Rant Archive - July 2007
July 30, 2007 - AN IMPROMPTU RUN WITH
A BUELL, GSXR, GOLDWING AND A 'BUSA
A few friends and I got together tonight for sort
of an impromptu run. We ended up south of Nashville on the backroads of Bedford
County and the ride was awesome. There was a Buell, a GSXR, my SV650S, a
Goldwing and one bad 'Busa. The latter belongs to a friend of mine who just
picked it up a few weeks ago. It is stretched, lowered and turbo charged...
I think he said it has something like 247hp at the rear wheel. It's an awesome
bike so I thought I'd get a shot of it by itself for you. Check it out
below.
BTW...this was the first time I have had the SV
out on a "real" ride and I have to say that after the hundred mile trip I
like this bike even better than I thought I would. The ergos seem to work
great for me, it has power to spare, it's light and nimble... it just seems
to be an all-around solid bike.
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July 29, 2007 - THE BIKE I HAD BEEN
LOOKING FOR FOR NEARLY SIX MONTHS
For nearly six months now I've had my eye out for
a used middle-weight bike that would serve as both an economical commuter
and a Saturday morning canyon carver. I've researched just about every brands
offering including the Yamaha FZ6, Honda 599, Buell Cyclone, Ducati Monster,
Kawasaki Ninja 650R... and while all of them are very nice in their own right,
my research kept bringing me back to one bike... the Suzuki
SV650.
Reports of bullet-proof reliability, unmatched
performance/value ratio, great gas mileage and robust resale prices only
fueled my interest in the SV but in my area, used SV650's are few and
far between. Despite having feelers out at just about every dealership in
the Middle Tennessee area since February, nothing had turned up... until
this weekend.
I was making a pass through one of my local dealers
on Friday afternoon and as I was walking out the door the bike above was
being delivered as a down payment on a 2008 Suzuki Hyabusa. Since the store
was closing in 10 minutes I told the owner I would be back first thing Saturday
morning to check it out and by 10:00am I was the proud owner of a one-owner,
2001 SV650S in immaculate condition... the bike I had been looking for for
nearly six months.
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July 27, 2007 - SURE COULD USE, A LITTLE
GOOD NEWS TODAY
Anne Murray had a hit song in 1983 titled
"Little Good News". The hook line of the hugely popular song was "Sure
Could Use, A Little Good News Today" and it talked about how
we are constantly bombarded with bad news by the media. Now 24 years
later in 2007, it has gotten worse by leaps and bounds and I can attest
to it even with BikerSwag.com.
I have several sources that I automatically monitor
for motorcycle related news items on a daily basis and I would say that literally
90% of what I see is doom-and-gloom stories of fatal accidents or motorcycle
clubs gone bad. Now I know that is real life but I made a decision early
on that I would not link to any of those type of stories on my NEWS page
and would only include stories that give motorcycling a positive spin. Besides,
there are plenty of sites out there vomiting the garbage up so if that's
your thing, there are a lot of sources.
For the rest of you who are like me and don't want
that in your face 24/7... be sure and check out my NEWS page here
http://www.bikerswag.com/news.html
and check it out often. I update it several times a month with the good stuff
I find... which brings me to the REAL reason for today's
rant.
One of my readers in the North East sent me a link
to a pretty cool motorcycle related story today. Follow the link below to
check it out. All I can say is that this kid is destined to be a
biker!
CLICK HERE NOW to check out "A Little Good
News".
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July 22, 2007 - LOST AS COULD BE...
BUT NEVER MORE AT HOME
My wife hates being lost. It makes her nervous
when she doesn't know exactly where she is, where she is going and how long
it will take her to get there. I, on the other hand, love almost nothing
more than getting out on the bike and turning down a road I've never been
on just to see where it goes and where I end up. I shot the picture above
at about 4:00 this afternoon. I don't know what road I was on or even what
town I was in. I was lost as could be but at the same time I never felt more
at home... just me, my bike and new roads to explore. Man, I love to
ride!
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July 19, 2007 - MUSIC CITY BIKE
NIGHT
Tonight was Bike Night at Boswell's Harley Davidson
in Nashville... so of course I had to check it out. The theme for the evening
was "Bluegrass Night" and let me tell you... the bluegrass jams were kickin'
and the down home cookin' was rockin'. Boswell's always puts on a great event
and tonight was no exception. Lot's of bikes and bikers, free food, live
music... what more could you ask for? They even had a few of the 2008 models
on display.
