Real Sport Touring: Kawasaki`s Ninja 1000

Transcription

Triumph To Sponsor Calistoga Half-Mile · Mission Electric Unplugged? · Remembering Ed Cavanaugh
International Police Motorcycle Competition · PLUS MORE MOTORCYCLE MALARKEY!
September 2015
Real Sport Touring:
Kawasaki’s Ninja 1000
Suzuki Gets Naked!
2015 GSX-S750Z
Magni+BSA=
Magni-fique!
News, Clues & Rumors
Volume XXXII, Issue 9
Publication Date: August 24, 2015
On The Cover:
Test pilot Sam Devine ponders the powers of the
Ninja, and puts the GSX-S in a corner.
Photos: Bob Stokstad
Brent Lenehan’s custom-built Magni/BSA.
Photo: Jeff Ebner
Contents:
NCR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Pit Stops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Uneasy Rider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
New Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
GS Excess (not really) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
La Ninja Uno K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Magni-ficent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Ed Cavanaugh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Devine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Doc Frazier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Maynard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Hertfelder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Marketplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Slapschtick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Motosectomy Horror Stories . . . . . . . . 33
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CityBike Staff:
PO Box 18738
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Phone: 415.282.2790
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Advertising / Business: rftc@citybike.com
Editor in Chief & Jackass of All Trades: Surj Gish
Master of Puppets & Layout: Angelica Rubalcaba
Senior Editor: Robert Stokstad
Contributing Editors: John Joss, Will Guyan,
Courtney Olive
Chief of the World Adventure Affairs Desk:
Dr. Gregory Frazier
Staff Photographers: Robert Stokstad,
Angelica Rubalcaba
Illustrations: Mr. Jensen
Operations: Gwynne Fitzsimmons
Road Scholars:
J. Brandon, Sam Devine, Jeff Ebner,
An DeYoung, Max Klein
Contributors:
Dan Baizer, Craig Bessenger,
Blaise Descollonges, Dirck Edge, Julian Farnam,
Alonzo Fumar, Will Guyan, Brian Halton,
David Hough, Maynard Hershon, Ed Hertfelder,
Otto Hofmann, Jon Jensen, Bill Klein,
David Lander, Lucien Lewis, Larry Orlick,
Jason Potts, Bob Pushwa, Gary Rather,
Curt Relick, Charlie Rauseo, Mike Solis,
Ivan Thelin, James Thurber.
Alumni (RIP):
John D’India, Joe Glydon, Gary Jaehne,
Adam Wade
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©2015, CityBike Magazine, Inc. Citybike Magazine is distributed at over
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especially for purposes of recycling, is theft and will be prosecuted to the
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CityBike magazine is owned by CityBike Magazine, Inc and has teams of
sleep-deprived, coke-addicted attorneys ready to defend it from frivolous
lawsuits, so even if you see Lucien Lewis doing one of his wheelies on
the cover and decide you want to do that too and then you hit a parked car
and your bike is wedged under a van and it catches fire and the Vallejo FD
has to come and extinguish the resulting blaze and four cars and your bike
are melted into slag and you suffer permanent trauma including a twisted
pinkie, sleeplessness and night terrors, it’s not CityBike Magazine Inc.’s
fault and we don’t have any assets so just suck on it. You know better.
Photo Of The Month: “I
Waited 90 Years For This
Ride!”
Triumph) and #55 Jake Shoemaker
(Bonneville Performance / Castrol
/ Triumph / Ramspur Winery).
We’ll see you there!
Well, not really. Maybe 25 or
30 years, at least since her last
ride. But when Editor Surj’s
grandmother, Marge, said “I’d like
to go for a ride on your motorcycle
for my ninetieth birthday,” what
could he say? Motorcycle? Check.
Uh… that’s the entire criteria set.
There’s a bit more to this story.
Back in 2011, when our ed bought
his R1200R and set out on a four
day trip ‘round the Golden State
to break it in, he stopped by his
grandma’s house. You know, over
the river, through the woods, up
the coast… Anyway, her take on
the new Beemer: “Makes me want
to just hit the road.”
Not Just Pajama Pants On
Fire
You might recall #babygate
(“Buyer, Buyer, Pants On Fire:
- NCR, April 2015), where KTMbranded pajamas failed to prevent
spontaneous infant combustion.
Not wanting to seem biased (only
setting children on fire), the
Austrian brand stepped up their
game and brought the thrill of a
surprise burning sensation to its
adult customers too.
So in spite of a roughly
60%-healed broken foot (don’t tell
his doc!), Editor Surj arrived at
Photo: Angelica Rubalcaba
his grandma’s fiesta de cumpleanos
with a new helmet for Madge,
hear the Half-Mile is gonna be even better
(what Marge wanted her nickname to be
this year. Not only is it the last of the AMA
back in her teens, because she thought it’d flat track races in California this year, and
sound cool). Her neighbor Ron, La Selva
the last race before the big season closer /
Beach’s #2 CityBike fan—behind #1 fan
Superprestigio combo in Lost Wages this
Grandma Marge, of course—provided a
November, it’s a damn fine local event
decades-old waxed cotton Belstaff for
featuring racers thundering through the
some additional protection, and off
normally-quiet streets of Calistoga
they went. Check out that movie
the morning of the race like some
star wave!
kind of modern Wild One
(without all the mess, of
Triumph Signs On
course).
As Presenting
Sponsor For
Calistoga HalfMile
Check this out, some
actual news. Like, actual
“That’s a BIG DEAL”
motorcycle news.
Triumph, the British motorcycle folks,
not the British linger-ee folks, has signed
on to sponsor the Calistoga Half-Mile.
They heard CityBike was on the posters,
and wanted in. Or so we’ve been told.
A total of 640 Super Duke Rs
have been manufactured with
potentially loosey-goosey threaded
inserts in their fuel tanks, that
may or may not be putting said
machines at risk of becoming
rolling bonfires.
KTM claims, and we trust their
expert opinions on how fire works, that this
leaked fuel could present a bit of a problem
if it were to encounter an ignition source.
Not that there’s any chance of fuel leaking
from a motorbike’s tank finding such an
ignition source.
Oh. Wait.
KTM didn’t say too much about what
specifically went wrong (can you blame
them?) but their solution is to give you a
free replacement gas tank if yours is getting
To get things
drippy. If you have one of these Super Duke
rolling, there will
Rs manufactured between July 1, 2013
be a barbecue /
and April 30, 2014, and have noticed either
meet-and-greet type
(excessive?) fuel aromas—or flames—you
thing at North Bay
can contact KTM directly or swing by your
Triumph dealer Marin Speed
local dealer to avoid your hot bike turning
Shop, where you can hang
into the hottest one out there.
with Triumph Factory AMA Pro
Flat Track team riders #44 Brandon
- Max Klein
Robinson (Latus Motors / Castrol /
“We are thrilled as well as honored to have
an OEM with a Flat Track history as iconic
as Triumph Motorcycles come on board as
a presenting sponsor. Their involvement
to this sport in years past helped to elevate
Flat Track racing in to an era of household
names,” said Half-Mile co-promoter and
Ramspur Winery founder Terry Otton.
“Recently, we have seen Triumph make
a renewed commitment to the sport by
supporting two AMA Pro GNC1 teams
and now wish to continue their support
and commitment at the race and fan level.
To see an OEM step up and sponsor a race
event is something I can’t say I remember
ever happening in the past.”
If you went last year, you know this is a
bitchin’ event. If you didn’t go last year,
there’s time to redeem yourself, and we
September 2015 | 3 | CityBike.com
PTSD vs. GSXR
The riders at trackdays come from a wide
crosscut of the general population. But
they all share a thirst for intensity, for
adrenaline. Similarly, military personnel
returning from combat are accustomed to
no shortage of intensity, even to the point
of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (or
PTSD).
Jim Whittum was one such veteran. He
had been going to therapy, working to deal
with life back home again and enjoying
weekends at the track. After an accident in
2013, he realized how significantly riding
was helping him reintegrate. To share
this insight and facilitate it for others, he
formed Vet2Track.
“We provide support to veterans
through outreach, access to
therapy, mentorship and
getting them on the
racetrack. Every
veteran that I have
talked to misses
the same things
when they come
home from war.
Adrenaline,
camaraderie
and training.
Vet2Track strives to
help with all of these
and more. Trackdays
give the veteran a controlled
environment to test their own limits,
instead of doing it on the street.”
Getting returning vets out
and riding fast does several
things. It gives them a
mission, something to
concentrate on. It provides
an intense situation,
requiring a focus not
unlike active combat.
“It’s not only the riding,”
says Whittum. “But the
people that ride the track
are a different breed. The
camaraderie is as close as I
have found to the military
outside of the military.”
So, if you know a vet that’s
getting more speeding
tickets than he’d like and always seems to
be on edge, or if you’d like to donate, check
out Vet2track.org or facebook.
com/vet2track.
Image: CalFireNews.com
Motorcycle Manslaughter
Update
We received a call from the lawyer of Sean
McGinnis—the motorcyclist involved with
the fatal pedestrian accident at 3rd and
Market back on August 5th. He said the
toxicology reports came back negative and
the bail has been dropped. McGinnis was
partially found to be trustworthy due to his
six years of service in the Air Force, and has
been released on his own recognizance.
hey, if you’re a Tesla hater, you can always
Google “tesla fire” for some fun pictures
of your favorite vehicle going the way of so
many Spinal Tap drummers.
The Tesla-Road-Not-Car Fire—100%
contained as we went to print—ultimately
We also spoke with
burned 2,700 acres, including some
Vet2Track board
portions of Carnegie out in the areas of
member Aliki
Franciscan Loop and Pottery Loop. The
Karayan at
park was evacuated, though, which must
Thunderhill a few
have been tough. If you’ve ever talked
weeks ago. Her
business, VnM Sport, There are now three distinct stories for this to a motorcyclist—and you probably
have—you know that saying the word
donates a percentage incident: 1) Motorcyclist jumps curb and
“fire” doesn’t elicit fear but rather a lighting
of sales from their
kills pedestrian. 2) Intoxicated motorcyclist up of the eyes. We can just imagine those
military style designs
swerves to miss pedestrian darting for a bus conversations:
towards the program. If
and kills pedestrian. 3) Sober motorcyclist
you’d like to contribute—
swerves to miss pedestrian darting for bus “Hey, you on the WR. There’s a bigass fire
and pick up a bitchin’ base
over yonder.”
and kills a pedestrian. While all scenarios
layer—go to VnMsport.com.
end in tragedy, a shared-responsibility
“Sweet! West, you say? Lemme make sure
accident feels slightly less tragic, if only
- Sam Devine
my GoPro is on.”
for McGinnis and popular opinion of the
motorcycle community.
Turnabout No Longer Fair Play
While there is surveillance footage of
McGinnis approaching the crash, what
happened in the last half block remains
to be determined. Though—as you may
remember from our report last month
(“Fatal Crash At Market & 3rd ” - NCR,
August 2015)—a local rider did post on
Facebook that he witnessed a pedestrian
rushing for the bus. If you or anyone you
know has more information, feel free to
email us at rftc@citybike.com. We’ll keep
you posted as we learn more.
- Sam Devine
…at least on Market Street.
From the “man, this is stupid, but it really
only applies to cars… maybe” department,
we have news that the city of San Francisco,
in its ongoing quest to be a pain in the ass
of pretty much everyone except for overinflated tech companies that often seem to
be primarily in the business of driving up
rents and home prices and creating the type
of congestion that causes the problems this
new rule purports to solve, has ruled that
drivers of private vehicles can no longer
turn on Market Street between 3rd and 8th.
More Not-So-Internal
Combustion In Undesireable
Places
This particular bit—or more accurately,
2,700 acres—of fire started just down the
road a piece from our beloved local dirty
spot, Carnegie SVRA. Since we’re sticking
with this pesky more accurately business, it’s
actually still burning as of this writing. But
we trust that the ladies and gents of CalFire
will have it nicely extinguished by the time
you’re ready to start your own fire with this
here copy of CityBike.
The fire started the afternoon of August
19th, and quickly became known as the
Tesla Fire, presumably because some
pompous d-bag in a Tesla parked his
d-mobile on some dry grass on the side of
the road out there, so he could check his
email or something. Wait…that doesn’t
make sense. D-bags check their email while
driving.
Oh, Tesla Road. Right. Gotcha. No d-bags
involved or harmed (unfortunately). But
This in the name of preventing accidents.
As you may have guessed, CityBike has a
problem with this. Or two. Maybe more,
but we’ll keep it brief.
First, goddamnit, they’re not accidents.
They’re crashes. They happen mostly
because someone did something stupid,
not because something totally unforeseen
happen—like an asteroid fell from the
BMW Motorcycles of San Francisco
790 Bryant Street (@ Sixth)
San Francisco, CA 94107-1025
415-503-9988
www.bmwmotorcycle.com
sky and knocked your Tesla off course
while you were checking your email. Or
driving. Same / same on the roads ‘round
here, right? When a “driver” wrecks hisor-herself and others, because they were
eating a ten-dollar slice of toast, sucking
down a cup of slow-brew joe, and Face
Timing with their mentor, that’s not an
accident. It’s a crash, and we all saw it
coming.
Except maybe numbnuts behind the wheel.
Second, according to the Vision Zero
“Pedestrian-Vehicle Injuries and High
Injury Corridors” map (check it out for
yourself at visionzerosf.org/maps-data/),
which uses SWITRS data collected from
2005 to 2011, Market isn’t even much
of a hot spot. There were three fatalities
between 3rd and 8th, and more in short
sections of other streets, like Geary or Van
Ness.
Are three too many? Absolutely (unless
they were 95 year old Nazis, or lion hunters
or whatever) but our point is that this is
hardly scientific, and hardly gonna solve
the problem of cars hitting peds. After all,
private cars (including Uber, Lyft, and
other ride-sharing cars) can still drive up
and down Market, they just can’t turn on
to Market between 3rd and 8th. Also, the
rule doesn’t apply to taxis, because we
all know those guys drive very well
and very attentively.
Instead of continuing to rant,
we’ll close with this. We—San
Francisco, California, society
at large—need more skilled,
more attentive drivers, not more
pointless rules.
And since you asked, yes, we
are holding our breath for
that.
Mission Electric Cuts
Out?
The record-setting, electric
motorcycle company, Mission
Motors, err, Electric, has packed
up shop and ceased business just as
quietly as an idling Prius. We’d heard
rumors that the company was going under
despite John McGuinness’s victory on
Team Mugen’s Mission-powered bike in
the Isle of Man Electric TT in 2014.
Recycling is the ONLY legal way to dispose of
used oil and filters. Check out RidersRecycle.com
for more information plus FREE discount coupons
on motorcycle parts, service and gear!
So several months ago, we started poking
around. Mission had stopped answering
their phone or doorbell. Talking with Chris
Koff, owner of AK Subs, the sandwich
shop across from Mission’s Harrison street
headquarters yielded a surprising amount
of information. According to him, Mission
has gone bankrupt, liquidating their
physical assets about seven months ago. An
angel investor supposedly backed out on
further funding just about the same time
that a prototype bike was rear-ended on a
city street. D’oh!
Next door to Mission, we spoke with Meg
Murray, PR agent for Getaround, a peerto-peer car sharing service. She said she
doesn’t know anything about a bankruptcy
but attested that Getaround was now
using Mission’s parking lot. Their website,
ridemission.com is now down and their
italicized “M” logo has been removed from
their building.
So even though there’s been no official
press release, there seem to be enough
coffin nails to put a lid on.
We’re still waiting to hear back from Ewan
McGregor (who narrated “Charge,” the
worthwhile documentary about the first
Electric TT). Holding our breath, even.
- Sam Devine
Last Page Photo=Page 3 Girls?
If you pay any attention to English literary
masterworks like The Sun, you may be
familiar with the concept of the “page 3
girl.” No, you say? Look, we’re not gonna
judge, and we can’t see you anyway, so it’s
ok to admit that your occasional trip to the
ole B&N magazine section isn’t just about
moto-mags; but perhaps also twin jugs not
attached to a bottom end (Well, at least not
one with crankshaft. Usually.) on the third
page of certain tabloids.
Go ahead. Raise your hand. No? Really?
All about the articles, eh? Gotcha.
The reality is that our Last Page Photo,
which you may have noticed showing up
on the last page (clever, yes?) the last couple
months, doesn’t have a damn thing to
do with naked breasts. At least so far.
