I hope you guys and gals got the chance to get some riding in on our country’s birthday! I went for a quick morning ride – here’s some of the cool vehicles I spotted:
There were four of us on today’s escapade – myself on my Tesi, Mike on his Triumph Speed Triple, Rob on his Aprilia RSV4, and Dean on his BMW R1250GS.
We started at the usual gas stop at the corner of Sunset Blvd and Pacific Coast Highway, and as always there were some interesting 4-wheelers that went by, including a Ferrari California and a Vanderhall Carmel – the Carmel is a bit larger and has an optional hardtop compared to the Venice Speedster that I reviewed a few years ago.
Later in the day I’d also spot my first ever VW ID. Buzz van in the wild. I liked the Mahi Green colorway but was surprised to see that these things start at $59,999.
We hit up some of the local twisties (Las Flores Canyon, Encinal Canyon, Decker Canyon, and Mulholland Highway) on our way to the Rock Store for a little bike spotting. One of the first bikes I saw was the first BMW R12 nineT that I’ve seen in person.
It’s a weird name but it’s the newest evolution of the R nineT. This one was equipped with a bunch of Option 719 parts, and a quick check of BMW’s site that you can spend a lot of money on these if you so wish. Pricing starts at $17,245 but the example that BMW shows on their page is priced at $29,326!
The owner had a Popeye sticker on his helmet that I liked.
There were a couple of Daytona 675s out today.
There weren’t many vintage bikes, though.
The gigantic 2.5L engine of a Triumph Rocket 3 R – it produces 163 foot-pounds of torque!
Someone had a heavily-modified Yamaha MT-09.
I couldn’t help but notice that it had some sort of aero/wings added, which I found surprising.
Another bike that had been customized was this Ducati 959. I did a double-take because it has a “Final Edition” livery, but Ducati only did that with the 1299 (which had a single sided swingarm).
In addition to the custom paint job, the Ducati had an interesting…passenger up front.
This Kawasaki was on slicks on the street!
As we were about to pull out, someone arrived in a 4-wheeler that I didn’t recognize. I asked the driver what I was looking at and he said that it’s called a Goblin – a creation of DF Kit Cars.
It requires a Chevy Cobalt as a donor – you’ll use the powertrain, electrical system, fuel pump, and much more. This specific Goblin has the supercharged Ecotec engine and manual transmission from a Cobalt SS.
Considering the date, it seems like it’s very appropriate to end with this. Hope you had a wonderful 4th of July!
