So what do you think? Do you like it?
Posts Tagged ‘Sportbike’
How is this LOGO for a Motorcycle Blog?
Posted: July 31, 2015 in MotorcycleTags: blog, Café Racer, Harley, Harley Davidson, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, motorcycle touring, sport bike, Sportbike
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Motorcycle and Car Show
Posted: July 20, 2015 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, RallyTags: Bike Show, Café Racer, car show, custom car, custom motorcycle, Harley Davidson, Maryland, MD, Sportbike, tradesmen MC
1st Place Custom, 3rd Place Dresser (yup dresser)
The wife and I went to a motorcycle and car show this past weekend. The Tradesmen Motorcycle Club hosted the event to raise money for the Cystic Fibroses Foundation. The show itself was in rural Maryland, you would never know we were 50 miles or so from downtown Washington, DC due to all the countryside we saw. We road through miles of farmland when “SHA’ZAM” a small strip mall appeared in the community of Monrovia, MD.
On the ride out the weather was great but that was hiding the fact that the temp was going to be in the upper 90s… and boy did it! We drank a lot of water during the day and as much as we like the show we were looking forward to the ride home and cool showers!
As for the show itself there were about 25 cars and about 20 motorcycles on display. The one thing that surprised me the most was…what is up with Batman? There were two Batman themed Camaro’s one of which had a matching motorcycle.
As you can tell from the pictures below there were some really nice cars and bikes in attendance. The wife and I both favorite and voted for the same vehicles, in particular we loved the late 1960s Pontiac Grand Prix Convertible and the Chevy El Camino.
We also met a guy taking a leap into the motorcycle industry and starting his own shop. He is creating his company, “Sick Sledz”, and is hoping to open it in this part of Maryland in the near future… we wish him luck!
We did quite well in the contest part of the bike show! We won two trophies for the Army bike. The first trophy kind of surprised us, 3rd place in the “Dresser” category! That had to be people selecting the wrong spot on the voting form or not knowing what a dresser really looks like.. oh well.
Our bike did take 1st place in the custom motorcycle category. We have done well in the few shows we have presented and we have not got around to finishing it yet. There are a few more things we want to do to call it finished!
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- Batman 1
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- Batman 2
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- Sick Sledz entry
Motorcycle Product Review: Viking Bags Sport Tail Bag
Posted: July 12, 2015 in Motorcycle, motorcycle touring, Product ReviewsTags: Café Racer, Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle luggage, motorcycle touring, sport bike, sport tail bag, Sportbike, viking bags
First I have to say that I am a bit late on this motorcycle product review. I have had the bag for a few months but I wanted to wait until we could really put the Viking Bag Sport Tail Bag through a real test. (Also available at Motorcycle House)
If you follow this blog you know we just finished a 1700 mile tour from our home in northern Virginia to Myrtle Beach, SC then to the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains before heading home. This bag (their model AXE-23) was strapped to the top of our tour-pak for every mile of the trip.
We gave this bag a real work out. We experienced conditions of 100+F degree heat, multiple rain and thunderstorms, twisty mountain roads and this bag hung right in there.
OK, so what do I think about the bag. While the video will give you better details here are some of the major + and – of the bag.
+ It fits the Harley Davidson Air Wing Tour-Pak Chrome Luggage Rack really nicely.
+ The bungee cord tie downs really gave the bag a snug fit to the luggage rack. I NEVER had concerns of it coming loose.
+ The hooks for the bungee cords are coated, which provides added protection against scrapes and scuffs to chrome or paint.
+ It holds a LOT more than it would appear to hold. The design of the expansion sides gives the bag an extra 6 inches of space. Look at the video and you will see why their design is better than any other expansion side that I have seen.
+ The rain cover works well and did not come off in 70+ MPH wind.
+ The no-mar, anti-skid bottom did not scuff the chrome and helped hold it in place.
– The clips to add soft saddle bags. I would have liked to have had a female connector to use them as a secondary tie down or the ability to remove them completely.
– The side pocket zippers had tuck in spots to prevent wind “tinkle” but none of the others had that option.
– The bungee cords had little caps to protect the ends of the hooks and thus your paint and chrome, it think that was a great touch for protecting our bikes. But, two of the four tips came off during the ride.
During our ride I was considering giving the bag a 4 star rating. But, after we got home and I had time to reflect on the bag AND get my wife’s input I have no problem at all giving the Sport Tail Bag (AXE-23) a 5 out 5 rating.
That extra star came about when I realized that I was thinking of giving the bag away before the ride began and after it was over we decided that we are going to keep it for our future rides!
You can checkout some of their other products (like sissy bar bags) here.
Motorcycle TV: Orange County Choppers – American Xtreme
Posted: July 9, 2015 in Motorcycle TVTags: A&e network, Café Racer, custom motorcycle, Harley Davidson, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, motorcycle TV, OCC, orange County Choppers, Sportbike
With the dearth of motorcycle related TV shows we can count on OCC to pop back on our sets. Love it or hate it OCC is coming back this time on the A&E Network.
While there is nothing on their website I have seen several adverts for the new show. You can check out the OCC-American Xtreme Facebook page for a little background.
The most obvious change from the older OCC variants to this Xtreme version is …. There is no Paul Jr in the cast. It looks like all the other regulars are back including Senior, Rick, Nick, Jason, and Jim Quin. Paul Jr’s brother Mikey is listed as part of the cast as well, which is good as Mikey always puts a spin on things that you might not expect.
But that is not the only big casting news Rusty Coones, late of Sons of Anarchy, is on the show as well. Guess the producers think the show needs another bit of spice. Rusty has a long past with motorcycles beyond SOA to include owing his own bike shop and running with the Hells Angles.
