Anyone riding to Daytona Bike Week

[ckindhart]

Anyone in this region planning to ride to bike week this year

[MotoCommuter]

Yep, leaving Atlanta Wed March 5th after work. Heading back either Saturday or Sunday.

[Mac]

I really really want to go this year.

[bucman20]

Oh yeah, but it's only 60 miles, I hope to make a 300 mile day of it though
I've been to three Triumph dealers and have yet seen the elusive orange Tiger, hoping they have one to see!

[ckindhart]

Possibly leaving on the 29th but we can't decide if we should ride the bikes there or put them in the toy hauler.  Its 693 miles each way and only about 100 dollars difference in price over fuel saved by riding or money saved by staying in the rv over a hotel.
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[CafeTBird]

Nah - NEVER trailer your bike to trailer er, bike week!  There are good deals to be had on hotels if you stay up towards St. Augustine - you'll do much better.

Possibly leaving on the 29th but we can't decide if we should ride the bikes there or put them in the toy hauler.  Its 693 miles each way and only about 100 dollars difference in price over fuel saved by riding or money saved by staying in the rv over a hotel.

We'll have a group running down from the Carolinas, as always - they are still formulating the plans.  We have a great backroads route mapped out from Charlotte!  I'll be too busy at work this year to make it, most likely.

[zzr pilot]

Possibly leaving on the 29th but we can't decide if we should ride the bikes there or put them in the toy hauler.  Its 693 miles each way and only about 100 dollars difference in price over fuel saved by riding or money saved by staying in the rv over a hotel.

Nice trailer, but it is still a trailer!  

Why would you go out and buy what many consider the ultimate sport-toruing bike and then trailer it?!?!?!?!

[Hink]

I'm riding up, about 160 miles, the 29th and coming home the 1st. My work season starts March 3rd and I won't spend much time at home until late May.

Oh yeah, but it's only 60 miles, I hope to make a 300 mile day of it though
I've been to three Triumph dealers and have yet seen the elusive orange Tiger, hoping they have one to see!

Two weeks ago, Palm Beach Triumph had an orange Tiger sitting on the showroom floor. I like the orange better than blue.

[servicerifle]

I think it's a joke.

[CafeTBird]

Maybe so, SR, or maybe you just missed the punch line ....  

I think it's a joke.

[servicerifle]

I'm sure I didn't miss the punchline.  I think others did though.

ckindhart just likes to go fishin', I think.  (I hope?)

[ckindhart]

As of this moment we are leaving Jackson, Ms on the 28th ride to Tallahassee and spend the night, then on to Lake Mary, Fl on the 29th where we will be staying.  Start heading back on Monday the 3rd most likely stopping in Tallahassee again for the night.  Anyone in these areas at these times going to and from,  possible we could ride together.
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[Gar]

I will be trailering to trailer week. Leaving after work Feb 27 and straight to Savannah Ga (Roebling). Race on the 28th. Pick up the new wife at the airport in Jax on the 29th, as she has to work Friday. Then not sure when I'll be in Daytona, either Sat or Sun. Definitely by Sun though for tech. Racing at DIS Mon and Tues. The back home after my race is over Tues. I'll be sleeping in the back of the truck at Volusia Co. Fairgrounds.

[Mac]

I'm currently planning to be in Daytona the last weekend of bike week. Mar7-10.

[ckindhart]

Mac are you riding one of your bikes down

[CafeTBird]

You see - some folks actually go the Bike Week for what was intended - RACIN'.  That is almost the only thing there worth going for.

I will be trailering to trailer week. Race on the 28th. Racing at DIS Mon and Tues. The back home after my race is over Tues. I'll be sleeping in the back of the truck at Volusia Co. Fairgrounds.

[Against The Wind]

We're leaving the land of snow on the 28th and should arrive at the BMW campsite (Old Dixie Highway and I-95) on Friday the 29th. This year we'll be taking the toy hauler and making it a 2 week vacation. After Bike Week we're going to St. Augustine and Savannah where we'll do the tourist thing. Hey, anything to stay warm for 2 weeks......
If you're in the BMW site drop in, we'll be the ones with this:

[CMS_Sprint]

Can't resist this. Yes I'm riding... Should take me 15 minutes to get to the track.

