The Thrill of being Uncaged

Laguna Seca Raceway

2014-01-15T12:08:00.000-08:00

*I put several links related to the discussion in, check them out for additional info.*

For us motorcyclists (and for many others as well) here on the West Coast, Laguna Seca is a "Mecca" for greatness! Why will none of us be able to travel down there for MotoGP this year? Personally (and this is very unofficial), I believe it's because of the large number of ignorant, whiny, shithead people we have in this world anymore. Originally, this track was built in 1957. That's 56 years ago and there was nothing around it for miles because as is usually the case, they built it out in the middle of nowhere. Then the area starts to grow, quite possibly in part due to the racetrack, and people start building their houses closer and closer to Laguna Seca. What happens next is the ignorance I mention, people start whining about the noise because they live too close to the track. Really people? There are many of us who enjoy the noise and living close would be awesome, get a hold of me and I'll be glad to take that house off your hands!!

Right here in little ol' Klamath Falls, Oregon, we once had a small paved racetrack that lots of people had stupendously good times on. It didn't bring in lots of extra cash flow to the city, or travelers because it was just an itty bitty thing. But it did offer enthusiasts a place to go play and have a fun. It's been no more for a long time now because of houses built too close to it with people who are worthless in my opinion. If you live somewhere and all of a sudden they start building a racetrack in your back yard and that's not your thing, you have every right to complain. But if you move your dumbass next to a racetrack that is already there and being utilized, suck it the F*(K up!! Your life is a result of the choices you make, if your unhappy with it, make better choices and don't use that frustration to take away privileges from others. It's 100% up to you to be happy, SO DO IT!! Be happy.

I'm hoping that MotoGP will be back to Laguna Seca in the years to come but until then I will continue to enjoy the motorcycle racing that does still occur at this legendary racetrack until the day the squeaky wheel keeps squeaking from their unhappiness enough to shut the track down altogether. For us who enjoy it, keep supporting the track, the track events, and the communities that don't kick it out.

Thanks for listening ;)

"Circuit of the Americas" host MotoGP

2012-10-03T10:06:00.000-07:00

I for one am very excited to hear this. Texas has been working for a while now to finish their newest racetrack called "Circuit of the Americas" and they've been doing a lot of hard work to keep it going at a good pace. Initially, there were rumors of getting MotoGP to race there this year even, however, there just wasn't a sure enough completion time and it couldn't be arranged. Now, on the other hand, the track is progressing wonderfully and an agreement has been reached. Therefore, these great states of America will now have a total of 3 events of the worlds most elite motorcycle racers in the world. This is exciting for the fact of popularity of motorcycles in America.

The "Circuit of the Americas" has pushed the excitement of World Class Racing since they started building their dream with a large focus on F1 Racing and MotoGP. It's a great recipe really. Why build an amazing racetrack without setting your targets on the worlds best and most popular racing events? That being said, I would like to know how they're going to regulate the every day riders/drivers that are interested in taking to this new offering of adrenaline creating road circuit courses. Is it going to be over regulated like Laguna Seca? Not that the majority of us couldn't get their tires heated at Laguna Seca but the neighbors of our World Class California racetrack have complained/whined about the noise so if you want to take your baby onto the track your going to need stock exhaust or other exhaust (in some cases stock isn't quiet enough) that will meet the sound limit requirements.

Well, for now I believe their focus is rightly on the Worlds best but I sure hope that the surrounding areas don't have a lot of people that have a lack of understanding that there are thousands of people that can and will enjoy the track and respect the fact that at times you can have a little discomfort in order to provide the thrill to those seeking it.

Thanks for reading my thoughts.
~James

The Man behind Uncaged

2012-09-13T14:43:00.001-07:00

There is the man I used to be and the man I am now. With that said, there are good things and bad things about that. Either way, when I first started this blog I posted a couple personal entries and various business entries but it's been some time since I've written anything personal and so I've decided to change that.

I started up Uncaged Motorsports with the help of a friend back in September 2008 and went from a life of living as someone doing what was needed to survive to a man with a passion focused on the passion regardless of the cost. I lost a lot since then and may continue to lose more in the pursuit of doing what I want and enjoy doing. For the most part, people around me have no idea of my challenges due to the fact that I smile and am happy and today I thought about that a bit.

It came across my mind that I don't spend much time with friends and how much I don't like that. Curious why my brain focused on that fact at the million miles a second it normally runs and it spotted that my stresses and maintenance of a positive attitude causes my "free" time to be consumed trying to escape my world and very little gets done. I really really want Uncaged Motorsports to succeed and that focus has essentially put me in divorce (obviously, under the circumstances, she didn't "Love" me because Love does not fail) breaking up my family (3 amazing children), lost me my awesome truck (2005 Ford F150 Lariat Crew Cab), my house and much of my sanity.

