2006 Americade Motorcycle Rally Blog - Day 6 By Walter Kern This year I'm publishing highlights of Americade 2006, day by day in this blog. Americade is scheduled for June 5-10 this year. The blog will also include my preparation in getting ready to take the ride to Lake George, NY, my observations while there, the ride home, and getting back to normal -- before the next set of rides to the Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Wing Ding national rally in Nashville, TN and the BuRP rally in Maggie Valley, NC. (BuRP is a rally for Motorcycles forum members.)
No big ticket items were purchased this year. We looked at the new Stallion trike from Motor Trike. It's built with Ford components and has a steering wheel instead of handlebars. Its 150 hp engine is expected to provide power to weight performance as good as a Corvette. I got in and peered through the windshield. It had an automatic transmission lever on the dashboard on the right side just under the windshield. The brake was on the left and the accelerator was on the right. My legs were spread wide apart. Apparently that Ford engine is right between your legs. The front tire is wide and flat, not rounded like a motorcycle front tire would be. The design is sleek but I had quite a step over the side to get into the seat. I have to wonder if market studies were done to indicate that motorcyclists would be interested in this design. Other than the seating arrangement and the three wheels, the Stallion is very car-like. At a price tag around $30,000, the Stallion costs about the same as a conventional trike but will it attract motorcyclists or people interested in getting into the world of trikes without first riding on 2-wheels. Only time will tell. Our friend Marion got a big bargain today. She happened to be in the market for a new helmet and she also happens to have an extra small head size. Just so happens that one vendor had a $350 Arai helmet in size extra small and was willing to sell it to Marion for $50. I could never get a deal like that. We saw a woman rider on an all pink bike today who also had a platform built just inside the windshield where she had placed her tiny dog wrapped in a pink blanket. Everyone was talking about her today. This evening a dozen or so members of our Gold Wing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) Chapter NJ-F (F-Troop) had dinner at The Log Jam Restaurant. It's a great place for dinner. We also saw Jeff Vey, CEO of Motor Trike, there with his staff who are working the Motor Trike booth at TourExpo. Jeff rode to dinner tonight on a bright red Stallion trike. I could see it outside the window parked in front of the restaurant with a steady crowd of onlookers admiring it. June 6 (the 6-6-6 day) is now over. I couldn't get this blog entry written before midnight. Sorry. Just not enough hours in the day. Tomorrow, June 7, Jane has to return to the TourExpo vendor area to pick up a few items she ordered today. She made special arrangements with the Motor Trike folks to allow her to park her trike at their exhibit so she won't have to walk a mile or more just to get those items. Hats off to Motor Trike for the courtesy. I'll be working on the Forum Edition of the Motorcycles Newsletter and I expect to be roaming Canada Street looking for unusual bikes. And, of course, the night scene continues to get more raucous with each passing day. Photo, "Trikes at the Lone Bull," © 2006 Walter Kern Back to Americade Day-by-Day Blog
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We were on the road at 7:30 a.m. headed to breakfast at the Lone Bull Restaurant, a favorite of ours. Then we rode the trikes down to the TourExpo area. They set aside a complete park next to the place where volunteers guide you to your grass parking spot. We were lucky and arrived just as a new row was being created. That placed us very close to the end of the park where TourExpo starts. Jane was in a bit of pain today and walking was difficult. We seemed to be the slowest walkers on the sidewalk leading to the entrance. It seems inevitable that she will be needing a knee replacement this fall after all our major bike-related activities are over for the year.
