Start 'em young, or...

...the family that rides together...uh, rides together.

I think I was fourteen years old, my dad had just returned from a tour of duty in the Vietnam War. He was only going to be home for six months before heading back. He had a Honda 160 tucked away in the garage. After he settled in, he took the sheet off, put in a new battery and went riding.

A couple of weeks later, dad was washing the bike and asked if I would like to learn how to ride. I couldn't say yes fast enough. After the basic.."here's the clutch...here's the brake...down for first...etc" I was ready???? Ok, I'm guessing that you are already getting a picture in your mind of what happens next...

Actually I did pretty good. Until...the clutch lever doesn't work the front brake! Here's the 'Homer Moment'...DOH! right into the back bumper of my dad's car. More damage to ego than motorcycle or car. I have been on two wheels ever since.

Fast forward a few years... I have been racing bikes out in the desert and lots of trail riding. My son Kelly was about 2 years old when I first put him on a motorcycle, he rode with me all around Kennedy Meadows, to the Speedway races in Costa Mesa and all around parts of New Mexico. But he never got the bug like I did. Sigh.

After Kelly graduated from High School I sent him off to Europe for a few months. He came back with great stories of course, but he also came back with a desire to ride motorcycles? Here's how the story goes...On the Greek island of Corfu, he rented a scooter and rode everywhere for a few days. When he got home he told me that he never understood my love of motorcycles until then..now he wants to ride. Christmas day, while the turkey was cooking, we took out 'The Mighty 350' and rode all around our town. Kelly went on to roadracing, commuting and traveling around the country(9000 miles in 3 weeks) on two wheels. The seed was planted early on, it just took a really long time to sprout.

My good friend Erik is a hard core rider..roadracer, rally rider, traveler and commuter. He also has two little kids, Emma and Ethan. For Emma's eighth birthday, Erik bought her a little Honda XR50. They live close to an off-road vehicle park so going riding is easy fun.
Here's the catch though...she has to share the XR50 with her little brother once in a while. Anyway...Little Emma is totally hooked...the stories I hear from Erik are just great. She likes to brag that she's 'racing' with the big kids!!??
Every time I talk to Erik, the conversation heads to how much fun he is having riding with his kids. I know the feeling, I'm sure a lot of us do. Emma is going to be the next 'Star' on The Motoworld Podcast"


I was still racing into my early fifties with my son, and my dad was still the 'Crew Chief' at the races. Dad and I traveled all over the Western U.S and Canada together. Lot's of great memories, pictures and stories.

So, go riding with your kids and have two wheeled fun for years to come. Like I said,"the family that rides together has more fun than others...for a long time.."

Ride fast, ride safe and ride with your kids..
See you on the road,
Paul

From Houston to the World

The sun is just starting to come up here in Southern California and I just got off the phone doing an interview for our podcast. I spent the past thirty minutes with a racer that I have admired for years. Not only for his racing, but his overall involvement in motorcycling and with motorcyclists. Kevin Schwantz. 500cc World Roadracing Champion in 1993, founder of the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki Riding School www.schwantzschool.com and coach for the Red Bull Rookies Cup team.

Kevin had just wrapped up a two day school at Road Atlanta and was heading off to the airport for a motorcycle show in Paris and then down to Valencia Spain to coach the American Red Bull Rookies for a race against the European Red Bull Rookies. In our chat together you could hear the enthusiasm and pride he has for these young kids. When Heather and I were at the AMA Superbike Finale last month at Laguna Seca, Kevin was there coaching the kids all through the weekend. As we would walk around the paddock, we would see Kevin with his riders and they were all having a great time...hey, who wouldn't? A couple of times we went looking for Kevin to talk with him for the podcast and we found him in the KTM Red Bull pits giving a pep talk to the kids. You should have seen these kids, their eyes and attention completely focused on what Kevin was saying.

