Out With the Old....

On the Saturday that we went to the One Motorcycle Show, we left Corvallis early to do a little shopping on the way.  One of the places we stopped was a motorcycle shop in Beaverton that is known for all of the gear they carry in stock, particularly helmets.

I have been thinking of a new helmet for a few months now.  My current helmet is a Scorpion EXO 400 "Spring Chameleon" I bought in June 2009 for our ride to California and it has seen me through 4 summers.  It is quite warn inside.  The leather/vinyl around the bottom is cracked and the padding inside has compressed enough that I can now wear my hair in a pony tail under my helmet and if I shoulder check too quickly my head moves inside my helmet more than my helmet turns with my head.  Not good.

(Scorpion EXO 400 Spring Chameleon)

At the show in December I tried on an Arai since Troubadour is really happy with his.  Once again I tried on a few different models of Arai but they didn't fit right.  The cut outs for the ears hit at the wrong spot and were not comfortable at all.  Small was too small and medium was too large.

And then I tried on the Shoei Qwest and it fit like it should.  The medium was a little on the large size but the small fit perfect.  Luckily the shop was having a sale and when I found it was $200 under Shoei MSRP I snapped it up.

I now have a Shoei Qwest "Goddess" and as soon as hubby changes over the Sena and I'll be able to use it.  I could attempt it myself, but it is best left to someone that knows what they are doing.

(Shoei Qwest Goddess - stock photo from internet)

And so it went.....out with the old......and in with the new.......

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And then.... a week or so ago Troubadour was helping out Pat Hahn to film a Team Oregon group riding video.  He was to play the part of the newbie being left behind (yeah right) so instead of riding Lucy he needed to ride Max - a believable newbie bike.  They were meeting at Saturday Morning Coffee and heading out from there.  I was taking the car and meeting him there a few minutes later.  When I was leaving the house I realized he didn't take a camera with him, so I grabbed our little Canon HS300 (without the case) and brought it to him.

Neither of us were thinking it was going to rain as hard as it did on their ride or that the Scorpion jacket he chose to wear didn't have waterproof pockets like his TourMaster jacket.  When he got home he pulled the camera of his pocket by it's strap and it was dripping wet.  Doh!

(Canon HS300 - photo by Canon)

Several days of drying in rice on the pellet stove later we acknowledged the electronics were fried. It would almost turn on.  The lens would come out and an error message would occur but the lens would not go back in or close.  The camera is now a paper weight. Double doh!  

However much I liked the picture quality of the Canon, I didn't appreciate how hard it was to find all the special features and use the menus.  Now for a tech guru like Bobskoot this wouldn't be an issue, but for someone like me who likes to keep it simple, I thought I'd use this opportunity to explore my options.

I did a little research on cameras and on Saturday we went to Costco as I wanted to see the Nikon S6400.  I played with the display model and was immediately impressed with it's touch screen and ease of use.  I could actually find features quicker on it than I could the Canon we'd had since August 2011.    The Nikon came as a package deal with a Nikon case and 8 GB memory card.  It was $40 off too, so I managed to purchase it for only $159.  If for some reason I don't like it Costco has a 90 day return policy.

(Nikon S6400 - photo by Nikon)

Ummm yeah, I bought the blue one.  So far I like it.  I haven't really taken many pictures but Basil let me take one of him and I took a few of the yard on Sunday.  The sizes seem odd (long and skinny) so I may have to look at the settings and change them up a bit.  They are 4600 pixels on the long side so I have to re-size every one before uploading to blogger.

(Squire Basil on the sofa)

(Citronella tiki torch)

(Viburnum Spring Bouquet)

And so it was again..... out with the not so old, and in with the new.......

- Au Revoir

"The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot.  The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius." - Sid Caesar

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Cause and Effect

While driving home from The One Motorcycle Show on Saturday, Troubadour commented that he thought everyone and their dog was going to drag old motorcycles out of their garages, make up a price and list them on Craigslist for those that are now jonesing to customize or own a custom a bike.

He wasn't wrong.  The following are just a few of the gems that have been listed in the last week. Some neat, some just need a little (or a lot) of work.  Oh well, something for everyone perhaps.

