'doing the ton'

Cafe Racers, TT racers (as in Tavern to Tavern), whatever you call them, they are way cool.

As you may know, I love the Honda 350...don't ask, I don't know. Years back, a good friend of mine 'Chopped' one!..the dysfunctional TV family (OCC) could learn something from that bike...and I cafe'd mine out. Clubman bars, Mulholland shocks, different fork springs, a Suzuki500 front drum brake, a CL exhaust (with baffle cut down a little) and a cool seat! You should have seen us riding down the road...we put the 'fun' in dysfunctional!

Anyway, As I was cruising the net I found a very cool blog about Cafe' Racers www.caferacers.wordpress.com
This guy scours around e-bay, different motorcycle sites and generally all over the place digging up cafe bikes. He comments, posts pictures and in general has fun with it. Apparently he is building his own Cafe' bike out of his HD Sportster..brave man.

Give it look, I think you'll find it interesting.
ride safe, ride fast...if you're on a good cafe racer..
Paul

5154 less motorcycles on the road

Good morning all,
This morning on CNN the bubbly news personality reported that automobile fatalities were down again last year. Then added that motorcycle deaths are up for the tenth straight year. That was all. A little digging was in order (no pun intended).

USA Today, Healthlink, The New York Times and more all have the story. Motorcyclist deaths are up 6.6%. 5154 died last year. Why? There are lots of things to look at.

Starting with motorcycle registrations, up 75% compared to 10 years ago. The average age of the motorcycle buyer has risen from 24 to 38 since 1980. In the past, 47 states required wearing helmets, today only 20 require helmets. Average size of a motorcycle has gone from 769cc to over 1000cc since 1990 and horsepower figures have just gone sky high. Older first time buyers, big engines, no helmets, no education = trouble.

With gas prices on the rise (here in the USA we're just now starting deal with prices that the Europeans have been experiencing for years) motorbike usage is also on the rise. Guys are dragging their old bike out of the back corner of the garage, and more often than not, not upgrading the tyres, brakes, cables, etc. And more importantly not upgrading their helmet from the old 1979 model. Scooter sales have shot up. My friends at Cal Coast Motorsports in Ventura can't keep them in stock. There is even a GM dealer I saw on the news that has given up it's Hummer dealership and brought in small electric cars and scooters!!! Good for him.

Now, I'm going to step on my soapbox again. Hey, blogs are for opinions right?

I believe in wearing a good full face helmet...ALWAYS!!! A good jacket and good gloves. Quality boots too. Training. Before you are allowed to get a motorcycle license you must pass the MSF riders course. No exceptions. And if you're really smart you'll go to a another school, Keith Code's California Superbike School, Reg Pridmore's CLASS or another.

Next, I do believe in a 'graduated licensing program'. It works in Europe. Being in the motorcycle business, I have a lot of friends in a lot of dealers around the country and I hear stories all the time of guys (women don't too often do this) buying big bikes and asking the salesman, service tech or lot monkey teach them how to ride it!? And the fact that the dealer guys would do that blows me away as well. A sixteen year old kid with no experience should not be buying nor should be sold a 1000cc Sportbike. The same goes for the 45 year old who has always wanted a Harley but has never ridden anything bigger than a moped when he was in college. Note here, I'm not picking on Harley Davidson, but...that is Harley's customer. You don't hear the phrase, "I've always wanted a Honda VTX".

Starting on smaller displacement motorcycles works. You can develop skills, confidence and enjoy riding the motorcycle without being intimidated. The are plenty fast, they come in all flavors (sporty, cruiser style, plain) and colors. They're not too expensive and if you decide that two wheels really isn't for you, well, you're not going lose thousands of dollars. If it does fall over, you can pick it up. A good thing, because ain't nobody else going to help you, they're too busy laughing.

That's enough for today. Next is what the government can do to help the situation. Lets, make the roads more '2 Wheel Friendly'. Teach car drivers to see motorcycles...on and on.

Ride safe, I'll see you on the road.
Paul

Sleeping under the stars

A couple of weeks ago I got to do one of things I love to do most, go traveling on my motorcycle. This addiction started back in the early seventies with a trip up into the Sierra's on my BSA Lightning 650. I rode with my high school friends Benny and Mike. Benny on a 'chopped' Honda CB350 and Mike on a Yamaha XS650.

We took off on a warm sunny day, first stop Mammoth Lakes. We took a route that I still take to this day. Up the Kern River, over Sherman Pass then up HWY395. None of us had ever gone that far in one day and we were whooped! Back then we didn't have tiny tents and tiny sleeping bags, we didn't even have saddle bags! Everything was strapped on the bike somehow or another. So after a cheap dinner at the local McDonalds it was toss the sleeping bags on the ground and call it a great day. Our trip went like that for the next four days. What a great time, I was now hopelessly addicted to Moto Traveling.

Since that first trip I figure I have put nearly 400 thousand miles on a motorcycle. All over the western USA and Canada, what fun and adventures. Blazing hot days to being snowed on. Rain for days on end and getting blown off the road in Wyoming. Coming eye to eye with a moose in the middle of the road and watching a woman knitting while sitting on the back of a Honda Valkyrie. Almost running out of gas in Clorado to almost running off the road in Glacier National Park...yes, the scenery is that stunning!

So here I am over forty years later, traveling on my motorcycle. Nowadays, I do have saddlebags and a little tent, a little sleeping bag, a fancy air mattress and all kinds of great camping do-dads. Ah, modern technology and conveniences.


