Well, not exactly, but it was in Goshen, IN, so about 70% of the attendees were Amish. Which was actually great... they're predominantly calm, friendly, well-mannered people. And watching their reaction to some of the Airshow antics was almost as fun as the show itself, lol.

It was an evening show with some interesting atmospherics which made for some fun photo opportunities, albeit sometimes challenging conditions. I did have some lens envy looking at some of the press guys with their 3-foot long, high-end telephotos, but I did what I could with my little Panasonic m43 200mm.

Love the semi-inverted shot into the sun, could frame that one.

Did you take the GS?

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

Did you take the GS?

Very much wanted to, but I took my 14 year-old son, and while he is the lightest and most realistic candidate out of the rest of our family to be a passenger on this little bike, I knew we'd be going home in the dark in heavy traffic, and I'm not yet confident enough in my abilities to risk the lives of my children in those conditions, so we took my wife's much less exciting Mazda, lol.

The bike is coming to the fair this afternoon, though, and there's also a steam train coming through the southern part of the county on Thursday morning, which will be another good excuse to take it out.

Looks like it was a great time, and those are some really nice photos. Thanks for posting them.

Wife found a prime parking place at the fairgrounds. I'm proud of her. Even got a nice tree to lie against while we're waiting on the parade to get here.

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:

I keep coming back to this thread for this photo. Love it.

Great photos! I mean, great!

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
I keep coming back to this thread for this photo. Love it.

Thanks. Got some lucky timing on that one, and even though everything was backlit pretty much the whole time, the sky had a ton of character that day and provided some opportunities that "better" lighting wouldn't have.

The airshow continued this afternoon, but right in my backyard. This guy was treating the field just to the south of us and came banking over the house, so I grabbed the camera and jumped on the bike to go get some pics.

Some great shots!

You've had me peeking at the F-series GS bikes now...

Some Rotax & newer options local for decent prices...

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
You've had me peeking at the F-series GS bikes now...

Some Rotax & newer options local for decent prices...

Be careful, it's confusing.

F650GS Pre-2008 is a single-cylinder 650cc engine made by Rotax.

F650GS 2008-2012 is a 798cc twin cylinder Rotax engine.

G650GS (notice the "G" prefix...but sometimes listings screw that up) 2009-onward is a Chinese made single-cylinder 650cc bike.

In 2013, the F650GS Twin was replaced by the F700GS, which also shares the same 798cc Rotax engine with the F650GS Twin and F800GS, but at least its naming convention is easier to differentiate from the single-cylinder G650.

Good to know.
Saw an older F650 Dakar, but don't think I'd want to go that old, and I like the asymmetrical look of the slightly newer ones like yours.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Good to know.
Saw an older F650 Dakar, but don't think I'd want to go that old, and I like the asymmetrical look of the slightly newer ones like yours.

The Dakar is a cool looking bike, and of all the BMW 650 singles, that's the one I'd pick
..but I wouldn't trade my twin for one, especially considering that most of my riding is on asphalt. I did quite a lot of 4-lane highway riding yesterday and today, and it's definitely nice to have that 6th gear and extra horsepower in traffic.

I will say that if you're wanting to take passengers, unless you're both really small, it's not the right bike. Im 6'5" 200 and it's quite comfortable for me alone, but I tried putting my 5'3" 150 wife behind me and it felt cramped and undersprung, even after adjusting the shock.

I'm 6'0" 170
And I don't think my wife would be up for 2-up riding.
My 11 yr old, on the other hand, she already begs to take the Midget out when the weather's nice.

Looks like you had a great time. Hard to pick a favorite, love 'em all.