LAst Ride of September 2012 (September 30, 2012)

I had one hell of a week! Work was a ordeal to be endured; especially Friday September 28 with a workday that extended into 1:45AM September 29 (and that previous day started at 11AM). Got a few hours sleep and drove to Carolina. The 29th was a rainy day, and a good day to rest and recover with my two border collies and my wonderful wife Patty.

Sunday was clear and bright, and a bit cool (I love Fall!) and a good day for a ride. Got out on the Vulcan early Sunday morning; when the traffic is light and the air is crisp (at least this time of year). As for mileage did not get but around 40 miles; wanted to spend a lot of time at home before I headed back to Richmond the same day. I did take this photo near Speedway Harley-Davidson (which did not open till noon, and I was further down the road. Went and visited a riding buddy during the course of my ride, and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. Not a big long ride, but a beautiful day to ride - and a short ride is better than no ride at all!
Had a great time, nothing quite takes the edge off like a great ride on a motorcycle, and I am ready to get back to work and give it another go. Looking forward to this weekend, there are a number of events in Virginia this weekend in the Richmond area, but will be heading (weather permitting of course), via car (the bike is in North Carolina) to the Open House this Saturday at Colonial Harley-Davidson in Prince George, VA. That will be my first stop in what should be a very eventful day. Have been to that before and had a very good time last time; course they have a lot going on, and being around bikers is always a good thing. I will be bringing that event to this site with my next post (again, weather permitting) to this site and some other Saturday October 6 Richmond events to my  "Richmond and Me" blog with my next posts. 

Last Ride Summer 2012 (September 15, 2012)

 Took a ride on Saturday, September 15, first stop was in University City, NC which is the home to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (aka UNCC). Seen here very near completion is McColl-Richardson Field, the home to UNCC football. It cost some $47 million to build and will seat 15,000 (can be expanded to 40,000 seats). UNCC will have its first ever football game there on August 31, 2013. The campus is pretty impressive, over the last few years they have been on a massive (think I read over $500 million) building program, and the stadium is just one of the many additions of late.   

Took this photo from the seat of the Vulcan, sitting on NC-29 that is a look at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, NC in the background. The track will be the site of one of the races in the Chase (as well as a Nationwide race) coming up in October. During the year three races (the October 500 mile race, the Coca-Cola 600 race earlier in the year as well as the NASCAR All-Star Race), and the area is home to most of the race teams. I have quite a few photos from the shops in earlier posts. There are quite a few events held at the track, and at the other tracks nearby...in fact a drag race event was held at nearby Z-Max Dragway over the weekend.    

Finally, went to Concord Regional Airport (which is not far from the track) to see one of 13 remaining (out of 12,732 built during WWII) B-17's, which made a visit. Based on the B-17 Memphis Belle (which still exists, was brought back to the US during the war) this plane was flown in the movie (actual Memphis Belle is in non-flying condition). I am a big fan of flying and things that fly, and getting to see these remarkable historic aircraft is always a thrill for me. Wish I could fly on one of them, but at a cost of $425 a flight, that is a little steep for even me, but quite a few did get rides on the aircraft, and I am sure it was a remarkable thing.
Summer "officially" ends on September 22 this year, and I will not be back in town under after that date, so my next ride will be the first ride of fall 2012, and looking forward to that one. The ride was a short one, but a short ride is better than none at all, and did get to see some neat places and things during the ride, plus it was a great day to be out...not too hot, no humidity, and beautiful skies to ride under (and to gaze up at as well). Got to say that I will not miss summer too much - the heat was pretty close to brutal, and frankly I am looking forward to fall with some better riding conditions. Fall in North Carolina is a great and beautiful time to ride, and I plan to have some fun on motorcycles there, and some fun with motorcycles in the Richmond area this Fall.     

Labor Day Ride (September 3, 2012)

 Nice day once again, and once more I got the motorcycle out on the road, this time for a short ride around the Concord, NC area. Living as I do for much of the time in Richmond, VA, its good to explore around my home. I made a quick stop at the big massive Z-Max Dragway, which apparently is being used as a staging area for police and buses during the Democratic National Convention in nearby Charlotte, NC. In fact, this has been a big weekend there - already a number of things going on. Other than a quick pass through Charlotte I have avoided it due to all the street closings in the city. 

