Back in the Saddle Again! (September 26, 2011)

Weather in Carolina has been awful this weekend, with some remarkable heavy (but badly needed) rain....Carolina Panthers game on Sunday was played in a monsoon. I was in Charlotte for the Carolina Hurricane pre-season game, that was indoors thankfully, but quite a pounding rain getting into the Time Warner Cable Arena. Between showers, got out and got the Vulcan from the shop. It has been ready for a few days, but could not get it due to being in Richmond (I live a unique life last few years) but finally got it back home. First thing I did was to clean the dirt off the bike, as it has been in the shop for a solid month.
Took it out for a brief ride after cleaning it, to blow the water out of it. Going to wax it in a little bit, but sure felt good to be riding again. To be sure was a short ride; conditions are not great for any sort of distance ride, and have a lot to do this morning. I sure have missed riding though, and it is good to have this back again. Will get out and get some nice fall riding in.
Weather killed some good plans; was looking forward to the BBQ thing at Tilley HD in Salisbury, NC on Saturday, but of course it was pouring rain when I went past that in the car. Amazing bad weather and not just in NC...this has been a wide area event. As the saying goes "into every life, a little rain must fall". In this case, it was a lot, still a great weekend, and the promise of things to come brightens my days ahead. Once again...let's ride!

Seen on the road (September 17-19)

While on the way to Louisville, saw these motorcycles rolling though Tennessee. This bunch was from Canada; was mostly Harley-Davidsons but included one Honda Shadow. Bike that was taking up the back was a trike. There are some beautiful roads in that area, and some great riding can be had. Some of my favorite roads to ride in North Carolina are mountain roads (speaking of riding, good news is that the bike is done at last, now hoping that when I get back to Carolina that the weather which the last few days has been wet to say the least) is dry long enough to get it home, or at least not too wet to where a drive is possible).
At a rest stop in Tennessee came across these bikers who were also doing some traveling on a beautiful day. This was on September 18 (previous photo on the 17th). The one bike is a Harley Davidson (in the background) an a Yamaha FJR 1300. For some reason have been seeing a lot of FJR 1300's of late. A nice touring motorcycle with a 1300cc 16 valve in-line four, the bike has a lot of nice features. As to the Harley, will have a few new 2012's to show off in my next post; Harley-Davidson has the new bikes out now, and as always they are fun to check out and see what "The Motor Company" is up to.
Saw this Harley-Davidson (you certainly would see it on the road, a good color for visibility) at a gas station in South Hill. There are bikers and then there are bikers...this guy was totally ready with a type of set up I have never seen...Harley for the open road, and bicycle for when he parks the HD. Certainly a unique set up, and this bike was mounted in an interesting way.
Enjoyed checking out the vehicles that I come across on the road, and often see some interesting bikes and groups when I do so. I have met some really interesting people on two wheels, and sometimes as seen here, even when I am not on two wheels. Motorcyclists are amazing people!

Down Time: Bikes in North Carolina

While in North Carolina on September 15, made a stop to check out the new motorcycles at RideNow in Concord, NC. My bike is still in the shop, but may be out and back in my hands this weekend! I ride a Kawasaki Vulcan, this is the Kawasaki Concours 14. The engine for this bike is the powerful ZX-14 engine, and it can really move the 688 pound bike with its 131 horsepower and 88 foot pounds of torque. This bike also uses shaft drive. The bike is a very good (I have read) sport touring motorcycle I am a big fan of the ZX-14, but would this version in my case to be a lot more practical for the manner in which I ride.
In a previous review I rode a couple of Victory Motorcycles, but did not get to ride the Victory Vision. This bike might be a 2012: Victory like Harley-Davidson come out with the new models earlier than foreign manufacturers. The Victory is a fine motorcycle though. I for sure like (though many don't) the sci-fi look of the bike, it is certainly a very interesting motorcycle. I found Victory transmissions to be clunky in the two bikes I rode a few weeks ago, can't speak to this one's, but found the v-twin engines Victory makes to be very impressive. Victory also has a very good customer satisfaction rating, they seem to be here to stay.
Does not currently seem to be in the 2012 Harley-Davidson lineup, but the Rocker models (there were two at one time) were/are interesting bikes. The seat has a trick feature; the passenger pad unfolds from under it. Of course this is one of the "factory chopper" bikes-Honda also had a bike like this (and still does) called the Fury. At any case, the HD came with the 1584cc Twin Cam 96B engine, a 90mm front tire, and a 240mm in the rear. A sharp looking bike, but not sure how it would handle with the extended front end (choppers tend to be great in a straight line, but curvy roads can be interesting. I have seen some 2012 models, will be showing them in a upcoming post. Thanks for visiting my page.

