Ft. Worth Bike Show - Report

Well, I made it over to the bike show in downtown Ft. Worth today.

On the way - there was what appeared* to be a trike that got involved in an
accident on 183 East bound - between the loop & I-35 West (If I recall
correctly) - Traffic was backed up for about a mile while they were working
on the rider(s). (* - Even though the cages were slowing down to
rubberneck - I pretty much was paying attention to the brake lights ahead
of me & didn't get a clear looksee over the cement barrier at the
accident). Hope all is well for the rider(s).

I enjoyed the ride to Ft. Worth - a bit on the windy side with some
crosswinds that gave my "Ole' Beast" some wobble above 80MPH - Need to
check the steering stem tightness to fix that.

Saw several people that recognized me before I recognized them... My
postman and his wife were there on their Goldwing and she srove her
Goldwing trike. Nice - but I imagine they spent a pretty penny on those
bikes). Then another friend saw me in the show & we exchanged hellos..

The Show...

Parked down in the lower Water Gardens area -

I dunno... I feel ripped by the $12 entrance fee - considering that there
were only about HALF the vendors there than were at last years' event. Why
so few? Why so many no-shows? I saw empty marked booths for some
vendors... I know there were a lot of other events in Texas this weekend
that probably took several of the vendors (and lots of attendees) - There
is NASCAR, the rally in Galveston (that's this weekend right?), Roscoes
Chili Challenge in Florida, etc... (I have a buddy who does the body-
painting there)

I probably won't go next year. I didn't see anything out of the ordaniry
this year - and my money is well spent for other things. I had several
items on my "go see" list for the show.. and those 4 vendors didn't show...

Rex S.
'82 XJ650 Maxim - The Beast
'82 XJ750 Maxim - The Project

 

Too bad there wasn't more vendor support. We have a bike show here
every year, in January. It is fairly well supported. All the dealers
are there of course but you won't see anything there you wouldn't on
the showroom floor. The real value is the independent vendors. Lots of
items, leathers, chrome trinkets, accessories etc not usually
available in Calgary and at some fairly decent prices. I will usually
leave a couple of hundred dollars there.

Attendance is always strong. By the time riders up here make it to
January we are desperate for something to do that's related to bikes.
--


Don
RCOS# 7

2000 - Yamaha Venture Millenium Edition
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/radium1.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/banff.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/kananaskis.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/walkercalgary.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/calgarybrowning.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/venture.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/gem.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/highwood.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/reynolds.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/sask.htm
http://www3.telus.net/public/dbinns/osoyoos.htm

 

I hear ya Don, and I don't want to take away from the wares and goods of
the independent vendors that DID show - I just wasn't looking for the
things that the ones that did show up were selling... I saw lots of money
changing hands for purchases - so I'm sure some vendors did well - or at
least covered their costs of vending...

Rex S.

 

‘‘I enjoyed the ride to Ft. Worth - a bit on the windy side with
some crosswinds that gave my "Ole' Beast" some wobble above 80MPH - Need
to check the steering stem tightness to fix that.’’
(Rex S.)

‘‘Rex, enjoyed your report of your ''not that great of'' a
weekend Bike Show as you put it.
Say, I am the ignorant one here, and don't mind asking dumb questions,
never has bothered me, so I'll ask. What kinda Bike is your ''Ole Beast,
'82 XJ650 ?? BJAY

 

‘‘Rex,Attendance is always strong up here in Canada. By the time
riders up here make it to January we are desperate for something to do
that's related to bikes.’’ Don Binns

‘‘Don, I know what cha mean, there. It don't take much to get
bikers to gather after bad weather, (rhyme time)'' BJAY

 

The XJ650 Maxim is one of Yamaha's early shaft-drive cruisers. Inline 4
cylinders. There were 2 models.. the Seca (Sportbike) and the Maxim (the
Cruiser) - most were air-cooled, but there are several models that are
water cooled. And the 550's and smaller were chain drive... the 650cc-
1100cc were shaft drive.