But we figured the best way to draw
some attention to this new feature would
be some good old-fashioned titillation.
Thing is, in spite of being an old school,
newsprint-y (our printer recently schooled
us on the fact that this stuff you’re reading
isn’t actually newsprint, technically
speaking), partially black-and-white
magazine / newspaper type thing, we
actually shoot a lot of really bitchin’
photography. Bob, Angelica, Jeff, and even
some of our rider / writer guys like Max,
always give us way more than we can use in
our limited pages, so we decided to set
aside a single page that each month
to share a photo we love.
So make your way to the end
of the mag and check it out.
You may also notice that, as
of this month, we’ve moved
Tankslapper back there as well,
to provide a nice one-two kick in
the pants on your way out the back.
Pacific Track Time’s First
Women’s VIP Trackday
Since riding last year’s Femmewalla
(“Femmwalla Walla Bing Bang” – NCR,
February 2015), I’ve been counting down
to the next one. Turns out I wouldn’t
have to wait until December—Pacific
Track Time announced plans for their
first annual Women’s VIP day out at
Thunderhill Raceway on August 14th. Sign
me up!
They were running three groups: A, B, &
Women-only. The VIP package included
lunch, event t-shirt, and some track vendor
coupons.
I arrived around 5 PM the evening before
and set up camp in the designated Women’s
VIP area. After introducing myself to
some new arrivals, I got my bike unloaded
(you are never without help if you show up
alone), my tent pitched, my cider opened,
and then headed out to see who else was
camping that night. Later that evening,
we all sat around the pits, eyes to the sky,
and watched the Perseid meteor shower—
which I’m certain arrived in honor of the
Women’s VIP trackday.
egos. No impatient, unsafe passes. Bigger
balls.
The faster ladies got around me just fine,
and I even made a few passes—a rare
occurrence for me.
I took advantage of a free video coaching
session from the Ritz Racing AFM team,
and got some
insightful
There is no “right bike” for trackdays. No more excuses!
feedback, along
with a list of
things to work
on at future
trackdays.
Photo: Rudy Ocasion Jr.
I awoke the next morning to a quickly
filling paddock. There were some ladies
doing their first trackday, as well as some
ladies who race AFM—all out riding
together in the same group. Talk about a
wide range of skill!
I had some anxiety about being too slow,
getting in the faster women’s way, but
sharing a track with an all-women group is
different than riding in mixed company. No
It was a
wonderful day
of riding with
some amazingly
talented ladies.
Women, if you’ve
never done a
trackday, please
think about
signing up for an
event like this for
your first time
out.
comfortable I get, the smoother I get, the
faster I get, the better my street riding gets.
If you’ve never seen truly fast, professional
riders tackle this ten-story drop in person,
make it happen. Watching some of the
Still think you don’t have the right gear or
world’s best riders push their limits as
bike? At PTT’s women’s day, I met a cool
they plummet towards turn nine leaving a
66 year old woman named Sheila, out there
rubber highlight of their path is way more
for her very first trackday on a new BMW
fun if you can smell the race gas.
R1200GS, in her street gear. And she
hauled ass.
“But I don’t want to race.”
Your excuses are invalid.
“I don’t have the right gear.”
- An DeYoung
“I don’t want to mess up my bike.”
We Need Rain…
But Seriously, At
Laguna Seca, In
July?
I said all that, too. Then I put on my big
girl panties and got my ass out there. I
show up by myself and I’ve never had to
unload my bike alone, never been without
help if needed. It’s probably the best thing
I’ve done to improve my riding. The more
Garrett Gerloff (31) and Cameron Pertersen (45)
enjoying sunny California.
How do you get it to
rain in drought-stricken
California? Host an
international motorcycle
race at one of the most
recognizable tracks in the
world.
Yes, it rained in July, in the
middle of a drought, just in
time for World Superbike
and MotoAmerica to visit
Laguna Seca.
Goodbye, Jethro
With the Calistoga Half-Mile on the horizon, I’d planned to share an update on
Jethro Halbert’s condition this issue—had it half-written, had emailed his fiancé
Ashley for an update, and then got the deeply saddening news that he’d passed.
As I wrote last year (“Update: Jethro Halbert’s Condition” – NCR, November 2014),
I witnessed Jethro’s crash from maybe 100 feet away. It turned my stomach the way he
didn’t move afterwards, and hung over my head the rest of the night. I’ve seen a lot of
crashes, but never been so close to a crash like that.
I took refuge in the fact that my own mom recovered from massive brain trauma, and
has since lived a pretty normal, joyful life. I hoped for the best. But it was not to be—
after months of uncertainty, Jethro passed on August 5th.
Our hearts go out to Jethro’s fiancé Ashley and their son Caleb, and to the rest of his
family.
AMA Class of ’79 has set up a memorial fund—please donate here: amaft79.com/
store/p89/Jethro_Halbert_Memorial_Fund.html
- Surj Gish
Somehow, CityBike got full
media access for the event.
After double-checking
with Editor Surj to make
sure I got to keep my soul
and shoot the event, I
packed up my photo gear and spent the
weekend wandering about the paddock,
rubbing elbows with some of my favorite
international and domestic riders, as well as
some of my friends from the AFM.
I started the weekend on the front straight,
where the MotoAmerica Superbikes were
ripping past at triple-digit speeds. Partway
through their practice session some of
the WSBK teams’ garage doors started
to open, so I wandered over to check out
the baddest bikes at the track as the crews
performed the final twiddles and tweaks.
Shortly after, these machines fired up and
I was stepping out of the path of Chaz
Davies as he made his way to arguably the
best sounding machine in the paddock.
I watched these guys muscle their bikes
through turn three at least three times as
fast as me, and then hiked up the hill to the
corkscrew to check out the rest of the Moto
America lineup.
Photo: Max Klein
One of the perks of having a media pass is
standing on the track as the riders grid up
after their sighting lap. Waiting alongside
the crews for the riders to return and weave
through to their starting positions is quite
an experience.
It’s that couple minutes before the storm
hits, when the thunder is audible in the
distance. That couple of minutes before the
chaotic wind picks up and brings the deluge
of vision-blurring rain.
Speaking of rain… yes, it rained, in July,
during the worst California drought in
recent history. Fortunately, most of the
storm landed overnight didn’t impact the
racing much; however there were some
practice sessions and one race that were
declared wet.
That wet race did not faze Josh Hayes,
who dominated the field by 19 seconds—
on slicks—in the first MotoAmerica
Superbike Race. Other MotoAmerica
Lions, Tigers and Adventure…
Yawn
You’ve undoubtedly heard about the
death of Zimbabwean lion king, Cecil, at
the hands of a wealthy American dentist.
Well, not really at his hands. Bow and
arrow, then gun, if the internet is telling
the truth. Which of course, it always is.
Dentists are sadists (they use drills in
peoples’ mouths!) but I’ve yet to meet
one tough enough to go mano-a-mano
(paw-o?) with a lion.
Those of you still
reading know what
I’m talking about.
Spend bunch of
money on a big,
heavy bike, more
than some poor
wage-slave bastard will make in a year
in much of America. Farkle it (can we
please find a better word for this?) from
soup to axle nuts, with the help of various
catalogs specializing in big-ticket bolt-on
bits that look like serious business. Spend
years researching and planning your big
go-round, and drop a pile of cash to make
it happen. Take lots of photos of yourself
“in the field.”
My friend Deb recently said something
like “I don’t need to see you on your
travels. I want to see where you went,
Let’s get this out of the way right now:
what was cool, what shocked or amazed
I think the death of Cecil was needless,
you.” This narcissistic “I was there” photo
disgusting, and so on. I think sport
proof, whether you’re posing with a lion’s
hunting is dumb, but before (some of)
head or an adventure bike stuck in the
you start scribbling angrily, I’ll add a
corollary: my opinion is just that, and I do mud (yes, I too am guilty as charged)
seems like so much “See! I’m the real deal.
understand the reasons behind hunting.
Some of those reasons make hypothetical I do interesting things!”
sense to me, some don’t, but I still think
Truly adventurous travel is a hell
it’s a silly pursuit, and just have no
of a lofty goal; difficult to attain
interest. I’ll also point out that the .357
for folks with jobs, families,
Magnum mentioned in our uh… testing
responsibilities. Or maybe we
plan for Fastrak’s new Flex tag (“On The just keep accepting that excuse.
Fast Track To Stupid” – NCR, August
We’ve built an entire industry
2015) is mine—point being, dismissive,
around this concept of guided,
“bleeding heart peacenik” accusations are safe, attainable adventure, to the
just not accurate.
point that I’d wager more folks go
But so it goes, right? We hunt, we kill, we to events about adventure travel
than actually ride anywhere
do all kinds of stupid shit in the name
interesting.
of freedom or whatever word we use to
justify that stupid shit.
I’ve been observing the wildfire of selfimportant righteousness on the web, and
pondering the similarities between this
“$50k to bag a lion” and some of the prefab, project-planned “adventure” travel I
often observe in the motorcycling world.
Oh shit. Yeah, I said that.
what’s down this way?” Going it alone,
occasionally doing something stupid.
Figuring it out as you go (bring the duct
tape!), and living through it.
There’s none of that spirit in these paintby-numbers, choreographed “adventures”
being sold to wealthy dreamers, with
luxury hotels and chase vans to make it all
bearable, and you don’t need a UPS truck
full of farkles (ugh, again?) to twist the
throttle and see what happens instead of
architecting exactly what will happen.
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Unfortunately, the inaugural west coast
round of MotoAmerica ended on a somber
note, with the last Superbike race of the
weekend getting off to a disastrous start
that ended in the deaths of two Spanish
riders, Bernat Martinez and Daniel Rivas
Fernandez.
Henry Rollins said, “Knowledge without
mileage is bullshit.” I’d like to add to that:
if you’re paying someone to hold your
hand every mile of the way, to facilitate, to
ensure success, your odometer ought not
track some of those miles.
Chaz Davies won both World Superbike
races after grabbing his first pole position
of the season. Tom Sykes and Johnny Rea
kept Davies company on the podium both
times as they twice finished second and
third respectively.
So how does the conspicuous
consumption of milquetoast motoadventuring differ from big game hunting
in Zimbabwe?
I’m taking partial credit for Chaz’s
success—I told him to have fun out
there when I was hustling out of his way
on Friday. After all, what’s more fun
that taking pole and doing the double in
Monterey?
No lions die, I guess.
Kinda takes the wind out of
those adventurous sails, don’t it?
You know what’s adventurous?
To steal a bloody brilliant phrase
from Lois Pryce: vulnerable
travel. It doesn’t even matter
whether you’re going ‘round the
state or ‘round the world—it’s
the spirit of hitting the road, of
“where’s this go?” or “I wonder
winners were Cameron Beaubier in
Superbike, Mark Heckles and Jake
Gagne in Superstock 1000, JD Beach in
Supersport, Joe Roberts in Superstock 600
and Braeden Ortt in the KTM RC Cup
race.
Eight-year-old Zöe Rice, dau
ghter of Dr.
Tom Rice (you know, the lan
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data guy from UC Berkeley
) drew this
very accurate portrait of Ed
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- Max Klein
Fuzzy Skills Competition
I lose track of stuff sometimes. Case in
point: “Hey darlin’—the SFMC rummage
sale is this Saturday. Wanna check it out
with me? We’ll get there early, score some
cool stuff, and then go check out the police
moto thing.”
Surprisingly, the answer was yes.
Even more surprisingly, at least to me, was
that upon arriving at the Women’s Building
in The Mission, the sale was actually on
Sunday. How I got this wrong, I can’t say—
we had it in the CityBike events calendar,
hell, we even ran an ad for it. In spite of all
that, I somehow put it on my own calendar
on the wrong day, and that’s what I was
going by.
But it was ok, because the “police moto
thing,” properly known as the second
annual International Police Motorcycle
Competition and Exhibition, actually was
on Saturday. 50% accuracy ain’t bad.
Actually, 50% was an F when I was in
school. Moving on…
The whole thing went down on piers 30
and 32 in SF—there’s a big low rectangle
in the middle, where the riders were doing
their dancing, with spectators gathered
around the edges of this makeshift stadium
to watch.
It’s tricky to convey what this is like. If
you’ve watched any gymkhana, you know
what I’m talking about. A sea of cones, cops
on a variety of police bikes zipping through
‘em. There were exhibitors too, from Tokyo
Moto and Spirit Motorcycles to Zero, who
were doing demo rides of their electric
LEO bikes.
“Hey, can I take one of these out for a bit?”
“Funny, you don’t look like a police officer.”
I’ve done the Alameda County Sheriff’s
Office motor classes, so I have enough
proficiency at tight, low-speed maneuvers
to imagine myself riding like these guys—
but it’s really just imagination. The pace
Photo: Surj Gish
and precision demonstrated by some of
the riders was unbelievable. I could barely
keep track of the path through the cones
in some spots, while LEOs on RTs, STs
and H-Ds straight jammed through. There
was even a doubles section, where pairs of
riders attempted to navigate a short course
without “breaking the chain”—an actual
chain loosely connecting the two bikes that
would disconnect if they strayed more than
a few inches.
track with Randy Mamola, Josh Hayes,
Chris Ulrich, and Nicky Hayden?
Impressive.
I’m a pretty solid B+/A- track day rider
(depending on the curve we’re grading on)
and have some club races under my belt,
so being on my home turf with a bunch of
journalists had me passing many riders like
they were sitting still. Then, from out of
nowhere, I get blitzed by some yahoo with
a giant 69 on his back. I’m on the brakes
into the last two turns before the front
straight when Nicky Hayden (yes, that
Nicky Hayden) blasts past me—backed in,
crossed up at pretty much full lock.
So yeah, you’ve seen it on YouTube, but
CityBike sez: next year, get your 100% lawabiding ass out to the pier and watch these
guys do it live.
It’s truly an international event. I know
this because some of the bikes said
policia on them. And it benefits the San
Francisco Police Foundation, and we love
benefit events, even when we don’t totally
understand where the money will go.
Still not good enough? What if I told you
that I got a free Arai Corsair X helmet for
my trouble?
There it is. That’s the look I was going for.
I’ll tell you all about this bitchin’ helmet
next month. For now, let’s talk track time
with stars.
Maybe the funds will go towards launching By the time I hit the front straight, he was
halfway to turn one with his front wheel in
our forward-thinking, undercover
the sky.
distracted driving enforcement program
(“Nuts To Butts In
The Name Of Safer
Max: “I can totally catch that Nicky guy.”
Roads” – NCR,
February 2015).
We can dream.
strategies at other corners at other tracks,
but I was still focused on his pointers.
You know that B+ pace I mentioned? I
forgot to mention that my new, custom-fit
Dainese suit (thanks, D-Store SF!) still
had a virgin right knee puck. I made up my
mind to go out with Josh’s advice in mind
and get a knee
down in my
nemesis corner
set.
- Surj Gish
No Sleep Till
Thunderhill
As WSBK was
wrapping up at Laguna
Seca, I hauled my
spoiled moto-journo
ass onto a full size
tour bus stocked with
snacks, sandwiches,
and enough beer and
whiskey to satisfy all
of John Wayne’s horses
and men, headed
for the glamorous
nightlife of Willows,
California.
I know what you’re thinking. “Willows?
Why would you do such a thing?”
How about for some track time? No?
How about free track time? Not biting?
Well, how about free track time on Ducati’s
899 and 1299 Panigales… and sharing the
Photo: Brian J. Nelson
Later in the day, I listened to Josh Hayes
give some very basic advice about my least
favorite corners at The Hill, 14 and 15,
where earlier in the day Nicky Hayden
showed me good and proper how a world
champion rides.
I listened to Josh for about 15 minutes.
The conversation switched up to passing
After four laps
and no luck,
that blur of a 69
came past me
again about 50
feet later than
the last time.
I got off the
brakes, gave it
some gas, and
got as close to
the rear wheel
of a MotoGP
racer as I ever
will—ten bike
lengths and
climbing.
With Josh’s advice in my head, and the
biggest-named carrot I would ever have to
reach for, I dipped into the corner, pointed
my head at the apex and broke the cherry of
that right puck. I giggled the entire next lap
and pitted knowing it wasn’t going to get
better than that any time soon.
Oh yeah. The helmet is nice too.
- Max Klein
New Stuff
more “Well, I’m out of 2 amp fuses, guess
I’ll use this here 15 amp.”
