Dan Crouch BlogMotoring Enthusiast and Web Services Manager

As usual I'm completely behind on my personal blog, but the last few weeks have been epic! We were very lucky to be able to part sponsor the Veloce Racing team at the Miller Motorsports World SuperBike weekend a couple weeks ago, and then my wonderful wife treated me to a long weekend at Sears Point (it still doesn't seem natural to call it Infineon) for the Wine Country Classic, which they now call the Historic Car Festival.

Each event deserves, and will receive, it's own blog entry. But for now I thought I would at least share pictures that have been posted elsewhere with some captions. Stay tuned,

dc

World SuperBike Weekend at Miller Motorsports Park, Salt Lake City, Utah

Our Moto Forza Veloce Racing Aprilia 250 Gallery from Rare SportBikes For Sale:

A giant gallery of the Miller SuperBike 2010 event:

Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival

And here are a few shots from the recent "1st Annual" (20th Wine Country Classic) Historic Motorsports Festival. As you can tell, I've been fooling around with alot of Photoshop and wide-screen-like formatting:

More to come!

dc

13 hours 20 minutes later, we have arrived in Salt Lake City for the SBK racing at Miller Motorsports Park this weekend. I have to say that this is one of the longest road trips I've taken in some time, but the XC70 was a really comfortable and capable car for this journey.

Paul and I are here to enjoy the races as RareSportBikesForSale.com is now an official supporter of the Moto Forza Veloce Racing Aprilia team! Keep an eye on the RSBFS Facebook page for some live blogging and pictures from the pits.

Here are some snapshots from our long day on the road:

Decals applied the night before (new logo coming soon!)

Freaking cold over the pass!

A stop for lunch in the middle of nowhere

Lunch done right on the road

We were treated to beautiful vistas like this all day long

Lame self portrait in progress

Arrival at the hotel! If I was a little dumber I would've waited for 9:16

A proper unwinding after a long drive: Pokerstars, Heineken, and deli plate

And ready for tomorrow's action

The Moto Forza Veloce Racing team heads out early for qualifying tomorrow morning at 8:30 and we're going to make a serious effort to be there -- and hopefully see them positioned in the top 10 in a field of 45 (17/45 today).

Good night all!

dc

Nearly two weeks ago now, Shana and I made a day of the Portland Auto Show. We used to go every year to fantasize about new cars, but have missed the event in recent years. It's fun to check out everything up close and personal without the hassle of a salesman crawling down you neck.

We started our day by hitting up the S2ki Forum Hillsboro Honda meetup for S2000 owners. I only got a couple of quick pictures but it was fun to finally meet some forum members I had met online numerous times but never connected with in person. Great job getting 30 cars to come out in the middle of winter Ira! Check out all the pictures on S2ki.

We were fairly rushed at the meet because we had an appointment after that to check out a used Infinity QX4 for the missus. Looked promising in the pictures, but was a little too rough for us. We're actually having a pretty tough time finding a suitable car for Shana because we're so used to enthusiast vehicle shopping, which usually results in clean and documented cars to shop for. We were thinking of going with a more dependable Japanese variant, but they're just not cared for like the European rides we're used to looking at. Now we're thinking of going back to European shopping in the form of a Land Rover Discovery. We're back in Portland this weekend, so we'll probably stop and look a few then.

Then it was on to check into our downtown Portland hotel, Hotel Lucia. What a beautiful place and fantastic service! Not to mention it was in the center of everything we had planned and easy Max trip to the Convention Center for the show. Can't wait to stay there again!

After freshening up, it was on to the Portland Auto Show. Tickets were reasonably priced at $10 and at the ticket window we were reminded that many major manufacturers were not there due to cutbacks and slow sales. This was a bummer as BMW, Saab, Mercedes, and many others were definitely cars we were looking forward to jumping into.

{warning: really crappy images ahead. I've been too busy to post-process these but wanted to put up what I had.}

Ron Tonkin brought out a few new cars and a couple older ones from his collection. These were all front and center outside the main conference areas:

MotoCorsa was also in attendance with the latest Lotus and Ducati offerings. The black Sport 1000 was exactly like the demo bike I rode a couple years back.

Then it was on to the Audi and Porsche areas. I have to admit, I wanted to check out the Panamera because it looks so bad in pictures. It didn't disappoint, it's ugly and HUGE! First the blasphemy that is the Cayenne and now this abomination. So sad that a more true to spirit business model couldn't have been used to get them into the 21st century.

The local SCCA chapter also had a nice area set up. There were several car corral areas that usually aren't present, likely due to so many manufacturers pulling out this year.

And here are few more random snaps. You'll notice how crowded Saturday afternoon was. I think every Dad in town got babysitting duty as there were lots of kids running around. Reminds me that we prefer going on Thursday mid-day when it's super quiet!

After the show we met up with our good friends Danno, his wife Angie, and our close friend Julie who also happened to be in Portland that day. We had a fantastic dinner at Mother's Bistro just a few blocks from the hotel. What a meal! Plan on leftovers no matter how big your appetite is!

