MAY 2010 [ 1] 2Ride

Harley-Davidson®

Sportster® Forty-

Eight™ motorcycle

Full of Sound and Fury- Honda’s

new “Fury”

chopper

Ducati ExtrordinaireJoe’s collection of

Italian beauties

A thousand reasons to buy this bikeKawasaki Z1000 Vol. 1 No. 1 May 2010

2ride.ca

PM

41

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Dear

Rea

ders

On b

ehal

f of m

ysel

f and

my

Team

of S

kille

d La

dies

and

Gen

tlem

en, W

elco

me!

And

than

k yo

u fo

r bei

ng a

par

t of h

isto

ry in

the m

akin

g as

you

emba

rk o

n 2R

ide’s

firs

t M

agaz

ine

Issu

e to

hit

the

rack

s and

you

r mai

lbox

es.

This

is q

uite

mon

umen

tal a

nd p

erso

nally

rew

ardi

ng to

me a

s thi

s is t

ruly

seei

ng

a dr

eam

bec

ome a

real

ity. A

s a ri

der f

or o

ver 1

5 yea

rs n

ow, I

hav

e exp

erie

nced

and

em

bark

ed o

n a

seri

es o

f adv

entu

res,

dang

ers,

“firs

t’s”,

“sh

ould

n’t h

ave

done

’s”,

“mus

t do

agai

n’s”

etc.

And

thro

ugho

ut a

ll of

thes

e exp

erie

nces

, I u

sed

a nu

mbe

r of

diffe

rent

ave

nues

to h

elp

me

alon

g: H

ow-T

o bo

oks,

Bike

For

ums,

Bike

Mag

azin

es,

Web

site

s, Tr

ack

Days

, Ral

lies/

Mee

ts, y

ou n

ame

it, I’

ve d

one

it. A

nd a

ll of

the

se

help

ed m

e an

d sh

aped

me

into

the

ride

r I a

m to

day.

W

hat

I’ve

alw

ays

thou

ght

abou

t, an

d w

ante

d to

do

how

ever

, was

bri

ng it

all

toge

ther

, and

spec

ifica

lly, m

ake i

t loc

ally

app

ealin

g. I

thou

ght i

t wou

ld b

e gre

at to

ha

ve a

“One

Sto

p Sh

op” e

xper

ienc

e, w

here

a lo

cal r

ider

- of

any

leve

l of e

xper

ienc

e co

uld

lear

n so

met

hing

new

and

of v

alue

- an

d no

t onl

y le

arn,

but

also

shar

e fr

om

thei

r ow

n ex

peri

ence

s! Fr

om th

ese t

houg

hts e

volv

ed 2r

ide.

A M

agaz

ine t

hat s

triv

es

to b

e Lo

cal;

to s

peak

of l

ocal

rev

iew

s, lo

cal r

acin

g, a

nd lo

cal m

eets

, loc

al e

vent

s, lo

cal c

hari

ty ri

des a

nd a

reas

of f

ocus

. I w

ante

d to

not

be

spec

ific t

o on

e ni

che,

but

open

it u

p to

all

enth

usia

sts:

tour

bik

es, s

port

bik

es, d

irt b

ikes

, cru

iser

s, sc

oote

rs,

stre

et b

ikes

, etc

, and

sha

re e

xper

ienc

es, r

evie

ws

and

guid

ance

on

a ga

mbi

t of

di

ffere

nt is

sues

. Fo

r th

ose

that

hav

e al

way

s w

ante

d to

kno

w w

here

the

loca

l mee

ts a

nd t

rack

da

ys w

ere,

this

is w

here

you

’d fi

nd it

; for

thos

e th

at w

ere

thin

king

of p

urch

asin

g a

new

bik

e and

wan

ted

to re

ad re

view

s on

it, h

ere i

s whe

re y

ou’d

go

- not

onl

y th

e sp

ecs,

but l

ocal

ride

rs’ r

evie

ws o

n th

e fee

l and

ride

of t

he b

ike.

For t

hose

that

wer

e lo

okin

g fo

r new

gea

r and

wan

ted

to le

arn

abou

t the

safe

st a

nd m

ost c

ost e

ffect

ive,

here

’s w

here

you

wou

ld le

arn.

For

thos

e th

at w

ante

d to

kno

w o

f Bik

e sh

ops

and

Supp

ly st

ores

in th

eir a

rea,

her

e’s w

here

you

’d fi

nd it

, and

for t

hose

that

wan

ted

to

buy

or se

ll bi

kes o

r par

ts, h

ere’s

an

awes

ome v

ehic

le to

ass

ist y

ou. A

nd th

e lis

t goe

s on

and

on.

But

one

thin

g I w

ante

d to

furt

her

do, w

as b

ring

it to

you

, the

rea

der

free

of c

harg

e.Th

is m

agaz

ine

will

stay

in e

xist

ence

onl

y so

long

as I

can

bri

ng it

to y

ou fr

ee. I

t w

ill st

ay h

ere t

o he

lp a

nd in

form

you

. And

you

r fee

dbac

k is

alw

ays w

elco

med

and

ap

prec

iate

d. If

you

hav

e som

ethi

ng y

ou th

ink

othe

rs ca

n le

arn

from

, the

n yo

u ar

e th

e on

e I w

ant

to s

peak

to

and

wri

te a

n ar

ticle

on.

W

rite

to m

e, co

ntac

t me

via

our w

ebsi

te w

ww

.2Ri

de.

ca a

nd em

ail a

ddre

ss in

fo@

2Rid

e.ca,

and

onc

e aga

in,

than

k yo

u fo

r you

r sup

port

and

enc

oura

gem

ent!

Best

Reg

ards

and

Hap

py R

eadi

ng!

Mar

c Ago

zzin

o2R

ide

Mag

azin

e

Co

nte

nts

Feat

ures 6

Th

e M

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nd

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of S

ound

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av

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on

®Sp

orts

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For

ty-E

ight

™m

otor

cycl

e co

mes

a

long

way

32

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Ge

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Inq

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co

nta

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info

@2

Rid

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Edito

rsA

lex

Co

llin

s

Miz

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Ge

ne

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e

Ke

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bo

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Sh

au

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ag

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Mr

Le

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BY

MR

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PH

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PR

OV

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D B

Y S

UZ

UK

I

A d

iam

on

d in

th

e r

ou

gh

am

on

gs

t S

uz

uk

i’s

GS

X-R

se

rie

s, t

he

Su

zu

ki G

SX

-R 7

50

sit

s n

ice

ly

be

twe

en

th

e 6

00

an

d t

he

10

00

GS

X-R

’s,

ma

kin

g f

or

be

st

of

bo

th w

orl

ds

.

The

GSX

-R 7

50, m

iddl

ewei

ght p

erfe

ctio

n, is

still

on

the

line

up fr

om S

uzuk

i in

2010

. Wit

h a

mild

ly su

cces

sful

pro

duct

ion

sinc

e 19

85, t

he G

SX-R

750

has

alw

ays b

een

one

of a

han

dful

of

mid

dlew

eigh

t mac

hine

s not

oft

en p

rodu

ced

by a

ny

othe

r m

anuf

actu

rer.

Suzu

ki in

kee

ping

wit

h th

eir

raci

ng le

gacy

hav

e cr

eate

d ge

nuin

e su

per

spor

t mot

orcy

cle

that

put

s for

war

d a

mor

e re

laxe

d ri

ding

pos

itio

n w

itho

ut h

avin

g to

forf

eit t

heir

rac

ing

appe

aran

ce. T

he 2

010

Suzu

ki G

SX-R

750

at 1

98 k

g or

437

lbs

(wit

hout

liqu

ids)

is a

com

pact

mot

orcy

cle

who

’s a

ppea

ranc

e pr

esen

t mor

e th

an a

n in

klin

g on

wha

t’s g

oing

on

unde

r

the

fair

ings

.

20

10

“The

mom

ent y

ou o

pen

the

thro

ttle

on a

cor

ner e

xit,

ever

thin

g co

mes

toge

ther

.”(

)

MA

Y 2

01

0

[8

]

2Rid

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20

10

[9]

2

Rid

e

A

diam

ond

in th

e ro

ugh

amon

gst

Suzu

ki’s

GSX

-R s

erie

s, th

e Su

zuki

GS

X-R

750

sit

s ni

cely

bet

wee

n th

e 60

0 an

d th

e 10

00 G

SX-R

’s, m

akin

g fo

r be

st o

f bot

h w

orld

s.

Suzu

ki in

kee

ping

wit

h th

eir

raci

ng le

gacy

hav

e cr

eate

d ge

nuin

e su

per

spor

t mot

orcy

cle

that

put

s fo

rwar

d a

mor

e re

laxe

d ri

ding

po

siti

on w

itho

ut h

avin

g to

forf

eit

thei

r ra

cing

app

eara

nce.

The

201

0 Su

zuki

GSX

-R 7

50 a

t 198

kg

or 4

37

lbs

(wit

hout

liqu

ids)

is a

com

pact

m

otor

cycl

e w

ho’s

app

eara

nce

pres

ent m

ore

than

an

inkl

ing

on

wha

t’s g

oing

on

unde

r th

e fa

irin

gs.

W

ith

the

desi

gn a

nd v

isua

l sty

ling

cues

, the

spa

ciou

s la

yout

of t

he

tank

, fra

me

and

win

dscr

een,

the

GSX

-R a

llow

s th

e ri

der

to g

et in

to

that

rac

e in

spir

ed a

erod

ynam

ic

tuck

we

all l

ove.

All

the

whi

le th

e se

atin

g la

yout

wit

h it

s ne

utra

l po

siti

on s

ets

Suzu

ki’s

GSX

-R r

un

of m

otor

cycl

es a

part

from

the

com

peti

tion

.

The

GSX

-R’s

fuel

inje

cted

750

cc

liqui

d-co

oled

, inl

ine-

four

, DOH

C, 1

6 va

lves

eng

ine

impr

ove

perf

orm

ance

an

d re

liabi

lity

by m

eans

of a

six

-sp

eed

gear

box.

Als

o, ta

ke n

ote

of

the

exce

llent

cha

ssis

, mak

ing

the

GSX

-R a

poi

nt a

nd s

hoot

han

dler

w

hich

insp

ires

con

fiden

ce in

the

ride

r. A

ll in

all

mak

ing

the

GSX

-R

750

the

perf

ect s

tepp

ing

ston

e to

th

e la

rger

GSX

-R 1

000.

W

ith

a ne

w, s

light

ly m

ore

aggr

essi

ve e

xhau

st a

nd s

moo

th

tran

siti

ons

betw

een

plas

tic

and

met

al, t

he 2

010

mod

el is

a g

orge

ous

bike

wit

h ne

w c

olor

sch

emes

in

blu

e/w

hite

and

a n

ew 2

tone

br

own.

How

ever

, gon

e is

the

blac

k/m

atte

them

e w

hich

was

a fa

vori

te

amon

g m

any

GSX

-R e

nthu

sias

ts.

Lis

t o

f F

ea

ture

s:

• Co

mpa

ct 4

-str

oke,

4-c

ylin

der,

liq

uid-

cool

ed e

ngin

e de

sign

ed fo

r op

tim

um c

ombu

stio

n ef

ficie

ncy

and

max

imum

pow

er d

eliv

ery

• In

stru

men

tati

on -

Com

pact

, lig

htw

eigh

t ins

trum

ent c

lust

er

feat

ures

a s

tep

mot

or c

ontr

olle

d an

alog

tach

omet

er, L

CD

spee

dom

eter

, dua

l tri

p m

eter

s,

cloc

k an

d a

conv

enie

nt g

ear

posi

tion

indi

cato

r•

Elec

tron

ic fu

el in

ject

ion

syst

em

feat

ures

Suz

uki D

ual T

hrot

tle

Val

ve (S

DTV

) sys

tem

- w

ith

dual

fu

el in

ject

ors

per

cylin

der

and

new

co

mpa

ct 8

hol

e, fi

ne s

pray

inje

ctor

s fo

r im

prov

ed fu

el a

tom

izat

ion.

• St

eeri

ng D

ampe

r - E

lect

roni

cally

co

ntro

lled

stee

ring

dam

per

uses

a

sole

noid

val

ve to

mov

e a

tape

red

need

le r

educ

ing

or in

crea

sing

oil

flow

to a

djus

t dam

ping

forc

e.•

The

GSX

-R75

0 fe

atur

es a

sha

rp

and

aggr

essi

ve lo

ok u

tiliz

ing

a bo

ld h

eadl

ight

des

ign,

ang

ular

tail

sect

ion

and

com

pact

ove

rall

layo

ut.

• H

igh

volu

me

Suzu

ki A

dvan

ced

Exha

ust S

yste

m (S

AES)

wit

h an

in

nova

tive

und

er e

ngin

e ch

ambe

r le

adin

g to

a la

rge

volu

me

muf

fler

wit

h a

dist

inct

ly s

hape

d tr

iang

ular

si

lenc

er•

Ligh

twei

ght t

itan

ium

val

ves

wit

h

stee

l allo

y sp

ring

s an

d al

umin

um

spri

ng r

etai

ners

ope

rate

d by

thin

-w

all h

ollo

w c

amsh

afts

to r

educ

e w

eigh

t and

iner

tia

• Ra

dial

mou

nted

four

pis

ton

fron

t br

ake

calip

ers

wor

ks w

ith

310m

m

fron

t bra

ke r

otor

s an

d a

radi

al

pum

p fr

ont b

rake

mas

ter

cylin

der

• S-

DMS

engi

ne m

anag

emen

t sy

stem

allo

ws

the

ride

r to

cho

ose

from

thre

e en

gine

set

ting

s to

m

atch

rid

ing

cond

itio

ns w

ith

a ha

ndle

bar

mou

nted

sw

itch

• Th

ree

way

adj

usta

ble

foot

peg

s no

w fe

atur

e di

e-ca

st c

onst

ruct

ion

and

can

be m

oved

into

thre

e di

ffer

ent p

osit

ions

wit

hin

a 14

mm

ho

rizo

ntal

and

ver

tica

l ran

ge•

The

LED

com

bina

tion

taill

ight

an

d br

ake

light

is b

uilt

into

the

rear

of

the

tail

sect

ion,

feat

urin

g a

red,

m

irro

r le

ns, c

over

ing

LED’

s.•

32 b

it E

CM fe

atur

es 1

024

kilo

byte

s of

ROM

for

max

imum

en

gine

per

form

ance

wor

king

in

conj

unct

ion

wit

h th

e ne

w S

-DM

S en

gine

man

agem

ent s

yste

m

• Al

umin

um c

lutc

h co

ver

and

oil p

an fe

atur

e in

tern

al r

ibs

for

incr

ease

d ri

gidi

ty a

nd r

educ

ed

engi

ne n

oise

• Co

mpa

ct 4

-str

oke,

4-c

ylin

der,

liq

uid-

cool

ed e

ngin

e de

sign

ed fo

r op

tim

um c

ombu

stio

n ef

ficie

ncy

and

max

imum

pow

er d

eliv

ery

• Cr

anks

haft

and

tran

smis

sion

sh

afts

are

pos

itio

ned

to c

reat

e a

com

pact

eng

ine

desi

gn a

nd th

e en

gine

itse

lf is

rot

ated

slig

htly

fo

rwar

d in

the

chas

sis

allo

win

g fo

r st

raig

hter

and

sho

rter

inta

ke a

nd

exha

ust p

orts

• Cr

anks

haft

feat

ures

forg

ed s

teel

co

nstr

ucti

on a

nd a

sec

onda

ry

bala

ncer

sha

ft fo

r re

duce

d vi

brat

ion

at h

igh

rpm

.•

Cylin

der

head

wit

h na

rrow

valv

e an

gles

cre

atin

g a

com

pact

co

mbu

stio

n ch

ambe

r de

sign

, 12.

5:1

com

pres

sion

rat

io, l

arge

inta

ke a

nd

exha

ust p

orts

for

opti

mum

inta

ke

and

exha

ust e

ffici

ency

and

new

Ir

idiu

m s

park

plu

gs•

Elec

tron

ic fu

el in

ject

ion

syst

em

feat

ures

Suz

uki D

ual T

hrot

tle

Val

ve (S

DTV

) sys

tem

- w

ith

dual

fu

el in

ject

ors

per

cylin

der

and

new

com

pact

8 h

ole,

fine

spr

ay in

ject

ors

for

impr

oved

fuel

ato

miz

atio

n.•

Hig

h ca

paci

ty la

rge

trap

ezoi

dal-

shap

ed r

adia

tor

prov

ide

effic

ient

en

gine

coo

ling

- inc

lude

s co

mpa

ct

cool

ing

fan

asse

mbl

y de

sign

ed fo

r im

prov

ed a

ir fl

ow•

Hig

h vo

lum

e Su

zuki

Adv

ance

d Ex

haus

t Sys

tem

(SAE

S) w

ith

an

inno

vati

ve u

nder

eng

ine

cham

ber

Su

zu

ki

in k

ee

pin

g w

ith

th

eir

ra

cin

g l

eg

acy

ha

ve

cre

ate

d a

ge

nu

ine

su

pe

r s

po

rt m

oto

rcy

cle

th

at

pu

ts f

orw

ard

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ore

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laxe

d r

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Y 2

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Ch

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ime

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s

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ing

to a

larg

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lum

e m

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r w

ith

a di

stin

ctly

sha

ped

tria

ngul

ar

sile

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• H

ydra

ulic

cam

cha

in te

nsio

ner

auto

mat

ical

ly a

djus

ts w

hile

re

duci

ng n

oise

and

mec

hani

cal

loss

es.

• Ig

niti

on c

oil o

uter

dia

met

er is

sm

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r fo

r re

duce

d w

eigh

t and

th

e st

arte

r m

otor

use

s ne

w r

are

eart

h m

agne

ts fo

r a

com

pact

lig

htw

eigh

t des

ign

• Li

ghtw

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ged

alum

inum

al

loy

pist

ons

wit

h sh

ort s

kirt

s,

cut a

way

sid

es a

nd a

n an

ti-

fric

tion

sur

face

fini

sh a

long

wit

h sh

otpe

ened

chr

ome-

mol

y st

eel

conn

ecti

ng r

ods

for

impr

oved

st

reng

th•

Ligh

twei

ght t

itan

ium

val

ves

wit

h st

eel a

lloy

spri

ngs

and

alum

inum

sp

ring

ret

aine

rs o

pera

ted

by th

in-

wal

l hol

low

cam

shaf

ts to

red

uce

wei

ght a

nd in

erti

a•

S-DM

S en

gine

man

agem

ent

syst

em a

llow

s th

e ri

der

to c

hoos

e fr

om th

ree

engi

ne s

etti

ngs

to

mat

ch r

idin

g co

ndit

ions

wit

h a

hand

leba

r m

ount

ed s

wit

ch•

SRAD

( Su

zuki

Ram

Air

Dir

ect)

fo

rce

feed

s co

ol, p

ress

uriz

ed a

ir

into

the

airb

ox a

t hig

hway

spe

eds,

im

prov

ing

engi

ne e

ffici

ency

and

th

rott

le r

espo

nse

• Su

zuki

Idle

Spe

ed C

ontr

ol (I

SC)

syst

em fo

r im

prov

ed c

old

star

ting

, co

nsis

tent

idle

qua

lity

and

redu

ced

emis

sion

s•

Und

er d

ecel

erat

ion

the

back

to

rque

lim

itin

g cl

utch

red

uces

pr

essu

re o

n th

e cl

utch

pla

tes

for

smoo

ther

dow

nshi

ftin

g an

d

corn

er e

ntry

• A

brac

ed a

lum

inum

allo

y sw

inga

rm fe

atur

es a

larg

e 22

mm

sw

inga

rm p

ivot

and

is d

esig

ned

for

opti

mum

rid

er fe

el a

nd m

axim

um

rear

whe

el tr

acti

on•

Com

pact

, lig

htw

eigh

t ins

trum

ent

clus

ter

feat

ures

a s

tep

mot

or

cont

rolle

d an

alog

tach

omet

er, L

CD

spee

dom

eter

, dua

l tri

p m

eter

s,

cloc

k an

d a

conv

enie

nt g

ear

posi

tion

indi

cato

r

• El

ectr

onic

ally

con

trol

led

stee

ring

da

mpe

r us

es a

sol

enoi

d va

lve

to

mov

e a

tape

red

need

le r

educ

ing

or in

crea

sing

oil

flow

to a

djus

t da

mpi

ng fo

rce.

• Th

e fu

el ta

nk fe

atur

es a

n in

nova

tive

des

ign

and

fuel

cap

acit

y is

17.

0 L

(3.7

Imp

gal)

• Th

e GS

X-R

750

feat

ures

a s

harp

an

d ag

gres

sive

look

uti

lizin

g a

bold

hea

dlig

ht d

esig

n, a

ngul

ar ta

il se

ctio

n an

d co

mpa

ct o

vera

ll la

yout

.•

Inno

vati

ve r

ear

susp

ensi

on

linka

ge u

tiliz

es a

forg

ed a

lum

inum

al

loy

link

and

a fo

rged

alu

min

um

link

rod

that

red

uces

sid

e lo

ads

and

help

s th

e re

ar s

hock

abs

orbe

r m

ove

in a

sm

ooth

arc

• In

vert

ed 4

1mm

Sho

wa

cart

ridg

e

fron

t for

ks a

re fu

lly a

djus

tabl

e

for

high

and

low

spe

ed

com

pres

sion

, spr

ing

prel

oad,

an

d re

boun

d da

mpi

ng•

Ligh

twei

ght c

ast a

lum

inum

w

heel

s fe

atur

ing

an a

ngle

d sp

oke

desi

gn fo

r im

prov

ed r

igid

ity,

re

duce

d un

spru

ng w

eigh

t and

im

prov

ed a

ccel

erat

ion

• Ra

dial

mou

nt fo

ur p

isto

n fr

ont

brak

e ca

liper

s w

orks

wit

h 31

0mm

fr

ont b

rake

rot

ors

and

a ra

dial

pu

mp

fron

t bra

ke m

aste

r cy

linde

r•

Show

a 41

mm

alu

min

um a

lloy

rear

sh

ock

wit

h a

16m

m r

od d

iam

eter

ar

e fu

lly a

djus

tabl

e fo

r hi

gh a

nd

low

spe

ed c

ompr

essi

on, s

prin

g pr

eloa

d an

d re

boun

d da

mpi

ng fo

r m

axim

um r

ider

con

trol

• Th

e lig

htw

eigh

t fra

me

is b

uilt

en

tire

ly o

f alu

min

um a

lloy

cast

ings

an

d is

eng

inee

red

to d

eliv

er

opti

mum

rig

idit

y, u

nmat

ched

ac

cura

cy a

nd m

axim

um c

orne

ring

pe

rfor

man

ce.

• Th

ree

way

adj

usta

ble

foot

peg

s no

w fe

atur

e di

e-ca

st c

onst

ruct

ion

and

can

be m

oved

into

thre

e di

ffer

ent p

osit

ions

wit

h a

14m

m

hori

zont

al a

nd v

erti

cal r

ange

• Th

e LE

D co

mbi

nati

on ta

illig

ht

and

brak

e lig

ht is

bui

lt in

to th

e re

ar

of th

e ta

il se

ctio

n, fe

atur

ing

a re

d,

mir

ror

lens

, cov

erin

g LE

D’s

Wit

h a

ne

w, s

lig

htl

y m

ore

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gre

ss

ive

exh

au

st

an

d s

mo

oth

tra

ns

itio

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twe

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c a

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tal,

the

20

10

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org

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Rid

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20

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]

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Fu

ll o

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nd

a

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Fu

ryN

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the

r q

uo

te e

xtra

cte

d f

rom

Ho

lly

wo

od

de

fin

es

th

e t

rue

dif

fere

nce

be

twe

en

a m

oto

rcy

cle

an

d a

ch

op

pe

r th

an

th

is q

uo

te f

rom

Pu

lp F

icti

on

:

Fa

bie

nn

e: “

- w

ho

se

mo

torc

ycl

e i

s t

his

?B

utc

h: -

It’s

a c

ho

pp

er

ba

by

Fa

bie

nn

e: -

wh

os

e c

ho

pp

er

is t

his

?...

”

It’s n

ot a

mot

orcy

cle.

..

it’s

a c

hopp

er. I

n th

is c

ase

th

e ch

oppe

r is

the

new

Hon

da

Fury

. It s

eem

s tha

t the

se r

ecen

t ye

ars b

ike

com

pani

es h

ave

final

ly

give

n th

eir

desi

gner

s a g

reen

ligh

t to

bui

ld so

met

hing

“ke

wl”

and

from

yo

ur w

ildes

t dre

ams:

slee

k sm

ooth

se

xy c

onto

urs,

aw

esom

e ra

ked

fron

t en

d, g

enui

ne S

part

an fr

amew

ork

crad

ling

a hu

mon

gous

130

0cc

V-t

win

an

d a

high

mou

nted

stee

ring

hea

d.

All t

his t

oget

her

we

get a

mea

n lo

okin

g ge

nuin

e ch

oppe

r w

itho

ut

the

impr

acti

calit

y an

d pr

ice

tag

asso

ciat

ed w

ith

cust

om m

achi

nes a

nd

mos

t im

port

antl

y th

e ha

ndlin

g an

d re

liabi

lity

one

com

es to

exp

ect f

rom

a

Hon

da.

H

onda

is u

ndou

bted

ly o

ne o

f th

e m

ost i

mpo

rtan

t eng

inee

ring

po

wer

hous

es in

the

wor

ld o

n th

e ot

her

hand

true

cho

pper

s are

bas

ed o

n th

e w

ild w

him

s of t

heir

cre

ator

s so

base

d on

this

opp

osit

e cr

iter

ia h

as th

e fu

ry

achi

eved

the

righ

t bal

ance

bet

wee

n fo

rm a

nd fu

ncti

on?

Afte

r be

ing

wit

h th

is b

aby

wit

h a

very

big

smile

on

my

face

I ca

n on

ly sa

y “Y

ES”.

ST

OR

Y B

Y S

TE

VE

VIL

LA

MA

RIN

- P

HO

TO

S P

RO

VID

ED

BY

Do

ps

64

MA

Y 2

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4]

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Rid

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20

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]

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As poi

nted

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bef

ore

Hon

da

is a

ll ab

out p

erfo

rman

ce

and

hand

ling

how

ever

for

crui

sers

and

cho

pper

s sty

le

and

look

s is “

num

ero

uno”

whi

ch w

as

the

crit

eria

of H

onda

des

igne

r Br

uno

Cont

e: “

it h

ad to

be

num

ber

one”

whi

ch

he sa

id w

hen

citi

ng th

e im

port

ance

of

styl

ing

in th

e cu

rren

t mot

orcy

cle

mar

ket.

At

firs

t gla

nce

this

bea

st c

an b

e ea

sily

mis

take

n fo

r a

cust

om b

ike

one

usua

lly fi

nds o

n TV

show

s but

w

hen

one

mou

nts t

his m

etal

hor

se

we

imm

edia

tely

feel

the

diff

eren

ce:

frie

ndly

erg

onom

ics (

very

rar

e in

ch

oppe

rs),

secu

re fo

otin

g th

anks

to a

lo

w 2

6.7

inch

seat

hei

ght p

rovi

ding

one

of

the

best

rid

ing

posi

tion

s obt

aina

ble

cour

tesy

of t

op n

otch

eng

inee

ring

.De

spit

e it

s cho

pper

stat

us th

e Fu

ry

wor

ks h

ow a

mot

orcy

cle

shou

ld. T

he

fuel

inje

ctio

n pr

ovid

es im

med

iate

an

d re

liabl

e ig

niti

on th

e 52

deg

ree

V-t

win

has

a sw

eet r

umbl

e an

d th

e sh

ake

from

the

engi

ne c

ares

ses t

he

ride

r; d

ual c

ount

erba

lanc

es k

eep

this

vib

rati

on fr

om b

eing

a n

uisa

nce.

M

anoe

uvra

bilit

y w

as su

rpri

sing

due

to

its s

uper

b ba

lanc

e an

d ag

ility

co

nsid

erin

g th

at th

e Fu

ry p

osse

sses

th

e lo

nges

t whe

el-b

ase

ever

foun

d on

a

Hon

da, a

fat 2

00m

m r

ear

tire

and

a

rake

d ou

t fro

nten

d, e

ven

wit

h th

ese

fact

ors t

he F

ury

didn

’t ex

hibi

t the

fr

ont-

end

FLOP

that

is p

rese

nt o

n ot

her

rake

d ou

t cru

iser

s.

Acce

lera

tion

is p

rist

ine

on th

is

bike

and

the

clut

ch a

nd sh

ift is

smoo

th

and

light

one

can

feel

som

e ja

ckin

g at

th

e re

ar w

hen

acce

lera

ting

but

that

is

to b

e ex

pect

ed fr

om a

shaf

t dri

ve. T

he

susp

ensi

on p

rovi

des a

goo

d m

easu

re

of c

omfo

rt a

nd c

ontr

ol. E

ven

thou

gh

this

bea

st w

as in

itia

lly in

tend

ed to

ca

rry

a V

TX 1

800

cc e

ngin

e th

e m

ere

size

of t

he p

ower

plan

t pr

esen

ted

styl

ing

and

pack

agin

g is

sues

: The

ai

rbox

and

exh

aust

had

to b

e la

rger

and

th

e pr

esen

ce o

f a la

rger

rad

iato

r w

as

need

ed th

us th

e de

sign

er o

pted

for

the

1300

cc sa

ying

that

“Th

e 13

00 fi

ts th

e pe

rson

alit

y of

the

bike

” .

Ridi

ng th

is b

ike

was

com

fort

able

and

ea

sy e

ven

thou

gh th

e vi

ew is

spoi

led

by e

xpos

ed c

able

s; th

is is

rem

edie

d by

th

e be

auti

ful m

inim

alis

t gau

ge p

ack.

De

spit

e th

e sh

ort s

talk

s the

mir

rors

are

qu

ite

usef

ul a

nd fe

el r

ight

. A p

air

of d

isc

brak

es p

rove

d to

be

mor

e th

an e

noug

h fo

r th

e in

tend

ed u

se o

f thi

s cho

pper

ho

wev

er H

onda

inte

nds t

o AB

S sy

stem

s pl

us H

onda

’s C

ombi

ned

Brak

ing

Syst

em

of li

nked

bra

kes,

unf

ortu

nate

ly o

nly

Blac

k Fu

ry’s

will

be

equi

pped

wit

h AB

S.Al

l sai

d an

d do

ne th

e Fu

ry is

a d

efini

te

win

ner

in th

e H

onda

ros

ter

and

I ca

nnot

wai

t to

see

wha

t Hon

da w

ill

trea

t us w

ith

in th

e ye

ars t

o co

me.

FE

AT

UR

ES

:•

Hig

h-m

ount

stee

ring

hea

d

co

mpl

emen

ts th

e ra

ked-

out

fr

ont e

nd.

• ”H

ard-

tail”

styl

ing.

•

Long

, slim

3.4

gal

lon

seam

less

fuel

tank

mou

nts h

igh

on th

e fr

ame

for

a

true

cus

tom

look

. •

Slim

rad

iato

r is

mou

nted

unob

trus

ivel

y to

acc

ent t

he F

ury’

s

clea

n lin

es.

• Co

lor-

mat

ched

bod

ywor

k, fr

ame

an

d sw

inga

rm. (

Mat

te S

ilver

has

a

Bl

ack

fram

e.)

• M

inim

alis

t fro

nt a

nd r

ear

fend

ers

co

mpl

emen

t the

Fur

y’s c

hopp

er

st

ylin

g.

• Co

ntro

l lin

es a

nd c

able

s are

spec

ially

rout

ed fo

r a

clea

n, c

usto

m lo

ok.

• N

ew lo

w-m

aint

enan

ce sl

im-p

rofil

e

driv

esha

ft p

rovi

des s

moo

th o

pera

tion

wit

h no

nee

d fo

r ch

ain

or b

elt g

uard

s

and

cove

rs.

• In

tegr

ated

han

dleb

ar-m

ount

ed

ch

rom

e ho

usin

g fe

atur

es a

spee

dom

eter

, an

odom

eter

/A&

B

trip

met

er a

nd in

dica

tor

light

s for

the

turn

sign

als,

hig

h be

am, n

eutr

al,

oi

l pre

ssur

e, c

oola

nt te

mpe

ratu

re

an

d cl

ock.

•

Elec

tric

spee

dom

eter

wit

h

easy

-to-

read

num

eral

s use

s an

el

ectr

onic

tran

smis

sion

spee

d se

nsor

,

whi

ch e

limin

ates

the

fron

t-w

heel

-

mou

nted

spee

dom

eter

cab

le.

Th

is c

ontr

ibut

es to

a c

lean

,

uncl

utte

red

look

. •

Pass

enge

r se

at a

nd r

ear

pass

enge

r

pegs

are

eas

ily r

emov

ed to

yie

ld a

clea

n, so

lo lo

ok.

• M

aint

enan

ce-f

ree

batt

ery.

• Tr

ansf

erab

le o

ne-y

ear

unlim

ited

-

mile

age

limit

ed w

arra

nty;

ext

ende

d

cove

rage

ava

ilabl

e w

ith

a H

onda

Prot

ecti

on P

lan.

En

gin

e/

Dri

ve

tra

in•

1312

cc li

quid

-coo

led

52-d

egre

e

V-t

win

del

iver

s str

ong

low

-end

and

mid

-ran

ge to

rque

, wit

h am

ple

pow

er

fo

r pa

ssin

g an

d re

laxe

d cr

uisi

ng.

U

niqu

e du

al e

xhau

st o

ffer

s thr

oaty

exha

ust n

ote.

•

Pow

erpl

ant f

eatu

res a

sing

le-p

in

cr

anks

haft

to a

ccen

tuat

e th

e en

gine

’s

ch

arac

ter.

•

Prog

ram

med

Fue

l Inj

ecti

on (P

GM-F

I)

in

corp

orat

es a

sing

le 3

8mm

-dia

met

er

th

rott

le b

ody

(see

200

9 Te

chno

logy

Sect

ion)

. •

Thre

e-V

alve

Dua

l-Plu

g Co

mbu

stio

n

Cham

ber

(see

200

9 Te

chno

logy

Sect

ion)

. •

Five

-spe

ed tr

ansm

issi

on fo

r ex

citi

ng

ro

ll-on

per

form

ance

.

Ch

as

sis

/S

us

pe

ns

ion

• Al

l-new

rea

r su

spen

sion

syst

em g

ives

a cl

ean

uncl

utte

red

appe

aran

ce.

• Si

ngle

rea

r sh

ock

wit

h ad

just

able

rebo

und

dam

ping

and

five

-pos

itio

n

prel

oad

adju

stm

ent f

eatu

res a

n

adva

nced

inte

rnal

val

ve sy

stem

for

a

com

fort

able

rid

e, a

nd p

rovi

des 3

.7

in

ches

of w

heel

trav

el.

• La

rge-

diam

eter

45m

m e

xten

ded

fr

ont f

ork

prov

ides

4.0

inch

es o

f

plus

h, r

espo

nsiv

e tr

avel

.

H

on

da

Ge

nu

ine

Acc

es

so

rie

s•

Leat

her

Acce

ssor

ies:

Cus

tom

Rid

er

Se

at (m

ulti

ple

desi

gns)

, Cus

tom

Pass

enge

r Se

at (m

ulti

ple

desi

gns)

,

Leat

her

Fron

t Pou

ch (F

ury

logo

). •

Back

rest

: Low

Sis

sy B

ar, P

asse

nger

Back

rest

Pad

. •

Chro

me

Acce

ssor

ies:

Rea

r Fe

nder

Pane

l, Ch

rom

e Al

len

Bolt

Inse

rts

(5

, 6, 8

mm

). •

Bille

t Acc

esso

ries

: Mas

ter

Cylin

der

Co

ver,

Oil

Dips

tick

, Clu

tch

Cove

r,

Ti

min

g Co

ver,

Upp

er F

ork

Bolt

Cov

er,

Li

cens

e Pl

ate

Fram

e.

• Ad

diti

onal

Acc

esso

ries

: Bra

ided

Ste

el

Li

nes f

or B

rake

s, T

hrot

tle

and

Clut

ch,

Fr

ont S

poile

r (c

olor

mat

ched

), Fr

ont

Sp

oile

r LE

D Li

ght K

it, B

oule

vard

Scre

en, O

utdo

or C

over

. H

on

da

Ge

nu

ine

Fu

ry

Acc

es

so

rie

s•

Leat

her

Acce

ssor

ies:

Cus

tom

Rid

er

Se

at (m

ulti

ple

desi

gns)

, Cus

tom

Pass

enge

r Se

at (m

ulti

ple

desi

gns)

,

Leat

her

Fron

t Pou

ch (F

ury

logo

). •

Back

rest

s: L

ow S

issy

Bar

Upr

ight

,

Pass

enge

r Ba

ckre

st P

ad.

• Ch

rom

e Ac

cess

orie

s: R

ear

Fend

er

Pa

nel,

Chro

me

Alle

n Bo

lt In

sert

s

(5, 6

, 8m

m).

• Bi

llet A

cces

sori

es: M

aste

r Cy

linde

r

Cove

r, O

il Di

psti

ck, C

lutc

h Co

ver,

Tim

ing

Cove

r, U

pper

For

k Bo

lt C

over

,

Lice

nse

Plat

e Fr

ame.

•

Addi

tion

al A

cces

sori

es: B

oule

vard

Scre

en, B

raid

ed L

ines

(clu

tch,

idle

/

thro

ttle

and

bra

ke) F

ront

Chi

n Sp

oile

r

(col

or m

atch

ed),

Fron

t Chi

n Sp

oile

r

LED

Ligh

t Kit

, Out

door

Cov

er.

MA

Y 2

01

0

[1

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[17

]

2Rid

e

You’

ve c

ome

a lo

ng w

ay

Bab

y!S

TO

RY

BY

MIZ

Z L

UC

Y

PH

OT

OS

PR

OV

IDE

D B

Y H

AR

LE

Y-D

AV

IDS

ON

®

PH

OT

OS

PR

OV

IDE

DB

Y H

AR

LE

YD

AV

IDS

ON

Ha

rle

y-D

av

ids

on

® S

po

rts

ter®

Fo

rty

-Eig

ht™

mo

torc

ycl

e is

re

min

isce

nt

of

a H

ot

Ro

d

wit

h a

lo

w s

ing

le s

lun

g s

ea

t, f

at

fro

nt

tire

,

sm

all

fu

el

tan

k, l

ow

re

ar

su

sp

en

sio

n

giv

ing

it

tha

t h

ard

co

re r

ide

an

d f

ee

l.g

g

As w

e kn

ow, t

he H

arle

y-Da

vids

on® S

port

ster

® mot

orcy

cle

was

cre

ated

in 1

957,

and

us

ed in

rac

ing,

due

to it

’s lo

w d

esig

n an

d m

ade

to c

arry

a h

igh

hors

e po

wer

in s

uch

a sm

alle

r bi

ke...

To

day

Har

ley-

Davi

dson

® mot

orcy

cle

has

grac

ed u

s w

ith

mor

e op

tion

s to

a

Spor

tste

r®, s

uch

as, n

o m

ore

carb

uret

or in

the

2007

, wit

h ru

bber

mou

nted

eng

ine,

an

d to

look

mor

e lik

e th

e re

tro

vers

ion,

wit

h a

Choi

ce b

etw

een

an 8

83 o

r 12

00cc

, m

akin

g it

a lo

w r

ide

to h

ug th

e st

reet

s, a

nd s

moo

th to

take

on

a lo

ng jo

urne

y.

