Two poll questions:
1) The unfriendliest and shittiest Bay Area California motorcycle shops?
2) The unfriendliest and biggest poser bars in San Francisco?

Email us editor@urbanmotomag.com. Explanations for your answers are welcome. Results to be published in the March Daytona issue of UM.

Three rounds , three different winners. Should be a exciting race in Oakland, the tours only Nor-Cal Stop. Can't use the weather (last years first trip to Oakland was a little sloppy) as a excuse to miss the action. KTM, yes KTM is leading the points coming into town. Last years winner James Stewart has yet to claim a win this year, can he keep this string of different winners going? Wishing a Speedy Recovery to Trey Canard, and Ryan Morais, who had a nasty coming together in the last round in LA.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (December 2, 2011) - AMA Pro Racing will be working in conjunction with M1 PowerSports for promotion of three exciting new events as part of the 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing schedule. Each of the three events promoted by M1 PowerSports, formally known as M1 Entertainment, will be modeled after the highly successful AMA Pro Road Racing events that the group promoted and grew over a 10 year span at racetracks in the Southeast.

The original Big Kahuna events were known for delivering exceptional entertainment value alongside world-class racing by America's finest motorcycle road racing talent, and fans can expect that same Big Kahuna Show as M1 PowerSports returns to promoting motorcycle road racing with an expanded portfolio of AMA Pro Road Racing events in major Southeastern markets.

Complete 2012 AMA Pro Road Racing Schedule:
March 15 - 17, 2012
Daytona 200
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Fla.

April 20 - 22, 2012*
Road Atlanta
Braselton, Ga.

May 4 - 6, 2012
Infineon Raceway
Sonoma, Calif.

May 26 - 28, 2012
Miller Motorsports Park
Tooele, Utah

June 1 - 3, 2012
Road America
Elkhart Lake, Wis.

June 22 - 24, 2012
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham, Ala.

July 13 - 15, 2012
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington, Ohio

July 27 - 29, 2012
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey, Calif.

September 7 - 9, 2012
New Jersey Motorsports Park
Millville, N.J.

September 21 - 23, 2012*
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Fla.

October 5 - 7, 2012*
NOLA Motorsports Park
New Orleans, La.

Our brother Angel just had his pride and joy, his R1 swiped (11/21/11). If you see a bike like this recently abused or abandoned in the bay area, send a note to us @ editor@urbanmotomag.com. and we'll send a crew out.

As the New Nortons from Derby, England are starting to arrive at dealerships the question is "Which Norton is the right Norton?" As at least two American companies already produce beautiful hand-built retro rides. The US versions seem to be dialed into performance whereas the English version has tradition and price on it's side. Like any good brit bike fans, we are all just waiting to see who's Whitworths are going to fall to the tarmac first.

U.S. Senate to vote on proposal to kill trail funding
November 10, 2011
The U.S. Senate will vote on a bill that would end the dedicated funding for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), which is considered to be one of the most important and beneficial laws for off-highway vehicle (OHV) riders ever passed by Congress, the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) reports.
Cont...

The new Formula 1 track in India is called appropriately Buddh Int't Circuit and the track hosted it's first F1 race last week...it's a huge hit with the drivers. New crowned F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel took the inaugural victory. The track is designed to be 5.1 Km long and contains 16 corners. The cars are expected to lap at an average speed of 210 kmph around. The track is one of the fastest in the world, with the cars reaching 320 kmph in the main straight before braking into turn 4.
The designers have taken inputs from the teams’ simulator test runs for refining their track layout and have put the data into good use by modifying turn turn 7 and turn 3 to increase overtaking opportunities.
The state of the art curved roof grand stand, located near turn 10 and 11, has a capacity of 30,000 people bringing the total capacity of the track to a staggering 120,000.

The San Francisco Police Department is investigating reports of an individual getting out of his car late at night and tipping over parked motorcycles and scooters in the North Beach District of the city. The individual drives a brown Volvo model 240 DL. If you have information please contact the SFPD. More information coming when we get it.

Old school Bay Area rider. American Federation of Motorcyclists president for almost 20 years. Friend to many. Joe was riding with a group of friends on Sunday afternoon, 10-23, near Castro Valley on Redwood Rd. when he was killed instantly by an out of control 4 door Honda auto that slid sideways over the double yellow line and collected him, narrowly missing the other riders. The driver of the car was arrested at the crash scene.

