Northwestern Ontario
MOTORCYCLING
Published and Distributed by:A
robert.whaley@ontario.ca
www.nwomotorcycling.ca
BIKER COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER WITH ALL THE NEWS
THAT’S FIT TO PRINT (AND SOME THAT ISN’T)!
Volume 4, Issue 8
August 2012
Robert’s Aimless Ramblings…
Hey All,
2013
There is lots of exciting news to tell you
Triumph TROPHY
about this month. You may have heard
some of the rumours already, and it turns
out that this time the rumours are true!
Yes, Ian Anderson’s birthday is in fact
on August 10th and he will be turning 65
this year. I haven’t heard of any plans that
he might have to retire just yet, if you
follow their website you’ll notice that
every year the band Jethro Tull has a full
Triumph Motorcycles continues to
year of concerts to play both in North
expand its model line-up with the
America and Europe. It doesn’t appear
introduction of the Trophy. Based on
that he is slowing down a bit.
the 1215cc Inline Triple powering the
Tiger Explorer, the new Trophy features
The other big news of course is that
top-shelf touring amenities not seen on
North Country Cycle & Sports, here in
the British marque’s existing mounts.
Thunder Bay, is picking up a Victory
Triumph promises its new Trophy
dealership.
SE will arrive on dealer sales floors this
This is great news for Thunder Bay and
January, with MSRP still to be
North Country as the full line of Victory
determined.
motorcycles are amazing machines.
A fully-badged touring platform, the
Congratulations to North Country for
Trophy features a broad fairing and
adding this exciting line of motorcycles to
integrated saddlebags. It varies from its
their current Yamaha line-up.
Sprint ST/GT predecessor by
incorporating a shaft final drive, as well
as touring-specific features such as an
adjustable windscreen, along with
traction control and cruise control.
Happy Birthday Ian !!!
Ian Anderson, of the incredible band
Jethro Tull of course, turns 65 this
month. Born the youngest of three
children in Fife, Scotland Ian grew up
in Blackpool, Lancashire England.
In 1963 he formed his first band, The
Blades, with a group of friends and
soon after formed the legendary group
Jethro Tull in 1967 with their first
album, This Was, coming out in 1968.
And, just in case you’re interested (and how could you not be) the
following is an unofficial discography of the band Jethro Tull, and some
of Ian Anderson’s solo works.
I’ve been fortunate enough to catch a few of their concerts as well, I’ve
seen them in Winnipeg, Minneapolis, Wisconsin Dells, Kalamazoo,
London, and we have tickets for Milwaukee this November. This years
concert will be a 40th anniversary performance of Thick As A Brick.
A Victory for Thunder Bay!!!
Actually there will be SEVERAL
Victory’s for Thunder Bay in the
near future.
After a long process of
negotiation, North Country Cycle
& Sports, long known for their
Yamaha line of motorcycles, has
recently become a dealer for
Victory Motorcycles.
North Country currently has
several of the early model 2013
Victory bikes on order and some
of them should start showing up
this year.
After the dealer show later this year, when more of the 2013 bikes will
be available, North Country will be ordering a few different models. By
next spring they should have a good mix of cruisers, tourers and baggers
for us to drool over.
The other great thing about North Country picking up this new line is:
DEMO RIDES! Victory wants to get riders on their bikes so every Victory
dealership gets an annual visit by the demo crew. So sometime in 2013 the
transport trailers with all of the demo bikes will be visiting Thunder Bay
and we’ll get a chance to ride some of these amazing machines.
Check out
North
Country’s
Facebook page
for all of their
latest info.
Remember the Honda Cub?
The Super Cub has been
compared to the Ford Model T,
Volkswagen Beetle and the
Jeep as an icon of 20th century
industry and transport.
These economical
motorcycles are used around
the world to carry anything
and everything!
The Honda Super Cub, also
known as the C100, 50, Cub,
C50, C70, C90, is a true piece of
motorcycling history. This little
beauty, built with a seemingly
bullet-proof four stroke single
cylinder engine that ranged in
displacement over the years
from 49 to 109 cc.
