Ghost Rider weighs in on Street Vibrations 2011
Doc Shaw - Oct 6, 2011

Stale and old… like a warm cheap beer. Street Vibrations 2011 was just same old same old with a few bang bangs thrown in for a change of pace. Not even Oliver Twist would line up for more of this gruel in 2012. I won’t and I live here.

The northern Sierras offer some of the most picturesque scenery a rider can hope for. Lake Tahoe with its deep blue lake, Virginia City of Bonanza fame, Pyramid Lake, Sierraville Hot Springs just to name a couple scenic rides out of the Reno and Sparks region.

Read Doc Shaw’s "Lake Tahoe – The Sierra Nevada’s Sapphire Lake”

Street Vibrations is the once a year experience that has become very long in the tooth. Like the 2012 Honda Goldwing, sadly not much has changed in the last decade. The same vendors set up to hawk leather, boots, sunglasses and expensive beer year after year. There was tattoo alley in the events center where I enjoyed watching ample flesh canvases turn into various artistic shapes and shades on a long line of tables. There were several motorcycle lawyers hanging around hoping for a couple crashes to make the trip out west worth their time. I did get a free cheap pocketknife for walking by one table. I heard rumor that some of the attorneys chipped in and sponsored the beer vendors. Go figure…motorcyclists, beer and attorney’s.

Speaking of beverages, when light beer costs twice as much as a gallon of premium, it’s enough to make a biker turn to zero calorie coke. Thankfully a few die-hard vendors showed up again this year.  Mustang and Corbin with their great, custom seats were there. There was J&P Cycle and Kuryakyn with lots of chrome to trick out your ride, and they offered efficient real time installation and shade from the sun. There were other interesting bike products, but they were few and far between. 

Then there was Friday night when two biker clubs had a disagreement on the dance floor of OK Corral, I mean John Ascuaga’s Nugget and expressed their distaste for each other by firing off a few rounds of various calibers. The patrons who were spending their hard earned money at the blackjack tables ran for cover. After the artillery quieted down, the officials in Sparks wisely cancelled the entertainment for the weekend, not that the locals really noticed. I will say that most of the guests to Reno were amiable, but it only took a few to trash the weekend for everyone.

I will give the local Harley dealership kudos for a well-organized event on their property. It was nice to sit and listen to live music and sip a cold beer… and yes the beer was just a bit cheaper. Whether strolling the showroom floor or admiring the parked bikes on the street, Harley put on a good event.   

Frankly, Street Vibrations 2011 was a smaller and uninteresting rehash of a 2010, 2009 and so forth. If you are a hard-core rider, Street Vibrations definitely filled the bill. It was nice to see the bikes roll along the road, but overall the event was anything but interesting, minus the OK Corral Friday evening.  

Dr. Steven Shaw, aka Ghost Rider, is a motorcycle enthusiast with 35 years of motorcycle riding experience; 5 years as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Motorcycle Rider Coach and Traffic School Instructor. He teaches advanced on road riding skills to inexperienced riders. Dr. Shaw volunteers time to the local high school driver’s education classes introducing new drivers to motorcycle awareness. Doc Shaw is dedicated to improving motorcycle safety.