Doin’ The Neutrino Dance
Need a dumb, always-on circuit? Done.
By Surj Gish
Need a switched circuit that comes on
when the bike is powered up? Yep, no
problem.
Neutrino Systems calls their Black Box a
Bluetooth-enabled power distribution and
control system. Basically, it’s a fuse box
for your bike, albeit a very high tech,
intelligent fuse box.
I was skeptical about the
need for something
like this. Don’t get
me wrong, I dig
interesting tech
as much as the
next guy, unless
that next guy
is a valley tech
nerd, maybe, but
closed-minded
curmudgeon
that I am, I was
hard-pressed to
see the need for
Bluetooth control
over my heated
grips or power port or
whatever. In my mind,
these sorts of things, or
at least the power that feeds
them, are set-and-forget affairs, and
simple fuse boxes have long done
an excellent job of managing
the power needs on my
bikes.
But as is often the case with
grumpy old guys, I missed the bigger
picture; too busy grousing about “these
damn kids and their blue teeth.” Turns out,
there’s some pretty cool, useful stuff going
on inside this thing.
The Black Box is clearly built with serious
touring riders in mind, or maybe hardcore
moto-commuters with long daily rides.
It uses Bluetooth 4 LE to connect, which
means no pesky pairing, and you manage
its configuration via Neutrino’s Cockpit
Controller app. It’s waterproof, shockresistant, has its own remote temperature
sensor, and it can use data from your
smartphone.
There are six circuits with a total
capacity of 60 amps, each of which can be
extensively configured. Each circuit has a
programmable, self-resetting breaker. No
That’s right. I’m talking about your mom.
I know your mom doesn’t like to be cold,
so I set up that circuit to come on based
on temperature. To be clear, I’ve set it
up so your mom gets turned on at 55.4°
Farenheit.
brightness during the day, but I don’t want
to blind anyone at night. Not because I care
about other people’s eyesight—I just don’t
want them to run into me as a result of
Clearwater-induced blindness.
Come on now, don’t take it so personal, ok?
Once again, no problem. I simply configure
the Black Box to lower the power to my aux
lights circuit at sundown.
Now let’s say I get a set of auxiliary lights
on this bike, to help with seeing and being
seen. I want them to run at “cook eyeballs”
What?! How does it know when sundown
is? Skynet? Nope—remember, it uses data
from your smartphone.
But maybe it connects to
Skynet too.
But what if you want that
switched circuit to stay live
for a while when you shut
off the bike, perhaps so you
can futz with your GPS, or
charge your headset in the
topcase while you grab a
sammich, but you don’t want
it to be live forever and risk
killing your battery?
Also, no problem—you can
configure the circuit to stay
hot for incremental periods
up to four hours. Pretty cool,
right? It gets better.
For this exercise, I set up
our V1 Black Box with a
fairly typical assortment of
circuits: Grips, GPS, Power
Port, and Your Mom.
There’s a lot more to this
thing, but if you want to nerd
out at that level, you’ll have to
head over to arborealsystems.
com to check out the extensive
list of features and specs, and
maybe watch the video they
have there.
There’s no question that
the folk at Neutrino have
created an impressive piece
of technology. It’s friggin’
cool. But here at CityBike
HQ , we’re still struggling
a little with the question of
necessity, of whether the Black
Box solves problems that,
frankly speaking, aren’t really
problems.
In the end, that’s up to you. If
you want your heated grips to
come on when it gets cold, and
fog lights to come on when it
gets dark, Neutrino’s Black
Box has you covered.
$249 for v1, $299 for v2. Learn more and get
your own at arborealsystems.com.
Dingos Stole My Baby… And
My Motorcycle!
By An DeYoung
I. B. Gumnut’s Mad Dogs is a colorfully
illustrated children’s book that tells the
story of two dogs stealing a dirtbike and
wreaking havoc on a small farm down
under. By the way, mad means crazy in
Australia, not angry, and hopefully not
rabid.
This hooligan behavior really shouldn’t
surprise anyone, considering Australia’s
history as England’s extra-remote version
of Alcatraz.
I can’t say I blame the dogs. I mean, it’s a
shiny red dirtbike after all.
But is this really the kind of literature we
want our impressionable young future
riders emulating? Are we encouraging
them to steal dirtbikes and run down
innocent animals with these rhymes
and cool pictures of these (admittedly
mad) dogs having a blast on their
misappropriated dirtbikes?
And what about the dogs names? We
know why Red is named Red, but why is
Blue named Blue? Is there a second book
coming with more background? Actually,
yes.
I give this book 7½ wheelies out
of 10. I hope there’s an equally
adorable sequel coming. I want
some answers, damnit. But be
warned, if you buy a copy for
your kid, better plan on buying
a mini dirtbike too.
$10.95. Softcover, 24 pages. Get
a copy at BalboaPress.com or of
course Amazon.com.
A Little Tanks: Cortech
Micro 2.0 Tank Bag
By Surj Gish
I often end up on bikes I haven’t
even seen up until the
moment before I hop on
and ride a few hundred
miles. At minimum, I’d
like to be able to see my
phone, in case I need to
supplement the nonsense coming
out of my badly programmed
internal GPS, and it’d be groovy
to have room for some snacks
and a bit of paperwork. A tank
bag is an ideal answer to these
requirements, but most of are too
big for my taste. Strangely, it seems
designers of ladies’ handbag and
motorcycle tank bags are cut from
the same cloth—they like it big.
Cortech’s Micro 2.0 tank bag
is basically the motorcycle
equivalent of a small clutch
(not that clutch, it’s like a small
purse). It’s just big enough for the
essentials: phone, small snacks,
maybe some sunglasses. Its low profile and
diminutive size (11” x 6.5” x 2”) means it
Maybe in book two, Red and Blue will have doesn’t get in the way when riding, and it’s
new “street names” they adopted in the big easy to carry around if you stop for more
doghouse, after getting busted for grand
than gas.
theft moto.
It’s versatile, too—it has magnets, but can
Was stealing a motorcycle just the
also be a strap-on. Sorry, I meant it can also
beginning? Will the dogs form HAMCRO be mounted with the included straps.
(Hounds of Anarchy Motorcycle Club,
In spite of being downright tiny, or
Rockhampton Original) ride around on
stolen hawgs, pissing on all the hydrants in micro, it offers reasonable capacity and
organization. The main compartment has
town?
a smaller zipper pocket on the outside, and
Repair & Service
another on the inside of the flap. It’s not
expandable, so you run out of space quickly
if you start getting overly ambitious. Sorry,
no foot-longs, Jared.
The phone pocket will hold most
smartphones , but if you’ve fallen prey to
the recent TV-sized phone trend, you’re out
of luck. If your phone fits—which it should
if it’s even close to phone-sized—you’ll find
that the pocket is nicely padded, and tilted
back a bit to make your phone easier to
see—eyes on the road, buddy! There’s also
a little port for headphones.
I was concerned about my phone
overheating in the phone pocket—which
Cortech calls a “media pocket”—but I
didn’t run into any issues, at least not in
the mild weather I rode in. The media
pocket has mesh sides, so it does let some
air pass through. However, I’d bet dollars
to doughnuts that in hot weather, most
phones would quickly give up with nary a
plaintive “I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t stand this
heat.”
And besides, you can’t really lose when
your options are dollars and doughnuts.
So the Micro 2.0 won’t hold your tablet, or
a bunch of cheeseburgers, or even a hat, but
it will hold a phone and auxiliary battery
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camera instead of the perfectly capable
camera in your phone.
$59.99 may seem a little steep for a tiny
tank bag (have you seen what a Kate Spade
clutch goes for?) but the Micro 2.0 fulfills
its purpose well. And anyway, you have to
ask yourself, if you have sixty bucks, would
you rather have a tank bag or ten dozen
doughnuts?
The tank bag, duh. You can get doughnuts
for free at any good bike shop on Saturday
mornings.
$59.99 . Get more info and find out where to
buy at cortech.net.
EVENTS
September 2015
1st Thursday of each month: Bay Area
Moto Guzzi Group Monthly Dinner
(6:00 PM, Giovanni’s, 1127 N. Lawrence
Expy, Sunnyvale) Members, interested
Guzzi riders, persons disillusioned by
their current mode of transport and
other motorcycle riders always welcome.
For more information, contact Pierre at
408.710.4886 or pierredacunha@yahoo.
com.
2nd Sunday of each month: Santa
Cruz Scooter Club Monthly Group
Ride (11:00 AM, Fin’s Coffee, 1104
Ocean Street, Santa Cruz) We meet at
Fin’s Coffee on Ocean Street in Santa
Cruz, and depending on who shows,
the weather, and how much time folks
have, we plan a route for the day. Rides
will be cancelled due to rain. Get more
information at santacruzscooterclub.com.
3rd Sunday of each month: Northern
California Moto Guzzi National
Owners Club Breakfast (9:00 AM,
Putah Creek Cafe, 1 Main St, Winters)
MGNOC members and interested Guzzi
riders meet for breakfast and a good
time. The Putah Creek Cafe is located at
Railroad Avenue. For more information,
contact Northern California MGNOC
Rep, Don Van Zandt at 707.557.5199.
September 12, 2015: Moto Envy Show
(Black Lightning Motorcycle Cafe, 440 F
Street, Eureka, CA)
Cool bikes at a cool moto destination—
the Black Lightning in Eureka. Awards
given based on “most envied” status for
Ducati Bike Nights!
The reason for getting these events
started was to provide a fun, social
atmosphere for Ducati owners, folks
that want to become Ducati owners, and
folks that don’t yet know that they want
to become Ducati owners to sit, eat, talk,
walk around and look at other Ducatis.
All brands and models of motorcycles
are welcome. Get more information at
NorCalDoc.com.
2014 Moto Envy Show in Eureka, CA
Café, Vintage, Sport/Racer, Vintage
Racer, Custom, Rat, Overall and
People’s Choice. Your creepy uncle,
Editor Surj will be one of the judges!
blacklightningmotorcyclecafe.com/motoenvy-show.html
Help SF Moto celebrate their grand
opening and the return of Honda and
Kawasaki to San Francisco! There will be
prizes, deals, test rides, and you can win a
2015 Ninja 300! 11 AM to 4 PM. sfmoto.
com
September 18-20, 2015: 30th Annual
Autumn Beemer Bash (Quincy, CA)
September 24, 2015: Half-Mile Open
House & Barbecue (Marin Speed Shop,
137 Front Street, San Rafael, CA)
Central Cal BMW riders invites you to
the 30th annual Beemer Bash, featuring
famous and free CCBR coffee, beer
garden, Saturday night BBQ , two
Continental breakfasts, GS ride, poker
run, vendors, and speakers (Editor Surj
will be there!). Great camping on grass
and hot showers, wonderful mountain
rides in the Sierra! ccbr.org
September 19, 2015: SF Moto Open
House (SF Moto, 275 8th St San
Francisco, CA)
6:00 to 10:00 PM on the second
Monday of each month at Pizza Antica,
334 Santana Row, #1065 San Jose. For
more information, call 408.557.8373
3rd Wednesday of each month:
Emeryville
6:00 to 10:00 PM on the third
Wednesday of each month at Hot
Italian, 5959 Shellmound Street, No. 75,
Emeryville. For more information, call
510.652.9300.
1st Monday of each month: Mill
Valley
4th Monday of each month:
Sacramento
Join us from 6:00 to 10:00 PM on the
first Monday of each month at The
Cantina, 651 E. Blithedale Ave, Mill
Valley. For more information, call
415.378.8317.
6:00 to 10:00 PM on the fourth Monday
of each month at Hot Italian, 1627
16th Street, Sacramento. For more
information, call 916.444.3000.
1st Wednesday of each month: San
Francisco Ducati Bike Night
Join us from 6:00 to 10:00 PM on
the first Wednesday of each month
at Pier 23 Seafood Cafe, Pier 23, The
Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA
94111. For more information, call
415.362.5125.
4th Monday of each month: MidPeninsula
5:00 to 10:00 PM on the fourth Monday
of each month at Sixto’s Cantina, 1448
Burlingame. For more information, call
650.342.7600.
4th Friday of each month: Concord
6:00 to 10:00 PM on the fourth Friday
1st Sunday of each month: North Bay of each month at Lazy Dog Café, 1961
Diamond Blvd, Concord. For more
Join us from 6:30 to 9:30 PM on the first information, call 925.849.1221.
Sunday of each month at Benissimo, 18
4th Saturday of each month: Novato
Tamalpais Dr, Corte Madera.
6:00 to 10:00 PM on the fourth
2nd Monday of each month: South
Saturday of each month at Boca
Bay
Pizzeria, 454 Ignacio Blvd, Novato. For
more information, call 415.883.2302.
Meet Triumph Factory AMA Pro Flat
Track team riders #44 Brandon Robinson
(Latus Motors / Castrol / Triumph)
and #55 Jake Shoemaker (Bonneville
Performance / Castrol / Triumph /
Ramspur Winery) and get revved up for
the Half-Mile! marinspeedshop.com
September 24-27, 2015: Horizons
Unlimited Travellers Meeting
(Yosemite, CA)
pass from us here at CityBike, so make
it count! gentlemansride.com/rides/
united+states/san+francisco
October 10-11, 2015: California State
Championship Hillclimb & Verticross
Series (Carnegie SVRA, 18600 Corral
Hollow Rd, Tracy, CA)
See the “U.S. Open of Verticross” at
Carnegie SVRA, featuring the best
hillclimb and verticross racers on the west
coast! Tickets are just $20, kids under 6
are free. Racing starts at 9:00 AM both
days. skipspromotions.com/events/
Want your event in our calendar? Send a
note to editor@citybike.com with details
like who, what, when, where, why and we’ll
add it. Maybe. If it’s something cool. Send
your stuff early—more notice is better.
Woodstock for adventure travelers! (or
those that would like to be) Camp out for
the weekend and fully immerse yourself
in exhibits, classes, an endless stream of
tech tips, camaraderie and moto-travel
passion. horizonsunlimited.com/events/
california-2015
September 26, 2015: Calistoga HalfMile (1435 N Oak St, Calistoga, CA)
Flat track action in the heart of wine
country—last 2015 race before the finale
in Vegas! Get there Saturday morning
to witness the Rider’s Parade: AMA
Pro riders thundering down the main
streets of Calistoga on their race bikes.
flattrackcalistoga.com
September 26, 2015: Another
Ride with Ladies and Gentlemen
of Distinction (Baker Beach, San
Francisco, CA)
If you don’t subscribe to the notion that
you have to ride an “authentic” old bike
(or a decidedly inauthentic new bike
made to look like an old one) to go on
a ride that raises money for prostate
cancer, but for some reason still want to
dress up and ride around SF, this ride’s
for you. Starts at 10 AM. facebook.com/
events/873313196095103/
September 27, 2015: Distinguished
Gentleman’s Ride (San Francisco, CA)
You know the deal. Dress your candy
ass up fancy-like, show up with an old
(or old-looking) bike, and ride to raise
funds for prostate cancer research
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IN (GS)XS 2015 Suzuki GSX-S750
By Surj Gish
Photos by Bob Stokstad
Illustration by Sam Devine
S
uzuki’s answer to all these naked
sporty-bikes, the GSX-S750, isn’t
sexy in a “ooh, look at that carbon
fiber” kind of way. There’s a lot of steel
where a “nicer” bike would be aluminum,
and while we’re not talking the level of
budget-y-ness that we see with 300cc entrylevel sporty-bikes, there’s definitely not a
lot of cool factor present in the parts, which
seems to be how we motorcyclists define
this stuff. “What? No Brembos. Pfffft.”
Come on now. The basic bike lists at
$7,999, and the blue and white Gixxeresque Z model costs an extra $150. Maybe
we’re out of touch, but we think that’s not a
lot of money for a new bike.
We’ll get to that story in a moment, but
here’s the deal—if you get close to the bike,
it’s easy to start picking it apart: “The levers
are cheap. This kickstand looks like it’s
made from sardine cans.” It’s not that bad,
but you know how we are.
But from even a few feet away, and
especially from the front, it looks badass,
like GSX-R badass, like the way people who
don’t ride talk about sportbikes, like they’re
fire-breathing beasts that eat children and
kittens for breakfast, and skip lunch to save
room for your grandma.
Remember in the eighties, when people
sometimes said “evil” in that drawn out
way, to mean something like “really cool?”
It looks like that. Eeeviiiil.