Asheville Trip/News from the World of Motorcycling (September 3-4,2011)

Couple of photos here from the Asheville trip over September 3-4. My bike is still in the shop, but the news from that is good; price will not be bad for the repair (was an electrical problem), and it should be out in a few days. That will be fantastic! My wife Patty and I took the Versa (that is in the background) but Asheville is a motorcycle paradise. I saw a slew of bikes such as this Harley Davidson trike (a lot of trikes for some reason) and motorcycles of all types. Enjoyed that, and though in a car, nothing like a long ride (in my case, 100 miles on September 4) on the remarkable Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a wonderful time, and always a wonderful place to visit.
Second photo is a Victory Motorcycle and this time a Honda Gold Wing Trike. I have some more photos on my Richmond and Me blog of some of the views there-just remarkable. Course had a good place to stay, wonderful weather, and a great woman to spend the time with.
Do have some news of note. Was reading the new issue (October 11, 2011) of Motorcyclist-one of my favorite motorcycle magazines. Did not know that Kawasaki no longer builds touring bikes or cruisers at its plants in Maryville, Missouri or Lincoln, Nebraska..that ended in 2006 (however the Vulcan I ride is a 2005, so I assume it was made there). Kawasaki does make its ATV's in the US at those factories according to the article. Honda of course ended production at its Marysville, Ohio factory in 2009; Gold Wings and Cruisers were made there. Great article on where motorcycles are made-some of the places were a real surprise to me. Check out the issue for more information.
Of note- the OCC event scheduled for October 22 has been cancelled-no reason given. Shame, I was looking forward to attending that one. Lots of other events coming up, and will be covering some of them in a future post. Always be sure to check with the event though before you ride-things can and do change, especially with motorcycles where weather can be a very important factor. Ride safe, I hope to be joining you all again real soon!

Post Storm Day in the RVA (August 28, 2011)

Signs of life after "the big storm" which took out power for like two thirds (no kidding) of Richmond from Hurricane Irene. After checking out some of the damage, hard to figure that frankly. I have seen more after a good thunderstorm. At any case, the next day was real nice, and saw the owner of this bike get in a nice ride. My ride is still sitting in North Carolina, in the shop, but I am hopeful that the problem (electrical) will be found soon, and repairs will be made in the near future. Miss riding but glad that so many are enjoying getting out, and fun to see people riding in Virginia. Not all power to be had is electrical.
Having been out of electricity for some 24 hours though (it went out Saturday at 4:15pm, came back Sunday around 4pm) while out saw this Suzuki sport bike (1000cc) in the truck. Liked the "Hemidog" decal on the truck too. A lot of motorcycle news of late. Good news on the legal front. In Virginia HB 1981 was passed and signed which now makes it legal for motorcycles, mopeds, and bicyclists to go through a red light under two conditions. Must come to a complete stop and must sit though two complete light cycles. In NC, HB 381 makes "motorcycle only" police check points illegal. Was in one of those, was "checking helmets" but turned into a "What Can we Find" deal (as it turned out for me and three friends...it was nothing).
Read this month that Big Dog Motorcycles went out of business. One of the biggest "clone" motorcycle makers, and used S+S Cycle engines in their bikes.
Saw that motorcycle exhaust maker Yoshimura has made a pipe called the R-77 which meets EPA standards (83 db) as well as being lighter than stock systems, and more power is created than with the stock pipe. While the AMA is raising cain about the laws signed in California on noise, since 1983 EPA regulations has stated "no onroad motorcycle shall produce noise in excess of 83 decibels". Loud pipes may save lives (though I doubt that) but they certainly do a lot to piss of many non-riders, and lead to bans on motorcycles, as well as increased enforcement of noise laws.
Read quite a bit (and good to see back) Erik Buell who has for sale his 1190RS, which uses a punched out version of the Rotax built 1125 Helicon engine. The 1190cc version puts out 160hp and thanks to a generous use of carbon fiber weighs in at 384 pounds. A limited production bike, it is expensive, but on a par with some of the leading bikes out there.
Speaking of new bikes, the 2012's are hitting the show room floors. Will be checking some of those out in the next few weeks as they reach the dealerships.
One of my favorite shows, "Sons of Anarchy" starts its new season on FX on September 6 at 10 PM.
That is all I have for now, will keep you posted on this and other news. Ride Safe!