**  I make no claim to have taken any of these photos.  They were all appropriated from Craigslist Ads.  I was going to link the actual ads, but it seems when I do that, half the time the ads are gone by the time someone clicks on them.  Hopefully I am not stepping on any photographic toes.**

Need a little iron in your daily riding diet?  How about the last of the Harley Davidson iron heads for a mere $2,200.

(1979 Harley Sportster)

Something with a little more off road capabilities maybe. Perhaps you want to make a flat tracker....  Look no further than this 1982 Honda XL 125.  It only has 4500 miles, but a lost title and it can be yours for only $550.

(1982 Honda XL 125)

Honda not your thing?  Rather have a Suzuki 125?  Mechanically inclined?  How about a 1973 Suzuki RV 125 Tracker.  Unfortunately he is parting it out so there is no price for the whole bike. This makes me think there is no title.  Looks like fun though.

(1973 Suzuki RV 125 Tracker)

Have your own engine and just need a rolling frame - Here is a Softail roller frame for $2,700.  No engine?  No problem - add a seat and make it a Strider bike.

(Softail Roller frame)

Don't want to do the work yourself and prefer to buy something already restored?  How about a 1967 Honda CB77 Superhawk for $5,500.  This too looks like fun.

(1967 Honda CB77 Superhawk)

Want something out of the ordinary?  How about a 1986 Honda custom 3-wheeler for $,3295.  I think this is just all kinds of ugly.  Must have been made for the sand dunes on the coast.

(1986 Honda Custom 3-wheeler)

This one is pretty cool, but I think he might want a little much for it.  A 1971 Honda SL 125 for $1,200.  He says it runs, has a clean title, but is a bit of a project.

(1971 Honda CL 125)

Looking for something a little older and more of an original.  Well here you go....a 1954 Allstate. According to the ad it was made in Austria and originally sold in Sears stores.  Only the second owner and it could be yours for only $3,900.

(1954 Allstate)

(We don't even see these at the vintage shows)

There are even bikes out there for the young budding two-wheeled hooligan.  A 1984 Honda Z50R for $600 would be loads of fun for little kids .....and big kids alike.

(1984 Honda Z50R)

If those aren't enough of a project for you, here is a real challenge.  Bike doesn't run, has a horrendously gaudy paint job that needs to be removed asap (unless of course you're into skulls) and could make a sweet cafe racer one day if you had the skills and patience - a 1980 Honda CB 650 for only $600 - at least they have a title to this one.

(1980 Honda CB 650)

There seem to be a lot of older Hondas coming out of hibernation.  Here is a 1980 Honda CX 500, yours for only $1,300 obo. The ad claims in runs and rides well and just needs a little TLC.

(1980 Honda CX 500)

For the low low price of $300 you can be the proud owner of a 1972 Honda XL 250 that doesn't run, nor does the back tire spin.  But it does come with a key - bonus!  Bleeding knuckles are not optional with this gem.

(1972 Honda XL 250)

Oh, but wait..... what is that I see? A 1970 Triumph Tiger TR6 with shiny gold paint.....  Apparently this is a numbers matching bike, strong daily rider and needs nothing.  It can be yours for $5,200 - ouch.

(1970 Triumph Tiger TR6)

That one too rich for you, but you still want a vintage Triumph, try this one on for size.  A 1970 Triumph 250 Trophy for $ 3,300.  The ad says it runs great and is quite the attention getter (what Triumph isn't an attention getter?)

(1970 Triumph 250 Trophy)

And yet another Honda.  But this one would be so much fun to ride to coffee on Saturdays and all the work has been done to it - a complete frame off restoration.  Bring your checkbook for this 1969 Honda 350 Scrambler for $4,200.  And it deserves two pictures.  I really like this one.

(1969 Honda 350  Scrambler)

Okay, this Suzuki looks like all kinds of fun too.  A 1969 Suzuki T500 for $2,000.  Oh the places you could go.  Apparently the seller is getting rid of it as he doesn't have time to ride it, how sad.

(1969 Suzuki T500)

These are just a handful of bikes that have been listed in the last week or so.  There really are too many to include.  As you can see, some are really nice and fully restored and some no one has time to tinker with they need so much work.  I do find it odd that I didn't see any older Kawasakis for sale.  Their owners must be hanging on to those.

Spring is in the air - are there any neat old bikes coming out of the woodwork in your area?

