Americade 2010!!!

[NJFZ1]

Well after many years of wanting to attend Americade I finally got the chance this year. For those of you that have never heard of it before it takes place in Lake George, NY the first full week of June so this year it was June 7-12. This bike rally caters to the Touring crowd so it's not as "crazy" as Sturgis or Daytona, but still plenty of knuckleheads with loud pipes there

I rode up on Wednesday morning and it was about a three and a half hour ride of mostly interstate for me. Got caught in the rain as I got closer to there. Stopped by the motel to drop my luggage and continued on to pick up my registration materials. The rest of the day there it rained for the most part so we had dinner and just hung out watching people ride by on the main strip in town.

I had pre-registered so it was a rather painless process. One very important thing to do if you ever go is to get a parking sticker as well (only $9). This allows you to park at any parking meter in town so one less thing to worry about. Good all week...

My friend Vadim (who's been going there for the last 15-16 years) had ridden up on Monday and we shared a room for the duration of our stay there. It was great to have someone with previous experience there to guide me around. Otherwise I can tell you it wouldn't been as much fun.

Leaving on Wednesday:

 

[NJFZ1]

Thursday

Thursday morning we got up early and headed for the Yamaha demo line. The weather looked iffy so I there weren't many people there, but the weather held up. Got to test ride the Warrior and the V-Max.

I was pleasantly surprised as to how well the Warrior handled for a cruiser. Only thing that I couldn't get used to was the forward mounted controls. Every time we took off from a stop I went to put my feet up in the "wrong" spot. I am sure that's just a matter of time to become comfortable with the bike.

Next I got to ride Mr. V-Max! Well all I can say is that it's got plenty of power. During these demo rides you don't get to go all that fast, but I still saw 6k RPM in second gear and it was pulling! I was disappointed with the handling, but I guess you don't buy this bike for it's handling. Also my legs felt cramped compared to my FZ1.

In the afternoon we headed over to demo the Kawasaki line since we had registered for afternoon demos. Oh and I became a ROK (Riders of Kawasaki) member at the event. For $39.95 a year you get road side assistance, free subscription to their magazine, trip planning services and most importantly access to their hospitality area that they set up at events like this one. All the free coffee, soda, water, fruits and snacks that you could want. Oh and you don't have to own a Kawasaki bike to join. Quite the deal in my book!

First up I rode the ER-6n. This is their little naked bike that shares engine (chassis?) with the Nija 650R and Versys. it was a little fun ride and handled pretty well. I loved the engine note so a nice set of aftermarkey pipes would be in order...

Next up I rode the Z1000. Closest competitor to the FZ1 that we have here in the states. Unfortunately this ride got cut short by the rain, but I still managed to do about 10 miles. The styling isn't all that great (at least in my eyes), but Kawasaki got this bike right from the factory (unlike the FZ1). It's geared short, just like and FZ1 with a 16T front sprocket, so it responds great. Also the engine has spot on throttle response and plenty of low and mid range torque. Didn't really get to ride the twisties with it, but the chassis felt competent enough. Definitely serious competition to the FZ1...

After that we took an unexpected ride on a Royal Enfield since it started raining again and Kawasaki ended their demos, but not these guys. I forgot to take a picture of the bike I rode, but it's not anything that most of us would probably be interested in. They have a single 500cc engine with 28 HP. I rode the Bullet Classic C5 version. It was a different ride to say the least. Just think of it as slightly more powerful than a 50cc moped...LOL Here's what it looks like.

After that it was time to demo the Can-Am Spyder. Since they have all kinds of electronic aids (Traction Control, ABS, etc.) they were going out whether it was raining or not. I picked to ride the Spyder RS with the manual transmission and Hindle exhaust. Let's just say that it takes a while to get used to the handling since you don't lean into the turn like you do on a bike. I guess it's more akin to riding a snow mobile or one of those old Honda three-wheelers. By the time we were heading back I was a little more comfortable with it, but certainly not something I would buy unless I didn't know what else to do with my money.

The rain stopped and the rest of the evening was nice. Headed into town to have dinner and hang out on the strip. Some random pics from the main drag...

 

[NJFZ1]

Friday

Well Friday we got off to another early start. We were on line to sign up for the Yamaha demo's before 7 AM. I was beginning to feel a little tired after staying up late the previous two nights, but what the heck sleep is overrated anyway First I got to ride the FZ6R and then the FJR1300. Here the "crew" is sitting down enjoying breakfast while we wait for the registration process to begin. Seated L to R, Roy, my friend Vadim and Ken. Ken and Roy are brothers and Vadim has known them for a while. Roy rides a BMW R1200 RT and Ken rides an FJR1300. Vadim also rides an FJR1300. By the way I know you can't see his face since it was a candid shot, but Roy is 70 years old and still rides as much as he can. They were great to hang out with...

