Rick writes,
I’ve just had an epiphany with respect to vintage motorcycles: “They suck more than I ever thought they did!”. Let me explain.
Category: #BikesOutForHarambe
Ridin’ For Harambe, Part 24
Here at Riverside Green, we never get tired of the Honda CB1100 in all of its thoroughly satisfying guises. I know of two readers who bought the big aircooled Honda after reading about it here. Mine is about to sail through the 11,000-mile mark, and when I needed to clear a little space in my garage it was a no-brainer to sell my very lovely VFR800 Anniversary Edition instead of the all-black JDM.
Is the thoroughly-revised 2017 CB1100EX a better mousetrap than my bike? Just for once, we can probably get away with the Motor Trend “there are no losers here” reply. My opinion is that the updates do a great job of moving the 1100’s aesthetic back from the Nighthawk-era square-tank look of the 2014 Standard to a proper Seventies-style CB750-Four tribute.
For more on why the CB1100EX is great, let’s hear from a reader who took delivery of one.
Ridin’ For Harambe, Part 23
Alright, let’s get this party started again. And what better way to light the flame once more than to feature one of my all-time favorite bikes: the Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird. Frequent readers of this site know that I have long harbored a weakness for the Yamato class of sportbikes; as a teenager I wanted an FJ1200 so badly that I put FJ1200 stickers on my BMX bike, and in my twenties I lusted for a Kawasaki ZX-11. I am now the owner of the final-boss cruise missile, the Kawasaki ZX-14R, but as recently as last October I was trying to purchase a decent example of the Super Blackbird.
Jeff has a “Dos Equis” Honda that’s been in his fleet for seven years. But as you’ll see below, it’s no longer his favorite way in which to pay tribute to The Gorilla Who Knew Too Much.
(If you have a bike that you’d like to see featured here, send it to askjack@calamarco.com.)
Ridin’ For Harambe, Special October Surprise Edition
Our recurring feature Ridin’ For Harambe is on hiatus until November 1st, but I thought we’d interrupt our regular programming to bring you these two dudes and their new bikes.
On the left we have John. He’s a pretty cool dude. His primary interests: football, math, using just the back brake to slide in turns so his father gets all agitated and starts clutching the left side of his ribcage.
On the right we have Jack. Likes: long walks on the beach, stressful races, Ketel One vodka, the Ruth’s Chris restaurant chain. Dislikes: nosy husbands, Levaquin, minimum-sentencing laws.
Together, they own seven motorcycles but these are their newest ones. John’s on the 1982 Y-Zinger, derestricted, tuned-up, and obsessively prepped by some motocross dad two years ago. Jack’s on a brand-new 2015 Kawasaki ZX-14R Ninja. Some of you will know that the 2016 ZX-14R has a three-way catalyst that drops power down to just 197hp; the 2015 still makes the original 208hp. This was the last 2015 ZX-14R in Ohio.
Come back to this site to hear about their adventures together and to learn the answer to the question: Which one of them can eat ten Wendy’s chicken nuggets in under ten minutes? (It’s a trick question! Both of them can do that!)
Ridin’ For Harambe, Part 21
“I lost a lot of my pictures due to a very pissed off woman some years back,” David notes, earning him Riverside Green Veteran Status, “but here’s at least one picture of the old man (me) and his Sabre on a solo ride from Oregon to Wenatchee, WA. Looking north towards the Cascade mountains, just past Ellensburg, WA in May of 2009.”
I love to see these old Sabres out on the road; David identifies this one as an 1100 (V65).
Bonus now-for-something-completely-different shot after the jump.
Ridin’ For Harambe, Apology Edition
Scott was one of the first readers to send in his photo, but I lost it in my 19GB of GMail. He didn’t say anything other than to identify it as a 2013 Triumph Street Triple, so what I’m going to do is to make something up.
“Dear Jack,” he did not write, “it’s your boy, Scott. This is the Street Triple on which I joined a black biker gang led by Tyrese Gibson. We controlled the trade in ‘My Little Pony’ figurines from Chino to Goleta, or maybe it was the other way around. When Tyrese stepped down due to filming obligations for Fast and Furious 9, I was chained wrist-to-wrist with a 300-pound Kimbo Slice lookalike. I killed him with a knife-edge palm shot to the carotid. I’m currently on the run from the ATF, the FBI, the DEA, and most of the SJW. Love everything you write, especially the thinly-disguised fiction about your ex-girlfriends. Yours in Christ, Scott.”
If the real Scott has more to tell us, I expect he will in the comments…
Ridin’ For Harambe, Part 20
Carter sends a shot of a very sharp-looking Triumph Street Triple, noting that “I bought it new in 2010 and have been loving it ever since. In hindsight I should’ve bought the R version; All that’s left of the stock front end is the triple tree.”
After Friday, we’re going to take a break for October and focus on some non-motorcycling topics. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be sending in your motorcycle… we’ll return to this feature once it’s cold enough for all of us to need some inspiration!
Ridin’ For Harambe, Part 19
“Yamaha FZR400 back when I tried my hand in WERA. Gotta love the period red leathers and Kevin Schwantz helmet.” Who knew there were so many motorcycle racers, past and present, reading this site? But Ray has a few rather impressive Eurobikes as well…
Ridin’ For Harmabe, Part 18
Well, look at this! I’ve been trying to buy the 919 that parks at my office for almost a year now — they’re kickass bikes that combine a returned CBR900RR engine with the European “Hornet” frame. Jeremy’s 2002 model might not be my favorite color (the 919 was also available in a metallic green) but it’s certainly one of my favorite bikes.
It’s still not too late to get a picture of your bike published in this august company. Send your email to jack at baruth dot net, yo.
Ridin’ For Harambe, Part 17
What could be better than being seventeen years old and finding yourself in possession of a proper enduro racer? Ryan tells the story like so: