Monday, December 1, 2008

Vintage motorbikes by Ridley

Here's a cool vintage bike for the garage or golf course — the Ridley Vintage Motorbike. Ridley is the company that makes automatic transmission street cruisers. Yeah, I know... I don't understand that either but whatever floats your boat is alright with me.

Anyway, I think these are pretty cool little bikes. They're expensive, though. The frame kit costs $1,440. The engine is another $560, for a whopping total of $2,000 for a 70cc bicycle. Well, I guess it's not that much. Decent mountain bikes cost $2,000 these days. And they don't have motors...

The Ridleys aren't quite as cool as these board track racer mopeds with the Whizzer engines, but still a pretty cool thing to have around the house.

Monday, November 24, 2008

2008 AMA Congress remains ineffectual according to participant

There is a very disturbing letter in the upcoming (November 26, 2008, Issue #47) edition of Cycle News from AMA member Jerry Fouts. Jerry is the ATV Congressman for District 36 and attended the 2008 Congress.

I have long wondered just how effective the AMA Congress really is at effecting change in the organization. Here's what I wrote in August of last year:

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

2009 Female Mechanics Calendar

Here's a pretty cool thing to hang over your workbench next year — the 2009 Female Mechanics Calendar from Sarah Lyon Photography. Now this is not your typical bikini-clad, super hot, supermodel calendar with mouthwatering hotties draped over equally mouthwatering pieces of hot rod art.

These are real women, working on everything from Ferraris to jet airplanes.

Based on the preview photos, some of these women are no slouch in the looks department, either. I don't know about you, but an attractive woman who can actually do something is far hotter in my book than an anorexic supermodel clothes horse. But that's just me. Anyway, I thought this was cool and deserved a post for those of you who like real women. Check it out.

Friday, November 21, 2008

Mark Barnett and Torsten Hallman Motocross Files this weekend

This Sunday, 6:00pm EST, Mark Barnett episode followed by Hallman at 6:30. Re-airs on Tuesday, 11/25. On SPEED TV. Set you DVR so you can record it while you're out riding.

Dual Sport bike sales up 30% over 2007

This L.A. Times story, "Women drive increase in sales of motorcycles, survey shows" out yesterday quotes the new Motorcycle Industry Council 2008 owner survey with some interesting statistics:

Sales of cruisers, sport bikes, tourers and off-highway or dirt models are all down in 2008 compared with last year, but scooters and dual sports (bikes that can be ridden on the street or off-road) have seen 50% and 30% gains, respectively. Overall sales are expected to be down this year. Through the third quarter they were off 2.2% compared with the first nine months of 2007.

The survey also has some interesting statistics regarding women riders, noting that 12.6% of motorcycle and scooter riders are now women, up from 9.8% in 2003. According to the article the periodic survey will be maintained and updated online beginning in 2009. Full results of the 2008 survey will also be released in early 2009.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Omnibus Land Act of 2008 - your government at work

Whatever else you may think about the recent election, one thing is certainly going to change — public policy about the public's right to use public lands. Specifically, our right to ride and responsibly use public trails and land will be under even greater assault.

The latest major assault on our rights as American off-road enthusiasts is the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2008. Please visit the AMA Rapid Response Center or Save the Trails to let your representatives know you want them to kill this bill.

This bill is bad by it's very nature. There are more than 140 separate parts in it, and you can bet your last dollar that no one voting on it knows what they all are. Any bill in Congress with the word omnibus in its title is bad. Period. No exceptions.

The word omnibus means dealing with many items at once, and it's the straight path to hell for decent legislation. Omnibus bills are expressly designed to obfuscate their contents, create hidy-holes for pet projects, and get things passed that would never pass on their own if they had to survive the harsh light of open debate. They are a favorite tool of corrupt, lazy politicians and special interests, who use them to hide things for which there is no public support. Half the time there are no, or very few, specifics in the bill at all when it is passed. Most of the specifics get written later by useless bureaucrats. Great, huh?

The only sure thing about this bill is that, as off-road enthusiasts, we will be worse off if it passes. It's possible (but very difficult) to get good land use legislation. But it requires open debate, consideration, participation by the public, and lots of hard work. The Omnibus Bill got none of those things. It's a shortcut, half-ass, slap-and-go, piece of lame duck legislation. Let your Representative know that we've had enough of their stupid legislating and they should just go home.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Bailey, Jones, and Barnett featured in new Motocross Files episodes

After more than a year's wait, middle-aged motocross fans everywhere will be pleased to know that new episodes of The Motocross Files will begin airing this month on SPEED TV.

The first episode will be David Bailey, airing on Nov. 16 at 6:00PM ET, followed by Gary Jones. The Mark Barnett episode will air Nov. 23 at 6:00PM ET.

For more info see SPEED TV.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Joel Robert Story at MotocrossMX1

A short bio article on Joel Robert, with a few quotes from Joel, is over at MotocrossMX1.info. It's a good recap of his phenomenal contribution to our sport.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

What permanent indoor facilities mean for MX

The Boston Globe Online today is reporting that a new, indoor MX facility has been approved in Bellingham, southwest of Boston. R. J. Cobb Land Clearing Inc. of Bellingham has received approval to construct a 68,400 sq. ft. enclosed facility near I-495.

To date, Supercross has remained the domain of professional racers because there are very few places for grass roots amateurs to ride true SX, or Arenacross, tracks. But there is a growing trend to build enclosed, indoor facilities — especially in the northern parts of the US where the outdoor riding season is only a few months each year.

This trend has important implications for outdoor motocross. New riders almost universally come to the sport today through riding and racing on outdoor tracks and trails. This serves to keep them connected, at some level, to the history and meaning of the sport. But as land use and noise concerns grow, it's inevitable that indoor facilities will grow in popularity.

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Friday, October 31, 2008

Old school pitbike races - SL70 and XR75

Recently my old school friend Ronnie Welch sent me a bunch of pictures from TVRC's annual "King of the Ant Hill" race in Texas. If you were under the misguided belief that pitbike races were some new phenomenon, well, let me assure you that the only thing truly new in dirt biking is the backflip.

There were plenty of cool XR75s, including some single-shock models using aftermarket swingarms. But Ronnie was representin' for all the Po' Boys who had to ride 'em like they came from the factory. His beater SL70 was sporting nothing more than a Green Weenie filter and a DG-style megaphone.

Wish I had been there. I have two SL70 project bikes sitting around the house here somewhere if I can ever get back to them...

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

MediaZone closes Moto Channel

Last week I got email notification that MediaZone is closing their Moto Channel. This is a big disappointment to me, as I just signed up for a 1-year subscription when I watched the MXdN on live video.

MediaZone will refund my subscription fee on a pro-rated basis, but the money isn't really the problem. I'm disappointed that what seemed to be a really good service for catching all the GPs has gone by the wayside.

I don't know anything about what motivated the closure, and the email gave no reason. But if you read my post on The right broadcast model for motocross you know I think full length video on the web is the right way forward for MX.

I suspect MediaZone lost their agreement with YouthStream, or the licensing fees went way up, or maybe there just weren't enough subscribers to pay the fees. I don't know. But I do know it's a loss.

Over on Eternal Two Stroke Derrick Harris is talking about the same topic in his post Which "M" is in?. Derrick points to this cool video highlight site for Australian Supercross.

Personally, I'm not happy with highlights. I want full race coverage. If not live, at least same day. And I'm willing to pay for it. Hopefully, MX Sports will be able to negotiate something along those lines in the near future. For now, we'll have to get by on the oddly structured SPEED TV coverage.