Cycling Key West

I try not to lose sight of the things I like about Key West and even though I am not a fan of bicycles in this town I am fond of the fact that my neighbors like to ride them. And they tend to start young too:

Let me explain: I find bicycles put me in the traffic flow so instead of enjoying the scenery and the architecture I find myself watching for cars and stop signs and distracted pedestrians (like me!). In short a bicycle is a vehicle and you have to use it as a conveyance around the narrow streets of Key West.

Residents of Key West often take pride in not having any means of propulsion other than bicycle pedals but for me who lives outside the city not only is internal combustion necessary it is also a swifter means of locomotion. I ride a motorbike or a scooter for convenience and pleasure. I have no hard feelings toward people who ride bicycles and if they ride recklessly I as a motorcycle rider am well aware of their vulnerability for which they will eventually pay with their flesh.

I expect that if I did live in Key West not 23 miles out I too would be giving my bicycle more use than it currently gets.

These abandoned scooters have been red tagged which in city parlance means their owners have now been warned that their scooters will be towed. If the vehicle cannot be moved, for instance if the tires are flat or if the license plate is expired or if a car looks like storage locker filled with junk, then it can be towed. And it will be as residents hate to see their streets junked up. 

This bicycle, below, was to me the perfect expression of the car culture. I have never previously seen a bicycle parked as though it were a car. But here it is. Parallel parked as though it belonged in a parallel universe!

I suppose the owner feels as I do about bicycles: better with an engine...

Indian Scout

I rented an Indian Scout 1200 one day on our recent short vacation in Las Vegas. It came well equipped with bags, windshield and for $55 extra complete insurance coverage.

I am very fond of the nationwide Eaglerider rental program especially after last year's rental in Orlando where an Indian Chief  Vintage gave me fits as the key-less ignition failed and left me stranded repeatedly. The Chief is a magnificent beast all 800 pounds of it but I found it unmanageable and loud. I had previously checked out the Scout at a bike show and I wanted to like it but it seemed rather cramped and uncomfortable. 

I figured renting it might be a risk but that's the point. In the event I was quite pleasantly surprised. Eaglerider was easy and efficient as always and I was ready to break out into the 65 degree day and see how this Scout which every magazine writer loves would perform.. 

Firstly the bike is low and lean and I could flat foot my 28 inch inseam easily. Duck walking the bike is simple with its 25 inch seat height! It weighs 560 pounds ready to ride but it feels much less lifting it off its side stand. Before I ride a rental bike I like to practice in the parking lot for a few minutes setting the mirrors and checking the brakes and trying to turn figures of eight.  Compared to the huge Indian Chief which was easy to maneuver in narrow circles the Scout feels ungainly with inadequate steering lock. Indeed turning around to take a picture I had to back and forth across the road to get the thing facing the way we had come. Ungainly!

My first stop on my 180 mile loop was the Hoover Dam which, though I have ridden the Southwest a lot, I had never previously seen. Here it is from the footpath on the nearby road bridge. If you don't know it's history it is rather less than overwhelming frankly. The number of cars lined up to drive the top of the dam put me off trying that for myself. Indeed when I rode out of the "restricted area" the security guard was overwhelmed by a very long line of cars wanting entry. Get here early to avoid lines.

The place was a zombie fest of the curious, people just like me...but there were too many for my taste. I came, I saw I took a picture and I fled.

After Boulder City and the dam where traffic was very heavy I enjoyed desert roads alongside Lake Mead pretty much to myself until I got close to Las Vegas and traffic jams on I-15 back into town. The air was cool on my skin but if I needed to warm up all I had to do was stop and enjoy the abundant sunshine. It was the perfect day for a ride even for this under dressed Floridian.

