First time offroad rider

April 30, 2012 in Motorcycling lifestyle, Rides | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

One of my goals for this year was to get some experience offroading. I haven’t had a two-wheeled motorized vehicle offroad since my Rupp Scrambler circa 1975. At Saturday’s Kawasaki demo day I asked one of the guides who had offroad experience about how to get training, to which he replied, “I dunno. I’m one of those crazy guys who will just go and do it.” Mind you, this is a guy who claims he rode his KLR-650  to the Arctic circle last year. So I was inspired.

Yesterday I found some dirt roads to demo my V-strom on. Here’s some video of my first offroad experiences.

Somewhere on the mountain near Bear Creek Ski Resort:


Then when I got back to my hometown I had a realization. Lansdale is an old town with old-school back alleys behind the homes. These back alleys are all gravel. So I decided to take a few laps around town. “Urban Offroading” I called it. The trip ends with a lap around my yard. And you’ve gotta love the drunk stumbling down the back alley with a big jug of wine in his hand at the 34 second mark of the video. It was about 3:40 in the afternoon too, and he was weaving back and forth pretty good. Lansdale is also one of those towns where drunks stumble down the back alleys:


On a completely unrelated note, riding motorcycles on strange roads lets you see some strange things. Here’s a house I saw in my travels that is made to look like Noah’s arc. As a friend mentioned, Noah didn’t need a dove…he had a satellite dish.

"It's the Lord, Noah"...."Riiiiight!"

Scott’s 1974 Honda CB450

April 29, 2012 in Motorcycles, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

My friend Scott is a fan of classic bikes. He has two right now – an early 80′s BMW K100 and this – his prized Honda CB450. He had the Honda out yesterday and I snapped a couple of pictures. He bought the bike a couple of years ago for $500 and says it had makeshift plumbing pipes for exhaust. It was a near-basket case. I’d say he did a pretty nice job with the restoration, eh?

I used my iPhone and uploaded a few pics with Instagram too. Still trying to figure out what makes this app worth a billion to Mark Zuckerberg….

Letting the good times roll at Kawi demo day

April 28, 2012 in Test Rides | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kawasaki had a fantastic demo day at the Granite Run Mall in Media, PA today. I got a chance to ride three bikes I really wanted to experience: the Ninja 650, the KLR 650, and the Concours. Some observations:

Kawasaki demo day in Media, PA

Kawi makes a lot of great bikes. Those were just the three I wanted to ride most – and they are all great in their own way. If I had unlimited time and the ability to take as many demo rides as I wanted, I would have also liked to try out the Vulcan Nomad, the Ninja 1000, the Z1000, and the ridiculous (in a good way) ZX-14. I honestly don’t think there is a bad bike in the Kawasaki lineup – every one is a quality machine.

It was the fastest demo day I’ve ever experienced. Kawasaki makes fast bikes – the ZX-14 is the fastest production bike on the planet today- and the guides at the demo day wanted to show that off. I was at the very edge of my comfort zone riding with the sportbike crew on the Ninja 650.

Sweet Ninja 650

Ninja 650 is fun. I really enjoyed the engine on the Ninja 650. High revving and torquey, whatever gear I was in just required a twist of the throttle to accelerate. I didn’t have to downshift once. It handled like a dream too. My only complaint was that it was a tad small for my 6’2″ frame. I stand by my belief that it’s one of the sexiest bikes for first time riders.

Kawasaki Concours. A dream machine.

Concours is like an extension of my body. I swear – I would think about turning left and the bike would start to go left. It was like the bike was anticipating my next move. It was the fastest bike I’ve ever experienced, and comfortable as a living room loveseat. Heated grips are a nice luxury – never experienced ‘em before and on a cold day like today they were great to have. The wind screen that adjusts on the fly with a press of a button was pretty cool technology, too. A dream machine.

My favorite Kawi of the day was the KLR-650

The KLR-650 rocks. As nice as it was to ride a dream machine like the Concours, I’m a meat and potatoes guy. I like basic, hard working, functional bikes. So the KLR-650 was in my wheelhouse. It’s a great bike for taller first time riders (I think shorter riders might have trouble with it) It was my second favorite ride of the day. Which brings me to…

The best bike I rode today is the one I own. I just love the V-Strom 650. It fits me perfectly, it’s quick and twitchy, it handles like a dream, it’s versatile, it’s economical…it’s everything I want in a bike. As nice as it is to fantasize about a work of art like the Concours, I’ll never pay $16,000+ for a motorcycle. I’d buy three good used bikes before buying a new bike for that much money. So the fact that I paid only $4,000 for my used V-Strom makes it all that much more fun.