Well, our blue and white Z does. The black
one is surprisingly pedestrian-looking for
a blacked-out motorcycle. Almost like an
SV650 with a four-banger.
It looks bitchin’—the 750Z we shared
amongst the Wrecking Crew turned heads
everywhere, especially when Sam was on it. Anyway, the Gixxer-esque look speaks to
the dual personalities present here, or at
least the personality Suzuki wants us to
believe exists in the GSX-S. Marketing
materials for the Gixxis talk about the
original GSX-R, how it was a street-legal
beast, born on the circuit, and how this
bike takes that heritage (aw jeez, here
we go…) and gives it “even more street
smarts.” Built for excitement and all that.
It’s the perfect bike, at least optically, for
someone who rides around the city every
day and really just needs a basic UJM-type
thing, but wants to look a little more rabid.
Like they could be trouble, even if they’re
not.
But does it walk that talk? Kinda , sorta.
On paper, it looks heavy and kinda lowtech. Put that piece of paper next to the
one with the FZ-09 on it (you knew that
was coming, right?) and it looks like Pam
Poovey next to Cheryl Tunt, and I’m not
referring to Pam’s slim, sexy, cocaine-dietand-outlaw-country phase.
We’re talking about a difference of 56
pounds in claimed wet weight: 470 for the
Gixxis, 414 for the Fizzy. You know how
the wise guy on that forum you hang out
on always says, “the best way to trim weight
from your bike is to stop eating pizza?”
That’s a lot of pizza. And I do love pizza.
The GSX-S also lacks modern tech like
ABS, traction control, and switchable
power modes. That stuff was just optional
whiz-bang even a couple years ago, but now
it’s almost required for a bike to be in the
running.
Doesn’t seem fair, right? We’re so mean to
the chubby one, even if she is pretty.
I almost don’t want to talk about the
rest of the specs because they’re just not
that interesting. I know, I know—harsh,
bro. But it’s the truth: inline four, two
overhead cams, four valves per cylinder,
six-speed tranny, blah blah blah. It’s a mix
of reassuringly familiar and unfortunately
boring. Not bad, just not exciting.
“Are you done whining, Surj?”
Yeah, ok. Point taken. Instead of cartoon
characters, cocaine and pizza, let’s talk
about how Nikki Gixx rocks and rolls down really fair for me to bitch about the boingy
bits, emphasis on boingy in this case. Fork
the road.
and shock are only adjustable for preload,
Really, it’s more adult contemporary than
so to really tune it for this big baby’s back,
rock ‘n’ roll. Sure, it’s a catchy beat, and you I’d have to spend some money.
can dance to it, but it’s no Born To Be Wild,
Ergos—for me—were a little
although for now, I’m going to resist the
sportier than I prefer for a
urge to say “… but it could be Born To Be
standard, which is what this
Mild.”
bike is, in spite of the pseudoracey styling. I wasn’t all
folded up, but found myself
hunching a bit too much. I
hated it on the freeway, and
I’m a fan of naked bikes.
Couldn’t really put my
finger on why, though, and
Sam didn’t mind it on I5,
once he had dealt with his
demons—and gotten some
soup—in that bar and grill.
Yes, that’s the story we’re
gonna get to in a moment. I
promise.
Oops.
Remember how I said the GSX-S would be
a good bike for the city? Max—who didn’t
write anything about the Gixxis (a moniker
he coined) because he was swapping
Acceleration? Yeah, it
accelerates, but again, just
not very exciting. It’s an
inline four—it does its thing
so you can do your thing,
and that’s a fair trade, unless
you’re more interested in discussing
“character” over espresso. But I will
say that it moved me down the road
just fine, without really moving me.
Yow. All that sounds pretty brutal, like
I—we—don’t like the bike, and that’s just
not true. But in a post FZ-09 world (if you
haven’t heard that phrase before, I’m sorry
for using it here—it sounds so assholish),
it’s hard to advocate
for a Gixxis over the
Fizzy—although
the (d’oh!) Nine has
its own issues, too.
“No problem,” I say, pointing to the map.
“I came up highway 33 and then across on
58.”
“You did highway 58? That’s a twisty road.”
“Yeah, it’s fun!”
“I rode that with my boyfriend, well, my
ex-boyfriend since a couple days ago.
I’m saving up for my own bike. It says
‘motorcycle fund’ on my tip jar. What type
of bike you on? Crotch rocket?”
“Well, sort of. It’s a GSX-S, kind of a detuned Gixxer. Aimed at commuters that
want to have some fun, too.”
The GSX-S750 is a
fine motorcycle, and
totally competent—
it’s arrived at the
naked (bike) party
a little late, a little
light on charms, a
little heavy on the
scale.
But oh, that smile. If
you always wanted
skidmarks with Nicky Hayden up at T-Hill,
a blue and white Gixxer and just couldn’t
thought it might make a good mount for a
single-bike city dweller who rides it ‘round justify a hard-edged sportbike for regular
old street riding, a 750Z might be just the
town but also does track days. That’s a
ticket, and the damaged-goods waitress in
reasonable assessment—but for it to be a
good track mount, it’ll need a bit of tuning. search of a man—any man—with a bike
won’t know the difference.
The front brakes (dual 310mm rotors, dualpiston calipers) are uninspiring, a little
Problem Solving
wooden. They’re not weak, they just don’t
By Sam Devine
have a lot of feel. The rear brake was ok in
It’s a foggy night outside on the 101
my book.
freeway. Our brand new GSX-S750Z is
If you’re wondering exactly what my
parked in front of a bar and grill. I’m sitting
book says about rear brakes, there are two
inside near the bar on a high-backed stool,
chapters, one for ABS, one for without.
watching the Warriors play the Grizzlies
The “Seriously, no ABS in 2015?” chapter
on the TV. I’m shaking from the chill as I
says, “Well, ok, if there’s no ABS, the rear
eat my soup when the hot blonde waitress
brake better have nice linear feel, be easy
comes over and sits down next to me.
to modulate, and capable of the occasional
skidmark, just for funsies.” The Gixxis ticks “Can I see where you’re going?” she asks,
pulling over my tank bag, a folded map
all those boxes.
of California displayed in its plastic
Suspenders were serviceable. I’m a husky
window. She smiles and says: “As I just look
gentleman (or at least husky), so it’s not
anyway.”
“Uh-huh. So where are you heading?”
“Back to San Francisco.”
“What are you doing down here?”
“I flew down to LA to pick up the bike for
CityBike Magazine. Now I’m just riding it
back to the Bay so we can review it.”
“Well that’s pretty cool. So you got a wife,
kids, girlfriend?”
“Nope, no, and almost. How about you?”
I ask, looking at a ring on her finger.
“Married? Kids?”
possibilities. It seems a little
too likely that a patch club
biker boyfriend might come
by to make up after midnight,
see a fancy new crotch rocket
in front of his lady’s house and
go berserk. Now that’s a scene
I don’t want to be part of.
“I’ve got two kids. Not married.
Like I said, recent break up. He’s
in a motorcycle club. But he got
me fired from my other job for
fighting. It’s like, I get it. You boys
are gonna do what you’re gonna
do, but I don’t need it coming
around bragging about sleeping
with my boyfriend. Just keep it
out of my face, you know what I’m
saying?”
But she’s hot, says the demon.
But the girl back home, says
the angel.
“Yeah, you don’t need that.”
Well, you know, says the
demon, if you stay the night,
you would have all day
tomorrow to ride some more
twisties home tomorrow.
“So are you leaving tomorrow?”
“Well, I was thinking about
staying the night. I had a bit too
much fun this afternoon and now
I’m pretty far behind schedule.
I’m a little worried about leaving
the bike out overnight, though.
Any cheap hotels here in town?”
“Well, I have my own place. You
could stay on the couch. There’s
no garage but it’s back pretty far,
so… The only thing is that I don’t
get off until midnight, so you’d
have to hang out.”
Good point, says the angel.
and you’re responsible for it. And don’t
forget about that lady you’re seeing back
Holy Shit! Yells the demon on my shoulder. home. You like her. What are you going to
tell her?
The hot waitress is inviting you over! To
her house! Tonight!
Doesn’t this get the biker-dreams override?
Well, what about the bike, though? Asks the Counters the demon.
angel on the opposing side. It’s not yours
I’m still a little on the fence
when she comes by to chat
some more. She lets slip that
she has a couple felonies for
theft, owes the state a bunch
of money, isn’t allowed to have
a credit card. She also admits
Hmmm, yes, says the angel. According to
that her boyfriend has asked
our files there is a standing policy regarding her to help him steal bikes from in front of
this situation.
the bar.
Man, I think. Between talking to the
waitress and confronting this moral
dilemma, things are really getting in the
way of eating this soup. My hands are still
freezing. Better play it relaxed for now...
“Hmmm. Guess I’ll have to flip a coin on
that one,” I say as she walks towards the
bar.
I’d spent the afternoon ripping around
the Los Padres National Forest. I’d fooled
around, running back and forth through
my favorite sections, pushing the bike on
straightaways and leaning through curves.
All in all, the GSX-S is a fun and capable
bike with the upright posture of a standard
and peg-positioning of a sport-bike. It has
enough acceleration and braking power to
handle the express-lane parking-lot grabbag that is the LA freeway system. And
it’s sporty enough for twisting mountain
roads.
Now I’m eating a cheap steak with mashed
potatoes slathered in gravy, drinking
a Coors Light and considering the
That’s all highly dissuasive, but the main
thing that keeps me heading northward
is the girl I’m seeing. I would have a hard
time telling her about my trip if I stayed
the night, even if I don’t get laid (Shit,
she’ll probably be wary of every trip I go on
after she reads this). And wouldn’t fooling
around with a woman that just broke up
with a guy for fooling around be doubly
depraved? Shouldn’t I stop the vicious cycle
and get on the motorcycle?
After mulling it over, it turns out I have
another standing rule, that’s kinda like the
tie going to the runner in baseball. Can
you do away with the problem by riding a
motorcycle? Yeah? Then get on the bike,
Jack.
It’s just about 3 AM as I crawl beneath the
covers, chuckling after a long, hot shower.
The GSX-S750 handled the midnight
freeway like a champ, steadily maneuvering
past big rigs and sensible sedans in the
darkness of the rolling hills.
What a day.
Ninjas Among Us
2015 Kawasaki Ninja 1000
By Sam Devine
Photos by Bob Stokstad
he mountain peaks of the Angeles
National Forest are shrouded in
mist. Rocks are trickling down
gravelly inclines, peppering the wet
roadway with stone soccer balls and dirty
marbles. And the Ninja 1000 is making
quick work of the hazards, cutting between
the debris, weaving around a stopped Prius
driver, struggling to dislodge a rock from
beneath the car’s undercarriage.
will come on and you’ll just feel a little
chatter. But it won’t slip on you.”
while remaining as docile and threatening
as a house cat.
It’s several hours later and Tehachapi Pass
is curving by like a roller coaster. Even in
low-power mode, the 16-valve, DOHC,
direct-fuel-injected, 1043 cc engine isn’t
searching for pick-up. Instead I’m scanning
for CHP, having unintentionally crept into
triple digits several times.
Blasting past tractor trailers is usually
intimidating, no matter what you’re
And the slick, pea-gravel strewn roads of
the Angeles Crest Highway are proving this piloting. But this giant kitten, this Ninja
true. Traction control and ABS brakes keep with its adjustable windscreen and upright
me cool as a cucumber in a situation that’s posture, is making it a game of big-rig leap
frog. Cruising in fourth gear, plentiful
about as hairy as they come.
torque rockets the bike past the truck like
This latest iteration of the ubiquitous
a sports car passing a horse and buggy. As
Ninja is extremely well behaved. Imagine
with many large, modern bikes, the sixyou were an international crime kingpin
speed transmission is barely necessary for
and a rival boss had a tiger, but then you
casual day-to-day riding. Most public roads
showed up with this giant kitten that was
can be handled in first and second gear,
The parting words of a Kawasaki employee at least twice the size of Siegfried’s little
with fifth and sixth gears for either speeds
ring in my mind, offering reassurance:
jungle cat. With two power settings and
above 120 or for fuel economy upwards of
four traction control modes (including off), 40 miles per gallon.
“If you keep it in traction control when it’s
this snarling animal can zip around and
raining—like now—you can hit a metal
One of the trudging 18-wheelers I pass is
outperform almost anything on the road
cover or some crosswalk paint and a light
equipped with sideview mirrors similar
T
to the Ninja—both positioned nearer the
headlights than the operator, jutting out
like strange antennae. This is probably
fine on a truck—presumably adjustable
via some electronic knob. But on the Kawi,
those mirrors are just barely out of reach
when rolling. This is the only noticeable
difficulty with this bike and, once properly
adjusted, they do provide more than the
usual shoulder and elbow close-up most
sportbike mirrors tend to offer.
Back in San Francisco, a few days later,
and I’m riding the Ninja around town,
running errands. I’m enjoying the relaxed
ergometrics, finding the bike extremely
comfortable with a body position that’s
mostly upright but with sporty foot-peg
positioning. The pegs are just a little
close to the dual exhaust, but they seem
insulated enough and provided more
footing for the hands-free standing we like
to do on gradual downhills.
The Ninja is also relatively nimble for its
509 lb curb weight. Parking and low-speed
lane splitting—while still work and not
recommended for beginners—aren’t as
much a bear as expected. And over the
bumps, potholes and downhills, I have no
urge to mess with the adjustable preload on
either the inverted front forks or the rear
mono-shock.
I’m also enjoying the attention it’s drawing.
Heading East on California Street, a cabby
pulls up and says: “Oh, man! Nice bike.
That has thousand CC? Wow! Bet it fast!”
For the first run, I set the power to low
and traction control on 1 out of 3—the
least interference in the engine’s bizzness
without actually being off. And the
performance is respectable: 112 mph and
some change, 12-point-something seconds
for time.
“Yeah, man. It’s pretty sweet. I’m just trying
to stay out of trouble on it.”
“Wow! So cool!” He declares, hanging out
the window, leering at the tank.
limiter kicks in, slowing the bike fast—way
more jarring than the traction control.
to be able to lock up the rear tire. And a
certain amount of skill vanishes when the
computer is skirting the edge for you. But
This time the numbers come in at 120 mph traction control actually increases speed
and 11.65 seconds. Damn. Good thing I
and safety. At Thunderhill a few weeks ago,
wore the one-piece suit, otherwise I’d be
I heard about a rider with a new, tractiondone for the night due to speed regulation / controlled liter bike that was unwittingly
requirements.
leaving black marks around every turn.
Someone finally told him to scale it back a
notch, but without the fly-by-safety-wire
he could have gotten a harsh notification
scrawled on asphalt and dirt with his own
leathers.
A few days later and the cliffs and canyons
above Stinson Beach are zipping by. The
Ninja takes the twisties, the straights, dirt,
gravel, hot and cold patches all in stride.
And I really have no complaints about its
performance. U-turns on narrow, two-lane
roads demand using the dirt shoulders
and staying focused. But it’s far easier
than other bikes we’ve had the pleasure of
flippin’ a B’ on.
The light at Van Ness changes and he gets a
little demonstration as I rip down the hill to
Polk Street before he’s even taken his foot
off the brake.
Wednesday night rolls around and the
motorcyclists at Sears Point Raceway in
Sonoma are shooting the shit, discussing
the elapsed times and modifications of
different bikes. I’ve been here before and
they’re more open to conversation when
you show up on a fast, new toy.
“Oh, so you’re just here shaking down
the loaner bike. That’s cool,” says Scott, a
silver-haired drag racer with a tricked-out
Sporty.
Now I set the power to full, with traction
control remaining at 1. The lights flash
green and I whack the throttle back.
Yep, that’s the gig. Get up to the line and do Somewhere around 10,000 rpms, the front
a conventional street take-off, no pre-start end gently raises up. A yellow dash light
burn-out—this ain’t my bike and I have
flashes and the front eases back down, just
no interest in testing what it’s like to pick
as smoothly as it came up. The bike keeps
up and/or repair. Just Joe Blow at a stop
hauling ass, with no discernible decrease in
light, ready to blow the doors off the other acceleration.
commuters.
After clearing the finish gate, the engine is
wailing like a baby at an airport and the rev-
Lastly, traction control gets turned off.
Nerves start bubbling while waiting with
the big cat off its electric leash. The bikes
are next in line when a blue Camaro blows
fluid all over the left strip. We wait twenty
minutes while a flame-throwing Zamboni
burns things back to safety.