 I like this place off of Copperfield Road for all the flags. It used to be the phone company, what I believe is a call center purchased the building (Concord Telephone is now owned by Windstream by the way, and they do a fine job with the phones and internet, I am pretty pleased).  Always have wanted to stick the Vulcan in front of that, and did so today. Would have been nicer if the breeze was blowing - not just to bring the national flags out, but also to break up some of the humidity from the hurricane. We have had some good evening storms this week, but thankfully the weekdays were all sunny (if not and humid). Great riding though!

Last photo is a Yamaha R1 which I got a photo of in downtown Concord, NC. Though I know longer ride sportbikes, I still have a fond place in my heart for them, and they certainly were a hell of a rush.
As for me, sure had some great days riding. Best as I can figure over the days I was home, thanks to some great weather, and an understanding wife I got in something around 310 miles (give or take a very few). It was a remarkable four rides - saw some very good bikes, rode with some fun people, and just got out in the breeze which is always a fantastic thing. Weather has not been my friend last few visits home, but no complaints this extended visit.  

Sunday NC Ride (September 2, 2012)

Another ride on a sunny (so far) Sunday morning, September 2 - rode out to Davidson, NC. Very neat college town (school is very old, Woodrow Wilson, President of the US during WW I went to school there), and a fun place to ride. Just outside of the Lake Norman area, the school is a private (and very expensive) school, and it has a number of small businesses. It is attempting to limit development from larger stores (though there are a handful) there. Nice place to ride around with some neat places to eat and shop (though eating is more my thing than shopping).  

I just like the Cornelius Town Hall, which is just up NC115 from Davidson. Cornelius is a very nice town, though unlike Davidson it is heavily developed. Lots of really nice houses (and you can see one as well as some more photos from the ride on my "Richmond and Me" blog) but a fun place to explore. I like riding around Lake Norman (and in fact did that yesterday). I wanted to get some photos of the lake, but have a few on this blog, and besides, got to ride by some amazing houses yesterday and wanted to share something different on that page. As for this, love the old town halls around here, and this one is one of my favorites.    

This is Interstate Cycle, mentioned it was moving, and will probably do so before I get back to this area again. They sell Yamaha, Star, Suzuki and Victory Motorcycles, and have been at this location ever since I have been in the area. Nice to stop in there and check out the motorcycles, very laid back shop, and I like that. Sometimes I am looking at getting a new bike, sometimes I am just looking at new bikes - though I understand that selling is what they are about, not always wanting to get a new ride (really fond of the current one in fact). This shop is/has been a place to purchase-or to dream.   

Last stop was at Quaker Steak and Lube in Concord. I liked this bike, cause its a Kawasaki Vulcan 900 (little brother to the bike I ride, the Vulcan 1500) and it rotates (is attached to a motor above it) over the bar. Nice place with a motor vehicle theme, this section is dedicated to motorcycles. During the summer months they have a great bike night and when I am in town for it I like to drop by, as it is one of the larger ones in the region. I used to be a regular, but things have changed with the Richmond thing. Richmond though also has one, and they have a bike night too, though have not been out there yet. I hope to before my time in Richmond ends. 

Star Motorcycle Club Ride (September 1, 2012)

 Early (well 10am) at RideNow, got invited to the Star Motorcycle Club (Concord Chapter) ride. Before the ride, visited a bit, and got this photo of a Suzuki V-Strom DL-1000 Adventure bike; with the added bags on the back, brings the price over $10K. Nice bike, that engine is a classic (also the DL-650 which is a really good value). Adventure bikes are really picking up in sales, and there are a lot of good ones on the market. I read that they are one of the fastest growing parts of motorcycling right now, as sales start to pick up from the big decline of the last few years due to the economy.

 Here is the front part of the ride, which I photographed in Cornelius, NC. We were real close to (but did not stop at) Interstate Cycle which is moving to a new location. They sell Star Motorcycles, as well as Yamaha, and a few other brands. They also sell Victory, and that is a Victory (the blue bike) next to the bike ridden by my friend Phil (who is on the silver Star at the left). I do get a kick out of the Victory bikes, they have some remarkable styling (especially fond of the spaceship like Vision) but as I noted during a test ride (and riding near the guy at the right) clunky transmissions.  