CLICK HERE
now to check out a few pics.
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July 19, 2007 - THUNDER ROADS MAGAZINE
TENNESSEE - AUGUST 2007
The August 2007 issue of Thunder Roads Magazine
Tennessee should be on the shelf in just a few days. Check out my column
in this issue about my visit to the Wheels Through Time Museum. (Also see
my RANT from 06/29/07) You can grab a copy of the magazine at just about
any dealership in Tennessee free of charge or... on line in .pdf format by
clicking
HERE.
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July 18, 2007 - 16TH ANNUAL RIDE
TO WORK DAY
Today was the 16th annual Ride to Work Day here
in the USA. Each year on the third Wednesday of July people from all walks
of life who own motorcycles and scooters are encouraged to hop on their rides
and make their way to work and back. The idea is to create a general awareness
of motorcycles and present them as a viable and economical transportation
option.
Now, a lot of guys I know aren't too keen on Ride
to Work Day because it tends to bring out the "posers" among us but personally,
I think that anything that helps bring motorcycle awareness to the general
public is a good thing.
It's funny though, it seemed like I saw fewer riders
today than I normally do so I'm not sure it is working... at least here
in Middle Tennessee. The pic above is of my bike and the only other one (Honda
F2) that made it in to my place today. Typically there are 3 or 4 of us who
ride in.
You can check out the Ride to Work
organizations website at
www.ridetowork.org
to find out more but here is a quick snipit of their mission statement:
"Ride To Work advocates and supports the
use of motorcycles and scooters for transportation, and provides information
about transportation riding to the public."
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July 16, 2007 - TEST RIDING THE 2007
YAMAHA FZ6
Man... Last week was out-of-control busy for me!
Lot's of over-time on the job, a couple of business
dinners through the week, an IRL race on Saturday, a gig on Sunday and
two dogs to take care of in the midst of it all while the wife has been out
of town. It's been crazy with very little time for motorcycle fun but I did
manage to squeeze a short ride in on Friday night and... a test
ride Saturday morning.
The test ride was quite by accident. I was traveling
through Murfreesboro, Tennessee and dropped in on
Sloan's
Supercenter to see what was going on. As luck would have it, they were
having their monthly "Super-Saturday" event and offering test rides on several
new bikes, including one that I am interested in... the Yamaha
FZ6. All I had with me was a camera
phone so you'll have to excuse the crap picture above but at least
you get to see what the bike I rode looked like.
The FZ6 is Yamaha's entry in the Middleweight Class
which in recent years has become one of the fastest growing segments in the
industry. The growth has been attributed some to new riders eyeing these
affordable machines but also to all of those veteran baby-boomers riders
like me out there that are still young enough to want a sportbike but not
interested in riding in the fetal position anymore or going so fast our hair
(or what's left of it) catches on fire. Bikes like the Suzuki SV650, Honda
599, Kawasaki 650R, Ducati Monster 695 and... the Yamaha FZ6 are all filling
both of those niches nicely and all five are on my list to check out before
I make my next bike purchase.
So how was it? Well, my initial impression of the
FZ6 is that it looks way cool. Compared to the other bikes I listed
above, with perhaps the exception of the Kawi, it has a sleeker, sportier
look thanks in large part to the small faring and the under seat exhaust.
Seat height is comfortable for my 5' 9" frame at 31.3" and the gauges are
nicely laid out... which is all well and fine but what I was really interested
in was how well the bike performed.
My ride only lasted about 15 minutes so I had to
draw my conclusions quickly. First of all I have to say that I had forgotten
how tight a 600cc in-line four runs. I immediately remembered though and
was soon running right on up to the 11k range before shifting. And it paid
off... the FZ6 engine seemed to come to life above 5k (almost red-line on
my cruiser) and had plenty of power to satisfy my moderate need-for-speed.
As with most sportbikes, breaking was quite impressive as well with plenty
of front rotor bite but where the bike really shined for me was it's ability
to hammer the twisties. I effortlessly attacked the apex of each turn and
had complete confidence in the suspension even in one particularly rough
corner which I navigated at 50mph.