Then

com

es th

e Ir

on 8

83 a

nd b

lack

ened

like

the

Nig

htst

er®,

not t

o m

enti

on

the

Spor

tste

r® X

R120

0™ m

otor

cycl

e, I

like

to c

all a

spu

ell,

that

’s if

a S

port

ster

® and

Bu

ell®

dec

ided

to m

ate.

..so

now

the

Buel

l’s a

re d

one

wit

h, a

nd h

ere

com

es th

e ‘4

8’.

*US

Mod

el S

how

n

MA

Y 2

01

0

[1

8]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[19

]

2Rid

e

The P

eanu

t tan

k fir

st

appe

ared

in 1

948,

and

is

one

of t

he fe

atur

es

of th

is h

ot fa

t fro

nt

ende

d m

achi

ne w

ith

a ch

oppe

d fr

ont f

ende

r, m

ount

ed o

n th

e fo

rk

brac

ket,

low

pro

file

unde

r m

ount

ed

side

vie

w m

irro

rs, s

o no

mor

e ap

plyi

ng li

psti

ck a

t the

ligh

ts, o

r ch

ecki

n’ h

ow c

ool y

ou lo

ok in

you

r ne

w s

hade

s, a

sid

e m

ount

ed li

cens

e pl

ate,

a n

ice

low

sol

o se

at, t

hat y

ou

can

also

cha

nge

to a

spr

ing

seat

.

Fort

y-Ei

ght™

rem

inis

cent

of

a H

ot R

od w

ith

a lo

w s

ingl

e sl

ung

seat

, fat

fron

t tir

e, s

mal

l fue

l tan

k,

low

rea

r su

spen

sion

giv

ing

it

that

har

d co

re r

ide

and

feel

. Le

ss

vibr

atio

n fo

r th

e H

arle

y-Da

vids

on®

Fort

y-Ei

ght™

mot

orcy

cle

as th

e bl

acke

d ou

t Evo

luti

on® 1

200

cc

V-T

win

eng

ine

wit

h po

lishe

d ac

cent

s is

hel

d in

the

solid

bla

ck

fram

e by

rub

ber

mou

nts.

The

new

fo

rk s

lider

s an

d th

e fa

t fro

nt ti

re

also

con

trib

ute

to th

e sm

ooth

rid

e of

the

Fort

y-Ei

ght™

.

Lets

not

forg

et th

at H

arle

y-Da

vids

on® m

otor

cycl

es s

igna

ture

so

und

com

ing

from

sho

rty

dual

ch

rom

e pi

pes.

Pro

duci

ng 7

9 ft

of

torq

ue a

t 400

0 rp

m.

If

that

doe

sn’t

‘get

you

r m

otor

ru

nnin

g? li

sten

to th

is?

the

rear

tu

rn s

igna

ls a

re a

lso

the

stop

an

d ta

il lig

hts,

min

imiz

ing

extr

a un

wan

ted

stuf

f han

ging

off

you

r bi

ke, t

o gi

ve it

that

sle

ek lo

ok w

ith

blac

ked

1200

cc e

ngin

e, o

ff s

etti

ng

the

bit o

f hig

h sh

iny

chro

me,

po

siti

oned

just

rig

ht.

Ca

n yo

u sa

y di

ed a

nd g

one

to

Har

ley

Hea

ven?

dim

en

sio

ns

Leng

th

88.60

in. (2

250.4

4 mm)

Overa

ll Widt

h 32

.70 in

. (830

.58 m

m)Ov

erall H

eight

42

.0 in.

(106

6.80 m

m)Se

at He

ight:

Grou

nd Cl

earan

ce

3.90 i

n. (9

9.06 m

m)Ra

ke (s

teerin

g hea

d)

29.9°

Fork

Angle

30

°Tra

il 4.7

0 in.

(119

.38 m

m)W

heelb

ase

59.80

in. (1

518.9

2 mm)

Tires

(Dun

lop®

Harl

ey-D

avids

on Se

ries,

black

wall):

Fuel

Capa

city

2.10 g

al. (7

.95 L)

Weig

ht:

en

gin

eEn

gine

Air-c

ooled

, Evo

lution

®

se

lf-ad

justin

g lift

ers;tw

o valv

es pe

r cyli

nder

Disp

lacem

ent

73.40

cu. in

. (120

0 cc)

Comp

ressio

n Rati

o 9.7

:1

dri

ve

tra

in

Trans

miss

ion

5-sp

eed

cha

ss

is

cast

juncti

ons

Front

Forks

39

mm

Rear

Shoc

ks

Coil-

over;

prelo

ad du

al-ad

justab

le

Susp

ensio

n Trav

el:

pe

rfo

rma

nce

ele

ctri

c

Charg

ing

Single

-pha

se, 3

0-am

p sys

tem

Start

ing

1.2 kW

elec

tric w

ith so

lenoid

shift

start

er mo

tor

en

gage

ment

Lights

(as p

er co

untry

regu

lation

):

en

gine d

iagno

stics

, low

fuel w

arning

, low

batte

ry,

se

curit

y sys

tem (o

ption

al)

MA

Y 2

01

0

[2

0]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[21

]

2Rid

e

YOU-

ROPE

O

N2

WH

EE

LS

ST

OR

Y A

ND

PH

OT

OS

BY

GE

NE

LE

E

In t

he

su

mm

er

of

20

07

, my

wif

e a

nd

I e

mb

ark

ed

on

a m

on

th-l

on

g

jou

rne

y t

o t

he

old

co

nti

ne

nt

to h

av

e o

ur

bre

ath

ta

ke

n a

wa

y b

y

as

tou

nd

ing

sig

hts

, to

sa

mp

le d

elici

ou

s c

ulin

ary

de

lig

hts

an

d g

en

era

lly

ma

ng

le e

ve

ry f

ore

ign

la

ng

ua

ge

in

Eu

rop

e t

ha

t w

e e

nco

un

ter!

It w

as

de

fin

ite

ly t

he

mo

st

am

bit

iou

s t

rip

we

ha

d u

nd

ert

ak

en

thu

s f

ar.

Le

ad

ing

up

to

it,

we

ha

d t

rav

ele

d f

urt

he

r a

nd

fu

rth

er

aw

ay

fro

m h

om

e, a

nd

at

the

en

d o

f o

ur

cro

ss

-co

nti

ne

nt

rid

e t

o C

alifo

rnia

trip

an

d b

ack

in

20

06

, we

de

cid

ed

th

at

the

on

ly w

ay

to

to

p t

ha

t

jou

rne

y w

as

to

do

a t

ou

r o

f E

uro

pe

.

MA

Y 2

01

0

[2

2]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[23

]

2Rid

e

Wha

t you

’ll r

ead

belo

w a

re

exce

rpts

from

a d

aily

blo

g th

at I

upda

ted

for

frie

nds

and

fam

ily, s

o th

ey c

ould

kee

p up

wit

h ou

r tr

avel

s in

real

-tim

e. T

he e

ntir

e lo

g is

on-

line

at: h

ttp:

//w

ww

.rid

edot

.com

, if

you

are

inte

rest

ed in

the

rest

of o

ur

trip

or

othe

r tr

ips w

e ha

ve d

one.

Mo

n J

un

16

20

07

: Sh

ipp

ing

fr

om

To

ron

toDr

oppe

d th

e bi

kes o

ff a

t the

Air

Tr

ansa

t Car

go, j

ust o

utsi

de P

ears

on

Inte

rnat

iona

l Air

port

in T

oron

to.

They

’ve

got t

o be

ther

e 48

hou

rs b

efor

e sh

ippi

ng so

they

can

go

over

the

pape

rwor

k, a

nd to

insp

ect a

nd c

rate

the

bike

s.

To p

rep

the

bike

s, w

e ha

d to

dra

in

the

gas t

anks

(not

e to

self,

use

a b

igge

r st

raw

nex

t tim

e), u

nhoo

k an

d ta

pe o

ver

the

batt

ery

term

inal

s, a

nd b

ecau

se m

y bi

ke w

as to

o ta

ll fo

r th

e cr

ate,

I ha

d to

di

sman

tle

my

win

dshi

eld

and

bung

ie it

to

the

seat

.

We

d J

ul

18

20

07

- T

hu

Ju

l 1

9

20

07

: Cu

sto

ms

& S

ho

pp

ing

We’

re o

ff! L

eft a

t 8:2

0PM

, Air

Can

ada

to H

eath

row

and

arr

ived

at 8

:40A

M

loca

l tim

e on

Thu

rsda

y. I

thin

k I g

ot 3

ho

urs o

f sle

ep to

tal,

Ned

a on

ly a

bout

an

hour

, so

she

was

ver

y ti

red.

At G

atw

ick,

w

e ca

bbed

it to

Sw

isse

rvic

e Ca

rgo,

the

frei

ght h

andl

ing

serv

ice

that

wor

ks

wit

h Ai

r Tr

ansa

t. Af

ter

wai

ting

for

1/2

hour

, we

wer

e to

ld th

e bi

kes w

ere

in

hold

ing

at se

curi

ty. A

fter

ano

ther

1.5

ho

urs,

we

wer

e to

ld a

ll th

e ca

rgo

was

be

ing

tran

spor

ted

to c

argo

war

ehou

se

at th

e sa

me

tim

e af

ter

lunc

h. B

ecau

se

we

wer

e hu

ngry

and

wit

hout

a v

ehic

le,

we

had

to w

alk

abou

t hal

f a k

m to

a

port

able

trai

ler

whe

re m

ost o

f the

Ca

rgo

staf

f eat

lunc

h.

Mor

e ni

ghtm

ares

whe

n w

e ge

t ba

ck to

Sw

isse

rvic

e. A

pare

ntly

nob

ody

told

us w

e ha

d to

fill

out c

usto

ms

form

s to

rele

ase

our

bike

s fro

m

hold

ing.

Som

ethi

ng th

at c

ould

’ve

been

men

tion

ed to

us f

or th

e la

st 4

ho

urs w

e w

ere

wai

ting

!!!! S

o I h

ad to

w

alk

to a

noth

er b

uild

ing

and

dish

out

a

smal

l for

tune

to a

guy

to p

rint

out

a fo

rm w

ith

my

nam

e an

d m

y bi

ke’s

lic

ense

pla

te n

umbe

r on

it to

han

d ov

er

to th

e ca

rgo

peop

le. T

he k

icke

r: th

e ca

rgo

folk

s onl

y ga

ve m

e th

e fo

rm fo

r on

e bi

ke, s

ayin

g th

ey n

ever

rec

eive

d th

e ot

her

form

from

us!

Aft

er a

bit

of

argu

ing,

they

gav

e us

thei

r co

py so

I se

nt N

eda

back

to c

usto

ms w

ith

this

w

hile

I pr

eppe

d th

e m

otor

cycl

es (h

ook

up b

atte

ry, r

e-at

tach

my

win

dscr

een)

.

By th

e ti

me

we

left

the

carg

o w

areh

ouse

, it w

as a

roun

d 5P

M! N

earl

y 8

hour

s aft

er w

e to

uche

d do

wn

in

Hea

thro

w! I

was

mor

e w

orri

ed a

bout

th

e w

eath

er th

an d

rivi

ng o

n th

e le

ft, t

he fo

reca

st c

alle

d fo

r ra

in a

ll of

Th

ursd

ay a

nd th

e sk

ies l

ooke

d pr

etty

fo

rbid

ding

, but

it n

ever

did

ope

n up

. Dr

ivin

g on

the

left

was

not

too

bad,

as

long

as t

here

was

som

eone

ahe

ad o

f us

to fo

llow

. Rou

ndab

outs

wer

e a

bitc

h th

ough

! The

firs

t one

I hi

t, I t

houg

ht,

“Doe

sn’t

seem

too

hard

, I’ll

just

stay

on

the

outs

ide

lane

till

we

reac

h th

e ro

ad

we

wan

t”. N

ope.

The

out

side

lane

exi

ts

onto

the

next

roa

d, so

you

hav

e to

kee

p to

the

insi

de la

ne u

ntil

righ

t bef

ore

the

exit

you

wan

t to

take

. Eas

y, u

nles

s you

ha

ve n

o id

ea w

hich

exi

t you

wan

t to

take

unt

il yo

u pa

ss it

. Our

new

nam

e fo

r th

is: R

ound

AndR

ound

AndR

ound

Abou

t. Th

ankf

ully

our

Can

adia

n fla

g st

icke

rs

on th

e ba

cks o

f our

bik

es se

rved

as f

air

war

ning

to th

e m

otor

ists

beh

ind

us.

It

took

us a

bout

ano

ther

hou

r to

co

ver

the

50km

bac

k to

our

hot

el.

Ridi

ng th

roug

h Lo

ndon

in r

ush

hour

was

ver

y fr

ustr

atin

g be

twee

n th

e co

nges

tion

and

nav

igat

ing

the

roun

dabo

uts.

I di

dn’t

take

man

y pi

ctur

es, w

e ju

st w

ante

d to

get

to th

e ho

tel p

ront

o. T

hey

lane

split

in th

e U

K!

We

felt

like

such

squa

res d

oing

our

st

agge

red

posi

tion

ing

behi

nd c

ars.

We

wer

e be

ing

pass

ed b

y sc

oote

rs! O

ne

mot

orcy

cle,

taki

ng p

ity

on u

s, m

otio

ned

for

us to

follo

w h

im d

own

a bu

s lan

e,

but w

e w

ere

too

chic

ken,

I st

ill h

ad to

ge

t use

d to

the

who

le le

ft la

ne th

ing

and

besi

des,

wit

h m

y si

de c

ases

, I w

as

alm

ost a

s wid

e as

a c

ar. I

nter

esti

ngly

en

ough

, nob

ody

wav

es. I

gue

ss w

ith

your

wav

ing

hand

on

the

outs

ide

of

traf

fic, i

t’s h

arde

r to

see,

but

sinc

e 1

out

of 5

veh

icle

s is a

noth

er m

otor

cycl

e, it

m

ust g

et ti

reso

me.

Fina

lly g

ot to

the

hote

l aft

er

seve

ral m

isse

d tu

rns a

ccor

ding

to th

e GP

S (w

hich

I th

ough

t wou

ld o

verh

eat

from

hav

ing

to r

ecal

cula

te th

e ro

ute

so o

ften

). H

aggl

ed w

ith

the

Mar

riot

t pa

rkin

g at

tend

ent w

ho to

ld u

s, “

We

don’

t par

k m

otor

cycl

es h

ere”

, whi

ch

appa

rent

ly is

cod

e fo

r, “

If yo

u sl

ip m

e £2

0, y

ou c

an le

ave

your

mot

orcy

cles

in

that

cor

ner

over

ther

e”...

*si

gh*.

Fri

Ju

l 2

0 2

00

7: L

on

do

n

Wok

e up

at 1

1AM

to th

e so

und

of

thun

der

and

rain

hit

ting

the

win

dow

of

our

hote

l roo

m w

indo

w. W

e’d

slep

t for

ov

er 1

1 ho

urs!

It d

id st

op r

aini

ng b

efor

e w

e m

et u

p w

ith

my

pare

nts a

cou

ple

of

hour

s lat

er. T

hey

wan

ted

to ta

ke u

s for

a

wal

king

tour

aro

und

Lond

on. W

e ha

d bo

oked

aro

und

the

Kens

ingt

on a

rea

beca

use

it w

as c

lose

to w

here

my

cous

in

is g

oing

to b

e m

arri

ed o

n Sa

turd

ay.

It a

lso

used

to b

e th

e pl

ace

whe

re m

y pa

rent

s and

I us

ed to

live

in fo

r a

coup

le

of y

ears

aft

er I

was

bor

n.

In

the

last

30

or so

yea

rs, t

he

Kens

ingt

on a

rea

has g

otte

n to

be

quit

e th

e po

sh n

eigh

bour

hood

. Oh,

by

the

way

, eve

r si

nce

arri

ving

her

e, I’

ve

been

tryi

ng to

use

Bri

tish

slan

g lik

e,

“Sm

ashi

ng!”

and

“Br

illia

nt”

and

take

n to

cal

ling

wom

en, “

Luv”

and

men

, “M

ates

”. It

’s n

ot w

orki

ng to

o w

ell..

.

We

hear

d on

the

new

s lat

er o

n th

at

even

ing

that

ther

e w

ere

flood

ings

in

man

y pa

rts o

f the

UK

beca

use

of th

e he

avy

rain

s tha

t hav

e fa

llen

over

the

last

wee

k. C

ross

ing

my

finge

rs th

at th

e

wea

ther

will

be

kind

to u

s whe

n w

e le

ave

Lond

on in

a c

oupl

e of

day

s.

Sa

t Ju

n 2

1 2

00

7:

An

En

gli

sh

We

dd

ing

I’m

tryi

ng to

get

on

GMT,

but

I’m

not

ab

le to

get

to sl

eep

earl

y en

ough

. I

was

up

till

5AM

in th

e m

orni

ng, w

hich

m

eant

ano

ther

late

star

t at 1

1:30

AM.

Argh

! Bac

k ho

me,

I su

ffer

ed fr

om

Life

styl

e-In

duce

d-Je

tlag

. Now

I’m

ex

peri

enci

ng th

e re

al th

ing

on to

p of

it!

Ned

a di

d w

ake

up a

t 8AM

and

wal

ked

to

the

clos

est W

ater

ston

e’s t

o pi

ck u

p th

e ne

w H

arry

Pot

ter.

Whe

n I w

oke

up, s

he

was

alr

eady

150

pag

es in

to it

!

Su

n J

ul

22

20

07

: Eu

rotu

nn

el

&

No

rma

ny

Be

ach

es

This

is r

eally

the

first

day

of r

idin

g.

Gett

ing

out o

f Lon

don

was

a b

it

easi

er th

an g

etti

ng in

, tha

nks t

o m

y U

ncle

who

told

me

to g

o w

est o

n th

e m

otor

way

s ins

tead

of t

akin

g th

e su

rfac

e ro

ads e

ast.

It a

dded

ano

ther

70k

ms

to th

e tr

ip, b

ut sa

ved

us o

ver

half

an

hour

. It’s

a n

ice

plac

e to

vis

it, b

ut th

e co

nges

tion

wou

ld b

e a

deal

brea

ker

for

livin

g he

re. T

hese

pas

t few

day

s I’v

e no

tice

d th

ere’

s lot

s of m

oney

in

dow

ntow

n Lo

ndon

: ton

s of l

ate-

mod

el

Carr

eras

and

Ast

on M

arti

ns.

To

day

we’

re ta

king

the

trai

n un

der

the

Engl

ish

Chan

nel.

Fore

igne

rs c

all i

t th

e Ch

unne

l, bu

t it’s

the

Euro

tunn

el

to lo

cals

. It w

as m

ainl

y m

otor

way

s fr

om L

ondo

n to

Fol

kest

one,

whi

ch

is th

e co

asta

l tow

n ne

ar th

e cl

oses

t po

int b

etw

een

Engl

and

and

Fran

ce.

At th

e en

tran

ce to

the

Euro

tunn

el,

we

met

a g

roup

of b

iker

s fro

m S

pain

, w

ho w

ere

just

com

ing

back

from

a

trip

from

Mor

rocc

o to

the

nort

hern

ti

p of

Sco

tlan

d. N

eith

er o

f us s

poke

Sp

anis

h, so

I w

as c

omm

unic

atin

g in

br

oken

Fre

nch

to o

ne o

f the

guy

s, a

nd

Ned

a w

as sp

eaki

ng It

alia

n to

ano

ther

. I r

eally

adm

ire

the

Euro

pean

s for

thei

r ab

ility

to sp

eak

mor

e th

an o

ne o

r tw

o la

ngua

ges!

On

the

trai

n, w

e m

et a

thre

e En

glis

h BM

W b

iker

s in

our

car

that

wer

e go

ing

to th

e Lo

ire

valle

y, a

nd w

e br

oke

out

the

map

s whi

le th

ey g

ave

us so

me

tips

on

wha

t to

hit i

n ce

ntra

l Fra

nce.

Cas

tles

an

d vi

neya

rds a

nd L

eMan

s, O

h M

y! T

he

Ou

tsid

e t

he

en

tra

nce

to

th

e E

uro

tun

el

in F

olk

es

ton

e, U

K

Ch

ate

au

Vil

lan

dry

, in

th

e L

oir

e V

all

ey

,

Fra

nce

MA

Y 2

01

0

[2

4]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[25

]

2Rid

e

trai

n ri

de w

as a

ctua

lly q

uite

smoo

th,

no n

eed

for

tie-

dow

ns fo

r th

e bi

ke. I

di

dn’t

even

not

ice

that

we

had

gott

en

goin

g. O

nly

a fe

w je

rks w

hen

stop

ping

30

min

utes

late

r on

the

Fren

ch si

de.

Th

e fir

st th

ing

I not

iced

as w

e go

t of

f the

Eur

otun

nel w

ere

the

spee

d lim

its:

70

km/h

on

the

mot

orw

ay, b

ut

up to

130

km

/h b

etw

een

citi

es! S

wee

t!

We

stop

ped

for

lunc

h at

the

gas s

tati

on

just

out

side

the

Euro

tunn

el, b

ut I

now

w

ish

we

wou

ld h

ave

wai

ted,

bec

ause

as

we

took

the

coas

tal r

oad

acro

ss

Nor

man

dy to

war

ds D

iepp

e, th

ere

wer

e se

vera

l sm

all t

owns

wit

h in

viti

ng c

afes

al

ong

the

mai

n ro

ad to

stop

and

eat

. On

e to

wn

did

catc

h ou

r fa

ncy,

Wis

sant

ha

d a

beau

tifu

l bea

ch w

ith

the

cliff

s in

the

dist

ance

.

We

had

grea

t wea

ther

toda

y, b

ut

the

fore

cast

cal

ls fo

r ra

in. O

ur fi

rst

step

s in

the

old

cont

inen

t has

bee

n as

wan

dere

rs, n

o se

t pla

n or

rou

te,

but I

am

a p

lann

er a

t hea

rt, a

nd I’

m

wor

ried

abo

ut k

eepi

ng to

a sc

hedu

le

so th

at w

e’ll

see

ever

ythi

ng w

e w

ant t

o se

e in

the

tim

e th

at w

e ha

ve. W

e on

ly

man

aged

70

km in

Fra

nce

toda

y. I

thin

k to

mor

row

we’

ll ha

ve to

fore

go th

e co

asta

l rou

te a

nd h

it so

me

mot

orw

ays

to g

et th

roug

h th

is c

ount

ry a

lot

quic

ker

than

we’

re d

oing

.

Mo

n J

ul

23

20

07

: L

e M

an

s &

To

urs

Who

hooo

oooo

o! W

e w

ent t

o Le

Man

s!

Sorr

y, I

tota

lly g

ave

the

endi

ng a

way

H

arry

Pott

erDi

es w

hat?

Who

said

that

? ;)

Just

kid

ding

abo

ut th

e H

arry

Pot

ter

bit,

I did

n’t r

ead

the

book

and

Ned

a’s

only

on

page

249

as I

’m ty

ping

this

rig

ht

now

. Nor

mal

ly sh

e’s fi

nish

ed a

Pot

ter

book

in le

ss th

an 2

4 he

ures

, ooo

ps,

sorr

y, a

noth

er L

e M

ans r

efer

ence

...

Ok

ay fr

om th

e be

ginn

ing,

we

got u

p at

6AM

toda

y! W

hich

was

per

plex

ing

whe

n th

e ch

ecko

ut c

ount

er’s

clo

ck

read

s an

hour

late

r. N

o w

orri

es,

they

’re

prob

ably

not

cha

nged

ove

r fr

om D

aylig

ht S

avin

gs. T

hen

mor

e cl

ocks

star

ted

read

ing

the

wro

ng ti

me.

N

ewsfl

ash:

Fra

nce

is in

a d

iffer

ent t

ime

zone

than

GM

T, w

hich

mea

ns w

e w

oke

up la

te a

gain

! And

that

tom

orro

w,

we’

ll ha

ve to

get

up

at 5

AM e

ffec

tive

ly.

WTF

?!

As

we

left

the

Man

oir,

we

deci

ded

agai

nst p

utti

ng o

n ou

r ra

insu

its,

ev

en th

ough

the

sky

was

bla

ck w

ith

thre

aten

ing

clou

ds. A

s eve

ry b

iker

kn

ows,

the

min

ute

you

fore

go r

ains

uits

, it

’ll p

our

on y

ou 1

0 m

inut

es a

fter

you

m

ake

that

dec

isio

n. W

hich

it d

id. S

o af

ter

the

first

toll

boot

h, w

e st

oppe

d at

the

side

of t

he r

oad

and

put t

he

suit

s on.

Whi

ch c

ame

in h

andy

for

the

next

5 h

ours

of r

idin

g th

roug

h po

urin

g ra

in fr

om L

e To

uque

t to

Le

Man

s. T

hat’s

rig

ht, w

e w

ent t

o Le

Man

s!

Who

ohoo

oo!!!

!

The

ride

ther

e w

as n

ot v

ery

exci

ting

. Act

ually

, doi

ng 1

40 o

n th

e Au

toro

ute

in th

e po

urin

g ra

in is

a

diff

eren

t kin

d of

exc

itin

g, e

spec

ially

w

hen

pass

ing

truc

ks a

nd th

eir

clou

ds o

f

spra

y w

ater

. Eve

n if

you

can’

t see

thei

r ta

il-lig

hts,

you

can

alw

ays t

ell w

hen

ther

e’s a

truc

k ah

ead

of y

ou.

W

e go

t to

Le M

ans a

roun

d 2P

M,

wha

t a c

ool p

lace

! So

muc

h hi

stor

y an

d tr

adit

ion

on th

at o

ne r

acet

rack

. I w

as h

opin

g to

get

spec

ial L

e M

ans

food

at t

he c

afet

eria

in th

e Au

tom

otiv

e M

useu

m, l

ike

a M

cQue

en B

urge

r or

a

Feel

-It-

For-

24-h

eure

s Chi

li. B

ut

alas

, the

y ju

st h

ad n

orm

al c

afet

eria

fo

od...

It w

as n

ice

spen

ding

a r

ainy

da

y in

side

the

Mus

ee A

utom

obile

de

la S

arth

e (L

e M

ans M

usei

um).

The

mus

eum

was

inte

rest

ing,

but

I w

asn’

t in

to th

e ol

der

cars

, and

they

onl

y ha

d a

few

mot

orcy

cles

on

disp

lay.

Lot

s of

Jack

ie Ic

kx, b

ut n

o V

alen

tino

! Or

even

M

cQue

en! W

TF a

gain

?! T

he F

renc

h...

We

boug

ht a

tick

et to

take

our

bik

es

into

the

Le M

ans s

tadi

um, w

hich

I fo

und

mor

e in

tere

stin

g th

an th

e m

useu

m.

Coul

dn’t

take

them

on

the

trac

k bu

t w

e go

t to

tour

aro

und

the

padd

ock,

the

gran

dsta

nd a

nd th

e vi

llage

. It i

sn’t

hard

to

imag

ine

tens

of t

hous

ands

of p

eopl

e at

tend

ing

a M

otoG

P or

24

heur

es r

ace

here

. I th

ink

our

next

trip

will

incl

ude

a

live

Mot

oGP

race

.

Afte

r a

coup

le o

f hou

rs w

ande

ring

th

e tr

ack,

we

deci

ded

to m

ake

our

way

to

sout

h to

Tou

rs, a

bout

80

kms s

outh

of

Le

Man

s. A

lmos

t ran

out

of g

as a

long

th

e w

ay, b

ut w

hile

we

roam

ed a

roun

d Le

Man

s (th

e to

wn)

look

ing

for

a ga

s st

atio

n, w

e st

umbl

ed u

pon

the

publ

ic

sect

ion

of th

e M

ulsa

nne

stra

ight

. So

we

rode

on

a se

ctio

n of

the

Le M

ans r

oad

cour

se! H

ow c

ool i

s tha

t?!

Tu

e J

ul

24

20

07

: Fre

nch

C

as

tle

s i

n t

he

Lo

ire

Va

lle

yW

oke

up a

t 7AM

toda

y, N

eda

doin

g he

r Yo

ga, m

e do

ing

my

Inte

rnet

bef

ore

we

leav

e. A

fter

a q

uick

con

tine

ntal

br

eakf

ast a

t the

Man

oir,

we

head

to

war

ds A

mbo

ise,

hom

e to

one

of t

he

cast

les i

n N

eda’

s sho

rtlis

t of p

lace

s to

hit i

n th

e ar

ea. N

eda’

s a h

uge

fan

of

cast

les f

rom

bac

k w

hen

she

was

a k

id,

me

- not

so m

uch.

The

wea

ther

is v

ery

over

cast

but

the

fore

cast

doe

sn’t

call

for

rain

. I’d

hat

e fo

r th

is tr

ip to

be

like

our

Cali

trip

last

yea

r, r

ain

alm

ost e

very

da

y! A

mbo

ise

is a

bout

25

km so

uth

of

Tour

s, a

nd it

’s a

ple

asan

t rid

e th

roug

h

som

e sc

enic

Fre

nch

coun

trys

ide.

At

e br

eakf

ast a

t a b

ague

tte

plac

e ac

ross

Cha

teau

D’A

mbo

ise,

and

hit

th

e se

cond

stop

in N

eda’

s cas

tle

tour

, Ch

enon

ceau

x. Ju

st o

ver

10 k

m so

uth

of

Ambo

ise,

it’s

clo

se e

noug

h th

at th

ey’v

e se

t up

a ve

ry sc

enic

bik

e pa

th b

etw

een

the

two

tow

ns. C

hene

ncea

ux is

hug

e,

wit

h sp

raw

ling

grou

nds a

nd m

oats

and

ty

pica

l fai

ry-t

ale

cast

le st

uff.

Ned

a sa

ys

that

this

Cha

teau

insp

ired

the

fair

y-ta

le S

leep

ing

Beau

ty. I

can

bel

ieve

that

, as

som

e ki

nd o

f spe

ll fe

ll ov

er m

e an

d I s

lept

for

over

an

hour

on

the

park

be

nch

whi

le N

eda

tour

ed th

e ca

stle

and

th

e gr

ound

s. I

was

aw

oken

by

a ki

ss

from

my

Prin

cess

Cha

rmin

g w

ho c

ame

to ta

ke m

e to

the

next

cas

tle.

N

ext s

top

is V

illan

dry,

50

kms

wes

t bac

k pa

st T

ours

. Had

a c

oupl

e of

en

coun

ters

wit

h Fr

ench

rad

ar c

ops,

th

anks

for

the

head

s up

to o

ncom

ing

mot

oris

ts w

ho fl

ashe

d us

to w

arn

of

the

spee

d tr

ap! A

ppar

entl

y yo

u do

n’t

wan

t to

be c

augh

t spe

edin

g in

Fra

nce,

I t

hink

they

spee

d in

you

r ge

nera

l di

rect

ion

or so

met

hing

. App

aren

tly

I’ve

been

ban

ishe

d fr

om th

e Ca

stle

Tou

r

for

ince

ssea

nt sl

umbe

ring

, so

for

the

next

cas

tle,

Ned

a di

d th

e to

ur a

lone

w

hile

I w

alke

d ar

ound

the

very

pre

tty,

bu

t sm

all v

illag

e. W

e m

et u

p ag

ain

for

dinn

er a

nd c

ompa

red

stor

ies,

but

by

this

tim

e it

was

aro

und

7PM

and

we

had

a 4

hour

rid

e so

uth

to B

orde

aux.

It w

as q

uite

the

adve

ntur

e ri

ding

do

ing

130

lega

lly o

n th

e Au

toro

ute

in

the

dark

. We

shar

ed th

e hi

ghw

ay w

ith

truc

kers

and

lear

ned

the

Fren

ch w

ay o

f si

gnal

ling

lane

cha

nges

- yo

u ke

ep y

our

left

blin

ker

on w

hile

in th

e le

ft la

ne.

This

acc

ompl

ishe

s sev

eral

thin

gs: 1

) let

s th

e pe

rson

you

’re

pass

ing

know

you

’re

in th

e la

ne b

esid

e hi

m a

nd n

ot b

ehin

d hi

m 2

) if t

here

’s so

meo

ne in

fron

t of

you,

it r

emin

ds th

em to

MOV

E OV

ER!

and

3) le

ts e

very

one

know

that

you

’re

a go

od c

itiz

en a

nd th

at y

ou’r

e on

ly in

th

e pa

ssin

g la

ne te

mpo

rari

ly a

nd w

ill

get b

ack

in th

e ri

ght l

ane

as so

on a

s po

ssib

le. I

love

the

Euro

pean

eti

quet

te

of d

rivi

ng! I

f onl

y th

e 40

1 w

ere

lik

e th

at!

Ar

rive

d in

Bor

deau

x w

ith

no

hote

l boo

ked.

We

quic

kly

foun

d ou

t th

at a

lmos

t all

hote

ls in

the

area

cl

ose

the

fron

t des

k at

9PM

, so

if yo

u ar

rive

wit

hout

a r

eser

vati

on, y

ou’r

e pr

acti

cally

SOL

. Aro

und

mid

nigh

t, w

e st

umbl

ed o

nto

The

Nig

ht H

otel

, wit

h it

’s a

utom

ated

che

ck-in

syst

em a

nd

acce

ss c

odes

that

bef

uddl

ed u

s for

qui

te

som

e ti

me.

But

for

€31,

you

can

’t re

ally

co

mpl

ain.

Act

ually

, we

thou

ght t

hat,

unti

l we

saw

the

com

mun

al sh

ower

s.

I w

as u

p ti

ll ar

ound

2 in

the

mor

ning

get

ting

eve

ryth

ing

prep

ared

fo

r th

e ne

xt d

ay. A

ll th

e ba

tter

ies o

n ou

r el

ectr

onic

s ran

out

at t

he sa

me

tim

e, a

nd w

e on

ly h

ad o

ne e

lect

rica

l so

cket

in o

ur r

oom

(€31

, can

I st

art

com

plai

ning

now

?). S

o I h

ad to

sit t

here

an

d re

char

ge b

oth

our

cam

eras

, bot

h ou

r iP

ods a

nd m

y la

ptop

to g

et so

me

kind

of m

inim

al c

harg

e to

last

us t

he

Ima

gin

ing

a 2

4 H

eu

res

ra

ce a

t L

e M

an

sS

coo

ters

in

Sa

n S

eb

as

tia

n, S

pa

in

MA

Y 2

01

0

[2

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[27

]

2Rid

e

next

day

. And

pla

n ou

t whe

re w

e’re

go

ing

tom

orro

w a

s wel

l! I h

ave

no id

ea

whe

re w

e’re

goi

ng to

be

from

one

day

to

the

next

...

W

e’re

trul

y w

ande

rers

at t

his p

oint

be

caus

e th

e pl

an c

hang

es e

very

day

as

we

re-e

valu

ate

wha

t we

wan

t to

see

and

wha

t we

can

do in

the

tim

efra

me

we

have

...

We

d J

ul

25

20

07

: Atl

an

tic

Py

ren

ee

s &

Pa

mp

lon

a

It w

as a

late

star

t tod

ay: 8

AM d

ue

to m

e ge

ttin

g to

bed

at 2

AM! H

ad a

qu

ick

cont

inen

tal b

reak

fast

at T

he

Nig

ht H

ôtel

!, an

d w

e ac

tual

ly sa

w th

e st

aff f

or th

e fir

st ti

me

this

vis

it! W

e Au

toro

uted

abo

ut 2

00km

s sou

th to

the

Span

ish

bord

er a

nd ju

st b

efor

e hi

ttin

g Sa

n Se

bast

ian

on th

e co

ast,

deto

ured

ba

ck in

land

to g

et a

smal

l tas

te o

f the

At

lant

ic o

r W

este

rn P

yren

ees,

whi

ch

are

just

the

foot

hills

to th

e re

ally

hig

h m

ount

ains

. Rig

ht n

ow th

e pl

an is

to

do S

pain

, nor

th to

sout

h, a

nd th

en

doub

le b

ack

to F

ranc

e to

do

the

Cent

ral

Pyre

nees

pro

perl

y.

The

run

to th

e bo

rder

was

un

even

tful

, you

can

cov

er a

lot o

f m

ileag

e fa

st w

hen

the

spee

d lim

it is

13

0 km

/h! J

ust t

urn

up th

e tu

nes o

n th

e fr

eshl

y ch

arge

d iP

ods (

see

prev

ious

po

st) t

o tu

rn th

e tr

ip in

to y

our

own

mus

ic v

ideo

! Int

eres

ting

that

the

Cypr

ess t

rees

in th

e no

rth

have

now

gi

ven

way

to a

noth

er ty

pe, I

hav

e to

do

som

e re

sear

ch to

find

out

wha

t kin

d of

tr

ee th

is is

.

The

Pyre

nees

mou

ntai

ns fo

rm a

na

tura

l bor

der

betw

een

Fran

ce a

nd

Spai

n, a

nd th

e sc

ener

y ch

ange

s alm

ost

imm

edia

tely

whe

n w

e ge

t off

the

Auto

rout

e. W

e ta

ke th

e fir

st tw

isty

roa

d of

the

trip

, nic

e sw

eepe

rs, t

hrou

gh th

e va

lley

whe

re y

ou c

ould

see

ahea

d of

you

lu

sh g

reen

-col

oure

d m

ount

ains

wit

h pa

tchw

ork

squa

res o

f far

mla

nd li

ning

the

face

s lik

e a

quilt

. Jus

t lik

e al

l the

m

ovie

s and

pic

ture

s you

see,

but

mor

e vi

vid.

And

larg

er. A

nd c

oole

r.

Stop

ped

for

lunc

h at

a sm

all t

own

alon

g th

e w

ay a

nd w

onde

red

if w

e w

ere

still

in F

ranc

e or

not

. The

men

u w

as in

Fre

nch,

so y

es. A

fter

lunc

h,

mor

e tw

isty

roa

ds, t

his t

ime

tigh

ter

as

the

road

s clim

bed

up th

e m

ount

ain.

On

e th

ing

abou

t the

sign

s in

Euro

pe,

whe

n th

e sp

eed

limit

for

a tu

rn a

head

is

pos

ted

at 3

0 km

/h, y

ou g

o 30

km

/h!

Anyt

hing

mor

e is

dan

gero

us. T

he sa

me

sign

in N

orth

Am

eric

a m

eant

that

you

co

uld

safe

ly ta

ke th

e tu

rn a

t 60

km/h

, m

aybe

80-

90 k

m/h

if y

ou w

ante

d to

try

touc

hing

a k

nee

dow

n. W

e di

d th

e sa

me

radi

us tu

rns i

n Ca

lifor

nia

and

thos

e w

ere

mar

ked

10 m

ph!

At

som

e po

int,

we

cros

sed

the

Fren

ch/S

pani

sh b

orde

r w

itho

ut

even

kno

win

g it

. We

pulle

d up

to a

T-

inte

rsec

tion

look

ing

for

the

sign

to

Pam

plon

a, a

nd d

ecid

ed to

res

t in

the

shad

e of

a b

uild

ing.

