Posts Tagged ‘Sportster’

Motorcycle News: An entire family gets to go to a national championship

Posted: July 30, 2021 in Motorcycle news, Motorcycle racing
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ijustwant2ride.com

Hey guys, I am in a middle of a move and have not provided as much content lately.  Please stand by for a bit while I get back to normal… whatever that is!

Up Shift – Entire Family to Race at the Amateur Championship – The entire Rau family is going to the AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship at Loretta Lynn’s motorcycle complex! This is the first time that a mom, dad, and son have pulled this type of hat trick.

Mom and dad (Tressa & Justin) qualified for the Senior (40+) and son (Jett) made the cut in the Mini-E Junior (4-6) class.

My Take – This is one of those, “Isn’t that cool!” items.  Congratulations to the Rau family and I hope they all make the podium for another amateur motocross racing first!   

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Up Shift – New Harley Davidson Sportster – If you did not see this coming, I don’t know what to say to you.  The ever changing and tightening emission standards is slowing ending the air-cooled era of motorcycling. Lament if you wish, but the old engine just could not compete in this modern world.

The 50+ year old Sportster name continues at Harley Davidson with an all-new motorcycle. The new Sportster brings the Harley Revolution Max engine and 121 horses (from 1252cc) as a major upgrade to the name.   

To help tame that horsepower the new Sportster has lean-sensitve Antilock brakes, wheelie control, traction control and “Drag Torque Slip Control” to reduce rear wheel lockup during engine braking.

My Take – At first glance this new Sportster looks a like the FXDR from a few years ago.  A lot of styling points from that bike made it to the Sportster.  I do like the styling; I do like the performance upgrade, and I understand why Harley Davidson had to make the change to old bloodline.  I have not yet had an opportunity to ride this motorcycle, but I will make the time to do so.  At a $15,000 US starting point it seems to align with many of its competitors.

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Ride on, Ride Safe

Click here to see the last news update.

Motorcycle Recall April 2021: Ducati, Honda, Harley Davidson, Arcimoto

Posted: April 28, 2021 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news, motorcycle safety
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Be aware that this motorcycle recall list is for the United States for the last 30 days, there is no way I could cover the entire world. But in the world of global manufacturing, if a motorcycle is being recalled in one country there is a good chance it is under recall in others.

Also, this should not be considered a definitive list, check for yourself if you have any questions.

If you are US based use the NHTSA website http://www.safercar.gov. Enter your VIN number to see if your motorcycle is affected by the recall.

If you are based outside the USA, use the appropriate website to locate recalls that may impact you.

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Manufacturer Honda (American Honda Motor Co.)

Components STRUCTURE

Summary: Honda (American Honda Motor Co.) is recalling certain 2021 CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP motorcycles. The rear cushion connecting plate(s) may have been installed incorrectly, which may cause the plate(s) to break.

Remedy: Honda will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, as necessary, replace both rear cushion connecting plates free of charge. The recall is expected to begin June 7, 2021. Owners may contact Honda Powersports customer service at 1-866-784-1870. Honda’s number for this recall is KL9.

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Manufacturer Harley-Davidson Motor Company

Components EXTERIOR LIGHTING

Summary: Harley-Davidson Motor Company (Harley-Davidson) is recalling certain 2019-2021 Sportster (XL) motorcycles and 796 headlight assemblies that may have been sold as replacement parts for 2005-2019 Sportster, 2005-2017 Softail, 2005-2017 Dyna, and 2005-2011 V-Rod motorcycles. The glass bulb within the headlight assembly may fail, causing a loss of both high and low beams.

Remedy: Harley-Davidson will notify owners, and dealers will install a headlamp bulb shield, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin April 12, 2021. Owners may contact Harley-Davidson customer service at 1-800-258-2464. Harley-Davidson’s number for this recall is 0177.

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Manufacturer Ducati North America

Components ENGINE

Summary: Ducati North America (Ducati) is recalling certain 2021 Multistrada V4 S motorcycles. Excessive wear of the valve guides may cause the valve head to break.

Remedy: Ducati will notify owners, and the dealer will replace the entire motorcycle engine with another engine, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin April 15, 2021. Owners may contact Ducati customer service at 1-888-391-5446. Ducati’s number for this recall is SRV-RCL-21-002.

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Manufacturer Arcimoto Inc

Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Summary: Arcimoto Inc (Arcimoto) is recalling certain 2019-2020 FUV, and 2020 Deliverator vehicles. The electronic drivers in some of the high voltage (HV) contactors may malfunction and overheat, which could cause the battery to shutdown.

Remedy: Arcimoto will notify owners, and an Arcimoto factory technician will replace the contactors and related components, free of charge. The recall began March 29, 2021. Owners may contact Arcimoto customer service at 1-541-683-6293.

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Ride On, Ride Safe

Click here for the March Motorcycle Recall List

Can pigs fly? Well HOGS can, LOL

Posted: December 16, 2014 in Motorcycle news
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Custom Harley Davidson Sportster

Posted: November 19, 2013 in Motorcycle news
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I have had a couple posts lately regarding the Star Bolt and the customization of that bike, so I thought I should post something about how people are customizing the original.   I looked at several custom “Sporties” but I settled on this one.

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The “Lumberjack” by French builder Comete Motorcycles is a mean looking Sportster.  Setup for off-road use, the bike has multiple custom parts, all of which you can buy from Comete Motorcycles, to build your own Lumberjack but it looks like you will need to supply the chainsaw!