After less than a year of opening the wife left due to stress because finances were extremely tight due to spending all money on the shop to get it going and grow it. I lost everything else not because she took it but because my source of income was my own business and I was now spending so much of my time trying to save my marriage including flying to Alaska (where she ran off to and hooked up with an old friend) to get her to come back. Roughly a year after that all started, I had to give up on the business just to keep my head above water (plus I didn't have a place to run the business anymore since I lost the house to the bank).

I went to work as a Waiter at Wingers restaurant and lived off the tips primarily, because child support took 50% of my paycheck. Then a man, whom I feel I now owe way more than I could ever pay back, contacted me about working on his Benelli motorcycle because of several people recommending me and made me an offer of working to get the business going out of his shop free of rent. This was an opportunity I could not pass up because getting the shop going is definitely something I wanted and even though I felt I wasn't financially ready, a free shop was offered and so it started. The downfall is that I really wasn't ready financially and still had too many debts that I accrued through the past and now I'm back to running the shop which some months cost me to do even with free rent. Now I'm working nights at Roosters Steak and Chop house (Wingers fired me due to complications in scheduling and Roosters is only open at nights) and some of that money earned goes towards growing Uncaged, the kids spending time with me, paying debts and current bills.

Now, the time has come that I have to find a shop of my own and I'm having a hard time finding the financial means to make that happen but I also do not want to give up on Uncaged. I truly feel I can make this work and that it would already be doing fairly well if I had the funds to have a sign made, do a little local advertising and so forth. So I am at a crossroads of decisions and I feel like I'm falling apart due to the type of stress it is causing me. I am currently homeless and have been since a great guy was helping me out by allowing me to live with him until he found a special someone and is now married to that person. So I've been sleeping in my car, the shop, and with my cousin. And I feel like I could possibly, with lots of hard work and little to no play, afford to pay rent but I cannot come up with deposit and such in the time frame that I have.

Homeless and a bit battered up I still manage to keep my self positive but at the cost of not having a best friend or many friends at all that I can manage the time to hang out with and stay connected with. So often I have to deal with my brain telling me how much of a failure I am and that I can't accomplish anything and that I don't deserve anyone special in my life. I expend lots of time and energy in staving off those thoughts that it's taking away from more important things that I could accomplish.

In conclusion, I need to make a decision, possibly a very difficult one for me and one that could create a stronger sense of failure, in order to save myself financially and mentally.

Well, time to get back to it. Thanks for listening to me vent some very substantial information out of my own necessity.

Super Clean ~ 1979 Honda CB750-F

2012-07-06T16:39:00.002-07:00

Been way too long since I've kept up on my blog. *Slaps self in face*

Travis did a trade with a friend of his and got himself another motorcycle and it's really cool. That gave me a little spark to get back to blogging about my passion.

Well, this bike he picked up is the 10th of a series that is considered the first "Superbike". Honda decided to offer on a mainstream level some of the technologies being used in racing that had not ever been offered prior. The overhead cam (transverse) Inline 4 cylinder was introduced to the market and it was taken in with open arms. And it would seem to me that it is the father of basically all of Honda's "Superbikes" due to the continued use of it's nomenclature.
A 1979 Honda CB750-F is now sitting here at the shop for me to look at and it is definitely something to look at. It's in amazingly clean condition and it's been modified to increase it's "race" capabilities with aftermarket adjustable rear suspension and stabilizers on the front forks to decrease the shaking due to the small diameter forks. It's a very cool bike and nice to see that it's been so well taken care of over the years.

Now it's time to do some fluid changes on this bad boy and some re greasing/lubricating of some bearings and other moving parts and get it out on the road. Not sure yet what Travis' plans are for this bike and it's likely he will just turn around and sell it. But for now I will enjoy it's presence and get it freshened up from it's long nap. I will supply a better picture once it's all done. :)

Thanks Travis for the inspiration :)

James

Not "Fastest" but I want one

2011-12-06T17:18:00.001-08:00

Yamaha showed a concept bike that I think is just a fantastic idea. 188 mpg and it just looks cool. For getting around town I definitely want one of these.

Get more information and more pictures HERE

FASTEST

2011-11-28T09:02:00.001-08:00

Fastest the Movie is out and ready for order. I will be getting the movie in before the New Year and setting up a "Movie Night" for everyone interested to come and watch to ease the pain of not being able to ride. The details are still unknown but I will update when I figure it all out. :)

Until then, Head on over to their site to see a preview. I'm excited to see it myself.