A b

ig g

uy in

a

wife

beat

er w

as c

ooki

ng so

me

rice

and

be

ans o

n a

larg

e op

en p

an o

utsi

de o

f th

e bu

ildin

g an

d w

e st

arte

d ta

lkin

g -

funn

y ho

w b

eing

on

bike

s mak

es y

ou so

ap

proa

chab

le to

oth

er p

eopl

e. H

e sp

oke

Fren

ch to

us,

but

we

foun

d ou

t tha

t he

was

act

ually

Spa

nish

and

that

we

had

just

cro

ssed

into

Spa

in. I

nter

esti

ngly

en

ough

, the

bui

ldin

g w

e w

ere

sitt

ing

on

the

shad

e of

, was

a p

olic

e st

atio

n, a

nd

he w

as a

n on

-dut

y po

lice

offic

er. I

don

’t th

ink

they

get

a lo

t of c

rim

e in

thos

e sm

all S

pani

sh v

illas

.

One

thin

g w

e’ve

not

iced

abo

ut th

e fo

lks i

n Sp

ain

is th

at th

ey’r

e a

lot m

ore

frie

ndlie

r an

d ca

sual

than

the

Fren

ch.

Also

the

arch

itec

ture

of t

he b

uild

ings

in

the

old

villa

ges c

hang

e ri

ght a

cros

s th

e bo

rder

. Gon

e ar

e th

e gr

ey-t

hatc

hed

tria

ngul

ar r

oofs

, now

we

see

build

ings

to

pped

wit

h te

rrac

otta

shin

gles

. We

cont

inue

d on

the

sam

e tw

isty

roa

ds to

Pa

mpl

ona,

Ned

a le

d th

e w

ay so

I go

t so

me

nice

shot

s mot

orcy

cle

shot

s.

We

got t

o Pa

mpl

ona

arou

nd 6

PM.

The

GPS

led

us to

the

Leyr

e ho

tel i

n th

e ce

ntre

of t

he c

ity

and

we

wer

e gl

ad th

ere

wer

e ro

oms a

vaila

ble.

As

expe

rien

ced

trav

eler

s, w

e’ve

foun

d th

at m

ost t

imes

you

can

get

a r

oom

in

a h

otel

if it

’s e

arly

eno

ugh

on a

wee

kday

and

the

tow

n is

smal

l eno

ugh.

Fo

rget

rol

ling

into

a to

uris

ty-c

ity

on a

w

eeke

nd a

t 10P

M lo

okin

g fo

r a

plac

e to

cra

sh! T

oo m

any

bad

expe

rien

ces

knoc

king

on

hote

l doo

r af

ter

hote

l do

or b

eggi

ng fo

r a

corn

er to

par

k ou

r w

eary

but

ts fo

r th

e ni

ght!

So

toni

ght,

I’m a

lso

rese

rvin

g th

e ne

xt c

oupl

e of

ni

ghts

(Yay

! Our

firs

t res

t day

) in

San

Seba

stia

n, a

coa

stal

res

ort t

own

near

th

e Fr

ench

/Spa

nish

bor

der.

Onl

ine,

al

read

y th

e ro

oms w

ere

bein

g fil

led

up.

I had

to b

ook

one

nigh

t wit

h Ex

pedi

a,

and

the

othe

r ni

ght o

n th

e ho

tel

web

site

...

Th

u J

ul

26

20

07

: Ba

sq

ue

P

ark

s &

Sa

n S

eb

as

tiá

nI g

ot u

p la

te to

day.

No

mat

ter

wha

t tim

e zo

ne I’

m in

, 4AM

loca

l see

ms t

o be

the

defa

ult b

edti

me

for

me.

We

only

hav

e a

shor

t rid

e to

day,

abo

ut 1

50 k

m lo

op

of so

me

twis

ty r

oads

thro

ugh

som

e N

atio

nal P

arks

in th

e Ba

sque

(Nor

th-

East

) reg

ion

of S

pain

.

The

wea

ther

was

dis

gust

ingl

y ho

t an

d hu

mid

, the

air

tem

pera

ture

was

34

C! I

felt

sorr

y fo

r N

eda

in h

er fu

ll le

athe

rs!

W

hen

I was

pla

nnin

g th

is r

oute

last

ni

ght,

it r

oute

d ar

ound

this

smal

l tow

n on

the

high

way

cal

led

Puen

te le

Rei

na,

but I

fixe

d it

to g

o th

roug

h in

stea

d.

We

ende

d up

stop

ping

ther

e fo

r lu

nch

and

it w

as v

ery

nice

! A lo

t of f

olks

wer

e dr

esse

d up

in th

at c

hara

cter

isti

c w

hite

an

d re

d ou

tfits

, we

thou

ght t

hey

wer

e pa

rt o

f a c

lub

or so

met

hing

, but

the

wai

ter

who

serv

ed u

s lun

ch to

ld u

s tha

t th

at is

the

outfi

t the

y w

ear

to c

eleb

rate

Sp

anis

h va

cati

ons/

holid

ays.

The

bac

ks

of th

e sc

arve

s hav

e th

e ho

met

own

whe

re th

ey a

re fr

om!

Af

ter

lunc

h w

e hi

t the

Par

que

Nat

ural

de

Urb

asa-

Andi

a, a

bout

100

km

s wes

t of P

ampl

ona.

The

cen

tral

fe

atur

e he

re is

a la

rge

mou

ntai

n w

ith

a

win

ding

roa

d th

at sn

akes

up

and

dow

n it

. We’

re h

ere

mor

e fo

r th

e ro

ad th

an

the

mou

ntai

n. O

ne si

de o

f the

mou

ntai

n is

a lo

ng a

scen

t wit

h 60

km

/h c

urve

s, a

s w

e re

ach

the

top,

ther

e is

a m

onum

ent

wit

h a

view

poin

t and

then

the

othe

r si

de o

f the

mou

ntai

n is

a q

uick

des

cent

w

ith

20 k

m/h

hai

rpin

turn

s. T

his w

ould

be

a fu

n ro

ad to

do

back

war

ds a

s wel

l, as

I fin

d ha

irpi

ns e

asie

r go

ing

uphi

ll.

Alm

ost i

mm

edia

tely

aft

er U

rbas

a-An

dia

is th

e Pa

rque

Nat

ural

de

Aral

ar,

whi

ch is

com

pose

d en

tire

ly o

f a d

ense

fo

rest

and

a v

ery

twis

ty 3

0 km

/h r

oad

that

just

doe

s not

let u

p, c

urve

aft

er

curv

e. It

end

s at t

he to

wn

of B

easa

in,

whe

re w

e tu

rn b

ack

nort

h ea

st to

the

coas

t, to

San

Seb

asti

án, o

ur d

esti

nati

on

for

the

next

cou

ple

of d

ays!

W

e’re

at a

cri

tica

l poi

nt in

the

trip

, whe

re w

e ha

ve to

pla

n ou

r ne

xt

few

day

s. I

can’

t bel

ieve

we’

re a

wee

k in

to o

ur tr

ip a

nd th

ere’

s sti

ll so

muc

h gr

ound

to c

over

! I h

ad o

rigi

nally

pl

anne

d to

cov

er th

e no

rthe

rn c

oast

of

Spai

n an

d th

en in

to P

ortu

gal a

nd th

en

back

to th

e An

dalu

cian

reg

ion

of S

pain

, bu

t thi

s cou

ntry

is so

larg

e an

d I r

eally

don’

t wan

t to

spen

d ov

er a

wee

k he

re.

In th

e in

tere

sts o

f tim

e, w

e’ll

prob

ably

ha

ve to

slab

it a

cros

s the

ent

ire

face

of

Spai

n st

raig

ht to

the

sout

hern

coa

st, i

t’s

over

100

0 km

s, w

hich

we’

ll tr

y to

do

in

a si

ngle

day

. We’

re g

oing

to n

eed

our

day

of r

est t

omor

row

!

Fri

Ju

l 2

7 2

00

7: B

ea

ch D

ay

S

an

Se

ba

sti

án

H

aha,

I ju

st c

alle

d a

hote

l in

the

Anda

luci

an r

egio

n to

mak

e a

rese

rvat

ion

for

tom

orro

w. W

hen

I gav

e th

e re

serv

atio

n de

sk m

y lo

cal n

umbe

r,

she

said

, “Bu

t you

are

in S

an S

ebas

tián

, yo

u ar

e in

the

nort

h of

Spa

in, w

e ar

e in

th

e so

uth

of S

pain

!”, I

said

, “W

e’ll

mak

e it

!”. I

hop

e w

e do

...! W

e’re

act

ually

in

the

nort

h-ea

st a

rea,

clo

se to

the

Fren

ch b

orde

r, a

nd w

e ha

ve to

mak

e it

cl

ear

acro

ss to

the

sout

h-w

est r

egio

n -

exac

tly

1080

km

s in

a da

y!

Sa

t Ju

l 2

8 2

00

7: S

pa

in i

n a

da

yH

ow m

uch

can

one

real

ly w

rite

abo

ut

spen

ding

1,0

80 k

ms o

n a

mot

orcy

cle

on

a hi

ghw

ay a

cros

s the

cou

ntry

. If y

ou’r

e in

Nor

th A

mer

ica,

not

muc

h.

Sie

rra

Mo

ren

a m

ou

nta

ins

of

Sp

ain

in t

he

ba

ckg

rou

nd

Th

e W

hit

e V

illa

ge

s o

f A

rco

s

de

la

Fro

nte

ra

MA

Y 2

01

0

[2

8]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[29

]

2Rid

e

But S

pain

? H

oly

frac

k! E

ven

the

high

way

s are

twis

ty! P

rett

y m

uch

mos

t of

Spa

in, n

orth

to so

uth,

is c

ompr

ised

of

som

e m

ount

aino

us r

ange

in e

very

re

gion

. You

can

’t zo

ne o

ut li

ke a

n I4

0:In

dian

a to

Mis

sour

i run

! At o

ne

poin

t the

2 la

ne h

ighw

ay m

ade

a sh

arp

hair

pin

up th

e si

de o

f a m

outa

in!

Imag

ine

4 la

nes o

f tra

ffic

doub

ling

back

on

itse

lf!

We

took

the

mai

n Au

tovi

a le

avin

g th

e Ba

sque

reg

ion

thro

ugh

Mad

rid.

I m

ade

the

mis

take

of o

nly

wea

ring

m

esh

in th

e m

orni

ng, s

o I s

uffe

red

for

the

first

leg,

tryi

ng to

get

as m

uch

of

my

body

beh

ind

that

big

win

dshi

eld

of

min

e, h

andw

arm

ers c

rank

ed u

p to

11.

W

e ha

d pl

anne

d to

div

ide

the

trip

up

in

200

km se

gmen

ts, a

s tha

t was

aro

und

the

poin

t our

res

erve

wou

ld h

it o

n th

e bi

kes d

oing

140

km

/h. N

orm

ally

we’

d av

erag

e ar

ound

300

-350

km

s/ta

nk, b

ut

you

burn

a lo

t of g

as tr

ying

to p

ush

thos

e bi

kes a

t tha

t spe

ed. I

t’s g

reat

be

ing

on th

e ro

ad e

arly

eno

ugh

that

yo

u ca

n ca

tch

a su

nris

e (h

opef

ully

to

your

left

or

righ

t, no

t in

fron

t of y

ou...

), pl

us y

ou d

on’t

have

to sh

are

the

road

wit

h an

y ot

her

vehi

cles

.

We

wer

e do

ing

alri

ght w

ith

the

200

km/l

eg p

lan

for

a w

hile

, but

at t

he e

nd

of th

e se

cond

leg

as w

e ap

proa

ched

M

adri

d, th

e w

eath

er g

ot st

onki

n’ h

ot.

I was

now

oka

y, b

ut N

eda

was

rea

lly

suff

erin

g in

her

full

leat

hers

. She

trie

d so

akin

g he

r sh

irt a

nd h

air

wit

h w

ater

be

fore

leav

ing,

to le

t the

win

d an

d ev

apor

atio

n co

ol h

er d

own

but w

ith

the

arid

hea

t clim

bing

pas

t 35C

, it w

ould

on

ly la

st a

hal

f hou

r be

fore

she

star

ted

over

heat

ing

agai

n. W

hen

we

got t

o M

adri

d, w

e ha

d to

neg

otia

te a

seri

es o

f in

tert

win

ing

high

way

s, g

etti

ng o

n an

d of

f a se

ries

of e

xits

and

on/

offr

amps

to

get t

o th

e ri

ght A

utov

ia to

take

us s

outh

to

Sev

illa

wit

hout

goi

ng th

roug

h th

e ci

ty. W

hat I

did

n’t k

now

is th

at M

adri

d ha

s an

exte

nsiv

e hi

ghw

ay sy

stem

...

unde

rnea

th th

e ci

ty...

whe

re th

e GP

S si

gnal

s tha

t we

rely

on

so h

eavi

ly d

on’t

go...

The

min

ute

we

wen

t und

ergr

ound

, I w

as st

arin

g at

my

last

kno

wn

posi

tion

, an

d “G

PS S

igna

l Los

t. Ac

quir

ing

Sate

llite

s”. G

ood

luck

. Som

ehow

we

actu

ally

end

ed u

p in

the

hear

t of

Mad

rid

poin

ting

in th

e w

rong

dir

ecti

on.

I’d m

ake

a te

rrib

le h

omin

g pi

geon

...

Ned

a to

ld m

e I w

as q

uite

exp

ress

ive

on th

e bi

ke, h

elm

et m

ovin

g vi

olen

t ba

ck a

nd fo

rth,

up

and

dow

n as

I w

as

spra

ying

ven

om a

gain

st th

e in

side

of

my

viso

r, fi

sts p

ound

ing

on m

y ta

nkba

g...

So

meh

ow w

e go

t out

of M

adri

d, b

ut

Ned

a w

as n

ot d

oing

wel

l. Sh

e ha

d to

get

ou

t of t

he le

athe

rs p

ront

o. T

hat’s

Ital

ian

for,

“H

oly

crap

it’s

ston

kin’

hot

!”. O

ur

200

km/l

eg sl

owly

dw

indl

ed d

own

to

50 k

ms.

We

had

to d

o so

met

hing

, so

she

wen

t in

her

jean

s and

I ga

ve h

er m

y m

esh

jack

et. I

t wor

ked.

We

wer

e 60

0 km

s int

o ou

r da

y-lo

ng o

dyss

ey a

nd w

e w

ere

good

to g

o. S

outh

of M

adri

d th

e la

ndsc

ape

beco

mes

a lo

t mor

e go

lden

an

d br

own,

esp

ecia

lly d

ue to

the

heat

w

ave

that

par

t of t

he c

ount

ry h

as b

een

expe

rien

cing

for

the

last

few

wee

ks. I

n a

coup

le o

f spo

ts, w

e ev

en sa

w sm

oke

in

som

e ar

eas t

hat s

ugge

sted

smal

l for

est

fires

! At t

imes

, I fo

rgot

I w

as r

idin

g in

Sp

ain,

it lo

oked

like

par

ts o

f the

Sou

th-

Wes

t US,

Cal

iforn

ia a

nd N

ew M

exic

o.

Th

ere

seem

to b

e a

gas s

tati

on e

very

10

km

s or

so o

n th

e Au

tovi

a. H

ad d

inne

r in

the

sadd

est o

f roa

dsid

e re

stau

rant

s,

old

men

from

the

loca

l vill

age

sing

ing

song

s in

the

corn

er. T

he w

aite

r di

d no

t find

our

lack

of k

now

ledg

e of

the

Span

ish

lang

uage

am

usin

g at

all.

It w

as

an e

xper

ienc

e...

Th

e la

st g

as st

op a

guy

from

H

ambu

rg c

hatt

ed to

us a

litt

le b

it. I

t was

th

e fir

st w

ords

of E

nglis

h w

e ha

d he

ard

all d

ay, i

roni

cally

from

a G

erm

an! W

e th

en g

ot o

ff th

e Au

tovi

a on

to o

ne o

f the

m

ost b

eaut

iful r

oads

I’ve

eve

r be

en o

n.

A on

e-la

ne c

ount

ry r

oad

wit

h tw

ists

an

d el

evat

ion

chan

ges,

litt

le fo

liage

ar

ound

the

road

so c

lean

sigh

t lin

es

arou

nd e

ach

corn

er. A

nd th

e sc

ener

y!

W

hen

we

pulle

d in

to o

ur to

wn,

Ar

cos d

e la

Fro

nter

a, w

e w

ere

gree

ted

wit

h an

am

azin

g si

te: a

cit

y on

the

edge

of a

hug

e cl

iff, a

lmos

t eve

ry si

ngle

bu

ildin

g w

as p

aint

ed w

hite

. I th

ink

we’

re g

oing

to st

ay h

ere

an e

xtra

day

he

re a

nd w

e’ll

wal

k th

roug

h th

e to

wn

tom

orro

w. I

can

’t ju

st sl

eep

8 ho

urs a

nd

clim

b ba

ck o

n th

e bi

kes a

gain

tom

orro

w

mor

ning

!

Muc

h as

we

had

our

stru

ggle

s tod

ay

wit

h th

e he

at a

nd m

ileag

e, to

day

was

on

e of

the

best

exa

mpl

es o

f liv

ing

on a

m

otor

cycl

e. E

very

mor

ning

, you

pac

k up

eve

ryth

ing

you

own,

toss

it o

n th

e bi

ke a

nd le

ave

- no

trac

e yo

u w

ere

ever

th

ere.

And

you

r br

eakf

ast,

lunc

h an

d di

nner

are

just

line

item

s on

a pe

trol

st

atio

n re

ceip

t. W

hen

you

take

you

r st

uff o

ff th

e bi

ke in

the

even

ing,

the

soun

ds a

nd sm

ells

are

diff

eren

t; yo

u’re

in

ano

ther

cit

y, a

diff

eren

t cou

ntry

, m

aybe

eve

n a

diff

eren

t tim

e zo

ne. T

hat

last

one

thro

ws y

ou fo

r a

loop

, bec

ause

ha

lf th

e ti

me,

you

got

ta w

ake

up a

n ho

ur e

arlie

r th

e ne

xt m

orni

ng to

pac

k up

eve

ryth

ing

you

own,

toss

it o

n th

e bi

ke, a

nd le

ave.

.. It

’s so

rom

anti

c, n

ot

bein

g ti

ed d

own

to a

nyth

ing.

A tr

ue

nom

adic

life

styl

e.

It

’s th

e ti

me

you

spen

d al

one

in

your

hel

met

, esp

ecia

lly o

n th

e sl

ab,

whe

re y

ou tr

y to

do

the

mat

h an

d fig

ure

out w

hat i

t will

take

to sp

end

the

rest

of

your

life

livi

ng th

is w

ay. B

ecau

se w

hen

that

new

roa

d ah

ead

of y

ou fu

rls u

p in

to th

e ti

ght t

urns

that

take

you

r m

ind

away

from

eve

ry o

ther

thou

ght,

besi

des

how

the

hell

you’

re g

oing

to m

ake

it

to th

e ne

xt c

orne

r: th

at’s

nir

vana

. All

that

oth

er c

rap

arou

nd th

e ro

ad is

just

w

indo

w d

ress

ing.

Su

n J

ul

29

20

07

: Arc

os

de

la

F

ron

tera

We

spen

t the

day

at A

rcos

de

la

Fron

tera

, an

old

fort

/tow

n po

siti

oned

hi

gh a

top

of a

clif

f. Al

l the

hou

se a

nd

build

ings

are

whi

te-w

ashe

d, a

nd th

e to

wn

has c

hang

ed o

wne

rshi

p fr

om

the

Moo

rs to

the

Span

iard

s so

the

arch

iect

ure

is q

uite

vai

red.

I’ll

spar

e yo

u th

is h

isto

ry (y

ou c

an g

oogl

e it

yo

urse

lf),

On

e th

ing

abou

t the

Spa

nish

la

ngua

ge, t

he c

in G

raci

as is

pro

noun

ced

“th”

, so

you

actu

ally

say

it w

ith

a sl

ight

lis

p: “

Gra-

thee

-us”

. Diff

eren

t fro

m m

ost

othe

r Sp

anis

h co

untr

ies.

Gra

cias

is o

ur

mos

t wid

ely

used

phr

ase

whe

n in

Spa

in.

Seco

nd is

“Pe

rdón

”, w

hich

mea

ns,

“Sor

ry fo

r hi

ttin

g yo

u in

the

back

wit

h m

y ta

nkba

g”.

Mo

n J

ul

30

20

07

: Sh

op

pin

g f

or

Mo

torc

ycl

e G

ea

rTh

is w

as a

n er

rand

day

. Ned

a w

as

suff

ocat

ing

in th

e he

at in

And

aluc

ia,

so w

e ha

d to

do

som

ethi

ng to

mak

e he

r fe

el c

omfo

rtab

le o

n th

e bi

ke. I

ch

ecke

d th

e w

eb, a

nd th

ere

was

a B

MW

M

otor

cycl

e st

ore

in A

lgec

iras

, whi

ch

is n

ear

Gibr

alta

r, so

off

we

wen

t at

6AM

from

Arc

os. T

he w

eath

er a

t tha

t ti

me

is b

eaut

iful,

abou

t 20C

and

it fe

els

even

coo

ler

on th

e bi

ke. T

hing

s sta

rt

to h

eat u

p ar

ound

noo

n, w

hen

the

sun

turn

s it o

n fu

ll-bl

ast.

We

didn

’t re

ally

vent

ure

too

far

into

Alg

ecir

as, t

he

deal

ersh

ip is

on

the

outs

kirt

s of t

own.

U

nfor

tuna

tely

, the

y w

ere

a sm

alle

r de

aler

ship

so th

ey d

idn’

t hav

e an

y m

esh

gear

in st

ock.

The

y ca

lled

thei

r si

ster

stor

e in

Mar

abel

la, a

bout

200

km

s to

the

east

, on

the

coas

t nea

r M

alag

a (a

po

pula

r to

uris

t res

ort t

own)

, and

they

ha

d th

e ge

ar in

stoc

k in

var

ious

size

s.

Over

the

phon

e th

ey to

ld u

s the

y co

uld

ship

it a

nyw

here

in S

pain

for

the

next

m

orni

ng. T

hey

wer

e su

rpri

sed

to h

ear

that

we

wou

ld b

e co

min

g ov

er in

the

afte

rnoo

n to

pic

k it

up.

App

aren

tly

in

Euro

pe, t

rave

lling

200

km

s is j

ust n

ot

done

, let

alo

ne 1

100

kms!

So

off

we

wen

t to

Mar

abel

la. W

e pl

otte

d se

vera

l tw

isty

roa

ds a

long

the

way

, so

200

kms,

bec

ame

a 40

0 km

trip

up

into

the

mou

ntai

ns o

f the

Par

que

Nat

ural

de

Los A

lcor

noca

les

and

Parq

ue N

atur

al S

ierr

a de

Gr

azal

ema.

The

par

ks w

ere

beau

tifu

l an

d th

e ro

ad w

as a

wes

ome!

We

met

a

coup

le o

f Bri

tish

tour

ists

nea

r U

briq

ue

who

wer

e va

cati

onin

g in

the

area

. The

y to

ld u

s tha

t the

re w

as a

vill

age

wit

h an

enc

lave

of U

K ex

-pat

s, so

it w

as

Ro

nd

a, S

pa

inS

po

rtin

g m

y n

ew

he

lme

t

MA

Y 2

01

0

[3

0]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[31

]

2Rid

e

an e

ntir

e vi

llage

of E

nglis

h-sp

eaki

ng

peop

le in

the

hear

t of A

ndal

ucia

!W

e m

ade

it to

Mar

abel

la a

roun

d 2:

30PM

to fi

nd th

e BM

W st

ore

clos

ed!?

! A

quic

k ch

eck

on th

e st

ore

hour

s re

veal

ed it

was

clo

sed

from

2-4

PM

ever

yday

! Wow

, the

Spa

nish

take

thei

r si

esta

s pre

tty

seri

ousl

y! S

o w

e he

aded

in

to a

bar

for

a dr

ink,

onl

y to

find

it

was

ow

ned

by a

noth

er B

rit e

x-pa

t. H

ad a

cou

ple

of d

rink

s and

lunc

h in

a

rest

aura

nt a

roun

d th

e co

rner

, and

by

that

tim

e it

was

4PM

and

Ned

a w

ent

shop

ping

for

her

mes

h su

it. S

he e

nded

up

get

ting

an

Airfl

ow ja

cket

and

pan

ts,

sam

e as

min

e. G

ood

thin

g it

’s in

red

, or

it’d

be

the

mat

chin

g ra

insu

it fi

asco

all

over

aga

in! W

hen

it c

ame

tim

e to

pay

, bo

th o

ur V

isa

card

s got

den

ied

from

all

the

fore

ign

usag

e ov

er th

e la

st fe

w d

ays,

so

it w

as o

ff to

find

an

ABM

.

Tu

e J

ul

31

20

07

: S

ierr

a N

ev

ad

aGo

t out

of R

onda

pre

tty

late

this

m

orni

ng: 1

0:30

AM. N

eda

has h

er n

ew

mes

h su

it so

she

shou

ld b

e ok

ay w

ith

the

heat

now

. Tod

ay w

as a

ll ab

out

twis

ty r

oads

. We

wen

t nor

th in

to

the

mou

ntai

ns, s

topp

ing

thro

ugh

Ante

quer

a fo

r gr

ocer

ies a

long

the

way

in

the

mor

ning

.

Afte

r lo

adin

g up

on

wat

er a

nd

stuf

f for

a p

icni

c, w

e he

aded

dow

n in

to

the

coas

t tow

ards

Ner

ja, b

ypas

sing

th

e po

pula

r to

uris

t cit

y of

Mál

aga.

Th

ere’

s a fa

bulo

us c

oast

al r

oad

betw

een

Ner

ja a

nd M

otri

l tha

t all

the

loca

l m

otor

cycl

ists

rav

e ab

out,

so w

e ha

d to

try

it. W

e m

isse

d it

the

first

tim

e be

caus

e th

e GP

S ro

uted

us o

n th

e Au

tovi

a, so

we

actu

ally

did

it tw

ice:

ba

ckw

ards

and

forw

ards

! The

firs

t ti

me

roun

d w

as a

scop

ing

run

and

we

noti

ced

a ni

ce b

each

, whi

ch w

e st

oppe

d at

the

seco

nd ti

me

roun

d. T

here

was

a

pret

ty se

riou

s hik

e do

wn

the

hill

and

once

we

got t

o th

e be

ach

we

regr

ette

d no

t bri

ngin

g ou

r fli

p-flo

ps a

s the

sand

w

as h

ot! A

nd w

e di

dn’t

brin

g a

beac

h um

brel

la e

ithe

r, so

we

got b

urnt

just

a

littl

e...

Nex

t tim

e, w

e’ll

find

a w

ay to

fit

that

bea

ch u

mbr

ella

on

the

bike

.

Afte

r lu

nch

we

head

ed u

p to

the

Sier

ra N

evad

a m

ount

ain

rang

e. T

here

w

as a

n am

azin

g up

hill

clim

b th

roug

h ti

ny to

wns

set a

gain

st th

e si

de o

f the

m

ount

ain.

Nic

e, sm

ooth

, new

pav

emen

t bo

asti

ng 2

0-30

km

/h r

oads

, all

2nd

and

3rd

gear

for

over

200

kms.

We

star

ted

late

, so

only

got

hal

fway

thro

ugh

the

Sier

ra N

evad

a. W

e w

ere

gett

ing

tire

d, so

I p

ulle

d in

to th

e fir

st h

otel

I sa

w

and

we

aske

d fo

r a

room

ther

e. It

w

as o

nly

a co

uple

of h

ours

late

r th

at

I act

ually

foun

d ou

t the

nam

e of

the

tow

n: B

érch

ules

.

Stay

tune

d fo

r th

e co

ntin

uati

on o

f ou

r jo

urne

y in

nex

t mon

th’s

issu

e.

Mor

e ch

ills

(rid

ing

thro

ugh

the

Ital

ian

alps

) and

spi

lls (y

ou’ll

se

e) a

nd lo

ts m

ore

dram

a an

d (u

nint

enti

onal

) com

edy

as w

e to

ur

the

rest

of

Wes

tern

Eur

ope!

Sp

en

din

g a

nig

ht

in a

lit

tle

-kn

ow

n b

ut

be

au

tifu

l to

wn

in

th

e h

ills

of

An

da

luci

a

2R

ide

is

a F

RE

E s

ub

scr

ipti

on

. A

ll y

ou

ne

ed

to

do

is

ge

t o

n t

he

ma

ilin

g l

ist,

or

con

tact

us

on

lin

e.

2R

ide

.ca

.

Ou

r m

ag

az

ine

is

de

liv

ere

d t

o o

ur

su

bs

crib

er’

s h

om

es

or

bu

sin

es

s f

ree

of

cha

rge

. F

or

tho

se

wh

o d

es

ire

an

ele

ctro

nic

co

py

we

ha

ve

th

e

ma

ga

zin

e a

s a

n o

nlin

e s

ub

scr

ipti

on

as

we

ll.

Follo

w u

s on

Fac

eboo

k!

Sta

y t

un

ed

fo

r in

form

ati

on

ab

ou

t o

ur

La

un

ch P

art

y B

BQ

.

Yo

u a

re a

ll in

vit

ed

. B

rin

g y

ou

r

bik

es

an

d f

rie

nd

s.

It’s

ou

r w

ay

to

ge

t to

kn

ow

YO

U!

ree

on

MA

Y 2

01

0

[3

2]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[33

]

2Rid

e

fever

Joe

’s D

uca

ti

Wha

t mak

es a

Duc

ati S

uper

bike

app

eal t

o ce

rtai

n ty

pes

of p

eopl

e? Is

it th

e go

rgeo

us

Ital

ian

supe

rmod

el lo

oks

- Spa

rtan

trel

lis

fram

e, th

e sl

eek

lines

of t

he p

urpo

sefu

l no

se a

nd th

e sk

in-c

lad

fair

ing,

the

clea

n lo

ok o

f the

und

erta

il ex

haus

t, th

e be

auty

of t

hat s

ingl

e-si

ded

swin

garm

? Is

it th

at in

toxi

cati

ng b

asso

pro

fund

o th

unde

r em

anat

ing

from

a c

arbo

n-fib

er-c

lad

Term

igno

ni

exha

ust?

Or

may

be th

e st

ubbo

rn a

dher

ence

to a

val

ve tr

ain

syst

em th

at h

ad m

ore

cost

and

com

plex

ity

draw

back

s th

an

mec

hani

cal a

dvan

tage

s? Ju

st a

s Po

rsch

e fa

ns a

dore

thei

r 91

1s fo

r st

icki

ng to

a r

ear-

engi

ne la

yout

that

giv

es it

s ca

rs

the

wei

ght d

istr

ibut

ion

of a

sle

dgeh

amm

er, a

nd B

MW

box

er

fans

cel

ebra

te th

e ga

wky

aw

kwar

dnes

s of

thei

r ju

gs h

angi

ng

out i

n th

e ai

r, p

erha

ps it

’s th

is D

esm

odro

mic

obs

tina

nce

that

fa

n th

e fla

mes

of p

assi

on in

Duc

atis

ti a

ll ov

er th

e w

orld

.

Joe

Anta

l is

one

such

Duc

atis

ti. T

hat m

uch

is a

ppar

ent

whe

n su

rvey

ing

the

fine

Ital

ian

exot

ica

that

inha

bit t

he

2nd

floor

of t

he b

uild

ing

whe

re h

e w

orks

from

. Wha

t is

also

ap

pare

nt is

that

his

exc

item

ent r

uns

a lo

t dee

per

than

just

co

llect

ing

pret

ty to

ys. J

oe ta

lks

of th

e jo

y in

not

onl

y ri

ding

an

d ra

cing

bik

es, b

ut a

s th

e fo

rmer

ow

ner

of a

Tor

onto

m

otor

cycl

e se

rvic

e sh

op, h

e al

so s

peak

s of

the

pass

ion

in

build

ing

and

mai

ntai

ning

the

very

mac

hine

that

roc

kets

yo

u aw

ay o

n tw

o w

heel

s. T

he s

mile

on

his

face

and

the

ferv

or in

his

voi

ce a

re th

at o

f som

eone

muc

h yo

unge

r th

an

his

68-y

ears

wou

ld le

ad y

ou to

bel

ieve

. Thi

s is

a m

an w

ho

has

disc

over

ed th

e fo

unta

in o

f you

th, a

nd th

e w

ater

s ar

e im

port

ed s

trai

ght f

rom

Ital

y!

“Wh

at

is a

lso

ap

pa

ren

t is

th

at

his

exci

tem

en

t ru

ns

a

lo

t d

ee

pe

r th

an

ju

st

coll

ect

ing

pre

tty

to

ys

.”

Ther

e is

a si

ngul

ar

focu

s on

Duca

ti’s

Su

perb

ike

line,

w

ith

tast

eful

se

lect

ions

of i

coni

c m

odel

s, a

nd a

dee

p kn

owle

dge

of th

e ra

cers

that

mad

e th

em fa

mou

s.

“th

e o

rig

ina

l ra

cer

wa

s a

ctu

ally

pa

inte

d in

th

e

colo

r sc

he

me

of

a c

an

o

f C

ast

rol o

il…”

ST

OR

Y B

Y G

EN

E L

EE

PH

OT

OS

BY

WO

BB

LY

CA

T P

HO

TO

GR

AP

HY

MA

Y 2

01

0

[3

4]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[35

]

2Rid

e

hist

ory.

Gia

com

o Ag

osti

ni sh

owed

up

to a

rac

e as

a m

arke

ting

plo

y or

gani

zed

by M

V A

gust

a, p

iloti

ng a

350

cc m

achi

ne

agai

nst t

he lo

cal t

alen

t. Ag

o w

on, o

f co

urse

, but

Joe

did

get a

cha

nce

to

mee

t and

talk

to th

e Gr

eat O

ne a

nd w

as

impr

esse

d w

ith

the

man

, bot

h on

and

of

f the

trac

k.

This

kee

n in

tere

st in

spor

t bik

es

and

raci

ng is

refl

ecte

d in

his

col

lect

ion.

Th

ere

are

no M

onst

ers,

Mul

tist

rada

s or

Spor

tcla

ssic

s her

e. T

here

is a

sing

ular

fo

cus o

n Du

cati

’s S

uper

bike

line

, wit

h ta

stef

ul se

lect

ions

of i

coni

c m

odel

s,

and

a de

ep k

now

ledg

e of

the

race

rs

that

mad

e th

em fa

mou

s. W

e ta

lked

a

bit a

bout

Tro

y Ba

ylis

s and

his

hum

ble

begi

nnin

gs a

s a sp

ray-

pain

ter

for

an

auto

shop

, whi

ch le

d to

som

e di

scus

sion

ab

out J

oe’s

ow

n st

ory

abou

t hav

ing

to e

scap

e fr

om c

omm

unis

t occ

upie

d Ro

man

ia, m

ovin

g se

vera

l tim

es a

nd

imm

igra

ting

to C

anad

a in

the

earl

y 70

s,

havi

ng to

star

t a n

ew li

fe a

nd b

uild

a

busi

ness

from

scra

tch.

Jo

e’s s

econ

d Du

cati

is h

is 1

999

996

SPS,

a m

odel

mad

e fa

mou

s by

Bayl

iss’

fir

st W

orld

Sup

erbi

ke w

in. T

he S

PS

stan

ds fo

r “S

port

Pro

duct

ion

Spec

ial”

, th

e “S

peci

al”

bein

g an

up

rate

d en

gine

, st

rong

er c

hass

is a

nd li

ghte

r w

eigh

t. A

few

thin

gs st

and

out w

hen

you

look

ov

er th

is b

ike,

my

favo

rite

det

ail i

s th

e go

ld-c

olor

ed fr

ame,

but

ther

e ar

e ot

her

styl

ing

item

s tha

t sig

nal t

hat i

s no

ord

inar

y 99

6, su

ch a

s the

5-s

poke

w

heel

s and

an

Ohlin

s rea

r sh

ock,

and

m

ore

telli

ngly

, a p

laqu

e on

the

trip

le

tree

that

pro

clai

ms i

t #49

7 ou

t of a

run

of

#15

00 m

odel

s wor

ldw

ide.

Joe’

s mod

el

com

es e

quip

ped

wit

h a

Term

igno

ni

tita

nium

exh

aust

whi

ch u

ndou

bted

ly

wou

ld h

ave

shak

en th

e ro

om w

ith

a pl

easi

ng r

umbl

e, if

we

had

star

ted

it u

p.By

this

tim

e, Jo

e w

as h

ooke

d on

Du

cati

s, a

nd th

e ne

xt c

oupl

e of

ac

quis

itio

ns in

his

col

lect

ion

tren

ded

The

Duc

that

star

ted

it a

ll fo

r hi

m is

a

1984

Mik

e H

ailw

ood

Repl

ica

that

si

ts a

t one

end

of t

he c

olle

ctio

n. W

ith

a pr

oduc

tion

run

from

197

9-19

85,

this

bik

e w

as c

reat

ed to

cel

ebra

te it

s na

mes

ake’

s unl

ikel

y vi

ctor

y in

the

1978

Is

le o

f Man

TT.

Hop

ing

to c

apit

aliz

e on

Hai

lwoo

d’s p

opul

arit

y, th

e fa

ctor

y qu

ickl

y m

odifi

ed it

s pro

duct

ion

900S

S w

ith

fair

ings

that

mat

ched

the

race

bik

e. T

he r

esul

ting

MH

R w

as a

n in

stan

t hit

and

is c

redi

ted

by m

any

as th

e bi

ke th

at b

aile

d Du

cati

out

of

imm

inen

t ban

krup

tcy

in th

e m

id 8

0s.

An in

tere

stin

g (a

nd fu

nny)

tidb

it a

bout

th

e re

d, g

reen

and

whi

te c

olor

s spo

rted

by

the

raci

ng b

ike

and

its r

eplic

a is

that

w

hile

Duc

ati m

arke

ted

the

liver

y as

th

e “t

rico

lore

” of

the

Ital

ian

flag,

the

orig

inal

rac

er w

as a

ctua

lly p

aint

ed in

th

e co

lor

sche

me

of a

can

of C

astr

ol o

il,

one

of H

ailw

ood’

s pri

mar

y sp

onso

rs!

Th

is b

ike

was

, and

still

is, J

oe’s

fa

vori

te. O

rigi

nally

pur

chas

ed b

y a

frie

nd w

ho o

wne

d a

loca

l Fer

rari

de

aler

ship

, Joe

got

a c

hanc

e to

swin

g

his l

eg o

ver

the

seat

and

rel

ive

the

1978

TT

on th

e st

reet

s of T

oron

to. H

e de

cide

d th

en a

nd th

ere

that

he

had

to

have

one

and

late

r on

that

sam

e ye

ar,

boug

ht h

is fr

iend

’s M

HR

wit

h on

ly 4

00

kms o

n th

e od

omet

er.

Jo

e is

qui

te k

now

ledg

eabl

e ab

out

the

raci

ng ic

ons t

hrou

ghou

t the

yea

rs.