[Against The Wind]

...bike out of gas...

[Fast Blue]

Flying out of Buffalo - to Sarasota on the 27th

Were one of 3 bikes are waiting for me Z1000- ZX9- ZZR1200- nice choices eh!
We will hit Daytona on the weekend and spend one night there- then it's off to Key West

[Against The Wind]

We're going down to Key West on Monday. I hope to get in a couple of dives. We'll be back for the races.

[Gar]

But the races start on Sunday with the moto-st 300 mile endurance race. Then AHRMA historics on Mon and Tues., Dirt track starts Wed., and we all know about the supercross and ama superbike etc. at the end. There is racin' every day in Daytona during bike week.

[Against The Wind]

Yep. It's great. I love all of it, even the drag races. I'm particularly fond of the vintage racing. The 200 miler is often underwhelming but I keep hoping to watch Duhamel break the record. Have fun!  

[JoBu]

I plan to head up there this Sunday and possibly one day during the middle of the week.  At this time, Wednesday looks good due to the weather.  I'll be doing bunches of test rides and checking out the vendor tents.  I'll probably take a spin down to the Helmet Shop as they run some pretty good deals around this time.  I'll be on the Duc ST4s.  I hope to run into some of you if you'll be around.

Cheers,

Joe

[hig4s]

How about an STN meet for lunch Friday the 7th 11am, somewhere near the track?  

[happybusa]

Am leaving in about an hour from now.

Since the temp is presently 12 degrees F ........
  I will make the trip south with the bike in the
trailer.

When the snow and ice melt off the trailer roof,-
 I should be far enuf into the southern states to
take the bike for a ride.

I need to ride the rust off. .......off  of ME!

I will be in DB on mon and weds. and orlando
vicinity the rest of the week.
(Our house is in Davenport)Looking to ride
around the west coast(of florida) .

Sully
(02 Busa,the black one)

[JoBu]

How about an STN meet for lunch Friday the 7th 11am, somewhere near the track?  

If I can get off work on that day, I'm in.  There are a couple or restuarants on the east side of the track that might work.  I think one is an Olive Garden and the other is a Mexican place.  Perhaps someone a bit more local or familar could suggest something.  It would be nice to put some faces with some names.  Anyone else?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Cheers,

Joe  

[stefrrr]

I'll see if I can bring the old man out.  

Last night he said that we should take the SV1000s out for a ride, and I can ride el bandito.  
Next Friday would be good.  

[Mac]

I'm in. I'll be leaving next Thursday morning for Daytona.  

[hig4s]

If I can get off work on that day, I'm in.  There are a couple or restuarants on the east side of the track that might work.  I think one is an Olive Garden and the other is a Mexican place.  Perhaps someone a bit more local or familar could suggest something.  It would be nice to put some faces with some names.  Anyone else?  Anyone?  Bueller?

Cheers,

Joe  

Olive Garden sounds good,, the Mexican place is Cancun Lagoon,, I'm actually eating there earlier in the week.

[happybusa]

please, oh please!
someone decide when and where-
  cuz I need some ST.n contact to "drown out the noise"
from all these loud pipes!!!

baffles, my ass.
They dont need no stinkin baffles.
sheesh.

Sully

[stefrrr]

We could eat in St. Augustine. The A1A steakhouse is right on - that's right - A1A. Their food is gooooooood.

When I told Ray that a bunch of STners were thinking of doing lunch on Friday at bike week, he kind of looked at me like this:  .

He said he's lived in Florida and never gone to a Bike Week and he's perfectly happy with that.  

Anyone want to meet outside of Daytona?

[hig4s]

We could eat in St. Augustine. The A1A steakhouse is right on - that's right - A1A. Their food is gooooooood.

When I told Ray that a bunch of STners were thinking of doing lunch on Friday at bike week, he kind of looked at me like this:  .

He said he's lived in Florida and never gone to a Bike Week and he's perfectly happy with that.  

Anyone want to meet outside of Daytona?

I live like 15 miles North of Saint Augustine, Friday lunch there would work great for me.
BUT!!! I don't know of any A1A steakhouse.. there is an A1A Ale House, but it is on King st.

I need time and address for Friday!!!!

