Motorcycling in Asheville Part II (November 9, 2013)

As I mentioned in previous post, the BMW dealer in Asheville, NC has also added KTM motorcycles, and one can be seen here, an RC8. They make some very interesting motorcycles and of various types. Like BMW they are a technology driven company and have a number of very fine designs.
The RC8 seen here is in front of a bunch of BMW's -to be honest while I don't see a lot of BMW's as a rule, KTM's are even more rare, but sure are a beautiful bunch of motorcycles. Seem to have a lot of attention to fit and finish and some very interesting designs. 

 This is a KTM 690 Duke, a water cooled single cylinder motorcycle. Said to be a ton of fun to ride, and certainly a very cool looking bike like the simplicity that would be found in this motorcycle.
I like different designs that are coming out not just from KTM but also from other brands. It has been a long dry spell with new motorcycles, but good to see that a lot of new designs are coming out as the economy seems to be improving.
There are a lot of interesting bikes out there, but often it is not easy to actually see them.  

Finally as our trip ended, went to Chimney Rock and Lake Lure, NC on the way home, once again some of my favorite places to ride my motorcycles (took both the Honda 600 and the Vulcan there over the years) and there I did get to meet someone who rode a BMW touring bike with the in-line six engine. They are seen in this photo at the Visitor Center at Lake Lure. They were real happy with the bike, though they did not have it very long, but with all bikers showed me some of the features and I got to hear the sound of the six running (which was not at all loud, and that I think is a nice thing). Was a great weekend to be in Asheville for all of us.  

Motorcycling in Asheville, NC (November 9, 2013)

 No, this time I did not get to ride, went via car, but riding is never far from my mind, especially on these roads. Some of the best roads you can ever ride are found on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have only ridden (and driven) on the North Carolina sections, but yes...I have been here and many times. This biker was one of many I saw taking the ride. He got to see some amazing views and got in some fantastic riding. I loved riding and am looking forward to doing some in the Virginia sections of this amazing road. I have more photos of the views and the Asheville area on my Flickr photo page. 

My girlfriend and I (she also rides, her ride is a Harley-Davidson, I though ride a Kawasaki) but I am very impressed with the motorcycles from BMW and they have a very nice dealership in Asheville not far from The Biltmore Mansion (which I also saw while visiting there, and there will be some photos of that on my Richmond and Me page). They just started selling KTM motorcycles and they are pretty cool. This is one of the best sportbikes out there, the BMW S1000RR and it is said to be one remarkable ride. Gets really good reviews by the motorcycle press but best review was from a guy who had one who described it with one word....wow!

 Red bike is a K1600GT, one of the big touring bikes from BMW. It has the fairly new (couple of years I think) in-line six engines. Fully water cooled, and also said to be a great motorcycle and one of the best touring bikes out there. Honda Gold Wing owners and Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic riders may debate that though. It is a sharp looking motorcycle and comes with all sorts of bells and whistles to make your ride from Point A to Point B an epic event. Told it is a remarkable bike, though as of yet don't know anyone who rides one.

Like this: the R1200R, a pretty sporty ride and a nice looking motorcycle for those of us who like their bikes with a bit less wind protection. This one has the famous Boxer engine, which was both air and oil cooled, but they are now coming out with factory versions that have air and water cooling (though it is not common to all Boxer engines as of yet).
BMW was a former aviation company (the famous emblem is a propeller) and have also been making motorcycles for a long, long time. Though a bit on the expensive side, they tend to be technological marvels. Those who own them...love them.

Riding on a Midweek RVA Day (November 6)

 Short ride on a beautiful November 6 day, sunny and warmer than it has been (around 70) made for a great ride. Was a lot of road work going on, and some good backups, but did make it to Carytown where my bike sits next to an old bicycle and Galaxy Diner (I have eaten there and its good...but not today). While on Cary Street my motorcycle passed 28,000 miles, and still going strong. Sure enjoyed riding it, and got a "nice bike" comment today. Who says you need a Harley to be a biker. It has been a fine motorcycle, other than an oil leak (this year) which got fixed, its a great ride.   