This is at a fuel stop, better view of Phil (in the White Shirt). 9 rode on eight bikes, one couple, 6 guys and 2 women. We covered 101 miles in all, riding a long ride around the massive and very beautiful Lake Norman area. The lake is really impressive, but you will have to check some older posts for views of the lake, cause we did not stop other than this one stop. It was a very sunny and warm day, but a great ride with a fine bunch. Thanks to some extra days off work, I was able to make this ride, often I am on  my way to home from Richmond, VA on Saturdays, but have been here for a few days now. Nice to get my knees in the breeze with a great bunch of people.  

Motorcycles of Charlotte (August 31, 2012)

 Rode out to Motorcycles of Charlotte, which is located at Exit 1, off of I-77 near the NC/SC State Line. One of the nicest dealerships I have ever set foot in (and I have set foot in a few), and they sell a number of brands. One of those is Ducati, and this is the Ducati Diavel (which means Devil in Italian) seen at left. It is the Ducati version of a cruiser, though with that 1198cc, 162 hp engine, it will leave about any other cruiser out there in the dust. The dealership had the full line of bikes; including the new 1199, the Multistrada line, and of course a full line of Ducati Monsters.

At left is the Triumph Thunderbird, which is their take on a cruiser. Nice to see something (as with the Ducati) that is not the traditional V-twin (though the Ducati is a v-twin, its hardly traditional). Triumph is one of the oldest manufacturers out there, based in England, and they have a big line of bikes including the famous Speed Triples, the huge Rocket III (with the biggest production motor out there from a major manufacturer), and some old school classic bikes such as the Bonneville and the Triumph America. The company has really been taking off the last few years, and has some remarkable rides.  

 Speaking of taking off, BMW started off making aircraft engines, but is another old motorcycle manufacturer. Their bikes have changed a lot over the last few years. Known for Boxer twins (which are according to rumor going from air to water cooling in 2013) they now have a number of in-line fours (including the class leading S1000 sportbike) some of the best adventure bikes out there, and some remarkable touring bike. As touring bikes go, this might be the best of the best -the BMW K1600. Not only is is 1600cc, but it also in an in-line six. If you want to go across country this might be the best way to get there on two wheels (though the Honda Gold Wing is no slouch either). BMW is another old manufacturer, based in Germany, and their engineering is second to none. If you like a bike with "Bells and Whistles" , and on the cutting edge of technology, this is the brand you are looking for. They are also said to be among the most durable of motorcycles, known for very long life and reliability.

Finally, this is an MV Agusta. It is another in the long line of Italian racing bikes, with a long racing history. Harley-Davidson purchased this brand a few years ago, and then sold it back to the original owners. This is an older model (the legendary F4) but they also sell the newer models from the company. You need some big pockets to buy these bikes, but you will have something that will outperform virtually anything on the road on two wheels or four.
Had a great visit there, saw a number of bikes that are rare on the roads, plus the shop has a really nice lounge and was a fun place to visit. I shall return in the future to check it out again.   

Victory and Kawasaki (August 29, 2012)

 A few days back home in North Carolina, which is going to make for an interesting motorcycle period with some great rides and hopefully some interesting bikes. Seen at left, the new for 2013 Victory Boardwalk. It is the replacement for the Kingpin, and the first new cruiser in some time (along with the Judge, seen here a few weeks ago). The bike is powered by the Freedom 106 (1731cc) which is oil and air cooled, and has a claimed 92 hp. Nice looking bike, and think it is a nice addition to what is one of the most interesting group of motorcycles to be found. Victory is certainly raising the bar. 

 Of course, I am a big fan of Kawasaki Vulcan's (and have been an owner of one since 2005) so liked this bike outside. The Vulcan line has some interesting and popular motorcycles, and they have a good range of engine sizes. Most of them (as is this one, which I believe is the 900cc size) are water-cooled; which gives some real advantages over air cooled motorcycles. This bike was photographed, as were all the bikes on this page, at RideNow Powersports in Concord, NC. I made a quick stop there for a few minutes upon coming into town, mainly to see the Boardwalk, but also other bikes.      

Two very interesting Kawasaki's here; the first (at left in Orange) is the Z-1000. A legendary name, the current bike is said to be a fun ride indeed, with loads of power, and some unique styling. The bike has had some changes over the years, gone are the old "tuning fork" mufflers. In the background is a ZX-6R...one of the sportbikes offered by "Team Green".
Later this week, planning an interesting visit to what I am hearing is one of the most interesting motorcycle shops in Charlotte - will be my first visit to them at the new location, and that will be coming up very soon!