And

not s

econ

d-ha

nd e

ithe

r. W

hile

ra

cing

250

cc Y

amah

a YD

S-3s

bac

k in

th

e 60

s whe

n he

was

livi

ng in

Aus

tral

ia,

he g

ot a

n op

port

unit

y to

pit

his

skill

s ag

ains

t one

of t

he g

reat

est r

acer

s in

MA

Y 2

01

0

[3

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[37

]

2Rid

e

tow

ards

new

er fa

re. A

200

7 Tr

iCol

ore

1098

S si

ts w

ith

0 km

s on

the

odom

eter

, it

s ow

ner

awai

ting

the

righ

t tra

ck d

ay

to e

xerc

ise

its S

uper

bike

mus

cle

and

sine

ws.

Nor

mal

stre

et r

idin

g w

ould

not

ev

en st

art t

o ta

x a

bike

wit

h 16

0hp

on

tap,

rac

e-re

ady

Ohlin

s for

ks a

nd r

ear

shoc

ks, a

nd li

ghtw

eigh

t com

pone

nts

that

dis

ting

uish

it fr

om th

e ba

se

1098

. 200

7 sa

w th

e lim

ited

run

of t

he

“tri

colo

re”

edit

ion

of th

e 10

98, t

he

fair

ings

pai

nted

the

red,

whi

te a

nd

gree

n co

lors

of t

he It

alia

n na

tion

al

flag.

The

“tr

icol

ore”

trad

itio

n be

gan

in 1

985

wit

h th

e 75

0 F1

, one

of t

he

mos

t hig

hly

soug

ht a

fter

Duc

atis

, and

co

ntin

ued

wit

h su

ch b

ikes

as t

he 8

51,

the

MH

R m

enti

oned

abo

ve, a

nd th

e M

onst

er S

4RS.

As

wel

l, Jo

e ha

s pic

ked

up a

red

20

09 8

48, w

hich

is a

bit

mor

e fr

iend

ly

for

the

stre

ets.

Spo

rtin

g th

e sa

me

phys

ical

dim

ensi

ons a

s a 1

098,

the

848

is a

logi

cal o

ffer

ing

from

the

fact

ory

to a

ccom

pany

the

1098

, sim

ilar

to th

e 74

9 an

d th

e 74

8 th

at p

rece

ded

it. T

he

mos

t con

trov

ersi

al is

sue

wit

h th

is

mod

el is

that

the

848

is th

e fir

st D

ucat

i Su

perb

ike

to c

ome

equi

pped

wit

h a

wet

cl

utch

. Man

y en

thus

iast

s bem

oan

the

fact

that

no

long

er d

oes a

Sup

erbi

ke

soun

d lik

e lo

ose

chan

ge in

a jo

gger

’s

pock

et! O

ther

than

this

min

or h

eres

y,

the

848

stic

ks to

the

sam

e co

nven

tion

al

rule

s as o

ther

Duc

ati S

uper

bike

s,

nam

ely

that

the

90-d

egre

e L-

Twin

m

otor

is st

ill th

e be

atin

g he

art o

f thi

s be

ast,

the

tubu

lar

stee

l tre

llis f

ram

e is

st

ill p

ullin

g ch

assi

s dut

y, th

e ex

haus

ts

are

still

twin

can

nons

bel

low

ing

god-

like

thun

der

to th

e ve

hicl

es it

pas

ses,

and

the

swin

garm

is st

ill si

ngle

-sid

ed, t

o gi

ve a

won

derf

ully

uno

bstr

ucte

d vi

ew

of th

e ve

ry p

rett

y M

arch

esin

i Y-s

hape

d sp

oked

rea

r w

heel

.

Only

onc

e ha

s Duc

ati d

evia

ted

from

th

e ab

ove

form

ula,

and

it a

lmos

t pro

ved

disa

stro

us fo

r th

e Bo

logn

a fir

m. T

he

999,

whi

ch p

rece

ded

the

1098

, dar

ed

to d

efy

Duca

ti c

onve

ntio

n an

d de

bute

d w

ith

stac

ked

head

light

s, a

bre

adbo

x sh

aped

sing

le e

xhau

st m

uffle

r an

d a

doub

le-s

ided

swin

garm

that

pro

ved

too

radi

cal f

or tr

adit

iona

lists

, so

muc

h so

th

at th

ey st

ayed

aw

ay fr

om th

e sa

les

floor

in d

rove

s. T

here

is n

o 99

9 or

749

in

this

col

lect

ion,

and

whe

n qu

esti

oned

, Jo

e m

erel

y sh

rugg

ed a

nd w

ith

that

one

ge

stur

e, su

mm

ed u

p th

e m

ajor

ity

of th

e Du

cati

sti’s

opi

nion

s of d

esig

ner

Pier

re

Terb

lanc

he’s

Sup

erbi

ke o

ffer

ing.

De

spit

e th

is m

is-s

tep

in th

e pu

blic

’s

eye,

Ter

blan

che

still

man

aged

to p

en

som

e of

the

mos

t lov

ed m

oder

n-da

y Du

cati

s, li

ke th

e H

yper

mot

ard

and

the

Spor

tCla

ssic

. His

men

tor

was

no

ne o

ther

than

Mas

sim

o Ta

mbu

rini

, w

ho w

as th

e au

thor

of o

ne o

f Duc

ati’s

gr

eate

st d

esig

n ac

hiev

emen

ts -

the

916.

Thi

s ico

nic

mot

orcy

cle

was

the

gran

dfat

her

to th

e m

oder

n Du

cati

Su

perb

ike.

Thi

s is t

he sa

me

916

that

sits

in

the

mid

dle

of th

e co

llect

ion

we

are

all d

rool

ing

over

. Thi

s acq

uisi

tion

to th

e co

llect

ion

was

act

ually

par

t of a

thre

e-bi

ke p

urch

ase,

alo

ngsi

de a

noth

er 9

16

(sti

ll cr

ated

) and

the

yello

w 9

98. A

lmos

t do

ublin

g hi

s Ita

lian

colle

ctio

n in

one

fe

ll sw

oop,

this

cem

ente

d Jo

e’s s

tatu

s as

a di

e-ha

rd D

ucat

i col

lect

or.

Th

e 91

6 is

defi

nite

ly m

y fa

vori

te

of th

e co

llect

ion.

Fro

m th

is c

lean

-sh

eet d

esig

n, c

ame

all t

he v

isua

l and

en

gine

erin

g cu

es th

at w

ould

late

r de

fine

all S

uper

bike

s tha

t cam

e af

ter

it.

It a

lso

esta

blis

hed

Duca

ti’s

rep

utat

ion

as a

bui

lder

of c

ham

pion

ship

-win

ning

m

otor

cycl

es, w

ith

the

916

win

ning

four

ti

tles

dur

ing

its p

rodu

ctio

n ru

n, th

ree

wit

h th

e le

gend

ary

“Kin

g” C

arl F

ogar

ty

and

one

wit

h Tr

oy C

orse

r. T

here

is

a fo

rmid

able

pre

senc

e th

at th

e 91

6 ca

rrie

s wit

h it

- of

muc

h gr

eatn

ess t

hat

had

been

acc

ompl

ishe

d, a

nd a

stro

ng

prom

ise

of th

e gl

ory

in th

e ye

ars t

o co

me.

All

of w

hich

eve

ntua

lly w

ould

co

me

true

.

So y

ou m

ight

ask

, wha

t wou

ld d

rive

a

pers

on to

pur

chas

e 7

Duca

tis?

If y

ou

stoo

d in

the

mid

dle

of th

is c

olle

ctio

n,

surr

ound

ed b

y th

e gl

ory

of d

ecad

es

of r

acin

g vi

ctor

ies r

eflec

ted

in th

e po

lishe

d cr

imso

n fa

irin

gs o

f Bol

ogna

’s

prou

dest

mec

hani

cal a

chie

vem

ents

, you

w

ould

not

ask

such

a q

uest

ion.

Inst

ead,

th

e qu

esti

on y

ou w

ould

pro

babl

y as

k is

, “W

hich

Duc

ati a

re y

ou g

oing

to

get n

ext?

”

Note

s abo

ut th

e writ

er: G

ene L

ee is

also

a D

ucat

isti,

and

is pr

oud

to ru

n a

999 o

n th

e tra

ck, n

o m

atte

r how

m

any

peop

le h

ate o

n Pi

erre

Ter

blan

che.

The 9

99 is

co

ol-lo

okin

g. (T

here

, I sa

id it

. It’s

out

ther

e…)

Inst

ea

d, t

he

qu

est

ion

yo

u w

ou

ld p

rob

ab

ly a

sk is

,“W

hic

h D

uca

ti a

re y

ou

go

ing

to

ge

t n

ext?

MA

Y 2

01

0

[3

8]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[39

]

2Rid

e

The 2

010

Kaw

asak

i Co

ncou

rs, a

re-

built

spor

ts

tour

er d

esig

ned

arou

nd

the

ZX-1

4 m

otor

, now

ca

lled

the

Conc

ours

14.

It

s firs

t pre

mie

r in

200

8, th

e ne

w 2

010

Conc

ours

14

is a

n ad

vanc

emen

t ove

r it

s pre

curs

or w

ith

cred

it to

enh

ance

d ha

ndlin

g, im

prov

ed to

urin

g lu

xury

, and

tr

acti

on c

ontr

ol.

W

ith

wel

l defi

ned

look

s, th

e C1

4 w

as r

efine

d on

the

spor

tier

side

wit

h re

mar

kabl

e ex

ecut

ion

from

the

13

52cc

Inlin

e Fo

ur p

ower

pla

nt,

prov

ing

Spor

ts T

ouri

ng c

an b

e sl

eek

and

soph

isti

cate

d, se

xy!

N

ow fe

atur

ing

K-AC

T AB

S (K

awas

aki A

dvan

ced

Coac

tive

-Bra

king

Te

chno

logy

) lin

ked

brak

es, t

he n

ew

syst

em is

alle

ged

to b

e 30

% le

ss in

w

eigh

t and

25%

smal

ler

in si

ze.

Th

e ne

w A

BS’s

ECU

can

not b

e im

mob

ilize

d en

tire

ly, o

nly

allo

win

g a

ride

r to

cho

ose

from

two

diff

erin

g ad

just

men

ts th

at c

ontr

ol th

e re

ar a

nd

fron

t bra

king

res

ults

. Wit

h th

e fr

ont

and

back

bra

kes i

dent

ical

ly li

nked

re

gard

less

of m

ode;

Mod

e 1,

for

the

spor

t rid

er, d

eliv

ers d

elic

ate

outc

ome

on th

e fr

ont b

raki

ng; w

hile

mod

e 2

has

a m

ore

aggr

essi

ve b

raki

ng e

ffec

t in

the

fron

t whe

n us

ing

the

rear

ped

al. T

o br

ing

this

689

lb b

ike

to a

hal

t bra

king

is

all

impo

rtan

t. W

ith

the

2 m

odes

th

at’s

mad

e si

mpl

e, h

owev

er, t

oggl

ing

betw

een

Mod

e 1

and

Mod

e 2

cann

ot b

e do

ne o

n th

e fly

.

Wit

h K-

ACT

and

KTRC

swit

ches

on

the

left

han

dleb

ar, t

he n

ew K

TRC

(Kaw

asak

i Tra

ctio

n Co

ntro

l) un

like

the

K-AC

T, d

oes o

ffer

on

the

fly a

djus

tmen

t be

twee

n of

f and

on.

The

KTR

C us

ing

the

ABS

sens

ors d

oes n

othi

ng to

add

wei

ght

to th

e al

read

y he

avy

mac

hine

. The

ABS

sy

stem

, sen

sing

som

e w

heel

spin

, will

send

a si

gnal

to th

e EC

U, w

hich

will

th

en c

ontr

ol e

ngin

e ou

tput

by

adju

stin

g th

e ig

niti

on ti

min

g, in

take

air

flow

, an

d fu

el d

eliv

ery

thro

ugh

sub

thro

ttle

va

lves

smoo

thin

g ou

t per

form

ance

.

New

for

2010

, hea

ted

grip

s not

av

aila

ble

on th

e pr

evio

us 2

009,

ad

d a

cons

ider

ably

toas

ty to

urin

g co

mfo

rt. T

hese

new

hea

ted

grip

s hea

t up

rat

her

quic

kly

wit

h a

left

han

d kn

ob p

rese

ntin

g va

riab

le se

ttin

gs.

Info

rmat

ion

on th

e in

stru

men

tati

on

cons

ole

is fa

r ea

sier

to th

umb

thro

ugh

via

the

left

side

info

swit

ch.

Ot

her

left

han

dleb

ar fu

ncti

ons;

a M

ode

Sele

ct B

utto

n, it

nav

igat

es

thro

ugh

info

rmat

ion

mad

e av

aila

ble

on

the

LCD

disp

lay.

Thi

s is a

n im

prov

emen

t ov

er th

e pr

ior

setu

p, w

hich

then

wou

ld

requ

ire

the

ride

r to

mov

e th

eir

hand

fr

om th

e ba

rs to

pre

ss th

e bu

tton

on

the

dash

; how

ever

the

old

butt

on is

still

th

ere

on th

e da

sh b

y th

e w

ay.

Al

so a

ddre

ssed

in 2

010

was

the

engi

ne h

eat f

rom

the

righ

t sid

e bo

ttom

of

the

fair

ing,

pre

dom

inan

tly

whe

n id

ling;

whi

ch d

isch

arge

s sea

ring

hea

ted

air

righ

t ont

o a

ride

r’s l

egs.

Kaw

asak

i’s

rede

sign

ed th

e fa

irin

g w

hich

ass

erts

im

prov

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w to

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r,

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20

10

[43

]

2Rid

e

()

The w

orld

has

seen

its

pres

ence

sinc

e th

e hi

ppie

er

a th

en it

was

bro

ught

ba

ck in

the

earl

y 20

00’s

no

w (a

fter

a y

ear

hiat

us)

this

bab

y re

turn

s to

the

nort

h Am

eric

an

mar

ket l

eane

r an

d m

eane

r, th

e 20

10

Z100

0 ha

s had

a c

ompl

ete

over

haul

and

w

e lo

ve it

.

Ever

ythi

ng a

bout

the

prev

ious

ve

rsio

n be

it h

andl

ing,

per

form

ance

or

look

s has

cha

nged

and

it is

goo

d. G

one

is th

e bu

lky

stee

l fra

me

whi

ch is

now

a

5 pi

ece

alum

inum

fram

e th

at w

eigh

s 9

poun

ds le

ss th

an th

e pr

evio

us m

odel

. Th

is fr

ame

wra

ps a

roun

d it

’s v

ery

own

engi

ne: a

bee

fy 1

043c

c w

hich

is n

ot

take

n fr

om Z

X-9

R an

d gi

ves i

t a sl

imm

er

cont

our

arou

nd th

e se

at a

rea

also

the

engi

ne is

hun

g vi

a a

4-po

int m

ount

ing

whi

ch p

rovi

des a

incr

ease

d ch

assi

s ri

gidi

ty a

nd st

abili

ty.

Th

e su

spen

sion

use

s a h

oriz

onta

lly-

mou

nted

bac

k-lin

k hy

drau

lic sh

ock

abso

rber

. The

two-

way

adj

usta

ble

shoc

k is

att

ache

d be

twee

n th

e fr

ame

thro

ugh

a fix

ed li

nk m

ount

ed o

n to

p of

the

alum

inum

swin

garm

. Thi

s arr

ange

men

t al

low

s the

shoc

k to

be

kept

aw

ay fr

om

the

engi

ne a

nd th

us a

lso

away

from

the

cons

eque

nt h

eat p

rodu

ced

this

giv

es it

a

cons

iste

nt d

ampi

ng p

erfo

rman

ce a

nd

com

plim

ente

d by

a si

ngle

-pis

ton

rear

ca

liper

mou

nted

bel

ow th

e sw

inga

rm.

The

fron

t has

a c

onve

ntio

nal S

how

a 41

mm

inve

rted

fork

and

the

sam

e

300m

m d

iam

eter

pet

al-s

tyle

dis

cs w

ith

a pa

ir o

f Tok

ico

radi

al-m

ount

4-p

isto

n ca

liper

s (sa

me

as th

e N

inja

ZX

-10R

).In

take

air

is c

hann

eled

thou

gh a

n ai

r in

duct

ion

syst

em th

at u

ses i

ntak

e sc

oops

on

both

side

of t

he m

achi

ne

whi

ch fu

nnel

s the

air

into

a r

eson

ator

ch

ambe

r eq

uipp

ed a

irbo

x (it

als

o en

hanc

es th

e so

und

of th

e bi

ke w

hich

is

very

coo

l).

Ridi

ng th

e ne

w Z

ED-1

was

a

radi

cally

diff

eren

t exp

erie

nce

for

star

ters

the

bike

feel

s nar

row

er a

roun

d th

e se

at a

rea

thus

mor

e co

mfo

rtab

le,

the

ridi

ng p

osit

ion

is st

ill sp

orty

/re

laxe

d an

d th

at is

to b

e ex

pect

ed

from

the

ZED-

1. T

he ta

nk h

as n

ice

cont

our

cut-

outs

for

the

knee

s and

the

posi

tion

and

loca

tion

of t

he fo

ot p

egs

and

cont

rols

are

idea

l for

mos

t rid

ers

whe

ther

they

be

tall

or sh

ort.

The

mos

t wel

com

e fe

atur

e as

opp

osed

fr

om th

e pr

evio

us v

ersi

ons i

s tha

t th

e en

gine

doe

s not

vib

rate

any

mor

e!

Torq

ue h

as a

lway

s bee

n a

stro

ng p

oint

in

the

ZED-

1, b

otto

m-e

nd p

ower

is

pow

erfu

l but

not

ove

rwhe

lmin

g m

id

rang

e ac

cele

rati

on is

smoo

th a

nd it

sp

ools

up

leis

urel

y.

The

soun

d of

this

bea

st w

as li

ke a

pi

ece

of h

eave

n, K

awas

aki b

ikes

hav

e be

en k

now

n fo

r th

eir

indu

ctio

n no

ise

but t

he p

eopl

e at

Kaw

asak

i hav

e go

ne

over

boar

d w

ith

this

bea

st…

the

new

ZE

D-1

wit

h it

s new

air

box

sing

s wit

h a

voic

e of

ang

els.

A bi

ke th

at s

tand

s fo

r MEA

N, S

EXY,

BEA

ST

an

d n

ot

ne

ces

sa

rily

in

th

at

ord

er.

ST

OR

Y B

Y S

TE

VE

VIL

LA

MA

RIN

P

HO

TO

S P

RO

VID

ED

BY

VIC

TO

R “

SC

HW

AR

TZ

“B

AR

RO

S F

RO

M M

CV

MA

GA

ZIN

E P

OR

TU

GA

L

Th

e K

aw

as

ak

i “Z

”...

th

e n

ew

ZE

D-1

ha

s p

rove

n t

o b

e b

ett

er

tha

n

all

of

its

pre

de

cess

ors

MA

Y 2

01

0

[4

4]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[45

]

2Rid

e

Han

dlin

g an

d br

akin

g w

ere

top

notc

h ho

wev

er b

raki

ng d

id n

ot fe

el li

ke a

pr

emiu

m su

perb

ike

but i

s was

ver

y re

ason

able

for

norm

al u

se a

s a st

reet

bi

ke a

nd a

s far

a h

andl

ing

goes

this

bik

e tu

rns w

ith

littl

e ef

fort

and

add

itio

nal

spee

d on

ly im

prov

es it

s sup

erb

hand

ling

wit

h lit

tle

effe

ct o

n ch

assi

s st

abili

ty.

I o

wn

a 20

03 Z

ED-1

and

I co

uld

not f

atho

m w

hy th

e pe

ople

at K

awi

wou

ld r

e-bo

ot a

nd r

e-in

trod

uce

a bi

ke th

at w

as a

lrea

dy p

erfe

ct to

a

nort

h Am

eric

an p

ublic

that

has

not

ap

prec

iate

this

kin

d of

bik

e ve

ry m

uch.

H

owev

er…

the

new

ZED

-1 h

as p

rove

n to

be

bett

er th

an a

ll of

its p

rede

cess

ors

and

its g

ivin

g it

s com

peti

tion

a g

ood

run

for

the

mon

ey a

nd it

can

sati

sfy

the

need

s of t

he p

oser

and

/or

the

hard

core

ra

cer

and

pric

ed si

mila

r to

the

ZX-

6R o

ne c

an g

et a

big

ger

(and

sexi

er)

beas

t. Al

l I c

an sa

y is

ZED

is n

ot d

ead…

w

elco

me

back

ZED

.

Choo

sing

the

righ

t m

otor

cycl

e ca

n be

a

daun

ting

aff

air.

Ev

eryo

ne h

as a

n op

inio

n.

From

the

deal

er tr

ying

to u

nloa

d th

eir

inve

ntor

y, to

you

r fr

iend

s who

hav

e fo

rgot

ten

wha

t it i

s lik

e to

be

a ne

w r

ider

, and

of c

ours

e th

e on

line

arm

chai

r “e

xper

ts”.

The

an

swer

s are

man

y an

d th

e an

swer

s are

fe

w; a

nd b

eing

stub

born

and

nar

row

-m

inde

d, I

had

my

min

d se

t on

a sp

ort

mot

orcy

cle.

Aut

o Tr

ader

seem

ed li

ke

the

perf

ect s

hopp

ing

solu

tion

. I r

ushe

d,

I did

n’t t

hink

my

purc

hase

thro

ugh,

an

d I e

nded

up

wit

h a

bike

that

was

no

t sui

tabl

e fo

r m

e. I

had

mad

e m

y fir

st e

rror

in m

otor

cycl

ing.

My

inne

r ri

der

wan

ted

to e

xpre

ss it

self

badl

y an

d va

nity

led

the

way

.

My

1986

Hon

da V

FR75

0 ce

rtai

nly

was

an

icon

ic m

otor

cycl

e in

its d

ay;

red

whi

te a

nd b

lue,

but

as m

y fir

st b

ike

it w

as to

o bi

g fo

r m

e to

han

dle.

The

m

otor

cycl

e w

as n

ot p

rist

ine

and

did

not

look

like

the

beac

on o

f mot

orcy

clin

g th

at it

onc

e w

as h

avin

g be

en p

aint

ed

Trem

clad

bla

ck so

me

year

s ago

. Why

so

meo

ne w

ould

do

that

to su

ch a

be

auti

ful m

achi

ne r

emai

ns a

mys

tery

. It

was

in p

oor

cond

itio

n an

d co

vere

d w

ith

deca

ls.

I did

how

ever

ow

n a

mac

hine

of p

ower

and

it m

ade

my

hear

t be

at a

litt

le fa

ster

eve

ry ti

me

I ope

ned

the

gara

ge d

oor.

We

belie

ve in

man

y si

lly th

ings

as

inex

peri

ence

d ri

ders

. Wat

chin

g ex

pert

ri

ders

man

ipul

ate

thei

r m

otor

cycl

es a

s

sim

ple

toys

mak

es it

look

so e

ffor

tles

s.

I rem

embe

r an

noun

cing

to m

y fr

iend

s m

y in

tent

ions

of a

ttem

ptin

g a

whe

elie

af

ter

wat

chin

g a

shor

t tec

hnic

al v

ideo

on

line

abou

t rol

l-on

whe

elie

s. A

sim

ple

twis

t of t

he th

rott

le, r

elea

se a

nd tw

ist

agai

n w

ould

sim

ply

lift t

he fr

ont

whe

el o

f my

wei

ghty

VFR

and

I w

ould

as

cend

tow

ards

the

heav

ens a

nd in

the

eche

lons

of m

y co

mra

des’

ado

rati

on

and

resp

ect.

Laug

hter

is w

hat I

got

in

retu

rn. M

y fir

st w

heel

ie h

ad m

e fla

t on

my

back

wit

h th

e m

otoc

ross

mot

orcy

cle

layi

ng a

few

yar

ds a

way

. Tha

nkfu

lly,

I lea

rned

to ta

ke su

ch u

nder

taki

ngs

off r

oad

wit

h sm

alle

r di

spla

cem

ent

mac

hine

s. G

rass

y an

d sa

ndy

surf

aces

ar

e m

uch

soft

er to

land

on.

Lear

ning

how

to m

aste

r th

e th

rott

le, t

he m

otor

cycl

e’s m

ost a

buse

d co

ntro

l, w

hile

tam

ing

the

spee

dy

dem

on m

ust b

e ba

lanc

ed a

gain

st th

e w

orld

’s u

nfor

givi

ng v

enue

s. N

egot

iati

ng

slow

spee

d m

aneu

vers

whi

le m

akin

g a

gran

d en

tran

ce in

the

crow

ded

park

ing

lot a

t the

loca

l cof

fee

shop

ca

n be

a so

urce

of e

mba

rras

smen

t for

th

e ne

w r

ider

and

ent

erta

inm

ent f

or

thos

e lo

iter

ing

outs

ide.

It c

erta

inly

w

as e

mba

rras

sing

for

me.

See

ing

larg

e ga

ther

ings

alw

ays m

ade

me

nerv

ous

and

mor

e of

ten

than

not

I pa

rked

in

corr

ectl

y. I

was

not

ver

y gr

acef

ul

as I

shuf

fled

my

feet

to k

eep

my

beas

t up

righ

t in

orde

r to

find

the

righ

t ang

le

to st

atio

n.

I p

ut a

sham

eful

700

km

on

to th

e V

FR’s

odo

met

er th

at y

ear

and

to m

ake

mat

ters

wor

se, I

dam

aged

my

ride

tryi

ng to

kee

p up

wit

h ex

peri

ence

d ri

ders

from

the

Onta

rio

Dual

Spo

rt

Club

. Th

e m

echa

nica

l con

cept

s of t

he

mot

orcy

cle

wer

e st

ill fo

reig

n to

me

and

goin

g up

a st

eep

hill

in th

e w

rong

ge

ar, I

lost

mom

entu

m a

nd ti

pped

ov

er.

My

first

cra

sh a

nd th

e re

sult

s w

ere

a br

oken

clu

tch

leve

r an

d fo

ot p

eg

brac

ket,

wou

nded

pri

de a

nd a

n ab

rupt

en

d to

my

ridi

ng se

ason

as s

prin

g w

as

just

blo

ssom

ing.

Af

ter

a ch

alle

ngin

g fir

st se

ason

, I p

ut th

e V

FR to

res

t and

pur

chas

ed

a lig

hter

BM

W E

ndur

o m

achi

ne. T

his

purc

hase

wou

ld p

rove

to b

e m

y fir

st

good

mot

orcy

clin

g de

cisi

on. T

he fu

el

tank

und

erne

ath

the

seat

mad

e th

e bi

ke

feel

ligh

ter

and

the

wid

e ha

ndle

bars

m

ade

it e

asie

r to

stee

r an

d m

aneu

ver

in c

onfin

ed a

reas

. As m

y ex

peri

ence

gr

ew, s

o di

d m

y en

joym

ent a

nd lo

ve

for

the

spor

t. I n

o lo

nger

find

larg

er

mot

orcy

cles

inti

mid

atin

g an

d ha

ve

foun

d m

any

tric

ks to

com

pens

ate

for

chal

leng

ing

seat

hei

ghts

and

wei

ghts

.

Over

the

year

s, I

have

lear

ned

that

ri

ding

safe

ly a

nd w

ithi

n yo

ur li

mit

s ta

kes f

ocus

, con

fiden

ce, p

ract

ice,

pa

tien

ce a

nd se

lf-di

scip

line.

Fin

ding

th

e ri

ght l

earn

er m

otor

cycl

e is

a c

ruci

al

step

for

a he

alth

y m

otor

cycl

e ca

reer

. De

aler

s, fr

iend

s, a

nd e

xper

ts c

an a

ll he

lp g

uide

you

to y

our

first

mot

orcy

cle,

al

thou

gh y

our

drea

m b

ike

may

not

be

the

best

firs

t bik

e. T

hink

wit

h yo

ur

head

, fee

l wit

h yo

ur h

eart

and

be

open

-m

inde

d to

try

wha

t is i

n be

twee

n.

Evo

luti

on

of

a N

ew

Rid

er

ST

OR

Y B

Y S

TE

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A, T

HE

RID

ING

PR

INC

ES

S

MA

Y 2

01

0

[4

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[47

]

2Rid

e

I ofte

n he

ar, o

r ra

ther

feel

, thi

s se

ntim

ent f

rom

a lo

t of f

emal

e ri

ders

. It

’s tr

ue, a

s the

und

er-

dog

in a

mal

e do

min

ated

spor

t, us

wom

en st

rugg

le to

be

hear

d.

We

face

diff

eren

t cha

lleng

es th

at r

ange

fr

om fi

ndin

g ge

ar th

at fi

ts to

bei

ng

take

n se

riou

sly.

But

if y

ou a

sk m

e,

wom

en w

ho r

ide

som

etim

es fa

ll pr

etty

to

the

pige

onho

les w

e pl

ace

ours

elve

s in

, and

then

shou

t to

be h

eard

out

th

ere.

Like

man

y th

ings

in li

fe, b

ecom

ing

a co

nfide

nt fe

mal

e in

a se

a of

test

oste

r-on

e is

a p

roce

ss.

This

but

terfl

y pr

oces

s ha

s man

y ph

ases

that

take

fem

ale

ride

rs

thro

ugh

thei

r jo

urne

y to

bei

ng c

om-

fort

able

in th

eir

own…

err

on th

eir

own

bike

.

We

star

t out

in th

e Im

pres

sion

Ph

ase.

Not

onl

y ar

e w

e im

pres

sed

by

guys

who

rid

e, w

e al

so y

earn

to m

ake

an im

pres

sion

our

selv

es w

hen

we

star

t ou

t on

this

fear

less

jour

ney.

As L

isa

in M

issi

ssau

ga r

emin

isce

s, “

at fi

rst I

le

arne

d to

rid

e be

caus

e I j

ust w

ante

d to

pro

ve to

my

boyf

rien

d I c

ould

do

it.”

A

sent

imen

t ech

oed

by m

any

fem

ale

ride

rs I’

ve m

et, m

ysel

f inc

lude

d. I

was

ea

ger

to p

rove

mys

elf t

o th

e na

ysay

ers

and

to b

e pe

rfec

tly

hone

st, I

was

scar

ed

to d

eath

. Bu

t bet

wee

n m

y fe

ar a

nd

shee

r br

avad

o, I

fell

in lo

ve w

ith

ridi

ng.

Ou

t of t

he Im

pres

sion

Pha

se c

ame

the

Uni

que

Phas

e. S

omeh

ow in

lear

n-

ing

to r

ide

a bi

ke, w

omen

bel

ieve

we’

ve

brok

en d

own

barr

iers

, we’

ve c

lose

d th

e ga

p, w

e’re

a r

are

bree

d to

be

reve

red

and

resp

ecte

d….w

e’re

a w

oman

who

ri

des!

We

forg

et th

at o

ther

s cam

e be

fore

us;

we

forg

et th

ose

in o

ur m

idst

; an

d w

orst

of a

ll, w

e st

art t

o be

lieve

our

ow

n hy

pe.

Othe

rs a

re in

aw

e, a

nd a

s ou

r eg

os g

row

so to

o do

es o

ur p

row

ess.

Ja

ne fr

om T

oron

to m

uses

“I f

elt fi

erce

, lik

e I w

as th

e fir

st w

oman

to d

o th

is a

nd

I wan

ted

ever

yone

to k

now

!”

An

d w

heth

er w

e’ll

adm

it it

or

not,

we

star

t int

o w

hat c

an o

nly

be

desc

ribe

d as

the

Disd

ain

Phas

e. W

e lo

ok d

own

on o

ther

wom

en w

ho a

re

“onl

y” p

asse

nger

s (fo

rget

ting

that

we

wer

e on

ce in

thei

r sh

oes)

. Li

ke C

hris

ty

from

Eto

bico

ke sa

ys “

you

star

t to

thin

k yo

u’re

bet

ter

than

them

….n

ow w

heth

er

you’

ll ad

mit

it o

r no

t is a

diff

eren

t st

ory.

” S

omet

imes

it ta

kes t

ime,

and

so

met

imes

it ta

kes a

diff

eren

t out

look

to

fina

lly g

et p

ast t

his p

arti

cula

r hu

mp.

I t

ook

the

hum

ble

rout

e w

hen,

in m

y hi

gh-a

nd-m

ight

stat

e, I

met

a fe

mal

e pa

ssen

ger

that

, unb

ekno

wns

t to

me,

w

as le

gally

blin

d. I

’d a

lway

s won

dere

d w

hy sh

e ne

ver

lear

ned

to r

ide,

but

for

her

bein

g a

pass

enge

r w

as th

e on

ly w

ay

she

was

goi

ng to

be

a pa

rt o

f the

spor

t, an

d sh

e w

as a

ll th

e ha

ppie

r fo

r it

. H

ear-

ing

her

stor

y hu

mbl

ed m

e, a

nd to

ok m

e to

my

next

pha

se.

As

the

disd

ain

phas

e w

ears

thin

, we

ente

r a

phas

e m

any

a w

oman

has

falle

n pr

ey to

: th

e “o

ne o

f the

boy

s” p

hase

.

You’

re n

o lo

nger

the

new

kid

and

you

r fe

llow

rid

ing

frie

nds,

mos

tly

guys

, hav

e st

oppe

d tr

eati

ng y

ou li

ke th

e ba

by a

nd

let y

ou in

to th

eir

wor

ld.

They

exp

ect

you

to m

ove

your

ow

n bi

ke, t

hey

expe

ct

you

to k

eep

up, a

nd th

ey e

xpec

t you

to

know

the

diff

eren

ce b

etw

een

a sp

ark

plug

and

an

alle

n ke

y. Y

ou’r

e in

a c

om-

fort

able

pla

ce a

nd y

ou’r

e st

arti

ng to

put

al

l the

kno

wle

dge

you’

ve a

bsor

bed

to

real

use

. Th

is is

the

good

stuf

f. Y

ou a

re

one

of th

em.

Yo

u’ve

arr

ived

. Yo

u’re

at t

he fi

nal

stag

e: a

ffirm

atio

n. L

eah

in C

ambr

idge

re

mem

bers

“I w

as fi

nally

com

fort

able

in

my

own

skin

, bot

h as

a r

ider

and

as a

w

oman

.”

I cou

ldn’

t agr

ee m

ore.

Som

e-w

here

alo

ng th

e w

ay I

real

ized

that

I do

kn

ow th

e di

ffer

ence

bet

wee

n a

spar

k pl

ug a

nd a

n al

len

key

and

that

I ca

n m

ove

my

own

bike

. I f

ound

gea

r th

at

was

tailo

red

to a

wom

an’s

fit,

and

a bi

ke

that

I co

uld

ride

con

fiden

tly,

and

rid

e w

ell.

I di

dn’t

need

to p

rove

any

thin

g to

an

ex-b

oyfr

iend

, and

I w

as a

s hap

py

talk

ing

to th

e w

omen

that

rod

e w

ith

the

grou

p as

I w

as ta

lkin

g to

my

frie

nd w

ho

cam

e as

a p

asse

nger

wit

h he

r hu

sban

d.

So w

hen

I com

e ac

ross

a w

oman

who

ro

ars,

I sm

ile to

mys

elf i

n m

emor

y an

d th

ink,

not

“I a

m w

oman

hea

r m

e ro

ar!”

bu

t rat

her

“I a

m r

ider

, hea

r m

e ro

ar!”

I am

Wo

ma

n,

He

ar

me

ROA

R!S

TO

RY

B

Y K

EL

LY

GIB

SO

N

ww

w.g

tam

oto

rcy

cle

.co

m h

as

be

en

bri

ng

ing

rid

ers

to

ge

the

r s

ince

19

99

!

We

are

th

e G

rea

ter

To

ron

to a

nd

Are

a M

oto

rcy

cle

En

thu

sia

st

Co

mm

un

ity

.

Ne

w R

ide

r? H

ea

d o

ve

r to

ou

r N

ew

Rid

er’

s S

ect

ion

an

d g

et

so

me

gre

at

tip

s

to h

elp

yo

u g

et

sta

rte

d.

T

ech

nic

al

Iss

ue

s?

We

’ve

ov

er

17

,00

0 m

em

be

rs a

re a

lwa

ys

wil

lin

g t

o h

elp

gu

ide

yo

u

in a

ny

te

chn

ica

l is

su

es

yo

u m

ay

ha

ve

.

Jus

t w

an

na

ge

t o

ut

an

d r

ide

wit

h s

om

e p

eo

ple

? R

ide

s/

Ho

ok

su

p i

s t

he

pla

ce t

o b

e.

T

he

re’s

alw

ay

s a

rid

e g

oin

g s

om

ew

he

re a

nd

yo

u’r

e a

lwa

ys

we

lco

me

to

jo

in.

N

ee

d I

ns

ura

nce

? C

he

ck o

ut

ou

r In

su

ran

ce S

pe

cia

lis

t F

oru

m.

A

lis

t o

f o

f in

su

ran

ce b

rok

ers

to

pro

vid

e w

ith

a q

uic

k q

uo

te.

On

e s

top

sh

op

pin

g.

B

uy

ing

/S

ell

ing

? F

rom

th

e p

urc

ha

se

of

a m

oto

rcy

le r

igh

t d

ow

n t

o y

ou

r ti

res

, ge

ar

an

d o

il,

ou

r D

ea

ler/

Ve

nd

or

foru

m i

s o

ne

sto

p s

ho

pp

ing

fo

r a

ll y

ou

r m

oto

rcy

cle

ne

ed

s.

P

lus

ma

ny

mo

re f

oru

ms

lik

e c

las

sif

ied

s, t

rack

da

ys

, in

su

ran

ce (

law

s/

rule

s)

a

nd

of

cou

rse

th

e G

en

era

l D

iscu

ss

ion

fo

rum

.

MA

Y 2

01

0

[4

8]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[49

]

2Rid

e

Wha

t a g

reat

way

to s

tart

a n

ew a

nd e

xcit

ing

Mag

azin

e ge

ared

tow

ards

Rid

ers

of

all k

inds

, and

to h

ave

it in

our

ver

y ow

n ba

ckya

rd, i

n th

e GT

A an

d su

rrou

ndin

g…

An e

arly

sta

rt to

gre

at w

eath

er, a

nd I

know

som

e of

us

rode

the

first

wee

k of

M

arch

… W

inte

r w

asn’

t as

bad

as w

e th

ough

t, as

a m

atte

r of

fact

? I t

hink

it w

ent

by fa

irly

qui

ckly

, wit

h Bi

ke s

how

s, G

arag

e pa

rtie

s, e

vent

s w

ith

mot

orcy

cle

ridi

ng

grou

ps a

nd I

even

hel

ped

orga

nize

a 5

0th

Birt

hday

par

ty, f

or o

ne o

f my

Lady

z ri

ding

frie

nds.

Tha

t’s w

hen

I rea

lized

I to

o am

get

ting

up

in y

ears

, mak

ing

me

thin

k, h

ow w

onde

rful

it is

to fi

nally

rid

e m

y ow

n, a

nd a

ppre

ciat

e no

mat

ter

wha

t ag

e? w

e ar

e al

l bot

hers

n s

iste

rs o

f the

sam

e pa

ssio

n…

We

also

hav

e to

rem

embe

r th

at c

ars

are

goin

g to

hav

e to

get

use

d to

us

all

over

aga

in, a

nd it

wou

ldn’

t be

a ri

de w

itho

ut th

e so

unds

of b

ike

horn

s, b

last

ing

that

*&

%$*

cut

ting

you

off

!

