Three Lakes and Three Bikes

With spare time and a sunny Saturday afternoon, riding was necessary. The problem was, which motorcycle should I ride? The super9 was high on the list as was the SV650. Then I thought about the motorcycle I want to sell: the GZ250

I decided to take it out for a ride. I’ve recently put new tires on, a new battery, fresh brake fluid, new air filter, new oil, new spark plugs, and carb clean. I thought I should take it out for a bit of a shake down ride to make sure it is in ready condition to sell.

Long time readers may be a bit confused at this point. Wait, when did you get the GZ250?? I bought it in the fall of 2014 from my ex-wife. It was actually my first motorcycle and hers as well. During the divorce, she didn’t want it, so I bought it from her with the intent of selling it to a friend. That deal fell through, so it will end up on craigslist soon. It runs great, and it will make a great first motorcycle for someone else.

After a short ride I brought it home. The SV was sitting there, so I couldn’t quite resist taking it for a quick ride. I had all my gear on already… I had a fun time blasting around. The SV felt like a rocketship compared to the GZ. Since I posed the GZ in front of a lake, I thought I should do the same for the SV.

One I got home with the SV, the Super9 seemed to be itching for a ride as well. Why not?! I found a third lake and posed the scoot for a pic as well.

It was tempting to try to dig out the WR or the Ural, but they need some TLC before they are ready for the road. They are also both buried in the corners of the garage.

It was a fun afternoon tooling around looking at the beautiful lakes nearby.

Where did you ride this weekend?

MinneADV Swap Meet

This past weekend was the Spring MinneADV swap meet. I have attended a few times now. It is usually cold and slightly damp. The weather for this year couldn’t have been much better.

It was the first time I’ve seen people standing around in t-shirts. I didn’t plan on selling anything this year. I was feeling lazy and didn’t want to spend the time to clean out the closet to figure out what could go.

This year was a new location, so I was a tad unsure exactly where the pavilion was. When I pulled into the parking lot and saw all the motorcycles, I knew I was in the right spot. They were almost all dualsports with a couple exceptions like the Indian above.

There was this little cozy sidecar as well. A couple people thought it might be mine, but no. I rode the SV650 (pic above). I put all the luggage on incase there was a deal I couldn’t resist!

It was fun looking at all the different configurations of bikes. I like the NC700 kitted out next to two BMWs.

This Vstrom was nicely setup. I secretly want it. Hmm… I just wrote that, so I guess not much of a secret now. The gas can on the front made me smile.

I really like this Honda scrambler too. Such a nice look with the exhaust high in the middle.

There was a Vstrom 1000 for sale. It was kinda tempting, but I’d prefer a 650.

There were several motorcycles for sale at the swap meet. I think I counted five including this 125cc kit bike. A few of us were talking that if he spent a bit more money to make it street legal, it would easily sell.

An 80s XR650. There was a 250 as well, but it sold in a few minutes.

There was also quite the collection of stuff for sale this year. It was mainly riding gear.

There was also a lot of camping gear, a couple chain saws, and a scooter.

My friend Paul had a table. His rule was if it didn’t have a price tag it was free. Sadly, not many takers.

Lots of tools as well.

I ended up buying a new battery. I think it was originally for an XR400, but I plan to use it on my lawn mower. The 12v battery for the electric start failed last year. The new one is almost $80, so with a little duct tape this $20 battery should be a great replacement! There was a few other tempting items, but I managed to escape without filling my luggage.

The pic above is for some upcoming local motorcycle related events.

I had a nice time looking at all the stuff for sale and catching up with a few other riders. I appreciate the efforts to organize and get this event going. Thanks!

 

Related Posts:

• 2013 MinneADV Swap Meet

Scooting to Work

The weather this past week has been really nice. An unseasonably warm 70F during the day. I rode my SV650 each day. I felt like it was time to get another bike out, so I took my Kymco Super9 on Thursday.

I really enjoy riding the scooter. It’s a fun and easy twist and go. The Super9’s little 12” wheels makes it feel like you are going much faster than you actually are. “I was totally doing 60mph wide open…” “What?? I was only going 30mph?” lol. I also love that I can park it anywhere including bicycle racks. Yay mopeds!

It it also easy to stop and snap photos or gawk at the spring flowers. I snapped this one at a park I like to ride through in Roseville. The park is really nice on a bicycle because then you can actually use the bike trails.

It will be a little bit longer before I get my WR250R out. It needs a bit of work, and I’ve been spending most of my free time in the garden or the kitchen.

