By Richard Vohnsing Saga Part One So, there I was, astride a new-to-me and freshly modified motorcycle, sailing around one of the most daunting tracks on the west coast. I had stepped down a group as to not upset the racers trying to set lap-times, and I was running a set of unwarmed street
By Talya Adams For a little over a month I’ve been trying out a navigation app called Waze. You may or may not have heard of this app, but I hadn’t, so I decided to give it a solid go. This app came highly recommended by a friend of mine who swears by it because
By Talya Adams The past two weeks have been incredibly stressful. It all started on a Thursday night when my license plate was stolen off my bike while parked in a garage that I pay way too much money for in the first place. A garage where I purposefully hide my bike behind a
By Talya Adams Two weekends ago, I found myself feeling a little burnt out from the Los Angeles hustle. The year is quickly winding down, and with the holidays fast approaching, I knew I needed to let off some steam. As usual, I didn’t have a full day to take a ride, so I
By Richard Vohsing It’s finally time. After seemingly endless minutes of waiting, my Amazon orders have finally arrived, my calendar is clear, and my boss thinks I’m sick. In other words, it’s time to get dirty. First up is a set of Vortex rearsets. I know, I know, this is supposed to be a commuter
By Richard Vohsing I have learned many harsh lessons over the years – getting a haircut from fantastic sams, confusing yellow snow for frozen lemonade, etc. The harshest lesson I have learned however has been an ongoing lesson – something that has been learned through years of experience rather than a one-time. This may
By AJ Jacobsen Life never quite decides to go along with our plans though, and early in December 2016, during a dirt bike class, another rider tried to force a bad pass and I ended up with my tib/fib pilon fracture. This happened the day after I bought my new race bike…go figure. At
By AJ Jacobsen I really debated even writing this post. Let’s face it, we all love the grit and glory stories, the highlights of the races, the amazing changes, and the final results of all the hard work. Reality is; however, we generally aren’t too interested in what led to that story. What was
By Sergio Laurente When I stayed home from school sick as a kid in the 1980s, I would watch and re-watch the same VHS tapes that my parents owned. All of which were much more enjoyable than watching whatever crap soap operas that were on in the middle of the day. Two of my
By AJ Jacobsen So now that I had these side projects partially completed, it was time to see if I could fit both fans. After a fair bit of wiggling and wrangling I determined that was not going to happen. That meant it was removing the stock fan and figuring out how best to mount
By Sergio Laurente I had the pleasure of commuting in a cage to work the other day. During a 35 mile one-way trip in Los Angeles, there are opportunities to judge plenty of interesting decisions made by riders and/or drivers along the way. Many of these minor errors should be forgiven and I know
By Talya Adams I recently had dinner with a friend and as we were parting ways she asked me why I rode my motorcycle at night. Her reasoning: it’s dangerous because it dark. This comment sounded silly to me as she drives a car at night. Both of our vehicles have headlights and it
By AJ Jacobsen Motorcycles. If you’re reading this, chances are, you ride, know a rider, or have an interest in riding. These two wheeled machines can evoke a wide range of emotions and create a culture all their own. Within that culture there are many sub-cultures, each with unique individuals that collectively make a
By Dennis Dumapias (There are ‘first-world problems,’ and then there are ‘Dennis-first-world problems’…) Part of the fun in dreaming is finally having that which you hope to attain. The ultimate goal. The thing you’ve desired the most. But what happens when you achieve something sooner than you could’ve expected? What happens when you finally
By Talya Adams Traveling is one of my all time favorite things to do. It tends to offer rejuvenating effects, perspective, and life long memories. I recently returned from a two week trip to Mexico, and while I was there I spent time in two different locations. I visited Oaxaca City for a week
By Talya Adams Life can feel unexpected at times and that’s especially true for motorcyclists. Unlike people in cars, there seems to be an added element of things going terribly wrong when you’re no where near your bike more often than not. For instance, when someone taps your ride while parked and it hits
By Talya Adams Today I met a former rider who moved to Los Angeles seven years ago from the east coast. Of course, we started chatting about my bike and how my riding experience has gone living in LA. However, I found it interesting that he had ridden for years in Illinois and just
By AJ Jacobsen Recently MV Agusta came out with their new Superveloce 800, a beautiful bike that is designed to meld modern performance with a retro look and aesthetic. I must say, the first information video I watched about this bike had me drooling – it really is a piece of motorcycle art with
By Sergio Laurente Sometime in the early 2000’s, I had a bad get-off on South Mountain in Phoenix, AZ. I was doing a few solo trips up and down the mountain in the middle of a weekday, and had one of those “I’ll do one more run up and down” moments before calling it
By Sergio Laurente While walking through Center City, Philadelphia for work, I took notice of special parking areas on mains streets filled with Vespas, Triumphs, and Ducatis. I was told that a rush hour drive home of a few miles down Broad Street may take close to an hour in a car, and it
By Dennis Dumapias For the longest time I really wanted to put my 2002 R1 inside my house as a personal trophy bike to commemorate all the smiles in the miles I’ve racked up with it. It really does embody a rich part of my riding history, encasing it between its two wheels. Like
By Dennis Dumapias In the past year alone, I’ve pulled off the following two-wheeled good deeds: Stopped to help a stalled car in the middle lane of a busy commuter freeway. The driver said the car just died, and not only was he not able to restart it, he couldn’t get it out of
By Dennis Dumapias It’s been over a week now since I checked out that RSV Mille. Over seven days, I’ve now had to decide whether to move my F4 out of my garage, and have another go at my dream bike – eleven years after I last owned one – or to keep my
By Talya Adams About two weeks ago, I made a stupid mistake while riding. It could have been much worse than it was, but because I remained calm I was able to get out of the situation without getting into an accident. A clear mind and a cool demeanor are two traits all riders
By Talya Adams I recently took a trip back to my home town of Clearwater, Florida. While I was home, I noticed a lot of bikers on the road and the differences in styles shocked me. For some reason, I felt like riding would be the same everywhere. It’s not, and I had a
By Talya Adams Is it hot, or is it just me? As we move further into summer, the temperatures will continue to rise. At the moment, the hot days have not been too consistent. However, this is beginning to change as I’ve recently finished up a long ride in hot conditions. Not to worry,
By Dennis Dumapias Patience. This is very much moto-related. I promise. 🙂 I got the chance to spend a few weeks driving an all-electric car this past winter. A co-worker of mine – who also happens to be a neighbor – had leased a Volkswagen e-Golf to use as a commuter during the week.