The windshield was a bit low for me and had it been a couple of inches taller it would have directed all the air over my head which as I was wearing a rental helmet with no visor would have been nice! The factory accessory saddlebags for a thousand bucks are  a waste though they were nice to have on the rental. They are made of leather so they will absorb rainwater like blotting paper and they have small openings at the top and don't have a lot of room to hold stuff. They have a plastic back and base liner to keep the bags' shape and the quick release buckles hidden under the leather straps are small and fiddly. If I owned a Scout I'd buy someone's accessory bags, preferably hard, lockable and waterproof. Though this is sold as a cruiser so looks are paramount and in that department the bike and the leather accessories are total winners.

The instrument is comprehensive with scrolling digital displays showing mileage and trip miles, RPM or engine coolant temperature while the main screen shows analogue miles per hour said to be accurate. I checked the engine temperature and on the road it was 176 degrees rising to a maximum of 206 F stalled in stop and go freeway traffic. It also has a very useful gear indicator for the six speed box. The digits are a little thin and hard to read in bright sunlight so I had to squint. Poor me!

My plan took me to what Google said was a pretty decent grocery store in this tiny outpost of desert civilization called Overton in the Moapa Valley, a strip of green along a river bank. I love street view and Google maps for route planning. I found a picnic table at a nearby museum so I planned to buy a sandwich at the grocery and eat it at the museum. Which part of the plan went off perfectly along with getting a full tank of gas for the rather miserly 3.3 gallon tank. I was getting about 46 miles to the gallon which seemed reasonable if not brilliant but the tank as everyone has said is too small. 

What did not go to plan was the passage of time and as I was behind schedule I had to skip visiting the museum which was a shame as I like history. Darkness falls at 5 pm around here and the Eaglerider shop closes at the same time  so I had a deadline. I didn't want to be riding after dark as temperatures plummet so I was riding to beat sunset...which was  a drag but necessary. Especially as our plans for the next day did not involve a motorcycle!

Part of the pleasure of the visit to Nevada was to enjoy completely different terrain from that which we enjoy in the Florida Keys and I found that. There were numerous washes and dry riverbeds crossing the road. Apparently they do flood as there were lots of red streaks across the road where mud had been deposited and cleaned off by road crews.

And then there were mountains across the horizon, a welcome sight after long residence in Flatistan.

After lunch I rode south 9 miles back to the turn off for the Valley of Fire State Park. This is so named by the State of Nevada thanks to the red rocks that litter the place.  The road winds its way through with side turns for various rocky attractions. No hiking was involved which was a shame as I like a good hike to enhance a ride. In any case Rusty wasn't with me and I had no time so hiking was out.

 I rode around and had a thoroughly good time not least because the Scout is a thoroughly good bike. I have read that this is the cruiser is the motorcycle for people who don't like cruisers. That would be me and I dislike the foot forward riding position. The Scout does offer foot pegs further back and they would be my choice as I feel I have better control cornering and braking with my feet properly under me, but in any case the Scout is a great bike. Surprised me.

The engine sparkles and the performance is quite surprising. I met a guy on a massive FJR1300 by Yamaha the long distance tourer par excellence and he turned his nose up at the Scout as a mere cruiser. I don't think he was real secure because even though I explained it was a rental and not my usual ride he was one of those riders who thinks everyone should be like him "Oh I ride a sport tourer" he said rather snottily. And it's a shame because he could have learned something by opening his mind. I could tour quite happily with the Scout. It's not really a little bike either even though the seat is low to the ground and it is a lot smaller than the Chief.

I'm not alone in thinking this should be a standard bike because even though it has decent suspension, especially compared to a Harley, it could be  a great ride  for a sporty rider thanks to the engine and the solid yet lightweight frame. The fat tires look very cool but they work well and that Yamaha rider would be surprised by this bike in competent hands on a winding mountain road. "Just a cruiser" - hardly the case and the magazines I've read say the same thing.

