VT Sportbike Event - Williston VT 9/13/08!

[Slyder]

Anyone else heading to Williston on Sat. from my area? (Warren, NH) I won't beable to leave untill 12:00. I will take the direct route up since I have to leave so late, and will take back roads back home.

I'll be coming from that area but leaving a lot earlier....I'm in Bradford, we've emailed a few times after the crew from concord area ran into ya. I'll have to swing by your shop sometime, I've only been by it a kabillion times

[FTMS]

I wish I could head out earlier, but I don't close untill 12. I am at least hoping to get out of here on time.

[Vix]

Some last minute news! The Williston event will include a preview of 2009 Joe Rocket apparel and helmets! This preview will also include some Powertrip apparel.

[MotoFreak]

I"M SO EXCITED ABOUT TOMORROW!!!!!!!

[SilverGhost]

Well its 5am and I am headin over to get set up. Hope to see you all there

[Doc]

7am and I am out the door.

[Mr Bread]

HAVE FUN EVERYONE!

[jcbell1007]

It was a great time. I had to leave early because my wife got out of work early. I'm sorry that I left before clean-up.

Top notch event though. I was only there for the afternoon but everyone seemed like they were in great spirits. The raffle went well, food was good, lot s of nice bikes (The Guzzis were awesome).

To top it all off, I even won the Revision sunglasses which I must add are phenominal.

Bravo people Bravo

[F4Iguy]

To top it all off, I even won the Revision sunglasses which I must add are phenominal.

Thats not the first time I've heard that. I guess they make some pretty awesome ballistic-rated stuff for the military. Glad you all had fun, i was at work all day. maybe next year i'll be able to make it. in the process of getting tires put on, and workin nights next 2 weeks, so i won't see you guys for a while. everyone ride safe, and hopefully i'll get to make it to at least one more bike night! later! -ty

[MotoFreak]

Today was AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was tossing and turning from about 1am to 3am and I got up at 4:30 to get to work, I was pumped when I got up, and I was just going to hang out!!!
Helped set up the Race Pit Area with Doc, and various other little things here and there, was appointed to be the MC for the day, which was great cause I love to hear myself talk.

There was a fantastic showing of bikes all day, things started a bit slow, but picked up just before lunch.
All the vendors were awesome, Kevin the Joe Rocket Rep did a great job promoting the local SB Scene and showing off his new '09 Gear. Mary from RSM brought almost all the gear she had, Cyclewise was there with there bikes and gear, and LandAir showed up with a Suzuki B-King and the new Can-Am Spider.
Lots of people were up hanging out with Doc and BCR160, who each brought their track tools with them, along with Mike from LAPS in the Race Pits. Tommy Graves was there with his Crew, and I have to say, they are hands down some of the nicest people I have ever met. And Tommy is all about boosting the Motorcycle Scene in VT, so lets remember him for any events we put on in the future.

H&S Motorcycle Repair was on site for any maintenance issues (which we had) and for supporting the Event by purchasing $300 worth of Raffle Tickets!!!!
The Raffle was fantastic, and some people won some much needed gear, and were VERY excited about it! Revision Eyewear had a table set-up along with the Vermont MSF.
All I can say is that today was a HUGE success, and there was well over 100 bikes in and out all day. The Show 'n Shine and HP Shootout were a nice touch, though we wish some more custom and vintage bikes showed up, good showing of very nice motorcycles though. Alot of people from Bike Night showed up too, and I hope to see more people on Tuesday this week.

...and of course, save the best for last, a massive thank you to Vix and Silver Ghost and their helpers for the countless hours of calling vendors and sponsors, coordinating logistics, and making this day go off with very little issues at all (though I left around 3:30, things were still good, someone could have done a wicked burnout, idk) and for the National Guard helping with traffic control and recruiting. I felt very privileged to have been a part of this Event and cannot wait for it again next year!

Can I get dibs on being MC again too...?

Thanks again Heather and Wayne!

[Slyder]

Definitely a great event. Kudos to SilverGhost, Vix and everyone else who helped out. Was also cool to meet some others that I hadn't met yet, jcbell and trackday guru who had a hell of a deal on the 10/2 date. I only wish I could have taken him up on the offer...next year.

I also got the gixxer run on the dyno for 160hp. I was gonna enter it into the HP shootout but when I walked outside this AM I knew it would be down on power...damn humidity. After I took off on my way, I knew it was and decided not to. Next year, look out

Speaking of next year....same time? same place???

Get posters done early june, I'll have 'em up for you guys all over NH and parts of VT you don't get

Great time. And Bill...yer a helluva comedian on the mic, thanks for the laughs

[markbvt]

+1. Great event. Congrats to Vix and SilverGhost on an awesome job. And yes, Bill, good work on the mike.

The raffle was fun to watch. The dude who won that sweet Joe Rocket leather jacket AND the Scorpion helmet (which conveniently matched the jacket) was seriously excited. Happier than a kid on Christmas morning.

All the bikes were nice to look at, especially that Norton (I must own one of those some day) and that gorgeous Moto Guzzi. Drool.

--mark

[Vix]

Okay, I've caught up on some sleep now and wanted to start off by thanking EVERYONE who played a part in this day, from people who told friends about it, distributed posters, suggested vendors and ideas, allowed us to borrow items for the event, to the sponsors, vendors, and riders who showed up and supported the event! SilverGhost and I organized it, but without everyone else involved it would not have been the day that it was.

