TimC

What a beauty! Worth the wait I'd say. Congrats on the new bike! 🙂

Great story and photos, @Cogswell !! Thanks for sharing them here. Would love to see the Spruce Goose in person someday. If you didn't know the story and just saw that photo of the 747, you might think, "Wow!! That 747 is flying way too low and close to that building for its landing! I can vouch that the museum in Dayton is amazing. Just unbelievable, really. If you ever go to visit it, plan on spending pretty much the whole day there. There's a small air museum near Canton called MAPS. I've been meaning to go there for a few years. Maybe I'll get around to it this fall. That ferry crossing reminds me of one closer to home, which crosses the Ohio River from Fly, OH, to Sistersville, WV. I've been on it once. I think it's a little smaller than the one in your photos. It feels quite odd standing next to your motorcycle on a small platform crossing the river. You can get to a good bridge in either direction in both states, but crossing on that small ferry is something everything should do at least once.

I was hoping to get there this year, either during the VFRD Spring Memorial event or on a solo tour, but I only made it as far south as Kentucky and Virginia this year. Hopefully next year!

I'm guessing it's a "vomit comet," used to introduce future astronauts to weightlessness.

I don't know much about Moto Guzzis, other than that they usually look very cool. But I would worry about reliability. And whether there's a Moto Guzzi dealer shop near home in case of a warranty claim. And parts availability. Still, cool bikes. When I was bike shopping last year a local shop had a nice used V9 Roamer on hand. If I felt like I could have made it into a decent all-arounder (and gotten a good deal on the bike) I might have taken a chance on it. They're different, and I like that. Getting back to parallel twins, I think we're seeing more of them in new bikes mostly because they're cheaper to build. But they also seem to be a good choice for an "average" motorcycle, meaning not a niche bike like a supersport (like an R1) or big bore cruiser (like a HD bagger). I'm not crazy about the engine configuration, but if the rest of the bike was what I wanted, I wouldn't necessarily turn up my nose at a parallel twin based machine.

Congrats on that gorgeous and super clean Kawasaki! 🙂

I can't believe there are still brand new VFRs available out there. I mean, I know they didn't sell very well, but sheesh. Big congrats on the new VFR, and I'm glad insurance is taking care of you! 🙂

I get what you're saying about parallel twins. In the early 2000s it seemed like manufacturers put uninspired and unimpressive parallel twins in somewhat sporty or decent all-arounder bikes, like the Ninja 650. I test rode (I think) a 2014 BMW F800GT and frankly it was kind of lame. This was a bike that reminded me of my VFR, which is one reason I was interested in it, but the parallel twin in that bike felt slow to rev and "wheezy." Fast forward several years and as I was new bike shopping last year I test rode a new BMW F750GS, which basically has an updated and retuned version of the that same parallel twin. It was much better. I was actually pretty impressed by that motorcycle and its engine. I came close to buying one, too, but got something else instead. The new Aprilia 660 and its parallel twins has been getting good reviews, and they're putting it in a few different variations of the same bike. I can't see this engine configuration ruling the moto world, but they have definitely improved over the years.

Welcome to the forum from Ohio, USA! 🙂

Congrats on your 5th gen. and welcome to the forum! 🙂 I hope the clutch issue is sorted out quickly, and not to expensively!

Congrats on your 6th gen. and welcome to the forum! 🙂

Seems like a decent deal to me, but I'm no expert on used bike values, especially these days when things are kind of skewed due to unusual supply and demand. I think I see a frame slider on the right side. Assuming it has a mate on the left side, that adds a little value - and a little width. But if the width is a problem I would guess they can be removed. That Werkes exhaust looks good, but might be a little loud for some people's taste. At least there are affordable options out there if you end up not liking it.

I have a db killer in the SC-Project exhaust on my BMW. It sounds good as-is, but I'm tempted to pull it out to hear how much louder it is without the baffle. I'm not a fan of loud exhausts, but I am curious so I'll probably give it a try soon.