Whe

n I fi

rst w

ent f

or m

y M

1, I

faile

d 3x

’s, y

es th

at’s

rig

ht! 3

x’s,

why

?

I pa

ssed

my

mot

orcy

cle

ques

tion

s, b

ut it

was

the

G1 a

nd G

2 cl

ass

road

test

qu

esti

ons

abou

t car

s , I

nev

er k

new

the

answ

ers

to, a

s I h

ad g

otte

n m

y dr

iver

s Li

cens

e w

hen

it w

as p

ass

or fa

il? F

inal

ly a

fter

the

3rd

try,

I go

t it!

so

now

on

to

the

ride

rs c

ours

e I a

pplie

d fo

r, a

t the

Hum

ber

Colle

ge, n

ot k

now

ing

whe

re to

ev

en p

ut in

the

igni

tion

key

, I to

ok a

3 d

ay in

tens

e co

urse

and

faile

d m

y

first

att

empt

!

Was

it n

erve

s? A

bsol

utel

y, s

o a

refr

eshe

r co

urse

, and

then

on

to th

e M

2 cl

ass

agai

n, th

is ti

me

I pas

sed

wit

h fly

ing

colo

rs. T

he In

stru

ctor

s ar

e w

hat m

ade

me

wan

t to

try

agai

n an

d to

pay

ext

ra a

tten

tion

to w

hat p

rope

r ri

ding

is a

ll ab

out..

Be

ing

a ca

r dr

iver

for

over

27y

rs, r

idin

g m

y ow

n bi

ke w

as a

big

ste

p, a

s I o

nly

knew

how

to r

ide

pass

enge

r…

I may

be

a ne

w r

ider

of 4

yea

rs, b

ut I

do h

ave

expe

rien

ce in

the

mot

orcy

cle

wor

ld. T

he u

p an

d do

wns

, rig

hts

from

wro

ngs,

and

of c

ours

e al

l the

in

betw

eens

… M

y pa

ssio

n fo

r M

otor

cycl

es a

nd e

very

thin

g th

at g

oes

wit

h it

, is

wel

l ove

r 30

yrs,

I no

w h

ave

a de

eper

res

pect

and

und

erst

andi

ng fo

r th

e 2

whe

el

devi

ce, w

e ca

ll fr

eedo

m...

I a

m h

onou

red

to b

e a

colu

mni

st fo

r th

e 2R

ide

mag

azin

e, I

will

do

my

best

in

bri

ngin

g yo

u, th

e re

ader

s, a

ll m

y kn

owle

dge

on w

hat’s

out

ther

e, p

erso

nal

expe

rien

ces,

the

do’s

n d

on’ts

, wha

t’s fo

r th

e be

tter

or

wor

se, a

nd o

pini

ons

that

ha

ve n

o bo

unda

ries

or

expe

ctat

ions

on

the

limit

s w

e pu

t out

ther

e…

4 w

heel

s m

ove

the

body

, 2 w

heel

s m

ove

the

soul

… a

nony

mou

sci

ao fo

r no

w.

Ge

t Y

ou

r M

oto

r R

un

nin

gS

TO

RY

BY

MIZ

Z L

UC

Y

20

10

Ya

ma

ha

WR

25

0X

ST

OR

Y B

Y M

R L

EE

AN

D P

HO

TO

S B

Y Y

AM

AH

A

Th

e 2

01

0 W

R2

50

X s

ma

ll, l

igh

t a

nd

a g

rea

t a

ll-r

ou

nd

er.

Wit

h l

igh

t w

eig

ht,

exce

lle

nt

ha

nd

lin

g a

nd

bu

ild

qu

ality

,

this

ve

rsa

tile

su

pe

rmo

to h

as

mo

re t

ha

n m

ee

ts t

he

ey

e

wit

h its

Wh

ite

/R

ed

co

lor

sch

em

e.

Ve

ry a

pp

rop

ria

te o

n

or

off

-ro

ad

, a s

up

erb

bik

e in

th

e h

an

ds

of

a n

ew

rid

er

or

se

as

on

ed

ve

tera

n.

MA

Y 2

01

0

[5

0]

2

Rid

eM

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20

10

[51

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2Rid

e

high

-str

engt

h st

eel d

own

tu

be fo

r ex

celle

nt st

reng

th a

nd

rigi

dity

cha

ract

eris

tics

.• A

sym

met

rica

l sw

inga

rm p

rovi

des

exce

llent

stre

ngth

/rig

idit

y ba

lanc

e an

d a

dyna

mic

look

. Cas

t alu

min

um

cros

s mem

bers

, ext

rude

d ar

ms a

nd a

22

mm

rea

r ax

le a

re c

aref

ully

tune

d fo

r op

tim

um h

andl

ing.

• Ful

ly a

djus

tabl

e 46

mm

fork

pro

vide

s 10

.6 in

ches

of w

heel

trav

el. A

forg

ed

low

er tr

iple

cla

mp

and

a ca

st u

pper

on

e he

lp g

ive

outs

tand

ing

fron

t-en

d fe

el. A

n al

umin

um st

eeri

ng st

em

redu

ces w

eigh

t.• L

inka

ge-m

ount

ed r

ear

shoc

k pr

ovid

es

10.4

inch

es o

f tra

vel w

ith

adju

ster

s fo

r co

mpr

essi

on d

ampi

ng, r

ebou

nd

dam

ping

and

spri

ng p

relo

ad—

and

feat

ures

a 1

4mm

rod

and

46m

m

cylin

der

for

exce

llent

dam

ping

and

fa

de r

esis

tanc

e.• W

ave

brak

e ro

tors

fron

t and

rea

r,

incl

udin

g a

larg

e, 2

98m

m fr

ont d

isc,

re

duce

uns

prun

g w

eigh

t and

pro

vide

ex

celle

nt p

erfo

rman

ce. R

ear

peda

l is

forg

ed a

lum

inum

.• A

djus

tabl

e fr

ont b

rake

leve

r.• Y

amah

a W

R en

dure

type

in

stru

men

tati

on p

anel

pro

vide

s ex

celle

nt v

isib

ility

in sp

ite

of th

e co

mpa

ct si

ze. B

asic

mod

e pr

ovid

es

spee

d, c

lock

, tri

pmet

er a

nd se

lf-di

agno

stic

func

tion

. Mea

sure

men

t m

ode

incl

udes

stop

wat

ch, d

ista

nce-

com

pens

atin

g tr

ipm

eter

, etc

.• B

odyw

ork

wit

h se

para

te r

adia

tor

heat

ou

tlet

hel

ps k

eep

engi

ne a

nd r

ider

coo

l.• L

ight

wei

ght h

eadl

ight

and

LED

ta

illig

ht m

axim

ize

visi

bilit

y an

d dr

aw

less

cur

rent

.• S

epar

ate

clut

ch c

over

mea

ns e

asie

r se

rvic

eabi

lity.

• One

-scr

ew a

ir fi

lter

serv

icea

bilit

y.

En

gin

e a

nd

Tra

ns

mis

sio

n

Ch

as

sis

an

d D

ime

ns

ion

s

20

10

Ya

ma

ha

WR

25

0X

A 250c

c liq

uid-

cool

ed D

OHC

four

-str

oke;

four

-val

ves,

si

ngle

-cyl

inde

r en

gine

is

fuel

-inje

cted

, wit

h an

in

take

air

pre

ssur

e se

nsor

an

d th

rott

le p

osit

ion

sens

or fo

r gr

eat

thro

ttle

res

pons

e as

wel

l as g

reat

fuel

ec

onom

y.

Th

e 25

0cc

engi

ne w

ith

resp

ecta

ble

low

-end

and

unf

ailin

g to

p-en

d, o

ne

does

tend

to fi

nd th

e po

wer

in th

e m

idra

nge

to b

e la

ckin

g. H

owev

er,

this

lack

of m

idra

nge

is r

eally

onl

y no

tice

able

whe

n ac

cele

rati

ng h

ard.

Im

prov

emen

t can

be

mad

e to

the

mid

rang

e fla

t spo

t wit

h a

dece

nt

afte

rmar

ket e

xhau

st sy

stem

. Tha

t sai

d th

ere

is a

lot o

f pow

er o

ut o

f cor

ners

an

d th

e cl

utch

dea

ls w

ith

it sm

ooth

ly,

whi

le p

ullin

g th

e le

ver.

The

six-

spee

d ge

arbo

x ke

eps t

he e

ngin

e re

vvin

g in

its

swee

t spo

t, w

hich

is a

roun

d 8,

000

rpm

.

The

WR2

50X

look

ing

like

any

othe

r su

perm

oto

wit

h st

reet

rub

ber

situ

ates

it

not t

oo fa

r fr

om th

e re

st o

f the

cro

wd.

Sp

orti

ng th

e 17

-inch

stan

dard

spok

ed

whe

els w

ith

road

tire

s is t

he st

anda

rd

solu

tion

for

mos

t sup

erm

oto

bike

s;

how

ever

the

35.2

inch

hig

h se

at st

ill

requ

ires

a ta

ller

ride

r to

be

seat

ed r

ight

. Th

e ch

assi

s, sh

ow p

iece

d by

the

mot

ocro

ss in

spir

ed a

lum

inum

sem

i-do

uble

-cra

dle

fram

ewor

k, c

oupl

ed

to th

e a

lum

inum

swin

garm

, ful

ly

adju

stab

le 4

6mm

fork

s and

rea

r sh

ock,

in

spir

es c

onfid

ence

and

stab

ility

. H

andl

ebar

s on

the

supe

rmot

o bo

lt o

nto

the

top

of th

e fo

rks;

at t

he o

ther

end

is

the

spok

ed 1

7-in

ch su

perm

oto

whe

el

feat

urin

g th

e 29

8mm

wav

ed d

isc

brak

e ro

tor.

The

rea

r of

the

WR2

50X

spor

ts

an id

enti

cal w

heel

feat

urin

g a

slig

htly

sm

alle

r 23

0mm

bra

ke d

isc

an

d a

spro

cket

.

The

gas t

ank,

mad

e of

stee

l, is

in

tend

ed to

put

forw

ard

the

prop

er

knee

pos

itio

n fo

r gr

ippi

ng th

e ta

nk,

whi

le th

e ta

ll ta

pere

d se

ats i

s not

as

unco

mfo

rtab

le o

r un

kind

, suc

h as

the

case

wit

h m

ost m

otoc

ross

cou

nter

part

s.

The

cove

ring

of t

he se

at is

fabr

icat

ed

from

a n

on-s

lip ty

pe o

f mat

eria

l en

suri

ng g

ood

grip

on

the

bike

.

The

WR2

50X

is g

reat

for c

omm

utin

g ha

ndle

s ver

y lig

htly

wit

h it

s 136

kg;

also

mak

ing

it g

reat

for

putt

ing

arou

nd

tow

n. F

or h

ighw

ay u

se th

is m

otor

cycl

e is

cap

able

, how

ever

buz

zy.

Wit

h fu

lly a

djus

tabl

e fr

ont a

nd r

ear

susp

ensi

ons t

here

are

10.

6 in

ches

of

trav

el u

p fr

ont a

nd 1

0.4

inch

es o

f tra

vel

at th

e re

ar. O

n th

e st

anda

rd se

ttin

gs

bum

ps a

re so

aked

up

the

grea

test

of

ease

as w

ell a

s any

roa

d ir

regu

lari

ties

. Of

f-ro

ad, W

R250

R di

rt m

odel

wou

ld

do fa

ir b

ette

r he

re a

s the

WR2

50X

re

min

ds y

ou o

f its

pur

pose

. Aid

ing

in

the

hand

ling,

the

brak

es a

re fl

awle

ss.

Stop

ping

pow

er is

ver

y ap

pare

nt a

t any

ri

ding

spee

d vi

a th

e fr

ont (

298m

m) a

nd

rear

(230

mm

) rot

ors.

Ya

mah

a’s W

R250

X is

the

perf

ect

intr

oduc

tion

to th

e w

orld

of s

uper

mot

o w

ith

a ve

ry m

odes

t pri

ce ta

g ve

rsus

qu

alit

y. A

imed

at t

he n

ewer

rid

er, t

his

littl

e su

perm

oto

will

thri

ll bo

th c

row

ds;

new

rid

ers a

nd e

xper

ienc

ed a

like.

Fo

r 20

10 Y

amah

a pr

iced

this

bik

e w

ith

a ba

se M

SRP

of $

6,49

0 du

e to

it

bein

g th

e on

ly o

ne in

its c

lass

feat

urin

g fu

el in

ject

ion.

List

of F

eatu

res

• A d

irec

t des

cend

ent o

f Yam

aha’

s YZ

mot

ocro

ss /

dirt

and

WR

off-

road

m

achi

nes

• 250

cc li

quid

-coo

led,

DOH

C en

gine

wit

h tw

o ti

tani

um in

take

val

ves a

nd tw

o st

eel e

xhau

sts,

forg

ed p

isto

n an

d pl

ated

cy

linde

r fo

r ou

tsta

ndin

g du

rabi

lity.

• Pen

troo

f com

bust

ion

cham

ber

wit

h do

wnd

raft

-typ

e st

raig

ht in

take

hel

ps

mak

e ex

celle

nt p

ower

acr

oss t

he r

ev

band

, wit

h m

axim

um p

ower

at

10,0

00 r

pm.

• Fir

st u

se o

f fue

l inj

ecti

on o

n a

250

Yam

aha

on/o

ff-r

oad

bike

. Rel

ies o

n

inpu

t fro

m a

cra

nk se

nsor

, int

ake

air

pres

sure

sens

or a

nd th

rott

le p

osit

ion

sens

or fe

edin

g a

com

pact

ECU

to

prov

ide

opti

mum

com

bust

ion.

• An

ECU

-con

trol

led

EXU

P® e

xhau

st

valv

e, a

long

wit

h an

ele

ctro

nic

inta

ke

cont

rol v

alve

, bro

aden

s the

pow

erba

nd.

• Hig

h lif

t cam

s hav

e W

PC su

rfac

e tr

eatm

ent i

n w

hich

the

surf

ace

is

spra

yed

wit

h fin

e po

wde

r at

ove

r

100

met

ers p

er se

cond

to in

crea

se

surf

ace

hard

ness

.• T

hree

-axi

s eng

ine

layo

ut k

eeps

the

engi

ne c

ompa

ct. W

et su

mp

tuck

s be

twee

n fr

ame

rails

to k

eep

the

engi

ne

heig

ht d

own.

• Rar

e ea

rth-

type

ACM

alt

erna

tor

keep

s th

e w

eigh

t dow

n w

hile

pro

vidi

ng a

ll th

e cu

rren

t nee

ded

to r

un th

e FI

and

lig

htin

g sy

stem

s.• D

irec

t ign

itio

n co

il si

ts a

top

the

spar

k pl

ug—

anot

her

first

on

a Ya

mah

a on

/of

f-ro

ad m

odel

.• S

ix-s

peed

gea

rbox

pro

vide

s a w

ide

spre

ad o

f rat

ios,

wit

h sh

ower

-typ

e lu

bric

atio

n fo

r re

liabi

lity.

Spe

cial

, lig

ht-

acti

on c

lutc

h m

akes

shift

ing

a sn

ap.

• Tuc

ked-

in, t

hree

-cha

mbe

r m

uffle

r he

lps k

eep

mas

s cen

tral

ized

and

the

bike

qui

et.

• Ele

ctri

c st

art o

nly:

Lea

ving

off

the

kick

star

ter

keep

s it l

ight

and

sim

ple.

• 17-

inch

whe

els m

ount

rad

ial s

tree

t ru

bber

in 1

10 fr

ont a

nd 1

40m

m

rear

wid

ths a

nd h

elp

low

er th

e se

at

appr

oxim

atel

y 1.

4 in

ch c

ompa

red

to

the

WR2

50R.

• One

-too

th sm

alle

r re

ar sp

rock

et

(13/

42) w

orks

wit

h th

e sm

alle

r-di

amet

er ti

res t

o br

ing

out t

he

WR2

50X

’s st

rong

acc

eler

atin

g ch

arac

ter.

• Sti

ffer

spri

ngs f

ront

and

rea

r an

d st

reet

-ori

ente

d da

mpi

ng se

ttin

gs

redu

ce p

itch

com

pare

d to

the

WR2

50R

for

exce

llent

pav

emen

t per

form

ance

. • Y

Z/W

R250

-insp

ired

sem

i-dou

ble-

crad

le fr

ame

uses

a m

ain

fram

e of

cas

t an

d fo

rged

alu

min

um se

ctio

ns, w

ith

MA

Y 2

01

0

[5

2]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[53

]

2Rid

e

We’

ve a

ll se

en th

em

whi

le w

e ar

e ou

t ri

ding

; the

car

that

do

esn’

t mai

ntai

n sp

eed

or th

e on

e th

at d

rift

s bac

k an

d fo

rth

in th

eir

lane

ju

st e

dgin

g ov

er th

e lin

e, o

r w

orse

…th

e ca

r th

at w

ande

rs fu

lly o

ut o

f the

ir

lane

and

swer

ves a

brup

tly

back

. Are

th

ey d

runk

? N

ope…

they

are

talk

ing

on

thei

r ce

ll ph

one!

The

y su

re lo

ok d

runk

th

ough

. Ea

rlie

r th

is y

ear,

Ont

ario

pas

sed

a la

w

bann

ing

the

use

of v

irtu

ally

all

hand

-he

ld d

evic

es w

hile

dri

ving

. The

law

fin

ally

took

eff

ect o

n Oc

tobe

r 26

th b

ut

for

the

first

thre

e m

onth

s, o

ffen

ders

on

ly r

ecei

ved

war

ning

s unt

il Fe

brua

ry

1st,

2010

, at w

hich

poi

nt o

ffen

ders

can

ex

pect

a fi

ne u

p to

$50

0. O

ntar

io is

one

of

four

oth

er p

rovi

nces

incl

udin

g N

ew-

foun

dlan

d &

Lab

rado

r, Q

uebe

c, N

ova

Scot

ia a

nd m

ost r

ecen

tly

Brit

ish

Colu

m-

bia.

Man

itob

a is

exp

ecte

d to

follo

w su

it

soon

. By

enac

ting

such

a la

w, i

t wou

ld

appe

ar th

at o

n th

e su

rfac

e, th

e go

vern

-m

ent i

s bei

ng p

roac

tive

abo

ut im

ple-

men

ting

law

s in

an a

ttem

pt to

mak

e ou

r ro

ads s

afer

. I c

an’t

help

to w

onde

r ho

w m

uch

safe

r w

ill O

ntar

io r

oads

will

rea

lly b

e? It

se

ems t

o m

e th

at a

ltho

ugh

this

law

will

sa

ve fa

ce w

ith

man

y co

ncer

ned

vote

rs

abou

t the

use

of c

ell p

hone

s whi

le d

riv-

ing,

it m

ay o

nly

be a

noth

er k

nee-

jerk

re

acti

on b

y th

e go

vern

men

t and

serv

e as

a h

andy

cas

h gr

ab a

t the

sam

e ti

me.

Now

, bef

ore

ever

yone

star

ts sw

ampi

ng

me

wit

h em

ails

sayi

ng “

of c

ours

e th

is is

a

good

law

”, it

’s im

port

ant t

o no

te th

at

Onta

rio

will

be

the

only

pro

vinc

e to

no

t be

appl

ying

a p

oint

pen

alty

aga

inst

offe

nder

s’ li

cens

es. A

ddit

iona

lly, fi

nes

will

als

o be

the

high

est i

n th

e co

untr

y.

Whe

n Qu

ebec

ena

cted

a si

mila

r la

w,

the

fine

was

set a

t $45

0 an

d ca

me

wit

h a

poin

t pen

alty

aga

inst

the

offe

nder

’s

licen

se. T

his m

eans

that

if a

per

son

incu

rs e

noug

h pe

nalt

ies (

for

wha

teve

r re

ason

), th

ey w

ould

be

cons

ider

ed a

pr

oven

dan

ger

on th

e ro

ad a

nd h

ave

thei

r lic

ense

rev

oked

for

a pe

riod

of

tim

e. W

ith

the

way

the

Onta

rio

law

is

wri

tten

, it w

ill h

ave

no im

pact

on

thos

e w

ho p

ose

a hi

stor

y of

dan

gero

us

driv

ing

prac

tice

s. Q

uebe

c al

so is

sued

ov

er $

4.5m

illio

n do

llars

in fi

nes i

n a

10 m

onth

per

iod…

did

Onta

rio

just

find

an

othe

r ec

onom

ic b

ailo

ut?

Let’s

take

the

econ

omic

ben

efits

to th

e go

vern

men

t out

of t

he e

quat

ion

and

cons

ider

the

actu

al c

ause

and

eff

ect

that

eve

ryon

e is

look

ing

for

wit

h la

ws

like

this

one

. The

re is

no

doub

t tha

t ta

lkin

g on

cel

l pho

nes i

s dan

gero

us. N

ot

only

is th

is a

per

ceiv

ed d

ange

r in

the

eyes

of m

ost p

eopl

e bu

t it’s

als

o be

en

stat

isti

cally

pro

ven

to b

e tr

uth.

Man

y st

udie

s hav

e be

en d

one,

esp

ecia

lly in

Eu

rope

, sho

win

g th

at ta

lkin

g on

a c

ell

phon

e re

duce

s a d

rive

r’s j

udgm

ent,

sens

e of

aw

aren

ess a

nd r

eact

ion

tim

es.

Man

y re

al-w

orld

test

ing

have

show

n th

at ta

lkin

g on

a p

hone

whi

le d

rivi

ng

actu

ally

impa

irs a

dri

ver’

s jud

gmen

t m

uch

mor

e th

an h

avin

g a

bloo

d al

co-

hol l

evel

of 0

.08%

, whi

ch is

con

side

red

lega

lly im

pair

ed.

Man

y w

ill a

rgue

that

they

don

’t se

e a

diff

eren

ce b

etw

een

talk

ing

on a

cel

l ph

one

and

talk

ing

to a

pas

seng

er in

th

e ve

hicl

e. B

ut w

hat t

hey

don’

t rea

l-iz

e is

that

a p

asse

nger

als

o ha

s a se

nse

of si

tuat

iona

l aw

aren

ess t

o w

hat t

he

driv

er is

doi

ng th

at th

e pe

rson

on

the

othe

r en

d of

the

phon

e ca

ll do

esn’

t ha

ve. T

hey

natu

rally

stop

talk

ing

whe

n ne

eded

so th

at th

e dr

iver

can

focu

s on

the

road

. The

key

her

e is

, tha

t it’s

bee

n sh

own

that

a d

rive

r ca

nnot

con

scio

usly

de

cide

wha

t to

appl

y m

ore

brai

npow

er

too…

the

conv

ersa

tion

or

the

road

. W

hen

talk

ing

on th

e ph

one,

a la

rge

part

of a

dri

ver’

s att

enti

on is

focu

sed

on w

hat t

he p

erso

n on

the

othe

r en

d of

the

phon

e is

sayi

ng. A

pas

seng

er

inst

inct

ivel

y st

ops t

alki

ng w

hen

need

ed

and

the

driv

er’s

bra

in in

stan

tly

appl

ies

all t

heir

att

enti

on to

the

task

of d

rivi

ng

agai

n. It

’s q

uite

am

azin

g ho

w o

ur b

rain

di

vide

s our

att

enti

on in

an

atte

mpt

to

mul

tita

sk w

itho

ut o

ur c

onsc

ienc

e in

put.

So a

re w

e sa

fer

wit

h th

e ne

w la

w?

Drea

m o

n. T

his n

ew la

w is

act

ually

con

-si

dere

d an

“an

ti-h

and

held

dev

ice”

law

, w

hich

als

o ba

ns c

heck

ing

and

send

ing

emai

ls w

ith

your

cel

l pho

ne a

nd b

ans

the

use

of M

P3 p

laye

rs, D

VD

unit

s and

pr

etty

muc

h ev

eryt

hing

that

invo

lves

yo

u ho

ldin

g an

ele

ctro

nic

devi

ce to

use

. H

owev

er, G

PS u

nits

are

ok

but o

nly

if pr

oper

ly m

ount

ed o

n da

shbo

ards

or

win

dshi

elds

.Ye

s, th

is c

over

s a w

ide

rang

e of

de-

vice

s and

thei

r us

e bu

t doe

s tha

t rea

lly

abso

lve

us fr

om in

-car

dis

trac

tion

s? N

ot

even

clo

se, e

spec

ially

whe

n dr

iver

s are

no

w b

eing

enc

oura

ged

to u

se h

ands

-fr

ee k

its f

or th

eir

phon

es so

that

they

ca

n st

ill c

arry

on

conv

ersa

tion

s. W

ait a

m

inut

e…sh

ould

n’t t

he p

oint

of t

his l

aw

also

add

ress

the

who

le c

once

pt o

f tal

k-in

g on

a p

hone

?U

nfor

tuna

tely

, it t

otal

ly m

isse

s the

m

ark

in th

at r

egar

d. W

hat’s

bei

ng

igno

red

is th

at th

ose

sam

e U

K st

ud-

ies t

hat m

any

peop

le a

re r

efer

ring

too

for

stat

isti

cs a

lso

clea

rly

indi

cate

that

us

ing

a ha

nds-

free

kit

vs.

not

usi

ng o

ne,

mak

es n

o im

prov

emen

t to

a dr

iver

s ju

dgm

ent,

refle

xes o

r si

tuat

iona

l aw

are-

ness

. The

y ar

e st

ill a

s men

tally

impa

ired

as

bei

ng le

gally

dru

nk. J

ust b

ecau

se y

ou

are

free

ing

up a

dri

vers

’ han

ds, d

oesn

’t m

ean

you

are

free

ing

thei

r m

ind.

I’m

sure

Mat

rix

fans

are

snic

keri

ng a

litt

le

but t

here

is a

par

ody

that

can

be

draw

n he

re m

uch

like

taki

ng th

e bl

ue p

ill v

s.

the

red

one.

Do

we

real

ly w

ant t

o kn

ow

the

trut

h ab

out i

n-ca

r di

stra

ctio

ns o

r w

ould

we

rath

er r

emai

n ig

nora

nt a

nd

just

sit b

ack

belie

ving

that

the

“pow

ers

that

be”

(in

this

cas

e ou

r go

vern

men

t)

have

eve

ryth

ing

in h

and

and

that

they

ar

e ta

king

car

e of

us?

Let’s

be

hone

st th

ough

. The

dri

vers

w

ho r

ealiz

e th

at u

sing

a c

ell p

hone

is

dang

erou

s alr

eady

(han

ds-f

ree

or n

ot)

abst

ain

from

doi

ng so

. Tho

se w

ho d

on’t

will

con

tinu

e to

do

so u

ntil

they

are

ca

ught

but

eve

n th

en it

will

like

ly n

ot

stop

them

from

doi

ng it

aga

in (m

uch

like

spee

ding

). Of

fend

ers m

ay c

hang

e th

eir

habi

ts fo

r a

whi

le b

ut w

ill e

vent

u-al

ly o

ffen

d ag

ain.

Of c

ours

e an

yone

who

ca

n af

ford

a c

ell p

hone

, can

als

o af

ford

a

sim

ple

hand

s-fr

ee e

arph

one

kit b

ut th

is

still

doe

sn’t

addr

ess t

he b

igge

r is

sue…

in-c

ar d

istr

acti

ons…

peri

od.

Whe

re d

o w

e dr

aw th

e lin

e th

ough

? Fi

rst h

and-

held

dev

ices

and

then

wha

t?

Read

ing

a ne

wsp

aper

? Su

re. P

aint

ing

your

fing

er n

ails

? Su

re. A

pply

ing

mak

e-up

or

shav

ing?

Sur

e.W

hy st

op th

ere?

Wha

t abo

ut c

hang

ing

the

radi

o st

atio

n or

talk

ing

in th

e ca

r at

al

l? W

hat a

bout

ban

ning

chi

ldre

n fr

om

cars

bec

ause

they

are

oft

en a

dis

trac

-ti

on a

nd so

urce

of s

tres

s to

a dr

iver

? Am

I ge

ttin

g ca

rrie

d aw

ay?

I’m su

re y

ou

get m

y dr

ift.

Wha

t abo

ut ta

king

a d

iffer

ent a

p-pr

oach

? W

hat a

bout

edu

cati

ng d

rive

rs

abou

t the

dan

gers

of i

n-ca

r di

stra

ctio

ns

of a

ny k

ind?

Wha

t abo

ut te

achi

ng d

riv-

ers t

o re

aliz

e th

at th

e m

ost i

mpo

rtan

t th

ing

whi

le d

rivi

ng a

car

shou

ld b

e…dr

ivin

g th

e ca

r? O

f cou

rse

educ

atio

n pr

ogra

ms l

ike

that

cos

t a lo

t of m

oney

an

d do

n’t m

ake

any.

Pas

sing

law

s lik

e th

is o

ne d

oes m

ake

mon

ey a

nd p

rovi

des

a fa

lse

sens

e of

secu

rity

in th

at o

ur

road

s will

be

safe

r as

a r

esul

t.W

e ca

n’t b

an e

very

in-c

ar d

istr

acti

on

and

only

the

mos

t ign

oran

t will

bel

ieve

th

at th

is la

w w

ill m

ake

our

road

s sig

-ni

fican

tly

safe

r.In

the

end,

it r

eally

com

es d

own

to

each

of u

s to

mak

e a

choi

ce. E

ithe

r yo

u ch

oose

to d

rive

safe

and

avo

id in

-car

di

stra

ctio

ns o

r yo

u ch

oose

not

too

and

risk

a c

ollis

ion.

Safe

r ro

ads s

tart

wit

h sa

fer

driv

ers,

so

plea

se…

pay

atte

ntio

n an

d ri

de sa

fe. I

f yo

u se

e a

driv

er w

ho is

on

a ce

ll ph

one,

gi

ve th

em lo

ts o

f spa

ce o

r be

tter

yet

, get

fa

r aw

ay fr

om th

em.

Ro

ad

aw

are

ne

ss.o

rgS

TO

RY

BY

SH

AU

N D

E J

AG

ER

- P

HO

TO

GR

AP

HS

BY

CR

YS

TA

LIZ

ED

IM

AG

ES

MA

Y 2

01

0

[5

4]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[55

]

2Rid

e

Re

mo

va

l o

f W

orn

Co

mp

on

en

ts:

Firs

t ste

p to

rem

ovin

g th

e co

mpo

nent

s is

taki

ng th

e ch

ain

brea

ker

and

brea

king

one

of t

he m

aste

r lin

k ri

vets

th

at h

old

the

chai

n to

geth

er. O

nce

the

link

is b

roke

n, a

nd th

e m

otor

cycl

e is

in

neut

ral,

Pull

the

chai

n ou

t of t

he g

uide

. N

ext s

tep

will

be

to r

emov

e th

e re

ar

whe

el fr

om th

e sw

ing

arm

.

This

is w

here

the

34m

m so

cket

and

_

Ratc

het i

s req

uire

d. R

emov

e th

e ax

le

nut.

Then

car

eful

ly r

emov

e th

e ax

le

from

the

swin

g ar

m, h

oldi

ng th

e ri

m in

pl

ace

wit

h on

e ha

nd, p

ullin

g th

e ax

le

out w

ith

the

othe

r. C

aref

ully

slid

e th

e re

ar b

rake

ass

embl

y ou

t of t

he r

otor

an

d sw

ing

arm

gui

de.

Gent

ly r

emov

e th

e re

ar w

heel

and

pl

ace

it o

n a

suit

able

stan

d, r

otor

faci

ng

the

floor

. At t

his p

oint

you

’re

goin

g to

un

bolt

the

old

rear

spro

cket

from

the

Cush

Dri

ve. T

akin

g a

17M

M so

cket

and

Ra

tche

t can

do

this

. Rem

ovin

g al

l the

nu

ts h

oldi

ng th

e so

cket

in p

lace

.

Mov

ing

to th

e Fr

ont S

proc

ket a

rea,

re

mov

e th

e Cl

utch

Act

uato

r an

d fr

ont

Spro

cket

cov

er b

y un

bolt

ing

the

five

8mm

bol

ting

hol

ding

the

cove

r.

Care

fully

rem

ove

the

Actu

ator

Rod

and

Sp

rock

et c

over

. Thi

s is e

xpos

ing

the

Fron

t Spr

ocke

t. U

sing

a 1

5MM

sock

et

and

ratc

het,

rem

ove

the

bolt

hol

ding

th

e Fr

ont S

proc

ket i

n pl

ace.

Clea

n th

e fr

ont s

proc

ket a

rea

wit

h BR

AKE

CLEA

N o

r an

y su

itab

le

degr

ease

r.

INS

TA

LL

AT

ION

:

Re

ar

Sp

rock

et

Plac

e th

e ne

w r

ear

spro

cket

on

the

Cush

Dr

ive.

Tak

ing

a sm

all a

bout

of B

lue

Lock

Ti

te o

n ea

ch o

f the

bol

t thr

eads

, thi

s is

to e

nsur

e th

e nu

ts c

an n

ever

com

e lo

se.

Snug

up

all t

he n

uts u

sing

a st

anda

rd

ratc

het.

Once

Snu

g, ta

ke a

torq

ue

wre

nch

and

tigh

ten

each

nut

in a

cri

ss

cros

s pat

tern

to 5

5Ft L

bs o

f tor

que.

Fro

nt

Sp

rock

et

Inst

all F

ront

Spr

ocke

t on

Outp

ut S

haft

an

d us

ing

an im

pact

gun

. Tig

hten

up

the

Fron

t Spr

ocke

t Bol

t. Re

inst

all t

he

Fron

t Spr

ocke

t Cov

er, A

ctua

tor

Rod

and

Clut

ch A

ctua

tor;

Snu

g al

l 8m

m B

olts

us

ing

a _

ratc

het.

Re

ar

Wh

ee

lRe

inst

all w

heel

in r

ever

se o

rder

of

disa

ssem

bly,

Bac

k of

f Cha

in te

nsio

n ad

just

ers c

ompl

etel

y to

allo

w fo

r ch

ain

tens

ioni

ng la

ter.

Snu

g Al

l Fas

tene

rs, b

ut

do n

uts t

ight

en a

t thi

s poi

nt.

Ch

ain

In

sta

lla

tio

nFe

ed n

ew c

hain

star

ting

at t

he b

ack

spro

cket

into

the

fron

t spr

ocke

t, st

arti

ng fr

om th

e to

p si

de. M

eet t

he

chai

n in

the

mid

dle

of th

e ch

ain

guid

e

area

at t

he b

otto

m o

f the

mot

orcy

cle.

W

ith

the

rear

whe

el p

ushe

d al

l the

way

to

the

fron

t of t

he m

otor

cycl

e, ta

ke

mea

sure

of t

he le

ngth

of l

inks

req

uire

d,

Mar

k th

e ri

vet t

hat i

s in

exce

ss a

nd

usin

g a

chai

n br

eake

r, r

emov

e th

e ri

vet

and

disc

ard

the

exce

ss c

hain

link

s.

Inst

all t

he n

ew M

aste

r Li

nk o

n th

e ch

ain,

but

do

not r

ivet

yet

. Set

Ten

sion

to

the

chai

n fir

st, o

nce

veri

fied.

Riv

et

mas

ter

link

toge

ther

. Snu

g Ch

ain

Adju

stor

nut

s and

bol

ts. T

ight

en A

xle

Bolt

to 1

00Ft

Lbs

, usi

ng th

e 34

mm

So

cket

and

Tor

que

wre

nch.

Te

ch N

ote

s P

rov

ide

d b

y:

Her

itag

e Au

to &

Pow

erSp

orts

2-24

Ingr

am D

rive

,To

ront

o, O

ntar

ioM

6M 2

L6w

ww

.her

itag

eaut

osho

p.co

mhe

rita

geau

tosp

orts

@gm

ail.c

omBu

s: 4

16-2

49-0

422

De

mo

ns

tra

tio

n p

rov

ide

d b

y:

Dani

el C

icco

ne, L

icen

sed

Mec

hani

c an

d Ow

ner

of H

erit

age

Auto

&

Pow

erSp

orts

.

2006

Hon

da C

BR 1

000R

R Ow

ned

by P

hilip

pe P

aygu

r of

Tor

onto

, On

tari

o.

Ma

ke

an

d M

od

el:

2006

Hon

da C

BR 1

000R

R

Iss

ue

:W

orn

Chai

n an

d Sp

rock

ets

Re

qu

ire

d T

oo

ls:

1. C

hain

Bre

aker

and

Riv

eter

.2.

34M

M S

ocke

t3.

Tor

que

Wre

nch

4. 1

2MM

Wre

nch

x25.

_ R

atch

et6.

_ R

atch

et7.

_ a

nd 3

/8 S

ocke

t Set

Fro

m

8m

m to

19m

m

TEC

HC

orn

er

ST

OR

Y B

Y D

AN

IEL

CIC

CO

NE

PH

OT

OS

BY

CR

YS

TA

LL

IZE

D I

MA

GE

S

MA

Y 2

01

0

[5

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[57

]

2Rid

e

does

a li

ttle

Mr.

Spo

ck (N

imoy

not

Sila

r)

thin

g w

hen

I not

ice

that

som

e of

the

dine

r bi

lls a

re h

ighe

r th

an so

me

of th

e m

otel

bill

s. T

hose

mak

e m

e sm

ile to

o,

but i

n a

Glad

-I’m

-sle

epin

g-in

-my-

own-

bed-

toni

ght w

ay. T

he r

ecei

pts g

o in

th

e tr

ash,

to m

ake

mor

e ro

om fo

r m

ore

futu

re in

crim

inat

ing

evid

ence

.

Ther

e ar

e m

ore

coin

s in

here

than

Bl

ackb

eard

’s tr

easu

re c

hest

! And

not

th

e sm

all s

tuff

, eit

her.

It u

sed

to b

e th

at

a ha

ndfu

l of c

hang

e at

the

bott

om o

f yo

ur ta

nk b

ag m

eant

a b

onus

cof

fee

at

Tim

mie

s. N

ow, w

ith

the

loon

ies,

toon

ies

and

wha

tnot

, the

re’s

eno

ugh

loot

in

here

to p

ay fo

r yo

ur n

ext m

ajor

serv

ice.

U

nles

s you

rid

e a

BMW

. Nev

er m

ind.

Al

so lo

ts o

f US

coin

s. It

’s fu

nny

how

Am

eric

ans s

till

sort

out

the

Cana

dian

co

ins f

rom

the

US

ones

whe

n yo

u pa

y th

em, a

nd th

en h

and

them

bac

k to

you

w

ith

a W

TF-lo

ok o

n th

eir

face

s. B

uddy

, if

you

hang

on

to th

ose

loon

ies a

few

m

ore

wee

ks th

ey’ll

be

wor

th m

ore

than

yo

ur g

reen

back

s...

I fi

nd a

gra

nola

bar

. The

re is

ac

tual

ly a

Bes

t Bef

ore

date

on

a gr

anol

a ba

r! T

his m

eans

that

any

tim

e be

fore

th

at d

ate,

the

bar

can

be u

sed

as a

goo

d so

urce

of f

ood.

Aft

er th

at d

ate

the

bar

can

be u

sed

as a

tool

. Spe

cific

ally

, a

ham

mer

.

Geez

, the

re’s

a lo

t of s

tuff

in h

ere.

