By Talya Adams Yesterday, I finally went out on a ride out to Point Mugu State Park. This location has been on my list of destination trips for a while. When I was researching the park, I discovered it offered amazing views of the Pacific Ocean and wonderful hiking trails. I figured this would
By Talya Adams No matter what you drive, car or motorcycle – no one enjoys taking his or her ride to the shop. I don’t think dread is an innate response to the process, instead I think it’s a learned reaction to negative experiences while visiting mechanics. Often when I think of trips to
By Talya Adams Thanks for joining me again for part three of my chat with Keison. We dive into the riding scene in Monterey, learn his riding motto, and hear what he as to say about self improvement as a motorcyclist. Let’s get started. T: You said you rode up in Monterrey. Did you
By Talya Adams Welcome back to my interview with Keison. In part two of our conversation Keison opens up about his success as a rider in LA, and takes us through his first time going down on his bike. Let’s dive in. T: How have you found riding in LA? K: LA is definitely
By Talya Adams Welcome to part two of my review of the Progressive International Motorcycle Show. In part one, I went over the demo rides outside of the Long Beach Convention Center, so if you haven’t read it take a look. In part two, I’ll be taking a closer look of what Progressive had
By Talya Adams I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Keison Cunningham to talk bikes, social media, gear, and all things in between. He’s a relatively new transplant to the Los Angeles area, and he’s more than excited to take in the SoCal bike scene. Let’s hop into this interview, and get
By Barb Graham We’ve been having a heat wave in Socal lately, along with muggy weather and thunderstorms. It’s a lot like Alabama, only not quite as hot. It’s hot enough to bring out the snakes in San Diego County. They come seeking water or prey in the neighborhood, and Animal Control has already
By Talya Adams Over the past month I’ve been invited on quite a few group rides to various places. I must admit it’s nice to be considered for a group outing no matter what the activity, but I can’t say I’ve taken anyone up on the offer. Does that make me antisocial? Maybe, but
By AJ Jacobsen After loading up the race bike early Sunday morning, my friend Anh and I headed to another friend’s house to see if he could convince this clutch basket nut to come off. Alan had a full shop set up with all the fun machining tools, and we got set up to
By Dennis Dumapias Really, I should say to all motorists, but while lanesharing motorcyclists are prevalent here in California, not all states have to deal with lanesharing – and never more present within California than congested regions like the good ol’ San Francisco Bay Area during the commute week. I know. You as a motorist
By Talya Adams Over the last few years I’ve been noticing some new sports bikes on the road. I’ve seen new bikes parked in my neighborhood and at my job. I started to take a closer look and I was surprised to see a lot of these new bikes were “entry level” motorcycles. These
By Talya Adams We’ve all heard the saying, ‘The early bird gets the worm’. I’ve found this to be true as motorcyclist as well. If you want to get the most enjoyment out of your ride, try waking up with the sun – get a head start on some of the worst traffic out
By Talya Adams This past weekend, I attended the Progressive International Motorcycle Show out in Long Beach. This is an annual event and normally runs Friday through Sunday in the month of November. My friends have been riding down for years, and this year I was lucky enough to be able to go along.
By Dennis Dumapias 2018 had a rough start to the year. By the time the month of March rolled around I was mentally, emotionally, and physically reeling from the most trying time of my life that I can remember to date. I remember sleepless nights. And when I did finally fall asleep, cold sweats would
By Dennis Dumapias I keep going back and forth between leaving the OEM quad pipes on the F4, or running the aftermarket titanium dual slip-ons I found for it. Ever since finding the aftermarket slip-ons, I’ve swapped between those and the OEM pipes three times now, and I’m pretty sure I’m not done oscillating yet.
By AJ Jacobsen Back in 2011, I had my first experience with a track day. After winning a spot through my riding club, I had shown up excited, scared, and nervous to finally ride my bike on a track. Friends surrounded me, and that first day was phenomenal, and laid a desire that came
By Talya Adams Over the holiday break, I had a chance to go hang out with my old friend, Burak. A few years ago, I interviewed him for a blog. If I’m not mistaken, I’ve interviewed him twice. The interviews were quite contrasting as the first one he spoke about his passion for riding,
By Talya Adams Welcome back to my interview with Sabrina. In this section we’ll jump into how she feels about riding in LA and if she’s ready for more power. T: How long do you think you’re going to stay with your Boulevard? Do you feel like you need more speed yet? S: I must
By Talya Adams If you’re a motorcyclist and commute every day on your bike, the miles can take a toll on you. I’m not just talking physically either, I’m including mentally as well. This is especially true if you’re riding during rush hour traffic. It can be a lot to keep your cool, and
By Talya Adams I’ve recently been doing a lot of daily riding on my motorcycle as I’ve taken on more work. After long rides, I tend to have aches and pains well into the following day. Whether it’s my hands or my lower back, usually something is sore once I get done with a long
By Talya Adams Given it’s a new year, and I’d like to buy new things that I don’t necessarily need, but want, and I’ve started working as a courier on the side. I know what you’re thinking, big deal, almost everyone works in delivery now days. True, but does everyone do it on a
By AJ Jacobsen After completing the rebuild on my transmission, and getting that and the clutch reinstalled in the bike, I had one more weekend of final prep left to do before I felt ready to kick off the season. First up was installing a new chain. While this is a routine task, it is
By Talya Adams Hello, and welcome back to my interview with Mike. If you missed the first part, please be sure to check it out and learn about his positive experience buying a motorcycle on Craigslist. In part two of my chat with Mike we get into gear and motorcycle security. So, let’s jump back
By AJ Jacobsen I had ended the 2018 riding season with a few changes to my bike, some of them minor, some of them fairly major, but basically leaving me with a bike that I really needed to dial in. There was also a fair bit of major winter maintenance that I had completed, so
By Dennis Dumapias I try to see the silver lining in things. It’s how I take little victories even in frustrating situations. For example, it does suck to have get up a few minutes earlier to gear up for my work commute on a motorcycle, but at least I don’t have to sit through
By Talya Adams Hey everyone, and welcome to my sit down chat with Michael (Mike) Johnson. He’s relatively new to the LA motorcycle riding scene, and eager to make up for lost time. In this first part of our discussion we’ll get into what he’s riding, how he learned to ride, and his style.