There are MANY people who deserve thanks, but I wanted to offer special thanks to Trouble, who helped with ideas, creating and setting up signage, and allowing us to borrow items cruicial to the event. MotoFreak for being FANTASTIC on the microphone, you rock! You can MC the event anytime, you were great! To Supergirl101, Mel-t, JNG for being there literally all day long and helping with absolutely anything needed. Yesterdayze for helping judge and staying well past the end to help tear things down when I was so exhausted and could barely function anymore. Thanks go out to the many people who helped out.

Thanks to the sponsors: Circuit City, Joe Rocket, Scorpion USA, Cyclewise, Roadside Marine, Land Air, Lean Angle, S100, Spectro, Parts Unlimited, Metzeler, Quinin Bros, Franks, Revision, Whitehorse Gear, and Petsmart.

Also, thanks to the vendors and exhibitors: Joe Rocket, Cyclewise, Land Air, Roadside Marine, RJ's Motorsports, VREP, Racer's Pit (Doc), Lean Angle, Bradshaw Enterprises, Revision, Tommy Graves Customs, H&S Motorsports Repair, GMMRR, South Burlington Police, Addison County Sherriff, and Belle's Cafe (providing those of us there at the event all day long with some fantastic food!).

BIG FAVOR TO ASK
We would like to make this an annual event! The local sport bike community is so much fun, with great bikes and some super great people.

We will be following up with ALL of our sponsors and vendors about the event and if you have positive feedback about the overall event, some of the vendors, exhibitors, or the raffle prizes, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. I'd like to have quotes from people at the event to include in my correspondence. If you visit any of the vendors, thank them for being a part of the event! If you liked the opportunity to get Dyno'ed, or to learn more about the Scorpion EXO-400 and EXO-700, to get a preview of the Joe Rocket 2009 line, to see the South Burlington Police maneuver cones (waaay cool, BTW!), get the option for a track day at LAPS for a major discount...etc. I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! If you won something that you are estatic about (I expect to hear from you, JR!) please let me know! Telling sponsors and vendors about our experiences with the event is what will help us build on something even bigger and better next year...

Additionally, if you have suggestions, comments, any feedback on how things could be improved...those are very welcome too! I personally wish the Dyno could have been right up there with us, some people who showed up didn't even know we had a dyno running. For me, the sound of it is exciting and creates energy at an event. So we will need to find a better location, but other suggestions sincerely welcomed.

On a personal note, this event was about bike appreciation and safety through rider education and apparel. I was really thrilled to learn that one guy who won a helmet had been wearing the same helmet for over five years and had been in one crash with it. Really glad to know he now has a new helmet which should definitely offer some better protection. One of the guys who won a Joe Rocket jacket with armor had a jacket so old and beat up he wasn't even wearing it anymore - he was riding around in a fleece jacket instead! I am thrilled that he now has a leather jacket with armor instead. One of the girls who won a Joe Rocket jacket only had a lightweight riding jacket and was getting very cold in lower temperatures; now she has a leather jacket with armor, even better protection (very stylish, too!) and hopefully will help keep her a bit warmer on those cooler days.

I will get to the photos and video when I can and post them up at Vermont Sport Bikes. Thanks again to everyone for being involved in this event!

[mzdagrl]

Thank you guys for putting this on! Rob and I were up bright an early, and made it to the event around 10AM. We met some fellow NESR members, and saw some that we haven't seen in a while. Sorry to Kevin for buying a Cortech jacket instead of the old standby Powertrip, but it is fantastic! And Congrats to all the raffle winners, even though Rob didn't get that helmet, it was still a blast. The Policeman who did the slow-speed maneuvering was cool, even after he almost ran into us.... Rob has the video somewhere.....

I hope to make it up again next year and maybe get a ride in as well.

[mzdagrl]

OOh, found it!! I'm gonna put it in its own thread though..... so everyone sees it.

[kbroderick]

Thanks a bunch for putting the event on.

I'm psyched that I won the track day...I guess I'll have to go back next year. Shucks. (I'm already registered for and looking forward to the 10/2 day.)

That EXO-700 is a cool helmet, and I have to say...it's your fault that I'm shopping for one now, dammit. I had considered picking one up previously (I want to upgrade from the Icon Alliance I'm wearing), and hadn't been able to locate one locally to try on. Not only did the fit seem good, but those graphics are even cooler in person than they are online. Of course, then I had to go and compare the EXO-1000, and that's got some really cool features, too.

[Vix]

I hear ya about the EXO-700 - I was looking at that exact design when I got a different one early this year. Now that I've seen it in person it's on my list of stuff to get next spring. (In silver.)

[markbvt]

The Policeman who did the slow-speed maneuvering was cool, even after he almost ran into us....

He was talking to a few of us afterwards and sounded pretty embarrassed about that. Really nice guy.

And as for the EXO700, definitely a nice helmet. I only have two complaints with mine -- first, it's pretty noisy with the vents open, and second, the visor seal leaks in the rain.

--mark

[Slyder]

He was definitely a cool fellow. He knew a crap ton about cars and bikes too...sure learned a few things from him. Someone get him to join up