Kevin came into this teaching and coaching position through a side door, you have to listen to the podcast www.themotoworld.com to hear about that side door, you can hear how much he has come to love it. I have a good friend who has attended his school twice, once as a journalist and once on her own. Angie credits Kevin with her success in roadracing. She was always fast, but Kevin helped her become smooth and fast.

Kevin Schwantz is an interesting man. Starting off trials riding in a ditch outside his family's motorcycle shop in Houston Texas to World Roadracing Champion to Stock Car racer to owner of a Stock Car team to teacher and coach in motorcycling again.

It was a great thirty minutes with Kevin, well worth getting up before dawn to have a visit. Listen to the podcast and get to know Kevin a bit better, you'll like it. I did

Another day in Paradise??

Fire Season in Southern California...ranks right up there with Hurricane Season on the East and Gulf Coasts. It really plays havoc with your life. I really feel bad for the people that are directly affected by these catastrophes. We here at The Motoworld live in area prone to fire danger, as a matter of fact we were watching fire come over the hill towards where we live a year ago, fortunately the wind shifted and our little town was spared.

Today, I'm watching the news about fires that are happening right now in areas that I have ridden motorcycles in since I was a teenager. The mountain areas north of Los Angeles offer some of the greatest riding you could find anywhere. Roads like Angeles Crest Hiway, Sierra Hiway, Lake Hughes Road, Angeles Forrest Hiway, Upper Big Tujunga, Bouquet Cyn....the list goes on. Off-road areas like Texas Canyon, San Fancisquito Canyon, Green Valley, Leona Valley and more.

I have reminisced about riding areas that have disappeared due to development or environmentalist concerns(?) but when whole areas burn, there is nothing to do but watch and pray for those in the way of the fire.

So, I'm writing this today because I'm watching the fire spread and I'm thinking back on the days that I rode my Bultaco Matador or my Honda Sl350 in those hills that are now burning. It was great riding back then and if it wasn't all closed up now, it would still be great riding. It's just sad to see it burning.

where are they all going?

With the uncertainty of the status of motorcycle roadracing here in the U.S for next season, what are racers going to do? Where are they going to be racing? It seems like no one knows. As we were preparing to go to Laquna Seca for AMA Superbike Finale a couple of weeks ago, we contacted the PR people for the Big4 to line up interview time and as I mentioned before three said interviews are fine but don't bring up politics and one, Suzuki, said no interviews at all. As a matter of fact the PR gal completely ignored us at the track. Oh well.

Yamaha, Kawasaki and Honda have always been helpful and fun to deal with and the PR people and riders have become good friends. When the subject of the current situation of roadracing came up, we were told that the guys are just tired of hearing about it and the truth is no one knows whats going on. In our interview with Honda's Neil Hodgson, we were talking about the off-season, he brought up next year and his quote " God only knows what is going to happen" my response was "and he's not telling"..we both got a chuckle out of that.
So he
re are a couple of things we do know and a couple of rumors and speculations. We do know that Ben Spies is going to World Superbike. He wanted MotoGP but maybe in reality, WSBK is a perfect stepping stone for him. He has a good deal with Yamaha and Valentino's contract runs out in a couple of years, who knows what Ben's next step could be, but I think Ben will be a major force in World Superbike. We do know that Troy Corser is going to BMW and Max Biaggi is going back to Aprilia. We know that Ben Spies is taking Troys seat at Yamaha, but who is taking Max's seat at Sterilgarda Ducati. AND...who is taking Troy Bayliss's ride at Xerox Ducati???

Now, onto rumors and speculations...back in July, we here at The MotoWorld www.themotoworld.com interviewed Erion Honda's Jake Zemke and he came right out and said that he is looking to Europe for a ride next year, and besides that, his wife loves Italy. Josh Hayes has a ride for the end of this year in World SuperSport and finished ninth this past weekend..good for you Josh. That is both Erion Honda riders looking eastward. What is Kevin Erion doing for next year?

