New season of Bike Shows

So, there's a new season of bike shows fast approaching, and dammit this year, I'm going to make it to one. Ended up working last year when the international motorcycle show rolled through the Georgia Congress Center, so I didn't get a chance to make it out.

Here's a new thought- I went with a buddy a while back to a Harley dealership. He was wanting to check out a Wide Glide- pretty sweet looking ride, and I asked about the dark custom book. Is that thing still around? The salesgirl said she didn't know what I was talking about, so of course I wasn't quite "up to snuff" with her way of selling the damn bike, but there was so much that went around two years ago about the thing that I was wondering if it even still exists. Anyway, enough of that.

Turns out Yamaha's got a new ride coming out for 2012, an ultra-limited edition Raider variant, the Raider SCL. Looks pretty good from here behind the keyboard! It's got a slick custom paint job and apparently will be limited to a production run of just 500 units. Limited, indeed! I'm not sure it's worth $19,000, but hey, to each their own, right?

Welcome to A biker's needs

There's a hell of a lot of information out there for riders- some of it more useful than other. There are products out there that can help us out, some that are nothing but bullshit, and some are bullshit that isn't too bad anyway. I'll try to comb through it for you. I'll give you some reviews of new bikes as they become available, starting with some of the new Harley models for this year. Thing is, here you'll find no difference between riding a Harley and riding a Honda, because dammit, it's all riding, regardless of what you spent on it or where the damn thing was built. If that's a problem for you, than go ahead and move on, because this writer feels that the new Yamaha Vmax is quite possibly the baddest bike that ever lived, while the Harley Softail Deluxe is about as smooth as a ride can get. This is about OUR needs, the customs that define our lifestyle, the rides we long to try. Let's get to it.