Matt Farah, Alex Roy, J.F. Musial, Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli and Leo Parente. These are six of the greatest car guys you’re ever likely to meet and they’ve just joined forces to create DRIVE, a brand new automotive channel coming to Youtube this January. Their job is simple; cover everything that happens in the automotive industry in a way that keeps the rest of us riveted to our monitors.
The old adage of “do what you love and you’ll never work another day again”, is actually quite true. I mean think about that for a moment. If you’re able to take whatever it is that makes you happy and turn it into a full-on job, then in essence you’re really getting paid to enjoy yourself on a daily basis. In reality few people get to do this, however there are those who have found a way. This is Richard Pollock, owner of Mule Motorcycles in Poway, CA. He’s not only one of the most talented builders out there, but he’s living the dream by way of envisioning, creating and selling his two-wheeled visions. His bikes have an old school feel to them as Pollack grew up in Southern California around dirt tracks and scramble style motorbikes. Each one is unique and is built around the individual owners tastes. They’re beautiful, functional and at days end, all works of two-wheeled art. Click through for the video and enjoy.
Source: RalfBecker.com
Motorcycle reviews are something fairly new to The Smoking Tire, but our pal Matt has a lengthy history on two wheels. Like the esteemed Mr. Farah, I once relied on motorcycles as primary transportation, and I can echo his sentiments; living in Colorado, where it can and will snow from September through April, bikes are a poor choice as a daily driver. If you’re lucky enough to have the budget for a bike as a weekend toy, the tough decision becomes which style, then which model, to pick. Read More…
No one ever plans on crashing. Not one rider has ever woken up and thought to himself, “I think I’ll grab some breakfast, then fracture a few bones in a painful get-off,” and I’m absolutely sure that no one has ever wished to get hit by a speeding pickup. Take the guy in the video below, out for a fairly sedate ride with his girlfriend on his BMW S1000RR. I won’t spoil what happens next, so check out the video after the break. Read More…
Redshift is what happens when stuff moves away from you really, really quickly. And that’s what electric motorcycle startup BRD hopes their new RedShift MX bike will do on the trails—at least until its batteries run out. Read More…
I’ve always said that motorcycle cops are some of the best riders on the planet. Their training course, in virtually any department, is among the most challenging things you can do in law enforcement. These guys throw around 700 pound Harleys like they were scooters, and their low-speed bike handling skills are second to none.
This video comes from a recent “rodeo” event in Grand Prairie, TX. I’ve been riding for a lot of years, and I’ll say this flat out: I doubt I could run the course without hitting a cone on a 250cc bike, let alone a full size Harley. I know for certain that I couldn’t match this guy’s time, no matter what I was riding. Despite the comments at the end of the video, a single training course won’t have you riding like this: what you see here takes years of practice, and a lot of low speed crashing. Read More…
Why yes, that is more than the space shuttle...
At first, I took this video to be nothing more than hype. After all, the final space shuttle launch will draw a ton of publicity, so Aprilia will get a lot of hits on the video because of it. Some of the comparisons are beyond ridiculous (“A space shuttle costs $1.7 billion. An Aprilia RSV4 costs $16,999”), as is comparing a motorcycle to the most complex vehicle ever designed and built by mankind. That aside, the video is done well and comes across as a fitting tribute to the end of the space shuttle program. Maybe if NASA had Aprilia’s marketing department, we’d still have a space program. Read More…
The problem with sportbikes is that they’re tricky to ride anywhere near the limit. Take launching one, for example: too much throttle and you either light the rear tire of loft the front end; too little throttle and you suddenly find yourself looking at every other rider’s taillight. Then there’s the issue of power-on wheelies exiting corners; sure, they’re fun, but they’re also slow. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could buy a sportbike that minimized problems like this without slowing you down? You can, and it’s called the Aprilia RSV4. Equipped with all the techno-wizardry you need to make you a better rider, the bike is way smarter than the average rider. The video below explains what Aprilia’s Performance Ride Control can do better than I can, but be warned: you still have to supply your own common sense. Read More…
Electric motorcycles can be ponderous things, battery-laden hulks that awkwardly lope around the track. But not the Amarok. It’s light and lithe, a nimble and ferocious beast that tears at the tarmac. It’s the creation of Canadian builder Michael Uhlarik and at just 325 pounds, it’s the lightest TTXGP racing bike ever created.
As a kid I was always fascinated with anything that had a petrol engine attached to it. Be it a scooter, go-kart, motorcycle or automobile. If it was powered by an engine I wanted a piece of it. It wasn’t until around 1988 or so that I got my first taste of open road freedom by way of a little 50cc Honda scooter called the Spree. It had a top speed of about 35 mph and was, quite honestly, everything that I had built it up to be. The Spree was fun and got me from Point A to Point B, but it wasn’t until college that I really started having fun with motorcycles. I started out with a 1986 Kawasaki Ninja 250R, then bumped to a 1987 Yamaha Radian and then finally, right before I graduated I purchased a 1990 Ducati 750 Sport. Since then I’ve had around twenty or so bikes ranging from Ducati 916′s and 998′s to a Kawasaki KLR 650 and an MZ Baghira. The 1990′s were truly where I had the most fun on bikes which is why I decided to put together a listing of 10 Influential Motorcycles from the 1990′s.
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