Did you watch this last weekend's World Superbike race from Magny Cours, France? More importantly, did you listen? During the broadcast, one of the announcers made a couple of cryptic comments. First was a hint that Noriyuki Haga may be leaving Yamaha to Ducati, could be a good match, could be the one that finally gets the 'perenial bridesmaid' a World Championship that he so richly deserves. That would fill Troy Bayliss's seat, and, I think 'Nitro Nori' is probably only one of a couple that could fill Troy's seat. So, who steps in to fill Hagasan's ride? Well, another comment was made by the Speed TV commentator that there was a possibility that Ben Bostrom may be heading back to the continent. Let's see, he has had a good bit of success in World Superbike, and he is the AMA SuperSport Champion on a Yamaha..a very good fit in my view. But..and this is a very BIG but..Ben Bostrom and Ben Spies as teammates?? Uh...BBoz could be a good teacher helping BSpies get used to the World Tracks, but would he want to? BBoz is highly energized and back in a big way in his racing. He likes winning. Helping out someone else...not so much.

And then there is Jake Zemke. AMA Formula Extreme Champion. He wants to go back to Europe. Jake would be a perfect fit on just about any team. There may be a couple GP teams??? John Hopkins at Kawasaki might be needing a new teammate


The top racers here are still wondering where they are going to race this next season. A few have a pretty good future overseas but at the same time, the World Teams are on a budget like everyone else. You simply can't bring every AMA ex-patriot to Europe.

An interesting time in roadracing here in America. I feel it's almost like a game of chicken

Actors or racers?

Last weekend while at The AMA Superbike Finale, word came that Paul Newman had passed away. A sad day indeed. A moment of silence was observed and it got me to thinking of another great racer actor, Steve McQueen.

As far as I know, Paul Newman was never a motorcyclist, just into sports car racing. At age 78 he was racing his Corvette in the Trans Am series..and check this out, at 78 years old he finished 5th in a field of 17!!! Back in the 70's he did a car racing movie 'Winning' that was just so-so, but it was what he loved. There are lot's of wonderful things to say about Paul Newman in all the fields he was involved in... acting, philanthropy and racing. Newman Racing has been supporting racers for many years. Paul Newman was a very classy guy. He will be missed by the racing world for years to come.


Back to Steve McQueen, another great actor racer. I was lucky enough to race in the Elsinore Grand Prix with Steve, I got to talk with him for a minute or two and he was a really nice man. I almost wanted to say a 'cool guy' but that is a way overused term in his case. True, but over used. Everybody has seen Steve in the greatest motorcycle movie of all time, 'On Any Sunday'
But to see and ride with him..actually he was quite a bit faster than me so I can't really say I rode with him...just on the same track and out in the desert once or twice.

Later in years, Steve was living not too far from I do now. He was spending a lot of time out at The Santa Paula airport, hanging with Von Dutch and some other unique characters. I still have a gas tank from my 1967 Triumph Bonneville pinstriped by Von Dutch.
As Steve's cancer progressed, he went to Mexico for some experimental treatments and eventually came back to Santa Paula.

Sadly, both Steve McQueen and Paul Newman passed away due to cancer. Both really classy men in all ways. So, did we lose two great racers that acted or two great actors that raced? Either way you look at it they are both missed.

play it safe or...?

It’s 9:30 Sunday morning here in the media center at Laguna Seca all the photographers are gone, out on the track, the journalists are typing away and we already have two interviews done. Jim Allen of Dunlop Tires,
and
the Chief Technical Inspector for the AMA, my friend Jim Rashon. Two more this morning, Ducati’s Larry Pegram and Kawasaki’s Jordan Szoke. Hopefully we’ll pick up a couple more this afternoon. This is going to be good day. Hectic, but good.

The championship of two races being run today have already been decided, one is just about a done deal and one is still up in the air. While talking with my friend Jim Rashon of the AMA (we had a really great interview) he brought up an interesting question, Ben Spies, Superbike Champion, will he just cruise along and play it safe or will come out and prove why he’s the three time Champion? Same question goes for Aaron Yates, Superstock Champion. My thought, they are both going out with guns ablazing. There is a third rider that question can apply to and he is not the declared champ, yet, that’s Ben Bostrom in Supersport. He has a pretty strong points lead and all he has to do is finish better than seventeenth.