I k

inda

like

my

big

tank

bag

. It’s

my

opin

ion

that

the

size

of t

he ta

nk

bag

shou

ld m

atch

the

size

of b

ike,

fo

r ae

sthe

tics

alo

ne. T

he R

12GS

is a

st

upid

ly la

rge

bike

, and

it w

ould

look

si

lly c

arry

ing

one

of th

ose

tiny

Hel

lo-

Kitt

y ta

nk b

ags y

ou se

e on

som

e sp

ort

bike

s. L

ike

a w

art o

n th

e ba

ck o

f a

wha

le. C

onve

rsel

y, m

y ta

nk b

ag w

ould

al

so lo

ok si

lly o

n th

ose

sam

e sp

ort

bike

s, se

eing

as h

ow I

coul

d to

tally

fit

a CB

R125

R in

side

it :)

(Thi

s sm

iley

has

been

inse

rted

to w

ard

off h

ate

mai

l fr

om C

BR12

5R o

wne

rs).

In

tere

stin

gly

enou

gh, I

hav

e a

piec

e of

my

bike

that

bro

ke o

ff w

hen

I had

a

slig

ht sp

ill in

the

Fren

ch R

ivie

ra a

few

ye

ars a

go. I

’m n

ot su

re w

hy I

still

car

ry

it a

roun

d, it

’s a

ll br

oken

and

scra

tche

d up

and

won

’t ev

er fi

t bac

k on

the

mot

orcy

cle.

May

be it

’s li

ke a

talis

man

to

war

d of

f any

futu

re b

ad lu

ck. O

r m

aybe

I’m

just

lazy

. I p

lace

the

brok

en

part

bac

k in

the

tank

bag

.

Aha!

Her

e it

is. A

spec

ial p

ouch

I ke

ep fo

r ph

arm

aceu

tica

ls! T

hese

mag

ic

pills

are

a g

atew

ay to

blis

sful

hou

rs

on a

mot

orcy

cle

seat

. The

y’re

cal

led

ibup

rofe

n. C

arry

them

. Lov

e th

em.

Wor

ship

them

on

Hou

r 14

on

the

I40

thro

ugh

Kans

as a

nd M

isso

uri.

On m

ost

long

trip

s tha

t inv

olve

supe

rsla

bs, y

ou’ll

sp

end

mos

t of t

he ti

me

tryi

ng to

find

a

com

fort

able

pos

itio

n. I’

ve se

en so

me

ride

rs h

ook

thei

r fe

et o

n th

e pa

ssen

ger

pegs

, and

res

t the

ir le

ft e

lbow

on

the

tank

(thi

s is c

alle

d th

e Su

perm

an, B

TW).

You’

ll fin

d yo

ur ta

nk b

ag a

lso

mak

es

a gr

eat p

illow

. Esp

ecia

lly st

uffe

d w

ith

lots

of s

quis

hy m

ater

ial l

ike

map

s and

re

ceip

ts.

I d

o st

ill c

arry

pap

er m

aps e

ven

thou

gh I

use

a GP

S m

ost o

f the

tim

e.

Mor

e of

a b

acku

p, a

nd a

lso

yello

w

hi-li

ter

is h

ard

to w

ipe

off t

hose

GPS

un

its.

The

re’s

a lo

t of p

arap

hern

alia

in

volv

ed w

ith

thes

e el

ectr

onic

gad

gets

th

ese

days

. And

I fin

d th

at a

s I c

lean

ou

t the

tank

bag

, I’m

pul

ling

out a

m

yria

d of

pow

er a

dapt

ers,

USB

cab

les,

iPod

cab

les,

cab

les w

ith

plug

s tha

t I

don’

t eve

n re

cogn

ize

fitti

ng in

to a

ny

devi

ce th

at I

own.

.. I c

an’t

wai

t till

th

ey B

luet

ooth

eve

ryth

ing.

“A

new

de

vice

has

bee

n fo

und:

GTA

Tra

ffic

Grid

Co

ntro

l. W

ould

you

like

to c

onfig

ure?

” I fi

nd a

mon

g th

e eC

rap,

a c

oupl

e of

SD

RAM

car

ds fo

r m

y di

gita

l cam

era.

No

nost

algi

c va

lue

here

, as t

he c

onte

nts

alw

ays g

et u

ploa

ded

afte

r ev

ery

day’

s ri

de. I

nste

ad, t

hese

em

pty

shel

ls r

emin

d m

e ho

w fa

st te

chno

logy

cha

nges

- 1G

B an

d 2G

B ca

rds d

isca

rded

to th

e bo

ttom

of t

he ta

nk b

ag in

favo

ur o

f ne

wer

32G

B m

emor

y fo

r m

y ba

jillio

n gi

gapi

xel c

amer

a. I

pile

the

tiny

car

ds

on m

y of

fice

desk

, kno

win

g th

at in

a

few

yea

rs, t

hey

will

pro

babl

y ho

ld

as m

any

pict

ures

and

mus

ic fi

les a

s a

1.44

MB

flopp

y di

sk h

olds

toda

y. In

th

e fu

ture

we’

ll pr

obab

ly d

o aw

ay

wit

h ph

ysic

al m

emor

y ca

rds a

s all

our

devi

ces w

ill w

irel

essl

y up

load

our

stuf

f to

net

wor

ked

stor

age

that

is a

cces

sibl

e an

ytim

e an

d an

ywhe

re th

roug

h ch

ips

plan

ted

in o

ur h

ead.

Will

we

still

nee

d ta

nk b

ags t

hen,

I w

onde

r? P

roba

bly.

Whe

re e

lse

wou

ld

keep

, wit

hin

our

reac

h, a

ll of

our

m

otor

cycl

e ho

pes a

nd d

ream

s, o

ur

com

fort

and

sorr

ow, a

nd th

at fu

nny-

look

ing

‘Mur

ican

mon

ey?

Wha

t’s in

you

r tan

k ba

g? E

-mai

l me a

t rid

e_th

e_w

orld

@ro

gers

.com

, and

I’ll

shar

e the

resu

lts!

Ther

e’s o

nly

so m

uch

unne

cess

ary

mai

nten

ance

you

can

per

form

on

your

bi

ke o

ver

the

cold

, lon

g w

inte

r m

onth

s.

So r

ecen

tly

I tur

ned

my

atte

ntio

n to

re

-pac

king

my

belo

ved

tank

bag

. Wha

t di

d I fi

nd?

A

bit o

f nos

talg

ia. H

ope.

Su

pers

titi

on. G

uida

nce

and

com

fort

.N

o, m

y ta

nk b

ag is

not

a c

hurc

h,

alth

ough

it’s

alm

ost a

s big

as o

ne. I

t’s

the

fact

ory

BMW

tank

bag

that

com

es

as a

n op

tion

wit

h th

e R1

200G

S. It

s ca

paci

ty is

a T

ARDI

S-lik

e 22

L, la

rge

enou

gh to

fit a

full-

face

hel

met

and

sm

all p

ets (

if yo

u’re

the

“Dog

is m

y co

pilo

t” ty

pe).

It’s

als

o w

ater

proo

f, so

if y

ou e

ver

wan

t to

take

a b

ath

in

it, i

t won

’t le

ak. A

nd it

has

a g

reat

tran

spar

ent m

ap h

olde

r on

the

top

that

wor

ks w

ell i

f it’s

nev

er e

xpos

ed to

su

nlig

ht, b

ut I

inad

vert

entl

y di

d. O

ver

and

over

and

ove

r ag

ain.

So

now

the

map

hol

der

is n

ot so

tran

spar

ent a

ny

mor

e, th

e pl

asti

c ye

llow

ing

wit

h ag

e,

sun

and

heat

exp

osur

e. K

inda

like

me,

bu

t I d

igre

ss...

So

her

e I a

m, y

anki

ng o

ut th

e co

nten

ts o

f my

gino

rmou

s tan

k ba

g th

at I’

ve a

ccum

ulat

ed y

ears

of “

stuf

f th

at a

bsol

utel

y ne

eds t

o be

at a

glo

ved-

hand

ed r

each

at a

ll ti

mes

”. I

coul

dn’t

poss

ibly

arg

ue w

hy I

need

a b

atte

ry-

oper

ated

per

sona

l fan

in m

y ta

nk b

ag.

But I

cou

ld m

ake

a st

rong

cas

e fo

r w

hy I

do n

eed

zip

ties

and

Vel

cro

stra

ps. L

ess

of a

cas

e w

hy I

need

eno

ugh

of th

em to

build

my

own

mot

orcy

cle

from

scra

tch.

An

d in

8 d

iffer

ent c

olou

rs, n

o le

ss.

But s

orti

ng th

roug

h th

e co

nten

ts h

elps

m

e re

live

som

e of

the

jour

neys

my

bike

and

I ha

ve g

one

thro

ugh.

I pu

ll ou

t map

s of O

ntar

io, P

enns

ylva

nia,

V

erm

ont,

New

Yor

k, C

alifo

rnia

, etc

., al

l cov

ered

in sq

uigg

ly li

nes o

f yel

low

an

d gr

een

hi-li

ter.

Tho

se sq

uigg

ly li

nes

mak

e m

e sm

ile, s

o I p

ut th

e m

aps b

ack

in m

y ta

nk b

ag, e

ven

thou

gh I

know

th

at I

prob

ably

won

’t be

trav

ellin

g to

Co

lora

do th

is se

ason

.

Othe

r it

ems o

f nos

talg

ia in

clud

e a

“Thi

s Bik

e Cl

imbe

d M

ount

Was

hing

ton”

st

icke

r, w

hich

I ne

ver

affix

ed a

nyw

here

on

my

pris

tine

rid

e. A

lso

num

erou

s gas

, di

ner

and

hote

l rec

eipt

s. M

y ey

ebro

w

Wh

at’

s in

Yo

ur

Tan

k B

ag

?S

TO

RY

BY

GE

NE

LE

E A

ND

PH

OT

OS

BY

WO

BB

LY

CA

T P

HO

TO

GR

AP

HY

MA

Y 2

01

0

[5

8]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[59

]

2Rid

e

com

bina

tion

s. I

’ve

been

so im

pres

sed

wit

h w

omen

’s g

love

s of l

ate

that

it’s

a

bad

habi

t of m

ine

to p

ick

up a

pai

r ev

ery

tim

e I s

ee a

goo

d de

al.

Wha

t ca

n I s

ay?

I lik

e to

hav

e a

heal

thy

gear

se

lect

ion

on h

and!

Over

the

year

s, a

s the

sele

ctio

n of

w

omen

’s g

ear

has g

row

n, so

too

has o

ur

dem

ands

of t

hat g

ear.

Asi

de fr

om th

e ba

sic

styl

ings

, wom

en w

ant g

ear

that

fit

s. T

oo sh

ort i

s as u

ncom

fort

able

as

too

long

. Ja

cket

s, p

ants

, and

suit

s tha

t do

n’t a

ccou

nt fo

r hi

ps o

r ch

ests

mak

e yo

u fe

el li

ke a

saus

age

and

no o

ne w

ants

to

rid

e lik

e th

at!

The

bigg

est h

urdl

e fo

r th

e fe

mal

e ri

der

is n

ot ju

st fi

ndin

g th

e ge

ar (t

hank

you

in

tern

et!),

but

find

ing

som

ewhe

re to

tr

y it

on.

Unf

ortu

nate

ly, w

e’re

all

built

di

ffer

entl

y an

d th

ere’

s no

subs

titu

te fo

r tr

ying

it o

n. O

nce

you

know

how

yo

ur si

ze r

uns,

and

how

gea

r fit

s yo

u, th

e m

easu

ring

pro

cess

is e

asy

and

you

can

orde

r fr

om a

lmos

t an

ywhe

re.

Man

y br

ands

hav

e in

crea

sed

thei

r w

omen

’s r

ange

s su

bsta

ntia

lly in

the

last

few

yea

rs

incl

udin

g Ic

on, S

corp

ion,

Rev

’it,

and

Tekn

ic to

nam

e a

few

.

Bu

t I

do

n’t

w

an

t p

ink

g

ea

rW

e w

elco

me

the

influ

x of

wom

en’s

ge

ar o

n th

e m

arke

t, bu

t doe

s it

have

to b

e so

…..P

INK!

I’ll

adm

it

that

I ow

n a

pink

and

whi

te ja

cket

an

d w

ill st

and

up fo

r an

yone

who

w

ants

to w

ear

pink

, but

I do

n’t

wan

t all

my

gear

to b

e pi

nk.

Whe

n se

lect

ion

star

ted

to o

pen

up fo

r

wom

en’s

gea

r th

ere

was

an

influ

x of

pi

nk a

nd b

aby

blue

gea

r. W

e sw

ung

from

bei

ng m

ista

ken

for

a ba

g of

po

tato

es o

n a

mot

orcy

cle,

to sc

ream

ing

“I a

m w

oman

!” C

erta

in c

ompa

nies

se

emed

to b

e w

orse

off

ende

rs th

an

othe

rs, b

ut a

t lea

st it

was

a st

ep in

the

righ

t dir

ecti

on.

Mor

e ge

ar c

hoic

es w

ere

ther

e, th

ey ju

st m

ight

not

exa

ctly

be

the

colo

ur c

ombi

nati

on y

ou w

ant.

Pink

and

bab

y bl

ue g

ear

is st

ill o

ut

ther

e, a

nd m

ore

pow

er to

any

one

who

w

ants

to sp

ort t

hat g

ear.

I o

ften

hea

r w

omen

com

plai

ning

abo

ut th

e pi

nk

gear

, but

I co

nsid

er it

a g

roun

dbre

aker

, or

a d

oor c

rash

er if

you

will

. Co

mpa

nies

lis

tene

d an

d re

spon

ded.

The

y st

eppe

d up

to th

e pl

ate

and

offe

red

mor

e op

tion

s, a

nd th

at p

ink

gear

pav

ed th

e w

ay fo

r th

e m

yria

d of

sele

ctio

ns th

at

are

out t

here

toda

y. I

f you

wan

t to

wea

r pi

nk g

ear,

it’s

out

ther

e. I

f you

w

ant t

o w

ear

a ja

cket

wit

h bu

tter

fly

grap

hics

, tha

t’s o

ut th

ere

too.

And

pe

rhap

s mos

t app

reci

ativ

ely,

stan

dard

ja

cket

s in

basi

c co

lour

s, w

ith

grea

t fits

, ar

e ou

t the

re fo

r w

omen

too.

I’d

eve

n ve

ntur

e a

gues

s tha

t our

gea

r ch

oice

s ri

val m

en’s

now

, des

pite

the

fact

th

at w

e on

ly c

olle

ctiv

ely

acco

unt f

or

appr

oxim

atel

y 10

% o

f the

mot

orcy

clin

g po

pula

tion

.

Wh

ich

bri

ng

s

me

to

my

la

st

po

int…

The

gear

is o

ut th

ere.

Tha

nks t

o th

e w

onde

rs o

f the

inte

rnet

, the

wor

ld is

at

our

finge

rtip

s and

our

gea

r ch

oice

s ar

e en

dles

s. P

erso

nally

, I li

ke to

su

ppor

t loc

al sh

ops,

but

I tr

y an

d fin

d ev

eryt

hing

on

the

inte

rnet

fir

st, n

ot o

nly

to c

heck

pri

ces b

ut

to r

ead

revi

ews.

Ble

ssed

, or

is

it c

urse

d, w

ith

a lo

ng to

rso,

not

al

l jac

kets

fit m

e an

d I’v

e ha

d to

m

ake

som

e cr

eati

ve c

hoic

es. B

ut

I’m n

ot a

lone

and

hav

e fo

und

vast

so

urce

s of i

nfor

mat

ion

thro

ugh

onlin

e sh

ops a

nd se

rvic

es, i

nter

net

foru

ms,

and

buy

er r

evie

ws.

So w

heth

er y

ou’r

e lo

okin

g fo

r a

new

suit

for

the

trac

k, o

r a

jack

et

to g

o on

thos

e w

eeke

nd r

ides

, the

ge

ar is

out

ther

e. A

sk a

roun

d an

d tr

y on

som

eone

’s ja

cket

. Go

to

loca

l sho

ps a

nd a

sk a

bout

wom

en’s

ge

ar o

r if

they

’re

will

ing

to o

rder

in

. An

d co

nsid

er th

is, i

t cou

ld

alw

ays b

e w

orse

, we

coul

d st

ill b

e st

uck

wit

h on

ly a

cou

ple

of c

hoic

es

and

now

here

to b

uy th

em!

If the

re’s

one

thin

g th

at b

inds

us

all

toge

ther

as f

emal

e ri

ders

, it’s

our

lack

of g

ear

choi

ces,

per

ceiv

ed o

r re

al.

Ask

any

fem

ale

ride

r ar

ound

and

sh

e’ll

tell

you

she

can’

t find

gea

r to

fit h

er.

Wor

se th

an th

at, s

he’ll

te

ll yo

u, th

at w

hen

you

she

does

fin

d ge

ar th

at fi

ts, i

t’s a

nnoy

ingl

y pi

nk, o

r ba

by b

lue,

or

has t

assl

es.

But l

ike

any

risi

ng g

roup

wit

hin

a co

mm

unit

y, a

s we

grow

, our

ch

oice

s will

con

tinu

e to

gro

w

wit

h us

.

A q

ue

sti

on

o

f fi

t.W

hen

I firs

t sta

rted

rid

ing

over

10

year

s ago

, wom

en’s

gea

r ch

oice

s wer

e m

adde

ning

ly si

mpl

e. A

s a st

uden

t I

wan

ted

som

ethi

ng p

ract

ical

and

thri

fty,

an

d if

luck

wou

ld h

ave

it, f

emin

ine.

Le

athe

r ja

cket

s wer

e ex

pens

ive

so I

sett

led

on a

roy

al b

lue

text

ile n

umbe

r th

at m

ade

me

look

slig

htly

less

like

a

bag

of p

otat

oes t

han

any

of th

e ot

hers

in

the

stor

e. I

was

exc

ited

and

vow

ed to

sa

ve u

p fo

r a

leat

her

jack

et th

at, t

o m

e,

was

the

ulti

mat

e in

fem

ale

gear

for

the

tim

e. I

laug

h w

hen

I loo

k at

that

jack

et

in m

y cl

oset

toda

y, b

ecau

se w

hile

it

still

pro

tect

s me

just

fine

, flat

teri

ng it

w

as n

ot.

Wha

t mos

t gea

r la

cked

bac

k th

en w

as

a ba

sic

appr

ecia

tion

for

the

fem

ale

form

. Th

ey w

ere

sim

ply

smal

ler

size

d ve

rsio

ns o

f men

’s g

ear

wit

h no

thou

ght

to th

e cu

t of t

he w

aist

or

how

hip

s and

ch

ests

mig

ht c

ome

into

pla

y. I

n fa

ct

that

firs

t lea

ther

jack

et o

f min

e w

as c

ut

so sh

ort,

pres

umab

ly to

sit a

bove

my

hips

, tha

t I o

ften

got

sunb

urns

from

m

y lo

wer

bac

k be

ing

expo

sed

on lo

ng

ride

s. I

’ve

neve

r ha

d to

cra

sh te

st it

but

I’d

hat

e to

thin

k of

the

rash

pos

sibi

litie

s fr

om sl

idin

g on

my

back

whi

le w

eari

ng

that

jack

et.

Whi

le p

rote

ctio

n sh

ould

be

the

num

ber

one

conc

ern

of a

ny g

ear,

sadl

y w

omen

’s

gear

has

had

to su

ffer

thro

ugh

the

“fas

hion

firs

t” p

hase

of d

evel

opm

ent.

N

ot a

ll ge

ar is

cre

ated

equ

al a

nd

unfo

rtun

atel

y m

uch

of th

e ge

ar a

imed

at w

omen

, at l

east

in th

e ea

rly

days

, was

hea

vy o

n th

e fa

shio

n,

wit

h pr

otec

tion

alm

ost b

eing

an

afte

rtho

ught

. Th

ankf

ully

thos

e da

ys a

re a

thin

g of

the

past

and

w

omen

’s g

ear

now

shar

es th

e sa

me

stan

dard

of p

rote

ctio

n fo

r m

ost m

en’s

gea

r.

Boot

s wer

e of

ten

impo

ssib

le to

fin

d si

nce

not a

lot o

f men

hav

e sm

all f

eet,

and

not a

lot o

f wom

en

can

fit in

to m

en’s

shoe

size

s.

Depe

ndin

g on

you

r ty

pe o

f rid

ing,

bo

ot o

ptio

ns n

ow a

re g

row

ing.

Yo

u ca

n st

ill g

o fo

r a

smal

ler

men

’s

size

, or

you

can

choo

se th

e ne

wer

, m

ore

styl

ish,

wom

en’s

opt

ions

. As

th

e pe

rcen

tage

of w

omen

invo

lved

in

mot

orcy

clin

g gr

ows,

gea

r op

tion

s con

tinu

e to

exp

and.

Whe

n I b

ough

t tha

t firs

t jac

ket,

I pi

cked

up

a pa

ir o

f glo

ves t

hat f

or a

ll in

tent

s and

pur

pose

s wer

e no

bet

ter

than

gar

deni

ng g

love

s. O

h su

re th

ey

wer

e le

athe

r (o

kay

may

be th

ey w

ere

a st

ep a

bove

gar

deni

ng g

love

s), b

ut th

ey

lack

ed a

ny r

eal p

rote

ctio

n ot

her

than

ab

rasi

on, a

nd w

ere

just

the

smal

lest

m

en’s

glo

ves I

cou

ld fi

nd.

They

onl

y ca

me

in o

ne c

olou

r an

d lo

oked

like

they

w

ere

stra

ight

out

of t

he e

ight

ies d

espi

te

bein

g pu

rcha

sed

in th

e ye

ar 2

000!

Lik

e bo

ots,

wom

en’s

glo

ve c

hoic

es a

re n

ot

on p

ar w

ith

men

’s, b

ut h

ave

impr

oved

si

gnifi

cant

ly.

Long

, sho

rt, w

arm

, col

d,

race

, and

stre

et a

re a

ll op

tion

s alo

ng

wit

h se

vera

l col

our

and

prot

ecti

on

Wh

at

Wo

me

n W

an

tS

TO

RY

BY

KE

LL

Y G

IBS

ON

. P

HO

TO

S P

RO

VID

ED

IC

ON

MA

Y 2

01

0

[6

0]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[61

]

2Rid

e

Vel

ocit

y Sp

orts

gear

ope

ned

its d

oor

for

busi

ness

in

Dece

mbe

r 20

09. I

n a

shor

t fe

w m

onth

s it h

as g

aine

d a

repu

tati

on

for

qual

ity

cust

om su

its a

t aff

orda

ble

pric

es. A

ccor

ding

to Ji

mm

y Si

ngh;

CE

O of

the

com

pany

; “Ou

r go

al

is to

be

a M

otor

cycl

e Ap

pare

l M

anuf

actu

rer

that

pro

vide

s val

ue fo

r yo

ur m

oney

. We

will

not

com

prom

ise

on q

ualit

y an

d w

e w

ill n

ot c

harg

e an

arm

and

leg

for

a cu

stom

suit

or

jack

et. W

e ar

e a

Cana

dian

bas

ed

com

pany

wit

h ou

r ow

n ov

erse

as

man

ufac

turi

ng p

lant

hen

ce w

e ca

n ke

ep o

ur p

rice

s low

as t

here

are

no

mid

dlem

en in

volv

ed. W

e ar

e lo

okin

g to

est

ablis

h ou

rsel

ves i

n ou

r lo

cal

(GTA

) mar

ket b

efor

e w

e ex

pand

ac

ross

Nor

th A

mer

ica

late

r on

th

is y

ear.

”

Cust

om S

uits

are

mad

e w

ith

Top

Grai

n Ge

nuin

e Co

w H

ide

leat

her

in d

iffer

ent t

hick

ness

es a

s per

the

clie

nt. H

igh

impa

ct a

reas

are

stit

ched

th

ree

and

four

tim

es w

ith

Kevl

ar

Thre

ad a

ssur

ing

a st

rong

seam

. Cus

tom

su

its a

re c

usto

miz

ed b

y de

sign

, col

our

and

size

s. U

pgra

ded

suit

s can

als

o be

cu

stom

ized

wit

h Kn

ox a

rmor

. The

y ha

ve a

n on

boar

d gr

aphi

c de

sign

er th

at

will

hel

p ta

ke y

our

conc

ept s

uit t

o re

alit

y in

und

er 4

wee

ks.

V

eloc

ity

is a

lso

an a

utho

rize

d Kn

ox D

eale

r an

d w

ill b

e ca

rryi

ng

thei

r en

tire

arm

or li

ne in

clud

ing

the

Han

droi

d H

and

arm

or g

love

. Acc

ordi

ng

to Ji

mm

y “T

he m

ost i

mpo

rtan

t asp

ect

for

prot

ecti

on in

rac

ing

leat

hers

is

the

qual

ity

of a

rmor

. All

arm

or in

our

su

its i

s CE

appr

oved

but

for

clie

nts w

ho

wan

t the

abs

olut

e be

st in

pro

tect

ion

we

offe

r a

Knox

Arm

or u

pgra

de th

at w

ill

incl

ude

Knox

Sho

ulde

r, E

lbow

, Kne

e an

d H

ip p

rote

ctor

s alo

ng w

ith

a Kn

ox

Jack

et B

ack

prot

ecto

r.”

Othe

r pr

oduc

ts

from

Kno

x in

clud

e th

e Ae

gis,

Con

tour

an

d Ko

mpa

kt B

ack

prot

ecto

rs a

long

w

ith

Ches

t Gua

rds,

Cro

ss S

hirt

, War

rior

Har

ness

, Cro

ss S

hort

s and

stra

p on

Cr

oss E

lbow

and

Kne

e Gu

ards

.

Vel

ocit

y ha

s als

o de

cide

d to

bri

ng in

Fo

rma

Boot

s (It

alia

n M

anuf

actu

rer)

an

d w

ill c

arry

mos

t mod

els o

f the

ir

popu

lar

F1 a

nd S

X d

ry se

ries

. Pri

cing

w

ill st

art a

t $15

9.99

wit

h th

e hi

gher

en

d m

odel

s sel

ling

for

$299

.99.

Vel

ocit

y is

als

o th

e pr

oud

spon

sor

of th

e V

eloc

ity

Spor

tsge

ar E

xper

t 60

0 Ex

trem

e Cl

ass a

t SOA

R. T

hey

are

look

ing

to sp

onso

r ra

cers

in

this

reg

iona

l ser

ies a

nd a

re a

lso

disc

ussi

ng sp

onso

rshi

p op

port

unit

ies

wit

h Ra

cers

on

the

Nat

iona

l Cir

cuit

. Al

so V

eloc

ity

Spor

tsge

ar w

ill b

e m

akin

g a

cust

om su

it fo

r 2

Ride

to

test

out

on

and

off t

he tr

ack

whe

re

we

plan

to fu

lly te

st a

nd r

epor

t on

in

an u

pcom

ing

issu

e of

how

thes

e su

its

real

ly d

o st

and

up a

gain

st o

ther

suit

s in

the

mar

ket.

Pr

ices

for

cust

om r

ace

suit

s sta

rt a

t $4

49.9

9. T

he n

ew li

ne u

p of

Lea

ther

ja

cket

s will

star

t at $

249.

99 w

ith

Knox

ar

mor

upg

rade

d ja

cket

s at $

324.

99.

Text

ile Ja

cket

s will

star

t at $

199.

99 w

ith

Knox

Arm

or U

pgra

ded

text

ile ja

cket

s at

$27

4.99

. Pr

oduc

ts c

an b

e vi

ewed

on

thei

r

web

site

at w

ww

.vel

ocit

yspo

rtsg

ear.

com

and

they

can

be

reac

hed

at th

eir

offic

e at

272

0 Re

na R

oad,

Mis

siss

auga

, On

tari

o. 9

05-4

61-9

241.

jim

my@

velo

city

spor

tsge

ar.c

om .

Velo

city

Sp

ort

swe

ar

MA

Y 2

01

0

[6

2]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[63

]

2Rid

e

Get

ting

Read

y to

do

Batt

leJo

ey

McR

ae

Age:

33

Hom

etow

n: K

ings

ton,

Ont

ario

Bike

: Yam

aha

R6 0

9H

obbi

es: R

acin

g, h

ocke

ySt

atus

: Sin

gle

Star

ted

raci

ng: 2

006

Hig

hlig

hts:

I br

oke

a la

p re

cord

, se

t a p

ole

posi

tion

, and

won

a r

ace

al

l in

one

wee

kend

Low

light

s: A

200

8 ac

cide

nt in

Ca

labo

gie

caus

ing

mas

sive

spin

al

inju

ry, e

ndin

g m

y se

ason

Firs

t bik

e: 2

000

zx6

ST

OR

Y B

Y A

LE

X C

OL

LIN

S

PH

OT

OS

PR

OV

IDE

D B

Y W

OB

BL

YC

AT

PH

OT

OG

RA

PH

YPr

o ra

cer

Jam

es C

ollin

s, fo

unde

r of

Mim

ic In

dust

ries

, and

am

ateu

r ra

cer

Joey

M

cRae

hav

e te

amed

up

to fo

rm a

sup

er r

ace

team

. Whi

le lo

okin

g fo

r a

team

sp

onso

r to

ren

ame

the

grou

p th

ey a

re c

allin

g th

emse

lves

the

Mim

ic A

rmy.

Th

e ne

w n

ame

is r

athe

r ap

prop

riat

e, s

eein

g as

how

toge

ther

they

will

cov

er

all t

he a

mat

eur

nati

onal

rac

es a

s w

ell a

s al

l the

pro

rac

es th

at th

is y

ear’

s se

ason

hol

ds. T

his

uniq

ue p

artn

ersh

ip h

as q

uite

an

edge

to it

, whi

ch is

the

reas

on M

imic

Arm

y w

as c

hose

n as

2Ri

des’

firs

t fea

ture

rac

er p

rofil

e.

Jam

es

Co

llin

s

Age:

34

Hom

etow

n: C

ambr

idge

, Eng

land

Bike

: Yam

aha

R6 0

7H

obbi

es: M

y bu

sine

ss (M

imic

), ra

cing

and

my

fam

ilySt

atus

: Mar

ried

(ver

y ha

ppily

) so

rry

ladi

es! A

nd fa

ther

to tw

o gr

eat k

ids

MA

Y 2

01

0

[6

4]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[65

]

2Rid

e

So yo

u ha

ve d

ecid

ed to

take

you

r ne

ed fo

r sp

eed

to th

e tr

ack,

but

w

here

to st

art a

nd w

ho to

ask

? It

’s a

lway

s har

d st

arti

ng o

ut in

a n

ew

spor

t or

hobb

y, tr

ying

to m

ake

frie

nds

whi

le le

arni

ng th

e ro

pes.

Tra

ck 1

01 w

ill

give

you

all

the

info

rmat

ion

you

need

to

get

star

ted,

whe

re y

ou ta

ke it

aft

er

that

is a

ll up

to y

ou!

Re

com

men

dati

ons f

rom

vet

eran

ra

cers

and

trac

k go

ers s

ugge

st g

rabb

ing

a fr

iend

and

hea

ding

to th

e tr

ack

to

chec

k it

out

, see

wha

t it’s

all

abou

t, as

k so

me

ques

tion

s and

mak

e so

me

new

fr

iend

s.

The

next

eas

iest

pla

ce to

star

t is

GTAM

otor

cycl

e.co

m, t

hey

have

a

sect

ion

on th

eir

dedi

cate

d to

trac

k, in

th

is se

ctio

n yo

u ca

n ta

lk to

exp

erts

, ra

cers

, and

oth

er fe

llow

ent

husi

asts

. An

othe

r si

mpl

e an

d ea

sy o

ptio

n is

to

hit u

p Pr

o6 C

ycle

(pro

6cyc

le.c

om) o

r Ri

ders

Cho

ice

(rid

ersc

hoic

e.ca

), bo

th

of th

ese

loca

l sho

ps o

ffer

a v

arie

ty o

f tr

ack

days

thro

ugho

ut th

e ye

ar. P

ro6

cycl

e se

ems t

o st

ep it

up

just

a b

it m

ore

than

its c

ompe

tito

r th

ough

, on

the

web

site

you

can

find

out

abo

ut b

ike

prep

arat

ion,

rul

es a

nd r

egul

atio

ns, a

s w

ell a

s the

dai

ly it

iner

ary.

Pro

vide

rs

may

als

o ha

ve a

var

iety

of p

acka

ges

and

days

to c

hoos

e fr

om, a

s wel

l as

furt

her

opti

ons,

such

as b

ike

rent

als,

in

sura

nce

fees

, gea

r re

ntal

s and

ext

ra

inst

ruct

ion.

A g

ener

al r

ule

is th

at th

e pr

ovid

ers w

ill ty

pica

lly li

st th

e bi

ke

prep

arat

ion

requ

irem

ents

eit

her

in th

e co

nfirm

atio

n pa

ckag

e yo

u re

ceiv

e w

hen

you

book

or

on th

eir

web

site

. If y

ou

can’

t find

this

info

rmat

ion

easi

ly, a

sk.

Ge

nera

lly, t

he b

asis

req

uire

men

ts

for

bike

pre

para

tion

are

:1.

Coo

ling

syst

em -

mak

e su

re y

ou h

ave

wat

er in

you

r bi

ke’s

coo

ling

syst

em

rath

er th

an c

oola

nt. W

ater

wet

ter

is

TRAC

K 1

01

ST

OR

Y B

Y A

LE

X C

OL

LIN

S, C

O-A

UT

HO

R S

IMO

N B

AK

ER

Joe

y M

cRa

eW

hat d

rive

s you

to r

ace?

Adr

enal

ine,

and

ego

mos

tly

Favo

urit

e fo

od o

n an

d of

f the

trac

k? D

oes b

eer

coun

t?

If no

t Red

bull…

but

if it

has

to b

e so

lid th

en I

wou

ld h

ave

to

choo

se p

asta

Wha

t is y

our

favo

urit

e pi

t bik

e to

dat

e? I

wou

ld h

ave

to sa

y m

y w

heel

cha

ir, I

rod

e m

y ch

air

arou

nd th

e pi

ts fo

r a

year

, it

was

qui

te a

sigh

t.W

hat i

s you

r fa

vour

ite

trac

k in

Can

ada,

and

why

? Ca

lgar

y ha

nds d

own,

bec

ause

it’s

rou

gh a

nd fa

st ju

st th

e w

ay I

like

itIf

you

coul

d ch

oose

any

roa

d bi

ke, w

hat w

ould

it b

e? A

prili

a RS

V 4

, its

sex

on w

heel

sYo

u se

em to

hav

e a

bit o

f tha

t bad

boy

look

; do

you

have

any

ta

ts to

go

wit

h th

at?

Oh

yes!

H

ow m

any

exac

tly

do y

ou h

ave?

Eno

ugh

that

you

wou

ldn’

t br

ing

me

hom

e to

you

’re

mom

Wha

t are

you

r 20

10 g

oals

for

this

rac

e re

ason

? I w

as h

opin

g fo

r an

ele

ctri

c w

heel

chai

r(he

laug

hs)…

But

hon

estl

y I h

ope

to ta

ke h

ome

the

nati

onal

cha

mpi

onsh

ip.

Wha

t wou

ld y

ou sa

y yo

ur la

p ti

mes

are

com

pare

d to

the

pros

? Ro

ughl

y 3

seco

nds b

ehin

d so

me

of th

e to

p pr

os

Can

you

tell

me

abou

t you

r cr

ash

in 2

008,

it n

ot o

nly

ende

d yo

ur y

ear

but i

t did

qui

te a

bit

of d

amag

e to

you

r pe

rson

s?I w

as le

adin

g th

e fir

st la

p of

the

Cala

bogi

e N

atio

nal,

I was

an

tici

pati

ng a

win

. I g

ot p

asse

d in

the

insi

de o

f the

hoo

k tu

rn

(tur

n 14

), th

e ri

der

high

side

d… I

only

had

two

opti

ons,

run

hi

m o

ver

head

on,

or

swer

ve a

nd tr

y to

mis

s him

. I d

idn’

t m

iss h

im c

ompl

etel

y bu

t I e

nded

up

runn

ing

over

his

legs

; I r

an in

to th

e gu

ardr

ail a

nd w

as th

en to

ssed

bac

k on

to th

e tr

ack

(qui

te a

dis

tanc

e I w

as to

ld).

I don

’t re

mem

ber

muc

h af

ter

that

, but

I w

as to

ld I

was

take

n of

f the

trac

k by

the

grou

nd a

mbu

lanc

e as

the

airl

ift w

as u

nava

ilabl

e; la

ter

I was

to

be

tran

sfer

red

to O

ttaw

a vi

a po

lice

esco

rt. W

hen

it w

as

all s

aid

and

done

I ha

d cr

acke

d a

vert

ebra

e, tw

o co

mpr

esse

d ve

rteb

rae,

bro

ken

ankl

e, a

nd h

and,

as w

ell a

s a fe

w to

rn

mus

cles

. I sh

ould

hav

e be

en o

ff fo

r a

leas

t a y

ear,

but

one

ni

ght a

t the

last

Sha

nnon

ville

reg

iona

l rac

e, o

ver

a be

t I

deci

ded

to r

ace.

The

bet

was

the

loos

er w

ould

hav

e to

wea

r a

bra,

and

onl

y a

bra

to th

e en

d of

yea

r R.

A.C.

E ba

nque

tte,

w

hich

is n

orm

ally

a h

uge

sem

i-for

mal

eve

nt. J

ames

loan

ed

me

his b

ike,

and

the

next

day

I go

t bac

k on

to a

bik

e an

d to

ok

the

bet.

I did

bea

t him

, but

onl

y by

a b

it, a

nd h

e st

ill o

wne

d up

to th

e be

t and

show

ed u

p in

a b

ra a

nd sc

arf d

urin

g th

e w

hole

ban

quet

te.

Jam

es

Co

llin

sW

hen

did

you

star

t to

race

? I s

tart

ed w

ith

Mot

ocro

ss in

98

and

then

I m

oved

to th

e st

reet

in 0

3W

hat w

ould

you

say

your

car

eer

high

light

s are

? OH

! All

my

acco

mpl

ishm

ents

rea

lly: 0

4 SV

cha

mpi

onsh

ip, 0

4 25

0GP

cham

pion

ship

, 04

outs

tand

ing

amat

eur

awar

d (n

orm

ally

on

ly r

eser

ved

for

supe

rbik

e or

600

rid

ers)

, 05

amat

eur

supe

rbik

e, 0

5 am

600

runn

er u

p re

gion

al a

nd n

atio

nal

And

any

care

er lo

wlig

hts t

o ad

d in

ther

e? F

inis

hing

2nd

in

the

05 n

atio

nals

… m

issi

ng th

e ch

ampi

onsh

ip b

y 2

poin

tsIf

you

coul

d ha

ve a

ny b

ike

for

the

stre

et w

hat w

ould

it b

e:

Duca

ti D

esm

osed

ici,

need

I sa

y m

ore?

