Well, Ron Turner has apparently decided to retire, removing his name from the Suzuki/Yamaha dealership on Beach Blvd in Jacksonville. However, the dealership is still there and there are still some familiar faces. Beach Blvd Motorsports had a grand opening Saturday with all kinds of shiny. Music outside with a DJ, the Winghouse girls handing out wings and coupons, and Team FMX East thrilling the crowd with a great motocross show.
Just a side note, but why is there always "that guy" in the crowd? As in "Don't be that guy." Team FMX East was beginning to perform with a member on the mic explaining what they were doing, and mentioned that sometimes you'll see a rider pull out of a jump because it doesn't feel right or isn't lined up right, and they don't want any broken bones this show. Understandable. "That guy's" yelled comment was "We do!" before laughing at his hilarious joke and looking around to see who else was joining in. I can only hope he got the point when no one else did. Sheesh, I'm embarrassed for you, dude.
After the show I went back inside to look at all the shiny pretties that should follow me home. Heather and I have been talking about a FZ6 to get her into more sporty type bikes, and she's been very interested in the new Star 950. Inside was a beautiful white FZ6 with gray tribal markings and pink pinstripes. Sure, it looks like a girl's bike, but it's a badass girl's bike. Not too Barbie-ish, not trying too hard, just tastefully done. For me, I'd kind of prefer it naked, but I'll admit I'm starting to like the Fizzer on paper. Unfortunately it wasn't available for a demo ride, but I'm looking forward to Daytona for a little seat time.
What was available for demo was the Star 950. I like the way Beach Blvd Motorsports handles their demo rides, like a car dealership but without a pushy salesman riding along talking about how great the stereo sounds. After photocopying my license and signing a waiver, I was given the bike and told to bring it back whenever. For any not familiar with Yamaha's V-Star 950 it is an air cooled, fuel injected V twin cruiser with a 5 speed belt drive. I'm partial to water cooled bikes personally, but the weather's still cool enough and I wasn't planning to be in stop and go traffic. The throttle was responsive and the bike accelerated through the low range up into highway speeds well enough for it's class. We went down one of the few roads in Jacksonville with twisties and found a few traffic circles on the way back. As expected, the floor boards don't allow a whole lot of lean angle, but the bike is light and manuverable otherwise. My only complaint is footpegs are not available and (according to the salesperson) aren't expected to be. Although the gauge cluster is mounted on the tank it was easily visible despite a full face helmet, and the reset button is convenient on the right handlebar.
Overall, I was surprised at how fun this little cruiser was. It never felt underpowered for what we were doing and was enjoyable even while puttering around at slow speeds. The grand opening was a great way to spend a few hours, and I wish Beach Blvd Motorsports the best of luck.
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