We are used to getting emails, good and bad, angry and happy, based on our monthly covers. As most readers know some of our covers can be controversial. Some that come to mind, our Hillary Clinton cover. The bikini priest cover. The Muslim bikini bomber cover. The BMW Nazi cover. The Obama marijuana cover, etc, etc...It's a nice change to find out that one of our covers has been nominated for a national journalism award. Issue number 62, BP Blood for Oil cover and story have been nominated for the NYU Carter Journalism Institute. The award is presented to journalists in any medium that cover under reported stories. The criteria is that the story must be public interest in subject matter. Check out past issue 62 and read the Blood for Oil BP feature. Stay Tuned.

Second year running (this era). Last years Inaugural race was a huge success. Don't wait around to get your tickets. Only one race remains after Calistoga, the Pomona Half Mile. Again a high quality bike show in one of the halls along with the Legends autograph session. Grand Marshals Mert Lawill and Jim Rice. Great venue for Saturday night racing, and not too far from the SF Bay Area. Last chance in Nor-Cal to catch Chris Carr's retirement tour, currently he's in 6th place. Two races back at Knoxville it was a historical race. Jared Mees took a photo finish win over Jake Johnson, and in the Singles, Shayna Texter takes the win.

COME JOIN US FOR A DRINK AND AND A FRESH ISSUE OF U.M. SATURDAY OCT.1ST 5 TO 9pm @ "UPTOWN" 200 CAPP ST. S.F.

Click on the link below to see a funny video which Yamaha North America made when it had it's past and present stars in the states for the recent USGP... Even Fabio stars in it. Super Cheese, but cool to see all these guys together goofing around.

On June 11th, 2011 the motorcycle community in general and the Humboldt community in particular lost a bright star. At 6'6 with blond dreadlocks almost down to his waist, he was an imposing figure known for his friendliness and kindness. He was well very loved, by many friends and family.
Steven, 34, was killed by a drunk driver while he was doing what he loved, riding a motorcycle. Godspeed.

On the evening of 8/3 invited guests gathered to see what lurks under the black cover. . As the DJ put the brakes to the tunes, the cover comes off exposing the BRD Motorcycles Electic bike. CEO & Co-Founder Marc Fenigstein spoke at the mike, but not too much was said, so we were left to admire and wonder about this smart looking bike, this one being Supermoto style, other versions in the pipeline. Built right here in SF. We will pass more info as we get it, and look forward to riding one. Zero's test bikes still fresh in our memory, looking forward to compare the two. Can't forget to mention the steady lines leading to the Taco Truck El Tonayense out back, this Truck gets around.

Don't miss the reincarnation of the Sacramento Mile Saturday Night. Your race ticket also gets you California State Fair admission, so make a day (and night) of it. All the big name AMA Racers sure to be there for this one. Sunday more Mile racing with Eddie Mulders Series. See Calendar for more info.

Along with 249 other Journalists we are Monterey bound, the U/M camp holding fort up on the hill to the North. Finally MGP will be making its first of two stops stateside. Very special event happening with Yamaha, they will be celebrating their 50th year in the GPs. Special Retro white and red paintwork (Holland, the only other track to run these). Ben Spies hoping he can win again in these colors. Last years winner and teammate Jorge Lorenzo might have something to say about that. Don't count out the strong Honda Squad of Stoner, Pedrosa, and (hoping to keep the rubber side down)Semoncelli. One of our boys gets a wild card ride, Ben Bostrom will be on a LCR Honda. We'll be pulling for our other American hopefulls, Edwards has shown this year with a 3rd place, he can still be a factor. Hayden (and Rossi) have the new GP11.1, and will have to see which bike is more to their liking. The Yamaha Racers stopped by Yamaha in LA before heading trackside, look for some video, should be up by race end. Another special event, Kenny Roberts to ride around the track. Much happening at the track and don't forget Cannery Row. Round 4 of the KDL Stuntbike Series is doing shows in Downtown Monterey/Depot lot 7/22 & 7/23.