In our interview with Ben he posed that question to himself “do I cruise along and finish tenth or do I go out and win it? I know we can win it”. Well, Ben is on the pole, so much for cruising, and like he said in our interview “ I love roadracing”. My money says he goes out for the win.

Times a wasting, back to the pits and look for Kevin Schwantz.

Racing families

As this little podcast continues to grow, we work at more races, meet more people and get taken more seriously. As we interview more racers we have a found a couple of very cool families. Honda and Yamaha, and within Yamaha, the Bostrom brothers.


We just got out of our interview with Ben Bostrom. He was still in his leathers having just come from qualifying for the Supersport race. He was hardly sweating!! Anyway, we had a really fun interview. Ben was enthusiastic, laughing and as he put it “in love with roadracing again” Make sure you listen to it at www.themotoworld.com. Also a while back, we had a great chat with his little brother Eric, also on the factory Yamaha team. They both are really stoked to be on the same team .

When I said we have met two great families, I was referring to Honda and Yamaha. We start with PR people, who then get us to the riders and we get a great interview. We watch the mechanics and other team personnel and they are all happy as can be. The riders have all told us that being on those teams feel like family and you know what, it shows. Heather and I always have fun when we get together with either of these teams. We are really looking forward to next season. Daytona here we come

Meet the Prez

I have written and podcasted many times about what is going on with AMA Pro Racing having been bought out by The Daytona Motorsorts Group..the owners of Nascar and other racing organizations throught the country. The riders started off rather nervous that their sport was going to start looking like Nascar, the last thing any self respecting roadracer would want. Then the projected rules and class structure were proposed and everyone was up in arms, teams threatening to back out, tracks saying “no teams, no race”. Since that time things seem to be getting worked out instead of worked up.


Today, Roger Edmondson, CEO of AMA Pro Racing, held a press conference here at Laguna Seca to bring eveyone up to speed on progress being made for the 2009 racing season. The basics of what he said today are that all the current tracks and two new ones are all commited AMA Pro Racing for next season. He declined to talk about rule changes and class structures saying that it was still a very delicate subject . However, Mr. Edmondson did alude to a new class being set up. Called the Sportbike class, it is designed to bring younger riders in the sport on motorcycles with very limited modifications. And lastly, the subject of a control or spec tire is in the works as he said that three manufacturers all sent in proposals. All in all it was an OK event, The Moto media was expecting a lot more. This thing is really dragging out.

And a little race up date, Formula Extreme pole sitter is Josh Hayes with his teammate Jake Zemke next to him. Here’s a neat little tid bit, this season Josh has been wearing the number one plate and Jake was #2, next season it’s the other way around, if they are both still here. Josh has gotten a ride for the last three races in World Supersport and Jake has his feelers out for Euro ride as well.

A need for more fans..but how?

Good afternoon all,

We got home last night from an interesting weekend at Laguna Seca for the AMA Superbike Championship Finale. Even though some championships were already decided there was still some incredibly exciting racing.

But, there really weren't that many spectators. It's a great venue, there was great racing and really...this is one of the premier roadracing series in the world. So here is the question... how does the promoter, in this case Corona beer, get more fanny's in the seats? When Heather and I picked up our credentials the gentleman there told us that we didn't need a parking pass because this was small event and it wouldn't be a problem. Well, he was right. So, the question still stands..how do you get more spectators?

The DMG, Daytona Motorsports Group, thinks they have the way. Change the class structure, make it look more like NASCAR(?), give the riders nicknames, etc, etc...but my thought goes a lot further than that.

