Freedom. Solitude. Sleek. Sometimes linked to darkness and death.
“Bendigeidfran (“Bran the Blessed“),perhaps the best known of the Celtic gods associated with the raven, was a giant of enormous strength and a fierce warrior whose head continued to speak after he was beheaded. Tradition holds that his head was buried at the White Mount in London, believed to be the site of the White Tower (The Tower of London). His head is a protective charm for Britain. The word “Bran” means raven, and this may be how the story of the Rooks of The Tower originated.
From http://www.avesnoir.com/ravens-in-celtic-mythology
“There is wisdom in a raven’s head.” – Gaelic Proverb
These pages will share the adventures I have on my 2014 Honda NC700X DCT. I have wanted a motorcycle forever – since before I could drive. In the last few years, spring has been terrible. I would surf the websites for the different manufacturers. Build and rebuild and rebuild. Everything from dirt bikes to half-ton cruisers. Everything under the sun. I would drool for hours over the machines presented.
Fast forward to 2014. I started hanging out with some fun people in the Louisville Vintage Motor Works. It was at first just to shoot some film for the 48 Hour Film Fest in Louisville. A bunch of the group came in, rode through and exchanged stories. While most stories were fake, a good number of them were real, and sounded like a blast. I wanted to share their experience, and make some of my own.
December came up, and I started looking again. Asked a few of the guys in the LouVin group what I should look for. I get so many suggestions they were hard to sift through. Most of them were for vintage motorcycles. A few of them suggested, since I am not a mechanic, to look into getting a late model motorcycle. That way I could ride, rather than watch it drip oil and fluids on the garage floor. I then started looking at new motorcycles. I had to lock down my priorities on what I wanted to have the motorcycle for.
- Commuting
- Running around town
- Short day trips
- Weekend trips
- Seeing the country
- Getting out of the damn house
When looking back in December, commuting to and from work was my biggest priority. I then started looking for bikes with good mileage and easy to ride – er, learn to ride… I wanted something that looked cool as well. Yeah, I like cool-looking bikes. They all do, so that was gonna be a tough one. I narrowed it down to a style. Adventure. I love them, and the ability for the style to work in multiple situations and road conditions. I read reviews, watched videos and talked to people. I came to really like the Hondas. A lot of that came to the fact I own a 15 year old Accord that is near bullet-proof. So, enter the NC (New Concept) 700X. There are two styles, manual and DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission.) I opted to focus on the DCT version, for the ease of learning to ride a motorcycle, especially in traffic.
So, lead on a few weeks. Hundreds of videos, reviews, forum reports and some recommendations from others later, I went in on the 31st of December and walked out with the paperwork signed on a brand new 2014 Honda NC700X DCT. It had only the factory miles, and none from the dealer. They were good people, helped with the financing, essential gear and a quick lesson with the bike. I should note, this is the first time I have had a vehicle payment in 10 years or so this was gonna be new. I had to wait to pick her up until two days later, since the dealer was closed on New Years. A friend of mine helped me get it using a truck he had rented and we tied her in the back of the truck and drove her back across the river and home to my garage.
I took my first ride shortly after, once I got set up and dressed for it. Within 5 minutes, it was like I was riding for years. Now, I cannot wait for the weather to warm up so I can ride all over the place…
Adventures of Raven 