First Thursday in May
Weather: Cool and cloudy, but finally, no rain!
This is early. The real crowd shows up a couple of hours later.
Talk about your sensory overload! A million different thoughts are running through my mind as I type this, and I hardly know where to begin.
It is the first Thursday in May, and as always, motorcyclists from all over the area gathered tonight at Dulono’s Pizza in Uptown Minneapolis. The sheer number and variety of bikes that showed up was simply staggering. In order to make this blog entry, I had to leave at around seven p.m., right at the peak of what looked to be a record turnout. I’m talking possibly five or six-hundred bikes… maybe more.
Dulono’s parking lot fills quickly, and then the streets for about two blocks around are host to motorcycles parked handlebar-to-handlebar. Finally, the parking lot across the street begins to fill up, and there are people everywhere.
Just one of the classics that show up at what was originally the Twin City Norton Owner’s Club meeting.
As I’ve mentioned before, First Thursday was originally a meeting of the Twin City Norton Owner’s Club. But since those guys and their bikes were so cool, the event attracted riders of all persuasions until club business could no longer be done in that venue. The TCNOC finally surrendered that evening and location to all the local riders who would show up regardless of whether they were holding a meeting or not. Dulono’s was the happy beneficiary of this arrangement.
Tonight, I went there fully expecting a large turnout, and I was not disappointed. The bikes in attendance ranged from a 1940 Indian Scout Sport to the latest Monster Cafe Racer from Ducati. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, let me show you these beautiful bikes here…
The 1940 Indian Scout Sport was the premier sportbike of it’s time.
Mike Koda owns this classic Indian Scout. I love the look of the valanced fenders on these old bikes, and this example shows evidence of lots of tender loving care.
The fellow who rode in on the Ducati Monster S2R below told me his name is Dave. He is one of the Northwest Airlines mechanics who are currently on strike. This leaves him with a lot of time to ride this incredible motorcycle. I envy him his present circumstances, while sympathizing with his long-term dilemma. Does that make any sense? Look at what this young man is riding, while his union battles the airline…
(Bad Blogger Alert! It seems I have made a mistake concerning Dave, the owner of this gorgeous Ducati. Dave is an auto-technician, not an airline mechanic. He told me he was a mechanic, and he was on-strike. I assumed he meant the long-running NWA strike, which looks like it will never be resolved. My bad, as they say…)
That’s Dave’s lanky self in the background, putting on his cap.
This bike rolled into the parking lot making more delicious mechanical noises than a V-12 Ferrari after a run at the Mille Miglia. The exhaust from the desmo twin and the rattling of the dry-clutch sang a mechanical opera that would put Pavoratti to shame. It is obvious that this airline mechanic knows his way around a motorbike as well as a 747.
Across the parking lot from The Monster, there were two bikes which would humiliate it in tight city traffic. I spotted these two as the owners were dismounting. Giving their names simply as “Dave and Greg”, these two probable outlaws took a moment to pose for a photograph. Huh, don’t they know that this kind of vanity was the undoing of the Dillinger Mob and the James’ Gang before them? :
Yeah… Dave and Greg. Look for them soon on “America’s Most Wanted”.
Of course, if I had to choose my ideal mount for Riding to Work and terrorizing the SUV public, I would have to give that flat-black Husky some serious consideration.
Don’t get me wrong here. I respect the KTM’s abilities, but orange was never my color.
Wow… how do I fit all of this into one blog entry? So much moto-energy was focused in this one location tonight that it would merit several pages of magazine copy, if I were still in the magazine business.
First Thursday is notorious for the quantity and quality of Fine Machinery in attendance. But even better than that is the probability that local moto-luminaries will make an appearance.
Tonight, as I was just getting ready to leave, my friends Paul Streeter and “Buster Brown” showed up. Paul Streeter is an old KLR hand, veteran of many Mexican expeditions and some local rides led by yours truly.