Well, this trip I decided (after checking the computer for weather info) that I was going to go retro...back over thirty years. Sleeping bag under the stars. My traveling companions opted for tents and air mattresses, wimps! The first night out we camped at Onion Valley in the Eastern Sierra's. Nearly 9000 feet and truly beautiful. Sleeping next to the dying campfire, listening to the waterfall and looking at the Milky Way brought back the memory of that first trip and why I love MotoCamping.


Sleeping under the stars, there is no better way to end a day of motorcycle riding. So where can I go next? Where is my map??

Ride safe, ride fast, ride far and I'll see you on the road

A friend needs help

Good morning,
Frank Scurria, a great gentleman and a very important part of Ducati's racing history needs everyones help. Prior to the MotoGP at Laguna Seca last month was a great event, The Moto Giro America, a multi day tour around the Monterey Peninsula area culminating at Laguna Seca Raceway. During the event Frank was very seriously injured in a much too close encounter with a car.

Multiple broken bones, internal injuries and a number of surgeries later, Frank is still in an induced coma in the hospital. This is a very sad situation and our friend needs help.

A couple of years ago I had the opportunity, the privilege, of spending time with Frank talking about his racing history with Ducati. He was so much fun to talk with. He gets so excited talking about those times. You can listen to that interview on the motoworld podcast, www.themotoworld.com

To learn more about Frank Scurria, go to www.bevelheaven.com there you'll find pictures of Frank in his racing days, hangin' out with his old racing buddies Paul Smart and Paul Ritter and the updates on his current condition. There are also links you can access for sending cards and donations to help Frank.http://www.bevelheaven.com/~BB/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1534 We all know that insurance only covers so much and injuries like this can easily shoot past insurance coverage. So, if you have a love of Ducati racing..take a few moments and a few dollars to help out one of the influential riders in Ducati's racing history. And a few prayers wouldn't hurt either.

Off Topic, and I wish I had a REALLY BIG screen TV

Motorcycle racing is quite a spectacle. Motocross, Flattrack, Roadracing, Speedway, it doesn't matter. Each of them are beautiful ballets powered by a lot of horsepower.

However, the other night on TV we all witnessed the greatest Ballet I think any of us has ever seen. The opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics.

I get up at 4:30 in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays to watch Formula One and all IT"S pageantry and the racing, I can get up, make another cup of tea, let the dogs out and it's OK. But...the opening ceremony was absolutely mesmerizing. Thanks to DVR, I can blaze through the commercials (they're never as good as Superbowl commercials anyway)and be right back at the show. The Chinese did an amazing job of putting a real show. I hope you all watched it.

And...with MotoGP on vacation...what else ya gonna watch??

This one hurt

I stopped roadracing a while back, just how life goes. I still travel, sometimes at some pretty quick speeds, it's that right wrist thing I guess.

Motorcycles have been part of my life since I was 15 years old. Riding my dads Honda 160 in the parking lot, to my step dads Yamaha 100 dirt bike all around his parents property. Then on to a Bultaco Matador, racing in the desert. After a pretty nasty get off in the Barstow to Vegas race... desert racing was out of the question. A few years later, 1981 to be exact, the racing bug hit again so roadracing looked like fun. A day at Keith Codes California Superbike School and I was into roadracing. From that day to the third weekend in December 2003 I lived for roadracing. I even got my son into it...poor kid. I think that one got me a one way ticket to the 'Bad Dad Farm'.

Today I parted with my old roadracer. A 1982 Honda FT500. Yeah, I know there are bikes that are a lot faster and better handling (I have had them) but they aren't as much fun as this little 'ol Ascot. Taking a little 22HP motor and pumping it up to 52HP is cool (not cheap, but cool), making it kinda handle (going through turn 2 at Willow Springs side by side with another Ascot racer and watching his front wheel bouncing up and down so much that you can see daylight underneath it and realizing that yours is doing the same thing!!) and as my son put it one day "listening to you guys is like hearing someone farting their way around the track". Thanks Kelly. Paybacks are a B..ch. I put him on an Ascot too!! Parental revenge.

Anyway, today my old Ascot went to a new home. A friend of mine just got his ticket to 'The Bad Dad Farm'. He bought his son my old racebike. It was sad to see it go into the back of someone else's truck and leave my driveway. But, I know it's going to a good home and I'll get to hear some good stories and that little 'ol Ascot will be back on the track where it belongs. Good bye my old friend, take care of Sean like you took care of me.

The Parade Mentality

Here I am on my soapbox again...

I just got home from a great road trip in the Sierra's...criss crossing the passes...Sonora, Ebbitts, Monitor, Carson...what fun. Great roads, scenery, camping, weather, you couldn't ask for more.

But...here's the soapbox stuff...Groups of riders that are parading instead of riding. We have all seen this phenomenon. There is a certain segment of the motorcycling population that like to go for group rides, compare chrome goodies on their motorcycles, see if they have enough fringe, is their 'helmet' small enough and do they have a black and orange t-shirt from a dealer in some other state (which you get by mail order, you don't have to actually have ridden there). Oh, and the most important part..can you ride slow and loud enough so that everyone knows you're there?


Disclaimer here...not everyone who rides this particular brand/style of motorcycle falls into this category. However, if you do, you know who you are.

