Why We Ride Film Motopsyco’s October Website of the Month!

<Whyweridefilm.com ValleyOfFire>

It’s worth going to the website just for the great pictures like this.

Whyweridefilm.com

Let me be up front with you, when International Motorcycle Shows first posted the trailer for this movie on Facebook I almost didn’t click on it. So often these “documentaries” about motorcycling are so one dimensional that they seem to be written for a narrow group of riders and/or racers. While I have yet to see the movie itself I have watched the trailer about 10 times already! There are interviews with kids, moms, street riders, Harley aficionados, crotch rocket jockeys, & racers from a variety of two wheeled motorsports all talking about how much they love to ride motorcycles & trying to explain the feeling to the rest of the world. Those of us who already ride understand the passion that just overflows out with the words they speak. Hopefully some of the normal people that get dragged to this film by friends and family will feel it too, and if they don’t at least want to try it will at least get an understanding of what draws us to these machines that so many people mistakenly see as deathtraps.

<whyweridefilm.com Sturgis>

another fantastic pic from whyweridefilm.com

I ride a motorcycle & I love it. When I was a skinny little nerdy kid it was my favorite escape. No matter how bad my days at school were, when I slid that two stroke Kawasaki around a curve in the woods behind the cow pasture & then jumped one of the hills at the side of the canal ditch I was the ultimate 6th grade badass and all was right with the world! Today most of my riding is commuting back & forth to work on my ancient Honda, but it is still my escape and when everything is just right, I still roll on the throttle exiting that last turn before a long straight and pin it to the stop, while the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson whispers in my ear, “screw it on you big pussy” as the speedometer hurtles toward that magic number that all the Ton Up Boys lived & died for. It has been approximately 37 years since I got my first motorcycle and even though age and injuries have made me more cautious it still thrills me. Just like the first time! Every time. Even when just putting around at slow cruising speeds like the old fart that I am becoming. Bottom line is, I’ll quit riding when I die.

Even if you don’t visit the website at least click on this line and go watch the trailer!   Then come back here & tell me & the rest of the world why YOU ride in the comments section. I am going to close this out by quoting from the synopsis on the movie website.

“Your senses will heighten as the world rushes in, your heart will beat to the pulse of the engine, your mind will race and set you free. Once you let a motorcycle into your life, it will change you forever.”

Sums it up for me,

Peace Y’all

The 2013 Bull City Rumble in Pictures

<Norton Commando Tank Art>

Who wants to ride this Night Train?

<at the Bull City Rumble>

a look down the street

<a yellow CB400F>

The first of a pair of great looking CB400F Hondas.

<a red CB400F Honda>

a better view of the red one

<a far out Honda bobbber>

a spaced out Honda bobber

<wild chopped Honda>

the super low riding alien Honda

<kids love vintage scooters>

kids love vintage scooters

<Kawasaki 120TR Enduro>

Vintage Kawasaki Enduro

<street legal 50cc Suzuki>

Who else remembers street legal mini-enduros like this 50cc Suzuki

2 stroke Yamaha flat tracker

Check out the radial cylinder head!

<Yamaha XS650 street tracker>

a very well done Yamaha XS650 street tracker

other side of xs650

other side of xs650

organic transit pedal electric three wheeler

organic transit pedal electric three wheeler

rare Bimota Kawasaki

rare Bimota Kawasaki

Bimota Kawasaki

a better view of this exotic motorcycle

Moto Guzzi 850T

Moto Guzzi 850T

1935 Royal Enfield

1935 Royal Enfield original but not mint

35 Royal Enfield 500

35 Royal Enfield 500

1982 National Champion Honda Superbike

1982 National Champion Honda Superbike

number 1 plate

it aint bragging if you really did it

sweet looking CR750 Honda

sweet looking CR750 Honda

Honda CR750

Got velocity stacks?

CCW Tha Heist

not in the show but too kool to ignore

 A row of British iron.

A row of British iron.

a tasty looking bathtub Triumph

a tasty looking bathtub Triumph

serious looking Norton Comando Interstate

serious looking Norton Commando Interstate

Triumph bobber

Triumph bobber

GS Suzuki

GS Suzuki

<a pic of down the street>

Henderson SuperX

Henderson Super X

super X engine

super X engine

nice red BSA

nice red BSA

Laverda Jota

Laverda Jota

<Laverda tank close up>

a bevy of Italian beauties

a bevy of Italian beauties

<bevel drive Ducati 750 Super Sport>

drool….

What a good looking engine.

What a good looking engine.

