wfooshee
O, Woe is me!!
A few years ago they started Thunder Beach here, used to be just in the spring, now they do it twice a year, first week of May, last week of September. Took the missus and rode out yesterday to see what was up, never went to one before. Arrived at the first (of four) venue, Frank Brown Park, went past the lot where cagers have to park and through the "bikes only" gate (how cool is that?), still went nearly a quarter of a mile before I found empty grass. The parking area pic is a panorama of 3 pictures stitched together, and off to the right, out of frame, is nearly a quarter mile of more tightly packed bikes!
Turn-out was obviously mostly V-twin cruisers. Riding out there I saw more bikes on the road than cars, which is a unique experience. Of the attendees, I would guess that 99.95% were cruisers, of those about 95% were Harleys, the rest a mix of Shadows, Boulevards, Victorys, etc. About half the .05% that weren't V-twins were Gold Wings, and the 500 or so bikes that haven't been accounted for yet were sport bikes, mostly 'busas. I saw 3 BMWs, 2 Moto Guzzis, a Triumph, and 2 FJRs (besides mine).
On with the pics. These are clickable thumbs so you can see the 3-megapixel originals of the ones you're interested in.
Saw my first in-person Victory Vision, although sans trunk. Bunch of choppers, and there was a rather lightly-attended "bike show" going on as well, with judging and everything.
At the show, there were categories for antique, custom paint, trikes, blah blah blah. There was also a "tribute" bike for Viet Nam vets that was off by himself. Apparently no category for over-the-top armed bikes.
Hayabusa oops, gixxer flame paint job:
Time to move on to another venue. Got to the bike and found that I'd started the FJR parking section, joined by a Gen-II AE! Didn't meet the rider, had FL plate.
At the next venue, Shoppes at Edgewater, my wife looked around and declared that we needed do-rags. I rolled my eyes and picked out a stars-n-stripes pattern. She bought it for me, and got herself a butterfly pattern. Sorry, no pics. But when I ran into this I though it was time to move on to the next venue. Hayabusa with stretch swing-arm, nitrous bottles mounted on both sides, and that lovely cow-spot seat!!
Next venue, Boardwalk Beach Resort, had some indoor areas, which was good as it was getting warm, and inside had air conditioning. In the parking lot I ran into one of the BMWs I saw, and one of the Moto Guzzis.
I'm hoping the pavement stain is from the irrigation system or something. I also saw this Honda, which because I'm an ignorant ignoramous, I cannot identify. I like it, though!
Inside, I saw a cool trailer - when the nose is raised the deck drops and slopes so you can load the bike. Drop the nose piece to bring the deck to travel height. Easy-on/Easy-off. Didn't get a price (don't need a trailer!) (Edit: my brother says the trailer is too expensive to consider, unless your choice is pushing your broken-down Harley onto this or pushing your broken-down Harley into the back of a pickup.)
Last venue, the Spinnaker Club, I saw a cleaner Moto Guzzi and another BMW. There was a dyno at this venue, but at 85 bucks for a run, which I didn't think made much of a show special price. Noisy, though, with all the "loud pipes save lives" guys trying to get a 3-digit number out of it. Also, I had just refused to buy Jan a really tacky sterling and turquoise ring for 65 bucks at Frank Brown Park saying I didn't have the money, so I couldn't very well drop 85 to read some numbers, could I?
That's all from Saturday. Today (Sunday) I rode back out by myself, because it was SUCH a beatiful day that I had to do something! It was cooler, and crystal clear. Crowd was MUCH thinner. Rally was still open, but being Sunday, this was everybody's travel home day.
Went back to Frank Brown Park first, saw a Concours, first in-person sighting. Chatted with the guys at the Victory tent, but didn't get offered a ride on anything. Got an ego boost though when I mentioned seeing the Concours for the first time, and both guys said that what I wanted, if not one of their bikes, was an FJR like that silver one over there. Mine. Cool!
There was an Aprilia in with their bikes for some reason, never found out why. Love the color on that Hammer! Not so much the home-made Buell. When I approached the Hammer, I was told (ahem) can't touch dis! (OK, I made that part up. Sue me.)
I'm not a fan of the big Boulevards, but I really really like this color!!
