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I am partial to his surf medley....

Iron Supply Motorcycles Katy, Texas. I wanted to create a topic to showcase the "lounge" type dealerships and motorcycling gear which are the norm in the USA. When I was living in Europe, the dealerships were mostly impersonal, mostly set up strictly for business, and not exactly rolling the welcome wagon. Hopefully, things have changed. I remember the signs, "don't touch the motorbikes", "don't seat"... the surly sales assistants, huddling in a corner and shooting the breeze while ignoring you. I am not saying all Motorcycle dealerships here are friendly, but while doing my Motorcycle Tour of Texas, I had the opportunity to see many in various Texan cities. And I am certain the dealers in Europe are no longer what they used to be when I was there. In any case, I decided take some photos of what is available around here. Iron Supply deals Triumph and Royal Enfield bikes as their main bill. They are extremely friendly, and helpful about just anything. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! The Lounge! On Saturdays.....

And since we are at it.... National Motorcycle Museum At Motorcycle Live 2021 NEC Birmingham

Finally, Norton! Unfortunately, disappointing news. I don't know what is your take of it, but I get a feeling they are never going to produce the Commando. Maybe I am wrong, but when I listen to "we have not taken a decision", and also, the give away is the bike is air/oil cooled, which I love, but would probably not bode well with the EURO emission regulation. Would Norton really start to manufacture a bike which they won't be allowed to sell in Europe? I doubt it. At least, they are going to make the 28 which have already sold in UK under the previous administration. I was talking to the Triumph/Royal Enfield Houston dealer about Norton, and they are interested to represent them, if they commit.

Stop #25 to #35 of 50; Houston to Bowie. Etapes 17, 18, 06, 33, 39, 08, 01, 47, 48, 49. This did not go as planned, since I was supposed to complete the 50 stops on this run, scheduled 11/12/13/14 of November. Nevertheless, I did the minimum 25 stops to qualify as a tour finisher. I got off to a late start on November 11th, which forced me to overnight at Gladewater. I don't ride at night for safety. On 12th morning, the Le Mans did not crank as per post in the technical thread. The bike eventually started, but I decided to cut the trip short, not knowing the nature of the problem which I got a repeat of the following morning in Cleburne. Highlights: Fantastic ride. Moto Liberty Motorcycle equipment store in Addison Jump start request through my insurer happened pretty smoothly Lowlights: Guzzi failed to crank after cold stacking for the night Bitten by bed bugs in a cheapo hotel in Cleburne Forced to cut the trip short. Stop 17 and 18 at Gladewater that I had missed on the previous outing to Paris. The Gladewater museum and the Oil rig Stop #6; Moto Liberty Addison; I watched the MotoGP qualifications; I recommend this shop as all the employees are hyper nice! Pop Quiz: Who can tell the brand of the car photographed below? Stop #33, Santa Fe Building in Gainesville. In many of the towns I visited, you find the remains of what was once a very dense and active railway covering. Gainesville was too a major hub, which former glory resides in books and records. Since "fast trains" exists almost everywhere, one cannot help but wonders why the USA did not use the technology to offer an alternative to planes; Stop 39, the illustrious Bowie knife in Bowie: No, nothing to do with David Bowie, just in case you wondered. The Bowie Knife is actually a well established genre. Follow the link if you don't know about Jim Bowie and the knife which he gave his name to. Stop 8, Bus Mural at Cleburne: But before that, I am going to spend the night in a flea infested motel. I did not pick the place, but it was getting dark, and I do not ride during the night, for safety. I got awakened at 3:00 AM as my neighbor threw his girlfriend out of their room, and she banged on the door while yelling expletives at him. I learned a few words that I did not know existed. But this is the morning when the Guzzi refused categorically to crank.... the night had been cold, as the photo show. The seat and the seat cowl are iced. Fortunately, my insurance managed to find assistance on a Sunday morning. A quick jump start and I was on my way to haul the mail. By the way, the battery was fine. That the starter cranked with the jump is still a mystery. I have reproduced the problem at home, and I have a few videos that I will post in the appropriate thread. Stop 1, Hico sign, at Hico; You are supposed to be the "i", but I did not find anybody to take a picture of me holding the dot while on the bike. The last three stops of the tour at Coleman: 47,48,49 The failed starts broke the momentum and I decided to go back to Houston after those last three stops. This concludes my 2021 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Texas; I felt bad that I did not complete the 50 stops. Next year, I will be able to start earlier and hopefully, my cranking issue will be fixed.

You would have better luck with the Pirelli calendar, which is almost impossible to get...

Mahindra has certainly not spared expenses to get the Gold Star together; setting up the design and factory in UK, the engine was conceived in Austria (not certain why they would know better there). Of course they had to compromise. The engine producing 47 BHP only is not a surprise. In Europe, the limit for A2 driver's license is 47.5 BHP or 35kW with a ratio power/weight not exceeding 0.2kW/kg This is not a Pepsi contest, but I like the spoked wheels and the single cylinder. Now, they could not be from a lesser god, they have the slipper clutch, the Brembo brakes, the ABS 2 channels, and the USB port. The dial gauges are a copy cat of the Smiths'. The only unknown is the price. I bet we will see the BSA in the USA before we see the V100 Mandello.