<registration tent Bull City Rumble

<randum bikes parked on the street>

1983 Honda CB1100F

1983 Honda CB1100F

ratty old Triumph

ratty old Triumph

neat old Chevy

neat old Chevy

my CB650C and a nice CB750 Super Sport

my CB650C and a nice CB750 Super Sport

<Bull City Rumble 2013>

<Bull City Rumble 2013>

<Bull City Rumble 2013>

<Bull City Rumble 2013>

The 2013 AMCA Southern National Meet!

Indian Chief

A fantastic motorcycle but just a little out of my price range.

This was the first time I have attended this event, the AMCA Southern National Meet. I went on Saturday & had to duck a few showers in the morning but other than that it was a great day! There were some truly outstanding motorcycles on the grounds along with a few neat old bicycles too. Here are a few of the pictures I took around the show grounds, enjoy!

Schwinn Cycle Truck

Kinda Rough & Crusty

Ross badge on Schwinn Cycle Truck

I have no idea why it had a Ross head badge on it.

<neat little bobber>

Triumph in a Bubble!

Triumph in a Bubble!

antique Harley with a saddle

Giddy Up!

Triumph Cubs

Triumph Cubs Hard to resist!

Vintage Vespa & old moped.

Vintage Vespa & old moped.

Carbide Bike Headlight

Who doesn’t love an old bicycle?

rusty Monark Super Twin

rusty Monark Super Twin

BSA Motorcycle

A nice ride able BSA!

antique Benelli 2 stroke

antique Benelli 2 stroke

another great vintage Triumph

I really enjoy seeing bikes like this Triumph Scrambler getting ridden. instead of merely displayed.

another nice old hog

old Harley with bare sheet metal

BSA B50MX

BSA B50MX

crusty project for sale

crusty project for sale

<old motorcycle>

The theme for this year was British Iron and the were some first class examples placed inside of one of the exhibition halls.

Ariel Square Four

Ariel Square Four

A Magnificent Triumph

A Magnificent Triumph

beautiful restored Vincent

beautiful restored Vincent

 cool custom Bonneville

cool custom Bonneville

AJS all decked out for touring

AJS all decked out for touring

Harley Davidson Sprint

I would like to have one of these

1960 Triumph Thunderbird

my dream machine

1960 Triumph Thunderbird

fantastic looking engine

Thunderball BSA

Thunderball BSA

<BSA Thunderball>

Cushman Eagle V2

Cushman Eagle with v twin engine

 coolest dog at the show

coolest dog at the show

Harley K model

Harley K model this would be a great restoration project

<Harley K>

kool tow trucks

kool tow trucks #1

kool tow trucks #2

kool tow trucks #2

field events pictures

field events pictures

Cushman in plank  race

Cushman in plank race

winner of the plank race

winner of the plank race

slow race

slow race

slow race

slow race

immaculate Moto Guzzi Eldorado

immaculate Moto Guzzi Eldorado

immaculate Moto Guzzi Eldorado

Moto Guzzi Eldorado another of my dream bikes

Briggs and Stratton motor wheel

Briggs and Stratton motor wheel

This was the first time I had ever seen a Briggs & Stratton  motor wheel. Neat old piece. The same gentleman also had the Smith motor wheel pictured below.

Smith motor wheel

Smith motor wheel

This event is held each year at Denton Farm Park in Denton, N.C. This is a fantastic venue for events of this type check their website for a schedule of different interesting events throughout the year.

The 2013 Charlotte International Motorcycle Show Pg.1

<XDL Street Jam at Charlotte International Motorcycle Show>

XDL Street Jam at Charlotte International Motorcycle Show

Hello Dear Readers,

Last weekend the lovely Mrs. Psyco and I attended the 2013 Progressive International Motorcycle Show at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte N.C. Since it was my first time attending this show I wanted to share my experiences with you. We are morning people and like to pretend we are children of privilege so I sprung for the early admission VIP tickets. This worked out very well for us as two weeks ago my lovely wife slipped and fell in the kitchen on our way out the door. It turns out that some ladies shoes are probably far more dangerous than motorcycles. The first picture above is from the XDL Street Jam show.

motopsyco on a 2013 Ducati Diavel

The Diavel made me do it!

A couple of years ago one of my very first blog posts was about the introduction of the then brand spanking new Ducati Diavel. Well I finally got to see one in the flesh and throw a leg across it. It fit very well and everything seemed to fall perfectly into position for me, plus with my but firmly on the seat I was able to put my feet flat on the floor. Now I really gotta go get a demo ride on one. The fine people at Ducati Greensboro provided the bikes on display at the show.

The Nelsonore Custom 76 Honda CB750

Gary Nelson’s Cafe/ Scrambler CB750 was my favorite bike at the show.

