St. Stephen

Say it ain't so Dutchy! Sorry to see that great SP-2 go on the block. The original bodywork and colors will sell better but of course I prefer the Castrol livery.

11 years ago my son spent the year in Indonesia teaching in eastern Java. My wife had the crazy idea that we should visit him when she saw a photo of the 18" lizard living in his house in Gentang. So we did. Two motorcycle photos. Sort of... ☺️

Captain, I'm drooling. The wheels, the case/coolant hose guards, the exhaust, clip-ons, and whatever you did to the clocks, just beautiful. What would you charge me to rent it for a month? 😎

Follow up: Of course to ride a demo bike you have to hand over your contact info. The emails have started flowing. Can anyone on VFRD translate this message from Livewire into English? 😬 Immerse Yourself in a New Experience Our goal is to create a bold new understanding of motorcycling in the collective consciousness of our cities and escapes by leading the electrification of two wheels and beyond.

Agreed, raYzerman. A solution in search of a problem. A little bit of old oil left is no big deal IMHO. The biggest issue I've seen is shops consistently adding too much new oil. I've had to siphon oil out after service. Excess oil:

Bent, you're no pussy, you just want to keep riding. Buy the bike that allows you to do that! In the back of my mind there is a Can Am in my (hopefully distant) future, when I no longer can balance or worse, when I lose that all-important confidence that I have all the skills necessary to hit the road with a helmet on. (hey, note to self: are trikes allowed at track days? Have to check...). Can't help you with your Wing purchase but please keep us updated and, of course, post photos.

Great point. When I moved to CA I assumed that DMV inspection and compliance for motorcycles would be incredibly tough. Instead there is nothing! Not even SMOG tests, or safety inspections every few years. Much more lax than for cars. Apologize for hijacking the thread PedalHead.

Dutchy, as I'm sure you know, Harley Davidson has never, ever, used plastic on their bikes. In fact, they have also never, ever, used suspension from a Japanese company owned by Honda. Or water cooled engines. Or manufactured HD badged bikes anywhere but the good old USA. Can't believe you even asked, geez.

In addition to the great suggestions above, I would ask where are you picking it up? If you're west-central NC and are 1100 miles away then east is out, south probably not unless Key West, maybe, so either north or west. Will it be all interstate? North you will have to navigate some hairy highways (for example, if Google just says follow 95 you will be riding the Cross Bronx Expressway). But even if it's just I-40 from OK, be prepared. Doing 500 or 600 miles all at 70+mph amongst the semis and crazy SUV's two days in a row is a stress test for a bike (and therefore, you) that you've never laid eyes on. Best wishes, send us some travel photos of your new bike if you have a chance.

I was glad I went, but I do wish there were more European manufacturers other than KTM--and Honda of course. No Ducati, BMW, Aprilia, Triumph. I was hoping to look at helmets too but only HJC was there. If you've been to these shows before (I haven't), or a major race you've probably seen more vendors. But I guess pulling it off at all this year was an accomplishment. However--the focus was demos, and the roads of southern Sonoma County were crawling with guys (and lots of women!) on demo bikes from all the brands present: So (if Buells don't count) my Livewire ride yesterday was the first time I have ever operated an HD! It was smoother, narrower and lighter (feeling) than it looks. I had ridden a Zero a few years ago so I knew what to expect performance-wise: strong, linear power at all times, not much character but you never get caught in the wrong gear. Yes, I kept trying to downshift coming to a stop. Good fit and finish. Of course the usual problems will prevent me from purchasing: charge time, range, charing station availability, price, can't borrow electrons when you run out, etc. The higher-end electric bicycles have a CVT-type variable transmission in the rear hub, kinda cool. For only the price of a good used 5th gen you too can own this bicycle: The Pan America: incredibly ugly IMHO, retaining the worst styling elements of HD cruisers while looking like a lump. Great, strong engine once I switched to sport mode, comfy seat and riding position. Really weird kickstand design that will probably result in a lot of tipovers. Continuing with HD, the batwing fairing has been taken to new literal extremes. Yes, in the background that's the other RC-51 besides mine at this event, a 2003 also. Grum was here but I must have missed him: Just like today's featured photo, almost! A DCT: Heading home on the best bike at this show, of course!

Hey fellow VFR fans, today I attended this show, which is the first of nine this year in the U.S. Suz, Kaw, Yam, Zero, HD, Indian, Energica, Zero (no Honda) were there along with a bunch of vendors. It is at Sonoma Raceway here in CA, only 30 min from where I live so I thought I'd post. It was really, really weird that the new bikes were from HD (Pan America, Sportster S). HD's electric bike off-shoot was also there, along with lots of other electric bike manufacturers. And electric bicycles. Anyway, I've got a three-day pass so tomorrow I will do as many demo rides as I can... Livewire, Pan America, some random HD or Indian 1000lb cruiser, a few electric bicycles etc. Will report back. The owner is probably listening to St. Stephen right now: I always wanted a Bultaco when I was a kid: Can you identify the device the Livewire guys are using? A guy in Honda leathers started poking me in the chest. Then I realized he was identifying all the VFR's he owned! LOTS of electric: The Pan America. I'll ride one tomorrow.

Wow, that's serious. Do you think it was age, or some kind of abuse? Or just the result of a manufacturing shortcut?

Congratulations, that looks great! Of course you'll have to sell another bike to make room, right? 😎

+1 I am a slow learner, so it took me sooo many years worrying about precise chain adjustment until I finally arrived at Grum's conclusion. Keep it clean and lube sparingly assuming a modern O or X chain.