By AJ Jacobsen It Sounds So Simple That’s because, really, it is. The hardest parts of getting into racing versus a track day is usually just the flow of the day and understanding the steps you need to take to get ready and to your race on time. IN that vein, here’s a quick
By AJ Jacobsen Picture a beautiful Sunday morning on any curvy backroad where riders like to congregate to enjoy the scenery, twist the throttle, and embrace the freedom that comes from being on two wheels. Suddenly your morning coffee is interrupted by the revving of a sportbike, as the local “street-Rossi” rolls in with his
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 AJ Jacobsen After moving to Texas in June of this year, I was looking forward to trying to see what might be out there in terms of reasonably enjoyable rides that weren’t hours away from my house. I knew there wouldn’t be much in the way of beautiful twisties, but okay scenery and some
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 I had a lull from track days in the middle of this year. Between our late-June weekend at Thunderhill Raceway and mid-August event at Sonoma Raceway, I didn’t do any track days, making for a very idle Dennis. It’s during these idle times that I tend to find myself moto-wandering… A
By Kurt Sunderbruch Motorcycles are the most amazing curiosity enablers. When I’m out riding, I see things all the time that pique my curiosity. I wonder: “where does that road go?” “Man, that restaurant smells great!” “What kind of car is that?” “What’s in that museum?” These questions come up all the time in
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 AJ Jacobsen Tablula Rasa, Latin for “scraped tablet” or “clean slate” refers to a state of the human mind before ideas have been imprinted on it. Naturally, as we age, time and experience leaves fewer blanks, and we have fewer opportunities to truly experience things with a blank slate. A blank
By Dennis Dumapias Under Two Minutes Riding Coach Rob is persuasive. You’d think he’d be glad to read that I’ve quelled one of my fundamental fears out on track. In any case, I couldn’t not listen to him, or why else did I ask him to coach me? So on the second day
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 Dennis Dumapias There were two fundamental problems I told Rob – my riding coach – that I had when it came to my track riding, which I believed were holding me back from a lot of time I could gain every lap. One was leaning the bike too much, past the point of
By Kurt Sunderbruch The long, cold, wet winter has passed. It’s time to clear those cobwebs out of your head, out of your skills, out of your motorcycle, and get out and ride. Spring is my favorite season for riding. The natural world is blooming. The days have gotten longer, and the sky has
By Ryan McNerney Pulling into Bakersfield after what felt like hours in the rain, I realized that I had, in fact, spent hours in the rain. My pace down 178 from Lake Isabella clocked in somewhere between “slow as cold molasses” and “glacially slow,” but I had made it into town safe and sound,
By Ryan McNerney “Riding? You’ve got thicker skin than I do; my KTM is hibernating until it gets warmer,” one of the locals told me as he filled his truck’s tank. The air temperature had been steadily dropping as I approached Lake Isabella on 178, and I was glad my Olympia jacket and pants
By Kurt Sunderbruch Do you have a local go-to road? Yeah, me too. I’m lucky enough to live in a place where some really fun roads are within a mile or two of my house. Roads I know well. Roads I feel like I can rely on like old friends. Roads that (almost) always deliver
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 Ryan McNerney “What’s that they say about the best-laid plans of mice and men?” I thought to myself as I listened to the patter of the rain on the roof of my tent. I was supposed to be camping in Death Valley at that point; I found myself instead at a KOA campground
Who can resist motorcycle fail videos on Youtube? After watching motorcyclists running into stuff, falling over, failing spectacularly at popping wheelies, etc, I realized a few things that many of these fails have in common: The majority of accidents were motorcycles running into the back of cars. External video shows these riders focusing on the
Guide to Motorcycle Laws Accidents happen and mistakes can be made, but if you follow these simple tips, we guarantee your next ride to be a lot smoother. Motorcycle Helmets California Helmet Laws Federal Helmet Safety Standards You may hate helmets, but that doesn’t mean you have a choice on whether to wear one! Helmet
By AJ Jacobsen Following the rather eventful moments during my previous race weekend, the Pacific Track Time weekend event at Thunderhill Raceway was looking to be an interesting experience for me. I was still recovering, and until a couple days before the event, I still wasn’t sure if I could even tolerate the drive
By Dennis Dumapias Last year I had another friend ask me to look for a motorcycle for her (…you know, I really should start a used-bike shopper service). She used to ride before we met, but it was short-lived. So while she isn’t going to be new to riding, she’s new again. And she
By Dennis Dumapias You never forget a heartbreak. You can physically feel it every time you remember. You can even remember the sights, the sounds. You may even remember the date. October 19, 2018 Track days are great for when you only want to work on your riding without any pressure from a race
By Ryan McNerney Since my first visit Since then I’ve come back for every 4,000 mile service. I’ve also done the brake service class, where I upgraded my brake line from the ancient rubber line to stainless steel. The three hours it takes me to do the service with a brake bleed comes to
By Ryan McNerney Last Friday I received some unfortunate news from the Moto Guild SF email blast. Aleks and Wilder, the shop’s current owners, have decided to move on and sell the business – or close if a new owner can’t be found. I consider myself a relatively new rider with a mere 4
By Dennis Dumapias Hubris really can be a witch sometimes. I had just redeemed myself at Laguna Seca since my crash there the year prior, and I found myself back on the deck right after, this time at Sonoma Raceway. Rookie mistake too, crashing on my out lap from the pits in only the
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 I was going east bound on Highway 92 in Foster City, CA, homeward bound after a day at work. It was just before 6PM, the worst time of the work day to find yourself in a car here, as the majority of the peninsula and San Francisco workers like myself rush to
By Dennis Dumapias Not one race circuit is less prone to crashes than the other, but I don’t know, I just thought that given how infrequent I rode Laguna Seca, that my chances of having a tumble there were slimmer than, say, Sonoma Raceway or Thunderhill Raceway. Just statistically speaking, I figured it’d be
By Dennis Dumapias My friend Lili has always been a massive fan of Triumph’s Speed Triple. She’s also a coworker, so I basically spend more time with her than I would care to on any given work week. She’s harped for years about the virtues of the Speed Triple, having owned a 2002 model
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 Dennis Dumapias I make no claim that the early-gen RSV Mille is one of the best motorcycles ever made, or that it holds a fabled status like its other Italian counterparts such as Ducati’s 916, or MV Agusta’s F4. The RSV Mille is Aprilia’s first hand at a superbike, but other than that,
By AJ Jacobsen The Women’s Sportbike Rally is a gathering of women on sport bikes that was established in 2006 by two women riders: Stephani McIntyre and Kiri Hunter. The rallies originally focused on the east coast, with the first rally being held in the infamous “Deal’s Gap” aka “The Dragon” near Robbinsville, NC.
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 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 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
By Dennis Dumapias My friend and fellow blogger AJ covered the value of riding coaches before. If she had her reservations about commissioning a riding coach, I not only shared them but also had it worse. I like figuring things out on my own. It’s almost a hobby in itself to take up something
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
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,
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 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
By Dennis Dumapias That’s my friend Everett. I hate him for being right. It’s not that I went too long without using a lap timer, I just flat out thought I didn’t need one. I’m just a track day guy, who despite being an avid road racing fan, just has no aspiration to race. So
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 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 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