If more Americans rode on two wheels, whether it's a scooter, sportbike, cruiser...the interest in all things two wheels becomes more interesting. I mean, hey, there are scooters that have paint jobs that look like MotoGP bikes! If local and state governments would work to make cities more two wheel friendly, more people would ride motorbikes. That in itself would do so much for traffic issues, parking issues, the environment and save you and I a lot of money at the gas pump. Just look at Europe. When we were in Italy last year and Mexico the year before that, scooters and small displacement motorcycles were everywhere. In Mexico, the police ride 250's and your pizza is delivered on a Honda 125.

Motorcycle manufacturers need to work harder at pushing the government to make riding a scooter or motorcycle more friendly, and safe. What I mean by friendly is make lanes for bikes on major roads and freeways, create parking for bikes that is free, give tax breaks for going on two wheels. You can put four motorcycles in the space of one SUV.

Because much of Europe is on two wheels, they relate to two wheel sport. Would it work here? Only if the governments and manufacturers work on it. It is a project well worth working on for so many reasons.

Just a thought.

The politics of racing

We live in strange times right now, from the government wanting to give away your tax dollars, to seeing Nicky Hayden leave Honda. I don't blame him at all. He came to MotoGP as Valentino's teammate, a hard spot to be in..all the good stuff would go to Valentino. But, Nicky did win the championship. Then comes Dani Pedrosa, Nicky is again relegated to second banana. I have had a couple of good talks with Earl Hayden regarding Nicky's unhappiness at Honda especially in light of being a World Champion. I wish Nicky the best of luck at Ducati because he certainly deserves it. And, being a Ducati rider...I'm happy to see young Mr. Hayden on a red sled

Now, on to what I really wanted to write about today. The politics of roadracing. I, and many others have written and podcasted( www.themotoworld.com )about the struggles of the DMG/AMA Pro Racing and the riders and manufacturers. As I have been getting ready to head up to Laguna Seca for this weekends AMA season finale, I'm also working with the teams PR people to line up interview time for our podcast, www.themotoworld.com . Here's where the politics come in. We have been told by three out of the four manufacturers that we can do interviews, but we can't talk about whats going on in racing, where are they, the company and the riders are going be next year. With the DMG who has said that they have lined up all the promoters and tracks, or the speculative MIC series also known as the SBBC series, that really don't have much set in stone as yet. The fourth manufacturer said no interviews at all.

So, it looks like interviews this weekend will be limited to "what did you have for breakfast?" OK, it's not quite that grim..I get to talk to Jake Zemke again to see where he is headed for next year, his wife likes Italy..Ben Spies about his plans, does his mom like Europe? And, I think we'll have a lot of fun with Roger Lee Hayden.

It's going to be a very interesting off season don't you think?

Ride safe, ride fast
Paul

The best laid plans, or...

...the irony of it all.

The MotoWorld resides in a rural area about 50 miles north of Los Angeles. Orange and avacado groves, the California Condor Preserve and some beautiful riding areas. We also have a BIG back yard, about an acre or so. Some trees, shub's, gardens...but mostly weeds. However, ya gotta mow down the weeds too. We have a twenty plus year old yard tractor to handle most of that chore. We also have a bunch of motorcycles. Our barn became very crowded.

A lot of you can relate to this, in order to get to one motorcycle, the one you want to ride that day, you have to move three others. In my case it also included a tractor.

My wife Heather decided we needed a shed out back to hold motorcycles. Fine with me. After a bit of thought we decided that we would move the yard equipment into the new shed and keep the motorcycles in the barn. A much better idea in my mind. The plan worked out great. Her tractor fit in the shed perfectly along with everything else and the motorcycle collection resides happily in the big barn.

Fast forward to a couple of days ago. We bought a new tractor. Newer, bigger, better...perfect. And a new bigger, better trailer too!

The irony factor. The new tractor is 52" wide...the door to the yard shed is 46"

So....yard equipment back in the barn, motorcycles relegated to the shed. Well, the bikes and I can listen to NPR and ride around the back yard, we just don't have that pot belly stove we used to have while doing oil changes in the winter.