I looked them up! Yes, they look nice, but they are not in the same category as the Mahindra/BSA Gold Star. I feel they are more for show than for the day to day ride, and I may be wrong here. Look at this RE Continental GT from 2014 with an SC 535 4,000 USD debatable... air/oil single cylinder... 7706 km! I am glad I don't have room to park anything more in my garage....

I think it would not have been impossible, after all, it is a single cylinder; but why take a risk since Euro 6 is already looming and certain major cities are going to restrict access to non zero emission vehicles as early as 2030. What is unfair, is that Euro 6 does not have a specific standard for motorcycles, the applicable standard is for light duty vehicles. I think the major hurdle is that motorcycles injection system are never directly into the cylinder head. Of course, once you factor the largest emission are still power plants fueled with coal, the concentration of efforts on reducing personal vehicles' emission seems derisory. But I am not going to criticize. Even if I think Mahindra could have done a better job integrating the radiator, the Gold Star is still nice to look at!

I would not keep my hopes too high.... this is a direct competitor to RE, so it will be priced competitively. I expect it to be sold for about 7k USD. As the modern retro bikes are gaining momentum, the pricing does too. If they would price it around 6k, it would certainly make headway... like this guy, I would have preferred it air/oil cooled.

I know it is just one more opinion; and the video cannot be embedded by choice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzfW5bvu-Js

Ah, but you are not telling us why you would go with an RE before you go with a BSA... I would say the BSA offers more charm, because it has that different engine architecture than the usual twin cylinder that you can find elsewhere, UK or Japan (I am thinking the twin CB's)

Congratulations! Amend your V11 moniker to V11 Le Mans... we are very posh here Although this is not the place for it, do tell us what tyres/tires brand and make you chose to shoe your Le Mans with. There is a thread for it. Just like about everything else, such as oil, there are a lot of opinions and rationales to pick one or the other rubber. Retro bikes are picking up their paces. A lot of former glorious brand whether UK or Japan based are releasing more of the variation of their old best sellers. It is only a matter of time before Piaggio decides to use their new power plant into a Le Mans themed bike!!!!

Norton!

My preferred engine architecture always was the three cylinders, but I am also a big fan of "big" mono cylinders!!!!

I have been to the Royal Enfield dealer in Houston, I will make a specific post about it. The dealer offers both Triumph and Royal Enfield among a slew of Polaris trikes. Now, are you aware that both Norton and BSA are going (allegedly) to have new models available for the purchase in 2022? In particular the BSA Gold Star. Norton has chosen to attack the top end market, and compete with the likes of Ducati. But they should eventually come up with a Norton Commando later on. I have never ever forgotten to deploy my kick stand, but I have dropped the Le Mans by being presumptuous about my physical strength. Kudos to him though, as he could pick up the bike by himself, even if not using the best technique. I personally had to cry for help to get the Le Mans upright, even using my legs...

Watch the end.... There is some nice views of the TT circuit.

Here they call it the Interceptor. I knew the VFR. I would not mind having this one; https://monsterpowersport.com/Motorcycles-Honda-Interceptor-2004-Wauconda-IL-da82629d-fb25-4acb-b9cf-ad840130e647

It seems that it is the only decent one available. The 100 years one embossed into leather is really not enticing at all. I found some other unofficial ones on local European sites, but nothing nice. I don't know why Piaggio does not make another run of these ignition key rings. They also have a Piaggio store, commemorating the 75 years of the Vespa and the 100 years of Moto Guzzi, but for being Italians and admittedly kind of design, I don't see anything that I would want to purchase.

Do you remember this quote? I am a man of simple tastes; I am easily satisfied with the best. Often attributed to Oscar Wilde, but the author was Edgar Saltus a friend of Oscar Wilde. A similar statement was falsely attributed to Winston Churchill. Back to the subject at hand, I am a perfectionist and meticulous ( some would say anal). I would describe it as passionate. The end bar was perfect before i stupidly dropped the bike. I will do my best to be able to look at it as it had never happened.

I purchased two used ones. Read my post above...

Some new info started to come out, and I learned (source Moto.it) that Guareschi is going to get some pre-serie bikes for testing. Still scheduled for 2022. As all of you understand, when December comes around, things slow down to a stand still in many European countries. Combined with the c19 variants, and also the problems to get parts which is not an exclusive of car's manufacturers. So, the guys in moto.it "think" the V100 decked out will be about 15k Euro. They are as puzzled as some of us are, not certain what category of bikes the V100 Mandello falls into. It seems a combination of genres, some are enthusiasts others are not. They all praise that Guzzi ventures outside of their comfort zone though. With a more modern take to an old tune. Many doubts about how exposed the exhaust pipes are. Also, I am wondering if any time you need to work on the injection and ignition system, you will need to remove the tank? it is tidy and nice to hide everything, but for access.... Last, the new engine will be used in subsequent models, and everybody is poised to see what a new "Le Mans" would look like with the half fairing. So, possibly good things are coming!

If any of you were interested by the 120th anniversary of the Royal Enfield bike, the registration are opened to try to get one on December 7th. Register at: www.RoyalEnfield.com/120thEdition

@docc Not this one... The best of the show are the "AGO" serie; only 311 made based on the 311 victories of the legend, the first 15 having a specific dedication to one of the 15 titles Mino won. Already sold out, as you can imagine.