The bikes that made me Part 2;
In 1977, my friend Doug and I went to Long Beach Honda. The salesperson who helped us was Carl Diamond, who now operates Carl Diamond Insurance. We each bought a new 1977 Honda GL1000 Goldwing, both in the color blue. It was raining that day, but we rode off from the dealership anyway. Our first stop was my wife Sherry’s family home to show them our new bikes. Sherry got on the back of the bike with me, and when we left, I lost control on a wet patch. She and I flipped off the bike and landed within 20 feet of her entire family, who had come out to see us off. She had a broken shoulder, and I broke my collar bone. The highway peg went through the case and the engine had to be replaced! That is the beginning of my Goldwing saga.
When I bought the Goldwing it was a naked bike, but soon after I put a color matched Windjammer fairing on it. We were touring every weekend and riding everywhere. That bike was the largest and fastest Honda in their lineup. After many miles of touring, I got into my cruiser stage. Since I loved my Goldwing so much, I decided to keep it and chop it! I put on extended forks, aseat with high padded backrest, 4 into 1 exhaust, and pull back handlebars.
My friend Tommy painted an incredible picture of Conan the Barbarian on a horse with a warrior shooting a bow in the foreground on the tank. It was certainly unique, fun to ride and an awesome bike!
My cruiser stages never last a whole long time. Tommy had customized his Goldwing to be a café style bike and I liked the look and ride, so I did the same to mine. I put on lower handlebars, different seat, stock forks, a mini café fairing and had it custom painted.
We were street racing and carving through the twisties a lot, so of course when Honda came out with the 6-cylinder CBX I just had to have one. That was the beginnings of my urge to go around corners fast.
My Goldwing gave me so many incredible memories and it will always have a piece of my heart. Next week we’ll talk about my “King of the Road” CBX.
TIGER 1200 EPIC ADVENTURE
WESTERN CAPE SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa is home to a plethora of remote, diverse, and epic motorcycle riding locations that are truly hard to beat. With a network of over 434,960 miles of dirt roads, the country can be seen as the pinnacle destination for motorcyclists looking to get away on an epic adventure aboard a Tiger 1200.
Friends Bruce, (CEO of Triumph South Africa) and Joe (Owner Bonafide Moto Co) have traveled through a handful of Southern Africa countries together over the last 5 years. In March 2023, they set out on a new adventure together to explore the Western Cape of South Africa. The goal was to recce some routes for upcoming trips and put the Tiger 1200 to the test on some challenging terrain. Read Joe’s account of the adventure below.
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Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro Review
The Giant Trance E+ 2 Pro is well rounded and reasonably priced
Giant is well known for offering quality bikes at reasonable prices, and their Trance E+ 2 Pro is no exception. Giant is a relative newcomer to the electric mountain bike market, and they have developed a quality, versatile offering. Not only is the Trance E+ sleek looking with a nicely integrated battery and motor design, but it also comes equipped with an impressive and shred ready component specification, especially considering the asking price. It's built around their Maestro suspension platform and based on their popular Trance design with modern trail bike geometry, so it comes as no surprise that it has a buttery smooth suspension feel and reliable downhill performance. It does well on the climbs too, mostly thanks to the muscular SyncDrive Pro pedal assist motor with five output settings. Like most e-bikes, the Trance E+ 2 is heavy and combined with its long chainstays occasionally feels sluggish in its handling, especially at lower speeds. While functional, the RideControl One all-in-one control unit is certainly not easy to read while riding. Otherwise, there's little not to like about the Trance E+, especially at this price.
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