UM columnist Wade Boyd is a racer and like any racer he accepts the the risks involved. But it's a good thing when technology can help reduce those risks. Boyd will be racing the Sacramento Mile this year and would really like to do it with an air fence helping protect riders from some very hard and unforgiving walls.
http://www.EMWCVDTS.myevent.com

Another Quail event has come and gone. Each year the event has grown in multiple ways. Still a few edges to be polished. If you are on the West Coast you owe your self to see it. From being welcomed as you ride in toward the Bike parking (on both sides of the road leading to), the Beautiful location, the fantastic lunch, cloth napkins with heavy silverware, they no how to spoil this biker. Again the north and west sides of the green was lined with booths. Was a bit brisk in the morning, clouds were a little ominous, afternoon was nice. Going into this event you always know you are going to see some nicely restored old bikes, but I like the wild card element, the custom builds. Never no what is going to show up. The old race bikes are a treat, this years theme was "a Century Of Racing at Isle Of Man". The Bonhams Auction, had a couple of attention grabbers. #101 the Steve McQueen owned Husky, sold for $144,500. There was even some very nice old oak furniture of his going to bid on. The Captain America Recreation was another of interest selling for $52,650. The "Woz" was spotted inside, his eye on the Suzuki Rotary. The Rider for Health Rossi replica track bike went for a steal. The bike on the green that grabbed my eye was the skinny custom Beezerker. Chris of Speed Shop Design built a bike that is extremely clean. Might not jump out at you, but the look closely. The clutch, exhaust, rear brake. As many cool features you find, Chris will still point out more you missed. The last element is the who's who of motorcycling. Mert Lawill, Wayne Rainey, Craig Vetter, Mike Corbin and more... Don't miss next years event.

3rd annual Gathering on the greens. A not to miss West Coast event. A couple custom built bikes to make their debut this year. Again Bonham's and Butterfields Auction caps the event, a couple of the stars, a Husky, previously owned by Steve McQueen (on cover of SI in 1971) and Don Emde's project, the Rossi R1 Track bike, sale to benefit Riders For Health. Ticket includes Bike Show, Auction and a superb lunch. This years tribute, Century of Racing isle of Man.

Stolen 4/24 18th and Folsom in S.F Red VFR 800. One of a kind pin striping("Cary") on front fairing. Micron Exhaust, touring windshield,stickers on tail cowling License 19Z4920 Vin JH2RC4615XM100434 contact SFMC or Urban Moto

1st time Pro TT and Short track at the home of the 100 year old California Rodeo. Many amateur races have been held through the years at the Salinas Sports Complex. They even had a Pro event held in '68, won by Mert Lawill. In 2002 & 2003 there was a Pro/Am promoted by Gene Romereo who had finished Second in the '68 event. Lots of pro talent came from this area. Expect some big names of the past and present to be there. Saturday's the TT, and is joined by the Motorcycle show at the races. Expect Lorin Guy to put together another impressive display as he did at Calistoga. Sunday is the Short track Race. Gates open 9am Lots of vendor booths, Rocky Robinson and Ack Attack Stream- liner on display, visit by the Easter Bunny at this family friendly event. Dont miss this Historic year in California, Featuring TT, Short Track (Salinas), Mile (Sacramento), Half Mile (Calistoga)

Located at 926 Howard st in San Francisco, the big day has finally arrived. I got a preview at a earlier date to see this truely awesome place. Last seen they still were wrapping up some of the tool installations. This building has so much potential. Loaded with just about every imaginable tool, welders, lathes, mills, Laser cutters, sewing machines, much, much more. Membership based, the members have the included use of nearly all the equipment, and classes are available on site. 12:15 Ribbon Cutting. 1pm Adam Savage (Myth Busters) Key note Speech. 2pm to 5pm Demo's and Tours. The popular "Off the Grid" food trucks will be stationed in the adjoining parking lot. What can you dream up in this ideal environment, moto minded ideas welcome.

Check out a video made exclusively for American Federation of Motorcyclists (AFM). You will find what might be the best motor racing inspirational speech in the history of the sport. If my coach would have given me this speech when I was racing I would have won every race! Whether you race karts, motorcycles or Formula 1, it doesn't matter, this speech is a must-listen-to, particularly the last two spine tingling minutes. "You versus second place." You aren't a racer if this video doesn't give you goosebumps.

Kudos to "4 the Riders" who made this video as a thank you to the AFM and all of their supporters. When you get to the page the speech can be found by scrawling down to the video titled AFM BANQUET.