Things feel good off the line but then,
suddenly, the bike slows down. “What’s
going on? Hey! The rear is drifting left!
The tire must be burning o—oh! It’s
hooked back up! Tuck! Shift! Redline!
Shift! Redline! Shift!” Riding back down
the return road, I laugh. The rear end was
spinning like Scooby Doo running from a
guh-guh-guh-ghost!
Full power, no TC yields the worst time
of the three—nearly 13 seconds—but the
second-fastest speed at 115 mph.
So, really, traction control is pretty sweet.
Usually, if we thwack the throttle just a
little too much, a number of things can
go wrong. A really good rider can correct
those things, but not as fast or as well as
a computer can. Even experienced drag
racers sometimes slip and fall during
accidental burnout starts.
Sure, there are instances—especially on
dual-sports and dirtbikes—when you want
Besides running a little warm for southern
comfort at times, the main disappointment
is that the bike is a loaner. It would be
fantastic to see what it could do with less
fear of damage and more time to hit the
same corners.
So if you’re looking to pick up a sexy,
comfortable sport-tourer that leans towards
sport, consider the Ninja 1000. Sure, for
$11,999 you could get a used Mini Cooper
instead. But the Mini’s not gonna get under
12 seconds in the quarter mile.
Ninja National Tour
By Max Klein
I’ve lived in California for almost 20 years,
and despite residing a couple hours away, I
have never been to Yosemite. Upon hearing
this, a friend of mine (almost) literally
flipped out at me.
“What!?! You have never been to the
motherland?!? You will go, and this is not a
request!”
Point taken. So when CityBike’s Ninja 1000
needed to go back its home in LA, I figured
since I had some free time, I would satisfy
my friend’s demands. Oh yeah, and visit
my Dad who would be on vacation at Zion
National Park in Utah.
LA the hard way. Three days, four states,
1,300 miles.
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My plan: bomb through Yosemite, tickle
Vegas, and end up in Zion on the first day,
giving me a day to hang out with pops,
followed by a nice leisurely ride into LA.
Plans. Best laid…
Once into Yosemite, I decided to explore a
little, which turned into a lot. Before I knew
it I’d burned an extra hour and a half. That
combined with gridlock in both directions
due to people stopping to photograph a
suspension was well balanced as I motored
out of the turns. In addition to mid-corner
stability, Ninja also felt solidly planted at
straightline speeds that may or may not be
illegal in all 50 states.
About seven hours into the ride, I realized
that the honeymoon was over for the seat
and my ass. I found myself fidgeting up
and down, trying to stay comfortable and
focused. It was also about this time that I
noticed I had not passed a gas station since
I filled up in Lee Vining. Hell, I hadn’t even
seen a sign for gas! Minutes later, I had to
stop for a road crew cleaning up flash flood
debris. I shut off the motor and exchanged
pleasantries with the human stop sign post.
Moto-Sectomy
No incisions! No stitches! A modern miracle!
Stop your
swimmers with just
12 hours of numb nuts.
Say goodbye to
pregnancy fears,
paternity suits and the
endless pain of
fatherhood.
“Hey, where is the closest gas station?” I
asked cheerfully.
His expression went blank. “Gotta be damn
passenger seat, even standing on the pegs at
near 60 miles,” he said over the top of his
80 mph. Nothing really helped.
bifocals.
45 minutes into the trip to Utah I thought
I turned the key and pointed to the
about how it was unlikely I would ever have
remaining miles till empty.
children after this ride, and by the time I hit
“Looks like I have 70 miles left in the tank, Zion I was uncomfortably numb… down
so I should be fine.”
there.
I don’t think either one of us was overly
confident in the estimate.
bear (it’s a road, people, not a parking lot!)
meant I was way behind schedule.
Once free of the bearwatchers, I fueled
up both the bike and me at the Whoa
Nellie Deli in Lee Vining, then headed
east at a spirited pace, planning to take
120 to 6 to 264/6 to 95 into Vegas. I took
full advantage of the Ninja’s prodigious
power on 120, making up lost time and
experiencing momentary weightlessness
in the rollercoaster section, trying to stay
ahead of a storm that was rolling in.
The bike was quick, the acceleration
addictive.
I was very impressed with the Ninja’s
effortless handling in the twisty bits.
Corner entry was predictable and the
Once the road was clear I tiptoed along
at about 70mph on the uphills and flats,
and pulled the clutch in on the downhills.
I convinced myself that I was actually
gaining fuel after the remaining range
number increased after an exceptionally
long downhill. 210 miles out of Lee
Vining, I rolled into Eddie World Gasoline
in Beatty, Nevada, and exhaled.
I put 4.893 gallons into a 5 gallon tank. +1
for fuel economy.
Knowing my original schedule was blown,
I called a friend in Vegas and secured a
couch to surf for the next couple of nights.
My new plan: hit Zion first thing in the
morning, grab lunch with my dad and then
reconnect with my Vegas friend for dinner.
About 7 AM the next morning, I mounted
up and knew right away that I was in for
an agonizing, uncomfortable ride. I tried
shifting my weight, sitting up on the
But the rest of the bike more than makes up
for that, and aftermarket seats are easy to
find. The suspension was good, the power
invigorating, and while the windscreen was
lacking the coverage of a “real” sport tourer,
it was top notch for a sportbike.
Fuel economy was equally impressive.
36 miles per gallon between Lee Vining
After lunch just outside Zion with my Pops,
and Beatty might not sound great, but
I was back on the road headed into a 30
remember I was in flat, wide open, desert
mph alternating headwind / crosswind.
with no traffic for a couple hours, on a liter
Changing my riding position for comfort
bike. I’m not saying that I was well into
was no longer an option, so for 2 ½ hours
triple digits for minutes at a time, but I’m
I was stuck hanging slightly off the left
also not, not saying it. You dig?
side of the bike at a 20 degree lean angle,
my nether regions crying out in pain and
I don’t think Kawasaki intended this thing
fading away like Marty McFly’s picture in
to be a touring bike, but it fills the void
Back to The Future.
between supersport and touring machines
nicely. The ergonomics were perfect for
By the time I re-entered Vegas, if anyone
the first day of this trip—I never would
had said “hey numbnuts!” I would have
have been able to do 10 hours straight on
had to respond with “what can I do for
a supersport, at least not without seeing a
you?” That was true for the next 4 hours.
chiropractor halfway through. And I had
You don’t want to know what the trip from
way more fun than I would have had on a
Vegas to LA was like.
tourer.
Beyond the seat’s unsuitability for long
So if you’re not into these tall-rounder,
freeway treks, I found very little to
pseudo-adventure sport tourers that Editor
complain about. If I’d ridden south via
Surj loves so much, maybe you need a Ninja
coastal roads, I probably wouldn’t have
1000 with hard bags. Ride to the Sierras,
noticed the masonry apparently hiding
spend some time in Yosemite, do Vegas the
beneath the seat fabric.
hard way. Wear padded shorts.
Magni-fique
new frames based on his years refining
MV’s chromoly GP frames. Over the
years, customizers have stuffed different
motors in, culminating with current plans
to produce a limited run with modern
Triumph 675 triples. But before Brent,
there hadn’t been a British blend.
Brent enlisted the help of Jerry Liggett
of Triple Tecs, one of the world’s top
experts in building British triples. Brent
had originally inquired about a street
tracker build using the Rocket motor, but
when talk turned to cafe racers and that
beautiful Magni frame, they both agreed
on the proper recipe. Jerry prescribed the
additional bore, stroke, and strengthening
of internal components, while keeping
the tune friendly to pump gas. The goal
was simple—Brent wanted the ultimate
1970s streetable triple. Aside from modern
rubber, the bike was to be kept largely
period correct. Blending the Italian and
British parts turned out to be relatively
straightforward—Magni created the
required engine mounts, while Brent and
Jerry made minor alterations to other
factory pieces.
By Jeff Ebner
of a kind Magni-framed BSA-powered
Hailwood-era dream machine. Nestled
Photos by Jeff Ebner
in the featherweight Italian GP replica
y footsteps echo as I walk into
frame is Brent’s favorite motor: a BSA
Brent Lenehan’s garage in
Rocket triple, bored to over 900ccs and
Alameda. Rows of new and
Beside the BSA sat an almost 100 year
putting 90-ish
old motorcycles sit in various states of
old Sunbeam with wicker sidecar. Mostly
horsepower to
assembly. Brent greets me and his voice
unrestored, it’s a charming sight. The
the rear wheel.
booms in the huge space. What was once
black paint is aged and some bolt heads
With a wet
the local Chevrolet dealership’s service bay have gone rusty, but the elegant design and
weight under
is now a place where he and his friends can simple, bare mechanicals make it gorgeous
400 pounds and
indulge their motorcycle addiction without all the same. It’d suffice as an art object but
a dramatically
the mutual annoyance of wives, landlords
as with all these machines, it will be ridden. short 54-inch
or neighbors.
wheelbase,
it’s a recipe
for supersport
agility and
acceleration.
M
field in his native Australia, parked outside
for over 60 years. Today it looks as new,
in the stunning stock green and chrome
finish.
A little
background—Arturo Magni was MV
Agusta’s race department head through the
1970s with Hailwood and Agostini. Years
later, he and his sons began producing
Brent gives his ’36 BSA a quick once-over.
When I first visited him, he had just
returned from the Quail motorcycle
gathering where his just-finished 1936 BSA
had won second place British bike among a
crowded field. He’d found it in a rancher’s
The bike I’d come to see might be Brent’s
favorite of all. Off to the side, underneath
a ghostly sheet, I recognize the distinctive
shape. Brent uncovers the bright red paint
and gives me the tour of his truly one
Brent thumbs the starter and the motor
barks to life, the loping idle reverberating
off the concrete walls. The hot cam makes
it sound eager, and a quick rev of the
lightweight flywheel affirms the notion.
Brent suggests a ride. My eyes go wide. I
had driven a hatchback loaded with camera
gear here, but he offers a helmet and gloves.
Do I dare refuse such a generous gesture?
I quickly accept before I’ve thought it
through and
hop on his
KTM 350 to
follow him
out of town.
We stop
near the
airport
and swap
bikes. The
warmed
up motor
sounds
more vocal
now—more urgent. Pulling away gingerly,
I remind myself of the inverted GP shift
pattern and Brent’s recommended 7,000
RPM redline. I short shift to third and
cruise, getting a feel for the bike at speed.
It is indeed as agile as it looks, but the
ride is well damped and even feels fairly
modern. Downshifts are a joy—toss the
tiny flywheel with a breath of throttle and
catch it with the slick-shifting transmission.
The first few kinks in the road demonstrate
the bike’s manic agility and I’m cackling
in my helmet. Brent pulls in front and
raises the pace a bit, up through the cogs
again, this time to fourth. We pass beneath
an overpass and I take the opportunity
to crack the half-turn throttle wide and
sample the soundtrack through the
beautiful 3 into 3 swan-neck megaphones.
The howl that develops in the midrange
sends shivers down my spine and I start to
sweat in my borrowed gloves. Letting the
throttle close, the open-throat song turns
to a more mechanical bass line. Squeezing
the brake lever the forks compress just
slightly and we slow smoothly. The bike is
very stable, easy to ride—despite
its instantly accessible potential.
Precise is the word that comes
most to mind—there is not one
wasted motion in its action.
Neither is there any imprecision to
its aesthetics. Nothing about this
bike is superfluous or sloppy. It is a
perfect fantasy made physical.
We pull a u-turn beneath another
concrete overpass, over greasy dirt
and broken glass. I can’t
help but blip the throttle
nervously, the bike
almost anticipating my
mood. We carve an arc as
tight as Brent’s dirtbike
and accelerate from just
above idle. The bike pulls
cleanly, torquey down
low, with a linear build in
power. It’s a very friendly,
predictable motor that
just happens to smoke
crack cocaine. The bike’s
light weight and short
wheelbase mean that
spirited acceleration
is a thrilling and brief
event. We climbed up
three gears about as quick as a
generation old supersport might,
but with a bit more drama, and a
lot more charm.
Before we ride back, I’m treated
to one more third-gear sweeper.
Easing on the throttle, I hunch
over the long, low tank and see
exactly what’s so special about this bike,
motor, and owner. This is the rare dream
bike that rides as well as it looks, and
manages to evoke classic heritage while
carving a new history all it’s own. Ride on,
Brent!
Jeff is CityBike’s wandering photojournalist.
He recently replaced his 72,000+ mile SV
with another SV, which he promptly replaced
with a CBR600. So it goes.
BMW Motorrad
USA
©2015 BMW Motorrad USA, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The BMW name and logo are registered trademarks.
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Remembering and Honoring
Ed Cavanaugh
By Sam Devine and Poll Brown
B
eloved San Francisco rider, teacher
and youth advocate Ed Cavanaugh
went missing while riding his
dirtbike in El Dorado County. Family,
friends, students and fellow riders searched
for days, and his body was found on
Wednesday, July 4th.
person. In some of the most majestic and
rugged mountains on earth, the most
beautiful thing I witnessed was friendship.
While walking the trails as part
of the volunteer search party I
got to know one of his former
students, a tough-looking, wiry
kid who’d dropped everything
to come out and help find
Poll: The day I met Ed we rode together
his friend, his mentor. He
in a pack of home-built choppers, down
told me that once while on
the coast and back again. Ed’s bike had
a wilderness training camp,
been cobbled together last-minute;
some of the students had
inspired by a mutual friend he’d decided
decided to go off alone
to build a chopper, something he’d never
and find a swimming hole.
done before. That day his bike repeatedly
Concerned for their welfare,
stopped running, but he never got angry,
Ed and this young man
not once—he was having too much fun.
had double-timed it to find
Once we finally got him running and
them—and find them
headed back, we’d only travelled a couple
of miles before coming across another rider they did, having a blast,
swimming and diving and
having bike trouble. Without hesitation,
he swung his bike around to see if he could generally messing around
the way youngsters do.
help the other rider get back on the road.
Most folks with an ailing bike would have
scurried home, not Ed. His helmet came
off and he got right down on his knees
and immediately started helping a total
stranger. I knew then that we’d be friends
for life.
Ed was a rare type of individual, with an
insatiable appetite for life—and he wanted
you to enjoy everything as much as he did.
Whether it was surfing, mountain biking,
martial arts, riding motorcycles, writing
poetry, cooking or teaching, Ed loved just
loved to share.
Sharing knowledge was his livelihood—
Ed founded a class for inner city kids that
taught them math, physics, geometry,
organization and teamwork—not by
drumming it into them and having them
learn by rote but by practical application
in the building of boats. He shared his
knowledge and love
of the outdoors by
escorting groups
of students into the
wilderness—teaching
them how to survive,
how to live in an
environment by using
its resources and
interacting with it.
The toughest thing about
being friends with Ed was
trying to keep up. He had
so much enthusiasm for
so many things that his
friends were as numerous
as they were varied, simply
as a consequence of few
people being able to equal
his energy.
When I got the news that he was missing,
I knew it wouldn’t be good, but I’ve never
seen so many folks from so many different
walks of life come together to help one
Instead of marching
into their midst and
yelling at them, the pair
climbed up to a rocky
outcropping where
they could watch the
group without being
detected, and Ed calmly brewed
some tea, kept watch and made sure they
stayed safe. Later, he gently scolded them
and reminded them of the importance of
communicating your intentions to others
while out in such wild places, all the time
smiling that huge smile of his.
Now that he’s passed, he continues to
give the gift of community—his greatest
legacy. Like his giant smile, I’m sure it will
continue to grow. In the mountains I made
new friendships and re-kindled old ones. I
found a deep respect for ordinary everyday
yourself ever higher, to help anyone that
needed help and to always smile no matter
how tough the situation. So next time you
run through cold, crashing ocean waves,
So Ed went over the
edge. And then there
where hundreds of
people hoping he
hadn’t. People like me
that had known him
only briefly. Others
that will never figure
out how to deal with his
absence, to whom we are
greatly sorry.
Photo: Heidi
Zumbrun
bomb a berm on your dirtbike,
lay back and stare at the night sky or
simply share a smile with a stranger, give a
moment and a smile for my friend Ed.
Sam: I only really met Ed once, but for
years I hoped to run into him again. And
goddammit, I can’t even really remember
our interaction, like trying to remember a
joke that you knew was funny, but how did
it go? What exactly was the punchline?
With some folks it takes a long time to
figure out what’s good about them. But
with some folks—folks like Ed—it only
takes an instant.