Now, back to the reason for this Soapbox post. While enjoying a fun ride up and over the Sonora pass, my friends and I stopped for the obligatory pictures at the summit. During this break a group (about 20 or so) riders come over the hill. Friendly waves and smiles, down the hill they go. A bit later my riding friends and I head down as well. In a very minutes we catch up to a traffic jam. No kidding..we are now at a snails pace. We start picking off cars one at a time (about 20 of them) until we get to the cause of the slow down. The parade of loud, slow motorcycles and..get this..their chase vehicle??!! Passing cars that are going slow is one thing but weaving in and out of a group of motorcycles just doesn't work. For one thing, it's not safe, it's not courteous and it's just plain hard to do. So there we are, stuck going 15-20 miles an hour where a posted speed limit is at least 35-45. This lasted for miles. When this 'parade' finally pulled into a roadside stop, even the cars were honking their appreciation for them getting off the road.

Riding with friends is always fun. If you have a parade, someone should be looking in the mirrors to see if they are holding up traffic and if they are, pull over..there are turnouts and wide spaces in the road all the time. USE THEM! I know you like to be seen and heard, but, be courteous, pay attention and if you need a chase vehicle...well, I don't know what to say.

An addendum to this...over on Carson Pass, we had stopped to take a picture or two and a couple went by on a nice 'bagger', again waves and smiles. We pulled away from the vista point and fell in behind the couple on the 'bagger'. Thinking we would get by at the next opportunity we just kept their pace. Their pace was really good, I mean really good. There was no reason to try to pass, we were all having fun. When they turned off, waves were waved and we had a an admiration of this guys skills.

Moral of the story... it's not the bike you ride, it's the way you ride it.

Go to school

Time to go back to school. Riding school. I know some of you think I should go to writing skool but my grades aint gud enuf. Oh well.

A lot of years ago I attended the Original California Superbike School run by Keith Code out at the now long gone Riverside Raceway. It was a great day. I was just making the transition from desert racing to roadracing and what an eye opener it was. The day was spent on a Kawasaki KZ550 and in a make shift classroom. At the end of that day I had my AFM roadracing license in hand. I also had a head full of info that I still use to this day.

Years later, a lot of years later, I put my son in Superbike School. He was a good rider when he went in, he came out a much better rider. He too went on to roadracing with some moderate succeses...he and I and a couple of friends got 3rd in Middleweight Superstock at the WERA 24 Hour race at Willow Springs.

At this years MotoGP race at Laguna Seca I ran into Keith and told him how much I remembered and still use from his school...27 years ago!!!...he told me that he had met a couple others that had attended the school way back when. He was pretty stoked. Before we parted I told him about our podcast and asked if we could get together for an interview, he was up for it, I gave him my card and hoped for the best.

The Tuesday after the race my phone rings and on the other end is Keith Code. "When would you like to get together for an interview?" "Whenever is good for you" says I. A couple of days later I spent the morning with Keith at his home office. I took the picture of me at school that day back in 1981, he was pretty surprised. I was riding bike #5..he told me that they had recently found and bought bike #1 from back then.
We had a great interview, a great time and I truly believe I have made a new friend.

Keith Code is a very interesting man. He is constantly thinking of ways to improve the Superbike School and riders riding skills. His greatest joy is the success and happiness of his students. I admire Keith Code a lot, I have for 27 years.

The aftermath

Happy Saturday all,

A week ago I was sitting in the Media Center At Laguna Seca and wandering the pits scrounging up interviews. As I have said before, I have been going to Grand Prix races at Laguna Seca since the late '70's I have hundreds of slides (remember those?) of Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey and more. Some years ago my good friend Craig and I got together for a slide show of all our pictures. A few hours, a bunch of stories and a lot of beers later we were ready for a road trip to Laguna Seca.

Fast forward to the 21st Century. I work in the motorcycle biz, so for the past couple of years, in one form or another, I'm working at the race instead of cruising around eating fried Calamari, Kettle Korn and drinking cold (overpriced) beers. Am I complaining? Nope. But it is a different experience, and one that I completely enjoy.

When you are at a race track, the sounds, the smells, the crowds, the general vibe is always exhilarating and it is never boring. This year, being part of the media circus was a unique experience of it's own. Doing interviews is always interesting...research, scheduling, timing, some are great, some are flat..but always entertaining.
A real highlight this race was the press conference with all the American Grand Prix Champions. Kenny Roberts,Freddie Spencer, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Kevin Schwantz, Kenny Roberts Jr and Nicky Hayden..all together in one place at one time. All telling some stories and laughing with and at each other, a truly memorable moment in racing.

After the special awards were presented to the American Champions, I had a unique opportunity to listen in on Freddie Spencer and one of his former team members remembering old times and telling stories and then the highlight..I had a 15 minute sit down with Freddie alone. What a great guy. Engaging, personable, friendly and willing to share stories. I treasure that time and Freddie said he would be willing to do it again, we both had a good time.

Another good thing about the race weekend was seeing and hearing my friend Brian Drebber doing the announcing. He's been around racing a long time and when he's not doing announcing work he's helping out Corona Extra Racing's Matt Lynn on his Superbike. Brian is a motorcyclist Heart and Soul.

After the races were over, it was pack up the bike and head home. Yeah, we rode..carrying two computers, recording gear and everything else. Five pretty chilly hours later it's hot tub and a glass of Kentucky's finest time...gotta take the chill off ya know.