Voice over: John Doman, Versus TV
Music: Apocalyptica and Explosions in the Sky
Video Producer: Joe Salas, 4 the Riders
Video Camera & Editor: Kevin Fanady, 4 the Riders

Spain's Marc Coma took his third Dakar Rally win on his KTM. He finished 15 minutes ahead of Frenchman Cyril Despres also on a KTM. Helder Rodrigues from Portugal finished third on a Yamaha WR450. San Francisco USA team PAI finished 13th overall, with Jonah Street piloting a Yamaha YZF450 instead of his usual KTM. The team managed to win Stage 9 of the historic race.

All 16 rounds are to be televised, either on Speed or CBS. CBS also has a few special shows. The first coming up 12/26 5PM ET(check your local listings,to confirm start times) with the 2011 Monster Energy Supercross Season Preview. 2/27 12PM ET Supercross Legends-The Races and way down the road there will be a Post Race Show. Also don't plan on heading for AT&T for our Bay Area Round, it's to be at Oakland in 2011. Still digging for dirt, why the venue change. Jan. 8th will be the first round at Angel Stadium Anaheim Ca. Mark your calendars.

AMA Supercross 2010 Photo by Glen Coddington

After winning multiple titles with Yamaha, Valentino Rossi began a new era with Ducati at Valencia two days after the end of the season on Tuesday November 8th. Due to what remains of Rossi's contractual obligations to Yamaha he was unable to speak publicly about the Ducati and won't be able to do so until January 1st 2011.
Delayed by morning rain, Rossi left the pits on a black Desmosedici bearing his famous #46 at 12:20 local time. It marked the start of a new adventure in which the Italian will try to become the first rider in history to lift the premier-class crown for three different manufacturers.
Rossi rode for a total of 56 laps, with a best lap time of 1min 33.882sec. That put him tenth out of the 17 riders and compares with his best Yamaha lap from Sunday's race, which he finished third, of 1min 32.970sec. The overall best lap time on Tuesday was 1min 32.012sec, by Rossi's former team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.

The state Senate on Monday voted 21-16 and narrowly passed bill SB43.

The bill modifies the California Vehicle Code to make it a crime to operate a motorcycle manufactured after Jan. 1, 2013, that fails to meet federal noise-emission control standards. Meaning that Motorcyclists whose vehicles lack the proper U.S. Environmental Protection Agency stamp on the stock exhaust can would be subject to a fine of up to $100 for first-time offenders.

"Basic common sense and decency dictates that when a motorcycle drives by and sets off every car alarm on the street, that is too loud," said the bill's author, Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills.

Many people feel loud pipes save live and other anti- bill people feel that there are laws already on the books to deal with the modified exhaust issue. "This is just an extra layer of bureaucracy," said Wayne Harter, an owner of a Harley-Davidson dealership in San Jose. "Our scarce police resources could be better utilized." Harter, who has been riding for more than 40 years, said adequate laws already are in place to deal with motorcycle noise and illegal mufflers.

The bill now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign or not sign into law. The Gov. is a known motorcycle enthusiast and has several of them. But he is also known as an environmentalist so it is anyone's guess if he will sign the bill or not. Matt Connelly, a spokesman in the governor's press office, said Schwarzenegger has not taken a position on Pavley's bill.

UPDATE 9-28-10 Governor signed the bill Tues 9-28 2010.

My goal is to make you a lifelong motorcyclist. You’ll need to do a lot more than just buy a $20,000 Harley—you’ll need to devote yourself to not only learning to ride, but learning to appreciate the ride. You’ll know you’ve become a serious motorcyclist when you stop riding just because your buddies are taking their bikes out together and you start riding because you can’t wait to feel the freedom of the open road. Hell, you won’t ride because you want to ride; you’ll ride because you need to ride...



From the book, "LET'S RIDE: Sonny Barger's Guide to Motorcycling."
Copyright © 2010 by Sonny Barger Productions.
Reprinted courtesy of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

The Kawasaki Concours 1400 police bike. The California Highway Patrol has contracted for 300 of the units and beat out BMW for the right to supply the police agency. The Corbin factory will be supplying the new police bikes with comfortable seats.

