NC Music Factory, Charlotte and NoDa (January 28, 2012)

 Photo here is the Time Warner Amphitheater at The NC Music Factory. One of the many places to check out a live act (and this one being outdoor has a nice view of Uptown in the background) it also has a number of indoor music places, as well as restaurants and bars. I also read that it has a band practice facility and a recording studio as well. I am pretty sure that this project is largely a rework of a previous use facility. One thing is sure, it is a massive place. Lots of parking to be found there, and a lot of variety. From what I am reading it is a popular place to check out local and national music.    

I came there to check it out, also to see this place which is VBGB. It got a good review in the Charlotte Observer-has a wide selection of craft beers. I checked out one while I was there, and was nice to have a staff with some knowledge of what they were serving (with samples if you are not sure) and a very nice beer deck. The sign over the place (this is actually the back, where the deck is located) was from a former Charlotte coffee factory. Nice to see the city recycle some of its history at long last. This facility is really something to see, I will be back to VBGB and will bring some friends along as well later this year.   

 Glass building at left is the Charlotte Convention Center. It is not far from the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and I believe that will be the site of the 2012 Democratic National Convention which is going to be held in Charlotte this year. Charlotte is certainly an interesting town and on a "winter" day under blue skies with a temperature of 65 degrees, it was very nice indeed. I had talked about dressing for winter weather when riding, but to be honest have had to do that very, very few times this winter. As winters go, this one is rapidly turning into one of my favorites in North Carolina. This was just a remarkable day.

I made a stop in North Davidson, which is part of Charlotte. It was once a mill town section, and pretty run down when artists attracted to the cheap rent opened some studios and galleries. It also is a popular place to hear music, has some really good restaurants, still some fine art galleries (and a good gallery crawl on many weekends). With popularity though rents have been going up, and also some new (and higher priced) condos and apartments. So the character of the neighborhood is changing some. There is also a local brewery there, and they make some really fine beer. NoDa as it is known is just outside of Charlotte-again with a great view of Uptown.

This is one of the newer condo/apartment buildings. I liked the art on the side, you see a lot of that in NoDa. You see a lot of people wandering around; there are places such as "The Dog Bar" (and yes, like in Richmond, you can bring your dog or dogs in) , There is a mill there which was converted to apartments a few years ago, but had to be abandoned (and the residents moved) due to termites. One thing this area does like to do is to convert the old mills in the area to housing (except for the Pillowtex plants in Kannapolis..those were all torn down). Some of the old mills are also used as office buildings-so its not all tear down in the area. One thing I really enjoy about Charlotte is that is constantly changing-there is always something new to see, something different to check out, and new things to see and explore. It is a fun city to ride in, and one of my favorite places to go in the Carolinas.  

Ride Now and the Saturday Ride (January 28, 2012)

 I am not 100% sure, think this is the 2012 version of the Kawasaki Ninja 650. Since the earlier one was the 650R (and no R on this one) pretty sure this is it. Nice bike though and getting great reviews. A lot of changes to the bike-it is almost a whole new version. Still uses the 649cc 8 valve DOHC vertical twin mated to a six speed transmission. That engine puts out 71 hp and 47 lb-ft of torque. In these high fuel price times, the bike gets around 50 mph...not bad at all. Plus it lists for $7499. The bike weight is around 461 pounds and the bike has a 4.2 gallon fuel tank. The same engine is also used in the 
Kawasaki Versys.  
                                                                                    Vulcan below is a Conversion kit trike-Kawasaki does not make a trike model, though Harley-Davidson does. It is made from a kit and many of them are first rate. I loved the rear spoked wheels on this conversion. I saw the Vulcan, and the Ninja 650 at Ride Now in Concord, NC.

