International Motorcycle Show

[Paniolo]

It's being held this weekend in Long Beach. I went to pass out flyers and "see what the market is doing". I looked at all the products, and as usual nothing leaped out as a gotta have. I was hoping to find a good low price wheel chock to replace the ones on my Kendon trailer. They got twisted and tweaked from repeated use and metal fatigue. But even the Condor wasn't the deal I was looking for. I'll probably go with Harbor Freight. In fact the only thing I bought was two battery trickle chargers for $19.95 each. Now that I have all these motorcycles I need to keep the batteries fresh.

I did manage to test ride a few bikes. I rode the Yamaha Royal Star Venture which is their version of an Ultra. It was a nice comfy cushy ride. The power was "okay" but nothing to write home about. It had a lot of gizmos that I didn't have time to learn how to work on a 15 mile test ride. It would be a nice bike to have, but it's not for me. The one thing I did notice was the heat coming off the radiator. Even on a cool day as yesterday I felt it on the front of both legs. I could see it becoming as uncomfortable as a Harley in the summer. Then I rode the Kawasaki Concours 14, the "Touring" version of the ZX-14. Years ago I used to ride a ZX-11 and wanted to give it a try. In fact I had been so enamorated by it that I entertained thoughts of buying one. For me that bike is one scary ride. It launches like a rocketship. Bang two gears and you are over 100mph in a blink. The brakes are phenomenal. The shaft drive is well behaved, no "shaft jerking" like the old BMWs. I liked the motorized windscreen which did a pretty decent job of keeping the wind from beating on me. Where as the old ZX-11 used to vent radiator heat right on the leg and roast it in traffic, this one has it vented out and away from the rider. I could feel the heat radiating from the vents. When we got back my arthritic left wrist was hurting from holding myself up on the bars in that sport riding position. Then I rememberd why I no longer ride sport bikes. There is no way I could comfortably ride that bike all day like my Ultra.

I wish BMW had demo rides. I'd like to try that GS1200 dual sport Paris-Dakkar bike. I sat on them at the show and found the upright neutral seating postion very comfortable. Last week I spoke with my old supervisor now living in Colorado. He said he goes to South America on them every year with a bunch of guys. It sounded like something I wanted to do. Maybe once in my lifetime before I'm 70. Anyway I found a guy at the show interested in the Ride Like A Pro course. He has a BMW GS1200 and when be brings it to class that will probably be my test ride. I'm heading back again today. I'm not sure I'll buy anything. Maybe tie downs. I may test ride an Aprilla, KTM or whatever is available. Those demo rides fill up fast. Folks were lining up at 7:30 am to get their names on the list.

All in all, I'm still happy with an Ultra. It's what I want in my "older years". There is something to be said for being comfortable.

Mark