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Night at the Opera (I mean Moto Hang)

June 4, 2015 by Scooter in the Sticks 22 Comments

Hot dog at the Boalsburg Moto HangEach of us have our own priorities at event.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a wedding, family picnic, or a motorcycle gathering, something will catch our attention.  This evening at the Boalsburg Moto Hang I was obsessed by what I cannot have — a magical, delightful, soul soaring all grass fed beef.  Figures Ken Hull would raise the hot dog bar just when a heart attack rules out any such sweet obsession.  This one was destined for home and my wife Kim.

Young man with hot dog at the Boalsburg Moto HangSeems like yesterday when I was a kid with few cares and space to enjoy a soda and a dog.  This young man arrived at the Moto Hang on the back of a Vespa ET4 and quickly found the refreshments which included homemade chocolate chip cookies.  He passed on the beer.

For the rest of those in attendance I think other things drew their attention.  Like motorcycles.

1940s style Triumph motorcyclePaul Ruby seems to always show up with something unique.  This time with a 1940s style Triumph built from a 2009 machine.  Solid rear end now along with a lot of other “vintage” modifications.  It’s going up for sale on eBay.

Vintage Honda motorcycleLots of other machines on display like this vintage Honda.

150603_moto_hang003I have no idea what this is.  A guess would be Yamaha.  Looks tall.  Looks complicated.

shiny chrome on a Harley Davidson motorcycleLots of shiny chrome around too.  Good for photos but not sure what else.

vintage Honda GoldwingI’m not sure when a motorcycle falls into the “vintage” category.  I tend to use whenever something is older than my kids.  Not sure where this Honda Goldwing falls.  If it’s a pre-1980 version then it’s vintage in my book.

modified Triumph Bonneville motorcycleThis Triumph Bonneville appears from time to time.  I told the owner if I was going to steal a motorcycle at the Moto Hang, this would be the one.

guys talking at the Boalsburg Moto HangWhen I arrived there were only 15 or 16 motorcycles and two scooters.  The night was young though.

ken hull showing pictures on Scooter in the Sticks of the Boalsburg Moto NangKen Hull was showing Mark (left) a picture I posted of him on his Vespa smoking a cigar.  A lot of motorcycle gatherings offer the fragrance of petrochemical fuels and lubricants.  The Moto Hang has the sweet incense of a cigar.

motorcyclesNice to talk about a wide range of subjects and motorcycles without anyone ringing the “we don’t talk to you” bell.  The Moto Hang has something for everyone.

round the world mileage chartThis is the front fender of Robert’s dual sport Suzuki that he recently rode around the world — 20,902 miles.  Impressive ride.

Motorcycles at Boalsburg Moto HangBy 6:15pm there was no room for motorcycles in the alley and they started lining up along the street.

motorcycles at the Boalsburg Moto HangBy 6:30pm they were lined up almost to Main Street.  I even saw a trike this evening.

Three Vespa scooters at the Boalsburg Moto HangThree Vespa scooters made the trip this evening — evidence that all are welcome.  So if there are any shy scooterists in the area there’s no need to shrink before the motorcycles.

It was a good night even without a hot dog…

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Filed Under: Moto-Hang

Comments

  1. SonjaM says

    June 4, 2015 at 5:07 am

    And like a night at the opera, this event ain’t over till the fat lady sings 😉

    By the way, we would have to fight over that handsome shiny Triumph. I’d steal it first!

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 4, 2015 at 7:20 am

      It is a sweet looking Triumph isn’t it?

      Reply
  2. Gina says

    June 4, 2015 at 7:33 am

    Looks like it was fun! I’m hoping to make it soon with my trusty sidekick, Jason, and our scooters. But mine’s been giving me some sass lately. I’m eyeing up a 250 Honda Rebel (2003). We’ll see… 😉

    Happy to see you doing well, Steve!

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 4:50 pm

      The Honda Rebel motorcycle is a solid performer. See lots of them around.

      Reply
  3. Dom says

    June 4, 2015 at 8:51 am

    When I saw the first pic I thought to myself, oh oh, but then read it was for Kim.

    Lots of nice motorcycles at this event, I would have liked to have talked to the round the world rider and his experiences. Did he blog about it?

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 4:55 pm

      I’ve been good with the diet so far but I realize how dangerous it is when I’m hungry and in a hurry.