Motorcycles Near Kenosha

I was on a road trip this weekend with Laura visiting different restaurants in the Wisconsin and Illinois area. You can check that out over on my food blog if you are interested.

While walking around Kenosha near Lake Michigan, we spotted what looks like a ‘10 or ‘11 Ural outside of a local coffee shop. I like the color scheme on this one a lot. I didn’t try to talk to the owner. He seemed occupied in conversation already. It was such a nice day out for riding. I kinda wished I was on one of my motorcycles instead of in the car.

After we left Kenosha and started to head south along the Lake, I started to recognize some of the scenery. I was here several years ago with my friend Sharon. We had tried to visit the Wisconsin Motorcycle Museum, but it was closed.

It was open this time for a few more minutes, so we stopped in to check it out. It really wasn’t what I expected. It was mostly a motorcycle clothing and parts store with some interesting motorcycles on display between the helmets and coats.

They had several bimotas. This was was interesting to look at because of the front swingarm instead of the usual forks.

A closer look at the front suspension setup.

And another bimota with the full fairing on. I’m curious how they handle when riding. Maybe someday I will get the chance to try one.

Have you ridden a bike with unique suspension before?

How do you wear your riding gear off bike?

Oh the fun things you can find in the drafts folder. I found this from several years ago. It appears to be from a Motorcycle First Thursday event in Minneapolis.

I learned a new way to wear my Roadcrafter Light from this event. Use the legs, but keep the zippers all the way up in the front? I’m not sure how it is staying on. It reminds me of how I like to take my leather one-piece half off to get some air, but it is significantly harder to get on and off.

I prefer to just take the Roadcrafter off and hang it on the bike. It only takes a few seconds to get on and off. 10? 15? The style above takes longer to adjust than to just take off. I usually only keep it on if it is cold or wet out.

Do you walk around with your riding gear half off? Why or why not?

Motorcycle First Thursday–April 2015

It’s the beginning of a new month, so that means a Motorcycle First Thursday in Minneapolis! It was pretty good weather for the beginning of April, so I was excited to see some of the motorcycles come out of hibernation. Check out the previous years links at the end of this post.

All day at work, I was waiting to go like a little kid waiting to goto the amusement park or something. I was looking forward to seeing some friends and some bikes. It was also the first time to bring Laura with and I was excited to share it with her.

While walking around, we saw the usual mix of motorcycles from all different eras and genres. I liked this helmet; it was probably my favorite of the evening.

This motorcycle was also pretty cool. A complete art show with all the different, eclectic components. He has the same size tires as my Ural too. 

I especially liked his mirror location. I’m not sure how useful it would be, but it was unique.

This yellow FJR was heavily customized as well from the unique lights, custom dash, and then custom case on the passenger seat. He had swapped the rear tire for a car tire though; which isn’t the best idea for cornering/handling.

Laura and I both enjoyed looking at the motorcycles. She thought the can-am looked neat, and with a comfy rear seat. She also liked a Harley with mickey mouse strapped to the back.

It was a good turnout given the early time of year. I would guess a few hundred motorcycles. Much better than last year’s snow at this time, but not nearly as good as 2010 or 2011. I enjoyed catching up with people I hadn’t seen since the fall. The mix of sport bikes, loud cruisers, dual sports, and two strokes was a cocktail for the ears. Some may argue it was just noise, but it sounded like fun to me. I’m looking forward to hopefully even warmer weather and more motorcycles for May!

Previous April Motorcycle First Thursdays:

• April 2014
• April 2013
• April 2012
• April 2011
• April 2010

Written by Chrisluhman for Everyday Riding. All rights reserved.

Motorcycle Stuff At Work Challenge

It was time for new carpet at work, so we had to clean our cubes out. They were going to jack them up and slip the carpet under. It was quite a chore to pack everything into boxes. Wow! I had a lot of stuff!

I noticed I had quite a fair amount of motorcycle stuff in my cube, and I wondered how much do other people have? This will be the Motorcycle Stuff At Work (MSAW) Challenge.
I have:

• Ural mug
• Yamaha racing visor from MotoGP
• Ural poster
• Ural license plate badge
• BMW license plate badge
• Triumph poster
• Suzuki dirtbike poster
• IMS 2015 page of the calendar.

Do you have motorcycle stuff in your cube? Take a pic or blog about it, and I will link you below. Let us see your motorcycle stuff at work!

Other Cubes

• Richard's post 

• Email me or comment below to get yours listed