By Dennis Dumapias Oh, for sure, this bike is a looker. But trust me. If ever you get a chance, you must ride an F4. You MUST. Some bikes intrigue you because of a particular novelty about them that just may be exclusive to that bike. Maybe it’s some new and trick performance part, or
By Talya Adams There are a lot of people who don’t realize how much energy physically, mentally, and emotionally goes into operating a motorcycle. In order to remain safe at all times you have to be present on all accounts. One of the biggest things I’ve recently experienced taking away from my riding safety
By AJ Jacobsen With the dawning of the somewhat dreary day, we were aware that the track was going to be damp. In an effort to help dry it out prior to the bikes going on course, everyone was invited to drive their 4-wheeled vehicles around, so our group piled into the RiderzLaw van with
By Talya Adams I recently had to replace my old Xena Ultra High Security Disc lock because it was damaged during an attempted theft. As these things go, I feel fortunate to still have my bike and to have only lost my old lock. However, this did leave me with a need for a
By AJ Jacobsen Since I first got introduced to track days, one day I have hoped and been told I “needed” to attend was the famous “Femmewalla.” This track day is an all-women only day, for all groups, and is hosted by the owners of Chuckwalla Valley Raceway near Desert Center, CA, east of Los
Sometimes in life we are presented with an opportunity we simply can’t pass up. I was provided one such opportunity to accompany a friend to the MotoAmerica races at the famous Barber Motorsports Park outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Naturally, I had to tag along! For me, the benefits of being able to go were layered.
By Dennis Dumapias I’ll confess that I’m equal parts admirer and rider when it comes to motorcycling. I appreciate the finished product both as something to put under gallery lights half the time, and race the sun the other half. This applies to every bike I’ve ever owned. And whereas the common man may look
By Barb Graham It was billed as “Day in the Dirt.” This Meetup event was hosted by the BMW shop, and some expert dirt riders offered instruction. The plan was to meet at the shop, then proceed down into Borrego Desert and gather at a staging area by the Superstition Mountains. The day was
By AJ Jacobsen In California we are blessed with a wide variety of mountain roads, with pavement, trails, and tracks that can appeal to pretty much any riding style. As part of my riding club, Curve Unit, we host monthly rides in various areas, providing members and attendees with new scenery and different roads
By AJ Jacobsen It was a lovely Saturday morning. The sun was shining, the weather perfect, and I was ready for a weekend of learning some new things about my bikes. I had my service manual by my side and ready to go, my bike on the stands, and space to work and spread
By Talya Adams If I had to assess myself after all was said and done with the drama of my near motorcycle theft, I’d say I was simmering somewhere around anger and guilt. Guilt because I still feel like I should’ve done more to prevent this from happening, and angered because someone had the
By Talya Adams This week has been a bit of an anomaly in Los Angeles. It’s no secret Southern California has suffered a severe drought over the past couple years, but that’s all changed early in 2019. It is currently the third day of almost nonstop rain, and there’s still another one forecasted for tomorrow.
By AJ Jacobsen In December of 2016 I picked up my brand new, fresh from the factory 2017 ZX10R. I was so excited to get my hands on the bike, and could hardly wait to turn it into a race bike and get out on the track with it. I had big plans, and
By AJ Jacobsen Any track rider and racer can tell you that having a properly tuned suspension can make a massive difference in the handling of a motorcycle. Yet, I’ve seen and heard arguments from top level coaches on down to casual racers saying two very different things. On the one hand, they tout that
By Talya Adams It’s that time of year again. The time when resolutions are made and then quickly forgotten. The forgotten promises are exactly why I stopped making resolutions years ago, and also why setting goals has become so effective for me. This year my motorcycle goals will be simple, fun, and manageable. I’ve had
By Talya Adams I’ve often regarded Koreatown, LA as a headache. There’s usually traffic, bad decision making at play, confusing parking limitations, and general adrenaline spiking vibes all around. However, recently I’ve started to look at Koreatown with a slight affection as a motorcyclist. So much so that I think Koreatown might actually be a
By Talya Adams This week has been extremely trying for me as my favorite thing in the world was almost stolen. That’s right, someone attempted to steal my motorcycle on Monday night in front of my job. In the past, I’ve written a lot about securing your motorcycle and taking precautions to dissuade thieves from
By Talya Adams, January 2019 Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! I figured I’d start us off with a lock review since securing my motorcycle has become a big part of my life over the last year. I purchased the Yohoolyo disc lock at the end of November. As you may or may not remember,
By Dennis Dumpias “I passed Dennis!” I swear. Who needs enemies when you have friends like mine? It was June, already a hot day at Thunderhill Raceway and there I was feeling the heat of having to learn to ride my 09 R1. My friends weren’t any help, as they were like sharks that
By Talya Adams As some of you may remember, my motorcycle was vandalized during an attempted theft about two months ago now. It was a very difficult time for me as I had to figure out my commuting situation without my bike. To say things were rarely boring or the same each day would be
