COBRA

Yes, you heard it right.  This will be the final year of the now famous (or infamous?) WVBR!  If you’ve been putting this off in years past this is your final chance, so take it!

The rally is over the August 19-21 weekend with plenty of riding, fun, food and camaraderie.  Come out and meet fellow Buellers from all over and enjoy good conversation with good people.

When: August 19 – 21, 2011
Where: Northbend State Park — same place as last year!!… and the year before.. and the year before….
Why: Riding… eating… campfire… does there need to be any other reason??

We can pitch our tents at the same location as last year in the overflow camping area or if camping is not your thing… make your reservations at:

The Heritage Inn
315 E. Main St
Harrisville, WV 26362
304-643-2938

Full details are in the BadWeb Storm Fronts HERE.

Hope to see you there!

Mike Farrenkopf is heading out on a month long, 12,000+ mile trip to Alaska and back.  Be sure to come out this Saturday, July 30 to wish him a safe and adventurous trip!

For whatever reason, 2011 has been a slow year for COBRA group rides.  I for one have been enjoying quite a bit of my own riding this year (closing in on 4,000 miles already myself) but for some reason we just haven’t been able to get a group ride going.  Hopefully, this one will bring more of us out!

We have a fun twisty tour mapped out and scheduled for Sunday, August 7.  Kickstands up at 10:00am sharp, so show up early with a full tank of gas so you’re geared up and ready to roll out at 10:00am.  We’ll be hitting the Hocking Hills area with a lot of hills and twists, and there will even be a short (1 mile or so) bumpy, gravelly portion through the Clear Creek Nature Preserve.  No worries though, road bikes will be fine but I’m sure the Uly riders will enjoy it!

Total ride is 130 miles, half of which is pure twisty fun!  Lunch will be at the Grouse Nest around 11:30am, after which we’ll hit the majority of the ride.

Here’s a link to the Google map of the ride.

Please note that this ride is technical for much of the twisty portion, be aware of that. I would rate it a 4 on a scale of 1-5.  We want to enjoy the twists and turns while riding safely at the same time.  Newbies are cautioned against making this their first group ride.

That being said, feel free to bring a non-Bueller friends if you feel so inclined!

A group ride is now scheduled for Sunday, October 10. Kickstands up at 11:00am sharp, so show up early with a full tank of gas so you’re geared up and ready to roll out at 11:00am.

Here’s a link to the Google map of the ride.

Feel free to bring a friend if you feel so inclined!

Roll On Columbus is a family friendly, motorcycle enthusiast focused charity event to raise money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Doors will open Saturday, May 22nd at the LC Pavilion in the Arena District of Columbus, Ohio at 12:00 PM.

There will be vendors, dealers, demonstrations, live music, vintage bike show, custom bike show, The Trials Guys, The Motosphere, MiniGP racers, MSF demonstrations, fun, games, prizes, and much more. The entire day has been planned to keep every age entertained.

Let’s show our support for the children!

Our first ride of the 2010 season is here!

Mark your calendars for Sunday, May 16 @ 10am for a 160-mile loop to the east of Columbus, running from Reynoldsburg through Newark, over to West Lafayette, down to Zanesville, and back over to Reynoldsburg. We will meet in the Walmart parking lot in Reynoldsburg at I-70 and 256 (opposite side of the highway as the Motorcycle Hall of Fame).

There’s gas and food right there as well, so come early and be ready to hit the road. Kickstands up at 10am. There will be a gas & food stop mid-way through, so plan on 5-6 hrs. We’ll circle back around to where we started at Walmart for a full 160-miles.

This ride is a COBRA ride, but you’re welcome to bring along non-COBRA, non-Buell riding friends.

Here’s where we’re meeting – Walmart parking lot in Reynoldsburg:

View Larger Map

And here’s the route:

View Larger Map

Like last year, the ARC class is still being held as a pilot class in Ohio. There are just a few classes this year, and they’re all coming up quick. Masa and I took the class last year (at different times) and I considered it to be an excellent course for just $25. It’s mainly being held 3x over Memorial Day Weekend.