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 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
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 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 Dennis Dumpias For all intents and purposes, Jonathan Ko and I were just strangers to each other. But for just a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon spent getting to know one another proved enough to realize we were more kindred in spirits than merely being motorcyclists. Jon and I both chose to
By Tayla Adams So, recently my speakers broke and I was too lazy to go out and buy another pair. I also figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal riding without music for a while. What could it hurt right? I thought I’d get some thinking done, be more present with the environment
By Tayla Adams A few weeks ago I was in the shop getting my bike serviced, and I noticed my mechanic wiping my bike down with a spray after the work was done. I asked about the product, and he pretty much told me that he highly recommended the item for basic cleaning. I bought
By Tayla Adams A few blogs ago, I wrote about getting caught in the rain storm. I mentioned it was a mistake, and soon after I paid the price for it. I’ve been battling a chest cold ever since. It had gotten so bad, I had to stop riding my motorcycle in order to
By Tayla Adams The past two days have been crazy. I’d read the weather report stating rain was sure to fall in the beginning of the week, but I didn’t expect heavy rain because this is, after all, California. Not to mention the last serious rain we had here was like two years ago.
By AJ Jacobsen When it comes to racing motorcycles at the top end of the sport, I doubt that anyone would argue that fitness is a very important factor. Top racers are honed athletes, and they train like it. For them, it may mean the difference between 1st and 4th place after a 20+ lap
By Tayla Adams The New Year has finally come and as usual I’m in the mood to set some goals for myself. When I thought about things I wanted to do in regards to my riding it took me a moment to think of a solid plan. I feel like in the past I’ve said
By AJ Jacobsen So what does the off season look like for a road racing “enthusiast” who is determined to do a little better than they did the previous year? Follow along for a breakdown of what a typical winter/off-season day looks like for me. Let me begin by pointing out that I work three
By Bill Harr I have been blessed to reach retirement and still be riding my motorcycle. My current ride is a 2016 Ducati Multistrada S Touring. Typically, I ride with a core group of 8 old friends, and we go on several long rides and many short rides every year. Four of the riders I
By Tayla Adams This winter has started off very differently than the last five winters I’ve experienced here in Los Angeles. I’m used to rainy weather and cold temperatures, that’s expected. However, this year it’s been hot and cold, and the Santa Ana winds have hit very hard this season. The inconsistency has made
By John Knowles With Christmas now approaching, you may find yourself at a loss when trying to come up with gift ideas for that hard-to-buy-for motorcyclist in your life. Most gear-heads research to find exactly what they want and then they buy it. So what’s left to give to someone who has it all? My
By Tayla Adams For the past five years I’ve driven all over Los Angeles with my motorcycle. During this time, I’ve always stated that residential neighborhoods are my least favorite place to commute, mostly because of intersections. However, I think I’ve discovered a place I may dislike almost as much. Downtown LA has risen on
Over the weekend, I went to the downtown Los Angeles area to a neighborhood called the Arts District. It was supposed to be a fun couple hours spent shooting with some local photographers in the area. For the most part, that experience was what I expected it to be. However, what I wasn’t expecting was
By Tayla Adams It may have taken a while, but the season is finally turning and it’s turning fast. One week the temperature’s in the hundreds, and the next it’s in the mid to low sixties in Los Angeles. This kind of shift in the weather can greatly impact the health and riding comfort
By AJ Jacobsen When it comes to getting to work, most of us have to deal with the best way to make that happen. Of course, there are always options, even if they don’t seem reasonable, but they do exist. Over the past few months I’ve had to evaluate my personal choices around commuting.
By Tayla Adams Thanks for checking in for the second half of my interview with Chris Cass. Learn more about this motorcycle enthusiast below. T: Do you think you’ll ever try out a different bike? C: Absolutely yeah, I’m thinking about it in the very near future. I want to sell my ’94 BMW. I