Ride safe, ride fast and I guess, ride in your back yard?

Paul

So there I was...

...minding my own business, cruising down the road on 'The Mighty 350' when all of a sudden it hit me, yeah, a bug the size of a U-Haul truck!!! Darn near knocked me off that little bike. I hate when that happens.

So, here's my question...why is it that great big 'ol bugs, you know the ones that splatter really big, always hit you in the face shield? Not on your jacket, not on your pant leg, but right in the middle of your face shield??!! Then,if you try to wipe it off, it just smears all over the place and makes everything worse. Sheesh.

Do great big Kamakazi bugs have something against motorcycle riders? A philosophical question for the ages.

Thats all I could think of to write today. So I guess I'll go out for a ride and see if I can rid the world of a few more U-Haul sized bugs.

Ride safe, ride fast and kill some bugs.

Paul

Oh wait, there's one more thing, an old saying...You how you can spot a happy motorcycle rider?? The bugs in his teeth...

once a gearhead...

...always a gearhead

A few years back, a young friend of mine, actually a friend of my son's, came into my surf shop with an idea of having a car and motorcycle show at the local fairgrounds. Not chrome, paint, hydraulics and bling...Primer. Rat cars, rat bikes and tattoo's. The real deal. You had to drive the car in, ride the bike in...no 'trailer queens' allowed.
"The Primer Nationals" was born.

Tory DuVarney, Dave and the guys at 'The Shop' in Ventura, California pulled together one of the coolest, and this is truly a great use of the word 'Cool', shows you can ever go to. This weekend was the annual 'Primer Nationals'.


Chopped and channeled, slammed, frenched, shortened, stretched, fender skirts, continental kits, it's all there. Mercury, Buick, Ford, Cadillac and Chevy. Trucks, coupes, sedans, wagons, buckets and convertibles. Flatheads to SOHC Ford's. Open headers with cutout's to 'twice pipes'. An amazing show. Every sight, sound and smell (some hot rodders need to take a shower...ever seen the 'Rat Fink character?) was there.

Why a post about a car show? Well, besides a fleet of motorcycles I also have a '63 Ford Fairlane with a built Boss 302 motor. And, it has a lot of primer on it...

It is a good destination for a Sunday ride. See you there next year.

Ok, there were a few cool choppers and bobbers there too...

Drive safe, drive fast..most importantly, drive cool

Interesting way to go

A couple of years ago I ran into a friend on the way home from a weekend ride. Heading home, Heather and I opted for the San Marcos Pass route versus the coast.

A stop at the Cold Springs Tavern is mandatory. Lot's of motorcycles...mostly the Harley crowd, but a few sportbikes thrown in for flavor. My old friend Matt is the bartender and it's always good to see him...and by the way...he limits me to ONE 'light' beer. If you're lucky, you'll get to listen to Tom Ball and Kenny Sultan...two of the most talented and entertaining musicians you'll ever hear. It's a great Sunday ride destination. This day turned out a little different.

While enjoying my 'one' light beer, checking out motorcycles and enjoying an afternoon in the mountains, the master of high performance exhaust systems for cars, my friend John Wayne taps me on the shoulder. John is a great man. Hot Rodder, biker, terrific dad and friend.

As we were talking about his new bike, a Road King, a group gathered around a bike in the middle of the road. Whats the crowd about? John explained to me what was going on. A riding friend of theirs had passed away recently from cancer. His family had him cremated as per his wishes.Some people put a fancy urn on the mantle, some spread the ashes on the ocean or out in the garden. But what to do with this mans ashes?

This group of riding friends figured it out. Spread his ashes at the places he liked to ride to. They spent the day riding to their compatriot's favorite destinations to spread his ashes and spirit.

Now...here is the interesting part. At each stop a friend would take a handful of ashes, stand behind another friend on his motorcycle..the rider would rev the engine and spread the ashes with the exhaust blast. All there would cheer, celebrate his life and then ride to the next 'resting place'.