Yamaha Sportster… I mean Star Bolt Custom Build Contest

Posted: November 18, 2013 in Motorcycle news
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To help promote its new Bolt Star put together a contest between custom bike shops and used social media to find a winner. They sent bikes to 10 shops for the competition which was won by Doc’s Chops.

I readily admit that the custom bikes that the shops put out are very cool. Take a look at results of the competition here.

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Yamaha Café Racer Concept Motorcycle

Posted: November 14, 2013 in Motorcycle news
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According to several other websites Yamaha will be displaying a café styled motorcycle built from their Bolt platform. Yamaha is rolling out this concept bike to show off what owners can do via “garage modifications”.

I like the look of this bike, as much as I like the look at the Harley Sportster (imitation is flattery, right). I have seen many Sportster café bikes and they look cool as well. The big thing I get from this is that the café scene is going; maybe it will get as big as it did in the 40 years ago.

The bike is going to rolled out at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, maybe it will come to some US shows afterwards.

Royal Enfield Continental GT

Posted: October 18, 2013 in Motorcycle news
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I have always had a desire for a Café Racer.  As a kid I want to get a Honda CB350 and convert it to a Café bike.  Never happened, but it has always been in the back of my head.  I have been tempted to convert the wife’s Harley Sportster into a Café Bike but she is not very keen on the idea.  But if she upgrades ………

Cafe bike

Royal Enfield Continental GT

A friend of mine sent me a link to the new Royal Enfield Continental GT.  This is a good looking modern Café bike.  According to the literature, its 535cc engine produces 30 horsepower, not sure if that will get you to “A Ton” (100MPH) but it would be fun to find out.

Looking about the internet for pricing, I think the bike may be a bit pricey.  I get the impression that it will be around $7000 dollars, about the cost of a Harley Davidson Sportster. But, you would not have to convert the GT as you would the Harley. But, I doubt the resell value is anywhere near comparable between the Royal Enfield and the Harley Davidson. But, which would be cooler to tool about on?  Both work for me.

Alas, I cannot justify another bike in the garage nor can I afford one (I do not start to work until Monday).  Turns out that there is a Royal Enfield Dealer near my home, Winchester MotoSports I might just ride over and check out what they have.  The Continental is not scheduled for release until late November but they may have other bikes in stock.

Casual Full Dresser…. Yamaha’s Street Glide Yamaha BOLT Recall

Posted: July 30, 2013 in Motorcycle news
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yamaha bagger

Casual Dresser

Yamaha’s XV1900A CFD (Casual Full Dresser) motorcycle looks, to me, to be a head on assault on Harley’s Street Glide.  It looks a lot like a Street Glide, and is designed to a cruiser that can take on long distance rides as well.  It has a 1900cc air cooled V-twin engine which is a bit bigger than the Street Glide.  You can find more about the bike here.  I personally like the look!  But I want to know if the Formal Full Dresser comes with a bowtie and tails?!

In other Yamaha News….. BOLT Recall

2014_XVS950CU_BWC1_CA_1_lYamaha is recalling certain model year 2014 XVS950CU (Bolt) motorcycles manufactured March 2013 through June 2013. Slack or sag in the wiring harness may allow it to contact the exhaust manifold causing the wires to melt, and possibly short circuit.

If the wires short circuit, the fuses will blow which may cause the engine to stall. An engine stall while riding, increases the risk of a crash. Yamaha will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the wiring harness and secure it away from the exhaust. If the wiring harness is damaged, it will first be replaced.

The recall is expected to begin by the end of July 2013. Owners may contact Yamaha at 1-800-962-7926.Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

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Is it me or is Yamaha taking even more styling ideas from Harley?  Really, these two bikes looks so much like their counterparts it’s crazy!

Bike Show at Waugh HD

Posted: June 18, 2013 in Motorcycle Rides, Rally
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Debbie and I rode to Waugh Harley Davidson in Orange, VA to participate in their 21st Annual “Big Damn Bike Show”! The ride to the dealership was nearly eighty miles and about ninety minutes long, passing through some of Virginia’s best farm and country land. Getting to and from the show we traveled on the James Madison Highway, the 29th Infantry Division Memorial Highway, the Seminole Trail, and the Zachary Tyler Highway.

We entered our bike, along with about 300 or so other bikes, into the show. There were another 600 to 1000 additional bikes lining the streets around the dealership which made this a bike watchers paradise. Waugh Harley Davidson, it turns out, has its own attached park called “Legends Park”, because of the tents erected in front of it I could not get a good picture of the park sign. The HOG (Harley Owners Group) club for this dealership has a sweet setup!

In addition to the bike show there were more than a dozen vendors and displays, including the ever present bikini bike wash! One of the more interesting displays was by a limo company; they had a stretched Harley Davidson Ford F250 Pickup with bubble bath in the truck bed.  It was quite amusing each time a bunch of soap bubble would come floating across the park.

Musical entertainment was provided by the Zen Daddy band.  They covered most of the hits from the 80’s, 90’s, and the 00’s (is 00 the right way to do that?).  Debbie and I thought the band did a fine job.  Mr. Waugh himself came out and played a couple tunes on the harmonica, for “older” gentlemen I was quite impressed with this talent and lung capacity.  If you have time take a look at Waugh’s Facebook page for more pics and videos of the event.

Our bike finished second in our class and after looking at the winner I have some clear directions on what do for next time.  Of course that means more chrome!