Sunday, August 28, 2011

A New Motorcycle, and an Old One


Written 28 August, 2011

A New Motorcycle, And An Old One

Above you can see me with my ride from 19 Motorcycle.

Here I am with my older motorcycle, the MLCC Rocket.


I've had the Rocket a long time-- more than 3 1/2 years, according to the date on the notecard that came with the bike. Over the years the motorcycle itself has been updated at least four times. In fact, when I rezzed it to take this photo an update arrived.

The Rocket is a fine bike, old school all the way-- not only in its looks-like-a-Harley design, but in its use of prims. There are no sculpts anywhere.

I took a jump to MLCC headquarters today to take some snapshots. This great statue stands at the entrance:


Inside are cars and trucks...


... older models made with regular prims, and newer ones made from sculpted prims:



The Rocket is cleverly scripted and fun to ride, and has served me well. But oh, my 19 motorcycle!


Cruisers are okay, but I've always loved the vertical twin cylinder British bikes of yore-- the Triumphs, BSAs, and Nortons. My 19 is a single, but you can't have everything. It looks great, sounds great, and runs great. I especially like: that it rests on a side stand when no one is riding; the kick starting animation, and the foot-down-when-stopped animation. The only flaw I've seen is that the kickstand and shadow remain when one rides off and must be manually deleted.

19 Motorcycle is a small place, located on the Edo Japan Region. It's beautifully detailed. It reminds of the bike shops I used to frequent in the old days:


In addition to the SLR400 model (my bike), 19 makes a three-wheel scooter...


...and this bad boy:


They also sell a marvelously-made 3/4 helmet, available with and without hair:


Alas, there are no roads to ride on Whimsy, but I often take my 19 motorcycle out on the many roads and racetracks in Second Life.


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