It takes a gambler to win and the Austrian motorcycle maker KTM took that gamble on the weather last Friday while throwing a holiday party slash track day at its local Pala Raceway. Known locally for its Indian casino, Pala, California and its motocross raceway was the site of KTM’s Christmas gift to owners and fans.

Warding off the falling rain for most of the day, KTM owners had free reign of Pala Raceway’s 200-plus acres, DJ entertainment, product raffles, a look at Team Peterson’s hill climbing team bikes and photos with Santa for the kids and Jager girls for the adult children.

If free t-shirts, open tracks and freestyle shows weren’t enough, KTM had a surprise gift for attending riders and friends, a peek at the maker’s newest motocrosser.

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By now, hundreds if not thousands of you riders out there have shot some motorcycle videos and posted them on to the interwebs. On-board lipstick cameras to cell phone footage, if the action is hot, people wanna see it. And if you’ve got a camera and some creativity, the folks at RockMoto want to pay you for it too, sort of. You’ll have to win their contest of course, but here’s your chance to make it big as a filmmaker, rider or both.

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The last time I rode one of Kawasaki’s 110cc MX bikes, I was banging elbows with Gary Nixon in a journo race on Max Yasgers, I mean Mertens Dairy farm in beautiful Sonoma, California.

Battling against experienced racers, a muddy track and humorous rider-to-motorcycle ergonomics, I managed to outshine all of the racing glory at the nearby Infineon raceway by taking home the gold, shoes. Top prize for endangering my life in a battle of laughter and pocket-sized Singles was a pair of size 13 sneakers spray painted gold. Still got ‘em on the shelf! I even had Gary Nixon sign them for me.

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2010 Spyder RT direct from the Can-Am beehive in Valcourt, Quebec, Canada.

With more carrying capacity than ANY motorcycle on the market — even some automobiles —- Can-Am sent touring guru and friend-of-MO, Fred Rau, on a tour of Canada and the United States to promote the new 5-speed luxury touring roadster. For those of you not following Fred’s blog @ SpyderFred.com, here’s a little taste of the scenes and opinions he encountered on his great many miles. Continue Reading »

preview for the new Spyders, the forum board got me fired up again. Every time I write about something eccentric, the progeny of Merriam Webster like to write in and remind me that Spyders aren’t motorcycles. I would disagree, but no one will remember this next time no matter what I say, I’d put money on that.

There’s a difference between what you believe and what you know. Nowhere in the construct of the word motorcycle does it suggest a limit on the number of wheels. Are you riding motor-bicycles? Are you riding at all? KPaul? The very ‘first’ motorcycle had 4 wheels by the way. Damn you facts!

What would be your opinion on the Enicycle? Or a trike? Don’t answer that….

How about we just call the Spyder a motor-tricycle? Better yet, let’s call it a Reitwagen (riding car) from now on. And, yes, I got that from Wikipedia.

Although motorcycles are most commonly two-wheeled motor vehicles, they can be so much more. The world isn’t flat anymore!  And if you don’t like choppers, sport bikes, dualies or whizzers, don’t ride ‘em. That just leaves more for me to ride!

What the hell is that? Come back tomorrow to find out!

The New York City stop of the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show starts this Friday and I think my ears have begun bleeding from all the chatter going on around the Motorcycle.com virtual office about the 2010 Honda Fury. Teaser images, patented drawings, leaky blog links and childhood-like excitement for something new from the Japanese mainstay has been filling both our homepages. But it’s an American motorcycle company that’s got my blood pumping. Known bad-ass designers and thrill seekers to boot, the folks at Victory Motorcycles also have an unveiling on Friday and I’m even more intrigued by the photograph shown on the IMS website then I am for that squiggly photoshopped image of the Fury.

I’ve looked at quite a few motorcycles in my years here at MO. And I’ve seen them in many unique ways and points of view, so I of course have been wracking my creative little peanut to figure out what this image might represent. A custom billet wheel? Not with that notch in there. A brake lever? A Fender? A finger-chap conch? It certainly seems like a cast piece by the textured shadow on the right, but the middle appears rather hot pressed. Damn you macro lenses and teaser media leaks! I’m gunna guess it’s a fender strut and come back on Friday when they let the whole wide world know what’s at the “CORE” of this concept motorcycle from Victory.

Everyone knows that the market for three and four wheeled motorcycles is fueled by aging motorcycle enthusiasts not wanting to let go of that feeling of being in the wind. Similarly, some voyagers in their aging years are opting to travel on the ground instead of taking to the skies. Santa is no different.

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I love pop culture… maybe even a little too much. With such an addiction to collecting – regardless the industry – I read a lot of magazines. I simply don’t know when to say no. And yes, I still buy magazines despite being an internet addict and content creator. Just how many magazines constitutes “a lot” you may ask? I’ll just say that I employ the services of self-storage units to house my collection.

While walking around the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica tonight I tried to simply cruise past the open air magazine stand and not shop as I usually do. I didn’t have the carrying capacity on the motorcycle tonight to pick up my usual Friday night stack. My eyes however had to look from afar even though my body was keeping itself out of arms reach – they’re a weak team. I was surprised to see on the cover of New York City’s Surface Magazine, “Style and Design for Inspired Living”. Beneath a Louis Vuitton-encrusted Janine Henkes (the model) was Tiger Bracy’s visionary creation called the Victory Vision 800. Awesome! It’s rare to see two of my favorite worlds come together in a personally appealing way – fashion and motorcycles. I bought the magazine and added it to my collection of course.

Congrats to Tiger for designing and building such an oddity, and thanks to Robert and Manny Pandya for bringing Victory Motorcycles to the general public’s eye on the cover of Surface Magazine’s Annual Avant Guardian Issue.

Once again, legendary motorcycle-aerodynamics engineer Craig Vetter makes news with his latest one-off creation. Designed to cut through more than just the wind, his sawblade-packing-KLR prototype is more than the average “killer KLR.”

Redefining Aerodynamics

Forever with his head in the clouds, Craig had more earthly intentions with the creation of this energy absorbing fairing. Attempting to further the good luck streaks of both he and his Anchorage Alaska friend, he has designed a fairing that would slow down the initial impact of any frontal collision with any big animal that may confront the country dwelling motorcyclists. Slicing first, then asking questions.

Most unique in design, but perhaps a little heavy on the bike’s fuel economy. Reportedly, the handling isn’t adversely affected, just your social perception as “normal”. But I’m just guessing here, but no doubt Craig’s got one of those “Why Be Normal?” bumper stickers stuck upside-down somewhere.

For those paying attention to the motorcycle industry this year, you may have noticed how many anniversary models have launched. It’s a banner year for getting older. And it’s time again for Motorcycle.com to celebrate its birthday, on Saturday. November 1 is the 14th anniversary of MO’s facelift and launch into the web web web as we know it today.

Reading skills are dropping like bank account balances these days, but some of us can still seam together a pair of thoughts and tell a good motorcycle story. Thanks go out to the fans that’s have stuck it out with us! I know reading is hard work but I think you’ll agree that it’s worth the effort. At minimum, it’s not boring time spent on the planet.

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