The SHOW was in Houston this weekend, so I went down this morning to see what other bikes I could find to ride. With the Republic of Texas Rally in Galveston this weekend, I thought the MC show might be slow, and maybe it was. (I have no interest at all in going near the drunks on two wheels down on the Island.)
Within 10 minutes of parking my bike, I was signed up for 4 demo rides - two Kawasaki (900 Custom, Mean Streak), and 2 Yamaha (Warrior, and the new Raider). After my first ride, I signed on for another Kawasaki ride, on the 2000LT.
With no intention of this, all rides progressed to a larger sized, bike from the one before it.
The 900 custom felt like I was sitting too near the triple tree, and the tank was too fat - no way to get a good squeeze on it with my knees. Before we even hit the freeway I had a bad tingle in my hands, and by the time we got up to speed, a bad tingle in my feet. The transmission and power seemed to be okay, but short-shifting was necessary as expected of the V-Twin, and I decided real quick I would not be happy with it if I owned one. Even a short 60-70 mile ride would be an agravation. Tried to put my feet up on the rear pegs (yeah right, like I would make a long haul trip on that thing?) but there was no way - too high, too close to my saddle.
The Mean Streak was a big dissappointment in that it had a BIG vibration at 1500 rpm when revved, and a very annoying buzz or rattle of some sort from the engine that sounded like a heat shield or some other loose trim, but every time I rolled off the throttle you could hear it when the forks compressed, at any speed. The transmission was fine, and the power good though. Just not for me. I did manage to get my feet up on the rear pegs though. Not bad. (And I don't care what those behind me thought about it.)
The Yamaha Warrior was a nice upgrade - no real complaints. Well put together, and well-mannered. It was my favorite of the three so far, but the V-Twin vibe was more than I would have wanted on a long ride, and it was worse at higher speeds, too.
The new Raider I really did not care for the looks of, but they had so many, it was obvious that this was the new "temptation" this year (last year it was the 1300 cruiser)so I chose to try it. I did the FJR 1300A last year, and they had no othersport bikes this year.
A raked out "custom chopperish" type of cruiser, with the big 1800cc Stratoliner motor in it (only weighs 6 lbs. less than the Strat I was told), the Raider turned out to be a winner. The Raider was fast, powerful, easy to handle in all strret and road conditions, and overall a real pleasure to ride. It was fun. Maybe not very practical, but fun. I could not picture it with a windshield or bags of any kind, so what would I ever do with something like that? And the Red and Blue solids that they were presented in - did nothing for me. But a nice package, nonetheless.
Last ride - the Kawasaki 2000LT. What a dissappointment! It sounded like a farm implement, with weird noises coming from all over. A buzz or rattle under the bars somewhere, brakes, a weird moan from the engine when engine braking from speed....I could go on. The vibration was unacceptable, the power was not what I expected it to be - at times it just did not seem to want to accelerate in any gear. It had a surge at idle...I don't think the EFI was mapped too well on that bike. The windshield was too big, and did no good whatsoever. Actually I left a stop with my shield open and that was much better than with it shut behind that big screen. The buffeting at 70 mph was ridiculous.
Maybe Kawasaki needs to quality-check their fleet before an event like this. All three were really dissappointing, and for reasons I would be having one back at the Dealership for, were I to own one. There really is no excuse for that.
V-Twin Vibe? I don't get it. They can engineer that out of these things, but they "believe" the public would not buy one that did not "feel like a Harley"? I have a hard time believing that. That is more ignorance talking than common sense.
So I rode 100 miles on five different Jap bikes and could not wait to get back on my Speedmaster. So glad I found this forum and saw the light before I went out and bought my first bike 3 years ago.
As for the show inside, I walked the floor and filled a bag full of brochures and such. Don't take a lot of money - you will be tempted to spend some on all the aftermarket stuff. Lots of leathers and gloves and such. I go in each year simply to renew my AMA membership in person at the AMA booth. The rest is just icing on the cake.
Hot Tip:
If you are looking for chaps, leather jacket, boots, vest, etc., RED WING BOOTS was there with quite a spread-out display of a new line of motor clothes, and at Introductory Prices. These things have not yet hit the retail stores or the internet, yet, so if you can get to a show, and are in the market.....can't question the quality of their stuff. The leather jackets were buttery soft, but a lot thicker than the "cheap" stuff I saw at other boothes. Waterproof, too.
Demo Rides: Victory (Vision Street and Tour only)
Kawasaki (pretty much their whole line-up)
Yamaha (cruisers and the FJRs only)
I hope they keep bringing the show back to Houston. I really look forward to riding the other bikes, and to park mine for free, never go inside the show, and ride their bikes all day? That cost me my time, and gas to get there, and that's it. Not a bad way to spend the day.
