The Motorcycle Name Game

I'm contemplating buying a different bike -- a Honda ST1100 to replace my Honda Magna.

This leads me to want to try on possible names for the bike.

I think there's more at work here than simply what appears. I think "trying on the name" is part of the decision-making process. Think of the enamoured high-school sweetheart who just got asked to the prom by the high school basketball star.

She is infatuated with him, and writes his name on her english notebook. She also experiments with the combination of his name and hers. "Mrs. Fiona Charming". She tries it on, and sees how it fits.

It's not just the name, it's everything that goes with it. Do I want to be a part of this life? Does this name, this look, this bike, this lifestyle suit me?

I chose Raven as the name of my bike. It was black. But I also took the name from a legend I heard from during a trip to London. The legend of the Tower Ravens. Ravens surround the base of the Tower of London, and according to legend, cannot be removed from the tower, or the tower will collapse.

As a bike name it suggested something black and light-weight, able to fly. And also, part of the "foundation"; the foundation of my riding career. That bike launched me into the world of motorcycles.

My second bike was a 1982 Honda GL1100 I "Gold Wing Interstate". Riding this 770 pound bike in a steep crosswind, in the evening, her name came to me:

"Oh Black Betty, bam ba lam, she's so rock steady, and she's always ready"


What would I name an ST?

I don't know other bike naming rules, but convention is very strong in the ST Owners Community, that an ST should have "S" and "T" in the name, and preferably, have "ST" in the name contiguously .

I employed this humorous ST naming convention when I test drove one (see "My First Taste Of ST") and dubbed it "STinky Turd".

My ST owning friends have names for their bikes like "STargazer", "STiletto".

I was toying with the potential names for ST1300's for me; some adhering to the "ST naming convention" and some not.

a. Remy. Sure , that violates the ST rule, but does make a pop culture allusion to the TV Show"House", and the beautiful doctor whom he has given the nickname "13",

b. The ST1100 is known in Europe as the "Pan-European". I've seen "Pan-American" stencilled on a few state-side ST1100's. Fans of Douglas Adams "Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" might recognize the name "Pan Galactic Freeway Blaster" as a tip of the hat to the "Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster" referenced in his books.

c. STormcrow ... ideal for a gray ST of the 1100 or 1300 variety. This name was one of the nicknames given to the the great Wizard in "Lord Of The Rings" -- Gandalf The Grey".

d. MiSTy .... nicely feminine name, also suitable for a gray bike.

Ride To Alaska

A blog to watch: Ride 2 Alaska

Fellow rider Steve has created a blog to chronicle his motorcycle trip to Alaska. Talk about an adventure!

He's added pages for Spotwalla, which is a GPS technology which maps his journey based on his GPS coordinates as he travels.



I look forward to seeing this blog in action.

... stay tuned ...

Riding and Thinking

Found another great motorcycle blog. http://ridingandthinking.blogspot.com/

The beautiful photography on the blog makes me envious; I need to invest in a better camera phone/digital camera for my motorcycle chronicles...

Killboy.com and the best. job. ever.

You've heard of www.killboy.com ... a famous website devoted to photos taken on one of the most famous stretch of road in the United States ... at least, among motorcyclists and other motor sport enthusiasts.

I'm talking about the Dragon ... US129 up in the hills at the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. As I mentioned, the Dragon is widely considered one of the world's best motorcycling and sports car roads.

Killboy.com takes pictures of traffic on the road. Sells photos from the website. As such, they've chronicled the misfortunes of many who've tangled with the technically challenging road. Read more about Killboy, including the article about them in the June 2007 issue of Motorcyclist magazine.

But what I love about it is it's a wonderful story. A husband and wife team, who make their living doing something innovative and fun.

That's what I need to do. Something fun, something different, something outside of a corporate office. And something motorcycle related.

But what?!?!

10 Best Roads To Ride

I don't usually talk about bicycling on this motorcycle blog, but we do have a few things in common with our human-powered-2-wheeled brethren: the love of a good road.

Check out this article at cycling tips blog and you'll see ... these are some great roads.

Unlike the bicyclists, we would enjoy these roads going up as much as coming down.

Down The Road

Interesting blog highlights abandoned roads and buildings. Explore "Down The Road"

Swag's Rant

Another great blog. Swag is a photographer and marketing guy, so he has a beautiful blog with a great feel.

She Rides A Beemer

I like this blog..."She Rides A Beemer"...

It's beautiful and the photography is great. Makes me wish I had a better camera.