Ed was worried about his 2011 Dirtbag
Challenge bike. He’d made it to the start
ok, but he’d kept the choke partially on
the whole way. Now he was zip-tying
cloth over the filter-less carburetors of a
bike I can’t recall. Wish I could remember
what it was, but I was too wrapped up my
own dirtbag concerns.
ell
Photo: Barbara Caldw
people who were touched by an
extraordinary man.
Ed taught us to keep calm through terribly
trying times, to push your expectations of
He knew better than to take off alone
into the bush. We all know better. But
like Michael Jordan said of his gambling
problem: you bet however much it takes
to make you nervous. Some other guy that
gets quoted way too much, despite how
good he really was,
said something
about the edge
being impossible to
see because the only
ones that have gone
over can’t come back
to tell us where it was.
That was it. But I hoped I’d see him
again, get a glimpse of the joke again,
to be able to retell it. But there was no
real joke, just an understanding. Maybe
that’s why it’s hard to hear he’s gone.
There was understanding. Maybe that’s
why it’s always hard when we hear
about a fallen rider—like the Manx say:
“He fell off.” We know it could have
been us. Will be us. IS us... was us.
Was… because now Ed’s gone. His friends
and families searched for him but could
only find his body.
But aren’t we all looking
for that same edge
sometimes? Or maybe he
was just going for toilet
paper and eggs. Or maybe
he wasn’t even looking
when the edge found him.
Either way, there was a camp up in the
foothills, filled with dirtbikers and quadriders and even the National Guard,
admitting to flying a drone around,
looking for a lost biker, some dirtbag, some
genuine person.
And some of them feel guilty. Perhaps if
they’d gotten out there sooner they could
have found him, saved him, brought him
back to tell the joke again. But no, Ed knew
what he was doing. He taught wilderness
survival. If he couldn’t do it for himself,
well, there wasn’t much chance that any of
us could have done it for him.
But Ed did do something for the
community, one last time. He brought
together a fantastic rally of good people,
united in a cause, riding through the
beautiful forests of California.
We live crisis to crisis in this world
sometimes. But Ed gave us a crisis that got
more people than we’ll ever really know
focused on riding through the trees. After
it started getting hopeless, we were calling
and texting everyone we could think of. If
we couldn’t ride, maybe they could. Maybe
they could find him.
And somewhere out on the trail… I’ll
bet at least one of those searchers forgot
himself in the trail, couldn’t help but enjoy
the scenery and the wheels...and was just
the immortal biker riding through the
trees.
sam DEVINE
You’ve Got Their Goat.
Now What?
Illustration by Mr. Jensen
A
that flew outside of the school and town
hall all our lives. It’s something we identify
with, something we cherish and display
with pride. A piece of home, a reminder of
who we are.
motorcyclist was supposedly run
over and killed by a truck-driver
and the news was posted on one
of those internet motorcycle forums we all
love so much. Surprisingly, the comments
from the group sided with the truck
driver. Compared to the usual “sheep in
their cages” trash-talk, it’s pretty strange
that a group of two-wheelers would side
with the four-wheeled manslaughter of a
motorcyclist.
But fondness for the Bear Flag might
eventually change over time. Its central
image, the California Grizzly bear, is now
extinct in the wild of California. Yep, every
time I see it I think: “Ha! Gotchya fuckers!
Try stealing my pic-a-nic basket now you
near-eradicated sons-a-bitches!”
What made them jump the fence?
But what if this whole environment
thing doesn’t work out and we’re all
eating cockroach protein paddies in a
bunker some day? Would carrying on
the California tradition be worth the
nagging reminder that we screwed up our
ecosystem? “How can you display that
flag? Why don’t you just go back in time
and kill all the bears yourself? My greatgrandfather died trying to reintroduce
those bears to the wild!”
Well, the biker stole a flag off the pick-up
truck. “Don’t mess with other people’s
property,” read one of the internet
comments. Still sounds like a pretty
innocuous reason to kill a guy, doncha
think?
According to the story, the biker was black,
and the flag, Confederate—the Stars and
Bars, the Dixie Banner, Battle Flag of the
Confederacy, whatever you want to call
the rooftop paint job that the Dukes of
Hazzard had on their sweet-as-SouthernComfort Charger.
Turns out the story may have been a hoax,
but the comments on the forum were real.
And since the racially motivated shooting
in South Carolina this past June, people
have been stealing those Confederate
flags off peoples property, while those that
identify with the heritage of that flag are
defending their right to fly it.
“It’s a symbol of Southern culture,” say
supporters of the flag. “That was the
flag my family’s always flown. My great
grandad died for that flag. And no one
should be able to tell me I can’t fly it. Isn’t
this the USA? Don’t I have freedom of
speech? Am I wrong?”
No, Walter. You’re not wrong. You’re just
an asshole. And that’s ok. You’ve got every
right to be an asshole. That’s one of the
absolute best things about this country.
We have every right to display symbols
and say things that offend others. I wave
at San Francisco tour buses and yell: “Gay
marriage and Marijuana!” If they wave
back, I follow with: “And hail Satan!” (A
few hands tend to freeze and some smiles
fade at this point.) So I can relate to the
freedom of speech issue.
I can also understand identifying ones
culture with a symbol. Hats and hoodies
with the grizzly bear silhouette are some
of my favorite clothes. I’ve even got a big,
vintage California flag that was given to me
by another born-and-raised Californian,
someone who, like me, views the flag a
symbol of friends and family, something
Naw, not really. I don’t think that. I don’t
rejoice is the extinction of a fearsome
and impressive predator (though I do
appreciate a safe camping trip).
for being black or Jewish. We should be
allowed to fly incendiary symbols, but we
should also choose not to.
Of course we can’t just ignore our history,
can’t just wipe it clean. Love it or hate it,
these symbols are part of our heritage,
but there are more appropriate ways of
preserving our history than hanging it
off an F-150 long-bed and mowing down
anyone that messes with it. We don’t need
constant reminders in order to continue
remembering.
Consider, as a metaphor, Charles Manson’s
forehead swastika. You gotta get past
that skull banner
emotionally if
you wanna
be Chuck’s
pal (and
past a
number
of armed
guards
for that
matter).
Thankfully, since we’re not currently
living in a post-apocalyptic fallout
shelter, we’re still allowed to be
offensive. And some folks in the
motorcycling community assert this
freedom by adorning their bikes with
swastikas. I’ve asked guys about it and
been told that the swastika is just a
tradition, absorbed into biker culture
after WWII as a way to purposely piss
off the establishment. Many attest that
they’re not racist, it’s rather an expression
of pure existential angst funneled into
a nasty biker image, throwing others
of guard with a radical display of social
indifference.
And that’s all perfectly legal. Go ahead
and display a symbol from a time when
we killed each other over race and claim
it’s simply another barrier for people to
overcome on their neverending quest to
know the dark, mysterious, real person
behind the tattoos and loud pipes.
But—thinly veiled excuses aside—
where’s that outward display of offensive
symbology s’posed tah getchya today?
What’s the intended purpose of this
confrontational imagery? Seems like the
swastika and the rebel flag are mostly used
for instigating fights. Seems like things
would be better if we put them away.
“But the Supreme Court has widely
rejected prior restraint!”
Yes, Walter, they have. But no one is talking
about banning either of them. We’re not
trying to build a world where freedom of
expression is illegal any more than we’d
want to craft a society that kills people
And I myself have a tattoo of a hand
flipping the bird, but it’s not on my
forehead—and for good reason.
Comparatively, a family friend from Italy
owns an old Nazi bayonet. But he doesn’t
keep it hanging over his front door. Some
things, if they must be shared, if they
must be remembered, are better kept in
close company, not the front lawn, not the
forehead, not on the state capital, and not
on an otherwise bitchin’ bike.
Sam is CityBike’s newest columnist. He lives
in SF, teaches motorcycling and kitesurfing
during the day, tends bar at night, and
sports the closest thing to ZZ
Top-level facial hair of
any of the CityBike
Wrecking Crew.
AN ADVENTUROUS
FRIEND AFFAIR
dr. gregory w. FRAZIER
Chief, World
Adventure
Affairs Desk
“P
lease help me,” I heard the
female voice weakly beg outside
my tent.
Earlier I had seen an ugly storm
approaching. Rather than try to ride
through it I decided to be smart and dry.
My riding gear was good enough to weather
the storm but I knew the next 30 miles was
devoid of trees or any wind protection, and
daylight was nearly gone. I found a smooth
spot not far off the pavement and quickly
erected my tent on the side of the Wyoming
road, planning to wait out the rain, hail and
possibly snow.
After dark the storm was still raging but
I was happily warm and dry inside my
sleeping bag reading a book with my
flashlight when I heard a Harley-Davidson
rumble past.
I thought, “Poor bastard, trying to make
the next town.”
The Harley owner stopped a short distance
down the road, turned around, drove back
warm. We can use one of my T-shirts to
slowly and parked outside my tent. To
wipe you and then you can crawl in my
my surprise the voice I heard was female,
sleeping bag. I’ll keep warm by wearing my
pleading for help.
Darien jacket, pants and liner and lay next
I unzipped the tent fly and shined my
to you.”
flashlight on one drenched and bedraggled
The only thing on her that was dry was her
biker. Her fringed leathers were dripping
black colored drops, so soaked the dye was hair under the beanie motorcycle helmet.
She left everything else outside, including
washing out. Her lips were blue and her
chin was shaking up and down so fast that her helmet and goggles, and crawled
naked in my tent. She was so cold her skin
she looked like she was rapidly chewing
was bluish gray, not the warmish color of
food with a half open mouth.
pinkish white. She was shivering so much
She managed to say, “I can’t ride any
she had trouble bending and then sliding
further. My hands are too cold to hold on
her legs and slim body into the sleeping bag
the handlebars. Can I come inside your
after I wiped her dry. I had to zip it closed,
tent?”
her fingers not flexible enough to do it
herself.
I thought for several moments, and then
said, “OK, you can come in but take off
everything you’re wearing that is wet and
leave it outside. We need to keep the inside
of my tent dry and you dried off and then
We spoke very little. She could not get
words out, but would nod and mumble.
Her tale was that she thought she could
ride through the storm to her hometown
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after having been at a biker party late in
the afternoon. She had done the 60 miles
between the towns at night several times
before and thought she could tough it out,
that her leathers would keep her warm and
dry. She had not expected the severity of
the early winter storm.
Cars and trucks were driving past the tent
but neither of us considered flagging one
down to take her to town because she was
determined to ride her Harley home, not to
leave it with me on the side of the road.
I gave her most of my dry clothes: socks,
underwear, T-shirts, jeans, and for an outer
jacket, my jacket liner. Her wet clothes and
leathers we bundled and tied to the back of
her Harley.
After an hour in my sleeping bag she was
still shaking uncontrollably. Her body
temperature was so low it would not warm
up the inside of the bag. She said, “I can’t
As she was about to leave I yelled at her
get warm. I feel like I am falling asleep but I
over the sound of the warming motorcycle,
am so cold. Would you come inside, warm
“Hey, what’s your name? You never told
me up?”
me.”
She had all the signs of hypothermia but
She thought for a few seconds and then
I knew there was no way we could get her
said, “Friend, it’s the same as yours. It’s
to the next town, the two of us on my solo
Friend.”
seated BMW motorcycle. She was small
enough (maybe only 110-120 pounds) that Eleven years later I received a letter in the
the two of us could fit in my sleeping bag. I mail. It had no return address, but the
started to get out of my riding gear.
postmark was from a city far from where
we had adventured through a night. Inside
She said, “Take everything off. I need your
a typed note folded over three hundredwarm body next to mine.”
dollar bills said:
Once inside the sleeping bag we spooned
“Friend, I found your office address on
while I ran my hands up and down her
the Internet. Money is to replace your
body to help her blood flow. It seemed
Aerostich Darien liner. I still have it. You
like a long time, maybe more than an
saved my life. Thank you.” It was signed
hour, before she finally started to feel
“Friend.”
warmer. We dozed through the night as the
storm outside blew snowflakes and rain,
Dr. Frazier’s new all-color coffee table book,
eventually passing over to a morning of
DOWN AND OUT IN PATAGONIA,
warming sunshine.
KAMCHATKA AND TIMBUKTU,
available at mototorbooks.com, is the firstWe decided to wait until the sun had
ever first-hand chronicle of a never-ending
warmed her motorcycle for an easier start.
motorcycle ride by “the world’s most cerebral
During our hours waiting we talked about
motorcyclist.” It is highly “recommended”
our lives, motorcycles, and jobs, but never
by Grant Johnson, horizonsunlimited.com
about mates. We agreed that discussion was
adventure travel book guru, and for dream
off limits, that we were better being two
riding armchair and keyboard adventurists.
motorcyclists merely passing in the night.
It’s the Conversations
maynard
HERSHON
W
e don’t get tired of riding, Jack
said, because it’s a challenge
every minute. It’s not like
driving a car. A car is in its natural state
sitting on four wheels. A two-wheeled
vehicle is in its natural state lying on its side
in the road. We have to make it do what
we want it to do.
He said he’d bought his silly little
single for $5500 and sold it not long
ago for $2200 -- with 222,000 miles
on it! The last valve adjustment had
been done at 40,000. Unless you
habitually bounced the tach needle off the
redline, he said, the valves could be left
alone.
Jack Robinson is president
of the Four-Stroke
Singles National
Owners Club,
FSSNOC. We’d
met for lunch,
maybe 20 of us
FSSNOCers,
gray-haired
white guys
and a couple
of women, in
tiny Centennial,
Wyoming, west of
Laramie. Thumper
Cafes, these meetings are
called.
Jack had ridden his CBR250R, Repsol
edition, to Centennial from Hutchinson,
Kansas, many hundreds of miles away. His
little single-cylinder Honda shows 43,000
miles at this point, having needed tires, oil
changes and little else.
I rode my ZRX to Laramie—about
160 miles from my home in Denver. A
university town, Laramie seemed to be
a mix of cultures, big hats and crunchy
granola. In the evening, I rode downtown
to a big outdoor party, a country-rock band
and dancing in the street.
In the morning, I rode to Centennial.
I’d like to urge you to ride to Centennial
someday. There’s only the one road. The
limit is 65. You won’t want to ride faster.
To me, that part of Wyoming felt like The
West.
What did I see? Giant sky. Distant snowcapped mountains. Rolling green pasture
land, ranches or farms set well back from
the road, often miles apart, nothing
moving but me.
And at the end of my lovely ride? A
Thumper Cafe. What’s the charm of these
lunches in scenic, rustic destinations? The
conversations…
At lunch, I sat across from an old dude
who’d owned an F650CS BMW single.
The CS, sold in the US from 2001 to 2005,
was a commuter bike for trendy urban
bikers. Low-geared, belt-driven, vaguely
feminine, we hairy-chested, genuine
motorcyclists weren’t interested.
dangerous and that place is dangerous—
but is all that true?
So I looked at the guy from Kentucky. I’ve
been wondering about this for decades,
Many of us worry, as we
watch the original members
fall away from the club we
love, some grown too old or
infirm to ride and some just
gone. We worry about the
club’s long-term life. We’re
all getting older and the
world is changing out from
under us.
I said. Were we right to
turn back? Was the desk clerk’s
advice correct?
I wouldn’t go over there by myself, he
said. No sir, there are places there I just
wouldn’t go.
The guy next to him said: I’ll be riding
with younger guys and we’ll stop for
lunch. At first they’ll talk about their
lives in motorcycling. Soon, though, he
said, they’re reading me jokes off their
smartphone screens, not looking up at all.
Around the table we all nodded.
I talked at some length with a guy who’d
ridden to Centennial from western
Kentucky, a good distance for a two- or
three-hour lunch experience. I told him at
one point that I had a story, and wanted his
take on what had happened.
In ‘63 or ‘64, I said, I’d only been riding
a year or so. A friend and I rode our
motorcycles south from our homes in
Indianapolis into Kentucky. We were
headed for Harlan County, scene of bloody
labor disputes around the coal mines. Like
the Oklahoma Panhandle, Harlan was said
to have been effectively lawless for decades.
We wanted to see if the stories were true.
At a hotel in Lexington, the desk clerk
asked us where we were from and where we
were headed. We told him we were riding
east to Harlan. I can hear his voice half a
century later.
None of my business, he said, but I
wouldn’t go over there if I were you. Two
college boys, nice new motorcycles…
You’re liable to ride over there and never be
heard from again.