The FZR6 is a fun little bike, although the suspension was set up a little soft for my weight. Enough power to be entertaining and not overwhelm the novice rider. During this ride I was toward the back of the pack so I would leave myself enough of a gap taking off from stop signs to really open it up. Saw redline in first and second gears a few times very entertaining...

Next up was the FJR1300. Bike felt a little heavier than my FZ1, but seating position was very comfortable. I felt like I could ride that thing the whole day (but probably not really the case). I played around with raising and lowering the windscreen, but found that it felt best in the lower position. The upper position blocked the wind better, but the wind noise was pretty bad. I purposely rode all these bikes w/o ear plugs so I could hear what was going on during the ride.

Then we headed back to Kawasaki for more demos there. First up was the Vulcan 2000 Classic LT. This was a beast. Definitely didn't enjoy the riding experience. Very top heavy and the handle bars were to low for me to feel comfortable. Not for me that's for sure.

Then it was the Concours 14. This is the FJR1300's direct competitor and I got to ride both during the same day. I know the Concours got some further tweaks for the new model year and I would have to give it the nod over the FJR1300. It just felt like the "better" sport tourer, but given the fact that Yamaha hasn't done a anything major with the FJR1300 in years it's not surprising.

Next up were the trikes. I rode this more as a novelty than anything else. This company makes the kits to fit a variety of bikes. Again this is very different than riding a regular motorcycle that has two wheels. You turn the handle bars in the direction that you want to go and there is no leaning. The riding sensation was more or less the same as riding the Can-Am Spyder, but you sat up higher and it didn't feel as sporty. I got to ride the H-D. Let's just say that it left a lot to be desired. That's my friend Vadim in the background sitting on the Goldwing 1800.

After the trikes we headed back into town for a dinner cruise on one of the ships. Ours was called the Adirondac. They had food and live music on board. We had booked this in advance at the time we originally registered and it worked out great as Friday's weather was fantastic. The cruise was sponsored by Tourmaster and I ended up winning a pair of gloves during the raffle Some pics out on the lake:

A nice Chris-Craft going by!

After the cruise we headed over to a local Six Flags Park that was hosting some drinks and dessert, plus a fireworks show. This was included as part of the registration. They also held raffles there for some really cool prizes. The top one being a $10,000 savings bond. Unfortunately I didn't win anything, but the fireworks were great.

 

[NJFZ1]

Saturday

Well I had high hopes for Saturday as it was going to be our last day there. Got up early as usual and headed over to Kawasaki as Yamaha was not doing any demo rides due to the parade that gathered in their area. We were second in line that morning and quickly signed up for some early rides as it looked like it was going to rain eventually. Well our first ride was scheduled for 9 AM and it started raining (really heavy at times) around 8:45 AM so that was the end of the demo rides for the day. We hung out in their hospitality tent talking with the Kawasaki crew the rest of the morning.

Finally as the rain eased up we headed into town and had a late lunch at one of the lakeside restaurants. Some pics from the dock looking out over the lake:

After that we headed back to the main strip to check out the action and have some ice cream at Bob's We finally headed back to our motel and called it a night as we were tired and were leaving early the next day.

Sunday morning we got up, packed and checked out. Had breakfast and then headed back home...

I had a great time! Met some great people and plan to go next year. I can't believe I had been missing this much fun all these years...

 

[joker80]

Thanks for the pic's. That would be a nice trip to make sometime.

 

[JCKnightRider]

My wife and I rode our StreetGlide to Americade from the Baltimore area last year. We had a great time. As you said, there is a much more laid back crowd. It is also in a beautiful area of NY.

 

[FZ1riderNY]

Oh I'm definitely going up there next year for sure! Thanks for all the pics Tony. It looks like you had a great time up there. If you go again next year I'll be riding with ya!

 

[Suds]

Thanks for the pics and reviews. Will definitely make it out there some year...

 

[NJFZ1]

Well I have completed posting the rest of my pictures and narrations of the trip. I enjoyed it a whole lot and would recommend it to anyone.

 

[DenArnold]

nice pictures Tony. Now you've been demoriding several bikes....did it confirm the FZ1 is still the best choice :innocent0002:

 

[NJFZ1]

nice pictures Tony. Now you've been demoriding several bikes....did it confirm the FZ1 is still the best choice :innocent0002:

YES!!! I have to tell you that after riding any of those bikes it felt so good to get back on my FZ1. If I was really doing more long distance riding then the FJR1300 or Concours 14 would be a better choice. The Z1000 felt good too, but being a naked bike it has it's limitations. After all is said and done I am still very happy with the FZ1...