“Buster Brown” is my Berkeley-trained attack lawyer, veteran of wars against tyranny all across our great country, and my own personal counsel in times of conflict with the local constabulary. He is one of only three or four people in this world who I will listen to anymore.
Yes, it was an incredible night, filled with moto-goodness, but it is now getting very late. The photos I showed here have only scratched the surface. You really have to come and visit us to experience the total effect. On the first Thursday of every month, especially May through October, you will find the most incredible array of motorbikes that you could ever see in one place.
I have got to go to bed now. Forgive me, but I have to Ride to Work early in the morning.
There will be another entry this weekend, as I join the local KLR community at a “Tech Day”. In that, I will educate you on the whole KLR “doohickey” controversy. Yes, I know… you can’t wait.
May 5th, 2006 at 3:27 am
There’s a Triumph Daytona 675 in that first shot. Did you have a look at the 675? I think this is the bike that has allowed Triumph’s sportsbikes to jump from “worthy” to aspirational. I had a test ride on one and it was no good for me but it is an amazing machine.
I love that S2R monster, I’d love to have one of those some day.
May 5th, 2006 at 9:46 am
I bought one of those flat black husky’s (‘06 SM610) in November. It is my ‘Ride to Work’ and only form of transportation after being turned down for a car loan but I’m not upset. I put some rain tires on it and it got me through the mild Reno high desert winter just fine. Now that the weather is around 75 degrees here it is a blast. I love being attack the urban city without a care for curbs, sidewalks, or anything else that gets in my way. Then I take it out with my dirt bike friends and make them eat there words about how well those ‘little tires’ tear up the dirt.
You should definitly figure out how to get your hands on one for a review. Oh and Husky’s entire 4-stroke lineup for ‘06 is 50 state street legal. I won’t be suprised to see the honda and the like deciding that this is a good idea.
Thanks for the blog.
-Jib
(Your winter baron blog kept me riding all winter. Just knowing no matter how cold it got in Reno your ride to work was worse.)
May 5th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Hey Gary
Thanks for the shot of the S2R but I need to correct you on a few things.My nane is Dave and I am a mechanic and I am on strike but.I am a auto tech and our srike is only 3 weeks old and close to a end I hope.If I were a NW mechanic I would have found it hard to have put the Duc together.I feel for them they are getting a bad deal.
Thanks for the blog I will check in on it now and then.
Dave
May 5th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
From the top:
Mad, I don’t really care for the new, origami school of sportbike design. I prefer the more organic, compound curves of the last generation of sportbikes, and the brutal elegance of the classic cafe racers. So the 675 didn’t really catch my eye, or my camera lens. I completely agree with you on the Monster S2R, however.
Jib, you are a lucky man. I would get into so much trouble on one of those! I have a hard enough time controlling my evil impulses on the KLR. Why do you think I keep it loaded down with so much luggage?
Dave, what can I say? I must have missed a memo about the auto-tech’s strike. When you said you were a mechanic, on-strike, I automatically ass-u-me-d NWA. I figured those guys made the kind of money that would finance a beautiful Duc like your Monster. Sorry for the error. I’ll fix that now…
Ride well,
=gc=
May 5th, 2006 at 6:44 pm
Ah it’s the Triumph fan in me you see, I want them to really do well and I love the stuff they’re doing these days. The new Speed Triple, Sprint, 675 and the new “Bonnies” really look good to me. I know what you mean about the origami sportsbikes (but I still find myself hankering over them sometimes) and I also think the riding position on the pure sportsbikes is getting too radical. As much as I love the 675 within five minutes of taking it out I was considering returning it to the showroom, it was that uncomfortable. Fantastic engine but pure torture to sit on in traffic. It reminded me strongly of the Ducati 916 position but if anything even more painful.
Oh one of my mates just picked up a 1970’s Ducati 500 if I get a decent pic of it I’ll put it up on my blog.
