The mounts in use for the motorcycle adventure(s) include:
2003 BMW R1150RS
This is a fast, powerful road-eater. It’s taken me to West Texas, and from Texas to Maine and back. Pictured here in front of a swamp in Indianola, Mississippi, where B.B. King grew up. When I first bought this bike, I had a twin of it – same year, same motor, different set-up (it was a GS) that took me to the 77 provinces of Thailand. This is the bike of choice for long-distance, uncertain weather, and lots of gear.
2014 Harley Davidson CVO Deluxe
This is a recent acquisition, bought on the spur-of-the-moment from an auto dealer who did not know what it was, and priced it accordingly. It is a HD factory custom (CVO), with custom paint, and has been doctored by the first owner – 1800cc of solid, loud, muscle. The bags, which don’t normally come on a Deluxe, were added and paint-matched. It will also be one of the long-haul bikes, though primarily to places where I think I can keep it from being stolen. [NOTE: Used for 4 trips, traded for Indian in September 2018.]
1998 Moto Guzzi Centauro V10 Sport
This is a rare and very collectible motorcycle that will just be used for 1-2 day adventures – it is not equipped to carry much gear. It is not actually a V10, it is a transverse (side-to-side) V-Twin of 1000cc displacement and, paraphrasing a review I read of it, “when started up, it sends all the flies fleeing to the top of the barn, like a real motorcycle should…” This one has carbon fiber exhausts, electronic engine mapping, and numerous other hot-rod additions. It runs just about like you’d expect something that looks like this to run…
2007 Triumph Thruxton 900
This is also a day-tripper because of limited gear-carrying capacity. In 1969, I bought a thing in London called a Triton. It was a full-blown cafe racer of the Ace Cafe era, with a bored-out Triumph engine placed in the legendary Norton Featherbed frame. I brought it back to Texas, where it met an untimely end (not at my hands) in a low-water crossing right here in Wimberley. This Thruxton has been an attempt to recreate, at least in spirit, the wistfully remembered Triton. It has a tuned exhaust sytem, modified air intake system, upgraded rear and front shocks, and all sorts of little cosmetic enhancements. This little thing runs like a gazelle. It is not fond of speed limits. [NOTE: Used to visit one courthouse, traded with HD for Indian Springfield in September 2018]
2011 Royal Enfield Bullet C5 Chrome
As with the Triumph, this bike hearkens back to another time. In 1978, when I was first assigned to Bombay, I bought a brand-new Royal Enfield 350cc Bullet. That was the largest you could buy in those days, and over a five year period that bike and my riding companions – we called ourselves the Bombay Bandicoots, a bandicoot being an extremely large variety of urban rat – rode all over Western India, and beyond. Enfield India grew the displacement of the Bullet to 500cc, but it is still a single-cylinder “thumper”, with a top speed of maybe 75mph. But it is such a fun and gentlemanly ride, it delivers satisfaction of a different variety than the bigger and faster bikes. This bike will be used for one-day or short overnighters.
2013 Vespa 300ie GTV
This is a 300cc “touring” version of the venerable Vespa scooter. I keep it in Houston for the times when I take my parents down there. Incredibly, it will run 80mph on the Interstate without it being a white-knuckle experience. At least not until the 18-wheelers close in… I prefer zipping this one around on the urban back streets, but it has more grunt than you’d imagine. It’s also one of the most fun to ride – just get on and go, no gears to shift. This bike will be the one that goes to Harris County courthouse.
2018 Indian Springfield
This amazing machine was the result of a trade of the above-mentioned HD and Triumph Thruxton. It is strong, smooth, fast and comfortable, and will join the BMW in the long-range part of the stable.
1941 Triumph 350
This bike has some history, the short version of which is: It was a retirement gift to the chief mechanic and manager of the Pakistani police (or military) motorcycle stable. The old man died and his son kept this bike in the family living room. A good friend of mine was able to buy the bike, and then shipped it back to New York in the late 90’s, when I first saw it. Fast forward 20+ years, and the bike had been moved to Texas, where it became mine. (Thank you, Sultan) It had not been run for over 20 years, but Revival Bikes in Austin was able to bring it back to life, and make it fully road-worthy. It still wears the plates from Rawalpindi, and another good friend of mine has been able to get me the actual Urdu language registration records of the bike when it was in Pakistan. The thing starts on the first crank (if you do it right), and riding it makes you feel like T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) on his beloved Brough Superior (on which, incidentally, he met his maker…). This bike will be used on the very last courthouse visit, to Hays County where I live. It is a remarkable piece of history, with an exceptional pedigree. It is likely to be featured in an upcoming magazine featuring vintage bikes. One of a kind…
There is one more bike, a 1982 Yamaha XS 650 given to me by my cousin after it sat in my father’s warehouse for 25 years. The motor has been bored to 700cc and doctored by Limey Bikes in Austin, and the bike will reincarnate as a kind of hooligan style “street tracker”. I don’t think that it will be finished in time for the 254 county adventure, but who knows, there could be a next chapter of “old man nonsense”…
😀