Surprisingly, today was a good day to ride. Even though it was likely to rain, Paula and I jumped on the bike and headed north and west. We saw a few sprinkles in Hadley and Northampton.
We stopped at Fitzwillys in Northampton for lunch. Then south on rte 10/202 to Westfield to visit Grandma. We had a good visit with Grandma and Jesse. On the return trip, we swung thru Easthampton to try and connect with Jeremy, but that did not pan out. Then we stopped at Hampshire College to visit Amanda.
Pretty much spent the whole day just riding and visiting. Good times, noodle salad.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Indian Demo Day @ Wagner Powersport in Worcester, MA
Dan and I headed out on rte 9 East thru Ware, MA ... the rte 32 North, rte 122 South to rte 122A South to Holden MA. This first part of the ride was fabulous. Nice relaxing riding thru the hill towns into central Mass. From Holden we went down Shrewsbury Street to Doyle Road which ultimately becomes Plantation Street for our destination.
Not a huge turnout for the time we arrived there.... around 1:30pm, but still plenty of people wanting to try the new bikes.
I did not register to ride one of these bikes, but we put our names on a wait list to see if we might luck out... and we did not have long to wait... around 20 minutes.
There was around 20 bikes and they would send them out like every 20 minutes or so. They took each group on a mixture of roads and the highway (rte 290) ... all-in-all around 15 miles of a loop.
We both tried a Chief Vintage ... blue with tan leather saddle and bags. I was comfortable on the bike, sitting upright. First surprising thing I hadn't noticed before... no heel shifter. The bike's chassis was responsive and handled well. I had spoken to some people who went before us and they were talking up the bike as very impressive... on my ride I thought that compared with my harley touring bike, the drive chain did not seem smooth ... there seemed quite a bit of vibration, mostly in 3rd and 6th gear. I also did not find the throttle all the responsive without giving it a food twist .... maybe slack in the cable. After the ride there was a quick survey and I mentioned these things. Others that I spoke to felt their bike was awesome, so maybe I had a bike that needed adjustment.
In summary, I felt the bike was very nice, and if I was in the market for a bike it would be a serious consideration... the drive chain just did not feel as smooth as my King. Some people may feel that this is just character given the lack of primary chain and having a direct gear from crank to tranny and they may be right, so it is something I could possibly let slide. However, when I twist the throttle I would want the bike to respond in a snap and I did not have that.... maybe after a stage 1or a new cable. I really liked the bike and would like to try some more to get a more thorough feel for them.
Not a huge turnout for the time we arrived there.... around 1:30pm, but still plenty of people wanting to try the new bikes.
There was around 20 bikes and they would send them out like every 20 minutes or so. They took each group on a mixture of roads and the highway (rte 290) ... all-in-all around 15 miles of a loop.
We both tried a Chief Vintage ... blue with tan leather saddle and bags. I was comfortable on the bike, sitting upright. First surprising thing I hadn't noticed before... no heel shifter. The bike's chassis was responsive and handled well. I had spoken to some people who went before us and they were talking up the bike as very impressive... on my ride I thought that compared with my harley touring bike, the drive chain did not seem smooth ... there seemed quite a bit of vibration, mostly in 3rd and 6th gear. I also did not find the throttle all the responsive without giving it a food twist .... maybe slack in the cable. After the ride there was a quick survey and I mentioned these things. Others that I spoke to felt their bike was awesome, so maybe I had a bike that needed adjustment.
In summary, I felt the bike was very nice, and if I was in the market for a bike it would be a serious consideration... the drive chain just did not feel as smooth as my King. Some people may feel that this is just character given the lack of primary chain and having a direct gear from crank to tranny and they may be right, so it is something I could possibly let slide. However, when I twist the throttle I would want the bike to respond in a snap and I did not have that.... maybe after a stage 1or a new cable. I really liked the bike and would like to try some more to get a more thorough feel for them.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Yankee Chapter Antique Motorcycle Club National Meet
It was a cloudy day today with a good chance for rain, but I was itching to ride so away I went. I met up with Jim in Chicopee, MA around 10:00am (sorry I was late Jim) and we headed out. An uneventful ride with no rain in site until the last couple miles which had a light mist. From there the day just brightened up to be beautiful.
This was my first time for this Meet, and I was expecting something more. However, there was a lot of nice bikes and people were streaming in and out. Here are some pictures...
Have a nice day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)