The most interesting funeral, or in this case, celebration of someones life I have ever been to. I don't know the man, I don't even know his name, but I know he was loved by many. We should all be so lucky.

Ride safe, ride fast, ride far and have good friends.
I'll see you on the road,

Paul

What a long strange trip it's been...

Thank you Jerry Garcia...

No, I'm not a 'deadhead' but as I have mentioned before I have put a lot of miles on a motorcycle. From an old BSA to my little Honda 350, to a Kawasaki H2 750 (evil bike that she was..I still love that motorcycle) to a more civil Honda CB750F, back to a Triumph 500 and the list goes on.

Most trips of late have been on a Yamaha TDM850. An Albatross on two wheels. General traveling, motocamping, semi-offroading..it did it all. And..a lot of it with the beautiful Heather on board and a load of camping gear. Yamaha brought the bike into the U.S for only two years 92/93. It is still available in Europe, even though it's not quite the 'Adventure Tourer' it was back then.

A while back, while cruising the net, I found a really neat site that lets you plot out all the places you have been. www.epgsoft.com Not in great detail but state by state and in Canada.
So, here is where I have been...for the most part....

Ride safe, ride fast and ride far. See you on the road.

Paul

when you love going fast

When you love going fast, you will always love going fast. Sammy Haggar put it perfectly..."I can't drive 55". I met Sammy Haggar when I was working for a radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a very cool guy.

Another guy I consider a good friend can't drive 55 either. Meet my friend Kevin Johnson. Willow Springs roadracer extraordinaire, great mechanic and connoisseur of fine Kentucky bourbon. Kevin loves going fast and he loves being with people that feel the same way.

Two years ago Kevin and I helped propel a friend to a Land Speed Record at the Bonneville Salt Flats... get this...on a 1959 Norton.

So what is Kevin doing nowadays?? Building vehicles that go really, really fast. Look at these pictures. When Kevin sent these to me they were titled "what I did on my summer vacation"

A couple of weeks from now are the 'Bub Motorcycle Speed Trials' at Bonneville, Utah. Kevin and I planned on being there with our friend Ken Canaga of Left Coast Racing working on a Norton Streamliner to go over 200MPH. A couple of things came up and plans changed. Kevin is going to be racing a Gilera 500CC single at Miller Motorsports Park instead. I envy him.

Like I said, when you love going fast, you love going fast on anything.

Ride safe, ride fast and Kevin...don't go 55..

Paul

The Sunday Ride

Thirty plus years ago was one of the best evenings of my motorcycling life. I was going to UCLA and down the street the local movie theater was playing Bruce Browns 'On Any Sunday'. I sat there in the theater and watched the movie twice. At around midnight when I was told to leave, they wouldn't play the movie again for me...not customer service oriented I guess, I walked out into a drizzly night just wanting to ride my motorcycle. Lucky for me, my 1969 Triumph T100R (Daytona 500) was sitting right there.

I rode all night into Sunday morning. Mulholland Drive to Hollywood, Sunset Boulevard to Pacific Coast Hiway, Tuna Canyon to Stunt Road to Mulholland Hiway and back to the coast. It was a great night. Visions of Steve McQueen, Mert Lawill and Malcolm Smith stuck in my mind. My little Daytona never faltered (remember, it had Lucas electrics??!!) and we had a great time.

After arriving home in time to have a cup of tea with my grandmother, a short nap and a couple of phone calls to riding friends..it was the best of Sunday rides..up Angeles Crest Hiway. Perfect weather, no traffic, no CHP...nothing but a high giggle factor day.

Riding all night into Sunday doesn't happen so much any longer, but I still ride a Triumph Daytona. The Sunday ride is still the best part of any week.

This one is different

Good Sunday to you all,

I lost another friend yesterday. This one didn't have two wheels, he had two legs and two hands. Two very talented hands. Most importantly, a BIG, BIG heart.