Here are some other pictures from the demo day.

Versys 650. Another good bike for first time riders.

The Z1000 just looks badass.

ZX-14. The fastest production bike on the planet. Lookin' good in blue.

Good looking orange Vulcan 900 Custom.

This 'Busa and ZX-14 look like they're getting ready to throw down in the parking lot.

A relic from Triumph's first year back in the USA - 1996 Triumph Adventurer in mint condition.

Unfortunately, no demo rides allowed on this 2002 ZRX1200R.

The problem with GoPro

April 22, 2012 in Gear and Equipment, Rides | Tags: , , , | 5 comments

I bought a GoPro HD Hero last fall for a motorcycle trip through West Virginia and North Carolina, and I’ve got to say I’m one of the few who’s not in love with it. The small form factor, rugged construction, and multitude of mounting devices are main selling points. But I have a few pretty big complaints about it:

  • Battery life is limited. I’m only getting about an hour of life from the battery.
  • Navigating the settings is a challenge. If I ever lose the users manual to this camera, I’m screwed. The settings are in a decision tree embedded within the camera and proffered up on a miniscule display in arcane codes. Every time I want to change settings I have to bust out the manual, which means I have to carry it with me on every ride.
  • You can’t change modes on the fly. There’s no way to switch from video to still photography (or vice versa) on the fly, something I used to do with my old Flip video camera. (See below.)
  • It’s hard to turn it off and on while riding. You have to firmly press the power button and hold it down for 7 seconds for the unit to power up. And there is no way from the rider’s seat to know if it has powered up successfully or not. If your finger wavers on the power button even for a moment it won’t turn on. There have been times I thought I was recording awesome footage, but I wasn’t.
  • It’s hard to engage the shutter button while riding. Pressing the shutter button requires a firm press to engage, and there’s no way for the rider to know if the camera is actually recording. The red blinking LED that’s on the front, confirming operation, should be mounted on the back. Likewise, because of the tricky shutter button, there have been times I thought I was recording awesome footage, but I wasn’t.

I think the latter two complaints are because the GoPro is intended as a “set it and forget it” video recording device. The editing is supposed to be done when you’re done your ride and back at home. But I’m pretty limited when it comes to video editing, and prefer to record brief memorable segments of my ride, upload ‘em and ditch the whole editing process.

Last weekend I shot some video of my ride on the Jersey shore and found one more limitation: because you can’t see what’s being recorded, there’s no way to know if there’s a bug on the viewfinder! Here are a few segments of my ride down the shore on NJ Route 47:

Nice clean view across the display. Pretty day, pretty ride:



Pretty day, pretty ride, ugly blotch of dead bug in the top right quadrant of the screen, at about 2:00:



As I noted above, on previous trips I jerryrigged a FlipVideo camera to my handlebars with a mini-tripod and electrical tape.  The shots from these earlier trips look like their from the paleolithic era compared to the video footage from the GoPro, but I actually found that setup to be much more user friendly than the GoPro:




I’m going to keep experimenting with the GoPro and hopefully I’ll become a true believer like just about everyone else who has tested and reviewed this camera, but for now the jury is still out.

Cape May to Somers Point on my V-Strom

April 19, 2012 in Motorcycling lifestyle, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Over the weekend I was in Cape May with a bunch of friends for an annual gathering. On the way back I rode up the coast from Cape May to Somers Point, NJ; trying to stay as close to the beach as possible the whole way up. I was trying to find New Jersey’s version of the Pacific Coast Highway (hint: it doesn’t exist.)

In each town I visited, I tried to get a pic of my bike with water in the background – either the beach or the bay. I missed a few but here are the high points.

In Villas, NJ (near Cape May), with the Delaware Bay in the background. It was pretty early in the morning and I hadn't woken up yet. I look dog tired.

Wildwood Crest, NJ, just on the other side of the causeway from Cape May.

Wildwood, NJ. There was a cheerleader convention going on at the Wildwood Convention Center. Interesting...

Stone Harbor, NJ. Just over the bridge from Wildwood. I really like this pic.