I have loved and barely liked the different OCC shows. Regardless of your thoughts on the Teutuls at least we get some new Motorcycle TV.
Motorcycle TV: What’s in the Barn!
Posted: July 8, 2015 in Motorcycle news, Motorcycle TVTags: Café Racer, discovery channel, Harley Davidson, Indian motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle riding, museum, Sportbike, what’s in the barn, wheels through time
If you have not noticed there have been no new “What’s in the Barn” motorcycle TV shows. That is because it was canceled by the Discovery Channel.
I know this because I talked to Dale Walksler, star of the show, while I was on our motorcycle touring vacation. I met Dale when we stop at the “Wheels Through Time” motorcycle museum in Maggie Valley, NC.
My reviews were not five star but that was more due to the production not the content.
Motorcycle Ride: I took the wife to Paris
Posted: June 22, 2015 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, motorcycle touringTags: Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle touring, paris, Sportbike, VA, Virginia
Paris, Virginia!
The city of lights!
Out and About on our Motorcycle
Posted: June 9, 2015 in C&O Canal, Motorcycle, Motorcycle RidesTags: Electra Glide Ultra Limited, Harley Davidson, Maryland, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, Motorcycle Ride, motorcycle touring, Sportbike, Virginia, West Virginia
Last Sunday morning Debbie and I jumped on the Ultra Limited (I think I am going to call it Big Blue) for a day ride. With no real destination in mind we thought about hitting a couple spots on the C&O Canal. If you have been following this blog you know I am slowly documenting those spots along the canal assessable by motorcycle.
Old school McDonalds.
We left the house about 9AM heading west. We stopped for a bit of breakfast at a McDonalds along Route 9 near Charles Town, WV. As you can see in the photo it is one of those restaurants designed to look like an old school McDonalds, pretty cool.
After filling out tanks (including Big Blue’s) we continued west on WV Route 9 then north on Interstate 81 then west on Interstate 70. Normally we like the back roads much more than the Interstate but today we thought it would be better on the highway. Pulling off into Hancock, Md we begin looking for the stops on the Canal but also found some other cool things as well, like the huge anti-aircraft missile in front of a Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) building.
We found both stops along the C&O, the Tonoloway stop and the Hancock Visitors Center. The visitor’s center was very hard to find as it is not well signed and the road into the park was practically invisible unless you are looking for it as we were.
Heading back east we wanted to stop at one additional canal stop (4 Locks) and we did but not the one we were looking for. Again the signage was bad and we happened upon C&O Canal Dam #5 only because I noticed a street called Dam #5 Road (quite imaginative) and the fact that I knew there was a C&O dam in the general area. But the fact we did not find the area we were looking for was no big deal as the area was great riding, rolling hills, great farmland views all made up for not finding the site.
After looking about Dam #5 we mounted up and headed for home. On the way home we started seeing hundreds of motorcycles heading north and west along our route. When we stopped for lunch we asked a couple who were riding if they know what was occurring. Turns out it was the aftermath of “Operation God Bless America” a ride from New Castle, PA to the Veterans Hospital in Martinsburg, WV. We have never heard of this particular ride before but with, according to the couple to which we spoke, over 2000 bikes it is one we will check out in the future.
Unfortunately we had to head home to some yard work. But, as you can tell by the pictures, we had a good time on our 200+ mile day trip.
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- I would rather ride the bike!
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- Just outside Hancock MD
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- Me in front of Dam #5
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- Crossing the Shenandoah River
Unboxing my new motorcycle Helmet
Posted: May 31, 2015 in Motorcycle, motorcycle safety, motorcycle touring, Product ReviewsTags: Harley Davidson, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle helmet, motorcycle safety, motorcycle touring, nolan n104 evo, nolan n104 helmet, Sportbike
The Nolan N104 Evo.
Very Cool Video…. Motorcycle Surfing
Posted: May 24, 2015 in Motorcycle, motorcycle safetyTags: Café Racer, harley davdison, indian larry, Motorcycle, motorcycle blog, motorcycle safety, motorcycle surfing, scott winn, Sportbike
I am not sure what to I think of this video.
A VERY well done short film by Scott Winn captures some very expressive moments of these guys “surfing”. The score and editing make this look like something that all riders should do…but we all understand how dangerous this type of stunting can become.
It is the way Indian Larry died!
Motorcycle Show: Finish the Race Car and Bike Show
Posted: April 14, 2015 in custom motorcycle, MotorcycleTags: army motorcycle, Bike Show, Café Racer, Finish the Race Ministries car and bike show., Harley, Indian motorcycle, Motorcycle, motorcycle show, sport bike, Sportbike
This past weekend I rode my “Army Motorcycle” to the “Finish the Race Ministries” car and bike show. The show was held in the parking lot of the Calvary Temple Church in Sterling, Virginia. The day was wonderful for a car and motorcycle show! Warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze. But as I used the remains of last year’s sun block I did get a mild sunburn hanging out in the parking lot.
There was over 100 cars and at least 35 bikes entered in the show. The cars ranged from the hopped up, rusty patina shop trucks to Bentley’s. There were a lot of Corvettes ranging from the 1950s to the new Stingray’s. And there was everything in between including a Studebaker pickup, something I have never seen before.
In the bike category there was also a large gamut of entries. Sport bikes, a couple of vintage bikes, third generation Indians, choppers and of course Harley Davidson’s. All the bikes in the show were nice and well keep motorcycles. The winners were selected by judges and attendees of the show and I was fortunate to win the People’s Choice award for the show!
I JUST WANT 2 RIDE!! 