Spring Is Coming

Take a look at what I noticed this afternoon as I stepped out on the porch... flowers are coming up! I've seen flocks of robins returning also. Spring (and riding season!) can't be far away.

It's Such A Small World

Remember this entry? Well, near the end, there is a mention of a yellow Kawasaki. There wasn't a picture of it because I thought it wouldn't be as interesting to others as it was to me. But it made an impression on me because I was re-evaluating what I wanted in a motorcycle at the time. And what I wanted was everything that bike represented: a sport tourer. Something that was comfortable for more than 50 miles. The kind of bike that you could ride to another state for the day just because. GPS and storage. I was already thinking about the Versys, because I remember talking to a Triumph Tiger owner about it that day. But that yellow bike...

Today I was looking for information about when those Ephrata First Sunday Rallys start back up (March 2!), and I stumbled upon a motorcycle blog. It was also on blogger, and the guy knew all about rallys in my area, even though he's from Delaware. He's a sport tourer, and I'm trying to get into sport touring, so I made a note to check out more of his entries. His site is called Tilted Horizons (great name!).

And then I saw the entry about his own bike:

Well, well, well. What do you know. Small world.

The Mid-Atlantic Cycle Show

I went to the Mid-Atlantic Cycle Show in Timonium I talked about in the previous post. There were some celebrities there. Chica, the Japanese builder of american style choppers was there showing some of his bikes (That's the man himself in the background).

Michele Smith of American Thunder was at this show also. (My camera battery was charged this time!)

It was primarily a Harley and custom bike show. If you like choppers or needed a new pair of leather chaps, this is was the show for you. Since I was looking for accessories for my new Versys, I was out of luck. I didn't actually expect to find any, as the bike is a new model, but there weren't really even any sport bike accessories. And very few scooters.

There were some antique bikes there, incuding some that were from my own lifetime. It was cool to see the old bikes, but I'm not sure how I feel about Bikes from the year I graduated high school needing to be restored and shown.

There were a lot of really long custom choppers. I used to watch American Chopper on the Discovery Channel. But now that I actually ride, all I can think of when I see them is, "I would hate to have to turn that around in town". They probably handle like buses, but I like looking at the decorations.

Another Big Show

The Mid-Atlantic Cycle Show is this weekend in Timonium at the Maryland State Fairgrounds. They call this one "The Big One". Looking at the floor map, it does look huge.

I'll remember to check my camera battery before this one...

Not By Scooter Alone...

My lack of updates over the last week was due to my wrestling with a decision. I was buying a new motorcycle. There are some trips that a 50cc scooter can't make. I traded in my Suzuki Boulevard S40 (great bike, but small for my 34" inseam) for a Kawasaki Versys.



This will be a lot more comfortable on those 50+ miles trips. As this site is more about scooters, I won't go on and on about how long I have been lusting after this bike and how great it is.

I will instead tell you that just before buying this, I went downtown for coffee and a muffin at Muffin Street on Orange Street. I was riding the Suzuki motorcycle and was frustrated with finding a place to park it. I guess the scooter has spoiled me. I normally park the scooter up along the Central Market building. I couldn't have gotten away with that with a motorcycle. And the cagers (automobile drivers) had over-parked that stretch (I would have ticketed 2 of them). Or I could have used the free scooter parking in the Prince Street garage. It seemed stupid to have to rent a whole space in a lot or a garage. So I parked about a block away in a legal but little-known free spot I keep in mind for just such occasion (no, I'm not going to share). My point is, at that moment, I really wished I had had my scooter instead.

Random Deal

I saw this Kymco Bet&Win 150 at Trans Am Cycles in Lititz (uphill from the Airport, just before Scooter's restaurant). The sign says: $2,729 (cost + 6% tax + $107.5 = $3,000.24).

If you're looking for even more thrills/dollar, behind this is a 2004 Ninja 250 for even less, that looks like a lot of fun. Silver with black and orange graphics.