rocked. I also liked the pipes on this bike, though did not get to hear it run. That is getting to be quite the problem though; the "loud pipes save lives" bunch is really creating some issues for the motorcycle community. Been a real increase with noise complaints from non-bikers, and those will have a real negative impact if they continue.
Got a kick out of this pair, one is a Kawasaki Vulcan, and one is a Honda Shadow. Since those were the types of my current and previous bike, I liked seeing that. Lucky in that both motorcycles were (and still are...knock on wood) trouble free other than routine maintenance. I am grateful for that, of course a lot of times you make your own luck. Before I ride next time in NC (just a few short days from now) I have some maintenance that I will be doing on the Vulcan. Take care of your ride, and your ride will take care of you. Most of the work that needs to be done on a regular basis is simple and relatively low cost. It pays to do it, or to have that work done!
I liked this photo, just a few of the many bikes at the event. The place had a really good crowd, and there were some biker games (such as the ever popular slow ride) going on when I was there. Harley Owners Group is a fine organization, and they put on some really cool events. Been on a few rides with them, Harley dealerships are also very, very supportive of the groups and they put on some very fun events. Even though I don't ride a Harley, I do enjoy visiting with them, and taking part in what I can. While very supportive of their brand, most are pretty friendly, and take a "its not what you ride, its that you ride" attitude.
Seen here are just a few of the booths at Colonial Harley-Davidson. Many of the people on this hot day were in the (air conditioned) dealership. The Colonial Heights Police Department was there to make sure nothing got out of hand, but it was a really calm crowd while I was there.
While riding would have been better, it was a great time there, and enjoyed the event. If I am in town and it comes here again, I will be back for this.
Later in the day, went to the Virginia Aviation Museum, where I saw some great planes. Love aviation, and enjoyed that a great deal, can read about that in my "Richmond and Me" blog.