Er I think I had a point when I started this comment but I lost it somewhere… apologies :p
May 5th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
No problem Gary,I just didn’t want people to think NW mechanics did so well they could spend fun money even when had no jobs.On the Triumphs though my last bike was a 02 Spint RS 955 that treated me good.I really like the 675 and thought about one of them but was looking for a 1050 Daytona but they say none are planed.At least that gave me chance to get my first Duc.
May 6th, 2006 at 5:56 am
Mad, I know what you mean, re: Triumph. Actually, I suppose they need that origami sportbike in order to cover all market sectors. Young men who grew up staring at video game graphics will instantly resonate with these angular, almost pixellated designs. If I had to choose a Triumph right now, I’m sure I would be very happy with the Thruxton.
Dave, I’ve felt awful about the NWA strike since I found out the evil greedheads who run that corporation were training scabs down in Texas or Arizona or somewhere. The strike was doomed from the start.
(800 lb gorilla strides into the room…)
This is the inevitable race-to-the-bottom that occurs when you deregulate and let capitalism run amok. Corporations have no morals, no ethics save the bottom line, and are accountable to nobody but their shareholders. Even the shareholders get screwed when they invest in an Enron or Worldcom. When are people going to wake up and throw these sleazy bastards out into the gutter where they belong?
Is Ken Lay in jail yet?
End of rant. At least we still have our motorbikes.
Ride well,
=gc=
May 6th, 2006 at 6:28 am
Gary, would I be laughed out of town if I showed up at a First Thursday on a Chinese scooter?
Sounds like a real treat for the eyeballs.
May 6th, 2006 at 3:59 pm
“Gary, would I be laughed out of town if I showed up at a First Thursday on a Chinese scooter?”
No, but show up on a Boss Hoss, and you will be snickered off the block.
May 6th, 2006 at 5:00 pm
Gary- How about an 800-pound government gorilla? Stamp prices just went up a few months ago, and they are going to go up again according to the news recently… Here’s an actual conversation I had with my supervisor this morning. (A reminder- I’m a letter carrier for the post office.)
Supv- “You weren’t supposed to sort those ads in the office, you were supposed to take them to the street.”
Me- “It’s faster and more efficient for me to do it in the office. Believe me, I don’t try to make my job harder or take any longer than it has to.”
Supv- “Yeah, I know, but it messes up our budgeted ‘office-time’.”
(An explanation: Our day is split into two categories of time- office-time, and street-time. It makes absolutley no difference to anyone except the bean-counters.)
Me- “I thought this was the US Postal Service, not the US Accounting Service.”
The supervisor gave me a “be gone with you” stare…
My way saves time, which saves them from paying me more overtime, but I’m not supposed to do it that way because I’m in the office 15 minutes longer than I’m “supposed” to be. This is just one tiny example of how the post office wastes stamp revenue…
As you say: At least we still have our motorbikes. Need to clear my brain, so I’m gonna suit up and ride right now. It’s a little chilly at 60 deg, but gloriously sunny!
-Shagg
May 6th, 2006 at 8:32 pm
Hey Dan, listen to Buster Brown. I do.
Except when he is telling me to put ice screws in perfectly good scooter snow tires, that is.
Buster, I didn’t see any of them last Thursday. But of course, I did leave kind of early.
Bro Shagg… Some of my friends are letter carriers, and they tell me the same stories. All governments inevitably have some amount of waste, but ours seems to be striving to elevate waste to an art form. In the current trend of “extreme” -everything, this does not bode well for the taxpayer.
Ride well,
=gc=
May 8th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Hi rember me Danny a fellow photographer we met at the glass bar. I just wanted to say thank-you I injoyed your article,and keep up the truth!
May 31st, 2006 at 10:57 pm
YES!
I will see you all there!
For those in the West suburbs -
There’s a group of us that leaves from Hopkins Hitching Post at about 7:10, if anyone would like to join!
-Look for a green 919