Ride safe, ride fast...most of all, go riding. I'll see you on the road
Paul
www.themotoworld.com

Work, work, work

Note to self: learn to speak Italian. Or French, or Spanish, or German. To really enjoy all that goes on in a Media Center at an International Motorcycle Race, knowing another language would be quite handy.


Today here at Laguna Seca has started out pretty darn cold and wet but at least no fog to close the track. We got here very early this morning to check in with Valentino Rossi’s communications manager to see if and when we were going to be able to interview the great one. William is a very nice man and quite enthusiastic about podcasting, but…he said maybe, probably not. Interviews with the multi time world champion are all scheduled at the beginning of the season. Ah well, better luck next year. William did however give a ray of hope. The GP season is taking its summer break after this race and maybe we could do it over the phone or via computer or send some questions Valentino will do kind of a free form one way chat then send me the file to put on the podcast. That’s kind of a cool thought.


As Heather and I do more of the big races we’re making some new friends and contacts that are very helpful. The top of that list is Stephanie from Honda. She and the rest of the team really do exemplify the old ad slogan, “ You meet the nicest people on a Honda”. On short notice she got us time with Erion Honda AMA Supersport Champion Jake Zemke. I have always admired Jake and his story is a great racers story. I think you’ll love the interview.


Before we met up with Jake we headed up to the famous ‘Corkscrew’ corner for some pictures. It’s a long hike up the hill, I‘ve got to exercise more!! Between the two of us we got some good shots. As I am writing, Heather is editing photos to put into the photo gallery on the website www.themotoworld.com, some of them are quite good for a little point and shoot camera. Actually, they’re good because Heather is a very good photographer.


It’s lunchtime now; Randy Mamola (a very famous former racer and now TV announcer) is taking people who have donated a lot of money to a certain charity, on two up rides around the track. And while he is doing that it’s time for me to line up more interviews.


Talk to you later


Paul

Ride safe, ride fast, I’ll see you on the road

The World of MotoGP...Day Two

It was a dark and stormy night, no wait, wrong story. It was a cold and wet morning. Yeah that’s it, the fog had settled in so much that Superbike practice here at Laguna Seca was called off. You can’t see the track! So, time for the first interview of the day. First on the list, Yamaha Superbike pilot Eric Bostrom.
Heather and I met him in the luxurious Yamaha team hauler. He is a great interview, we had a lot of fun, we talked motorcycles, family, surfing…a good time was had by all. So far the Yamaha and Honda guys are the most fun to be with. Now it's time to cruise the MotoGP pits and see whom else we can scare up to talk with…wish me luck.

Luck was shining down; we have an interview with Suzuki MotoGP ace Chris Vermuelen later this afternoon, now it’s off to track down Valentino…hey, who can resist me.

We took some time to watch MotoGP qualifying, pretty darn exciting to say the least. Check this out, as we all know, right now Ducati’s Casey Stoner is on a tear. It’s almost like everyone else is racing for 2nd (remember the years that Rossi was on fire?), Casey Stoner has broken the track record here, are you ready for this, 8 times this weekend!!! Six times today! Unreal. But as we all know Valentino is no slouch. Valentino doesn’t like Laguna Seca all that well but you couldn’t tell it today, he is on the front row right next to young Mr. Stoner.


Australian Chris Vermuelen is fast. He’s also a really nice and fun young man. We spent about 20 minutes together talking about racing and how he got started and then the conversation turned to his other love…American Hot Rods. Listening to the stories of he and his dad restoring and customizing these cars was a blast. I asked him if he would come to California in the off season and help me restore my old ’63 Fairlane. Then it was show and tell time, pictures of his favorite cars on his Blackberry. You can hear which ones on the podcast.

The MotoGP press conference after qualifying was good fun, I’ll have bits and pieces of that on the podcast too. Done for the day. My crystal ball shows dinner and bed in my future. I’ll talk with you tomorrow.

Ride safe, ride fast, I’ll see you on the road.

Paul

Live from MotoGP...Day one

Those foreigners, it's like they have a different word for everything!! (thank you Steve Martin). Here we are covering another race, this time the MotoGP circus is here at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. It's great to be at another World Event, the media center is alive with more foreign languages than a U.N meeting. Writers, photographers, TV, and little 'ol podcasters...us.

The lessons learned at Miller Motorsports Park were invaluable. Getting credentials through Dorna (the owners of MotoGP) is quite a bit more difficult. With the great help of Press Officer Ed Nichols here at Laguna Seca, we finally got them and into the media center we go. Thank you Ed. The center here is big, it has to be, MotoGP brings a lot more attention. The video screens are giant, showing the track sessions, timing (in detail) and every bit of information an information junkie (journalist) could want. Oh, and free Red Bull...this is the Red Bull Grand Prix you know.

After getting settled in it was off to Yamaha to interview Superbike pilot Jason Di Salvo. What a great kid, we had a really good time. Jason has a very interesting story, you can listen to it next week on the podcast.

Next on the hit list, Suzuki ace Tommy Hayden. After watching his brother Nicky run a very successful practice session, he and I sat down and had a bit of a chat. He's just coming back from a pretty nasty spill so it's really great to see him back on his bike. He was anxious about this weekend because it would have been the first time in 10 years that he would have missed the race.

