Not sure why but I ran across two pictures of Gorman Harley Davidson motorcycle dealership (Shreveport, LA) on two different websites within 10 minutes of each other. A quick web search revealed that in opened in 1946 and that was about it.
Do you guys know anything about Gorman HD?
Have loved motorcycles all my life.
I started riding motorcycles, according to my mom, at about age 5. Most of my best childhood memories have a motorcycle in them somewhere. When it came time to purchase my High School class ring I, like everyone else, flipped through books looking at options. The moment I spotted the motorcycle was the moment I knew what I was going to have.
Now to insure that mom and dad were on board, and also because I did not see any sense in it, I eschewed the standard gold for a non-precious metal. I also went for a more “common place” stone. Mom and dad approved and now, cough cough, a few years later you get to see my class ring too.
Generic French Motorcycle Protest
In a bid to reduce pollution in the city, the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo (a Socialist of course) is attempting to ban all motorcycle produced before 2000. She is also going to ban cars built before 1996. From what I can tell, as there has been little English reporting on this (or at least that is what Google reports), she pulled the dates for those bans from her …. Thin air.
This ban is all about age as it does not allow for upgrading your vehicles to current EU exhaust standards. But, if you cannot afford a new vehicle Paris will help you finance a new one or provide you accommodation on public transport.
So from my limited results research I was able to discern the following:
Of course, as with all socialist and progressives, their good intentions are more important than if there are any actual results. I would be surprised if she is basing her proposed ban on actual science (or what is passing for it today). I would be very interested in seeing the air quality results 1 year after the ban is imposed. I am sure it will report that the air in Paris is 10,000% better now that the terrible vehicles have been removed…..no matter what the instrumentation really reports. Of course the real reason is for the state to be in your business and direct your life as they see fit and make you pay for that privilage.
This ban will go into effect April 2015 unless it is defeated by the city council on the 9th of February. The French Federation of Angry Bikers (I did not make that up) is going to attempt to shut down the roadways in Paris on the 8th of February in protest. Let us hope this craziness is stopped before it spreads to the rest of the world.
What the likelihood of completing these goals…. quite high I hope! None of these are to terribly difficult, if I chose to make some time. But, time is always an issue, I either make time to do this or let life get in the way. Hopefully I will choose right this year.
Ride the Appalachian Waters Scenic Byway – This is one of the roads on my motorcycle bucket list. It would be a weekend trip for us if we left early on both Saturday and Sunday and we would have an overnight stay with my Mother.
Take at least 1 long trip with wife – A few years ago we planned a trip that would take us to Niagara Falls, across Canada to the Harley Davidson Museum, south to Kansas to visit our daughter and then home. Life conspired to prevent that trip, but something like that should be on order for this year.
Iron butt 1000 – I-81 to south of Knoxville ,TN and back in 24 hours or less.
Practice more – work on my slow speed skills, tighten up my left and right circles.
Ride more miles then 2014 – between all the bikes last year we had a bit over 7500 miles. That should not be too hard to overcome just if I commute on the bikes a little more often. Oh, and take the long way home in the evenings. The way I keep track of my season mileage is through the “B” trip meter. Early each year I reset the “B” meter to 0 so I know the total for the year while using the “A” meter for anything else.
Attend a HOG Rally for at least 1 day – Depending on where the rallies for VA/WV/MD/DE/PA are I should be able to make that happen.
C and O Canal – knock out a bunch of those stops this year. If you have read this blog for a while you noticed I have attempted to document those stops that are accessible via motorcycle. I did not do that many last year.
I am sure there are other things that I should add to the list but the more I add the more I might regret not completing. 🙂
Dealernews has announced their 2014 Top 100 Dealers. Dealerships from 30 states (and two from Canada) were recognized for their outstanding efforts.
Out of the Top 100 Harley Davidson (42) had the largest number of dealers listed while Suzuki and Yamaha tied for second place (37 each). Harley Davidson was also awarded the Vehicle Brand of the Year.
The big winner was Motorcycle Mall of Belleville, NJ when it was selected as the best overall dealer of 2014. Dealernews had this to say about Motorcycle Mall:
“The dealership regularly hosts movie nights, and puts on stunt shows and works closely with Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider courses, which in turn helps bring younger customers in. The dealership’s average customer age is 30, an enviable number in an industry where buyers aging out is a legitimate concern. At Motorcycle Mall, they sell the experience of coming to the dealership as much as of riding itself.”
“We want to make this a destination where people want to come here and come back. We want people to associate riding with Motorcycle Mall. We’re your local dealer and we’ll take care of you. This isn’t, ‘Buy a bike and we’ll see you later.’ It’s trying to build that customer loyalty.”
Some of the other awards presented by Dealernews were:
Community Outreach: Frieze Harley-Davidson, O’Fallon, Ill., tied with Woodstock Harley-Davidson.
Service Department Excellence: Cyclewise / Ducati Vermont, New Haven, Vt.
Customer Service: Performance PowerSports, Seneca, S.C.
Best Dealer to Work for: GO AZ Motorcycles, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Best Event: Motorcycle Mall
Best Display: Off-Road Express West
Best Exterior: Sound Harley-Davidson
Online Promotion: Road Track and Trail, Big Bend, Wis.
Print Media Campaign: Indian Victory Charlotte, Lowell, N.C.
Integrated Media Campaign: A.D. Farrow Harley-Davidson
Social Media Campaign: McHenry Harley-Davidson
Parts Department Excellence: Rexburg Motorsports
Congrats to all the dealers!
Bubba Blackwell at the Gas Monkey Garage.
If you watch Fast n’ Loud you know that Richard and Arron do hot motorcycles in addition to hot cars. So I am not surprised when they have a motorcycle themed show or event.
Looks like, according to Bubba’s Facebook page, that the Gas Monkeys will host stunt man extraordinaire Bubba Blackwell. I think the show is going to air on the 5th of January, but check your local listing to be sure.
After a great period of motorcycle themed TV there has been a real dearth of shows featuring our avocation lately. As we all know ratings rule and that is way I always mention shows that feature motorcycles, motorcyclists or bikers in any significant way.
Just some things that peaked by interest this week.
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 