D-Mac
Distance Rider
I thought I'd post a short note about a recent ride I took since we're locked in the middle of winter (you know.... a few months after the countless "how do I winterize my bike" threads end but still a couple of months away from the "my bike won't start!" theads of Springtime).
BACKGROUND: I recently took a cruise. This is not normally how I would travel, but my brother decided to get married on St. Thomas and he wanted everyone to attend. I took my kids (4 & 7) but my wife had to stay home and work (and pay for the trip!!)
Anyway, after the wedding the ship stopped in St. Marten (this is all in the Caribbean - St. Maarten is half Dutch and half French). It's a beautiful island and has LOTS of hills and amazing beaches. I managed to get free from the kids for about 6 hours, so I immediately sought out a scooter to rent and get away form the tourist trap that was the cruise port.
Finding something to rent is easy, but everyone on St. Marteen wants you to rent an ATV. Looks fun, but too slow for my tastes to see the whole island in a half-day, so after searching a few places, I found a guy who had scooters. I was about to leave when I spotted "her".......a little SM bike sitting in the corner of the shop. I asked the guy "how much more to rent that motorcycle?" He sand "$10" - so I jumped on it and took off!
Behold.....my chance to ride in the middle of winter. The beautiful(?) Hartford VR-200X. 197ccs and one of the most powerful bikes on the island of St. Maarten (OK, so I did see an FZ1, a Hayabusa, and a CBR, so let's call it the FOURTH most powerful bike on St. Maarten.....)
I can't imagine a worse place to own a Hayabusa BTW - there's simply nowhere on the island to get that thing up to a reasonable speed.
I had a fantastic time zipping up and down the hills, riding the sandy shoulders, and jumping the endless speedbumps. The bike had plenty of zip (held wide open) and the 4-speed tranny was just perfect for the island. Apparently this bike only reaches 65mph, but I swear I touched 70 (80 mph indicated).
Between the fun I was having and the lack of suitable places to stop, I didn't snap too many pics. Here's one of the scenery though.
At least I got my riding fix. Damn it's a long winter up here.....
BACKGROUND: I recently took a cruise. This is not normally how I would travel, but my brother decided to get married on St. Thomas and he wanted everyone to attend. I took my kids (4 & 7) but my wife had to stay home and work (and pay for the trip!!)
Anyway, after the wedding the ship stopped in St. Marten (this is all in the Caribbean - St. Maarten is half Dutch and half French). It's a beautiful island and has LOTS of hills and amazing beaches. I managed to get free from the kids for about 6 hours, so I immediately sought out a scooter to rent and get away form the tourist trap that was the cruise port.
Finding something to rent is easy, but everyone on St. Marteen wants you to rent an ATV. Looks fun, but too slow for my tastes to see the whole island in a half-day, so after searching a few places, I found a guy who had scooters. I was about to leave when I spotted "her".......a little SM bike sitting in the corner of the shop. I asked the guy "how much more to rent that motorcycle?" He sand "$10" - so I jumped on it and took off!
Behold.....my chance to ride in the middle of winter. The beautiful(?) Hartford VR-200X. 197ccs and one of the most powerful bikes on the island of St. Maarten (OK, so I did see an FZ1, a Hayabusa, and a CBR, so let's call it the FOURTH most powerful bike on St. Maarten.....)
I had a fantastic time zipping up and down the hills, riding the sandy shoulders, and jumping the endless speedbumps. The bike had plenty of zip (held wide open) and the 4-speed tranny was just perfect for the island. Apparently this bike only reaches 65mph, but I swear I touched 70 (80 mph indicated).
Between the fun I was having and the lack of suitable places to stop, I didn't snap too many pics. Here's one of the scenery though.
At least I got my riding fix. Damn it's a long winter up here.....