In the morning we headed back north.
All these years later and I’ve never been
sure our decision was correct. After all,
we’re told over and over that this place is
The conversation turned to KLRs —the
most common bike at FSSNOC events
for years, a single-cylinder “adventure”
model now favored by bushy-bearded new
riders—and the eventual fate of the club.
A guy said: I think many
people don’t even know that
their KLR is a single. They push the
button... and it’s running. They have no
understanding of the mechanical aspects
and no interest in learning about them.
They’re not enthusiasts… or not what we
think of as enthusiasts.
They own a four-stroke single but they’re
unaware of where singles fit into the great
motorcycling scheme of things. How will
you induce them to join a club for riders of
singles? How will you induce them to join
any motorcycle club at all?
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ed HERTFELDER
T
he first turn at Daytona’s
1995 Alligator Dual-Sport
ride was a left, which aimed
us west on Tomoka Farms Road.
Suddenly, it looked like we weren’t
in Florida anymore; it was more like
heading west out of Denver with the
black mass of the Rockies looming
up and covering half the sky. My
friend Jack Rainey, riding ahead
of me, had already seen the dirty
cold front and had his turn signal
blinking us into a Starvin’ Marvin
gas station. The storm was heading
east faster than the traffic was, but
none of the eastbound cars had
their lights or wipers going yet, and
you just knew those sports with their
convertible stored were in for a rude shock.
We unpacked our rain gear and were
sliding into our yellow Dry Riders when
the station attendants came out to watch
the approaching storm; they’d probably
heard the storm warnings on the radio.
One of them said it was the biggest,
blackest storm he’d ever seen and
added that he was born in Florida. I
knew he wasn’t lying because real
Florida natives use two words to say
“born” – it comes out like bo wern.
I should have gotten his name, because I
must have made two dozen trips to Florida
and never before met anyone who was
born – sorry, bo wern, there.
Tell you what (that’s Oklahoma talk)—
I’ve never been hit by a sire horse like
one of those protestors, but I think
that’s what the rain felt like. It was
hard enough, and the wind was
strong enough, to make us drop a
gear on our 650’s and add quite a
bit of throttle just to keep from being
blown back to the start line. As we splashed
into the teeth of the storm, we passed
about 200 of the 239 dual-sport riders who
had signed up. They were off to the sides
huddled under any sort of shelter they
could find.
From 3:14 Daily
Valencia @ 25th
415-970-9670
Some of Joe Van Seeter’s layout riders
were sitting on top of a high sand dune
watching the trails below turn into
something suitable for white water rafting,
certain no one would be able to ride that
far. They didn’t know that some dualsport riders are born-again enduro riders
who enjoy this sort of thing. This doesn’t
In Florida you never get a long-range
mean that Hertfelder enjoyed riding in
weather forecast. They’re all short-range
these conditions. What it means is that
forecasts. This way they can get all the
After 42.7 miles, the route sheet told us:
Hertfelder was looking past water drops on
tourists out of their motel rooms and
creek crossing (caution). It should have
his bifocals, water drops on his face shield
lined up to spend their money like God
told us that the creek itself was no problem and water drops on the top of his route
intended.
but that the approach and climb out on the sheet holder, and the directions on the
other side would sure get your attention.
The storm—what the local radio stations
route sheet were printed in even smaller
described as “intermittent shower activity Rainey had embedded his 650 almost up to type than what you’re reading here. It was
the tank in the deep mud on the approach
possible”—literally blasted loose tons of
like trying to read Greek written badly.
ramp but was thoughtful enough to point
Spanish moss from the trees. The stuff
The only reason I even finished the event
was flying through the air and littering the out a better line for me, so I lucked past
was because I had to follow Rainey or I
him
and
up
the
other
side
almost
like
I
highways, and when a handful of it gets
never would have found my way back!
knew
what
I
was
doing.
Then
I
went
back,
wrapped around a wet full-face helmet, it’s
as hard to remove as an octopus. When you and the two of us freed his motorcycle just Get Ed’s latest book, 80.4 Finish Check on
before both of us completely depleted our
realize that much of the moss is infested
Amazon.com!
energy reserves.
with tiny red bugs that bite, it makes you
want to get rid of it pretty quickly.
They put us on dirt after 25.9 miles of
pavement. Maybe it had once been sand,
but the heavy rain transformed it into
something like deep, watery oatmeal laced
with molasses and some Teflon chips.
What the motorcycles were doing beneath
us was hard to describe—something
between a cha-cha and a video DUI
conviction tape.
H
ere at CityBike, we
strongly believe that
while the Internet
is great entertainment, it’s a
terrible place to buy stuff. Your
Local Motorcycle Shop needs
you, and you need them. The
Internet won’t change your oil.
The Internet won’t stay open an
extra 20 minutes so you can buy
a tire so you can ride on Sunday.
If the apparel you buy doesn’t fit,
Your local shop is an
endangered resource!
Proper care and support
is required, or they die.
• Valve Seat & Guide Replacement • Race Prep •
you have to pay for shipping to
try a different size…each way,
every time. Plus, you meet real,
live people, not some keyboard
cowboy from another time zone.
Screw The Internet. Support your Local Motorcycle Shop.
M
GARAGE
Moto Garage
112 Sagamore St, SF, CA. 94112
415-337-1448
Cylinder Head
Specialists
In Business Since 1978
All Makes
All Models
All Years
ENGINE DYNAMICS, LLC
Phone 707-763-7519
Fax 707-763-3759
www.enginedynamics.com
• Flow Bench Testing • Competition Valve Jobs •
Marketplace
• Porting • Polishing •
2040 Petaluma Blvd. N.Petaluma, CA 94952
We fix anything on
American V-Twin bikes
Vintage / Modern
Motorcycle & Scooter
Service Specialists
(Pre-1975? Come on in!!)
408-298-6800
75 Phelan Avenue, San Jose
Open 7 Days a week
ADVERTISING
it works!
Contact CityBike to place a
classified or business
advertisement and reach
thousands of Bay Area
motorcycle enthusiasts.
rftc@citybike.com
415-282-2790
CLASSIFIEDS
DEALER CLASSIFIED
TOWING
Enter these contacts into your phone now, while you are thinking about it, so that
you will have them when you need them.
Cycle Tow
510-644-2453(BIKE) Est 1988 24hr emergency service.
Reasonable rates.
We tow all makes of motorcycles, sidecars and trikes.
We also network with many other motorcycle tow services throughout
the entire Bay Area. If we can’t get to you quickly, we can find you a tow
service that’s closer. We are based in Berkeley, CA.
SAN FRANCISCO AND BEYOND:
DAVE’S CYCLE TRANSPORT
The Old Man
The Old Truck
Dave is working
Dave’s Cycle Transport
San Francisco-Bay Area and Beyond…
24 Hour Service
(415)824-3020 — www.davescycle.com
Motorcycle & ATV Hauling
Sonoma, Marin, Napa & Mendocino Counties
24 hour Roadside Pickup
707-843-6584
Insured & Licensed
California Motor Carrier Permit
www.mcmotorcycletransport.com
mcmotorcycle@att.net
to get CityBike
delivered to your door
by the meanest, most
psychotic, well-armed
branch the Government
has to beat you with.
That’s right! we’ll send the man
to your mail hole once a month
for an entire year delivering the
latest issue of CityBike.
Just send a check for $30 to:
PO Box 18738
Oakland, CA 94619.
be sure to include your name,
address, & phone number!
or use Paypal!
paypal@citybike.com
Dubbelju Motorcycle
Rentals / Storage
First, a few words about the condition of our equipment. All advertised
vehicles are technically and operationally sound; furthermore, they are
factory original (very important for vehicle inspection and licensing
out-of-country). Components which show even a trace of wear or fatigue
are replaced. In other words, you receive a motorcycle which, while it
may have some miles on the odometer, has been routinely and expertly
maintained.
2013 BMW F800GS with 42 month full warranty!!! The bike is fully
loaded with ABS, ESA, ASC, Heated Grips, on board computer, and an
adjustable shock. It has 34K miles and the factory warranty is valid until
3/2016 or 36K miles. A service contract covers an additional 36 month
of warranty after the factory warranty expires. The major 36K service was
recently completed by BMW San Francisco. This is the revised F 800 GS
- the sportiest member of the big GS family. The motorcycle continues
its longstanding success story, providing impressive versatility both
on and off the road. This bike features a 798cc, water-cooled 4-stroke
in-line two-cylinder engine and a disable ABS brake function. California
registration is valid till March 2016. With our huge inventory price drop
save big $$ as we are only asking $9,950.00 or best offer!
More info and pictures on our website at
dubbelju.com/Bikes-for-Sale.htm.
J&M Motorsports LLC
2243 Old Middlefield Way
Mountain View, Ca 94043
650-386-1440
www.jm-ms.com
We have a huge selection of Sport bikes, Cruisers, Dual Sport & Dirt
Bikes! We are a licensed dealer owned and operated by people who love
motorcycles. We specialize in newer, low-mile, affordable bikes!
We offer in-house financing! Visit our website and fill out an application
today!
Looking for your first bike, your tenth? J&M is not a giant dealership.
When you call or visit, you’re talking directly with non-commission team
members who are passionate about motorcycles and who want to help
you get the bike you desire!
Looking to sell your bike? Consignments are welcome!
Come by and take a look!
Buell
2007 Buell Firebolt XB9R - $4,595
Ducati
2008 Ducati 1098 - $8,795
2007 Ducati Sport Classic GT1000 - $11,995
2011 Ducati Multistrada 1200S - $11,995
2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Pikes Peak Edition Replica - $13,995
Harley-Davidson
2005 Harley-Davidson FLHTI Electra Glide - $13,495
2010 Harley-Davidson FLHTCU Electra Glide Ultra Classic - $14,995
2013 Harley-Davidson FLHTC Electra Glide - $16,995
2003 Harley-Davidson V-Rod 100th Anniversary Edition - $9,495
2010 Harley-Davidson FLSTFB Fat Boy Low - $12,995
2009 Harley-Davidson FXDB Street Bob - $11,995
2005 Harley-Davidson FXDL Dyna Low Rider - $9,995
2011 Harley-Davidson FXDWG Dyna Wide Glide - $12,495
2009 Harley-Davidson Night Rod Special - $10,995
2014 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster Iron - $9, 495
2011 Harley-Davidson XL883L Sportster Super Low - $6,995
2009 Harley-Davidson Nightster XL1200 - $7,995
2011 Harley-Davidson XL1200N Nightster - $9,995
2012 Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight XL1200 - $9,495
2009 Harley-Davidson VRSCF V-Rod Muscle - $10,995
Honda
2002 Honda CMX250C Rebel - $2,795
2003 Honda CB750 Nighthawk - $3,195
2013 Honda CBR250R - $3,995
2008 Honda CBR600RR - $7,495
2001 Honda CBR600F4i - $3,495
2006 Honda CBR600F4i - $4,995
2013 Honda CRF450R - $5,795
2013 Honda NC700X - $7,495
2002 Honda Shadow VT750 - $3,995
Kawasaki
2012 Kawasaki KX450F - $4,995
2013 Kawasaki KX450F - $5,795
2013 Kawasaki KLX 250S - $4,495
2006 Kawasaki Ninja EX250 - $2,795
2009 Kawasaki Ninja EX250 - $3,495
2007 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R - $6,995
2009 Kawasaki Versys - $4,995
2007 Kawasaki Vulcan 500 - $4,295
2006 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Classic - $3,495
CityBike Classifieds
Reach thousands of Northern California motorcyclists. Just $15 for 25 words, 25¢
each additional word. Photos add $25. Industry classifieds are a higher price. Free
25-word listing for stolen bikes. Deadline is the 3rd of each month. Just fill out the
form, or copy and send it with your check, payable to CityBike PO Box 18738,
Oakland, CA 94619.
Name:
Address:
City:
e-mail:
2001 Kawasaki ZRX1200R - $3,995
Suzuki
2007 Suzuki SV650 - $4,995
2004 Suzuki SV1000S - $4,795
2006 Suzuki GSX-R600 - $7,495
2007 Suzuki GSX-R600 - $7,495
2012 Suzuki GSX-R600 - $8,995
2013 Suzuki GSX-R600 - $9,995
2011 Suzuki GSX-R750 - $8,995
2011 Suzuki GSX-R750 - $9,495
2012 Suzuki GSX-R750 - $9,995
2013 Suzuki GSX-R750 - $10,495
2007 Suzuki GSX-R1000 - $7,995
2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 - $8,995
2011 Suzuki GSX-R1000 - $9,995
2014 Suzuki GSX-R1300 Hayabusa - $10,995
2014 Suzuki RM-Z450 - $5,295
2009 Suzuki V-Strom DL650 - $6,495
2011 Suzuki Boulevard S40 - $4,295
2007 Suzuki Boulevard C50T - $4,995
2013 Suzuki Boulevard B.O.S.S. C90T - $11,495
Triumph
2013 Triumph Bonneville T100 $7,495
2013 Triumph Speedmaster - $6,895
2007 Triumph Daytona 675 - $7,495
2014 Triumph Speed Triple ABS - $7,995
2014 Triumph Tiger 800XC - $10,995
Yamaha
2004 Yamaha WR450F - $2,595
2014 Yamaha YZ250F - $5,395
2007 Yamaha YZ450F - $2,695
2006 Yamaha FJR1300AE - $7,995
2012 Yamaha Super Tenere - $10,995
2012 Yamaha R6 - $9,495
2012 Yamaha R6 - $9,495
2012 Yamaha R6 - $9,495
2006 Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic - $4,495
2014 Yamaha V-Star 650 - $5,995
2006 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Classic - $4,995
2010 Yamaha Road Star Silverado S - $9,495
2007 Yamaha Royal Star Midnight Tour Delux - $7,495
2006 Yamaha Royal Star Venture - $7,995
Zero Motorcycles
2012 Zero-X - $5,895
SF MOTO
275 8th Street at the corner of Folsom
San Francisco - 415 255 3132 www.sfmoto.com
USED INVENTORY
- All used motorcycles at SF Moto come with a 3 month warranty and 12
month roadside assistance (including towing). We thoroughly inspect our
previously owned inventory:
- If brakes are worn over 60%, new pads are installed. - If tires are worn
beyond 60%, new tires are installed.