Moving on to the show bikes in the J&P Cycles Ultimate Custom Builder contest. The above 76 Honda CB750 is the coolest thing I have ever seen. At the risk of sounding conceited I’ll confess that up until now my all time favorite was my very own Yamaha XT600 supermoto that I featured in an earlier post. But Gary Nelson is one of the most talented vehicle engineers to ever live. Just look at all of his work in NASCAR. No wonder this is my new favorite custom motorcycle of all time.

The Brew Racing CB350 Racebike

The Brew Racing CB350 Racebike

In 2011 Brew Racing Frames was my listing as website of the month for December. Nothing is more awesome than seeing a genuine for real racing motorcycle entered in a show like this against all of the pampered show bikes. Enlarge the picture below for it’s racing pedigree.

Brew Racing CB350 Credentials

Brew Racing CB350 Credentials

Triumph Scrambler

Triumph Scrambler

Here are a couple of beautiful bikes from the Triumph display, one new & one old.

classic rigid frame Triumph

nothing classes up the joint like a beautiful old Triumph.

One of the most interesting things on display was the Tharo EV Scooter by a division of Tharo Systems.  It does have a much more realistic MSRP (around $4200 or so) than most big electric scooters.

Tharo EV electric scooter

Tharo EV electric scooter

Of course since I just love old rice grinders the VJMC booth was my favorite club/vendor display stand at the meet.

Check out this old CL450 Scrambler.

Check out this old CL450 Scrambler.

There’s a soft spot in my heart (or is it in my head?) for old scramblers of any make.

Honda CBX1000 six cylinder

Honda CBX1000 six cylinder

The six cylinder Honda CBX was the epitome of early ’80s muscle bike development. But with introduction of the GSXR soon to come the original musclebike era came to a close in the mid “80s with only the Mighty V Max soldiering on alone until the beginning of the 21st century.

side view of CBX

side view of CBX

That’s all for now, but check back soon as  I will post some more pics and my analysis of the good things, and the shortcomings of the show.

More Bikes from Concord Rare Stuff Here!

This post will be almost all pictures there is some really cool stuff that I have never seen anywhere else. Check em out and leave a comment telling us your favorite(s).

(comments are moderated so please be patient, and once again please excuse the low res pictures)

Peace Y’all

Vintage Motorcycles New in the Crate!

Would you like to have a brand new vintage Triumph or a first year Gold Wing? I know where some are, but I don’t know if you can buy them. They are part of the Carpenter Museum collection along with the 2 MZs that I showed to you in my last post. Take a peek at these pictures!

1976 gl100 new old stock

A Honda collectors dream come true!

Brand new Meridian Triumph

Read it and weep.

N.O.S. Classic Triumph

It would destroy the value but I would take this one out & ride it if I could!

A hidden gem in Concord N.C. Dennis Carpenter’s Bike Collection!

I’ve been traveling a lot for work lately and have not posted as much. While in Concord N.C. I stopped by Dennis Carpenter Ford Reproductions  to look at a beautiful old Falcon that was sitting out front for sale. The gentleman who owned the car worked there, and came out to greet me and we talked for a while. I used to own a 66 Falcon and if I ever find another one at the right price. This one was a beautiful powder blue with the original engine and less than 70,000 miles on it!

classic Ford Falcon

classic Ford Falcon

Ford Falcon all original engine

Ford Falcon all original engine

Of course the focus of this blog is all things 2 wheeled and we know that if you need Cushman scooter parts Carpenters is the best game in town. While I was talking to the guy about the Falcon he told me about the museum out back and where to go in the showroom to get to see it. I like old Fords (I’ve owned a few) and Cushmans are cool so it was definitely worth a look. The cars and the scooters did not disappoint but what blew me away was the large and diverse collection of classic motorcycles and bicycles of all kinds from every continent! Please keep in mind that I was totally unprepared for this and all the pics you are about to see are crappy low resolution cell phone pics.

Badass old lawnmower

Badass old lawnmower!

Before we get to the bikes when was the last time you saw a lawnmower like this?

Here is a view down the front aisle. Its a little fuzzy but you get the idea.

Honda CTs etc.

Honda CTs etc.

twin Trumpet twins!

twin Trumpet twins!

Check out this twin engine Triumph dragster!

a bunch of mint vintage bikes

a bunch of mint vintage bikes

seriously cool old bicycles

seriously cool old bicycles

Did I mention bicycle? Here are some samples.

a row of classic Triumph motorcycles

a row of classic Triumph motorcycles

A Triumph lovers dream many with zero miles on them!

bsa moto guzzi antique tricycles

Beezer!

Triumph X 75 Hurricane

Triumph X-75 Hurricane

Don’t forget BSA. Do you see the white Guzzi?

Got Hurricane?

Brand new MZ motorcycles

Brand new MZ motorcycles

This is just a teaser for now I’ll post more pics at a later date. There where several large boxes like this sitting around too….

Peace Y’all