[no subject]

We had a great time at the Pensacola, FL RAT raid last weekend.  There
are some surprisingly good roads in NoFLa and we were denied the
pleasure of riding them in the rain.  Adventures Unlimited did a good
job for accommodations and food, even trucking in some fresh sugar sand
for the camp road, just to keep us on our toes.  Some of even made it to
their knees.

RAT Boy, AKA Jim Callahan had a bundle of prizes under his arm for
raffles and Dink & Julie from D & D Cycles did likewise.  Pete and Norma
(AKA, the Shy One) Peterson did a good job of setting up rides and
activities.  The trip to the Naval Aviation Museum was the cat's ass,
but I would have liked to stay longer.  Rooms FULL of radial engines.  I
was breathing hard without the Viagra.

We had lunch at the Oar House in Alabama on Saturday, excellent, but I
can't remember the name of the town or the road.  Look for the RotLE
Sticker in the window and you will know you found it.

Back at the campground, we test drove a Thruxton.  This is a very
capable machine.  Not having been a big fan of the Bonnie so far, this
was a big change.  It has more than adequate power for a Vertical Twin
and is extremely agile.  The brakes, seat and styling are very good,
although I still think the lump isn't particularly handsome.

Sources say that even more power is on tap, with only minor mods.  The
silencers sound like little metallic fart-guns, so they will no doubt be
the first thing to be changed.

I did not find the bar position to be onerous.  The angle is just right
and it is easy to hold yourself up with the gut muscles and let the
hands just rest on the bars.

I did notice a fair amount of heat on the knees.  The bike has a very
defined waist and you tend to tuck your knees into the heat zone.  I was
wearing Raptor (vented) pants, so something more insulative would
probably have helped.

All in all a stylish ride with some guts.  It's going to make hash of
all but highly modified or huge CC v-twins.  And of course there is the
added value of being asked whether you restored it yourself.

I had the Tiger there with the new Prototype silencer.  Everyone agreed
it was not overly loud and looked good on the bike.
Look for it soon on the Skyking website and in the RotLE website.


Andrew F. Kay, Jr.
Riders of the Lost Empire, LC,  13355 79th Street, Fellsmere, FL 32948
www.lostempire.com   andy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
"Change is not made without inconvenience, even from worse to better."
Attributed to Richard Hooker, 1554? -1600 by Johnson in the Preface to
the English Dictionary.

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