I am not a fan of six speed gearboxes generally and I found the Scout will cruise happily at 75 in fourth, a silly waste of gas of course. In 6th gear at 80 miles per hour the bike is rolling along around 4500 rpm if I recall correctly and it feels like no effort at all. Need to pass? No gear shifting needed. Before I knew it I was up to 95 smooth as butter and the 18 wheeler was a speck in the very stable mirrors. This bike is the "small" Indian but it is a touring bike in very excellent sporting style. 

It corners nicely and takes road bumps in stride. I got carried away at one point and entered a corner a bit too fast. No problem, safe braking, no wiggles, on our way at a more proper sedate speed. This is a great bike. The seat is reasonable and though the tank is small it is square and the corners at the back rubbed my thighs and not in a  nice way. I like the bench seat on my Bonneville but I found I could squirm a bit in the bucket seat on the Scout and gain some riding time. By the end of my six hour ride I had no aches or pains so I rate this machine a success on that score. I would have been ready to ride further.

I found it easy to get to know and that was a huge relief after the massive over sized Chief I rode a year ago.  I now know that my kind of motorcycle comes in what is these days a mid sized package. 

The Scout is almost as low maintenance as the rather clunky by comparison Harleys. However its modern water cooled performance requires valve checks even if only every 20,000 miles compared to a Sportster's hydraulic tappets which are maintenance free. The oil change is every ten thousand miles, compared to the Harley's five. Plus the Harley has a separate gearbox and primary drive that need attention. For both Harley and Indian have the belt drive which is silent clean and needs nothing. Pretty cool. It does run on premium gas however and with 2.5 useful gallons you have a range of about 110 miles before you need to look for fuel, which is inadequate for touring or commuting. Run out of gas here if you dare:

It's a fun ride and were I looking to buy this machine would be in the running with the Triumph Street Twin, Moto Guzzi Stone 750 or Roamer 900 and the Ducati Scrambler. The engine is amazing even if it could use a much lower gear in first to enable better walking speeds in heavy traffic. This is a fast bike, it accelerates faster than you can think, and you can fling it about like a scooter. It looks amazing too with rich finish and nice detailing. You'd be proud to own a Scout.

I got involved talking about the Scout at the Hoover Dam parking lot with a guy who likes the Chief. I told him why I thought this was the more versatile ride but for some reason most people think huge is better. The Scout is a bike that demands you ride it, no excuses. On a day when handling a giant machine seems too much, the very willing and able Scout will beg you to ride. And ride it I did, enjoying the natural beauty of the Silver State:

180 miles in six hours smiling all the way. I own the best bike of my life, my air cooled Bonneville. If I wanted another machine this would be a hot contender and let's face it the history of Indian would be a big draw, with the romantic vision of riding this great country on a scion of that past...Mind you I might well look at the five speed 1000 cc Scout 60 (sixty cubic inches) if I were thinking about buying. It costs less and looks identical with "only" 80 horsepower. I find six speeds to be a bit of drag as one ends up shifting all the damned time. On the other hand cruising at 80 mph in sixth gear is very relaxed so maybe the 1200 Scout (69 cubic inches) is better...decisions decisions.

Here's a map of that ride, its a very common loop out of Las Vegas for tourists wanting to see the surrounding desert. I met a bunch of fancy sports cars being tested on these winding roads with rather low speed limits and no visible law enforcement. I started by getting the Hoover Dam out of the way first then I went north on Lakeshore which is in the Lake Mead National Recreational area and cost $15 by motorcycle ($20 by car). Valley of Fire cost $8 for the bike at an honor system self pay station at the eastern end. You exit past a check booth at the western end. Then back to Las Vegas on I-15 from Crystal a truck stop famous for selling fireworks you can shoot off in the desert next door.

There you have it. A great day on two wheels in the desert.

Lost Youth

A reprint from August 2009 when I tested a Triumph with clip on handlebars and decided I prefer my standard Bonneville. That was seven years ago too.