Here is my Kawasaki Vulcan which is in front of the NC Music Factory in Charlotte, NC. My next post will have some photos of that music, food and entertainment complex. Made my first visit to it and was very impressed with all it has to offer. A lot of work and dreams have gone into it, and it is one massive undertaking in Uptown Charlotte. As for the ride itself, could not have asked for a better day to ride. A whole lot of motorcycles were out on a January 28, 2012 ride with temperatures in the mid-60s and under Carolina blue skies. In fact, to this point so far, there has been almost no "winter" in this winter 2012.
Speaking of upcoming events....read that the Kawasaki Street Demo will be held in Richmond, VA April 14-15 (that is confirmed at the Kawasaki web site) though it does not list the location in Richmond, VA. I also have been told that Star Motorcycles will bring a demo trailer to Ride Now Motorsports in Concord, NC April 21 (but that is not confirmed). Went to the Victory Motorcycles demo rides last fall in Concord (was the subject of a previous post) and they are a great chance to actually ride the bikes that the companies make. A motorcycle license is required, plus a certain level of protective equipment (helmets and other gear...check with the local venue where the event is held before showing up). 

A Cold Sunday Ride to Kannapolis, NC (January 15, 2012)

 I had not really planned it, with temperatures in the 40's, but under sunny skies, and well dressed for the ride, took a quick run out to Kannapolis, NC. I love those Sunday morning rides-interesting quote I remember reading applies" I would rather be on my motorcycle, thinking about God instead of in church, thinking about my motorcycle". Came across this in what was the former Cannon Village (now part of the NC Research Center) which is the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Closed on this Sunday, but worth a future visit. I believe this is pretty new though I had not been there for a while.

This is my Vulcan in front of the NC Research Center. Formerly in this area was Cannon Village (later Pillowtex) which was a massive (and I mean MASSIVE) complex of mills-some umpteen million square feet and employed thousands in its many buildings. The NC Research Center was built a few years ago-so far it has not been the big job creator that everyone hoped for in the Kannapolis area. It does remain a huge investment and hopefully the reality will someday match the promises. This is the largest building, there are others. It is designed to do bio-tech research and the facilities are absolutely first rate!   

I took this photo at Cannon Village (at least that it what it used to be called). There are still a number of stores there, also some buildings for the research center, and even a first class restaurant in the area. From Spring to late Fall a first rate car show is held on some Saturday nights all along this street. On a cold Sunday its a quiet and quite nice place to enjoy a ride (and yeah I was parked when I took this photo). As I have noted did not make a huge ride on this day, and certainly went the slow way to get there and back. Speed adds to wind chill, but it sure was good to get out at least for a while on my very fine motorcycle. I enjoyed the ride!
Got a bit of riding news today when I got back to Virginia after a great long weekend in North Carolina. Saw that C. Todd Gilbert, a representative in the House of Delegates on January 11, 2012 introduced HB-187 which would ban motorcycle only police checkpoints. In North Carolina HB 381 which also bans motorcycle only police checkpoints is already the law of the state. A couple of years ago, some friends and I were riding to a bike shop in Salisbury, NC and we came across one to "check that our helmets were DOT approved". Luckily we all were wearing "legal" helmets, and also had (which were required at the time) up to date inspection stickers. I thought that at the time it was just a witch hunt....(in fact seemed they also checked our licenses). We got off with little more than some lost time, but glad the NC bill is law, and also hopefully the bill will pass for my brothers and sisters who ride in Virginia. If you ride in Virginia, a letter to the House of Delegates or a call in support would not be a bad thing to do!            

Last Ride of 2011 (December 31, 2011)

One last photo for 2011, sitting on the Vulcan on the last day of 2011-went for one last ride. Actually did some visiting, saw a couple of friends from work, but did ride by Concord Mills and the Concord Regional Airport for a short while. Was just nice to get out, see some people, and to get a last ride in on a beautiful day. Got close to the mid-60's and as you can see was a fantastic day under clear blue skies.
One of the great things about living in North Carolina is that we get days like this even in the summer. Many years I have enjoyed some great riding, and I am looking forward to more great rides with some great people in 2012. There are a lot of things coming up, and I will keep you posted as well as I can.
Short notice but on January 6 in Charlotte, NC at Bojangles Arena-Arenacross will be run starting at 7:30. For more information, check the event web site, or check with the Bojangles Ticket Office. You will believe a motorcycle can fly!
Hope that everyone has a great 2012, thanks for visiting this page!
 

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!