Stone Harbor or Avalon; I can't remember which.

I thought this sign, just before Strathmere, NJ, was pretty funny. Damn those random pedestrians!

The Ferris wheel in Ocean City, NJ. The 'Strom is on the third car from the top, left side of the wheel ;-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My original plan was to continue up the coast to Atlantic City and head back from there, but by the time I got to Somers Point I was tired and ready to head home. Even after stopping in Ocean City for a pork roll and cheese sammich on the boardwalk…

 

 

ATGATT at last

April 2, 2012 in ATGATT, First time rider | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 comments

This weekend I fulfilled one of my motorcycle-related New Years resolutions. I invested in the gear I needed to go ATGATT (All The Gear, All The Time.) I took a trip to the Revzilla store in Philadelphia on Saturday and left with armored riding pants and jacket, gloves, and boots.

All The Gear.

My goal was to find a jacket and pants that covered as many possible combinations of temperature and weather as possible. I was willing to pay up for this versatility. Its clearly hard to find one do-everything jack-of-all-trades motorcycle outfit but when all was said and done I got pretty close.

I tried to buy this stuff online but it was just too confusing. Some of the products are offered in Euro sizes and others in American sizes. Even with the helpful videos on the Revzilla website it was hard to figure which items would work for me. And some stuff runs big, others small so it was hard to know what would fit me.

I had also tried to buy this stuff in a bricks-and-mortar store but there was just not enough selection available to make an informed decision. Two of the biggest motorcycle dealers near me have zero motorcycling pants in stock and only a few jackets. Driving the hour to the Revzilla store in South Philly was a good use of time.

Tito at the Philly Revzilla store was extremely helpful and invested a lot of time with me to make the sale.

First of all, a big shout out to my salesperson Tito. He literally spent two hours with me, educating me on my options and the pros and cons of each item. Once I made my selections he tried a number of different sizes of each item until I found the perfect fit. I ended up with:

The Olympia AST 2 Jacket. This is a 3/4 length adventure jacket with armor everywhere you’d want it, lots of pockets, a removable liner, and flow-through vents. It’s nice looking and seemingly has the versatility I want. While its billed as a 4-season jacket I think 90 degree summer days might be a bit much, but I still have a lightweight armored Triumph jacket for those days.

Olympia Airglide 3 Pants. These pants have a removable liner and can be worn as overpants. Or they can be worn alone or with shorts underneath in various combinations of with liner/without liner. So they’re pretty darn flexible. I wore them to work this morning over my corduroys without the liners and I was plenty warm. The temp was abut 40 degrees at the time.

One thing that surprised me a lot is that there are very few waterproof pants. The waterproof qualities are by and large built into the liner. This is complicated. Let’s say its a summer day and I’m using the Airglides as overpants. Now it starts to rain. I have to pull over, take off the Airglides , put in the liners, and put the whole shebang back on. I’m still not sure how this will work. And mind you I have to do this on the side of the road, braced against the bike, while rain is pouring down and tractor trailers are zooming by 80 miles per hour. So it may be that I just continue to use my rain pants and if it starts raining, throw them over the Airglides. I’ll update this later when I’ve experienced this a couple of times and make some conclusions about how to handle rain.

Alpinestars Ridge boots. This was a simple decision because they were the least expensive pair in the store (I paid more than I intended for the Olympia stuff) and they were decent looking, could be worn at work if necessary, and were waterproof (a mandatory feature since I wear my boots on week-long motorcycle camping trips on which at least one rain day is a guarantee.) I really wanted to check out the new Icon 1000 Elsinore boots which look badass but they aren’t in stock yet.

REV’IT! Dirt Gloves. I already have a good pair of waterproof Olympia gloves so I went with a set of vented armored gloves. These were comfortable and relatively inexpensive. This was the biggest shock of the day: that SOME GLOVES ARE AS EXPENSIVE AS PANTS!!!! But I guess when you think about how important it is to protect your hands – and the fact that the hands are probably one of the first body parts to make contact in a crash – it makes sense.

On Sunday I went for my first ATGATT ride with  my friend Amanda.  It is going to take some getting used to. All of the items are bulkier than the leather jacket and chaps I used to wear when riding. But I felt extremely safe. I was warm too on a chilly day in the 40s as we rode from 11:00 AM to about 5:00 PM.