I don't know about that. Parallel twins have come a long way in the last several years in my opinion. I test rode a 2014 or 2015 BMW F800GT a few years ago and was unimpressed with its parallel twin. It was "wheezy" and felt underpowered, including lacking any real punch. But while bike shopping last year I test rode a new BMW F750GS, which has a newer version of that parallel twin, and I was kind of surprised how much livelier it felt. Up such an engine's displacement to 1100cc, especially if it's retuned for street use (compared to the Africa Twin) and it might be pretty decent. Besides, I think many people buying a bike like this aren't doing track days. They might hit the twisties but they're not looking for, nor expecting supersport performance out of an adventure style sport-tourer. Just my two cents. 😉

Just playing devil's advocate here... I've seen at least one review that said the Africa Twin doesn't make for a great street bike. For riders who want more of an adventure style bike but who don't need any off-road capability (like the folks who buy a BMW GS but never venture off pavement), this new Honda might work for them. It's a popular segment, though I doubt Honda will sell a ton of these.

Congrats on the FJR! Definitely a good choice for long hauls. 👍

Not to make this a discussion about covered bridges, but there are quite a few left in Ohio, including 3-4 along Ohio Route 26 between Marietta and Woodsfield in SE Ohio. I did a group ride years ago where visiting those bridges was the point of the ride. These days I'm sometimes tempted to stop and take a few photos of those bridges, but the road is so good I hate to interrupt the ride! I took this photo a couple weekends ago. This is the Harpersfield Covered Bridge, near Geneva (in NE Ohio), just off Route 534. At 228' in length, it's the third longest covered bridge in the state.

That Honda self-balancing motorcycle...wow! Very impressive stuff. But what bothers me is the company is capable of producing some amazing technology and vehicles, yet they continually play it safe these days. It's just kind of sad the company has lost its edge. (Sorry for the minor rant.) We're already seeing advances in motorcycle technology drifting over from the automotive world. Blind spot detection, adaptive headlights, and TFT dashes with Bluetooth so you can see your phone's navigation app on your motorcycle display, just to name a few. Tech like this is mostly relegated to big (and expensive) touring machines for now, but how long until it filters down into more average bikes? Mercedes Benz was one of the first companies to offer automatic braking for collision prevention, and it was only available in their biggest, most expensive cars. Now you can get the same tech in many normal cars, trucks, and SUVs. Premium features you could only get in a Lexus for years are now standard in a Toyota Camry or even a Corolla. Many of us don't want a ton of technology in our motorcycles, but some change is inevitable.

I've never seen that before. Very interesting, and very cool. I wonder if the BMV (or DMV) would consider the outriggers to be wheels, and therefore this is not a 2-wheeled vehicle, which otherwise would be classified as a motorcycle. Also, I think different states have varying laws on what constitutes a motorcycle. For example, is a Harley or Goldwing trike a motorcycle? How about a CanAm Spyder or the Slingshot? I also wonder if - given advances in technology like computers and sensors that help things like a Segway self-balance - this type of vehicle would be more feasible today. Electronics would take the place of the gyroscope, maybe making the whole thing lighter and more efficient. Sensors would also help the outriggers engage and disengage automatically.

Though my wife doesn't really like motorcycles, she is very tolerant of me and mine. Mostly she just gets bored with me talking about it all the time. But seriously, I'm very fortunate!

I'll be interested to read your review. 👍 I tried to buy riding jeans a couple times this year. I ordered a pair, but they were too big. Ordered again and somehow got the same size. Sent both back. Tried on a couple pair at a big motorcycle shop, but the 'rise' was too low. Felt like the jeans just didn't come up high enough like regular jeans. Might have been okay just to wear normally, but once leaned over a bit on my motorcycle it seemed like they would really be too low. Still searching, but thinking about trying a pair of heavy non-riding pants like the Fire Hose pants from Duluth Trading Co. Not the best option, I know, but better than normal jeans.

I installed the R&G sliders on my 6th gen, too. One bonus of the sliders is if and when you drop your VFR, it will lay at a bit of an angle instead of flat on its side. That angle helps you get a better grip on things to lift the bike back upright. BTW, drilling my fairings was one of the most nerve-racking things I ever did to my VFR. It worked out just fine, but my pulse was racing at first.

I was going to add DOT reflective tape to my old 6th gen's OEM hard bags years ago, but never got around to it. I still have the tape in my tool chest. 😕

Congrats on your 8th gen. and welcome to the forum! 🙂

I prefer to let my bike sit and drain for a while when possible, maybe 30-60 minutes maximum. BTW, I have to say we've taken the dreaded "oil thread" to a whole new level here!