Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The future is bright

There has never been a better time to start motorcycling.

I've been attending the International Motorcycle Show since it was sponsored by Cycle World. Never have I seen more types of bikes for more types of riders. This years show ranks as the best one yet. The organizers did a phenomenal job putting together this event but that fifth and final star goes to the manufactures.

Is this the fall of the repli-racer and the rise of the street bike? No smoking Joe livery here, although there are many massively fast rides to be found. Young kids (or kids who I judge to be young) were climbing all over five hundred and seven hundred cc twins. Why shouldn't they be, these bikes bring the fun; the adventure and the tour. Hold the fear please.




My first bike was an XL185 and it was glorious!
This little guy was all over Project LiveWire. Is an electric enduro in his future?
I bet he'd be okay with that.
Touring on a 700cc bike, why not?
What's old is new again.
Scramblers have gotten big. Hare scramble anyone?


ABC
 A water cooled cruiser with a cast frame? That will never work.
Don't worry, Polaris knows what it's doing.

A perennial favorite of mine.



BMW steps in the ring with Kawasaki, Suzuki, Yamaha, Aprilia, KTM, Triumph, and BMW.
Triumph Tiger (07-2012)?

The AMCA and VJMC sections were packed on Saturday.

What happened to Japanese motorcycle design?
Where did all the tasteful tanks and candy colors go?

I'll take one of each please. 



I had the opportunity to talk to the owner of this bike.
Just a kid, he started building this when he was 14 yeas old!
This year I was accompanied by two experienced riders and two former riders. My dad and our buddy Todd have been riding all their lives; they seem to be in a post-children-at-home motorcycling renaissance. While my brother and Matt, another friend of the family, are both former motorcycle owners with young children. My wife and I have a little guy too. I continue to ride, although my rides and my bikes are much different now.

One thing we all agree upon is that the CB300 would be fun for us big kids and a sweet carrot for those little people who grow up with motorcycles in the garage.

- Ride North
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5 comments:

  1. SonjaMFebruary 10, 2015 at 12:03 PM

    Drool Time! You pretty much captured what I am interested in ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JasonFebruary 11, 2015 at 6:54 AM

      Thanks, so many excellent machines I'd like to take on a Kerouacian adventure. :)

      Delete
  2. Coop a.k.a. CoopdwayFebruary 10, 2015 at 5:18 PM

    Hey Jason, you missed our monthly meeting last night. Roughly 40 of us there, all mostly in agreement that the show was both fun and a success.

    March 9th, (every 2nd Monday) Diamond's on Central. Get there between 5 - 6 and I'll buy you dinner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JasonFebruary 11, 2015 at 7:05 AM

      That sounds like a plan, thanks for the invite! Don't worry about food, I'm just looking forward to meeting everyone and talking bikes.

      Delete
    2. Coop a.k.a. CoopdwayFebruary 11, 2015 at 3:33 PM

      The meeting, such as it is, starts at or near 7. The really cool folks get there early. A couple of your MDM friends are almost always there, in fact I was being badgered Monday night to join the fun.

      Delete

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