Just had to share this one today. My motorcycle store just picked up one of the more interesting bikes I've seen in a while. It's a de-badged, but not decommissioned, 2009 Honda ST1300 Police Edition.
Living in Southern California, the Honda ST1300 is a very popular police motorcycle that is used by several departments in LA and Orange County. Some of these departments include the LAPD, Irvine Police, Newport Beach, and Fullerton just to name a few. In Northern California, the San Jose Police use them heavily. And they're often used as a cost-effective alternative to the BMW R1200RT that is used primarily by the California Highway Patrol.
Out here in Ohio, there are no known police departments that use sport-touring bikes; in fact, all the police motorcycles I've seen out here are Harley-Davidson cruisers. So it's quite unusual to see this bike here, and it's very nice to see (and sit on) a little piece of home.
When I rode on SoCal freeways in heavily congested traffic, following a police bike while lane-splitting in between stopped cars was like catching an awesome wave while surfing. Cars would move in their lane to provide more space, and you'd just take advantage of it on your motorcycle. Although it's technically not illegal in Ohio to perform this move (I checked), most people out here would try to kill you out of sheer anger and stupidity. For more thoughts on what I consider to be one of the greatest privileges in motorcycle riding, click here.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to ride it down the street; it is illegal in Ohio as a civilian to ride any motorcycle with police lights and siren still installed on it, whether or not they are used during operation. Darn. But enjoy the photos!
Front of the bike.
Rear of the bike. Passenger seat is replaced with a plastic cowl and additional bracket added to hold the lights.
Honda factory installed police bike controls (throttle side). settings 1-3 are for police lights, 4 is siren, 5 is preset on/off. Headlights and running lights can be turned off independently.
Clutch side controls. No difference from a stock Honda ST1300 except for an added intercom push-to-talk button. Windshield is electronically adjustable with a toggle switch.
This is about the furthest I can travel with it, but it never hurts to dream. :)
Since my blog mainly focuses on things on wheels, I'm going to switch gears and do a food review on an establishment that thrives on mobility and bringing the food to your event.
As the event coordinator for Independent Motorsports, I invited Dan's Deli #41 to our MC Networking Event last Saturday, 3/31 for a trial run. I've seen several of these trailers roaming around various parts of Columbus and I figured it would be fun to bring some food options to our event.
Here's Dan's Deli #41 serving up our guests at the Independent Motorsports MC Networking Event on 3/31/12.
This has been a very unusual March in central Ohio. Last week, we were surprised with summer-like sunny days with temps over 80 degrees. Of course, with the first arrival of warm weather comes the itch of the seasonal riders to get the motorcycles out for the first time in 2012.
God help us all. Err...I mean, about time you guys showed up!?
Of course, this whole "wait for nice weather" thing has never been an issue for both me and Matt as we have ridden this entire winter. Matt has traversed icy conditions on his 2008 Piaggio BV250 scooter outfitted with tungsten-carbide studded dual-sport tires (legal in OH from Nov.-March), and I've been traversing on Eleanor for as long as there has been no ice on the road. As Californians, we live on the idea that you ride a motorcycle every day in all acceptable road conditions, and if the weather doesn't cooperate there's riding gear to respond to it. Unfortunately, living in a state where motorcycles are regarded, for the most part, as recreational vehicles instead of legit forms of transportation single us out as oddities.
But...for those who do rely on the calendar to determine if it's okay to ride again, I have several suggestions/tips to ensure that your return to the road is as smooth and as trouble-free as possible.
With the circus in town here in Columbus, OH this week, I think it would be fun to share this story.
I had a customer come into Independent Motorsports on Tuesday carrying a rear wheel to a 2008 Honda Rebel to have two spokes replaced. When I asked him how soon he needed it, he answered, "I'll need it tomorrow to prepare the bike for my act."
It turns out that he was a performer for Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and his "act" involved riding a Rebel across a high-wire up to 70 ft. in the air! Since wheel spokes aren't a very common thing that's carried in stock at most motorcycle stores (they don't break often enough to justify it), I started calling multiple Honda dealerships in Ohio. After several calls and six shops later I came across the guys at Western Hills Honda Yamaha in Cincinnati who had four of the spokes in stock and were able to overnight the parts to our store where one of our awesome techs reinstalled and trued the wheel in less than an hour.
His "wheel" is a stock rim with a large strip of tire rubber riveted down to the inside. There is a deep groove in the middle to accommodate the high-wire that he rides on. According to him, his Rebel has also been modified with a large sprocket for extra torque for short, precise movements and his fuel tank plugged up for, well, just watch the video below to find out why.
This the Honda Rebel 250 wheel that rides across the highwire.
Close-up of the tire groove
So here's our customer, Alex Petrov, entertaining the masses on that high-wire bike. I'm proud to say that I helped get him back in the air again! This is probably the best use of a Honda Rebel that I've seen in a long time, and a very strange (and short) commute from point A to point B. I'm proud to say that, yes, we service motorcycles for commuters and circus folk alike!