Having been in continuous
manufacture since 1958, with
world-wide production
surpassing 60 million in 2008,
the Super Cub is the most
produced motor vehicle in
history.
The Super Cub's original US
advertising campaign, "You
meet the nicest people on a
Honda", had a lasting impact
on Honda's image and on
American attitudes about
motorcycling, and is considered
a classic case study in
marketing.
Igor, you fool !
You brought me
I think my bike is
slowly turning into a
FRANKEN-CRUISER!
Some people just can’t leave anything
alone, and always have to be tinkering and
changing things.
Those of us that are afflicted with this
disease quite often end up with some
unique pieces of equipment. Bikes, as a
rule, tend to take on a life of their own over
time but our tinkering seems to speed that
process along.
What can you do to a bare-bones stock V-Star 1100?
Apparently lots if you put your mind and the
internet to it. It’s amazing what you can find.
Here are a few things that have changed on the
bike, just tinkering mind you, only trying to
make it better:
• Oil Filter Relocator
• Kuryakyn Flame
Grips
• Marlin Clock
• Baron Pull-Back Risers
• Headlight and Signal
Visors w/ Flying Skull
• Fly Screen
• Bullet Driving Lights
• Extended Headlight
Mount
• Baron Gangster Front
Fender
• Louder Horn
• Rear Fender Rack
• Kuryakyn Skull Pegs
• Lindby Highway Bar
• Black Powder Coat
Exhaust
• Custom Flaming Skull
Side-Cover
• Re-jetted Carbs
• K&N Air Filters
• Rider Backrest
• Saddlebags & Ghost
Brackets
• Modified Slip-On
Mufflers
• Rear Running Lights
What more could possibly be changed? Well, I generally get enough riding in each year to warrant
new tires and tubes every summer. And I try not to stretch the life out of them much any more. I
tried that once and ended up riding home from a road trip with cord exposed at three or four
places around my back tire. That gave me a fright when I saw it, and the tires were changed the
next day. So nowadays I keep an eye on the tires and replace them when the tread gets down to
the wear bars. A few extra kilometers aren’t worth the safety factor of blowing out a thin tire.
What has not changed on the bike? Well, other than its SHEER CLASSIC BEAUTY, one of the
main things that has not changed on the bike is the stock seat. Some riders complain bitterly about
stock seats, but mine has been comfortable from day one. And eight years and 180,000 some odd
kilometers later it is still comfortable. Maybe my butt wouldn’t know the difference between a
comfortable seat and an uncomfortable seat, but I can put eight or ten hour days in on the bike and
still want to go for a ride in the evening. Not a lot of riders can say that.
Our Friends At BMW Are At It Again!
Back in April this year, German BMW opened the world's largest BMW motorcycle
shop in Rome, Italy. It's not a new dealer, but after a year of extensive work, it
reopened recently.
The new facility is 3,700 square meters (39,826 square feet), double that of what it
was last year. The renovated facility is spread out on eight different levels, and has a
showroom of some 800 square meters (8,611 square feet) displaying the entire range
of BMW and Husqvarna motorcycles.
The service & maintenance area is equipped with 26 stations to service
motorcycles. For those waiting for their bike, BMW offers coffee and free WiFi.
Selling bikes aside, the new facility offers all sorts of bike accessories and services
to its customers, and also features a massive apparel shop on the ground floor where
you can shop for some of the many clothing and accessory items on sale there.
Thinking of doing the Lake Superior Circle Tour? Well, here is a new
website that will help you plan and document your motorcycle trip.
Circling Lake Superior takes you through some incredible countryside
in Northwestern Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. This
roughly 2000km ride will give you the opportunity to see and explore
some unique sights around Lake Superior, from rocky cliffs to long sandy
beaches, you’ll marvel at Lake Superior’s changing moods and awesome
power.
http://ridelakesuperior.com
http://www.lakesuperiorcircle
tour.info