And after all, my main motivation for converting to ATGATT was seeing a fellow rider walk away from a crash unscathed last summer because he was wearing the right gear. I hopefully will never have to experience this first hand but with all of those crazy cagers out there talking on their cell phones and texting, you can never be too safe.

Especially for first time riders, I would recommend making a real investment in safe gear and making a commitment to wearing it. I’m late to the party on this front and I’ve been lucky.

Sexiest Motorcycles for First Time Riders

March 31, 2012 in First time rider, Motorcycles | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 comments

This is a question that comes up time and time again on the internet: what’s the best bike for a first time rider. And any time someone writes on the subject, it’s like whack-a-mole: you’re gonna get hit in the head by someone who disagrees with your list.

I’m doing it a little different and taking a page out of People Magazine’s formula with my list of the sexiest bikes for first time riders. Let’s face it. Part of the appeal of riding a motorcycle is the massive incremental sex appeal that it gives the rider. Someone who knows how to throw a leg over a two-wheeled beast and launch it is by definition sexier than someone who doesn’t.

I had a few criteria for this list. (1) the bike had to be less than 1000 cc’s, which I think is the upper limit for a first time rider. (2) the bike had to be available in the 2012 model year. And (3) the bike had to cost less than $10,000 out the showroom door (not hard to do considering criteria #1, but I’m putting it out there anyway.)

Normally I wouldn’t recommend anyone – let alone a first time rider – buy a brand-new bike. You end up paying dealer setup fees and shipping which can add another grand to your purchase price. There are so many bikes available used that if you don’t have your heart set on a bike that was just introduced, you can find low mileage late model year options on Craigslist or Ebay or the motorcycle forums and save thousands. But for the sake of setting a line in the sand, these are all 2012 models.

Here’s my list:

10.  Honda NC700X. This bike is set to hit showrooms later this spring. I saw it’s debut at the New York Motorcycle Show and it’s very cool. Just please please please – if you buy one – don’t get automatic transmission, OK? It automatically eliminates the sexy quotient.

NC700X at its big unveil at the NYC motorcycle show.


9. Triumph America. Cruisers are sexy, and the Triumph marque adds a little something-something. I rode this bike for three years and if you’re a new rider in the market for a cruiser, I can’t say enough about it. In a sea of homogeneous middleweight cruisers (take the badges off a Vulcan, Shadow, Boulevard, or Star and you’d have a hard time telling them apart), the America stands out.

The bike is sexy, too. ;-)


8. Kawasaki Ninja 250. Many fellow riders think that a first time rider should consider only 250 cc and below motorcycles. I think this approach really limits choices. Nevertheless, the Ninja 250 is just a great looking bike that owners love. On the motorcycles subreddit (fantastic motorcycle forum – go there if you haven’t already) a Ninja 250 owner crossed the 30,000 mile mark this week, so it’s NOT a bike you’ll outgrow.

Sweet shot of the Ninja 250. Image (C) Kawasaki.


7. Suzuki V-Strom 650. The 2007 edition of the V-Strom is my current ride and I’m thrilled with it. It’s comfortable, versatile, nimble, easy to ride and easy to love. The 2012 version is less versatile (it’s off-road capabilities have been stripped away) but it’s still a great-looking machine and in fact is sexier than the 04-11 Weestroms.

The 2012 edition of the venerable V-Strom 650. Sweet look but no fire roads on this one.


6. Honda CBR250R. I saw this bike sitting on the floor at the NYC moto show and it definitely qualifies as sexy. It also tends to win all of the 250 cc shootouts that the motorcycle pubs do every year.

Sexy little thang.


5. Harley Davidson Sportster Iron 883. So many people who get a M class license want to ride Harleys, and this is the only one that really qualifies as a bike for first-time riders. And my brother-in-law recently let me take his Dyna for a spin and I have to admit there is definitely something intoxicatingly sexy about riding a Harley.

Something about a Harley...


4. BMW F650GS. Nice bike, looks great, goes off road, has that BMW logo on the tank that just gives it that extra boost of sex appeal. Plus riding a BMW Adventure-Sport bike automatically links you to Ewan and Charley, even if the tires never see dirt and you never eat The Stew of 100 Testicles. I tried out a 650GS last year and found it a bit small for my 6’2″ frame but still…gotta be on this list.

The Sertão version of the G650GS.