This is the bridge to Brown's Isle in Richmond, and the Canal Walk. Rode around downtown and ended up there, nice area to explore (and plus had restrooms cause I had to pee) but good during the week....it gets a lot more crowded during the weekends. They hold a lot of special events there, and always seems to be something going on.
Place has a lot of history as does nearby Belle Isle which has over the centuries had a lot of changes including once being a Confederate Civil War Prison. Said to be haunted too, but never have seen any ghosts though would not mind it.

This was on display at the Tredegar Iron Works.+ Gold sort of plate at the left is from the CSS Virginia, and the black from the right is from the USS Monitor. Those two ironclad warships met in battle (neither could sink the other) and ended the era of wooden war ships (the CSS Virginia sank a number of wooden war ships before the Monitor got there). That is a fun place to explore and Tredegar was the armory of the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Did not get a lot of miles in on this ride, but it was a great day to be out, and sure make me smile for quite a long time. More to come this wonderful fall.

Bikes of the Urbanna Oyster Festival (November 2, 2013)

Went to Urbanna Oyster Festival on November 2, where I got these photos. Often its about my ride, but like checking out motorcycles in other places (and will be doing that again in a few days) .
This is a Boss Hoss, and I have seen a few of these over the years. I think though this is my first trike model. Interesting in that they have automobile engines and tend to be big heavy massive things. It is the kind of motorcycle that can really spin the tires-saw one once do a almost two block long burnout. I think (but not sure, will have to check on this) they are made in Georgia. Interesting rides! 
Also seen during the parade were these Virginia State Police Motorcyclists-both male and female. They did a bit of stunt riding-mostly very, very tight turns on those big Harley's. It was neat to see that many, especially as they were not behind me with the lights on. Seemed to be a happy bunch-and if my job involved riding motorcycles all day, I think I would be pretty damn happy too!    

Finally got this photo of some Shriners during the parade, and they also were doing a bit of stunt riding (though like with the cops, precision riding would be a better description)They were a fun bunch and seeing the bikes was a great deal of fun. I always try to take note of the motorcycles, and was fun to see these and others. A lot of people also rode in, it was beautiful weather for this event at Urbanna, Va, and had a blast there. 

Halloween Day Ride (October 31, 2013)

 Good day, not a very sunny one, but it was warm and a good time to get the motorcycle and me out on the streets of Richmond. Made a stop at Hollywood Cemetery to check out some of the sights including this grave of General George Pickett. Known for Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, he is buried there. I am sure that he would have liked having a few Kawasaki Vulcan's during his charge, but it was made mostly on foot, thru heavy cannon fire, and facing rifles from entrenched troops. I think hindsight being 20/20 that it was a very, very bad idea (not that the Civil War was a better one).

Made a stop at the Virginia History Museum...its a fun (and free) place to visit. This is a Richmond built Kline Car, one of the many cars from back in the day. Like motorcycles there used to be many, many brands, but over time they were replaced by the few found today. According to the sign, Ford's mass production technique put a lot of them out of business (and the Great Depression later on got a bunch of the rest. I also liked the old gas pump seen here as well. Nice museum, and has clean restrooms (not that I needed to stop you understand)   

Took this photo on Broad Street, heading to Church Hill where I had a quick lunch at Alamo BBQ. Ride had a lot of challenges, for one thing this must be "repave the roads of Richmond" month...lots of detours, but then again, glad to see that getting done. I rode to a few places, but with stops only ended up with some 25 miles. Do not have a lot of time, but a short ride is better than no ride, and I enjoyed it a great deal.
Skies were overcast, and gray, but as I noted it was warm, and stayed dry during the ride. It was a lot of fun to get out and put a smile on my face.  

Bikes of the Ville, and a Ride to Malvern Hill (October 13-17, and October 22)

 Took a vacation to Louisville to visit my brother who is very sick and also to see my grandkids. We took a walk while there and saw this very fine classic Kawasaki. Also known as the "Eddie Lawson" (named for a great rider who rode Kawasaki's with this color scheme) they are still often seen...and this is a very good example. In fact production just ended on these a few years ago. Fun to see some of these old bikes, and they really bring back a lot of memories. This is a good version of it, and enjoyed checking this one out during a fine day for a walk in Southern Indiana.