And by chance, another friend of ours was in town for a whirlwind 48 hour tour, my close friend Ed. He lives in Atlanta now, but amazingly we've managed to meet up several times in the past few years. We met for a nightcap at Pazzo and then stumbled upstairs to crash after a very long day.

We're heading back up to Portland for a wedding at Edgefield this weekend. That makes about 4 trips up there in 5 weeks. Maybe we should get a condo!

dc

Just back from the Seattle motorcycle show. I'll get a full gallery together soon, but for now enjoy these 1680px wallpapers!

I put together some thoughts over at RareSportBikesForSale.com as well. Good night all,

dc

If you should find yourself even within 500 miles of Birmingham, make an effort to get to Barber Motorsports Park. In addition to hosting the likes of AMA Superbike, NHRA drag racing, Grand-Am road racing, WERA, and two vintage weekends, they also feature a museum of rare sport bikes. The on site museum is packed with sport motorcycles; and they're all perfect. Either ultra-low mile originals or beautifully restored examples. Many of the 20-40 year old examples had as few as 10 miles on them!

Paul and I recently made the trip to Birmingham to see our close friend Ed for his birthday in Duluth. On the way out of the airport towards Atlanta, I remarked to Paul that we should find out where the Barber Motorsports Park was in Alabama and see if we could fit that into our trip on the way back. 10 minutes later, we saw the billboard for the 'next right, Barber Motorsports Park'. We looked at each other and noted that we would definitely make sure to hit the museum on the way back. Then we checked out the website. It boasts over 1000 motorcycles on display. I knew the collection was impressive, but I had no idea it was going to seriously rival the collection I saw at Hockenheim.

And as I eluded to, the collection didn't disappoint. The entire facility is gorgeous and the place is spotless. Every bike on display is of significance and was almost always in perfect condition. We stopped by on a Monday in late February and nearly had the entire 5 floors to ourselves. To say the least, it was a totally orgasmic sportbike experience.

Here are my standouts, shot with a simple point and shoot digicam. Had I planned a little better, I would've known the racetrack was just outside our airport and packed the DSLR. Something tells me we'll be back sooner than later though, and I'll have the chance to redeem myself. In the meantime, check out the collection in the Flickr Group Pool for Barber Motorsports Park, which features beautiful hi-res pics of the museum and recent races.

Here's a perfect example of the bike I rode in college: 1989 Yamaha FZR600, in this exact paint and graphics scheme. Mine was never in this condition, but it was super cool to spot it in the collection for sure. I can brag that a bike I used to own is on display!

An Aprilia RS250 Chesterfield replica. The bike I've always wanted and for some stupid reason didn't buy when it came up for sale last year.

Upon spotting this awesome Honda CB-X, Paul's first comment was, "I wonder how much those hard bags go for on eBay?!" I was dying with laughter!

And a little corner of the museum I'd like to refer to as my personal corner of sportbike porn heaven: A Ducati SS, an NC30, an RC30, an original Katana, AND a Yamaha FZR750RR OW01!

And here's the complete photo album of our visit to the Barber Vintage Museum:

$15 was never better spent, that's for sure! If you should find yourself anywhere near this part of the world, and have ever had curious itch or a serious addiction, to sporting motorcycles, this is a must do.

dc

Check out Paul's Garage Blog for more Barber Vintage Museum coverage!

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year, here are the entries for the end of December:

1990 Honda VFR750R RC30 For Sale in Rochester - The title and registration, combined with the the obvious care and thoughtful upgrades, make this bike a standout. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one listed for sale in recent memory. What do you guys think of the $16k asking?

An RVF400 and VFR400 For Sale in the Bay Area - Naturally the VFR400 with original looking bodywork would be my pick. Too bad it doesn’t have registration. The RVF400 is probably the cooler bike mechanically, but restored plastics would be at the top of my list. But with a title and registration, and an asking of only $3k, it’d be a great rider while you tried to determine if it was going to be a track bike or light restoration for the street.

Honda NSR250 MC18 For Sale - With no title, this great little bike will be attractive to collectors and track day enthusiasts. As a track day bike, do you pick something like this or a new Aprilia RS125? I sat on the latter this past weekend at the Seattle International Motorcycle Show, it’s amazing how beautiful it is in person…

1988 BMW M3 w/ 38k Miles Back on eBay - in my previous post, I guessed that the winning bid would be around $25k. Considering brand new M cars are apparently immune to the sales slump, do you think this legendary M car will find a buyer this time?

2001 Ducati MH900e Mike Hailwood Evoluzione - The seller has it listed with a $13.9k buy-it-now shown. Having covered only a few thousand miles, this looks like a great buy considering brand new Sport Classics go for about this much!

1995 Aprilia RS250 Chesterfied Replica - Oh man… I’m very tempted to get myself the best xmas present ever and buy this before the auction ends in a few hours. It’s even titled and street legal. It’s only a couple hours away and I’ve taken all of next week off… But I probably won’t though, so I’m posting it here in case someone else can snag it.