      Robert did post about his round the world trip on the Adventure Rider forum. Here’s the link: ROUND THE WORLD THE EASY WAY

      Reply
      • charlie6 says

        June 5, 2015 at 5:11 pm

        thanks for the link Steve

        Reply
        • Steve Williams says

          June 7, 2015 at 12:02 am

          Hope you enjoy his trip. He rode through some amazing places.

          Reply
  4. RichardM says

    June 4, 2015 at 8:58 pm

    Pretty interesting collection of bikes and probably a pretty interesting collection of people as well. Very considerate of you to bring a hot dog home especially if you aren’t allowed. Why? The sodium content?

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 4:57 pm

      After my heart attack I figure hot dogs are out of bounds. But Kim still likes them…

      Reply
  5. Ry Austin says

    June 4, 2015 at 11:29 pm

    Steve, I agree with you and Sonja: That Bonneville is gorgeous. Yet I could very easily be lured away by Paul’s custom retro ride… What a bad machine!

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 4:58 pm

      It’s exciting to see all the machines. There’s always something special at the Moto Hang that gets me thinking…

      Reply
  6. Dar says

    June 5, 2015 at 12:39 am

    I love it when the moto community comes together and it doesn’t matter what you ride and everyone is there because of the love of 2 wheels. i can smell the cigar smoke!

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 4:59 pm

      I love the aroma of cigars — at least outdoors or in well ventilated places. The Moto Hang is a really nice, no pressure gathering.

      Reply
  7. Heather says

    June 5, 2015 at 12:51 am

    Thank you for another round of great pictures from the Moto Hang! It’s become somewhat of a priority to make it up there this summer.

    Are there any campgrounds you’d recommend close by? My night vision isn’t anything to write home about so it’d be an overnighter for us =)

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 5:01 pm

      The more the merrier. Keep in mind the Moto Hang is on the first and third Wednesday of the month at 5pm.

      The best and closest campground in the Bellefonte KOA. It’s a nice place and only about 10 miles away.

      Reply
  8. Jim Zeiser says

    June 5, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    The Yamaha is a recent edition FZ-07 or 09. I can’t see any letters or count the cylinders. The 07 is a twin, the 09 is a triple. As you can see,

    http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/reviews/2015-yamaha-fz-07-first-ride

    the FZ-07 is a bargain coming in around the same price as a Vespa 300GTV, less actually.

    http://vespamotorsport.com/?page_id=410

    Complicated is in the eye of the beholder, probably no more complicated than a pair of 350 Piaggio engines mated together. Most of the FZ’s features are time proven technology in the motorcycle world. Next to a Harley it’s futuristic, beside most Modern Superbikes (BMW S1000RR for instance) it’s fairly simple.

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 5, 2015 at 5:07 pm

      Thanks for the ID on the Yamaha motorcycle.

      Unfortunately, I fall into the technically challenged group of riders at the Moto Hang. I don’t recognize machines or features. I’ve spoken to others who like to ride but don’t invest much in the ecosystem of motorcycles and scooters. But there are some there that can smell out a slight change in paint or sparkplugs. Some serious technicians attending who do all sorts of crazy things with their machines.

      I like riding from the showroom with only a responsibility to put gas in the machine. I like to ride!

      Reply
      • Jim Zeiser says

        June 6, 2015 at 6:38 am

        Believe me you’ll do plenty of riding on a Yamaha FZ. High tech doesn’t mean high maintenance, on the contrary, it usually means less.

        Reply
        • Steve Williams says

          June 6, 2015 at 4:22 pm

          I agree, the new motorcycles are pretty care free. I only meant that aside from the way the machine looks and how comfortable my body feels on it, I don’t want to think much about it save for the safety checks. I suppose I’m talking about the details and engineering stuff that I hear so much about in discussions…

          Reply
  9. Hannah says

    June 7, 2015 at 5:31 pm

    You can probably still have a hot dog now and then. The trick is to eat one once a month and not once a day. 😉

    Reply
    • Steve Williams says

      June 8, 2015 at 12:27 am

      Not sure I trust myself to have only one of those delicious things! Still just trying to sort things out with food, exercise, time, work, etc. Heck, I’m having a hard time getting a lot of stuff done. Like seeing my granddaughter!!!

      Reply

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