My journey into motorcycling has been so fascinating! For instance, my mates have always ridden on the back of my bike with me. That is the way it has been all of my life, as well as for most of the guys that I rode with throughout the years. That’s just the way it was!
I did have a date one time with a woman who rode her own motorcycle, but when she rode with me, she rode as a passenger on my bike. One time she asked if she could ride my bike by herself and I turned her down! I had grown up thinking women weren’t as physical as men. I felt that women were easily as smart as men, maybe smarter, but didn’t think of them as motorcycle riders. So as time went on, I observed more and more women riding their own bikes and I changed my perspective.
Then comes Cyndy! I helped her find her first bike, a Kawasaki Ninja 500, and she went through the MSF course and absolutely fell in love with motorcycling. She just put her whole passion and enthusiasm into motorcycles. Cyndy went through Keith Code’s Superbike school, went drag racing on her own, rode trials bikes with Gary LaPlante, and became a very competent rider.
She has gone on to own many bikes, including a Ducati 748R, Multistrada, Triumph Sprint RS, Suzuki Supermoto 400, and more bikes than I can remember. If that’s not enough she has ridden roads and racetracks around the world, and even toured Italy by herself on a Ducati Monster 1100!
So because of her love of riding her own motorcycle I lost having my mate ride on my bike with me, which I truly enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong. Having her riding next to me makes me proud and respectful of her abilities. Having my mate riding behind me on my bike though is special and I do miss that.
With that said, I guess one of the few times she did ride with me I shouldn’t have dropped the bike in a dirt parking lot with her on the back! We were at Laguna Seca going up a steep hill, and when the bike began to fall, she jumped off. No harm to her, but the bike got messed up and we had to drive home! She was smart and, as she always does, had her full riding gear on when it happened. It was a silly get off, but now it is so seldom she will ever ride with me.
If your mate wants to ride her own motorcycle that is awesome! Make sure to get all of the great training available and wear the proper gear! Us guys can’t be selfish and try to deny our mates of what we purely lust for and enjoy, and that’s riding!
MOTORCYCLE NEWS
Suzuki GSX-8R vs. Triumph Daytona 660 vs. Yamaha YZF-R7 Modern middleweight sportbikes go head-to-head in this sub-$10K comparison.
What exactly is a middleweight sportbike these days? For decades there was basically one formula that was driven by racing rules for Supersport competition. Initially those bikes were almost all Japanese 599cc inline-fours. But then Ducati came along and crashed the party with its 748cc V-twin, and later Triumph jumped in with its 675cc triple. Over time these machines became ever more focused on track performance and street manners suffered. The very competition that made the bikes so competent on the racetrack drove the development cycle, component quality, performance, and prices skyward.
Consumers retaliated by buying fewer and fewer of these machines with sales falling from 20,000-plus for a single Japanese brand annually in 2006 to a fraction of that currently. There are other factors that have contributed to the slow demise of traditional supersports, like emissions regulations, the 2008 financial crash, rising insurance rates, and changing tastes. It’s safe to say that the class as we knew it is fading into the past. But good news has arrived: manufacturers are reinventing the middleweight-sportbike class. And as this test shows, the recipes for the final dishes are refreshingly diverse and palatable for sportbike buyers.
Bagnaia and Ducati Lenovo Team undefeated at Assen after Sunday race win. Excellent podium for Bastianini, third at the line
Francesco Bagnaia and the Ducati Lenovo team have completed the perfect weekend in the Netherlands courtesy of an incredible win in the 25-lap MotoGP race that took place today at the TT Circuit Assen. Enea Bastianini put together an impressive comeback as he secured third place at the end of a heroic performance in the second part of the encounter.
Bagnaia had yet another perfect start to the race from pole position as he managed to create a little separation with his immediate opponents on lap one. In the following laps, Pecco had in Martín the only rider able to not lose touch to the lead. Thanks to an unmatched race pace – which included the new best race lap in 1:31.866 – the Italian rider managed to overcome the Spaniard’s resistance and to cross the line a lonely winner. Following today’s success, Bagnaia reaches a total of 23 wins with Ducati in MotoGP, equalling the current record held by Casey Stoner.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SALES & PROMOTIONS
*PLEASE NOTE - THE 20% OFF SERVICE VOUCHER IS GOOD FOR ONE USE ONLY AND IS PER CUSTOMER, NOT PER BIKE.