Why

do

you

race

, run

ning

a b

usin

ess a

nd h

avin

g a

fam

ily

mus

t kee

p yo

u pr

etty

bus

y? It

’s so

ver

y ad

dict

ive;

it’s

har

d to

no

t thi

nk o

f rac

ing

Wha

t is y

our

favo

urit

e de

sser

t? A

pple

cru

mbl

es, s

peci

fical

ly

from

a c

erta

in r

esta

uran

t but

I do

n’t w

ant t

o m

enti

on n

ames

ca

use

then

it m

ight

be

sold

out

whe

n I g

o in

Tats

? N

ot y

et, b

ut y

ou n

ever

kno

w w

hen

Joey

is a

roun

dDo

you

hav

e a

favo

urit

e sa

ying

that

peo

ple

see

as y

our

catc

h ph

rase

? Ol

d en

ough

to k

now

bet

ter,

you

ng e

noug

h no

t to

care

How

is y

our

lap

tim

es c

ompa

red

to o

ther

rac

ers?

I a

m a

bout

m

id p

ack,

but

I am

get

ting

fast

er e

very

yea

r.

Wha

t is t

he st

ory

betw

een

you

and

amat

eur

race

r Jo

ey

McR

ae?

We

met

at t

he r

ace

trac

k, I

wor

ked

for

Pire

lli in

200

6-20

08

and

Joey

’s ti

re c

hoic

e w

as P

irel

li. W

e ha

d a

few

eve

ning

la

ughs

toge

ther

and

qui

ckly

form

ed a

goo

d fr

iend

ship

. Whe

n Jo

ey c

rash

ed a

t rou

nd 1

PCS

B (P

arts

Can

ada

Supe

r Bik

e) I

had

gone

to se

e hi

m in

the

hosp

ital

whi

ch r

emin

ded

me

wha

t I h

ad b

een

thro

ugh.

I’d

had

a sm

all c

rash

out

of t

he r

ace

circ

uit.

He

was

alr

eady

talk

ing

abou

t his

ret

urn

to r

acin

g!

How

rem

inis

cent

; it w

as e

xact

ly h

ow I

felt

abo

ut r

acin

g an

d ri

ding

in g

ener

al. T

o sh

are

this

pas

sion

for

raci

ng a

nd fo

r lif

e in

gen

eral

had

bro

ught

our

frie

ndsh

ip c

lose

r. I

offe

red

to to

w Jo

ey’s

bik

e ou

t to

Calg

ary

so h

e co

uld

fly o

ut a

nd n

ot

mis

s too

muc

h w

ork.

We

have

bee

n te

amed

up

ever

sinc

e.

MA

Y 2

01

0

[6

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[67

]

2Rid

e

good

gen

eral

link

for

such

info

rmat

ion

is O

ntra

iotr

ackd

ays.

com

, whe

re it

lis

ts a

ll tr

acks

in th

e re

gion

and

whi

ch

days

are

ope

rati

onal

for

the

publ

ic;

now

the

web

site

isn’

t alw

ays a

ccur

ate

but w

orks

as a

gre

at st

arti

ng p

oint

for

pick

ing

your

trac

k da

y. A

goo

d ru

le o

f th

umb

is to

pic

k a

date

that

wor

ks b

est

for

you,

but

als

o al

low

s you

to e

njoy

yo

ur d

ay, a

void

mid

sum

mer

, ear

ly

spri

ng o

r la

te fa

ll as

the

wea

ther

is v

ery

unpr

edic

tabl

e.

So

now

you

hav

e pi

cked

you

r da

y,

fant

asti

c… B

ut h

ow a

re y

ou g

etti

ng

ther

e, a

nd b

ette

r ye

t how

is y

our

bike

ge

ttin

g th

ere?

Hop

eful

ly e

ithe

r yo

u ha

ve a

trai

ler

your

self,

or

have

a fr

iend

w

ho c

an m

ake

thei

rs a

vaila

ble

to y

ou.

Shou

ld y

ou fi

nd y

ours

elf w

itho

ut b

ike

pass

age,

then

ther

e ar

e so

me

outs

ide

opti

ons.

The

re a

re b

ike

spec

ific

tow

ing

serv

ices

such

as M

otol

imo,

and

EM

S,

but t

his m

ay b

e a

cost

ly a

venu

e. T

here

is a

lso

Uha

ul w

hich

has

trai

lers

that

can

be

use

d w

ith

bike

s (no

t rec

omm

ende

d as

Uha

ul is

res

tric

tive

), as

wel

l as l

arge

ca

rgo

vans

(pen

ding

on

mea

sure

men

ts

of c

ours

e) w

hich

cou

ld a

lso

help

you

get

yo

ur b

ike

to th

e tr

ack.

Tur

n2 is

off

erin

g a

serv

ice

whe

re if

you

dro

p yo

ur b

ike

at K

ahun

a Po

wer

spor

ts t

hey

will

tr

ansp

ort y

our

bike

up

to C

alab

ogie

! It

’s n

ot r

ecom

men

ded

to r

ide

your

bik

e to

and

from

the

trac

k, if

you

hav

e an

is

sue

wit

h th

e bi

ke a

t the

trac

k yo

u no

w

have

tran

spor

tati

on is

sues

and

mor

e im

port

antl

y, y

ou w

ill b

e ti

red,

trac

k ri

ding

is n

ot li

ke st

reet

rid

ing.

You

are

w

orki

ng th

e w

hole

tim

e yo

u ar

e on

th

e bi

ke a

nd th

e ty

pe o

f men

tal a

nd

phys

ical

fati

gue

you

have

at t

he e

nd

of th

e da

y w

ill g

reat

ly d

imin

ish

your

ri

ding

abi

lity

on th

e w

ay h

ome

–

Cage

It!

On

ce y

ou h

ave

the

trai

ler

issu

e ou

t of t

he w

ay, i

ts b

est t

o th

ink

abou

t w

hat t

o ta

ke w

ith

you.

The

firs

t lis

t of

item

s tha

t sho

uld

com

e to

min

d is

ge

ar, a

ll tr

acks

layo

ut e

xact

ly w

hat

the

gear

req

uire

men

ts a

re, a

nd th

ey

usua

lly d

on’t

budg

e m

uch.

Rac

ing

suit

s m

ust b

e a

full

1 pc

leat

her

suit

, or

2 pc

le

athe

r su

it w

ith

a fu

ll zi

p, h

alf z

ips

or th

ose

smal

l seg

men

ted

zips

usu

ally

fo

und

on st

reet

wea

r ar

e un

acce

ptab

le.

Boot

s mus

t cov

er th

e an

kle;

and

glo

ves

usua

lly m

ust b

e cu

ffed

. Bac

k pr

otec

tors

ar

e re

quir

ed b

y m

ost c

ircu

its,

and

ran

ge

in p

rice

from

$50

- $15

0. D

epen

ding

on

the

trac

k yo

u ch

oose

the

helm

et

requ

irem

ents

cou

ld b

e Sn

ell 2

005,

but

m

ost b

y no

w w

ill b

e 20

10 r

atin

gs.

Ok

so n

ow y

ou h

ave

all t

he g

ear

requ

irem

ent n

eede

d fo

r th

e tr

ack,

wha

t ot

her

type

s of t

hing

s sho

uld

you

brin

g?

Thin

gs th

at a

re r

ecom

men

ded

for

the

trip

are

:

• Zip

ties

• D

uct t

ape/

ele

ctri

cal t

ape

• T

ire

gaug

e

• 10/

20L

of e

xtra

fuel

• C

oole

r w

ith

lots

of w

ater

,

• fre

sh fr

uit,

and

light

snac

ks

(

bana

nas w

ere

#1 o

n th

e lis

t)

• Bas

ic to

ol k

it fo

r th

e bi

ke

Can

opy

(opt

iona

l, m

ainl

y fo

r

com

fort

)

• Rea

r/Fr

ont s

tand

s

• Ear

plu

gs

• Ten

t (if

spen

ding

the

nigh

t or

d

oing

a d

oubl

e tr

ack

day)

• S

un b

lock

• E

xtra

oil

• R

ags/

bags

• B

ike

Key

(you

wou

ld b

e su

rpri

sed

h

ow o

ften

it h

appe

ns)

Thos

e ar

e ju

st a

few

of t

he b

asic

thin

gs

to c

onsi

der

pack

ing

whe

n yo

u’re

th

inki

ng o

f hit

ting

the

trac

k. B

ut w

hat

of th

e da

y, w

hat e

xact

ly sh

ould

you

ex

pect

out

of y

our

trac

k da

y? Y

ou

shou

ld a

rriv

e ea

rly

arou

nd 7

-730

to

star

t the

pre

p on

you

r bi

ke, a

gen

eral

la

yout

of w

hat n

eeds

to b

e do

ne to

the

bike

can

be

foun

d on

the

Pro6

web

site

, bu

t you

shou

ld c

heck

wit

h ea

ch tr

ack

for

thei

r sp

ecifi

c re

quir

emen

ts; a

nd

usua

lly a

roun

d 8a

m th

e ri

ders

mee

ting

st

art.

Topi

cs c

over

ed in

the

mee

ting

ra

nge

from

: rul

es a

nd r

egul

atio

ns, t

o fla

gs a

nd m

eani

ngs,

and

usu

ally

end

s w

ith

a ge

nera

l con

vers

atio

n on

ove

rall

safe

ty. U

sual

ly a

fter

the

mee

ting

is

whe

n yo

ur b

ike

will

get

“te

kked

”,

whi

ch is

whe

n th

ey c

ome

and

insp

ect/

appr

ove

your

bik

e fo

r th

e tr

ack.

One

im

port

ant p

oint

– if

you

cam

e to

the

trac

k al

one

let t

he tr

ack

day

orga

nize

rs

know

. Sho

uld

ther

e be

an

issu

e th

ey

will

kno

w y

ou n

eed

assi

stan

ce. A

lso

if yo

u ca

me

alon

e, p

eopl

e at

the

trac

k ar

e re

ally

frie

ndly

, rea

lly fr

iend

ly. M

ake

a fr

iend

or

two

whe

n yo

u’re

firs

t get

th

ere,

intr

oduc

e yo

urse

lf to

the

peop

le

in th

e pi

t nex

t to

you.

Let

them

kno

w

an a

ccep

tabl

e ad

diti

ve fo

r en

hanc

ing

the

effe

ctiv

enes

s of p

lain

wat

er. T

he

reas

on fo

r th

e ch

ange

to w

ater

is th

at

in th

e ev

ent o

f an

issu

e th

e bi

ke d

oesn

’t le

ak r

eally

slip

pery

coo

lant

all

over

the

trac

k an

d ca

use

an a

ccid

ent o

r cl

ose

the

trac

k fo

r cl

ean

up. Y

ou w

on’t

mak

e an

y fr

iend

s at t

he tr

ack

if a

loos

e ho

se

clam

p on

you

r bi

ke h

as sh

ut d

own

the

trac

k fo

r an

hou

r.

2. T

aped

ligh

ts –

if y

ou a

re r

unni

ng

your

stre

et b

ike

on th

e tr

ack

mak

e su

re

you

have

use

d du

ct ta

pe o

r m

aski

ng

tape

to c

over

the

light

s. T

his r

educ

es

the

amou

nt o

f deb

ris l

eft o

n th

e tr

ack

shou

ld o

ne o

f you

r lig

hts b

reak

.

3. R

emov

e yo

ur m

irro

rs –

ano

ther

so

urce

of g

lass

to b

reak

and

you

don

’t ne

ed to

see

behi

nd y

ou o

n th

e tr

ack.

4. K

icks

tand

– if

you

r bi

ke is

equ

ippe

d

wit

h a

kick

stan

d it

nee

ds to

be

rem

oved

or

tied

up.

A w

eak

kick

stan

d sp

ring

w

hen

gett

ing

your

kne

e do

wn

can

have

so

me

unfo

rtun

ate

cons

eque

nces

.

Thes

e re

quir

emen

ts a

ssum

e th

at

the

bike

you

’re

taki

ng to

the

trac

k is

in

soun

d m

echa

nica

l con

diti

on. Y

ou

need

to m

ake

sure

you

r br

akes

and

su

spen

sion

are

wor

king

pro

perl

y to

ha

ve a

safe

and

enj

oyab

le ti

me

on

the

trac

k.

Also

kee

p in

min

d th

at so

me

trac

ks

have

noi

se le

vel r

equi

rem

ents

and

may

te

st y

our

bike

pri

or to

bei

ng a

llow

ed

on th

e tr

ack

or w

hile

you

’re

out t

here

. Yo

u ne

ed to

und

erst

and

wha

t the

ir

requ

irem

ents

are

pri

or to

mak

ing

the

trip

out

.

Mos

t peo

ple

who

dec

ided

to st

art

hitt

ing

the

trac

k us

ually

tend

to ta

ke

a ra

ce c

ours

e fir

st, t

his a

llow

s the

m to

ac

hiev

e th

e sk

ills a

nd to

ols n

eces

sary

to

mak

e th

e m

ost o

f a tr

ack

day.

The

re

are

quit

e a

few

rac

e sc

hool

s out

ther

e to

cho

ose

from

, the

mos

t com

mon

on

es b

eing

FAS

T, T

urn2

, Arc

, Soa

r,

and

Race

r5. P

rici

ng fo

r su

ch sc

hool

s ra

nge

anyw

here

from

$30

0-$6

00 a

day

, ho

wev

er it

is a

per

sona

lized

lear

ning

pa

ce a

s wel

l as i

nstr

ucti

on fr

om v

eter

an

race

rs. E

ven

the

FAST

web

site

stat

es

that

you

will

lear

n m

ore

in o

ne d

ay,

than

yea

rs o

n th

e ro

ad.

Sh

ould

you

cho

ose

to g

o ou

t on

your

ow

n, a

nd o

nly

inve

st y

our

tim

e an

d m

oney

in a

sing

le tr

ack

day,

then

on

e of

the

first

thin

gs to

con

side

r is

w

hich

trac

k to

cho

ose?

Loc

ally

we

have

4 m

ajor

pla

yers

: Sha

nnon

ville

, M

ospo

rt, C

ayug

a (T

MP)

, and

Cal

abog

ie;

each

trac

k of

fers

som

ethi

ng d

iffer

ent,

mak

ing

it u

niqu

e to

itse

lf. T

he m

ost

reco

mm

ende

d on

es w

ere

Shan

nonv

ille

and

Cayu

ga, r

easo

n be

ing

as th

ese

two

trac

ks h

ave

the

mos

t flat

surf

aces

w

hich

is p

refe

rred

for

begi

nner

s. A

MA

Y 2

01

0

[6

8]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[69

]

2Rid

e

this

is y

our

first

tim

e at

the

trac

k an

d yo

u w

ill b

e am

azed

at h

ow m

uch

they

’ll

help

you

wit

h ad

vise

, bik

e pr

ep,

repa

irs e

tc.

It

’s a

goo

d id

ea a

t thi

s poi

nt to

m

ark

the

back

of y

our

jack

et w

ith

and

“x”

so th

at p

eopl

e w

ill k

now

you

’re

new

on

the

trac

k. It

s als

o a

good

idea

to

be

aski

ng q

uest

ion

of th

e pe

ople

ar

ound

you

, hav

e so

meo

ne ta

ke y

ou

out a

nd sh

ow y

ou th

e lin

es, a

nd ta

lk to

yo

u ab

out a

pex’

s and

how

the

corn

ers

wor

k. M

ost p

eopl

e at

the

trac

k ar

e ve

ry

frie

ndly

and

rea

dily

abl

e to

ans

wer

qu

esti

ons.

Plu

s the

re is

alw

ays o

ffer

ing

to b

uy so

meo

ne lu

nch,

or

a co

uple

of

drin

ks a

fter

for

thei

r he

lp.

Lu

nch

usua

lly h

appe

ns a

roun

d no

on, m

ostl

y fo

r th

e M

arsh

alls

who

ha

ve b

een

out i

n th

e fie

ld a

ll da

y. It

’s

sugg

este

d to

not

eat

hea

vy a

t lun

ch,

rum

our

has i

t tha

t mos

t acc

iden

ts

happ

en a

fter

lunc

h. T

he d

ay u

sual

ly

ends

aro

und

5pm

, how

ever

as a

new

bie

you

mig

ht fi

nd y

our

day

endi

ng a

roun

d 3-

330p

m fr

om p

ure

exha

usti

on. I

t isn

’t ab

out e

gos o

ut o

n th

e tr

ack,

so if

you

’re

tire

d ta

ke y

ours

elf o

ut o

f the

gam

e.

On a

vera

ge a

trac

k da

y co

nsis

ts o

f 5

sess

ions

at 2

0 m

ins a

sess

ion;

doe

sn’t

soun

d lik

e a

lot n

ow, b

ut w

hen

you’

re

out t

here

it w

ill se

em li

ke fo

reve

r.

Keep

in m

ind

that

you

are

at a

tr

ack

day

- NOT

A R

ACE.

You

are

ther

e to

lear

n ab

out r

idin

g th

e tr

ack

and

impr

ovin

g yo

ur sk

ills.

Mak

e su

re y

ou

chec

k yo

ur e

go a

t the

doo

r as

you

will

ge

t pas

sed

and

unle

ss y

ou a

re V

alen

tino

Ro

ssi o

r Ca

sey

Ston

er th

ere

is a

lway

s so

meo

ne fa

ster

than

you

on

the

trac

k.Tr

ack

days

are

abo

ut im

prov

ing

your

sk

ills a

nd n

ot r

idin

g ar

ound

the

trac

k la

p af

ter

lap

acco

mpl

ishi

ng n

othi

ng.

Har

d on

the

thro

ttle

and

har

d on

th

e br

akes

do

not m

ake

for

a fa

st

ride

r, sm

ooth

ness

is th

e ke

y. If

you

ar

e sm

ooth

then

spee

d w

ill c

ome

as

a by

prod

uct.

Bein

g ha

rd o

n th

e bi

ke

inpu

ts (g

as, b

rake

s and

stee

ring

) mak

e fo

r an

unc

omfo

rtab

le r

ide

and

leav

es

the

bike

‘uns

ettl

ed’ a

nd u

nabl

e to

dea

l w

ith

wha

t you

wan

t it t

o do

pro

perl

y.

If yo

ur o

ne o

f tho

se p

eopl

e w

ho li

kes t

o re

sear

ch b

efor

e tr

ying

so

met

hing

out

, the

n a

good

boo

k to

pi

ck u

p is

“Tw

ist o

f the

Wri

st”

by K

eith

Co

de. T

his b

ook

focu

ses o

n di

ffer

ent

ridi

ng te

chni

ques

, and

was

coi

ned

earl

y as

the

race

rs h

andb

ook.

If

expe

rien

ce c

ount

s for

any

thin

g yo

u w

ant t

o st

ay th

e ni

ght,

even

if

you’

re n

ot a

t the

trac

k th

e ne

xt d

ay;

then

mak

e su

re y

ou b

ring

a 2

-4 o

f bee

r fo

r af

ter

the

trac

k da

y. It

’s a

n ex

celle

nt

way

to sh

ow a

ppre

ciat

ion

for

all t

hose

fr

iend

ly h

elpf

ul p

eopl

e, a

nd a

way

to

mak

e ne

w fr

iend

s.

Spec

ial t

hank

s to

Alik

i Kar

ayan

TRACK DAYS20

10 T

rack

Day

s

Sche

dule

Ap

ril

20

10

16th

– R

ACE

Scho

ol –

SM

P N

elso

n17

th –

RAC

E Te

st D

ay –

SM

P Fa

bi18

th -

RACE

Tes

t Day

– S

MP

Nel

son

19th

– P

ro 6

Cyc

le –

SM

P N

elso

n26

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– SM

P Fa

bi28

th –

SM

P Tr

ackd

ays –

SM

P Lo

ng30

th -

RACE

Sch

ool –

SM

P N

elso

n

Ma

y 2

01

01s

t - R

ACE

– S

MP

Nel

son

1st –

Rid

ers C

hoic

e –

SM

P Fa

bi2n

d - R

ACE

– S

MP

Nel

son

7th

– SO

AR –

TM

P Ca

yuga

8th

- SOA

R –

TMP

Cayu

ga9t

h - S

OAR

– TM

P Ca

yuga

10th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

SMP

Nel

son

11th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

12th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

13th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

14th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

Long

14th

– T

urn2

– C

alab

ogia

15th

- RA

CE S

choo

l – S

MP

Long

15th

– T

urn2

– C

alab

ogia

16th

- RA

CE S

choo

l – S

MP

Long

16th

– T

urn2

– C

alab

ogia

17th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

SMP

Long

20th

- Ri

ders

Cho

ice

– S

MP

Fabi

24th

– G

P Bi

kes –

Mos

port

RDT

25th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

26th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

27th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

28th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

a29

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gia

30th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

a

Jun

e 2

01

01s

t - P

ro 6

Cyc

le –

Mos

port

2nd

- Pro

6 C

ycle

– M

ospo

rt3r

d - R

ider

s Cho

ice

– S

MP

Fabi

4th

– V

RRA

– SM

P4t

h –

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a

5th

– V

RRA

– SM

P5t

h –

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a6t

h –

VRR

A –

SMP

6th

– Tu

rn2

– Ca

labo

gia

7th

- Tur

n2 –

Cal

abog

ia8t

h - F

AST

Scho

ol –

SM

P9t

h - F

AST

Scho

ol –

SM

P10

th -

FAST

Sch

ool –

SM

P10

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gie

11th

- SO

AR –

TM

P Ca

yuga

11th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

e12

th -

SOAR

– T

MP

Cayu

ga12

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gie

13th

- SO

AR –

TM

P Ca

yuga

13th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

e17

th -

Ride

rs C

hoic

e –

SM

P Lo

ng18

th -

RACE

– S

MP

Fabi

19th

- RA

CE T

est –

SM

P Fa

bi19

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a20

th -

RACE

Tes

t – S

MP

Fabi

20th

- Tu

rn2

– Ca

labo

gia

21th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

SMP

Fabi

21th

- Tu

rn2

– Ca

labo

gia

22nd

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

23rd

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

24th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

28th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

e29

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gie

30th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

e

July

20

10

1st -

Tur

n2 –

Cal

abog

ia1s

t - G

P Bi

kes –

Mos

port

RDT

2nd

- Tur

n2 –

Cal

abog

ia3r

d - R

ider

s Cho

ice

– S

MP

Long

4th

- Rid

ers C

hoic

e –

SM

P N

elso

n5t

h - P

ro 6

Cyc

le –

Mos

port

6th

- FAS

T Sc

hool

– S

MP

6th

- Pro

6 C

ycle

– M

ospo

rt7t

h - F

AST

Scho

ol –

SM

P7t

h - P

ro 6

Cyc

le –

Mos

port

8th

- FAS

T Sc

hool

– S

MP

9th

- SOA

R –

TMP

Cayu

ga10

th -

SOAR

– T

MP

Cayu

ga11

th -

SOAR

– T

MP

Cayu

ga12

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a13

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a

16th

- RA

CE –

SM

P Lo

ng17

th -

RACE

– S

MP

Long

18th

- RA

CE –

SM

P Lo

ng19

th –

Pro

6 C

ycle

– S

MP

Long

26th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

e27

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gie

27th

– S

MP

Trac

k da

ys –

SM

P Lo

ng28

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gie

29th

- Tu

rn2

– Ca

labo

gia

29th

– R

ider

s Cho

ice

– SM

P Fa

bi30

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a31

st -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a

Au

gu

st

20

10

1st -

Tur

n2 –

Cal

abog

ia2n

d –

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gia

3rd

- FAS

T Sc

hool

– S

MP

3rd

– Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

a4t

h - P

ro 6

Cyc

le –

Cal

abog

ia6t

h - S

OAR

– TM

P Ca

yuga

7th

- SOA

R –

TMP

Cayu

ga8t

h - S

OAR

– TM

P Ca

yuga

9th

- Pro

6 C

ycle

– C

alab

ogia

10th

- Pr

o 6

Cycl

e –

Cala

bogi

a10

th -

FAST

Sch

ool –

SM

P11

th -

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gia

11th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

11th

- Rid

ers C

hoic

e –

Mos

port

12th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

12th

- Rid

ers C

hoic

e –

Mos

port

13th

– V

RRA

– M

ospo

rt13

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a14

th –

VRR

A –

Mos

port

14th

- Tu

rn2

– Ca

labo

gia

15th

– V

RRA

– M

ospo

rt15

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a16

th -

Turn

2 –

Cala

bogi

a20

th –

Pro

6 Cy

cle

– Ca

labo

gia

21th

- Pr

o6 C

ycle

– C

alab

ogia

22nd

- Pr

o6 C

ycle

– C

alab

ogia

23rd

- Pr

o6 C

ycle

– C

alab

ogia

24th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

25th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

26th

- FA

ST S

choo

l – S

MP

26th

– R

ider

s Cho

ice

– SM

P Fa

bi28

th –

RAC

E –

SMP

Long

30th

– P

ro6

Cycl

e –

SMP

Nel

son

MA

Y 2

01

0

[7

0]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[71

]

2Rid

e

2010

Mot

oGP

Sche

dule

1.

Apri

l 11

Qat

ar G

rand

Pri

x ‡

Losa

il In

tern

atio

nal C

ircu

it

2.

Apri

l 25

Japa

nese

Gra

nd P

rix

Twin

Rin

g M

oteg

i 3.

M

ay 2

Spa

nish

Gra

nd P

rix

Circ

uito

de

Jere

z 4.

M

ay 2

3 F

renc

h Gr

and

Prix

Le

Man

s Bug

atti

Cir

cuit

5.

Ju

ne 6

Ita

lian

Gran

d Pr

ix M

ugel

lo C

ircu

it

6.

June

20

Bri

tish

Gra

nd P

rix

Silv

erst

one

7.

June

26

Dut

ch T

T TT

Cir

cuit

Ass

en

8.

July

4 C

atal

an G

rand

Pri

x Ci

rcui

t de

Cata

luny

a 9.

Ju

ly 1

8 G

erm

an G

rand

Pri

x Sa

chse

nrin

g 10

. Ju

ly 2

5 U

nite

d St

ates

Gra

nd P

rix

†

Maz

da R

acew

ay L

agun

a Se

ca

11.

Augu

st 1

5 C

zech

Rep

ublic

Gra

nd P

rix

Mas

aryk

Cir

cuit

12

. Au

gust

29

Indi

anap

olis

Gra

nd P

rix

In

dian

apol

is M

otor

Spe

edw

ay

13.

Sept

embe

r 5

San

Mar

ino

Gran

d Pr

ix M

isan

o

Wor

ld C

ircu

it

14.

Sept

embe

r 19

Ara

gon

Gran

d Pr

ix

Ci

udad

del

Mot

or d

e Ar

agón

15

. Oc

tobe

r 10

Mal

aysi

an G

rand

Pri

x

Sepa

ng In

tern

atio

nal C

ircu

it

16.

Octo

ber

17 A

ustr

alia

n Gr

and

Prix

Phill

ip Is

land

Gra

nd P

rix

Circ

uit

17.

Octo

ber

31 P

ortu

gues

e Gr

and

Prix

Autó

drom

o do

Est

oril

18.

Nov

embe

r 7

Val

enci

an G

rand

Pri

x

Circ

uit R

icar

do T

orm

o

2010

Sup

erbi

ke W

orld

Ch

ampi

onsh

ip W

SBK

1.

Febr

uary

28

Aus

tral

ia P

hilli

p Is

land

Leon

Has

lam

Car

los C

heca

Rep

ort

2.

Mar

ch 2

8 P

ortu

gal P

orti

mão

Max

Bia

ggi

M

ax B

iagg

i Rep

ort

3.

Apri

l 11

Spa

in V

alen

cia

Repo

rt

4.

Apri

l 25

Net

herl

ands

Ass

en R

epor

t 5.

M

ay 9

It

aly

Mon

za R

epor

t 6.

M

ay 1

6 S

outh

Afr

ica

Kyal

ami R

epor

t 7.

M

ay 3

1 U

nite

d St

ates

Mill

er M

otor

spor

ts P

ark

Repo

rt

8.

June

27

San

Mar

ino

Mis

ano

Repo

rt

9.

July

11

Cze

ch R

epub

lic B

rno

Repo

rt

10.

Augu

st 1

Gre

at B

rita

in S

ilver

ston

e Re

port

11

. Se

ptem

ber

5 G

erm

any

Nür

burg

ring

Rep

ort

12.

Sept

embe

r 26

It

aly

Imol

a Re

port

13

. Oc

tobe

r 3

Fra

nce

Mag

ny-C

ours

Rep

ort

2010

AM

A Pr

o Am

erica

n

Supe

rbik

e Ch

ampi

onsh

ip1.

Da

yton

a In

tern

atio

nal S

peed

way

Mar

ch 3

–5

Aa

ron

Yate

s Ben

Bos

trom

Jake

Zem

ke Ja

ke Z

emke

2.

Au

to C

lub

Spee

dway

Mar

ch 2

6–28

Aar

on Y

ates

Bla

ke

Yo

ung

Larr

y Pe

gram

Tom

my

Hay

den

3.

Road

Atl

anta

Apr

il 16

–18

4.

Infin

eon

Race

way

May

14–

16

5.

Road

Am

eric

a Ju

ne 4

–6

6.

Mid

-Ohi

o Sp

orts

Car

Cou

rse

July

16–

18

7.

Maz

da R

acew

ay L

agun

a Se

ca Ju

ly 2

3–25

8.

V

irgi

nia

Inte

rnat

iona

l Rac

eway

Aug

ust 1

3–15

9.

N

ew Je

rsey

Mot

orsp

orts

Par

k Se

ptem

ber

3–5

10.

Barb

er M

otor

spor

ts P

ark

Sept

embe

r 24

–26

RACE SCHEDULESO

AR20

10 S

CHED

ULE

PR

AC

TIC

E D

AY

Ap

ril

24

- I

ncl

ud

es

Ma

rsh

al

Sch

oo

l

RO

UN

D O

NE

Ma

y 7

-9 S

pri

nt

Ra

ces

RO

UN

D T

WO

Jun

e 1

1-1

3 -

Re

ve

rse

Dir

ect

ion

Sp

rin

t w

/E

nd

ura

nce

RO

UN

D T

HR

EE

July

9-1

1 -

Sp

rin

t w

/E

nd

ura

nce

RO

UN

D F

OU

RA

ug

us

t 6

-8 -

Re

ve

rse

Dir

ect

ion

Sp

rin

t

RO

UN

D F

IVE

Se

pte

mb

er

10

-12

- S

pri

nt

w/

En

du

ran

ce

RO

UN

D S

IXO

cto

be

r 1

5-1

7 -

Sp

rin

t w

/E

nd

ura

nce

MA

Y 2

01

0

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2]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[73

]

2Rid

eUPCOMING EVENTS2

01

0 E

ve

nt

Lis

tin

gs

2010

-04-

24 W

asag

a Be

ach

Spri

ng F

ever

Ral

ly 7

05 4

29-8

400

g.

wor

ters

@sy

mpa

tico

.ca

2010

-05-

15 L

ansd

owne

Chi

ldre

n’s

Cent

re C

hari

ty M

otor

cycl

e Ri

de 5

19 7

53-3

154

char

ityr

ide@

lans

dow

necc

.com

2010

-05-

29 H

OG S

arni

a St

eel C

owbo

ys C

hari

ty R

un 5

19 3

37-2

571

bi

llyea

gle@

coge

co.c

a

2010

-05-

29 B

ig B

roth

ers

and

Sist

ers

Nor

th D

urha

m a

nd R

ed K

nigh

ts R

ide

90

5 98

5-37

33 b

bbsn

orth

durh

am@

aol.c

om

2010

-05-

30 9

05 P

oker

Run

for

MAD

D 83

3-64

07 m

ahag

gith

@sy

mpa

tico

.ca

2010

-05-

30 M

otor

cycl

e Ri

de fo

r Da

d - L

ondo

n 51

9 45

1-46

08

Lond

on@

mot

orcy

cler

idef

orda

d.or

g

2010

-05-

30 M

otor

cycl

e Ri

de fo

r Da

d - N

iaga

ra 9

05 7

35-7

770

cl

iffni

agar

a@gm

ail.c

om

2010

-06-

05 H

ero’

s H

ighw

ay R

ide

larr

y@he

rosh

ighw

ayri

de.c

om

2010

-06-

05 M

otor

cycl

e Ri

de fo

r Da

d - K

itch

ener

Ki

tche

ner@

mot

orcy

cler

idef

orda

d.or

g

2010

-06-

05 M

otor

cycl

e Ri

de fo

r Da

d - P

eel 4

16 4

32-6

977

Peel

Ride

4Dad

@gm

ail.c

om 20

10-0

6-05

Rid

e fo

r H

ospi

ce D

uffe

rin

519

941-

4303

jand

l.gor

don@

roge

rs.c

om

2010

-06-

05 D

urha

m D

ivas

Syl

via’

s Ri

de (R

ide

for

Resp

ite)

905

655

-601

6

durh

amdi

vas@

hotm

ail.c

om

2010

-06-

05 S

coot

for

the

Scot

t 416

923

-887

2 in

fo@

scot

tmis

sion

.com

2010

-06-

06 R

ide

4 Pa

ws

519

215-

1773

upp

ercr

edit

even

ts@

gmai

l.com

2010

-06-

12 M

otor

cycl

e Ri

de fo

r Da

d - N

orth

Bay

705

752

-556

6

cam

eron

c@on

link.

net

2010

-06-

12 C

.A.W

. Loc

al 8

8 Sh

ow a

nd S

hine

suz

ukim

109o

wne

rs@

live.

ca

2010

-06-

12 P

ort C

ares

- Re

ach

Out ‘

n Ri

de 9

05 8

34-3

629

scrc

pira

te@

gmai

l.com

Reac

h Ou

t ‘N

Rid

e Po

rt C

ares

1st

Cha

rity

Rid

e fo

r Po

vert

y Re

duct

ion.

Satu

rday

, Jun

e 12

, 201

0 ht

tp:/

/ww

w.p

ortc

ares

.on.

ca/

Reac

h Ou

t ‘N

Rid

e is

a c

hari

ty m

otor

cycl

e ri

de h

appe

ning

Sat

urda

y, Ju

ne 1

2, 2

010.

Co

me

on o

ut a

nd s

uppo

rt P

ort

2010

-07-

03 R

.O.C

.K. R

ide

for

Our

Canc

er K

ids

519

464-

7627

info

@ro

ckri

de.c

om

2010

-07-

10 G

eorg

ian

Bay

Thun

der

Mot

orcy

cle

Ride

705

528

-699

9

com

mun

ityi

nfo@

com

mun

ityl

ink.

ca

2010

-07-

10 T

he B

reas

t Rid

e Ev

er a

cam

peau

4@co

geco

.ca

2010

-07-

10 W

hy N

ot P

aris

You

th C

ente

r Ri

de 5

19 4

42-2

221

pa

risw

hyno

t@gm

ail.c

om

2010

-07-

11 H

amilt

on C

APPY

Rid

e 90

5 52

3 10

2010

rod

ney.

pieo

n@sy

mpa

tico

.ca

2010

-07-

11 G

loba

lMed

ic S

uppo

rt R

ide

gmr@

stin

gert

raile

r.ca

2010

-07-

17 R

ide

for

Lite

racy

877

779

-088

8 in

fo@

lcge

orgi

na.o

rg

2010

-07-

17 Jo

hn’s

Jour

ney

For

Hea

rt a

nd S

trok

e 51

9 42

1-12

19

fdea

dman

@ro

gers

.com

2010

-08-

08 T

oys

to s

uppo

rt V

icto

ria’

s &

Am

y’s

705

340-

5656

dal

yn8@

sym

pati

co.c

a 20

10-0

8-08

Cha

pman

’s R

ide

to a

Cur

e 90

5 51

2-35

90

tim

@ch

apm

ansr

idet

oacu

re.c

om

2010

-08-

13 P

ort D

over

Fri

day

13th

info

@pd

13.c

om 20

10-0

8-21

Rid

e 4

Kidn

ey 4

16 6

16-0

833

adm

in@

r4k.

ca

2010

-08-

22 R

ide

for

Sick

Kid

s 41

6 89

5-52

15 n

figlia

no@

roge

rs.c

om

2010

-08-

28 R

ide

Uni

ted

613

342-

8889

aly

ssa.

baud

er@

uwlg

.org

May

2, 2

010

Bu

rlin

gton

, Ont

ario

One

Even

t, Tw

o Ro

utes

Mot

orcy

cle

Poke

r Ru

n fo

r Ca

rpen

ter

Hos

pice

The

150

km r

ide

star

ts a

t Bea

chw

ay P

ark,

109

4 La

kesh

ore

Road

in B

urlin

gton

. Reg

-is

trat

ion

will

be

held

from

9:0

0 am

to 1

0:30

am

. Ent

ry fe

e of

$50

.00

will

be

wai

ved

wit

h th

e eq

ual a

mou

nt r

aise

d in

pai

d pl

edge

s fo

r ea

ch p

arti

cipa

nt. T

he r

ide

ends

w

ith

bar

bequ

e &

pri

zes.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (9

05) 3

33-9

271,

ht

tp:/

/ww

w.T

heCa

rpen

terH

ospi

ce.c

om.

May

29,

201

0

Nor

th B

ay, O

ntar

ioPa

pa Jo

e Le

febv

re M

emor

ial M

otor

cycl

e Ri

deSp

onso

red

by U

-Nee

d-A-

Cab,

Tre

mbl

ay C

hevr

olet

Pon

tiac

Bui

ck G

MC

Truc

ks IN

C.,

and

Nor

th B

ay P

owde

r Co

atin

gTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

Alk

azar

Zor

bas

Bar

& G

rill,

561

Lak

esho

re D

rive

in N

orth

Bay

. Re

gist

rati

on is

from

9:0

0 am

to11

:00

am. T

he fe

e is

$30

.00

for

the

ride

r an

d in

clud

es a

mem

oria

l pat

ch a

nd b

uffe

t din

ner.

The

rid

e en

ds w

ith

ente

rtai

nmen

t, sh

ow a

nd s

hine

, and

a li

ve a

ucti

on. F

or m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(705

) 497

-969

6.

May

30,

201

0

New

mar

ket,

Onta

rio

Poke

r Ru

n fo

r M

othe

rs A

gain

st D

runk

Dri

ving

The

even

t tak

es p

lace

at t

he N

ewm

arke

t Tow

n Of

fices

, 395

Mul

ock

Driv

e in

New

-m

arke

t. Th

e fir

st r

ider

will

leav

e at

9:3

0 am

and

the

last

rid

er w

ill le

ave

at 1

0:30

am

. The

two

hour

rid

e en

ds w

ith

a ba

rbeq

ue, p

rize

s, 5

0/50

dra

w a

nd e

nter

tain

-m

ent.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (9

05) 8

33-6

407,

ht

tp:/

/yor

ksim

coer

ider

s.w

ebs.

com

.

June

5, 2

010

Ora

ngev

ille,

Ont

ario

Ride

For

Hos

pice

Duf

feri

nTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

Ora

ngev

ille

Curl

ing

Club

76

Fift

h Av

e in

Ora

ngev

ille.

Reg

istr

atio

n w

ill b

e he

ld fr

om 8

:30

am to

10:

00 a

m. T

he r

ide

leav

es a

t 10:

30 a

m s

harp

. 1st

Pri

ze

$500

.00

2nd

Priz

e $3

00.0

0 3r

d Pr

ize

$200

.00.

Mus

t reg

iste

r by

10:

00 a

m to

qua

lify.