-Au Revoir

"  You don't get anything clean without getting something else dirty." - Cecil Baxter

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The One Motorcycle Show

A few months ago a certain Aussie blogger mentioned in a post that maybe, just maybe, moto bloggers in Oregon might attend The One Motorcycle Show in Portland.  We'd thought about going in previous years, so this was a good excuse to put it on the calendar.  Admission is free so you can't go wrong....

Saturday morning Troubadour and I arrived at coffee at 9am and instead of the usual chatting until noon, we departed at 10am to make the 89 mile (143 km) trek to Portland.  It wasn't quite 40˚F (4˚C) so we were in the car.  Have heated seats, will travel.

We made a few stops along the way and arrived at The One about mid-afternoon.  On Saturday the show was open from noon until 11 pm.

We parked a few blocks away (closest we could get when not on a bike) and walked back to the Sandbox Studios.

There was live music and what seemed to be a lot of people.  I kept bumping into people (luckily no one spilled their beer on me) and it was a little hard to get a decent picture of the bikes due to the bright uplighting.  The bikes were also fairly close together so clean pictures of individual bikes wasn't always a possibility.

Here are some of the better shots of the bikes.  The ones I can identify I have, the others you'll just have to guess.

(A row of Kawasakis)

(Taken from the other end of the row)

(This Kawasaki was so nice it was rotating on a stand)

(Flying Irishman - Denny Edwards)

(The sign under the helmet)

(Ariel - I didn't peek at the year)

(Another Ariel)

(Norton of unknown year)

(Custom Ural by Icon Motorsports)

(Harley Davidson Sportster with a Warn Winch)

(Close up of winch)

(2011 Triumph Tiger 800 XC named Dromedarii customized by Icon Motorsports)

(All set for the desert)

(2002 Ducati 998 named Menta custom built by Frosty)

(Not usually a fan of gold but I really liked this bike)

(custom  Ducati by Speedy Moto)

(Custom by Dues Ex Machina)

(Even Vespa was represented)

(1965 250cc by Moto Parilla)

(Some Suzukis)

(The Conquistador - a Bultaco 250)

(I thought the seat looked a tad uncomfortable)

(Triumph was well represented)

(One of the photo displays behind the Triumph)

(1976 Honda CJ 360 T named Snow, custom built by Joe Tessitore)

(1970 Honda CL 450 named Sporco Buco, custom built by Lossa Engineering)

(I thought the color scheme was nice but really liked the seat)

(Graffiti bike - the kids were all over this with the supplied paint markers)

(Large painting I thought was really cool - couldn't find the name of the artist though)

('Klausmann' by Monty Klaus - I found this blog post about it - click----> LINK)

(Right by the band - almost lost my hearing getting this shot - those drums were loud)

(Patience can get you a picture with minimal people)

(So then you may as well take a people shot)

(Small bikes were well represented)

(Cute little Honda - Something about that color...)

(But wait - it has Nitrous too)

(A general room/people picture)

(1974 Yamaha XS400 named INXS, custom built by Spin Cycle Industries)

(Something from Mad Max Beyond Thunder Dome perhaps.....)

(Triumph America - customized by a retired cabinet maker - all real wood was used)

(Even the saddlebags were real wood)

That brought us full circle, but as we were heading out we walked by the display of custom helmets. Here a few that caught my attention.

(They had a wood one....)

(And a feather one.....)

(My favorite - one to test for color blindness, I hope you can see the 2)

(And a shiny metallic one)

And right at the exit was Lucy, not as cool as Troubadour's Lucy though.

(Lucy - been a rough life)

Once outside we wandered by some of the bikes ridden to the show by attendees.

(Nice Moto Guzzi)

The laugh and the 'slogan of the day' had to come from this bike.

(Yamaha 650 cc, notice the lunch pail/tail bag)

(Just remember, 'it's all pink on the inside'.)

As we were walking back to the car I noticed the old warehouses/factories in that area of town and took this one last non moto-related picture.  I could have taken more pics as there were several of them, but it was cold and the wind was biting.

We had a good day and I think we would have taken a little more time to wander at the studio if we hadn't of been so tired.  

- Au Revoir

"Freaks are the much needed escape from the humdrum.  They are poetry." - Albert Perry
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