Overall I think the FZ6 would work nicely for what
I would want it for... a commuter and weekend canyon carver with sportbike
vibes but more upright rider positioning. I really liked the bike and the
only negatives I could come up with are the fact that the cool looking windscreen
seems to be pretty non-functional, accomplishing very little wind deflection...
and price... which is a BIG one for me. The 2007 FZ6 has an MSRP of $6,849
which is getting real close to Ducati Monster range and a full $850 higher
than the 2007 Suzuki SV650. With the incredible reviews the SV gets, it might
be hard for me to justify the difference. Still, if you are looking for a
Middleweight Class bike, the FZ6 is a must add to your list of bikes to check
out. I may end up with one yet... it's a very nice bike!
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July 7, 2007 - A SPONTANEOUS 200 MILE
RIDE WITH TWO OLD FRIENDS
This morning at about 10:00am I got a call from
a friend that I haven't seen in a while. He explained that his wife was busy
all afternoon and asked me if I wanted to do a little riding with him. As
it turns out, my wife had plans as well so it worked out perfect and by 12:00
noon I was off to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to meet up with my friend and hit
the road.
We made our way east out of Murfreesboro on Highway
96 and took it all the way to beautiful Center Hill Lake. After making a
loop around the lake... and stopping at the dam and a couple of the overlooks...
we found ourselves on one of my favorite Middle Tennessee roads, Highway
53 South. (See my rant
of December 18, 2006) From there we made our way through the town of
Woodbury and he introduced me to one of his favorite routes, Highway 64 West
through Bradyville and into Beechgrove. I had never ridden Highway 64 before
but I can tell you now that it is awesome. Lots of sweeping curves and gorgeous
scenery make it a "must-ride" for anyone in the Middle Tennessee area. From
there it was on to Bell Buckle, Tennessee (the moon pie capital of the world)
for another quick break and then back into Murfreesboro before heading home.
It was a great ride, totalling right at 200 miles.
Incidentally, some of you with a keen eye will
notice in the picture below that the bike my friend rides is a familiar one
to me. That's my old Suzuki Intruder that I sold him last year. It's kind
of a weird story but he and I seem to end up with each others bikes
occasionally... in fact I bought one from him a few years back when I decided
to get back into riding after my 10 year hiatus... so I guess, in a way,
he is responsible for me riding again. Anyway, my old bike still looks great
and when I saw it, a part of me wished I still owned it. The Intruder just
has a smokin' look about it that I will always love. At least I know mine
went to a good home and is being well taken care of! At the end of the day
I felt like I had been on a great ride with two old friends!
My current bike and my old bike... together
at last!
Center Hill Dam... it's quite an awesome site.
2,160 feet long and 240 feet tall.
Center Hill Lake is one of the most beautiful
lakes in the state of Tennessee.
Hopping on 64 West just west of Woodbury,
Tennessee.
Downtown Bell Buckle, Tennessee... the Moon
Pie Capital of the world.
Here's a map of our route... the BLUE parts
were the best parts!
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July 4, 2007 - FREEDOM... THE BEST WAY
TO CELEBRATE IT
Today is Independence Day here in the U.S.A. so
I figured the best way to celebrate it would be to hop on the Electra Glide
and take off through the hills of Middle Tennessee. After all, isn't that
what riding is all about... freedom? You know, the wind blowing in your face...
tossing your worries and cares aside... escaping the daily grind. OK, OK,
I know I'm stretching it here to bring my life back around to motorcycles
but apparently some of my friends thought riding was a pretty good celebratory
event as well. I started spreading the word Monday night that I was going
to ride this morning and at 7:00am sharp a good sized group of guys showed
up to join me... and it was awesome!
We ended up rolling up about 200 miles by the time
we were finished with our 5 hour excursion and were all back home by 12:00
noon to really celebrate the holiday by spending time with
our families.
BTW... a couple of my friends will now be held
responsible for adding momentum to my ever growing urge to get another Sport
Bike. Check out the beauties below that belong to a couple of guys who rode
with me today.
The Honda Super Hawk above belongs to a guy I have
been riding with for several years now and I absolutely love this bike. It
is a 996cc V-Twin with dual exhaust that sounds killer and looks great...
I even like the yellow color. Check out the powder coated matching
wheels.
The bike above is a recent acquisition for another
guy I have been riding with for years. It's a 2000 Buell Cyclone and also
pushes me into deep lust for another Sport Bike. I've really been getting
into the look of the "naked" bikes with a more "upright" riding position
lately and the Cyclone definitely fits the bill.
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