"The past is another country- they do things differently there." I have always had a hankering for a Triumph Thruxton under my bum, to more accurately reflect my nostalgia for my very well spent motorcycling youth. Something like this:

When I was a kid I never quite understood who bought the "Touring" models of the motorcycles that interested me. My first bike, after my moped years, was an MV Agusta 350, with clip on handlebars, just like the 2007 Thruxton pictured above. My next motorcycle was a Moto Morini also the 350 Sport model with stubby little handlebars and a crouched riding position and another flame red paint job. After 200 miles on the Thruxton pictured above I admire my long lost youth more than I would have thought possible. How the hell did I ever ride Europe from one end to the other crouched like that? I can't do it any more, that's for sure! My wife said to me out of the blue one day last week "I've been looking up motorcycle rentals in Ocala but I can't find any..." and she then announced that when our little road trip stopped at Nancy's place in Ocala I would have the day off while they went shopping and would I like to rent a bike to go for a ride by myself...? Like proverbial wild bear crapping in the woods I got to work with Google figuring my wife just couldn't find what must be there- a rental in Ocala. Well, there wasn't but I did come across Modern Classic Motorcycle Rentals of Orlando and I started to figure how far Orlando was from Ocala. It seemed do-able so I called Frank. Clearly a man after my own heart he gushed about his Triumphs for rent-he's owned a Bonneville since they were first imported in 2001- and at $69 for eight hours I easily talked myself into a day on a Thruxton. For $49 I could have had a Bonneville or Scrambler! With insurance and stuff the total 8 hours on the red rocket came to just about $100 an excellent deal by any standard. I was real happy to find my way to Frank's house and pick up the Thruxton, a brand new carburetted 2007 model with just 280 miles on the clock. It looked incredible. The Thruxton (or more properly as Frank would have it the Bonneville Thruxton) is based on the Bonneville 865cc engine and frame with just a few modifications to give it the factory café racer look. It has a smaller 18 inch front wheel, clip on handlebars, and upgraded front forks. The foot pegs are rather fancier than the Bonneville's sturdy rubber clogs and Triumph has used some rather nice hardwear to attach them to the bike:

The rider's feet are pushed into a toe down position and the brake and gear controls are substantially lower than the Bonneville's... which combined with the truly tiny handlebars makes you feel like a boy racer as soon as you fire up the docile and easily managed engine.

Look at those big white clocks (tach included!) and those stubby little handlebars and that thick white stripe down the back of the tank, which tank is the same identical to the regular Bonneville's, but just looks different thanks to all the other subtle changes around it. The side panels are the same too, but the writing is different and more aggressive on that gorgeous red background:

The whole package looks a million bucks parked on the refurbished main street of De Land, a satellite community north of Orlando:After I signed the paperwork for the rental and insurance I found myself alone in downtown Orlando, maneuvering this red jewel through unfamiliar streets and onto the I-4 interstate highway with no time to get used to anything. It was a strange sensation, the controls are as smooth and light as I am used to on my own Bonneville, the engine which supposedly puts out ten more horsepower than my own Bonneville's modest 65, pulled smartly and the cone exhausts gave a pleasing though very civilized rumble as i moved through the five speed gearbox. Handling was firm, just like my own machine with any lightness produced by the slightly smaller front wheel amply compensated for by the short low handlebars. Looking over my shoulders at lane changes was much tougher than I am used to, and though I am short, 5' 06" (168cms) and I have short legs, yet I still was able to clasp the cylinder heads with my knees if I wasn't careful. For taller riders Triumph has added wire guards to the cylinder fins:

The Thruxton invites acceleration, I leaned over the bars, the bright chromed headlamp shell reflecting the sunlight and shining in my face like a beacon. I opened the throttle and the café racer pulled smoothly away. Some people think these modern classic Triumphs are short changed in the horsepower department, as though anything less than a hundred horsepower on a 900cc bike is somehow wrong! Perhaps this style of riding is incomprehensible to a twenty year old looking for a 14,000 rpm deadline on a modern water cooled four cylinder 600cc crotch rocket. The Thruxton is a very different ride and for my money much more pleasant. A few Harley riders waved as they passed in the opposite direction, some of them apparently recognized a classic air cooled ride. I got a second glance from T E Lawrence's doppelganger riding a Ducati 1099 on the freeway, helmetless with his middle aged dyed blond air flapping uncomfortably in the wind. He should have been friendlier as I was closer to a Brough Superior than he was on his Italian exotica. (Lawrence of Arabia loved his Brough Superior motorcycles in the twenties and thirties until he died on one).I don't know the Orlando area very well and though Frank tried to direct me to some twisties I wanted to try to get out of town and take some country roads well away from the traffic of the big city, and make no mistake, Mickey Mouse's home town is sprawling like you wouldn't believe. Florida is not known for it's great winding motorcycle roads but I gave it my best shot. Every time I saw a side road I took it and ripped up lanes and back roads big and small. I found a failed housing development deep in the woods and spent a happy five minutes snicking through the gears and weaving around my own private race course past the undeveloped housing lots. The bike was brand new so I wasn't pushing anything but I enjoyed the performance I did squeeze out of it. Very calm and middle aged of me. Besides my wrists aren't as resistant as they used to be and the heat was truly astonishing. It was hot as Hades out there, so much so I took off my gloves for a while for relief from the relentless fug of hot air to air my sweaty hands out and let some air up my sleeves.

By the time I got back to Frank's place I had put 203 miles (305kms) on the clock and I think I got around the upper 40s in terms of miles per gallon from two tanks of premium gas that I used. For some reason my own Bonneville returns about 43mpg in the Keys and around 47mpg when I ride the mainland. Perhaps it has to do with the longer straighter, less varied roads:

Frank says he finds the Thruxton's seat more comfortable than the standard Bonneville, though that may just be a function of what you are used to. For me the riding position was just too low.It was great fun for sections of roadway that demanded your attention, and it was much more involving to ride head down and crouched over the front wheel with those delicious clip ons grasped in your mitts, but I found on the ling straight stretches I tended to adopt the more upright position you'll see youngsters take up while riding their crotch rockets at a leisurely pace. I put my left hand on my thigh and stretched my aching lumbar regions from time to time.There is a reason I guess why so many staid riders in north central Florida, where motorcycles abound, ride those steady old Harley cruisers. I did meet a few fans of those old Triumphs though, people who come up to you when you ride a modern classic and reminisce about the good old days. This dude picking up a 24-pack of Bud for a Sunday afternoon in front of the boob tube took a few minutes to tell me about his 1960s experiences with a Thunderbird. Personally I like the modern part of the classic thing- reliable vibration free riding on a machine that starts every time.

So what about my eight hours and 200 miles on the Thruxton? This is a motorcycle for someone more limber than me and stronger in the wrists, the newer Thruxtons have lost the clip ons and have rather higher, adjustable bars,much to Frank's disgust. I loved getting to ride the bike even if I now know I did the right ting by being sensible and buying the "regular" Bonneville, upright seating position and all. I'm not 19 any more and it's time I realized that. If I had room for a second bike in the garage I don't have, I'd love one of these for my occasional blast around the mountain rides that don't exist in the Keys...

It's stupid and sentimental of me I know but I love this bike. Before I took it back to Frank I sat and stared at it for fifteen minutes. I know its a factory café racer which is a contradiction in terms for the people who used to build their own in the 1960s but Triumph have really hit the nail on the head with this machine, no longer directly produced with carburettors and clip-ons, and thus so much more precious because of it.

    As for Modern Classic Motorcycle Rentals you need to call Frank the next time you are in Orlando and he will deliver your bike to your location anywhere around the city, for as long or as short as you want it. He loves these bikes and wants you to love them too. Check it out at Modern Classic Motorcycle Rental (LINK)  or by phone at 407 583 6988 and I know you will have as much fun checking out your dream bike as I did.