Music and Motorcycles

My plans for Saturday were simple, sleep in a bit then go down to visit Solomon's Castle.  Sue and I were planning on spending the day, it's about a 90 minute ride south 1 way, and then come back.  Maybe check out the Zephyrhills Music and Motorcycle event afterword.

As it so happened life got in the way of Solomon's Castle (next weekend for sure!) but we did spend a little time at the event.  Some photo's if your interested follow.

3 or 4 different streets just loaded with bikes.

I was surprised there were not more motorcycle merchants or dealers at the event.  I know Z-hills is a small little town and the event was not really organized well.  I live there and didn't learn about the event till a week beforehand, and the only reason I did was because my mom gave me her Sunday paper.

Z-hills, as the local call it, has a lovely park which the bikes were allowed to drive through.  Music was provided by the Dive Bar Stalkers right off of main street itself.   The band lived up to it's name.

What I enjoyed was the diversity of the bikes and the creativity on many of the paint jobs.  One guy was doing pin stripping, and yes, I considered it for the Burgie but with some damaged plastics it be a waste of time and money.

Nice to see I'm not the only Burgie rider there!

This damage is not something I'm happy about and needs to be fixed.  This is my next project.  I'm going to work on making my bike look less beat up.  I'm planning on keeping it for years, so it needs to be cleaned up.  I would like to have my bike shining again.

Which brings me to the next photo.   While walking about I came across a restored with all original parts 1974 Triumph Bonneville 750.  It only had 6600 miles on it.  The same amount of mile that were on my Burgie originally.  What impressed me was the amount of time and love that went into that bike...and the story that bike must have.  Out of all the various bikes there, only two really brought a smile to my face....the Bonneville was one.  A true classic.

The other thing that caught my eye was truly a sight to behold.  

You gotta admit...that is pretty cool.

Getting it legal....

When I was just a wee lad growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I didn't know anyone that rode.  In fact, it wouldn't be till I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina right out of University that I even knew anyone that owned a bike.

As I grew older my circle of friends grew to include bikers, many of whom were serious about their Harley's, BMW's and one guy I knew even collected Indian's.  Hell, even my ex wife rode!  Yet I still did not understand what the big deal was.

My reasons for getting the scooter I did were more economical than anything but I know understand why they would take off for a weekend and just ride with no particular destination in mind.  In a way I'm sorry I didn't "get it" before.  So when I decided to upgrade from a little 125cc to the bigger 400cc Burgman I knew I would get my endorsement.

In Florida you can either get your motorcycle  endorsement on a 150cc scooters or on a 250cc  motorcycle licence.  The licence will allow you to ride either.   I decided to take the class on the motorcycle, after all you never know when you might move up right?  For someone like me who has never really ridden before it was an eye opener of sorts.  Where I thought the scooter was challenging enough learning how to work the controls of a motorcycle were a whole new challenge.

We also had to learn it in the pouring rain and howling wind over a short two day period, not the ideal condition's but I was looking at it this way; if I did well now...I know I could it in better conditions.  A opinion that seemed to be shared by my fellow trainees.

So after a few mistakes and a few realizations that "Yes, I've been doing this wrong!" I worked hard on correcting those mistakes.  Breaking habits that I somehow picked up - like covering the front brake handle with my hand.  While I'm not happy with my final score (I am my own worst critic) I can say that I did OK.

So I have the insurance, the licence, the experience will come with every mile under my wheel.  I'm part of the brotherhood now, for better or worse.  I took the class through the Motorcycle Safety Foundation and highly recommend it to anyone thinking about riding, or who has ridden illegally for a while.