We wound up the day at the track in a great way. I sat down with multi time World Champion and great guy, Freddie Spencer. What an interesting man. Prior to my talking with him, I was listening in on a conversation with he an old friend and team member, it was fascinating, two old friends talking story. Freddie and I talked a good 20 minutes about the year he won both the 250cc and 500cc World Championships. Freddie is a great talker, no wonder he is a very popular Speed TV announcer.


Well, next week you can check all these great interviews on The Motoworld podcast. I hope you all listen. Now it's off to dinner at our favorite place in Salinas, the Pennyfarthing Tavern.

Ride safe, ride fast and I'll see you the road.

Paul

Saying Goodbye

The time has come to say good bye to a very good friend. My Yamaha TDM850. It's actually my second one. The first one I bought from one of my racing partners who had recently traded up to a BMW GS1150, nice bike but really big..I liked the TDM a lot. A little haggling and the TDM was mine. I had forgotten how much fun John had doing wheelies (the TDM wheelies real easy!) so first stop was new fork seals.

The Red Sled and I put a lot of miles on real quickly. Never hiccuped, never did anything weird, just a great bike.

Until...one morning on my way back down from visiting my sister in Northern California, a truck and I decided we should become close friends at a freeway onramp. Bike was pretty banged up and so was I. After it sat in the garage for a few months it was passed on to a friend of mine who had bought one with a blown motor. A little transplant surgery and Jeff is a TDM freak too.

One day a posting on the TDM list showed up...'1992 TDM 850, low miles, needs minor work but runs..$500'. An e-mail, a phone call, a couple of tanks of gas and I'm the owner of another red TDM. The 'minor work' included a couple of new electric components and tank of gas. Cheap.

So,here I am seven years and around 60,000 miles later saying goodbye. That TDM has taken me all over the western U.S and pretty much trouble free. Heather and I had our first road trip together, camping up on the Kern River, on the TDM. We have traveled mountains and deserts with friends, our son and his wife rode to Laguna Seca on it. I have ridden it in waist deep snow, I commuted to work on it ( I ride 'The Mighty 350' nowadays..better mileage) and even considered making a 'track day bike' out of it. All in all it has been a great bike.

Why am I selling it? Good question, but I believe the new owner will give it a good home. So, you know what...I'm going to get my helmet and take it out for one last ride.
Maybe one day a TDM will show up on e-Bay or Craigs list and...nah.

Ride safe, ride fast, I'll see you on the road..but not on my 'ol TDM

Paul

Home at last

I'm a news junkie, I wake up sometimes at 3 or 4 in the morning and turn on either CNN or the BBC World Service. Over the past few days there has been a lot of press over the newly released hostages out of Columbia. I have been fascinated by their stories.


But...over a year ago I spent time on the phone with Glen Heggstad, Moto Traveler and author. His book, Two Wheels Through Terror, is a must read. You can find his book on Amazon.com or my favorite place, www.whitehorsegear.com Glen too, was a hostage in the jungles of Columbia and what a story he tells. You can hear a good portion of it on our podcast, www.themotoworld.libsyn.com, give it a listen. This man is truly one of my hero's. He started a trip from here in California to Tierra del Fuego..the southern most point in South America. What a dream for all of us that travel on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, in South America, he got sidetracked as a prisoner by Columbian Rebel forces for a quite a while. Glen was finally released and through the help of a whole lot of people, was able to continue his quest. It really is a fantastic story and Glen is an amazing man. Read the book, listen to the podcast.


Glen just got back from a year long journey through Southeast Asia. We spoke a couple weeks ago while he was still in Asia. He is home in Mazatlan Mexico now and we will be having another visit together in the next few days. I would imagine he has some interesting insights to what Ingrid Bettencourt and the three American men went through during their time as prisoners.

Just a couple of timely thoughts

Ride safe, ride fast, I'll see you on the road.

Paul

Motorcycle Jeopardy

Happy Monday boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen...I just flew in from Philadelphia...and boy are my arms....just kidding.

Welcome to Motorcycle Jeopardy..

I'll take motorcycles for $1000 Alex..
Alex.."The answer is, "the Honda CB350"
DING...'Paul'...That would be "what is the biggest selling motorcycle of all time?"
'Alex'...Thats right

In 1971 I bought a brand new Honda SL350. I had been riding my step dads Bultaco Matador 250, his was still street legal, mine wasn't (I was racing mine in the desert at the time). My friend Eddie had bought a new Yamaha DT1 250.. a neat little bike and a lot less of a pain in the fanny than the Bultaco. We rode all over the So Cal area..before fences and lawyers. But as motorcyclists tend to be, it came to who can outdo the other?? So, I just had to have a bigger bike! Next stop, the local Honda dealer...an hour later I rode off with a new Honda SL350..."hey Eddie..try to keep up now!!" I rode that bike everywhere, even took a date to the Drive-In on it, she carried the lawn chairs, I think we saw Fritz the Cat...it was a great bike.

One race, my not so trusty Bultaco stranded me in the desert. Next thing you know, it's in the deepest darkest corner of the garage. Wait...I have another race in two weeks...now what?? Hey, the Sl is supposed to be on AND off road bike...off come the lights, blinkers, mufflers (hey, I should have kept those..they're worth a lot of $$$ nowadays!),replace the fenders with Preston Petty plastics..you have to have an AARP card to remember those...a pair of little shorty muffler/spark arrestors and a better skid plate. Ready to go. A bunch of races, a few trophies, that SL350 was a great motorcycle.

The SL eventually went to another owner. I guess I should repent for that one...

