kevbelz
New member
Howdy all,
New to forums, although I may have been here previously a while a back. I recently purchased a used 2020 RT (719 options and paint) with low miles, but then traded it and my 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9GT+ in for 2024 Triple Black RT with some 719 options on it.
I am, or at least was, long distance touring guy since 2001 or so. I've been mainly a Yamaha guy, my 2009 FJR served me well for 15 years. I have owned a 2006 K1200GT, and that 2020 RT, and now this 2024 RT. (also a 2001 Suzuki Bandit 600, 2005 Yamaha FZ6, 2006 Yamaha FZ1, 2018 Yamaha XSR900, 2019 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT, and the aforementioned 24 Tracer 9 GT+ and the RTs)
Grew up in Staten Island NY. Went to the same high school as the Impractical Jokers, and Vito Bratta. Moved to Montana after 9/11 so my kids could grow up with their cousins and learn how to fish , hunt, and not dodge falling buildings. Great decision.
After 21 years in Montana, the kids are self-sufficient and we are tired of cold, so we settled in St. Petersburg.
I am planning to tour on this bike, with a little less "go-go-go" than I used to use. Stop, smell the roses or actually coffee a little more. And catch up with friends all over the country before it's too late.
Hope to be a helpful contributor someday. (I've always wrenched on my own Yamaha, and need a few more torx stuff for this RT) But for now I will lurk and learn. If anyone ever wants to meet for coffee when your in my neck of the woods, I might be up for that.
New to forums, although I may have been here previously a while a back. I recently purchased a used 2020 RT (719 options and paint) with low miles, but then traded it and my 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9GT+ in for 2024 Triple Black RT with some 719 options on it.
I am, or at least was, long distance touring guy since 2001 or so. I've been mainly a Yamaha guy, my 2009 FJR served me well for 15 years. I have owned a 2006 K1200GT, and that 2020 RT, and now this 2024 RT. (also a 2001 Suzuki Bandit 600, 2005 Yamaha FZ6, 2006 Yamaha FZ1, 2018 Yamaha XSR900, 2019 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT, and the aforementioned 24 Tracer 9 GT+ and the RTs)
Grew up in Staten Island NY. Went to the same high school as the Impractical Jokers, and Vito Bratta. Moved to Montana after 9/11 so my kids could grow up with their cousins and learn how to fish , hunt, and not dodge falling buildings. Great decision.
After 21 years in Montana, the kids are self-sufficient and we are tired of cold, so we settled in St. Petersburg.
I am planning to tour on this bike, with a little less "go-go-go" than I used to use. Stop, smell the roses or actually coffee a little more. And catch up with friends all over the country before it's too late.
Hope to be a helpful contributor someday. (I've always wrenched on my own Yamaha, and need a few more torx stuff for this RT) But for now I will lurk and learn. If anyone ever wants to meet for coffee when your in my neck of the woods, I might be up for that.
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We ended our search for a retirement community when we won an auction for a nice house {that we did not expect to win}. We try to stick to the FL panhandle these days, but we have friends in New Smyrna Beach. If you find yourself passing near Rocket City USA, we too can be up for coffee or other adult beverages. We have many coffee establishments as well as many craft breweries in Huntsville. 
You might need to bring the grandkids to the excellent US Space & Rocket Center where you can dance & dine on German food under the horizontal Saturn V rocket on Thursdays in the summer... 
And then there’s the IBA National Parks Tour which ends 52 weeks after U choose to begin!!! 
You can knock out many parks in the southeast over the winter easily, and then go north next year as the solstice approaches. We’ve done it twice, first a Silver, and later the Gold version. It was both Fun & Educational. 