3. Kawasaki Ninja 650. Drop-dead gorgeous. Looks fast standing still. Getting great reviews from the motorcycling press. Comfortable to straddle with a neutral upright riding position. A flat-out winner.

Damn that's sexy. Image (c) Kawasaki.



2. Triumph Bonneville. Just one of the coolest bikes on two wheels. 60′s retro sensibilities and all of the modern technology, fun to ride, turns heads everywhere it goes, moddable to your heart’s content. A fantastic, fantastic machine.

Yeah. That'll turn some heads. Image (c) Triumph Motorcycles.




1. Ducati Monster 696. The Monster is a work of art. There is some debate as to whether it’s really for first time riders (in fact there was some discussion about this very point last night on Reddit) but I vote yes. And it simply defines sexy. At Fast by Ferracci here in the Philadelphia area, you can get a Monster for $9,947.70 out the door ($8,795 MSRP plus 6% sales tax, $525 dealer prep and freight, and $100 documentation fee) so it just qualifies for the list.

In the immortal words of Annie Savoy, "Oh my..." Image linked from motorride.net.


Honorable mention: Husqvarna Concept Baja. C’mon, Kris Odwarka. Pull some strings and make this beauty a reality! If it were available today, it would be #3 on my list. And there would be one in my garage.

Husqvarna president Kris Odwarka shows off the Concept Baja.



What do you think? Any contenders I overlooked? Fire away!

And now for something completely different…

March 18, 2012 in First time rider, Motorcycles | Tags: , , , , , , , | 6 comments

Yesterday I picked up the Rocket’s replacement at Ferracci’s. I considered a lot of different bikes – too many – and ultimately decided on the bike I’ve wanted in my stable and pined after since last summer, the venerable Suzuki V-Strom 650.

This is a big departure for me in a lot of ways:

  • My first non-Triumph. Both bikes I’ve owned since getting my license in 2008 were Triumphs, first the America then the Rocket III Touring. As a result, I’ve got dozens of items of Triumph garb and all my motorcycle helmets have Triumph stickers. My name on at least a dozen online motorcycle forums is PersonalTriumph (a reference to both my allegiance to the Triumph marque as well as some personal accomplishments.) When I decided on the ‘Strom it was hard to face the fact that I would not have a Triumph in my garage. I suspect at some point in the future I may have another though.
  • My first non-cruiser. Both bikes I’ve owned since getting my license were cruisers. The ‘Strom is my first sport bike.
  • My first dual sport. The ‘Strom is designed for light-duty off-roading. I’m going to do some research and find some fire roads up in the Poconos to give this a shot. I’ve already experimented with a lap around my yard. (Don’t tell my landlord though!)

My first impressions after about 24 hours of owning the ‘Strom are extremely favorable:

  • Twitchy. This bike handles like a dream. I think about turning, and it seems to turn. I’m sure other sport bikes handle better, but coming as I do from the land of cruisers this is a really welcome change.
  • Fast. I was worried that going from the 2300cc Rocket to the 650cc ‘Strom would leave me longing for the days of plentiful roll-on power. It’s a non-issue. In fact, the ‘Strom feels faster than the Rocket. I was on the highway this morning, cruising along at what seemed like a comfortable and reasonable pace. I looked down at my speedometer and I was going…well…way too fast. I need to be careful.
  • Light. After ‘rassling with the 900+ pound Rocket for the better part of the past year, it’s such a nice change to have a lightweight machine that I can easily roll around.
  • A bargain. I bought my V-Strom used. It’s a 2007 with around 10k miles on it that I got for less than $4,000. (Bonus: I was able to bank several grand after liquidating the Rocket.) But a brand new leftover 2011 with ABS and a warranty can be had at your local Suzuki dealer for around $7 grand. Even a brand new 2012 is just over $8 grand. It’s a fantastic machine for the money.
  • Its good to be in love again. After spending the past year falling in and out of love with the Rocket (and even feeling vague trepidation about it during the good times) it’s wonderful to once again have a bike that gets my heart pounding and my pulse racing every time I look at it.

There are a lot of folks who love the Rocket III, so don’t let my bad experience color you if you’re considering the bike. In fact, I think my friend Art will ditch me when I tell him the swap-out that I made, because he is so enamored with the Rocket. One of my fellow Rideitors on the Reddit motorcycle forum stated it best: “although you did enjoy it for a while I think you have eliminated a lot of the things you don’t want in a bike because they don’t fit your riding style. Its a little like dating the hot girl who turns out to be a superficial, high maintenance pain in the ass.  Well said, my friend. Well said.