Twenty Five years ago I was talking with my dad about motorcycles and Honda 350's came up. Well, a week or so later my dad called, he had found one, a yellow CB350, in a back yard in Riverside and they wanted to sell it. A few hours and $100 later, I'm back on a Honda 350. The biggest selling motorcycle of all time.

I have ridden that little motorcycle somewhere in the vicinity of 30 thousand miles. All over California..the Sierra's, the coast, to the US GP at Laguna Seca (back in the 2 stoke days). These bikes won't die..change the oil once in awhile, clean the points, new plugs and some tyres.

"The Mighty 350", as it's known in our family, is still in the garage and still runs great. Both our kids learned how to ride on that bike and still like riding it. Heather and I took it for a ride with friends just yesterday...when we arrived at the Cactus Patch Restaurant for breakfast even a couple of Harley riders commented on what a cool little Honda it was.

In this time of $5 gas (remember, I'm in California), small motorcycles are the perfect vehicles. Motorcycle Daily.com recently conducted a poll asking readers what they think manufactures should make now in light of gas prices. I sent my response...they already are, look around the rest of the world..small displacement motorcycles. Simple.

'The Mighty 350' lives, proving that 'Cool' never dies...and I love riding that little bike.

Ride safe, ride fast, I'll see you on the road...on 'The Mighty 350'
Paul

Monday Madness

Once a motorcycle racer, always a motorcycle racer. Some sort of genetic defect I guess. I went from desert racing to enduro's, back to desert racing and then on to my real love, roadracing. I had hurt myself pretty badly in a desert racing get off and bouncing around the puckerbushes was no longer an option for me. Thats Ok..it's too hot in the desert anyway, well except in January and February when it snows.

In 1981 with my friend Ted Toki, it's off to the original Keith Code California Superbike School at Riverside Raceway. At the end of the day we were whooped but we had our AFM racing licenses in hand, thank you Keith and crew. Now came the hard part...roadracing ain't cheap. It was a great time to be racing, heck, they still had a 50cc class!!! So many interesting bikes, crazy ass modifications and a lot of fun.

Fast forward into the mid nineties, after a taking a few years off to raise a couple of kids on my own, the urge was back. Off to Willow Springs I go, piloting a... Honda Ascot??? Hey, it was kinda cheap (the race motor cost four times as much as the whole bike!!!) and a lot of fun. Singles racers are a very weird bunch, a close knit family and all families are weird. But in that group I developed some very close friends. We all raced WSMC, AHRMA, AFM and CCS. So what has that got to do with the title of this post you ask... sit right back and I'll tell you a tale, a tale of a crazy group...that started on a Monday night...OK, sorry about the Gilligan thing.

A little while back we all seemed to semi retire from roadracing...businesses, families, paying for kids college educations..you get the picture. But, we're all still racers, it's that right wrist thing...
Our friend and fairly close neighbor Jay, has a five acre hunk 'o land and a couple of Honda XR100's. A frenzy of tractor work, buying up more XR100's...let the fun begin!!

Monday Madness was born. During the 'Daylight Savings Time' period, our group of ex-racers and a couple of other friends would gather at Jay's, on Monday's, for some slidin' around the track, good food and of course...good beer. Hey they're only 100cc bikes, we're not going that fast, it's only a sixteenth of a mile oval...we won't get hurt. Thats what we told the wives. Uh, yeah. Remember, we are racers and we have to win, friends be damned. Bumping someone off the course, sure. Running over someones foot, natch. Cutting the corner, wouldn't you? Hitting someones kill switch at the start, yeah. All in the name of friendly competition?!

Very large contusions (read..really big nasty bruises),some painful sprains and a couple broken bones (small ones)..hey, thats what beer is for..pain killer. Well, after a couple years of that, the wives got a bit tired of playing nurse when we got home. We had big smiles on our faces, and the women just shook their heads.

Monday madness came to an end a while back, recovering from all that racing was starting to take a little too long to heal, we do have jobs to go to on Tuesday. A number of us took our newly discovered flat tracking skills to a real flat track race, vintage bikes and us, vintage riders. We all went with two goals in mind..don't fall down and don't be last. We all succeeded.

Heather and I were sitting in bed last night and somehow Monday Madness came up, I got a big smile on my face and surprisingly, so did she. I miss Monday Madness...I'm still a racer.

Roads to Ride

So there I was, working away at yet another motorcycle race and all I really wanted to be doing was be out riding my motorcycle in the Sierra's with my friend Jeff. Jeff and I have traveled throughout the Sierra Nevada for years. Criss Crossing the mountains over all the passes, Tioga, Sonora, Ebbits, Monitor, Carson, the list goes on. We've never had a bad ride. Every weather condition...sometimes on the same day. No kidding, on one trip we went from 28 degrees in the morning to 90 degrees in the afternoon to 29 degrees in the evening, what a day that was!! From slipping and sliding in the snow to thinking we were riding in a convection oven. Isn't that one of the real beauty's of traveling on a motorcycle? Yes. If you do it right it's always a great adventure.



The reason I bring this up today is Jeff and his wife Kathy just got home from a 10 day ride. If I could write this in green ink I would!! Do you watch the news much? then you know that Northern California is on fire, so many fires that firefighters can't get to them all. Jeff and Kathy's ride took them up the California coast through Big Sur, I left Jeff a message on his cell phone wondering if he started those fires by riding so fast...he does hustle that big 'ol BMW GS around pretty quickly. From there up to Oregon and back down to Lake Tahoe. They ran into conditions where the smoke was so bad they couldn't see the top of mountains, Mount Lassen the most notable. Despite the conditions they had a great ride. It was the longest ride Kathy had ever done and Jeff was just warming up.