Th

e ri

de e

nds

wit

h a

barb

eque

, sile

nt a

ucti

on, a

nd d

oor

priz

es. A

ll Pr

ocee

ds g

o to

H

ospi

ce D

uffe

rin.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (5

19) 9

41-4

303,

ht

tp:/

/ww

w.o

vr.c

a.

June

5, 2

010

E

lliot

Lak

e, O

ntar

ioN

orth

Sho

re R

ide

for

Palli

ativ

e Ca

reSp

onso

red

by B

lue

Knig

hts

Ont X

The

ride

sta

rts

at N

o Fr

ills

park

ing

lot,

Hw

y 10

8 in

Elli

ot L

ake.

Reg

istr

atio

n is

from

9:

00 a

m to

10:

30 a

m. R

ide

star

ts a

t 11:

00 a

m. T

he fe

e is

$25

.00

for

each

bik

e. T

here

w

ill b

e m

otor

cycl

e sk

ill g

ames

aft

er th

e ri

de fo

llow

ed b

y a

dinn

er a

nd d

ance

. For

m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(705

) 849

-830

4, h

ttp:

//no

rths

hore

ride

forp

allia

tive

care

.ca.

June

6, 2

010

L

ondo

n, O

ntar

io2n

d An

nual

DM

MF

Ride

You

r H

eart

Out

Mot

orcy

cle

Ride

& P

oker

Run

Spon

sore

d by

Hul

ly G

ully

, Hom

e De

pot,

and

Peps

iTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

the

Hom

e De

pot s

tore

at F

ansh

awe

Pk R

d E

and

Adel

aide

St N

. in

Lond

on. R

egis

trat

ion

is fr

om10

:00

am to

11:

00 a

m a

nd th

e ri

de w

ill s

tart

at 1

1:00

am

sha

rp. T

he fe

e is

$20

.00

for

the

ride

r an

d $5

.00

for

a pa

ssen

ger.

If y

ou r

aise

$5

0.00

in p

ledg

es y

ou g

et to

rid

e fr

ee. R

egis

trat

ion

and

pled

ge fo

rms

are

avai

labl

e on

line.

The

rid

e en

ds w

ith

a 50

/50

draw

, doo

r pr

izes

, bar

bequ

e lu

nch

and

mor

e.

Proc

eeds

will

go

tow

ards

the

purc

hase

of d

efibr

illat

ors

to b

e pl

aced

in a

rena

s,

com

mun

ity

cent

ers

and

scho

ols

in th

e na

mes

of f

alle

n po

lice

offic

ers,

mili

tary

pe

rson

nel,

firem

en a

nd e

mer

genc

y pe

rson

nel.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n

http

://w

ww

.dav

emou

nsey

.com

or

http

://w

ww

.rid

eyou

rhea

rtou

t.com

.

June

12

- 13,

201

0

Chat

swor

th, O

ntar

ioM

otop

ark

2 Da

y M

otor

cycl

e Fe

stiv

alSp

onso

red

by M

otop

ark

The

even

t sta

rts

at 1

0:00

am

on

Satu

rday

at t

he M

otop

ark

Recr

eati

onal

Par

k, s

outh

of

Cha

tsw

orth

on

Mot

opar

k Ro

ad. T

he e

vent

will

incl

ude

field

gam

es fo

r 2,

rel

ic

relia

bilit

y ru

n fo

r th

e co

ttag

e cl

unke

rs a

nd b

arn

bike

s, a

roa

d cr

uise

, a d

ual s

port

ri

de, v

inta

ge M

X a

nd tr

ials

and

mor

e. F

or m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(519

) 794

-243

4 ht

tp:/

/mot

opar

krac

ing.

com

/mot

opar

k-fa

cilit

y.ht

ml.

June

13,

201

0

B

orde

n, O

ntar

ioYe

llow

Rib

bon

Ride

Spon

sore

d by

Bas

e Bo

rden

Mot

orcy

cle

Club

The

ride

sta

rts

at F

amily

Res

ourc

e Ce

ntre

at C

FB B

orde

n. R

egis

trat

ion

is fo

rm

10:0

0 am

to 1

1:30

am

. The

rid

e fe

e is

$20

.00

for

the

ride

r an

d $5

.00

for

a pa

ssen

ger.

Th

e ri

de is

app

roxi

mat

ely

150

Km. a

nd w

ill e

nd w

ith

a ba

rbeq

ue. A

ll pr

ocee

ds fr

om

the

ride

go

dire

ctly

to th

e Ye

llow

Rib

bon

Fund

. For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ht

tp:/

/ww

w.b

orde

nrid

ers.

ca.

June

13,

201

0

Tor

onto

, Ont

ario

Budd

y’s

Day

Run

and

Show

N S

hine

Spon

sore

d by

Can

adia

n M

otor

cycl

e Cr

uise

rsTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

224

5 La

wre

nce

Aven

ue W

est i

n To

ront

o. T

he r

ide

begi

ns a

t 11:

00

am. T

he r

ide

ends

wit

h a

barb

eque

and

a s

how

and

shi

ne. A

ll pr

ocee

ds g

o to

the

Cana

dian

Can

cer

Soci

ety

and

The

Vill

age

of H

umbe

r H

eigh

ts R

etir

emen

t and

Lon

g Te

rm C

are

Com

mun

ity.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (4

16) 6

62 8

427,

ht

tp:/

/ww

w.c

anad

ianm

otor

cycl

ecru

iser

s.ca

.

June

13,

201

0

Brac

ebri

dge,

Ont

ario

Mus

koka

H.O

.G. P

oker

Run

Spon

sore

d by

Bar

rie

Har

ley

Davi

dson

The

poke

r ru

n st

arts

at A

nnie

Will

iam

s Pa

rk R

egis

trat

ion

begi

ns a

t 9:3

0 am

and

th

e ri

de le

aves

at 1

1:00

am

. For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ht

tp:/

/ww

w.m

usko

kaho

g.co

m/i

ndex

.htm

.

June

19,

201

0

Ban

crof

t, On

tari

oJo

hn F

lagg

Mem

oria

l Rid

eTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

sta

rts

at M

illen

nium

Par

k on

Has

ting

s St

reet

in B

ancr

oft.

Regi

s-tr

atio

n w

ill b

e he

ld fr

om 1

0:00

am

to 1

2:00

pm

. Th

e ri

de fe

e is

$25

.00

and

incl

udes

a

barb

eque

. The

rid

e st

arts

at 1

2:00

pm

. Th

e r

ide

ends

wit

h pr

izes

and

live

ban

d.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (6

13) 3

32-1

610.

June

26,

201

0

B

urlin

gton

, Ont

ario

The

Hot

Rid

eSp

onso

red

by F

ando

r H

omes

Regi

stra

tion

sta

rts

at 9

:00

am a

t the

Bur

lingt

on P

hilt

hy M

cNas

ty’s

, 125

0 Br

ant

Stre

et in

Bur

lingt

on a

nd le

aves

at 1

0:00

am

. Th

e 3

hour

rid

e en

ds w

ith

food

, pri

zes

and

mor

e. P

roce

eds

will

ben

efit B

reas

t Can

cer

supp

ort S

ervi

ces

of B

urlin

gton

. For

m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(905

) 902

-231

2, h

ttp:

//w

ww

.theh

otri

de.c

a.

June

26,

201

0

Toro

nto,

Ont

ario

Ride

for

Sigh

tSp

onso

red

by D

eele

y H

arle

y-Da

vids

on, D

alto

n Ti

mm

is In

sura

nce,

Suz

uki C

anad

a,

Yam

aha

Cana

da, H

onda

Can

ada,

Vic

tory

Mot

orcy

cles

, Bom

bard

ier,

Sta

nley

Han

d To

ols,

Roy

al D

istr

ibut

ing,

Mot

orcy

cle

Moj

o, In

side

Mot

orcy

cle,

Can

adia

n Bi

ker,

M

MIC

The

ride

sta

rts

at W

oodb

ine

Race

trac

k, 5

55 R

exda

le B

oule

vard

in T

oron

to. R

egis

-tr

atio

n is

from

7:3

0 am

to 9

:30

am a

nd th

e ri

de le

aves

at 1

0:00

am

. The

rid

e fe

e is

$75.

00. T

he r

ide

will

go

thou

gh r

ollin

g hi

lls a

nd c

ount

rysi

de a

nd w

ill e

nd w

ith

mu-

sic,

cam

ping

, ent

erta

inm

ent a

nd m

ore.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll 1.

800.

461.

3331

, ht

tp:/

/ww

w.r

idef

orsi

ght.c

om.

July

3, 2

010

Sa

rnia

, Ont

ario

R.O.

C.K.

- Ri

de fo

r Ou

r Ca

ncer

Kid

sTh

e ri

de w

ill s

tart

at M

otor

spor

t Har

ley-

Davi

dson

at 1

375

Conf

eder

atio

n St

in

Sarn

ia. R

egis

trat

ion

will

beg

in a

t 10:

00 a

m. T

hous

ands

of d

olla

rs in

pri

zes.

Liv

e ba

nd, f

ree

shir

ts fo

r fir

st 1

00 b

ikes

. The

fee

is $

40.0

0 pe

r bi

ke. A

ll pr

ocee

ds g

o to

Ch

ildho

od C

ance

r Fo

unda

tion

Can

ada.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (5

19) 4

64-7

627,

ht

tp:/

/ww

w.r

ockr

ide.

com

. ht

tp:/

/ww

w.le

ts-r

ide.

com

/eve

nt/D

one/

The-

Brea

st-R

ide-

Ever

.Tec

umse

h-On

tar-

io.1

1250

.htm

July

11,

201

0

Tor

onto

, Ont

ario

Glob

alM

edic

Sup

port

Rid

e Sp

onso

red

by S

ting

er T

raile

r Ca

nada

Th

e ri

de s

tart

s at

Woo

dbin

e Ra

ce T

rack

, 555

Rex

dale

Blv

d in

Tor

onto

. Reg

istr

atio

n st

arts

at 7

:30

am,

and

the

ride

beg

ins

at 9

:00

am. T

he r

ide

will

go

thro

ugh

Oakv

ille,

Br

ampt

on, O

rang

evill

e an

d w

ill e

nd in

Eto

bico

ke. T

he r

ide

incl

udes

food

, and

pr

izes

. All

proc

eeds

from

the

ride

will

go

dire

ctly

tow

ards

dis

aste

r pr

ogra

mm

ing.

Fo

r m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(866

) 619

-096

9, h

ttp:

//w

ww

.glo

balm

edic

.ca/

bike

ride

.

Augu

st 8

, 201

0

Lind

say,

Ont

ario

19th

Ann

ual T

oy R

ide

for

Vic

tori

a’s

and

Amy’

sSp

onso

red

by H

B Cy

cle,

Cat

hy A

llans

, Nes

bitt

s M

eat M

arke

t, an

d Dr

agon

Mea

tTh

e to

y ru

n st

arts

at R

iver

woo

d Pa

rk o

n Ri

verw

ood

Road

in L

inds

ay. R

egis

tra-

tion

beg

ins

at 1

0:00

am

and

the

ride

leav

es a

t 11:

30 a

m. C

offe

e an

d do

nuts

will

be

avai

labl

e du

ring

reg

istr

atio

n. T

he r

ide

will

last

1 1

/2 to

2 h

ours

in th

e ar

ea a

roun

d Li

ndsa

y. P

olic

e w

ill e

scor

t the

rid

e th

roug

h to

wn.

The

rid

e en

ds w

ith

a ba

rbeq

ue,

mus

ic, s

ilent

auc

tion

, and

mor

e. T

oys

colle

cted

will

be

give

n to

the

child

ren

and

the

child

ren’

s pr

ogra

ms

at lo

cal s

helt

ers.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll

(705

) 340

-565

6.

http

://w

ww

.lets

-rid

e.co

m/e

vent

/Don

e/Ri

de-t

o-a-

Cure

.Ham

ilton

-Ont

ario

.137

66.

htm

Augu

st 2

2, 2

010

O

shaw

a, O

ntar

ioRi

de fo

r Si

ck K

ids

Hos

pita

lSp

onso

red

by S

ick

Kids

Hos

pita

lTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

Mak

ie H

arle

y Da

vids

on in

Osh

awa.

The

rid

e w

ill g

o al

ong

Scog

og

lake

and

incl

ude

a st

op fo

r lu

nch.

The

rid

e fe

e is

$30

.00

for

the

ride

r an

d $2

0.00

for

a pa

ssen

ger.

For

mor

e in

form

atio

n ca

ll (4

16) 8

95-5

215,

ht

tp:/

/ww

w.s

ickk

idsf

ound

atio

n.co

m/r

ide.

Augu

st 2

2, 2

010

L

aSal

le, O

ntar

io7t

h An

nual

Sta

n Ku

ron

Mem

oria

l Sp

onso

red

by D

’Arc

y Le

ader

, Win

dsor

Chr

ome

Diva

s, a

nd L

one

Wol

f Clu

b H

ouse

.Th

e ri

de s

tart

s at

Bre

ws

& C

ues,

566

3 Oj

ibw

ay P

kwy

in L

aSal

le. R

egis

trat

ion

begi

ns

at 1

0:00

am

and

the

last

bik

e go

es o

ut a

t 11:

00 a

m. T

he r

ide

ends

wit

h fo

od, d

oor

priz

es, a

nd 5

0/50

. The

fee

is $

10.0

0 fo

r ea

ch p

erso

n. F

or m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

D’Ar

cy L

eade

r (5

19) 9

67-0

184,

Lor

rie

Com

ber

(519

) 984

-122

6, M

ike

Bech

ard

(519

) 81

9-01

73, o

r go

to h

ttp:

//w

ww

.lone

wol

fclu

bhou

se.c

om.

Augu

st 2

8, 2

010

Ba

rrie

, Ont

ario

Youn

g at

Hea

rt R

ide

Spon

sore

d by

IOOF

Sen

iors

Hom

es In

cTh

e ri

de b

egin

s at

20

Broo

ks S

tree

t in

Barr

ie. R

egis

trat

ion

is fr

om 9

:00

am to

10:

00

am. T

he r

ide

fee

is $

50.0

0 an

d pl

edge

s pe

r pe

rson

. The

rid

e en

ds w

ith

a st

eak

bar-

bequ

e, a

nd p

rize

s. F

or m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(705

) 725

-463

0, h

ttp:

//w

ww

.ioof

.com

.

Sept

embe

r 19

, 201

0

Win

dsor

, Ont

ario

2010

Rid

e fo

r M

S Po

ker

Run

Spon

sore

d by

Dom

inio

n Go

lf Re

stau

rant

, Lon

e W

olf C

lubh

ouse

, and

Chr

ome

Diva

sTh

e ri

de s

tart

s at

612

5 H

owar

d Av

e in

Win

dsor

. Reg

istr

atio

n st

arts

at 9

:00

am a

nd

the

ride

leav

es a

t 11:

00 a

m.

The

ride

fee

is $

20.0

0 fo

r th

e ri

der

and

$15.

00 fo

r a

pass

enge

r th

e fe

e in

clud

es a

ser

ved

dinn

er a

fter

the

ride

. The

rid

e en

ds w

ith

50/5

0 dr

aw, p

rize

s an

d m

uch

mor

e. T

he r

ide

will

ben

efit t

he W

inds

or-E

ssex

Cha

pter

of

the

MS

Soci

ety

of C

anad

a. F

or m

ore

info

rmat

ion

call

(519

) 798

-385

8,

http

://w

ww

.lone

wol

fclu

bhou

se.c

om/r

ide-

for-

ms.

php.

MA

Y 2

01

0

[7

4]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[75

]

2Rid

e

It’s n

ot e

very

day

you

com

e ac

ross

a tr

ue st

reet

figh

ter,

ha

nd c

raft

ed fr

om a

stoc

k M

otor

cycl

e in

to a

mea

n st

reet

fig

hter

mac

hine

. Ia

n is

the

guy

you

wan

t; ow

ner

of I.

D. S

tree

tfigh

ters

Cu

stom

Cyc

le lo

cate

d in

a sm

all t

own

calle

d Fl

orad

ale,

nor

th o

f Wat

erlo

o On

tari

o. Ia

n ca

n ta

ke a

spor

t bik

e or

pa

rts o

f a sp

ort b

ike

and

turn

it in

to a

St

reet

Fig

hter

.

Wha

t is a

Str

eet fi

ghte

r yo

u as

k?

A st

reet

fight

er is

a sp

ort b

ike

that

ha

s bee

n cu

stom

ized

by

rem

ovin

g th

e fa

irin

gs, s

peci

fic c

hang

es th

at

exem

plify

the

stre

etfig

hter

look

are

a

pair

of l

arge

, rou

nd h

eadl

ight

s, ta

ll,

upri

ght h

andl

ebar

s suc

h as

thos

e on

a

mot

ocro

ss b

ike,

and

shor

t, lo

ud,

light

wei

ght m

uffle

rs. C

ompl

etel

y cu

stom

-bui

lt o

ne-o

ff fr

ames

, ori

gina

lly

inte

nded

to o

verc

ome

the

wea

knes

s of

the

tubu

lar

stee

l fra

mes

of t

he e

arly

4-

cylin

der

supe

r-bi

kes o

f the

70’

s and

80

’s, a

lso

char

acte

rize

the

stre

etfig

hter

tr

end.

Man

y of

thes

e fr

ames

turn

ed

out t

o be

“be

auti

fully

cra

fted

pie

ces

of m

etal

lurg

ical

art

,” p

erha

ps o

nly

acci

dent

ally

.

It is

als

o po

ssib

le th

at th

e st

reet

fight

er c

ame

abou

t sim

ply

beca

use

youn

g st

unte

rs o

f the

80s

in

the

UK

coul

dn’t

affo

rd to

rep

lace

th

eir

dam

aged

fair

ings

aft

er r

epea

ted

cras

hes,

so th

ey to

ok th

em o

ff. L

ater

, m

ore

appr

opri

ate

head

light

s wer

e ad

ded,

then

hig

h ha

ndle

bars

to a

id in

w

heel

ies a

nd o

ther

stun

ts.

M

ade

popu

lar

by E

urop

ean

ride

rs,

this

type

of c

usto

m m

otor

cycl

e is

ga

inin

g po

pula

rity

all

over

the

wor

ld,

and

mot

orcy

cle

man

ufac

ture

rs

bega

n re

spon

ding

in th

e la

te 1

990s

by

pro

duci

ng fa

ctor

y st

reet

fight

ers,

be

ginn

ing

wit

h th

e 19

94 T

rium

ph

Spee

d Tr

iple

and

the

2009

Duc

ati

Stre

etfig

hter

.

Ian

had

used

a 2

007

Suzu

ki, S

V 6

50S

and

a 19

99 S

uzuk

i GSX

R 60

0; h

is in

spir

atio

n re

ally

com

es fr

om e

very

whe

re. “

For

the

SV, I

just

look

ed a

t the

stoc

k bi

ke a

nd

cam

e up

wit

h th

e de

sign

. The

GSX

R’s

insp

irat

ion

cam

e fr

om a

n ic

e te

a bo

ttle

be

lieve

it o

r no

t.” A

ll of

Ian’

s des

igns

ju

st c

ome

to h

im, r

arel

y do

es h

e ev

er

draw

or

plan

thin

gs o

ut. C

urre

ntly

w

orki

ng o

n a

one

off s

ub fr

ame

and

all

alum

inum

tail

unit

Ian

men

tion

s “no

ot

her

reas

on th

an I

don’

t lik

e ha

ving

st

ock

part

s on

my

bike

s and

als

o to

I lik

e to

show

off

wha

t I c

an d

o.”

Wel

l, w

hen

build

ing

a on

e of

f sub

fr

ame,

let a

lone

an

enti

re b

ike,

ther

e

are

man

y hu

rtle

s fro

m c

hang

ing

the

fron

t end

out

, lea

rnin

g th

at th

e lo

ss o

f th

e Sp

eedo

so a

n af

term

arke

t one

had

to

be

adde

d, a

nd ju

st m

any

othe

r lit

tle

thin

gs, n

o bi

g pr

oble

ms.

Wit

h a

littl

e re

sear

ch a

nd c

omm

on se

nse

you

can

keep

you

rsel

f out

of t

roub

le.

N

umbe

r on

e ru

le a

s far

as t

ools

are

co

ncer

ned,

man

y ex

pens

ive

tool

s are

no

t alw

ays n

eces

sary

. 90%

of I

an’s

bik

es

are

mad

e w

ith

sim

ple

hand

tool

s; th

e on

ly e

xpen

sive

tool

is a

wel

der,

that

is o

ne a

rea

neve

r to

skim

p on

. Rig

ht

now

usi

ng a

lot o

f OEM

susp

ensi

on

part

s, b

ut th

at’s

goi

ng to

be

chan

ging

as

Ian

is w

orki

ng o

n so

me

new

and

ver

y in

tere

stin

g pa

rts,

kee

p an

eye

out

for

them

in 2

Ride

.

Ian’

s fav

ouri

te p

art o

f the

SV

has

to

be

the

tail

it w

as a

rea

l cha

lleng

e bu

t wel

l wor

th it

. Not

rea

lly h

avin

g a

favo

urit

e pa

rt o

n th

e GS

XR

but i

f had

to

choo

se it

wou

ld b

e th

e up

per

trip

le th

at

Ian

desi

gned

H

ow to

rec

ogni

ze a

n I.D

. St

reet

fight

er, s

ome

trad

e m

ark

part

s ar

e fo

ot p

egs t

hey

are

a M

X st

yle

peg

in a

spor

t bik

e pe

g si

ze. A

noth

er

trad

e m

ark

are

Shor

ty e

xhau

sts a

ll cu

t do

wn

and

pers

onal

ly sh

orte

ned.

Ian

is

curr

entl

y w

orki

ng o

n hi

s ow

n lin

e of

ha

ndm

ade

exha

ust s

yste

ms.

Ever

ythi

ng in

the

shop

is d

one

by Ia

n,

but h

e co

uldn

’t do

any

of i

t wit

hout

the

supp

ort o

f his

frie

nds,

fam

ily, o

r hi

s fia

ncée

Sar

ah (l

ook

for

her

and

her

bike

bu

ild c

omin

g so

on).

ww

w.i

ds

tre

etf

igh

ters

.co

m

I.D

. Str

ee

tfig

hte

rC

us

tom

Cy

cle

Taki

n’ i

t to

th

e s

tre

ets

BY

MA

RC

AN

TO

NY

MA

Y 2

01

0

[7

6]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[77

]

2Rid

e

Wit

h un

com

prom

isin

g st

ylin

g an

d a

quic

k to

res

pond

air

coo

led,

sin

gle

cylin

der,

two

stro

ke e

ngin

e, th

is

popu

lar

scoo

ter

wit

hin

race

r an

d m

oddi

ng a

ficio

nado

com

mun

itie

s, th

e Su

per

8 50

2T

is w

itho

ut q

uest

ion

Kym

co’s

mos

t spo

rty

type

sc

oote

r. W

ith

awes

ome

hand

ling

from

its

14-i

nch

stic

ky c

ompo

unde

d ti

res,

insp

ires

con

fiden

t rid

ing.

Th

e sc

oote

rs’ h

ighe

r po

stur

e an

d lo

wer

cen

tre

of

grav

ity

also

hel

p es

tabl

ish

that

spo

rt b

ike

feel

off

erin

g im

pres

sive

han

dlin

g. T

he d

ash

spor

ts b

oth,

ana

log

odom

eter

and

spe

edom

eter

, whi

ch a

re th

e st

anda

rd

equi

pmen

t. T

here

is a

lso

plen

ty o

f hel

met

or

groc

ery

stor

age

unde

r th

e se

at; o

r if

you

pref

er, t

hat c

ase

of

your

bev

erag

e of

cho

ice.

Feat

urin

g an

adj

usta

ble

rear

sho

ck, a

lum

inum

whe

els,

DO

T ap

prov

ed h

eadl

ight

wit

h hi

gh a

nd lo

w b

eam

, low

oi

l lig

ht in

dica

tor,

a 5

lite

r fu

el ta

nk, s

prin

g lo

aded

si

de s

tand

and

stu

rdy

cent

er s

tand

, fol

ding

alu

min

um

pass

enge

r fo

ot p

egs,

spa

ciou

s un

der

seat

sto

rage

, and

vi

bran

t gra

phic

s.

Wit

h th

e th

ree

colo

ur a

nd g

raph

ic p

acka

ges,

in B

lack

, Bl

ue, o

r re

d an

d W

hite

, the

Sup

er 8

2T

is s

ure

to w

in

atte

ntio

n w

itho

ut fa

il! T

he S

uper

8’s

two

stro

ke 4

9.5

cc e

ngin

e pu

ts fo

rwar

d ex

cept

iona

l acc

eler

atio

n w

ith

stop

ping

pow

er u

p fr

ont s

uppl

ied

by a

larg

e 2

pist

on

float

ing

fron

t cal

iper

wit

h sl

otte

d fr

ont r

otor

. The

w

inni

ng c

ombi

nati

on o

f sto

p an

d go

mak

e fo

r on

e in

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ide!

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ime

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er

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2Rid

e

grea

se, h

ave

deep

poc

kets

, may

be d

o so

me

off r

oadi

ng o

r as

in A

nton

io’s

ca

se; r

ide

a bi

ke a

ll ye

ar r

ound

(eve

n in

ou

r Ca

nadi

an w

inte

rs) t

hen

this

is th

e bi

ke fo

r yo

u.

On

ly h

avin

g 40

hor

sepo

wer

it is

am

azin

g w

hat c

an b

e do

ne w

ith

so

littl

e; y

ou c

an fi

t all

diff

eren

t kin

ds o

f ge

ar w

ithi

n th

e bi

g tr

unk

and

on th

e si

de c

ar r

ack.

Ant

onio

wou

ld o

ften

take

fu

ll ad

vant

age

of th

e st

orag

e w

hen

he

and

his w

ife w

ould

go

cam

ping

or

on

road

trip

s. U

nder

full

load

as t

his b

ike

stru

ggle

s to

mak

e it

up

hills

, no

mat

ter

how

you

look

at i

t, th

e fu

n ti

mes

you

sp

end

ridi

ng w

ith

your

fam

ily c

an’t

be

mea

sure

d in

hor

sepo

wer

.

In th

e w

inte

r, r

idin

g w

as n

ot e

asy

and

not a

lway

s ros

ey, b

ut o

ne th

ing

that

Ant

onio

will

say

surp

risi

ngly

is

that

the

bike

star

ts e

very

mor

ning

ev

en th

ough

it is

par

ked

outs

ide

cove

red

wit

h a

tarp

. Tha

t bei

ng sa

id

even

at t

imes

wit

h m

oist

ure

in th

e ca

rbs c

ausi

ng r

ough

idle

, the

bik

e st

ill

man

aged

to g

et A

nton

io to

wor

k on

ti

me.

Ri

ding

thro

ugh

snow

and

ice

was

don

e at

eas

e ev

en w

ith

heav

y sn

ow fa

ll w

hich

at

tim

es th

e 2

whe

el d

rive

syst

em is

ne

eded

, whi

ch c

an e

asily

be

swit

ched

ov

er b

y a

leve

r. 2

wd

is o

nly

mea

nt to

be

used

in fi

rst g

ear

to g

et o

ut o

f tro

uble

sp

ots.

So

of c

ours

e I h

ad to

ask

him

“W

hy

this

bik

e?”

“I

do

not h

ave

a ca

r lic

ense

and

I ne

eded

tran

spor

tati

on a

ll ye

ar r

ound

. Th

e U

ral w

as th

e on

ly w

ay I

coul

d ac

hiev

e th

at.

Mos

t peo

ple

wou

ld

ques

tion

why

do

I not

get

a d

rive

r’s

licen

se b

ut I

like

a ch

alle

nge.

I ha

d to

pr

ove

that

it c

an b

e do

ne, t

o ri

de a

ll ye

ar r

ound

wit

hout

hav

ing

to su

ffer

fr

om m

otor

cycl

e w

ithd

raw

al. L

et m

e te

ll yo

u, it

was

esp

ecia

lly h

ard

for

me

goin

g th

roug

h m

otor

cycl

e w

ithd

raw

al

whi

le ta

king

the

bus.

I ne

eded

the

righ

t bi

ke w

ith

the

righ

t gea

r, d

ress

ing

war

m

and

equi

ppin

g th

e bi

ke w

ith

acce

ssor

ies

like

heat

ed g

rips

, bus

h gu

ards

, ATV

m

itts

and

a w

ind

scre

en p

rovi

ng th

e U

ral t

o be

the

perf

ect t

ool f

or th

e jo

b.”

Wh

at

are

yo

ur

fav

ori

te t

hin

gs

a

bo

ut

the

Ura

l P

atr

ol?

“I

t’s tw

o w

heel

dri

ve fo

r th

e of

f ro

adin

g an

d w

inte

r fu

n in

the

snow

.Th

ere

is a

goo

d su

ppor

t net

wor

k fr

om

Ura

l and

the

Cana

dian

Ura

l Rid

ers

Grou

p on

line

whi

ch e

ncou

rage

s fe

edba

ck fr

om th

e ow

ners

als

o re

plyi

ng

to q

uest

ions

and

con

cern

s rig

ht a

way

. Th

is h

elps

Ura

l to

mai

ntai

n a

bett

er

prod

uct g

etti

ng d

irec

t inp

ut fr

om th

e ri

der’

s per

spec

tive

... a

nd o

f cou

rse

it is

fu

n fo

r th

ree

on a

Mot

orcy

cle”

Wh

at

are

th

e t

hin

gs

yo

u d

on

’t

lik

e o

r th

at

can

be

im

pro

ve

d?

“Fre

quen

t cos

tly

mai

nten

ance

, lac

k of

de

aler

ship

s in

Onta

rio.

Fin

ishe

s lik

e pa

int a

nd m

ater

ials

; whe

n yo

u bu

y a

bike

that

com

es w

ith

it’s

ow

n se

t of

touc

h up

pai

nt, y

ou k

now

ther

e is

roo

m

for

impr

ovem

ent.”

Ge

nera

lly, t

his b

ike

look

s odd

; but

ki

nda

cool

in a

‘Wor

ld W

ar’ k

inda

way

. I c

an se

e ho

w m

uch

fun

it w

ould

be

to

owni

ng o

ne a

nd ta

king

it o

ffro

ad o

r th

roug

h so

me

snow

. An

toni

o to

ok m

e fo

r a

spin

, and

as I

sat i

n th

e si

de c

ar

feel

ing

wei

rd la

ughi

ng a

nd sm

iling

at

how

muc

h fu

n it

was

.

Ura

l w

eb

sit

e: w

ww

.im

z-u

ral.

com

Ca

na

dia

n U

ral

Dn

ep

r R

ide

r’s

Gro

up

:

ww

w.c

urd

-rid

ers

.ca

At firs

t, I t

houg

ht w

e w

ere

unde

r at

tack

, has

Wor

ld W

ar II

I st

arte

d? M

aybe

I ha

d go

ne b

ack

in ti

me

to W

orld

War

II a

s I se

e w

hat

use

to b

e a

Mot

orcy

cle

wit

h a

side

car

st

raig

ht o

ut o

f the

Rus

sian

arm

y, o

r so

it

look

s.

The

owne

r of

this

thin

g is

Ant

onio

Ca

rras

co fr

om B

ram

pton

who

tells

me

its a

200

8 U

ral P

atro

l 2w

d (2

whe

el

driv

e), w

hat a

n in

tere

stin

g ri

de.

He

boug

ht it

new

but

cur

rent

ly h

as 8

350

km, h

e ad

ded

bush

gua

rds,

a w

ind

scre

en a

nd A

TV m

itts

all

for

win

ter

ridi

ng y

es th

ats r

ight

he

ride

s it a

ll

year

rou

nd.

An

toni

o’s 2

008

Patr

ol st

icke

r pr

ice

was

$13

,795

+PDI

bou

ght a

t OV

C.

(Old

Vin

tage

Cra

nks I

nc),

Hill

sbur

gh

Onta

rio.

Thi

s bik

e re

quir

es th

at th

e ow

ner

be m

echa

nica

lly sa

vvy

as it

ne

eds f

requ

ent m

aint

enan

ce in

terv

als.

W

ith

only

four

dea

lers

in O

ntar

io, y

ou

cert

ainl

y do

n’t w

ant t

o be

rac

king

up

a hi

gh m

aint

enan

ce b

ill o

r ca

ught

in th

e m

iddl

e of

win

ter

and

in n

eed

of r

epai

r.

So if

one

is n

ot a

frai

d of

a li

ttle

elb

ow

UR

AL

ask

ing

th

e s

am

e

qu

est

ion

…W

ha

t’s

th

at

hu

nk

of

me

tal

go

ing

do

wn

th

e s

tre

et?

ST

OR

Y B

Y M

AR

C A

NT

ON

Y

PH

OT

OS

PR

OV

IDE

D B

Y C

RY

ST

AL

LIZ

ED

IM

AG

ES

MA

Y 2

01

0

[8

0]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[81

]

2Rid

e

2002

Suz

uki s

v650

s 67

,000

km, l

ower

fairi

ngs,

mat

chin

g ho

tbod

ies

unde

rtail,

upg

rade

d st

ainle

ss b

rake

line

s, tit

aniu

m y

oshi

mur

a ex

haus

t slip

on.

As

king

$500

0.

skoo

ta20

01@

hotm

ail.co

m

Look

ing

to st

art a

bob

ber p

roje

ct.

Pref

erab

ly so

met

hing

like

a Fa

tboy

bob

ber.

em

ail b

esko

desig

n@ro

gers

.com

Wan

ted

2003

ZX7

R in

Ora

nge

with

Low

Km’s

in m

int s

hape

em

ail m

arc@

slm-iq

.com

Pre-

owne

d 20

06 N

inja

650R

in

per

fect

cond

ition

. Ne

ver

been

dro

pped

. St

ored

pr

oper

ly ov

er w

inte

r.

Win

dshi

eld

and

unde

r tail

ar

e af

ter m

arke

t. On

ly 13

,624

km.

Askin

g $5

900

certi

fied.

Shi

risha

piro

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or S

heri

at41

6-88

8-87

75

2004

ZX6

RR, y

es a

True

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not

just

a R

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with

12,5

00Km

a Yo

sh

slip

on p

ipe,

som

e sc

ratc

hes f

rom

a lo

w sli

de, K

awi G

reen

, lot

s of

pow

er ru

ns g

reat

. As

king

$620

0 em

ail

Agoz

zino@

hotm

ail.c

om

For S

ale

2000

XR6

50r s

treet

le

gal s

uper

mot

o wi

th lo

ts

of u

pgra

des,

exce

l rim

s, af

term

arke

t pip

e, K&

N fil

ter,

anti

slip

seat

plu

s sto

ck

seat

, Edl

ebro

ck C

arb,

wave

ro

tor,

digi

tal t

ach,

10K

Km,

askin

g $4

400

email

mar

c.cr

ysta

l@gm

ail.co

m

For S

ale

1980

Hon

da C

B750

F - $

2400

(Rich

mon

d Hi

ll)

Bike

runs

goo

d. N

eeds

a

new

batte

ry, I

’ll p

urch

ase

one

befo

re p

ickup

. Bike

will

be

sold

certi

fied.

4 in

to 1

Vanc

e an

d Hi

nes e

xhau

st.

Rick

man

fairi

ng. C

onta

ct

Cmill

er82

@gm

ail.co

m

For S

ale

2007

Kaw

asak

i Ver

sys

- $6

500

(Rich

mon

d Hi

ll)Ex

celle

nt co

nditi

on.

15,0

00km

650

cc

para

llel t

win.

Ask

ing

$650

0 ce

rtifie

d. C

onta

ct

Cmill

er82

@gm

ail.co

m

Wan

t to

plac

e a

class

ifed

ad co

ntac

t cla

ssifi

eds@

2rid

e.ca.

$79.

99

Wan

t to

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e a

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ifed

ad co

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t cla

ssifi

eds@

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e.ca.

$79.

99

MA

Y 2

01

0

[8

2]

2

Rid

eM

AY

20

10

[83

]

2Rid

e

Lita

Durh

am R

egio

nSu

zuki

GSX

-R 6

00Si

ngle

Ridi

ng 7

yea

rs

As a

you

ng g

irl I

had

alw

ays a

dmire

d M

otor

cycl

es.

Whe

n I w

as a

bout

12 y

ears

old

I go

t the

opp

ortu

nity

to

be a

pas

seng

er o

n on

e. Th

e rum

blin

g of

the e

xhau

st,

the c

lose

ness

to th

e roa

d an

d th

e win

d on

my

face

; I

was

hoo

ked.

I sa

id to

mys

elf t

hat o

ne d

ay w

hen

I gro

w

up I’

m g

oing

to g

et o

ne o

f tho

se. A

bout

20 y

ears

late

r m

y w

ish ca

me t

rue.

Afte

r exp

erie

ncin

g a

brok

en h

eart

a

frie

nd m

entio

ned

I sho

uld

get m

y m

otor

cycl

e lic

ence

to

brin

g up

my

spiri

ts. I

t was

a g

reat

idea

. I p

urch

ased

m

y fir

st m

otor

cycl

e; a

suzu

ki S

VS a

nd w

as d

eter

min

ed

to ri

de it

that

sum

mer

. Afte

r tak

ing

the c

ours

e and

tw

o te

st a

ttem

pts l

ater

; I w

as li

cenc

ed in

July

2003

. Ov

er th

e yea

rs I’

ve ra

cked

up

81,00

0 km

s on

the r

oad

and

a fe

w m

ore k

ms o

n th

e tra

ck a

t Sha

nnon

ville

and

Ca

labo

ogie

. Mot

orcy

clin

g ha

s int

rodu

ced

me t

o so

me

won

derf

ul fr

iend

s and

folk

s I w

ould

hav

e nev

er m

et

with

out G

ixxi

e( th

e nic

knam

e for

my

curr

ent b

ike)

. I l

ook

forw

ard

to p

lann

ing

ridin

g ro

utes

. Mee

ting

up

with

frie

nds f

or b

reak

fast

and

ridi

ng th

e ent

ire d

ay;

on a

vera

ge 10

hou

rs. U

sual

ly en

ding

with

a sc

oop

of

my

favo

urite

icec

ream

; Moo

setr

acks

. Eve

ntho

ugh

I’m

exha

uste

d w

hen

I ret

urn

hom

e, its

alw

ays w

ith a

big

gr

in o

n m

y fa

ce a

nd a

n ad

enal

ine r

ush.

Afte

r I cl

ean

the b

ugs o

ff m

y su

it an

d th

e bik

e; its

tim

e to

rest

and

pl

an th

e nex

t int

eres

ting

adve

ntur

e.

Paul

Etob

icok

eBi

kes I

ow

n:91

CBR

600

F2,

91 Y

SR80

, 99

CBR

900R

R,

04 R

C51,

04

Yam

aha

R6

Sing

leRi

ding

12

year

sAg

e: 3

3

As a

child

gro

win

g up

, I h

ad n

eigh

-bo

urs a

roun

d m

e th

at h

ad b

ikes

. Se

eing

them

suit

up to

ride

, hea

ring

th

em ri

de a

way

, and

wat

chin

g th

em

fix, t

inke

r, or

bre

ak so

met

hing

pea

ked

my

inte

rest

. As

a ch

ild, I

kne

w th

at o

ne

day,

I’d

have

one

.

MAY 2010 [ 84] 2Ride