If you’re a new rider, definitely put the V-Strom on your list of bikes to consider. I’ll keep you all updated as I get more experience with this bike.There is also a lot of help online at Stromtrooper, the V-Strom owners forum, which I have found to be one of the most comprehensive, active, and friendly motorcycle forums on the internet since I started lurking there last August.

Rocket gone

March 16, 2012 in Maintenance and repairs | Tags: , | 3 comments

Well my year-long love/hate relationship with the Triumph Rocket III Touring is officially over. I had posted it for sale back in February on Craigslist and had exactly one person come look for it about a month ago. He lowballed me and I declined. I never heard back from him (or anyone else) and had pretty much decided to just ride the bike for another year and give it another chance.

Then out of the blue on Wednesday the guy called me and told me he was ready to buy and would pay my asking price. He and a buddy came last night with a cashiers check, put it on a trailer, and its gone.

Better times.

So ends this saga. I was enraptured last spring by the notion that bigger is better. I tested the R3T at a demo day and decided I had to have one. A few twists and turns later I had the big, powerful, head-turning bike I wanted. I hated it almost from the beginning:

  • It was hot. And not in a good way. The 2300 cc engine generates a crap-ton of heat, and made the bike wickedly uncomfortable to ride in the summer months. I’d arrive at work after my morning commute drenched in sweat. If I got stopped at a red light I would literally have to turn the motor off. I’m convinced that Triumph de-tuned the demo bikes at its demo events or richened up the fuel mixture to make this less noticeable because the demo bike I rode (and I took 2-3 turns on it) didn’t run hot.
  • It sucked gas. Ask any Rocket III owner or Triumph dealer what the MPGs are on this bike and they’ll say, “Oh, about 40 miles per gallon.” It’s bullshit. This thing drinks gas like a drunken college fratboy drinks beer.
  • It was expensive to own. My premium doubled the day I bought the bike. My gasoline bill went up by at least 40%. Tires and maintenance were expensive. It goes on and on.
  • It was heavy. Backing out of my parking space at home became part of my workout routine.

I should have known all these things. I lost sight of it though after getting drunk on the notion that bigger is better when it comes to motorcycles. My very expensive lesson learned: it isn’t.

The Rocket added insult to injury when the shifting mechanism failed in August, leaving me stuck in third gear permanently. The repair cost me three weeks of ride time during the nicest time of the year. To Triumph’s credit, they covered the repair under warranty even though the manufacturers warranty had officially expired a month earlier (big assist to Steve, the service manager at Manayunk Triumph, who facilitated this and who tolerated my daily calls for a status update.)

There were good times too. My trip through West Virginia and North Carolina in October was an absolute blast on the Rocket. The bike was just flat-out built for rolling up miles on the open road. There were times when I would twist the throttle and that 2300 cc beast would spring to life and I would feel nothing  but…joy. Ultimately when the dude called and told me he would take the bike, I decided it was an opportunity to reset and pick something else.

Tomorrow I’m going to pick up its replacement. It’s already paid for. Stay tuned…

Martin Motorsports Outdoes Itself with “The Modern Classics” Show

March 4, 2012 in Dealerships, Motorcycle dealership best practices, Motorcycling lifestyle | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 comment

Yesterday I was at Martin Motorsports for its annual show “The Modern Classics.” Once again Martin’s demonstrated why it’s the best motorcycle dealership in the Philadelphia area, bar none.

The dealership turned it’s showroom floor into a motorcycle show which, in Martin’s words, “celebrates the motorcycles of the 60s, 70s and 80s that made big contributions to their eras with their technology, style, performance or establishing new trends…the bikes you remember…the bikes that made you a motorcyclist!”

It worked, in spades. The place was packed with hundreds of people and the bikes on the showroom floor were an amazing collection of rolling works of art. My friend Scott and I agreed: if someone gave us the freedom to pick any bike on the floor to take home, it would be damn-near impossible to make a decision.

The folks at Martin’s just get it. It’s not just about selling bikes and performing service. It’s about celebrating motorcycles, celebrating being a rider. Every weekend at Martin’s is a happening, even run-of-the-mill weekends when there is nothing special going on, even if it’s just to stop by and look around.

Enough words. Enjoy the pictures.

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