Chopper Pictures from the Timonium Motorcycle Show

This post is just to show you a few more pictures I took of the two choppers I liked best at the Timonium show.

Carribean Cruiser

This Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Classic has a fantastic paint job. The owner told me the paint was done by a guy in Harford County, Maryland. I did not write the name of the painter down, but I think it was Mark Brown.

Here is a full view of the bike.

BMW F650 GS vs. Kawasaki Versys

If I say BMW, what do you think of? Most think of rock solid machines at a premium price. The mention of Kawasaki conjures up images of high performance motorcycles dating back to the Kawasaki Z1 in 1972. But BMW makes affordable bikes, and Kawasaki makes practical bikes. The Beemer 650 and the Kawasaki Versys are where fun, reliability and affordability come together in one package.

At a price tag of about $7K, the Versys is certainly affordable. It's hard to get your hands on one of these machines. Dealers sell them as soon as they can get them. This 2008 motorcycle of the year is perfect for zipping around town, daytrips to the next county, and riding back roads with fishing tackle strapped on the way to catch your dinner. It is comfortable on the highway, back roads, dirt roads. The smooth tread OEM tires don't really inspire off-road riding, but graded non-pavement roads are a snap. The Kawasaki isn't really billed as an off-road bike. It is better suited to urban riding, IMHO.



With a base price of about $9K, the BMW F 650 GS is the premium priced choice of these two. BWM offers lots of options that I am not sure you can get easily for the Kawasaki, such as lowered suspension, heated grips, abs, on board computer, anti-theft alarm and others. With these options, the price can rise to over $11K. The OEM tires on the BMW are better suited for off road riding. If you plan to do a lot of riding off pavement, the BMW is probably the better choice.

2009 Timonium Motorcycle Show

The 2009 motorcycle show in Timonium, MD was on a balmy weekend that saw many bikes coming out for the first time this year. Bikes parked next to mounds of melting snow, with their riders eager to go inside and see all the new bikes, show bikes and riding gear.

The economy is in the tank, but motorcycle enthusiasts always come out to dream about getting a new bike, even if they aren't ready to buy right now.



This show seemed more crowded than in past years. Cars and bikes lined up on York Road, wrapping around to Padonia Road and even backing up on I-83. In years past, we have braved snow, ice and frigid temperatures. This year we got an early taste of Spring.

Tandem Wheels

Tandem Wheels, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

I have let this blog go unattended for too long, though I have lots of pics to show and stories to tell from my riding season in 2008.

Back in March, I took a ride from Baltimore to Daytona and back to go to Bike Week. This is one of the first shots it took when arriving in Daytona Beach. This unique custom was in the parking lot across from the Iron Horse Saloon.

That trip was a lot of fun. I traveled alone, riding my Nomad 2096.1 miles in 5 days. It rained on a me quite a bit in Florida. I stayed in Orlando to save money, as hotel rooms are outrageously expensive in Daytona during Bike week.

A Day Riding in Arizona

Rented Goldwing, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

So much land, so little time. We had only a day to do some riding when we were in Arizona for Spring Break. We rented this Goldwing from MCTOURS LLC in Scottsdale. Gabor and Monica have a great business there renting Glodwings, BMW's and the new Kawasaki Concours 14 (my favorite). You can visit their website at www.azride.com.

My only regret is that we only had a day. We started in Scottsdale, and headed up North of Phoenix on I-17, made our way to Prescott on Route 60, then on Route 89. We had so little time, we did not stop much or take many pictures. Too busy riding. We wanted to make it to Sedona before dark, and then cruise on I-17 back to Scottsdale before the desert night got cool.

The temperature varied from 88 in Scottsdale to 53 near Sedona after the sun went down. As we decended in the darkness back to Scottsdale, the night time temperature climbed back to 71. Being the scatterbrain that I am, I had forfotten to pack any motorcycle jacket on this trip. So I ended up riding in a fleece jacket. I had to purchase another sweatshirt in Sedona to add a layer of warmth.

The scenery is so beautiful, the roads are so awesome, it is a fantastic place to ride. I want to go back and take more time to get off the bike and soak it all in, take more pictures, and relax. Maybe in the Fall, I have a frequent flyer pass I need to use ;-)

Off in the distance, in this view from Jerome, AZ you can see the San Francisco Peaks. They are just north of Flagstaff, towering 12,633 feet.

And in Sedona, just before the sun went down, I snapped this picture. There are so many scenic views in Sedona. I really need to go back there and take more time for serious photography. This time I was too busy riding.

Nomad by the Ocean

Nomad by the Ocean, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

I rode the Nomad from Baltimore to Daytona Beach for Bike Week. 2096.1 miles in all. During this trip I took lots of pictures that will be the first content posted on bikerphoto.net. The site will be a resource where people who love to attend major motorcycle rallies can pla their travel, reserve hotel rooms, and find links to riding gear and accessories for their bikes.

I will be attending Myrtle Beach Bike Week and also Ocean City Maryland Bike Week later this year. Bikerphoto.net will have many high quality photos, both posed and candid of people at these events. The target for getting the site online with the pictures from Daytona is March 15.

I will continue to post to this blog all along the journey, telling readers what I am learning about web design, my successes and my failures, as I build bikerphoto.net.

Shepherdstown WV

Shepherdstown WV, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

This is a nice little town in the Eastern Panhandle of WV. The permanent population here is less than 1,000, but it is the home of Shepherd University, which has about 5,000 students. The university population makes it possible for business owners to thrive with coffee shops, and trendy restaurants. Shepherdstown is about 2 hours from Washington, DC and about 2.5 hours from Baltimore.

O'Hurley's General Store is a place that hosts live tradtional acoustic music on Thursday nights. Musicians play for fun and enjoyment, and anyone can come in and enjoy.

Mandalay Bay

mandalay bay, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

This is the view from our room on a recent trip we took to Las Vegas. We were in the Luxor hotel, which is the one shaped as an egyptian pyramid. Vegas is always fun, but hard on the wallet. even if you don't gamble, the restaurants are fantastic, the shows are entertaining, and the shopping is endless. I always enjoy trips there.

Chrome

Chrome, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

There was lots of chrome at the Mid-atlantic Motorcycle Show in Timonium, MD. I try to make it to this show every year. It features all the new bikes from the local dealers, and custom bikes from all the custom bike shops in the area. There are all sorts of vendors selling riding apparel, luggage, and accessories. Take a look at more photos at www.bikerphoto.net. I still have bikerphoto.net pointing to my flickr photos, but it will be a real site soon.

My mission was 1) take some photos that I will be able to put on bikerphoto.net, and 2) to find a nice small duffle bag that would work on top of my hard side bags. But I really did not find what i was looking for at the show. I really like using the soft luggage from Revpack - www.revpack.com -- So I will be buying a pair of small "stuff packs" from them.

This is the wheel of the same bike. These photos are a little on the dark side. I was determined to not use flash. Flash would have ruined the reflections in the chrome, so I cranked up the ISO on my Canon 30D as far as it would go to 1600. The custom Harleys at the show were fantastic! So were the custom metric bikes, like this Suzuki Volousia.