And 11 am Thursday I'll be at Olive Garden just east of the track,, same side of international blvd!!!! I'll wear my STN T-shirt.

[hig4s]

It looks like Daytona Pig, (BBQ place at Destination Daytona) 11 AM Tuesday will be some sort of meet. My cousin from Michigan plans to be there on one of his Indians, along with a friend of his that lives in Daytona. A co-worker on his Goldwing said he should be there. And a couple of people from the Ventureriders.org site may make it. I'm now riding a Venture touring bike (sold the ZR-7S) but I will be wearing my black STN 06 National T-shirt. And I'll probably be the only guy on full dress touring bike with a matching textile armored jacket, armored gloves, and a full face helmet.  

[stefrrr]

I live like 15 miles North of Saint Augustine, Friday lunch there would work great for me.
BUT!!! I don't know of any A1A steakhouse.. there is an A1A Ale House, but it is on King st.

I need time and address for Friday!!!!

And 11 am Thursday I'll be at Olive Garden just east of the track,, same side of international blvd!!!! I'll wear my STN T-shirt.

You're right, it's the A1A Ale House (maybe I'm thinking A1 steak sauce?    ) I thought it was on A1A, but I could be wrong. It's right across the street from the water.

[hig4s]

You're right, it's the A1A Ale House (maybe I'm thinking A1 steak sauce?    ) I thought it was on A1A, but I could be wrong. It's right across the street from the water.

It may be on a corner, but the address is King st.

[JoBu]

We could eat in St. Augustine. The A1A steakhouse is right on - that's right - A1A. Their food is gooooooood.

When I told Ray that a bunch of STners were thinking of doing lunch on Friday at bike week, he kind of looked at me like this:  .

He said he's lived in Florida and never gone to a Bike Week and he's perfectly happy with that.  

Anyone want to meet outside of Daytona?

Sorry...if I can make it up there on Friday...I'll be at the track trying to squeeze in a lot of test rides and mucking around the vendor tents.  I do avoid Main Street but I like the time I spend at the track.  I probably won't know until Thursday morning, but if I can go, I'll be at the Olive Garden at 11:00 a.m. if any other ST.Ner's will be around.  

Cheers,

Joe

[JoBu]

Oh, another nice place to eat away from Daytona for those of you going that route is Snack Jacks (or High Tides) on the southern end of Flagler Beach right on the ocean on A-1-A.  They have a designated bike parking area complete with side stand pucks and towels for your seat on hot days.  Their prices are good and you are overlooking the ocean while you eat.  Just a thought.

Cheers,

Joe

[stefrrr]

They have test rides at Bike Week?

I thought all they had were chrome polishing seminars & such.  

That's really appealing. If Ray can't come I'll meet you guys in Daytona. As it is, turns out we're not going to know until last minute if we'll be able to make it. Jobu, can I give you a call Friday morning to find out what's going on?

[hig4s]

They have test rides at Bike Week?

I thought all they had were chrome polishing seminars & such.  

That's really appealing. If Ray can't come I'll meet you guys in Daytona. As it is, turns out we're not going to know until last minute if we'll be able to make it. Jobu, can I give you a call Friday morning to find out what's going on?

Many of the manufacturers have test rides all week, but as the week goes on you need to be there earlier each day to get a spot before they fill up.. Usually on Friday if you are not in line by 8AM you won't get to ride anything popular.  BMWs ALWAYS fills up all rides. If you want to ride a BMW you need to be in line BEFORE 8AM..

[hig4s]

For those down in Daytona still watching the board,, there are severe storms going through Florida today.. they are moving through the West side right now and should be to the East coast around 1PM...

Because of this the Tuesday Destination Daytona meet, at the Daytona Pig at 11AM will be Wednesday instead.

[Mac]

I'm out after all, damit.

[CafeTBird]

Let's not forget that RACIN is the reason for the season.....

Meet cha at the track Saturday!

[quote from: stefrrr on March 03, 2008, 11:42:59 am]
They have test rides at Bike Week?

I thought all they had were chrome polishing seminars & such.  
[/quote]

[Laura0107]

Hubby & I are heading down Thursday morning.  Plan on taking in the flat track race that night, the J. Wood auction in Deland on Friday, & the Superbike race on Saturday and maybe a little of the 200.