This is a one-day class on your own scoot that reinforces the principles taught in BRC and ERC, and adds a few more things — like sliding your butt half-off the seat for better turning control. MSF has a FAQ about the class here.

If anyone is interested, here is the information I received about it…I’m considering going again myself (trying to take some kind of course every year).

The ARC-ST is still being considered a “pilot” course in Ohio, so it is extremely limited this year at ODPS in Columbus and at the MSF Campus in Troy.

The Columbus offerings are over Memorial Day weekend – one class each day on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (May 29, 30, and 31). There is 1 opening (as of 11.05p on 3/31/10) for the only other Columbus class – Sunday, April 18th. The Columbus classes are scheduled from 8a-5p and include an hour for lunch.

There are currently 8 openings for the class in Troy on Sunday, May 9th. That class is scehduled from 9a-5p.

To register on-line ( https://www.dps.state.oh.us/MOScheduling/MO_Ohio.aspx ), select Franklin County (for Columbus) or Miami County (for Troy). The ARC-ST classes are listed as ERC classes, but will have either “ARC-ST format” or *Advance RiderCourse* in the description.

I hope we’ll be able to expand the number of classes and sites next year (2011 season), but that remains to be seen.

Thanks for your interest in the course, and if there are any other questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.

Our first meeting of the new year and new decade will be on Thursday, January 21 @ 6pm. We’ll be meeting at the Barley’s Smokehouse & Brewpub located near downtown Columbus on Dublin Road.

Barley’s Smokehouse & Brewpub
Ale House No. 2
1130 Dublin Road
Col.OH 43215

Hope to see you all there!

“Erik Buell, Chairman and Chief Technical Officer of Buell Motorcycle Company, will leave the company to establish Erik Buell Racing, an independent motorcycle race shop.” (full press release)

Woohoo!!!!

Erik Buell Racing

MORE INFORMATION: Here are the details on where we’re meeting Sunday morning (October 25).
Pilot Station/Wendy’s at 3600 Interchange Road, at the corner of I-70 and Wilson Rd.

Kickstands up at 9:00, so show up early for food/gas

IMPORTANT UPDATE: This ride is turning out to be a pretty significant event.  The BadWeb forum now has a heavy thread on the QuickBoard with riders across the country showing their support and desire to ride.  A few of those “in the know” have made contact with the factory and there is a green light for us all to show up mid-day on Monday, October 26.

If you arrived at our humble website from outside of central Ohio, please see the BadWeb thread for details and hopefully riders in your area.

ORIGINAL POST FOLLOWS:

Shocked…stunned…at a loss for words.

Buell Motorcycle Company is closing their doors. For good.

Buell has a very emotional video from Erik on their website. Here are a couple of New York Times links with some additional information.

New York Times AP Article

New York Times blog report

In a last ditch effort to see the business (in it’s current state) as well as attempt to extend condolences as well as appreciation, Mike F. is riding to East Troy and has generously offered to lead a group of any and all who want to come.

The rough plan at the moment is:

• Leave Columbus the morning of Sunday, Oct. 25th
• Arrive in East Troy Sunday evening
• Stay in a hotel/motel
• Spend as much time as possible at Buell Monday morning
• Ride back Monday afternoon/evening

That means we’re looking at about 500 miles a day, two days in a row. It may be a bit uncomfortable, and a bit emotional.  But it will be well worth it to pay respect to a motorcycle company and the visionary man who built it.

It’s a very sad day for Buell owners. Buell has always been one of the most distinctive bikes on the market. With the factory doors now closing for good, these awesome machines have just become even more rare.

If you’re interested in the ride, you can email us at contact@cobrabuell.com or post into our BadWeb forum.  More details will follow.