I always advocate riding in the Sierra's but for the next few weeks it might not be a good idea..the smoke can't be very good for your motorcycle and certainly not for you.

For those of us that live in Southern California, Hiway 1 through Big Sur is our route of choice to go to Laguna Seca for the MotoGP race..this year due to a huge fire up there we might be stuck taking an inland route. Coast Hwy is closed currently and is expected to stay that way for a while. So...if you live in So Cal or are going to MotoGP from So Cal, are you ready for a great route to Laguna? Sure you are...and this route will take you ALL day..you are really going to want a cold refreshing beverage at rides end!!!


Ok, Hwy 101 north out of the L.A environs, at the northern end of Santa Barbara head up HWY 154 (the San Marcos Pass road) entertaining and beautiful. Before you reach the 101 again, turn onto Foxen Canyon Rd...through the Santa Ynez Valley wine country you go...slow speeds but really beautiful (well, there are a few places you can step up the pace)it's too early to buy wine so keep going. Just as you would reconnect with the 101 at Betteravia Rd in Santa Maria( the end of the Foxen Cyn Route) the restaurant at the truck stop is a great stop for breakfast!

After your fill of corned beef hash and eggs..well, maybe thats my fill...standard road trip breakfast for me, it's back onto the 101 North, oh..don't forget to gas up. Along the coast you go..Arroyo Grande, Pismo Beach (the best Italian restaurant outside of Italy is there..Guiseppi's), San Luis Obispo then it's inland..and HOT!! Stop again in Paso Robles for gas cuz' you're going to need a full tank from here. Just north of Paso along the 101 is the town of San Miguel. San Miguel is the site of one of the early California Missions, a beautiful place currently undergoing a major renovation so you can't visit it..too bad. This is where you turn off, cruise through the tiny town..now here is where you need a California map, you want to be looking north east(up the map) for Hwy 25..you need to head east of San Miguel before you end up back on the 101, the route# is unmarked at San Miguel but on the map it is obvious..

The road from there to Hwy 198 is a bit iffy sometimes and not all too friendly to stiffly sprung sportbikes but what comes next is well worth it. At the County Road G13 intersection you will need to make a bit of a right left jog (about 100 yards) onto Hwy25. Now the true fun begins...no traffic, high "Giggle Factor" riding and great scenery. Next stop, the town of Hollister...scene of the movie the Wild Ones with Marlan Brando and Lee Marvin..They didn't ride Harley's, they rode Triumphs and BSA's.

Now it's back over to the 101, south to Salinas and over to Laguna Seca. It's a great ride all the way around. If you are staying in Salinas or if you get there around supper time you have to go to the Pennyfarthing Inn. Check this out...a really good English Pub in the heart of a major farming community dominated by some really great Mexican restauarants?! Yeah. Well worth the stop.

Well, kind of a weird post today, all over the place..which is exactly where I wish I was...all over the place..

Ride safe, ride fast and I'll see you on the road..

Paul

Time Flies...

...when you're having fun or... getting older. Hey, I'm not getting older, I tell everyone I'm only 30 years old... with 25 years experience!? The reason I bring this up today is, it's my daughters 28th birthday. I bought my CB750F about a week after she was born. That bike and I spent over 100,000 miles together.

Leah has been on motorcycles since she was about 3 years old...standard stuff, riding with me...I got a ticket for having her in between me and the gas tank on the way to day care..geez..she had a helmet and gloves on!!! Then there was the time she fell asleep riding on the back. Later in years we would take longer rides on the CB750 and then my FJ1200..she liked it a lot. We had many great rides together and the day came that she wanted to ride herself. So, onto the '59 Honda Super Cub (a 55cc Honda step through) she went.

Ok, that lasted a day. Next up, the MSF course. Successfully passing that, onto what is fondly known in our family as ...'The Mighty 350'. A 1971 Honda CB350. I'm a firm believer of starting new riders on small bikes. Both my kids started on that bike. I have seen and heard of far too many new riders that buy large displacement motorcycles, whether it be a sportbike or a large cruiser and trying to learn to ride it in the parking lot before heading off to home to show it off to his / her family and friends. I digress, sorry. Fodder for another post.

In a short period of time, Leah was bored with the little 350 and wanted/needed more. After school one day,her older brother wasn't home, the key was in the ignition of his Honda Hawk..you can guess what happens next. Twice as much power, better handling and way more cool looking. The hook was set. Fortunately, her brother was a good brother and gave her permission to ride the bike whenever he wasn't. Lucky her. But...remember, this my daughter...my only daughter..and she was riding pretty fast..really good and smooth but fast...scared the bejeebers out of me. One day I even got in front of her to set a good pace, but a pace I felt comfortable with her going..Ok, I was just being a dad..anyway, when we stopped she was all over me about going slow!!?? Oops.

Through the 90's I was roadracing out at Willow Springs on a Honda Ascot, WSMC and AHRMA, Leah would come out occasionally and be the pit crew along with my dad. There were a couple of women racing at that time, I would ask Leah if she wanted to try, the answer was always no...but she was a really good rider and I thought she had great potential, there I go being the proud papa again.

