 My latest foray into motorcycling all
started when I bought my first "touring" bike - a '98 Kawasaki Concours. |
 Which was bought
with the idea of trying to keep up with my son on his Triumph Daytona! |
 I added a
backrest to the Connie and Shawna discovered a new-found enthusiasm for
riding (she's the one leaning on "her" ride). She started asking to go
on bike trips in lieu of sailing! |
 In '02 we went to
the New England States Rally of the Christian Motorcycle Association. A
fun time, a blessing, and an introduction to a great organization. |
 Here's shot of the awe-inspiring building
that was the meeting place for the services at the CMA rally. The
Concours is dwarfed by the place. |
 Here's the
"Glory Riders" CMA chapter out of Taunton, MA receiving their charter
at the rally. Meeting this great bunch of folks really gave us all the
more reason to sell the sailboat and start motorcycling as a couple. |
 It didn't take
long for us to outgrow the Concours. Ultimately, we
fell in love with the long, smooth Yamaha Royal Star. We found this '01
leftover Tour Deluxe in the showroom at Cycle Design in Philipston, MA.
What a Beauty! |
 After haggling the
trade-in value of the Connie, we drove the Tour Deluxe out of the
showroom and spent the next 2 days cruising the Mohawk Trail. She
finally came to rest in our driveway in Rehoboth. |
 The Tour Deluxe
was just the ticket for riding with our friends in the CMA. Here's the
start of the Glory Rider's Run for the Son from Taunton to Plymouth, MA
in May '03. A brisk day, but warm fellowship. |
 We had to sell our beloved Tour Deluxe,
so I thought I'd try a Triumph Trophy.
It had caught my eye the first time I saw them in the Triumph
brochures. I almost bought a new
900 but got the Connie instead. I'm glad I waited and picked this up
used. |
 After a 2-up demo ride on a GL1800, Shawna refused to
settle for anything less comfortable. Not having ample coin for a
GL1800, I shopped around and found a Kawasaki Voyager fit the bill.It
handles remarkably well for a mega-tourer. |
 Since the Voyager seems to be able to
handle the day-to-day commute, the Trophy seemed a bit redundant and I
thought it might be nice to have a classic bike in the garage. For a
fleeting moment while I awaited the buyer of the Trophy I had all three
bikes in the stable. |
 I have a soft spot for BMW airheads, and
the RS is the ultimate! I saw this '79 one Saturday
morning at Razee's in N. Kingstown, RI and I've dreamt of owning it
ever since. When I sold the Trophy and then discovered this bike for
sale, I knew it was destiny at work! |
 The original owners imported the bike
from Germany and had it painted 2-tone orange and silver. They also
added all sorts of accessories like the Cibie driving lights (pretty
bright), Fiamm horns (really loud), fork braces, and luftmeister
fairing bags. It all adds to bike's charm and uniqueness. |
 Here's the RS in race trim! I really love
classic twins and this one seems to be a nice blend of sporting feel,
old-school charm and a little weather protection. |
 Having bled
knuckles on Brit Iron back in the day,I still loved old BSA twins. I
picked up a '69 BSA Lightning for restoraion. After 25 years in storage
I got her sorted out enough to blast around on the back roads in town. |
 I guess I'll always be a sucker for Brit
Iron. I found this '70 BSA Thunderbolt while looking at an old CZ
dirtbike. I tried to ignore it, but it was calling my name! I'm just
trying to source all the missing bits. |
 Even though I consider myself mostly a
BSA man, when it comes down to it any Brit bike will do. A relative
wanted
to see his beloved '74 Triumph T150V to go to a good home so I
"adopted" this one.
Nothing like the howl of a triple being run with vigor! |
 The cool dirt bikes I recall from my
youth were the Spanish Bultacos and Ossas. This '71 Ossa Pioneer looked
like a good candidate for resto, so I brought it home in the fall of
'04. What could be simpler to restore than a 2
cycle dirt bike, right? After many $ spent on restoring the fiberglas
bodywork and getting it sorted out I didn't have the heart to take it
off road! |
 I'm beginning to appreciate the toughness
of guys who rode those old vintage Ossa and Bultacos in the dirt. I
picked up this '77 Husqvarna CR250 and I appreciate the added comfort
of post-vintage long travel suspension. |
 My wife decided to take a break from
motorcycling, so I sold the Voyager and bought something for
all-weather commuting. This '99 Kawasaki KLR 650 seems like the perfect
urban assault bike. Even though it's just a 650 single, it's a bit of a
hooligan bike! |
 After reading about
the classic Motogiro D'Italia, a retro road race for small vintage
Italian bikes, I looked for a US equivalent and found the Motogiro USA,
put on by the USCRA. I knew I had to enter, so I found this little '68
Honda CD175 that qualified in all respects. It was a "barn find", but I
got it sorted out just in time for the event. It's carried me thru 2
'Giros now. |
 The Motogiro USA '05 was ridden on the
backroads of upstate New York. Perfect roads, beautiful scenery, and a
great folks. We stopped for lunch at Ommegang Brewery, outside
Cooperstown. Here I am posing in front of some of the "real" Giro bikes. |
 The
beauty of Motogiros are the routes they pick. Mostly secondary roads
thru farm country in relatively obscure places. How they find some of
them I'll never know, but much of the time we had the roads to
ourselves. |
 Being pretty much hooked on running the
Motogiro USA, I determined to return on a "proper" motorcycle. Another
popular bike from my youth was the Honda Superhawk. Although most were
sold as 305's, they were also offered in a 250cc size. Since a 250 will
qualify for the 'giro, I found a worthy candidate. I hope to have it
sorted out for next year's event. |
 Dragging the pile
of bikes out of the garage for cleaning, time to take an up-to-date
pic. Check out my "ISDT" Ossa Super Pioneer! |
 Being an old
bike nut, I find classic motorcycle events to be a great way to feed
the addiction. This is a shot of my R100RS amongst it's more worthy
peers at European Motorcycle Day at the Museum of Transportation in
Boston. |
