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I Get It

January 29, 2010

I get it.

I understand how a cruiser rider simply can’t understand why you would ride a sportbike. Why a dirt bike guy thinks that cruiser is just a boat anchor with wheels. Why the guy who owns a BMW 1200 Cruiser thinks the guy on the Moto Guzzi is weird. Why one track day guy will discount another based simply on his tread wear pattern. [Read more]

Elite Scootering in L.A.

September 1, 2009

Honda EliteLast week I found myself in front of the original American Honda headquarters which, by the way, is now an acupuncture facility. Honda did a different kind of intro for its NHX110 Elite scooter. We were given a map of L.A. and let loose to go out and photograph the Elite in original settings and visit four locations to pick up playing cards for a poker hand. Extra credit was given for finding the original Honda headquarters; good thing as my poker hand wasn’t so good. That scooter is a lot of fun! You can read about it here.

Sunday Morning Ride

August 14, 2009

I sold my Aprilia CapoNord a couple of weeks ago. Got an offer I couldn’t refuse. So now I’m spending more time on my stand-by bike, a 1982 BMW R100, and a recently acquired Vespa GT200. Yes, I’ve gone over to the other side. Who’d expect a guy with 45 years of motorcycling under his not-insubstantial belt to just hop on a scooter and enjoy it? It’s about 6-1\2 miles of nice rural road into town and the scooter works quite well for trips to the store. Rode it up to Templeton, the gathering spot for the Sunday morning ride, and was thinking the whole way, “Ditch the airbox, K&N on the carb, swing by the breakers for a used dirt bike muffler, some jetting work, need more front brake….”

[Read more]