I have been riding motorcycles since I was fourteen, but I have been surfing since I was ten. My friend Dave had bought a $10 homemade surfboard and we went to Santa Monica and learned to surf. Later down the road, I bought a P.O.S surfboard and continued surfing. Back then I could go from my house to Malibu on a dollars worth of gas...gas was 25 cents a gallon at most!! We even rode the bus to go surfing.

I started in the surf business doing ding repair for a local surf shop in 1968, I ended up working for them for a lot of years until I started my own surf shop in Ventura in 1990. My son and I opened up a second shop a few years later. During that time we competed around the world..well, not we..he. We made a lot of good friends.

Yesterday, one of those good friends passed away of cancer. Midget Smith. Surfboard builder, contest organizer, professional surfing judge, great coach and terrific father. Midget did more for more kids surfing in the San Clemente area than just about anyone. No, he did do more for these kids than anyone. Midget, along with wife Mary Lou, ran the Western Surfing Association, the most competitive series of surfing contests in the country. He taught kids competitiveness, sportsmanship and a few of them the craft of building surfboards. Midget will be missed by a world wide community.

What has this got to with motorcycles, motorcycle racing or motorcycle traveling? Nothing. Nothing at all. Except the things that my friend Midget taught in the surfing world are good in any world. Motorcycle racing too.

Midget is no small man in any way. His influence was and will continue to be HUGE. Good bye my friend...god speed.

Ride safe, ride fast and ride with your heart in the right place

Paul

gettin' weirder all the time

Good morning all,

I am a fan of Suzuki Superbike pilot Matt Mladin. He is highly skilled, intelligent, outspoken when it comes to rider safety and a really nice man when it comes to talking to fans. All in all a good representative of motorcycling and motorcycle racing.

However, he seems to have pissed off the powers that be in AMA Pro Racing (the DMG). As we have all read, Mr. Mladin was disqualified from last weekends Superbike races at VIR for a possibly illegal crankshaft. HMMMMM.

Matt has been very outspoken regarding the upcoming changes in American roadracing next year. More than just outspoken...critical. American Suzuki/Yoshimura have also been, how do I say this...very displeased with the plans. So unhappy that when DMG head honcho Roger Edmonson came to California to talk to 'The Big Four' he made a comment that three out of the four were receptive and one's behaviour (Suzuki) was unacceptable.

In past Motoworld podcasts, I have spoken with Matt about the changes, he has categorically stated he won't race 600's.
So... are we now seeing a 'pissing war' between AMA Pro Racing and Suzuki? More pointedly, between AMA Pro Racing and Matt Mladin?

Think about this, in AMA Superbike rules as they currently stand, modifications are pretty minor...Superstock bikes with even less mods are almost as fast as the Superbikes!!?? Team members are pretty much riding the same motorcycle with suspension changes and EFI mapping changes for personal riding styles. Not much else is different. Why was Matt singled out? Shouldn't AMA Pro Racing have pulled ALL the Yoshimura bikes? They have been more than dominant the past seasons, everyone else racing for maybe third and with Tommy Hayden healthy, probably fourth.

As the old saying goes 'somethings rotten in Denmark' or in this case, Florida

It takes balls

Good afternoon all,

Up until a while back, this time of year I would be preparing for the annual '3 Flags Classic' ride put on by the SCMA. It's a great trip. Somewhere in Mexico to somewhere in Canada in 3 1/2 days on mostly secondary roads. I made new friends, saw new places and got to know myself a bit better. Time inside your helmet does that to one on a long ride.

One particular '3 Flags' ride I came upon this sign. I was laughing so hard I almost rode off the road. Only in the farthest of places in the mountains will this happen. Apparently it's a big event. Too bad it had already happened, it would have been worth the delay to participate.

Maybe the 'Testicle Festival' is a worthy destination for my next big trip? I'll see if I can convince the wife. I can pretend to be surprised on the way to Glacier National Park or to the Beartooth Pass. What do you think the odds are? Slim and none? Me too.

Ride safe, ride fast and ride far

Paul