Home again in NC (August 20-23, 2011)

Had a good time in North Carolina. Took this photo of a pair of Harley-Davidson motorcycles (and one rider on the phone) at a rest stop on I-85 on the way to my house. There, finally got my bike in the shop. Problems have been rare, and I do the vast majority of work on my bike, but an electrical problem cropped up, and that will require an expert look. For the time being, I will be looking at motorcycling outside of riding. Hopefully it will not be a huge financial hit, and won't prove to be a major problem. Unfortunately, it does not seem to be the battery. Hope to be back on the road soon with the bike though, looking forward to some great fall rides.
On the way back, passing though Salisbury, NC saw this trio riding down I-85 on a quiet August 23 morning. Did read some interesting articles in Motorcyclist this month ( they have a great web site, I also subscribe to the magazine) that Harley is considering adding watercooling to its air cooled bikes. The bikes will retain the look, and the water cooling will be largely hidden. Air cooled bikes take a hit in both performance (heat takes a toll), reliability (ditto), and also in air quality. Most motorcycles (and even HD with its V-Rod line) have embraced the benefits of water cooled engines. It will be interesting to see what comes out of that. Hope that this weekend I can get into some motorcycle items of note here in the Richmond area, where I will be spending the weekend. I also have a trip planned to the mountains and am looking forward to that, and will be sharing photos of that trip. A motorcycle mecca of sorts, sure to be some great motorcycle photos there, plus some of one of the best riding areas in the US. Thanks for visiting my page!

Ride to Uptown Charlotte (August 7, 2011)

I took a ride to Uptown Charlotte on Sunday August 7. One of my favorite towns, and until the recession hit, it was one of the fastest growing cities in the US. Nice to explore on a Sunday, I got off the bike and took a walk around the area. Charlotte is a beautiful place, and a place where change happens rapidly and sometimes it seems without warning. During my walk, saw a few places that were brand new under construction, and that is not uncommon to find in that city. I love the big buildings, and enjoy seeing what is new. Charlotte is a city where many people both live and work downtown (or Uptown as the locals call it) and that makes for an interesting vibe.
I took this photo from the bike at Bruton Smith Blvd and NC 29. That is the intersection where Charlotte Motor Speedway is located, and that is the sign to it at the right. Unfortunately while in Charlotte, I started to have some electrical problems with the motorcycle. I talked quite a bit in previous posts about the importance of maintenance, and it is. However, sometimes things just break. Thankfully, the bike did get me home, though once home it did not start again. It could be a battery problem, though not sure at this time. For sure, being an electrical problem, it will be going to the shop for these repairs, and I will be reporting on what they find and (hopefully) fix in a future report. For the time being though, the riding is done for a bit.
Another view of one of the big buildings in Charlotte, NC. The city has had some remarkable changes over the years I have been there. I have more photos both on my Richmond and Me blog, and also on my Photo Page, a link to which can be found on this page. Thanks for visiting my blog, I enjoy sharing it with you!