[ibppjr]

I'll be heading south in the AM on the big Duc.  Catchin' all the road races and probably the supercross on Friday.

See ya all there!

[JoBu]

They have test rides at Bike Week?

I thought all they had were chrome polishing seminars & such.  

That's really appealing. If Ray can't come I'll meet you guys in Daytona. As it is, turns out we're not going to know until last minute if we'll be able to make it. Jobu, can I give you a call Friday morning to find out what's going on?

Hey Stefrrr...

Oh most definitely...they have some nice opportunities to ride a variety of bikes.  Last Sunday, I hung around the Kawi area and rode the Concours 14, the ZX-14, the Verseys 650, a Vulcan 900 (I happened to be around when they had a no show), and the biggest surprise of the day...the Ninja 250.  I will be there tomorrow, but I'll be down at the east end of the track.  I plan to hop on a few Triumphs.  I'll be arriving there around 7:30 a.m.  I'll PM my cell number to you.  I hope to see you and Ray there.  

FYI...Kawi has the best selection of bikes to ride.  They have their rides broken up into three groups: 1) Concours 14, ZX-14, ZX-10, and ZX-6  2) Verseys, Z1000, Ninja 650, Ninja 250, KLR-650, etc and 3) Cruisers.  All the others break their rides into two groups:  1) Cruisers and 2) Everything else.  Until this year, Kawi was the only one to bring their full-on sport bikes, but I saw that Yammi brought their R1 and R6.  Suzuki did have a couple of Burger Kings.  I would like to take a spin on one of those, but it doesn't look like its in the cards for this trip.  

Along the north end of the track, you'll find Kawi, Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda, Buell, BMW, and even a fleet of Can-Am 3-wheelers.  Honda is a bit of a pain as they only bring our a few models and their bikes are on the south end of the track.  You have to arrive a good amount of time prior to your demo ride and take a shuttle bus around.  I've only done that once and never again...just not worth it.  

Along the east end of the track, you'll find Triumph, Victory, Harley, and Boss Hoss (those V-8 monstrosities).  I pity any demo ride that gets behind the Boss Hoss demo ride.  They practically stop for turns/curves and then sort of blast on the throttles on the straights.  I was behind a 3-wheeled version styled like a '57 Chevy.  I thought the trunk was going to fly off the bike on each and every bump.  

Cheers,

Joe

[Mac]

I demoed one of the boss hoss bike several years ago in daytona. It handled suprisingly well in the curves considering it weighs over 1100 lbs. You did have to be carefull with the throttle as torque would lay you over or pick you up in the middle of a turn. The engine noise at idle was seriously wood producing!!

[Against The Wind]

We ended up spending most of Bike Week in places other than Daytona. One day was spent doing the vendors at the track and test rides (FJR, Gold Wing and ST1300) and half a day was spent doing the Main Street shuffle. We actually went to watch the Bud Clydesdales and were quite underimpressed. The Carlsberg horses and their wagon are much more impressive. We went to Tampa to the aquarium which was terrific and had lunch at The Columbia, the Cuban-Spanish restaurant. It was amazing, so much so that later in the week we went to the same restaurant in St. Augustine. The best part of the holiday was spent in Beaufort, S.C. where we did the tourist horse and buggy with funny guide thing. We're into houses and there sure are some very impressive ones there.
As for Daytona itself, I've been for 6 years in a row now and I seriously believe that I won't go back again. I'm feeling that it's a "been there, done that". The Harley crowd was fun for a while but it's now very tiresome. We did get in a nice ride up to Palatka and across to the Ozello Trail road where we had lunch at the trendy and unimaginative food place there. But WTH, I didn't go to Florida for the food.
I was very very impressed with the Gold Wing which was a huge surprise to me. I expected it to be boring. I found it FUN. But at $30K it's not likely to ever be found in my garage. I loved the Ducati area and I was able to afford an umbrella. So now I can pretend to be cool when it rains.
The RV was a blessing especially since it got quite cold as the week ended and the furnace made it cosy. As well, our camping neighbours were great cooks and we ate like kings. So all in all it was a great holiday.

[Against The Wind]

BTW Gar, how did you do?