It's been quite a while since Leah has been on a motorcycle, college and career seem to have gotten in the way. I always hope that one day she'll show up and say "Hey Dad, lets go for a ride"..This time I'll ride the mighty 350.

Happy Birthday Leah, it's been the best 28 years of my life.

MotoJournalists? Oh yeah...

Here we are, camera and voice recorder in hand and just stoked as can be to be at the race. I have been going to big motorcycle races for a long time and you know what..it never gets unexciting. In the stands, in the pits it doesn't matter..the sights, the sounds, the smells (well,since the end of the 2 strokes the smells aren't quite as wonderful..we don't get the 125's and 250's here in the US..., the tension, it's all great. I love motorcycles and motorcycle racing!

We wandered the pits, the garages all around the track, getting the lay of the land. Miller Motorsports Park is a really great facility. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Our first day was great but not too productive...hey, where are all the racers??? They get off the bike, talk to the technicians and disappear. They come out of the back of the garage, get on the bike and off they go..the cycle repeats itself all day. How do we get to these guys???

Saturday, a new day,back to the media center... more updates, press clippings, schedule changes..this is really work!!?? Down to the track, check out whats going on, over to the Pirelli press conference regarding how to run a 'Spec Tyre' program and learn as much as we can. Back to the media center for more updates and schedule changes and a couple of quick press conferences after qualifying. It's time to figure out how the pro's do it....ask the pro's..duh. After getting some great advice off we go. Well, lets watch a race first.

Next thing you know, we have scheduled interviews with Matt Mladin, Ben Spies, Miguel DuHamel and Neil Hodgson. Cool. Back to the media center to do some research and get ready for interviews. Like I said, this is a job!


Photogs come in between races, upload and download photo's like crazy. Stock up on water and back to the track. Magazine and internet journalists are watching the TV feed and typing away. Posts are sent, notes compared with other writers and catching up with friends. Back to the pit's to get some photo's and see if we can snag an interview or two. Lucky me..After the second WSBK practice session and a bit before Superpole, I got a couple of minutes with Troy Bayliss. A very cool guy...didn't have a great race weekend though. The rest of the afternoon was watching WSBK Superpole and the first of the AMA Superbike race. And..more research. A great day.


Sunday... more press conferences, a lot of racing. In between the races, do the interviews. Three out of four were great and one was good. You can listen to them on our podcast and you choose which one was just OK. The Honda guys were very nice and fun, Matt Mladin took time in between pictures and autographs with everybody and Ben Spies and I hung out at the Suzuki rest area.
Back to the media center...get more updates, watch a bit of the races, catch up with an old racing friend of mine, Evans Brasfield..writer and photog for numerous magazines..and a darn fine WSMC Lightweight Twins racer..I have a great story to tell about racing with Evan at the 2000 WERA 24 hour event at Willow Springs..but that will have to wait for another time...

Well, There you have it. The life of rookie motojournalists. A lot of work..and it's great work. Listen to the podcasts, send me your thoughts paul@themotoworld.com

Now, lets go for a ride...see you on the road

Paul
www.themotoworld.com

The World Comes to Utah

Well,well...what a weekend!! It's been four years since the World SuperBike circus has come to the states and I could hardly wait to see it again. The last time we all saw WSBK was at Laguna Seca and it was great so I've been missing it. In my opinion it is currently the best of the two wheeled racing series. In the AMA it's generally the Ben and Matt Show and everybody else racing for third (this last weekend was a bit different with Jamie Hacking getting his Kawasaki in there for second..well Matt crashed on Saturday and just didn't have the setup going into Sunday...but Hackers Kawa was really fast!!) MotoGP is good this year with Rossi seeming to come grips (no pun intended) with his new 'Stones and the Yamaha developing some more speed and the bloom seems to be coming off Stoner's rose. The racing is good but it can't come up to the surprises WSBK can..like Carlos Checa doing the double this last weekend. And check this out..these were his first wins in ten years!!! It was great to see.

Anyway, this was a very spectacular weekend in all ways. Because of the growing sucess of the Motoworld podcast www.themotoworld.com we decided to apply for media credntials and with the help of John Gardner of Miller Motorsports Park www.millermotorsportspark.com we got them. Thank you John.


Load up the truck with camping gear and all our audio equipment..(uh, a little digital voice recorder, a mic and some headphones...whew, lugging around all that gear can wear a guy out...) and Heather and I are off to Salt Lake City and The World Superbike and AMA Superbike races. We're on way as professionals now..real motojournalists! The drive was easy enough, long but easy. we arrived at the track around midnight only to find the gate to the campground closed..so, camping in the back of the truck it is. A little of Kentucky's finest to ward off the chill and we get a few hours sleep.

Friday morning dawns bright and clear and pretty chilly. Looking like we had slept in the back of a pickup, we pick up our credentials and the weekend begins. After a bit of clean up we make our way to the media center. We are greeted at the door by a very nice young lady who provides us with all sorts media material and told to go ahead a find a space. The Media Center is alive! One hundred people, six languages, 99 laptop computers (we only had our little recorder)and about a million dollars worth of camera gear!!
Needless to say, we were a bit overwhelmed. So after finding a space to call 'The MotoWorld' we scoured the volumes of info and then headed out to the track. What an amazing facility. Lets go find some one to interview for the podcast. Results of our search...check back in tomorrow.
Oh, and listen to the podcast..www.themotoworld.com

See you on the road,
Paul