Secret Society Scooter Club is the oldest continuously operating scooter club in the US and is no stranger to throwing a party. This June marked the 24th year that the San Francisco chapter has thrown their signature rally, Scooter Rage.

The usual event typically consists of welcoming riders from all over the US and the world who will bring 200-300 vintage and modern (mostly) Italian scooters for rides and events all over the city of San Francisco and beyond. Events include scenic and sport oriented rides, live and DJ'd music, food and plenty of chances to socialize with fellow enthusiasts. This year the club has decided to add an event to the mix which is unprecedented in the scooter world, a 24 hour time/distance endurance event.

With a bit of obvious inspiration from the legendary Le Mans race the 24 Heures du Rage event allows teams of riders to pit their machines against the clock and the streets of San Francisco. The event will begin on the afternoon if Saturday the 19th and end Sunday the 20th. Teams will consist of three to six riders and there will be a vintage and a modern class. www.secretsociety.org.

For scooter info, check out Karryll Nason's ScooterPhile blog below. And be sure to check out her ScooterPhile column in the UM magazine for a complete calendar of scooter events in the Bay Area.

I always had a fondness for Dennis Hopper. Not only did I feel he did a better acting job in “Easy Rider” than Peter Fonda, but I liked his character of “Billy” in the movie, more than Fonda’s and felt it was semi-autobiographical. It was also pretty obvious non-acting in the one scene in New Orleans when he almost gets into a fight with a guy on Bourbon Street, showcasing his volatile temper.
Besides “Easy Rider” Hopper was also in quite a few of my other favorites, like “Apocalypse Now”, “Blue Velvet”, “Cool Hand Luke” and “True Grit”.
He first came to fame acting with James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause”, where he and Dean, both being true rebels, became close friends. One of my favorite stories of Hopper’s is when he was doing the movie “Giant”, Dean’s third and final film. On the set of the movie with Dean, during the filming in a very small Texas town, the entire population would come out and watch them shoot each day. Hopper was surprised when he witnessed Dean walk out in front of the crowd of townspeople, whip out his dick and take a piss right there in front of all of them!

Be warned, dirt ride park opponents. Austrian firm KTM will become the first large scale manufacturer to produce an electric bike called the Freeride going into full production in 18 months.

The prototype was unveiled at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show with an enduro and a supermoto version going on sale at under $15,000 dollars.

Of the two versions being made – the supermoto machine will be fully-road homologated. KTM is presenting the enduro version as ‘a new chance for off road riding’ as it can get around the noise issues that have seen so many riding tracks shut following complaints.

KTM sees this as a way that motocross tracks could be moved into urban areas to allow more people to ride – just like BMX or skate parks are in the middle of urban areas.

Both bike essentially share the same architecture. This means a 10bhp power output from the lithium ion battery in a delta box frame with self-supporting subframe. The bike has an overall weight of 198 pounds and KTM claims the low weight combined with the fairly low power output still allows the Freeride to match the performance of an equivalent 125cc internal combustion machine.

"BMW’s stunningly fast S1000RR has defeated all eight of its major rivals on the race track, comfortably annihilating the competition from both Japan and Europe." (MCN news)

Experts took part in the annual Masterbike test at the new Motorland circuit near Valencia, Spain, where all nine 1000cc inline-fours and 1200 V-twin sportsbikes competed head-to-head. The manufacturers were allowed to select from a choice of track tyres to suit their machines, and set suspension up to suit track riding. Each bike was subject to an independent dyno test to ensure the bikes weren’t tuned.

And if you like this story, just wait for Urban Moto's March issue featuring the BMW S100RR - coming soon!

Pictured right, Wade Boyd on the revered Beemer, by Conan Soranno

“Cafe Society” is the first full-length documentary to chronicle the origins, legacy and rebirth of the Cafe Racer subculture. Two years in the making and shot in Europe (mainly England) and the US, this documentary provides an intimate view.
The Cafe Racer Cult had been kept very much alive by events - Rocker Reunions held on London’s Chelsea Bridge, and goings-on at Ace Cafe in London. But very few know about the rich history of the Ton-Up culture and the stories of the men and women who created the first high-performance street bikes. To take you on the city streets wild ride, the film features great rockabilly music as stripped-down as a Bonneville Bobber. A Chet Burks Productions with Mike Seate reporting and interviews.
Pre-order the DVD by at the Cafe Society Website.