- If chain & sprockets have too much play, we install new chain &
sprockets. BMW
F800R ABS, 2012, Red-silver, 8890 Miles, $7998
G650 X-COUNTRY, 2007, Black, 6768 Miles, $5498
S1000 RR, 2013, White, 3417 Miles, $13498
Ducati
Hypermotard 1100 EVO, 2012, Red, 5780 Miles, $10998
Monster 1200 S, 2014, White, 751 Miles, $14498
Monster 696, 2009, Red, 6325 Miles, $6998
Monster 696 ABS, 2014, Black, 809 Miles, $8998
Monster 696 ABS, 2014, Black, 514 Miles, $8998
Monster 821, 2015, Black, 427 Miles, $10498
State:
Zip:
Panigale 899, 2014, Red, 5102 Miles, $13498
Streetfighter 1099, 2011, 6790 Miles, $11498
Honda
CB500F, 2014, Black, 4588 Miles, $5298
CB500F, 2013, Black, 852 Miles, $5298
CBR250R, 2012, Black, 3512 Miles, $3498
CBR250R, 2012, Red, 8148 Miles, $3498
CBR250R, 2012, Red/white/blue, 3009 Miles, $3795
CBR250R, 2012, Black, 2595 Miles, $3798
CBR250R ABS, 2012, Black, 531 Miles, $3998
CBR600RR, 2003, Black, 8335 Miles, $5998
CBR600RR, 2011, Red, 3752 Miles, $8498
PCX 125 Scooter, 2011, Red, 450 Miles, $2698
Rebel 250, 2012, Gray, 118 Miles, $3498
Rebel 250, 2013, Red, 6814 Miles, $4198
CRF230M, 2009, Black, 3288 Miles, $4998
Kawasaki
KLX250, 2009, Red, 116 Miles, $4498
KLX250, 2010, Black, 170 Miles, $4798
EX250, 2010, Green, 7504 Miles, $3798
EX250, 2011, White, 5872 Miles, $3498
EX300, 2014, Black, 54 Miles, $5298
EX300, 2013, Black, 6528 Miles, $4998
EX300, 2013, White, 2191, $4998
EX300 ABS, 2014, Black, 40 Miles, $5298
EX650, 2012, Black, 13390 Miles, 5,498
ZX-6R 636, 2013, Green, 1481 Miles, $9498
Vulcan 500, 2005, Blue, 3841 Miles, $3998
Vulcan 900, 2011, Burgundy, 3167 Miles, $6498
Piaggio
Fly 150 Scooter, 2006, Red, 787 Miles, $2898
Suzuki
AN400 Burgman Scooter, 2013, Silver, 4531 Miles, $4498
Boulevard S40, 2012, Orange, 2310 Miles, $4598
Boulevard S40, 2013, Orange, 415 Miles, $4598
GSXR-750, 2009, Black, 5535 Miles, $8498
GW250, 2013, Black, 449 Miles, $3498
GW250, 2013, Black, 46 Miles, $3798
GZ250, 2009, Black, 1541 Miles, $2798
V-Strom DL650, 2011, Black, 11627 Miles, $6498
V-Strom DL650 ABS, 2011, Black, 11166 Miles, $5998
SYM
T2 250i, 2015, White, 142 Miles, $3498
T2 250i, 2015, Black, 950 Miles, $3498
Triumph
Bonneville, 2012, Gold, 4604 Miles, $7498
Bonneville, 2012, Gold, 1714 Miles, $7498
Bonneville, 2013, Orange, 8239 Miles, $7698
Bonneville T100, 2014, White, 3 Miles, $8498
Daytona 675, 2014, Black, 3495 Miles, $9998
Scrambler, 2014, Silver, 2861 Miles, $8498
Speed Triple ABS, 2012, Red, 7939 Miles, $8998
Speed Triple ABS, 2014, Blue, 3 Miles, $10598
Street Triple, 2014, White, 1696 Miles, $9498
Street Triple, 2014, White, 2275 Miles, $8998
Thruxton 900, 2013, Green, 57 Miles, $8498
Tiger 800 ABS, 2013, Blue, 4472 Miles, $9998
Vespa
150S, 2013, White, 537 Miles, $3998
LX150, 2007, Blue, 4652 Miles, $2298
Primavera, 2015, Blue, 550 Miles, $4899
Yamaha
Bolt 950, 2014, Black, 3965 Miles, $7998
Bolt 950, 2014, Black, 2998 Miles, $7998
FZ1, 2006, Silver, 7740 Miles, $6498
FZ8, 2011, Black, 6469 Miles, $6498
V-Star 250, 2014, Red, 71 Miles, $3798
XT250, 2012, White, 347 Miles, $4998
YZFR6 R6, 2012, Blue, 3243 Miles, $8998
Zuma Scooter 125, 2014, Gray, 84 Miles, $3198
USED MOTORCYCLES:
Two Beemers and a CT
2006 K1200S - Mint, all optons
2000 1150GS - Mint, Ohlins
1977 CT90 - Good
PARTS AND SERVICE
LEGAL
Mike Padway
ADVANCED CYCLE SERVICE
*Motorcycle Service and Repair*
• Tires • Service •Insurance estimates
Monthly bike storage available
Come check us out
1135 Old Bayshore Hwy
San Jose, CA 95112
(408) 299-0508
jim@advcycles.com — www.advcycles.com
DUCATI SUZUKI KAWASAKI YAMAHA
Bavarian Cycle Works
EXPERT Service & Repair
Bavarian Cycle Works specializes in new and vintage BMW, modern
TRIUMPH and select motorcycle models. Our staff includes a Master
Certified Technician and personnel each with over 25 years experience.
Nearly all scheduled motorcycle maintenance can be completed within a
one day turnaround time. All bikes kept securely indoors, day and night.
Come see us!
Since 1956
Knucklehead
Panhead
Iron Sportster
Shovelhead
Evolution
Twin Cam
Multi Valve 450cc and up
Cyl. boring on H.D. only
21050 Mission Blvd. Hayward, 94541
(510) 581-5315
MOTORCYCLE ATTORNEY
Motorcycle accidents often are serious There is an epidemic of
motorcycle lawyer advertising by attorneys who brush you off on support
staff or other lawyers. I’m Mike Padway. I handle a limited number
of motorcycle accidents. My goal is to do the best job for you, not to
handle the most cases. If your injuries are significant, why not work with
an attorney who knows what he is doing, and cares? Call now and let’s
discuss the best way to handle your motorcycle accident.
415-777-1511
Have you ever been pulled over by the police on your bike or car and
felt you were profiled because of your tattoos or the way you look? You
can have emergency access to attorneys, 24 hours a day in 49 states, for
as little as $20 a month. Try our service and get your Will done for free,
for you and your spouse. Find out how at
smith_wg.legalshieldassociate.com or call 510-502-2144
RIDING SCHOOLS
Coats of skins, Chaps, Pants, Vests, Gloves, Boots, Saddle Bags,
Helmets, Riding Gear, Fashion & More.
All sizes: Kids/Big/Tall.
Patches sewn on most while U wait.
Clean Repair Alter
952 B Street, Hayward
B/W Mission & Main
510-582-5222
Michael’s Motorsports
BMW Motorcycle Service, Repair, Restoration
Air heads, Oil Heads, Hex heads, K Bikes, F Bikes
880 Piner Rd. Ste 46
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 575-4132
Monkey Moto School
Monkey Moto School gets people riding in just one day. Our focused,
private classes and small beginner bike are the start of a proven system
that will have new riders out and about on a motorcycle with confidence
in short order. Available in SF (and beyond by arrangement).
Call Evan to get started. 415-359-6479
monkeymotoschool.com
MOTO TIRE GUY
BRG RACING - CONCORD
Independent service of BMW, Ducati, Triumph.
Factory certified, and certifiable, too!
Fair prices and fast turnaround
We love what we do - we solve problems and make
people’s machines run their best. Bring us your problem.
We’ll solve it for you - nothing that we can’t fix.
BRG Racing
925-680-2560
110 2nd Ave. So. - Unit D
Pacheco
www.brg.com
Sierra Dual Sport/Dirt Bike Rides,
Rentals and Training
www.MotoTireGuy.com
Motorcycle Tire Services
San Francisco - Bay Area
(415) 601-2853
Order your tires online, Zero CA sales tax plus
Free UPS Ground, then have a Preferred Installer
in your local area do the installation and save! Please visit website for details.
Come and ride the Sierras! No dirt experience needed! Dual Sport and
dirt bike rentals. Guided or map your own course. Skill building classes
also available.
Easy access from Highway 50 south and west of Tahoe, this side of the
hill in Camino, CA.
Free secure storage of your car or bike onsite, or we can deliver bikes to
many all day riding areas (additional fee applies for delivery).
Well-maintained bikes and a rider-owned company makes us a great
adventure for the day, weekend or longer.
ASK ABOUT OUR SPECIAL $200 3-HOUR INTRO TO DUAL SPORT
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Honda
CB1000R, 2014, NEW, Black, $10998
CB500X, 2015, NEW, Black, $6299
CBR1000RR, 2015, NEW, Red, $13999
CBR500R, 2014, NEW, White/red/blue, $5998
CBR600RR, 2015, NEW, Black, $11490
CRF100F, 2013, NEW, Red, $2498
CRF250L, 2015, NEW, Red, $4999
CTX1300, 2014, NEW, Black, $14498
CTX1300, 2015, NEW, Black, $15999
CTX700, 2014, NEW, Burgundy, $6998
CTX700N, 2015, NEW, Silver, $6999
Forza Scooter, 2015, NEW, Red, $5599
GL1800 Goldwing, 2015, NEW, Red, $23999
GL1800 Goldwing Valkyrie, 2015, NEW, Red, $17999
GL1800B Goldwing F6B, 2015, NEW, Blue, $20499
Metropolitan Scooter, 2015, NEW, $1999
NC700X, 2015, NEW, $7499
NM4, 2015, NEW, Black, $10999
PCX150 Scooter, 2015, NEW, Black/white, $3449
Ruckus Scooter, 2015, NEW, $2649
Shadow Aero VT750, 2015, NEW, Red, $7499
Silver Wing ABS, 2015, NEW, Black, $9270
ST1300 ABS, 2015, NEW, Black, $18230
VT1300 Fury, 2015, NEW, Black, $9999
VT1300 Interstate, 2015, NEW, Black, $10999
VT1300 Sabre, 2015, NEW, Black, $9999
VT1300 Stateline, 2015, NEW, Blue, $9999
VT750 Shadow Phantom, 2015, NEW, Black, $7499
VT750 Shadow RS, 2015, NEW, Black, $7499
VT750 Shadow Spirit, 2015, NEW, Black, $7499
VT750C2F, 2012, NEW, Orange, $7498
XR650L, 2015, NEW, Red, $6690
Kawasaki
Concours 14 ABS, 2015, NEW, Green, $15499
KLR KL650E, 2015, NEW, Green, $6599
KLX250, 2015, NEW, Black, Call for price
Ninja 1000 ABS, 2015, NEW, Green, $11999
Ninja 300, 2015, Green, NEW, $5299
Ninja 300SE, 2015, Black, NEW, $5199
Ninja 650, 2015, NEW, Green, $7599
Ninja ZX-10R ABS, 2015, NEW, Green, $14299
Ninja ZX-10R ABS 30th Anniversary Edition, 2015, NEW, Green, $15599
Ninja ZX-6R 636, 2015, NEW, Black, $12699
Ninja ZX-6R 636 30th Anniversary Edition, 2015, NEW, Green, $12999
Versys 1000LT, 2015, NEW, Black, $12799
Versys 650 ABS, 2015, NEW, Green, $7999
Versys 650LT, 2015, NEW, Green, $8699
Vulcan 1700 Vaquero, 2015, NEW, Green, $16699
Vulcan 1700 Voyager, 2015, NEW, Black, $17399
Vulcan 900 Classic LT, 2015, NEW, Black, $8999
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ZX-14R ABS, 2015, NEW, Green, $14999
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Havana Classic 125, 2015, NEW, Black, white, sky blue, beige, red $1899
Havana Classic 150, 2015, NEW, White, brown, black, $2198
PCH 125, 2015, NEW, Red, white, yellow, black, $1899
PCH 150, 2015, NEW, White, green, red, $2198
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Citycom 300i Scooter, 2015, NEW, White, $4698
Citycom 300i Scooter, 2015, NEW, Gray, $4898
Fiddle II 150 Scooter, 2015, NEW, Black or gray, $2595
HD200 Scooter, 2015, NEW, Gray or red, $3495
HD 200 EVO Scooter, 2015, Orange, yellow, gray, white, $3495
Symba (aka Honda Cub), 2015, NEW, Sky blue, red, black, $2349
T2 250i, 2015, NEW, Black, white, or yellow, $3799
Wolf (aka Honda CB150), 2015, NEW, Tricolor, red, black, $2999
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FREE HELP WANTED ADS
In our ongoing effort to support and promote local motorcycling
businesses that we rely on, all motorcycle industry help
wanted ads will be listed in the CityBike Classifieds Section
for free.
Contact us via email: rftc.citybike.com
Tankslapper
Concerning Concerns From A
Concerned Reader
Ted from Auburn, CA (northeast of The
Sac, if you’re headed to Reno for some oldfashioned good times) wrote in with some
concerns about Editor Surj (not the first
time):
Surj’s comments regarding the Texas shoot
out concern me. The June issue comments
condemned the law men. Why? They (the
law) were responding to a call that was
reported as a violent scene.
More seriously, the whackness down Waco
way is tough to sort out. We rewrote our
take on it multiple times as more details
emerged, and our perspective shifted as
we got more information. Some find it
easy to fall back on a “Cops don’t get called
for nuthin’!” point of view, but we’re not
in that camp, nor are we in the “fuck the
poh-lice!” camp that some bikers / riders /
motorcyclists / whatevers continually pitch
their tents in.
Sam plays us out.
There’s a whole bunch of Wrong (capital
W for emphasis) in whatever happened
in Waco, and it’ll probably take time for
The Harley (Hell’s Angels) “Bikers” are
known for violence and killings. The “Bikers” the truth to (hopefully) come out. What
we do know, or perhaps believe, based on
cost motorcycling the Catalina Gran Prix,
the Tecate Gran Prix and many other events. what we do know, or believe… anyway, we
think that the whole thing smells way too
“Bikers” are gangsters, criminal gangs, and
drug sellers! We are motorcyclists burdened by fishy to just be a case of “damned bikers
the “Biker Boys” (and girls). Kill every last one got what was coming to ‘em for ruining
motorcycling,” as you seem to want to
of “THEM”! for all I care.
characterize it.
I would rather live in Texas than “San Fran,”
And yes. Trump was wrong. There’s almost
the criminal illegal immigrant protector. Tell
nothing about him that’s right. Ever.
me that Trump was wrong after the Illegal
shot that poor woman.
In the July issue you did say wait and
investigate. Good idea.
Wow. So Ted, let’s make sure we
understand you correctly. You’re pissed
about bikers being killers and drug dealers,
and your solution is to kill them. Let God
sort ‘em out, perhaps. We get that right?
Why We Rule
Yeah, that title’s not self-important at
all. But one of our San Jose readers, who,
judging by the “glide” in his email address,
may be a Harley-riding, drug-dealing,
Biker-with-a-capital-B murderer, sent us
some love, so we had to say it.
Photo: Bob Stokstad
Received the August issue in the mail and
something about Surj’s “Uneasy Rider”
hit a neuron (or maybe the red wine did it)
but either way, I started thinking about the
reasons I FINALLY subscribed to CB. Maybe
it was laziness to go out foraging for moto
news in print, a previous glass of wine, a lack
of moto things to read… OH HELL NO, with
the web, it is endless.
It really is the articles, the genuine Bay Area
involvement from a local, long time, single
interest FREE magazine, a singular style
that sucks one in to read every printed word
whether of personal interest or not. It is the
local motorcycling community captured issue
after issue. The ONLY other print mag I’ve
read that digs deep down to primordial roots
is RIDE, a British rag that’s about 30 Euro
(maybe a little less) per issue. Don’t mean to
advertise another publication but… OK I’ll
get to the point.
It’s the “All In” attitude of CB, the creative
use of our English language to communicate a
feeling, an idea that motorcycling is more than
anybody who is not a rider could ever begin to
understand no matter what or how much they
read. I think this is one reason that the intense
need for introspective feelings keeps bills like
AB-51 from grabbing the legislators by the
short hairs.
So you keep doing what you’re doing in the
way you’re doing it and I’ll shell out my 30
quid.
Difficulty Finding The Friction
Zone
Jeff sent us a note about another uh, nonmainstream (?) moto mag:
Friction Zone has been missing for many
months. I recognized that they are/were a
bit of competition for City Bike, but have you
heard anything? I enjoyed that magazine
almost as much as I currently enjoy yours.
Thanks for the kind words, Jeff! Last we
heard, Friction Zone was gone for good,
as of early 2014—another casualty of the
seemingly never-ending throes of the
“death of print media.” We never really
thought of FZ as a competitor—it’s not like
moto-folk will only read one mag—and
anyway, who can really compete in the race
to the bottom that is CityBike?
6 Of One, 39 Of Another
An anonymous reader emailed to point out
one of our usual “don’t know what day it is”
blunders, in the nicest way:
Which Leap Year did May 39th occur? Read
in the July CB page 6 or 666. Not too sure.
Ciao Bambino!
We couldn’t find page 666, but we’re just
gonna fall back on our usual lame excusemaking. “Uh, we meant may 29th. 2039. Or
something.”
Anyhow, you can yell at us for being stupid
(or just say hey) at editor@citybike.com or
Thank you! Although, we haven’t seen any talk to us on our Facebook page at facebook.
of this quid ‘round the CityBike bunker—
com/CityBikeMag. You can also send us an
maybe you’re sending it to RIDE by
old-timey paper letter, which we think is pretty
mistake? Maybe you mean squid? In that
damn cool. Those go to CityBike Magazine,
case, stop sending them—there are way too PO Box 18738, Oakland 94619.
many out there already!
Extra points for crazy / creative shit. What do
Also, if you’re headed up 80, maybe don’t
those points get you? Let us know if you find
stop in Auburn for a while. You’re welcome. out.
Bob Stokstad captured this amazing shot from the back of our Ninja 1000, out on West Ridgecrest near Mount Tam,
with Sam Devine at the controls. If it makes you want to stop reading and go for a ride, well… what are you waiting for?
Photo: Bob Stokstad
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Real Sport Touring: Kawasaki`s Ninja 1000

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