I held an XJ carb clinic last summer at my home in Richardson, and if I
recall correctly, we had a total of about 9 or 10 bikes parked out front -
riders from the metroplex, and 1 from Austin, and 1 from Vicksburg,
Mississippi came for the carb clinic - and SeaFoam Corp sent us a case of
SeaFoam, Deep Creep, and Bug-B-Gone - as well as some promotional items
(pocket knives, etc).

It mostly consisted of colortuning the mixtures for each cylinder (with a
ColorTune plug), then synching the carbs for optimal vaccuum across the 4
intakes with a set of carb sticks and Morgan CarbTune II vacuum gauges.
Good people, good burgers, and we all learned about the finer points of
dialing in the mixtures & carb synch for the bikes.

Sunno if these links will for for your WebTV - but here's some pics from
the carb clinic:

I've only got about 19 pics, but if you click on the link for "Richard's
Pics" - He's got about 100+ there, and Gary Schulte has some pics he took
at the clinic, as well.

http://www.treasureboards.com/ntcc/05/rex/ntcc_05_rex.html

Rex S.
'82 XJ650 Maxim - The Beast
'82 XJ750 Maxim - The Project


(BJayKana) wrote in 3332.bay.webtv.net:

 

‘‘Bjay,The XJ650 Maxim is one of Yamaha's early shaft-drive
cruisers. Inline 4 cylinders. There were 2 models.. the Seca (Sportbike)
and the Maxim (the Cruiser) - most were air-cooled, but there are
several models that are water cooled. And the 550's and smaller were
chain drive... the 650cc- 1100cc were shaft drive.’’ (Rex)!


‘‘Thanks Rex, good information.
I remember the bike now, but forgot about, especially, you calling it
the beast, I guess that's because it is el fasto.’’
My webTv, will get me in there to look at the pics. It wont go just any
place, but, most places, since it dont' have stuff that real compiuters
have, I manage!! grin.!’’
(bjay)

 

That's a good question - but unfortunately I don't have the answer to it in
regards to unreleased models... All the big manufacturers were there,
though...

I do know that Honda is still showing off the Rune... They also had a
pretty nice display with a video on the Airbagged Goldwing - looks decent -
and some people were scraching their heads about them - probably couldn't
make up their minds if they liked the concept or not...

I didn't look too closely at the HD, Buell, Yamaha, and Kawasaki displays -
so I can't comment on those... I noticed several scooter & "imitation
250cc cruiser bike" displays. I can't remember the brands off hand, but
they were new to me (that's not saying much, though).

The Diamo had their covered scooter there on display - kinda neat looking,
but I don't know that it'll hit the US market with the force that it has in
Europe. More of a novelty in my mind - but might be good for a college
campus or quick jaunts in areas with lower or slower cage traffic around.

Ural had their array of sidecars - but again this year did not bring the
Wolf. That's purely a financial decision, as they make more $$ on the
sidecars than they do the Wolf. And they'll invest their show &
advertising dollars on what brings in the profits.

Rex S.
Richardson, Tx
'82 XJ650 Maxim - The Beast
'82 XK750 Maxim - The Project

 

Well, I recall seeing pre-availability bikes at shows in the
past. Namely, I saw the Triumph R3 before generally
available. And, we probably all saw the Honda Rune
at the shows, before any dealership appearances.

I didn't go to this years show, but I suspect that some
information that you might have had interest was with
the design/operation of the FJR1300AE, the new model
with the electronic clutch/shifting.

Another responder on this thread mentioned Honda's
still showcasing the Rune. I thought that beast had been
discontinued. I see the official Honda site still displays
the Rune, but no entry exists for '06. That seems a good
indication that the Rune has passed on.

Gary

 

‘‘Another responder on this thread mentioned Honda's still
showcasing the Rune. I thought that beast had been discontinued. I see
the official Honda site still displays the Rune, but no entry exists for
'06. That seems a good indication that the Rune has passed on.’’
(Gary)

‘‘If it hasn't been discontined, you wouldnt know it wasn't
here at our store, they don't display'em anymore, don't think so. The
Rune is/was Honda's Edsel, like Ford had in the late 60's, in my
opinion!’’
(bjay)