 Also in Southern Indiana, we took a drive to Joe Huber's Family Farm, where we got to pick some pumpkins and got some wine and food (also had a very fine dinner at the restaurant there with the family) and we also saw these motorcycles. There is no helmet law in Indiana so you see some (as was this couple) without a helmet though you also see many who do ride with them. When I lived there, and rode I wore a helmet.
Huber's is a very nice place, and spent a lot of time back in my younger days riding motorcycles down those twisty and very scenic roads. 

 Once again in Southern Indiana, while getting some candy at Schempff's Candy (a very old candy store in Southern Indiana, Kaye and I saw this Spyder. We also got to talk to the riders later (a husband and wife) and they showed us some of the storage compartments on the bike. Powered by a Rotax engine (they also made engines for other motorcycles and are also well known for their aircraft engines)  it is a very impressive machine. I liked checking this out, think if I was ever to get a trike this type would be the one that I would take a serious look at.  

 This is the new Ultra Classic with the High Output Engine, and it is partially water-cooled (the heads are water cooled) unlike the fully water cooled engine on the V-Rod line (the Revolution engine). The Radiators for the bike are surrounded by the crash bars, and also of note is that the headlight is a different design. There are a lot of changes this year, but this was the first of the new engine design that Kaye and I had seen. Think its a very cool idea and simular to the work BMW is doing with the Boxer engines (which are also adding water cooling though they were formerly oil cooled).
Saw this bike at Bluegrass Harley-Davidson in Louisville, Kentucky, which was very near the hotel we were staying at.Nice place and enjoyed the visit both to see the bike, the stay at the hotel, and a good lunch at the nearby Mellow Mushroom pizza place (some damn good food). The Louisville stay was a lot of fun and enjoyed a very good visit with my brother and family.   

 On October 22, for the first time in a long time took the Vulcan out for a ride. Took this photo at Church Hil, love this painting which looks even better with my bike in front of it. Church Hill is a very interesting neighborhood, and in fact stopped by Tony's new house which they just purchased there...they are working to get it all ready to move in.
Train is an interesting story...there were some tunnels in the Civil War era, after the war near here while attempting to open the tunnel a work crew and a train were buried in a tunnel cave in. They are all still in there to this day.   

Finally near the farthest point of the ride, a stop at Malvern Hill Battlefield just off of Highway 5 outside of Richmond. You can see some of the cannon's in the background. Was said to be one of the best uses of artillery during the Civil War.
Had worked on the bike not long ago, sure nice to have the new spark plugs in there as it was very smooth, and oil change sure makes it shift better. Like working on the bike, and try to keep maintenance up on it. That is so important, take care of your bike and it will take care of you. Was a nice ride on an overcast RVA day, covered a total of some 45 miles. 

Vulcan Maintenance (October 6, 2013)

 Got to be that time, and on a hot Sunday, under a tree, did a bit of routing maintenance on my motorcycle, checked out a few things, and did an oil filter change on the bike, and changed the spark plugs as part of the 4,000 mile service.
If you want your bike to take care of you, and to last, you have to take care of it. That means having the work done, or doing it yourself. I sort of go both directions-depending on the job I either do it, or have it done. My 2005 Vulcan 1500 Classic takes care of me, cause I take care of it. I hope to have a lot more rides on this very good motorcycle.  

 This is after the work and a good wash and wax job. Did not take all that much time, and frankly did not cost all that much money. Last year I had a garage (and or that matter a wife) but still remember how to do the work outside, and it all went well. Glad to have it all shiny and ready to ride again, and looking forward to some fine rides.
After putting all the things away from the work (and have some oil to recycle tomorrow) I decided to get out on it. So got my girlfriend her helmet and off we went to put a few miles on the bike. 

This is the bike at red light. Looks like new and I am glad to say ran real well too. Nothing like a set of new plugs (my V-twin needs four of them, go figure) and oil to put new life into the old girl.
It is a joy to ride this motorcycle, and hope that the work I have done gives me a few more years with her. Has been a good motorcycle over the past 8 years with only one problem (a leak out of a seal I did have repaired at the local Kawasaki dealer a few weeks ago) but other than that it has been a wonderful motorcycle over the last 28,000 miles (though this was done a bit early). Looking forward to the next ride(s) on the Vulcan.