On the way out I passed this booth, guys that make V8 bikes and trikes. Next time you want to whine about your heat issues, have thought for these guys.
Last image, for those that think the FJR is just too subtle, needs more in the way of identifiable markings, maybe you can come up with a tasteful sort of graphics package using some of these elements:
Turn-out was obviously mostly V-twin cruisers. Riding out there I saw more bikes on the road than cars, which is a unique experience. Of the attendees, I would guess that 99.95% were cruisers, of those about 95% were Harleys, the rest a mix of Shadows, Boulevards, Victorys, etc. About half the .05% that weren't V-twins were Gold Wings, and the 500 or so bikes that haven't been accounted for yet were sport bikes, mostly 'busas. I saw 3 BMWs, 2 Moto Guzzis, a Triumph, and 2 FJRs (besides mine).
On with the pics. These are clickable thumbs so you can see the 3-megapixel originals of the ones you're interested in.
Saw my first in-person Victory Vision, although sans trunk. Bunch of choppers, and there was a rather lightly-attended "bike show" going on as well, with judging and everything.
At the show, there were categories for antique, custom paint, trikes, blah blah blah. There was also a "tribute" bike for Viet Nam vets that was off by himself. Apparently no category for over-the-top armed bikes.
Time to move on to another venue. Got to the bike and found that I'd started the FJR parking section, joined by a Gen-II AE! Didn't meet the rider, had FL plate.
At the next venue, Shoppes at Edgewater, my wife looked around and declared that we needed do-rags. I rolled my eyes and picked out a stars-n-stripes pattern. She bought it for me, and got herself a butterfly pattern. Sorry, no pics. But when I ran into this I though it was time to move on to the next venue. Hayabusa with stretch swing-arm, nitrous bottles mounted on both sides, and that lovely cow-spot seat!!
Next venue, Boardwalk Beach Resort, had some indoor areas, which was good as it was getting warm, and inside had air conditioning. In the parking lot I ran into one of the BMWs I saw, and one of the Moto Guzzis.
I'm hoping the pavement stain is from the irrigation system or something. I also saw this Honda, which because I'm an ignorant ignoramous, I cannot identify. I like it, though!
Inside, I saw a cool trailer - when the nose is raised the deck drops and slopes so you can load the bike. Drop the nose piece to bring the deck to travel height. Easy-on/Easy-off. Didn't get a price (don't need a trailer!) (Edit: my brother says the trailer is too expensive to consider, unless your choice is pushing your broken-down Harley onto this or pushing your broken-down Harley into the back of a pickup.)
Last venue, the Spinnaker Club, I saw a cleaner Moto Guzzi and another BMW. There was a dyno at this venue, but at 85 bucks for a run, which I didn't think made much of a show special price. Noisy, though, with all the "loud pipes save lives" guys trying to get a 3-digit number out of it. Also, I had just refused to buy Jan a really tacky sterling and turquoise ring for 65 bucks at Frank Brown Park saying I didn't have the money, so I couldn't very well drop 85 to read some numbers, could I?
That's all from Saturday. Today (Sunday) I rode back out by myself, because it was SUCH a beatiful day that I had to do something! It was cooler, and crystal clear. Crowd was MUCH thinner. Rally was still open, but being Sunday, this was everybody's travel home day.
Went back to Frank Brown Park first, saw a Concours, first in-person sighting. Chatted with the guys at the Victory tent, but didn't get offered a ride on anything. Got an ego boost though when I mentioned seeing the Concours for the first time, and both guys said that what I wanted, if not one of their bikes, was an FJR like that silver one over there. Mine. Cool!
There was an Aprilia in with their bikes for some reason, never found out why. Love the color on that Hammer! Not so much the home-made Buell. When I approached the Hammer, I was told (ahem) can't touch dis! (OK, I made that part up. Sue me.)
I'm not a fan of the big Boulevards, but I really really like this color!!
On the way out I passed this booth, guys that make V8 bikes and trikes. Next time you want to whine about your heat issues, have thought for these guys.
Last image, for those that think the FJR is just too subtle, needs more in the way of identifiable markings, maybe you can come up with a tasteful sort of graphics package using some of these elements:
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