1998 Bimota SB6R For Sale on eBay - For a buyer with some skills or connections to a good technician, this could be a steal. Current bid is around $7k. What do you think it’s worth once it’s running properly?

Stunning 1991 Porsche 928 GT For Sale with 5 Speed - I’m a big fan of the 928 anyway, but in this color, trim, and with the 5 speed, I think this looks like a great example. Current bid is just under $14k (no reserve auction) and 8 days to go. I’ll update after auction for the final sale price.

1993 Ducati Superbike 888 SPO: Just In Time For Christmas - The only other Ducati’s of this vintage and price range that I would consider would be a 748, or a Superlight. And even in that company, I think the 888 is the bike of choice.

1998 Suzuki RGV 250 SP Lucky Strike Replica in Washington - This bike looks incredible, but the only problem is the asking price. It’s $16k! It does have very low miles and a title, but this is an outrageous premium considering the market and other examples of the Lucky Strike replica’s that we’ve posted on this blog.

1988 BMW e28 M5: Possible Project Car? - Obviously this one has a lot more miles than most cars I post on here. And I don’t know what showroom they’ve been hanging out in, but this car clearly isn’t that condition. Despite the fact that this car could’ve really benefited from a detail before shooting pics, the car looks complete and pretty good shape. If the motor was sound, this could be a pretty cool project car considering the asking. Which way would you go: fix it up as a nice driver or maybe enjoy as a weekend track toy?

Saturday morning, Paul, Scott, and I bombed up I-5 to catch the Seattle International Motorcycle show. It was a cool show with most manufacturers represented and lots of bikes to sit on, which is what makes these shows so much fun to attend! Here's the raw and unsorted pictures from the show:

My pick of the show is fantastic Aprilia RS125. At only 280lbs, it's light as a feather and makes my Ducati at 380lbs feel a bit chunky! Too bad the 125 isn't street legal though...

Here's a review of the RS125 on Motorcycle-USA.com

dc

A short week since I was on the road with sporadic internet. But the rest of the week was pretty good! Check out these beauties:

• 1981 VW Scirocco Survivor For Sale: 16k Original Miles! - Oh the memories! Such a great looking design and when was the last time you saw one this clean in original black and tan?!
• 1976 Volkswagen GTi Period Modified Car For Sale in Portland - Another class of '92 fantasy car!
• 2001 Audi S3 Euro-Import: Be the King of Your Audi Club! - There can't be but a handful of these in the states. Better be an uber fan for the asking price though...
• 1986 Porsche 944 Turbo with Low Miles For Sale in Gray on Black - Always a sucker for a low miles 951 for sale!
• 1987 PORSCHE 928 S4 with 5 Speed Manual: Perfect eBayMotors Listing - The photos for this sale ad are good enough for bedroom wall posters! Black on Parchment: Hot!
• Honda CBR900RR: What’s the Market Like For These? - When was the last time you saw one of these in good condition? Me neither.
• Fancy a Brand New 2009 Aprilia RS125? - Aprilia finally brings over a 2 stroker for us! But it's not road legal
• 1990 Honda MC21 NSR250R SE: Low Miles, Titled, and Great Price - Rebodied MC-28 in Repsol livery. Yum!

Thanks for reading, and if you have an outstanding German Car For Sale or a Rare Sportbike, I'd love to list your ad for free! Just drop me an email.

Thanks!

dc

Here are some quick links pointing to some posts I've made this week outside of dancrouchblog.com:

• I got a quick post up on FastCheapCars.com about the delightful 'Spridget'
• 1988 BMW M5 - Rare Black on Black For Sale
• Porsches For Sale Right Now That Look Like Good Value: 911SC and Boxster
• 2003 BMW Z4 3.0 For Sale in Portland, Oregon
• Two Classic Porsche 944’s For Sale: One for $8k and one for $80k
• 1996 Aprilia RS250 For Sale
• 1992 Honda NSR250R SE MC21 For Sale
• 1993 Ducati 888 SPO For Sale in Florida
• 1996 Suzuki RGV250 Lucky Strike For Sale
• 1992 Ducati 900 SS/SP: Is it a SuperLight?
• 2000 Ducati 748R For Sale: Hello Hotness!

dc

I spotted this Aprilia RS250 on eBay (Update 12.30.07: Relisted. Update 1.13.2008: 1 bid of $8k, reserve not met.) this morning and it's for sale right here in Oregon down in Medford. And it already has plates! Considering how difficult it is to title gray market machines, having this one plated and only 3 hours away is going to drive me crazy! (In case you hadn't noticed, I'm a fan of the RS250 Aprilia.)

Starting bid is $8k with no bidders yet and 2 days to go. Time to check my stocking to see if there's $8-10k hiding in the bottom

Update 12.27.07: Here's another RS250 for sale on eBay:

Update 1.13.2008: Winning bid on this was only $7300!

1995 Aprilia RS250 on eBay, buy-it-now for $8500

dc