MotoGP 2011 ~ Eventful and Emotional

2011-11-14T15:49:00.001-08:00

I was really hoping for more of a fight for the championship with 14 previous world champions all racing in this years MotoGP. Instead, Casey Stoner stole the show and did an amazing job at securing the Championship for 2011. However, that does not mean it wasn't an intense year in MotoGP. There were lots of great battles to watch and it was obvious that these highly skilled motorcycle racers were pushing these bikes to the very edge. Jorge Lorenzo showed us all why he was the Champion that Stoner had to take the title from, being one of the very few that could run with Stoner aboard his very potent Honda package. Honda definitely showed their might throughout the season with every rider having amazing lap times aboard their Honda.

Watching these "superheroes" push their respective equipment to the limits is what makes it so enjoyable to watch, but it has inherent risks that presented itself in a horrible way this year. Last season during the 11th round of the Moto2 race, motorcycle racing lost a very young and rising star in Shoya Tomizawa and this was the first on-track fatality at GP level since Kato in 2003. And this year we lost Marco Simoncelli who was sure to make great things happen. He was such a character, from his hair style to how he dealt with people. On track he was unforgiving and extremely determined and pushed 120% at all times. Sure to be a legend on the race field he is a legend in our hearts. SuperSic's death came during the 2nd to last race of the season with only Valencia left to race and his Team was unsure of participation in any category. However, they decided that the best way to honor Simoncelli would be to race and what an honor it ended up being. Michele Pirro won the Moto2 race, very first win for him in the Moto2 class and dedicated it to Simoncelli saying, “After setting pole yesterday I just had to do well today. The conditions were really difficult for the race but I tried to stay focused and then Marco did the rest from on high. He was with me throughout the race and on every lap I was asking him not to leave me alone. It was a long 27 laps and being out there riding alone isn't easy. This victory is dedicated to his family, who are suffering more than anybody right now, to his girlfriend and also to the guys in the team. It hasn't been an easy year for us but a victory at the end of it is a nice tonic. We had a tough time after Malaysia but we managed to convince Fausto to come to Valencia and I am sure it was the right choice because it is what Marco would have wanted. Racing was his life and this was the best way to honour him and remember him.” Whether your a fan like me or not, that is pure awesomeness.

Also, Loris Caparossi wrapped up his racing career this year. After a 22-year career with 328 races and 99 podiums under his belt has decided to hang up the leathers and retire from racing. Today, I heard that he will still be working with MotoGP but instead of as a racer, he will use his extensive experience as a racer to assist in matters of safety having been appointed in an advisory role for safety in the MotoGP World Championship. Also, in recognition of his contribution to the sport throughout his career, it has been requested to retire his number 65 from use in the MotoGP World Championship.

Now, with new regulations and MotoGP going back to 1000cc motorcycles we wait with heavy anticipation for 2012 racing season to start. I'm very excited and I know that you are too, just admit it.

James

Electric Motorcycles ~ I want one or two :)

2011-11-09T09:59:00.000-08:00

For the energy "crisis" I believe that electricity is the answer. The reason for this belief is simple and probably is the same for everyone else, the sources for electricity are many. Hydrogen is one of the means of producing electricity that I hope finds it's means and becomes the norm. That way I simply will not need to plug my damn vehicles in for extended periods of time. I have a difficult enough time remembering to plug in my cell phone on a regular basis.

However, that does not stop me from wanting one of each of the neat little electric toys I just read about this morning. KTM's awesome little electric dirt bike for starters. Check out the video and then get back to me. It's alright, I'll wait.

I guess since I was nice enough to just post the video here for you, you didn't need to leave but I waited for you to watch it anyways. Super Fun isn't it? I definitely want one. And I think I would ride it all over town too just to see how long I could get away with it.

So, what about the other electric motorcycle that I want? Well, there is a company out of California offering electric motorcycles next February which you can read all about them on their site here. But the look of the 'Energica' is more my style and desire. It looks fantastic. CRP racing unveiled it and they could have done a little better marketing with more attractive women but the bike itself looks great enough so I guess that was their angle. Read about the 'Energica' and see a couple pictures of it HERE.

Alright, that's all for that. Have an absolutely great week and start invested in technologies of tomorrow if you can.

James

Winter Storage

2011-11-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

There's a great article at MCN about winterizing your motorcycle. It lists many very important things to increase how long your motorcycle will be with you. Especially in cold areas such as here in Klamath Falls, the winter can greatly reduce the longevity of your ride. Considering this, I have decided to put together a package that includes everything that is important for your bike and also storage in a secure location.

Basic Package = All required items to insure a great running back next season less Radiator fluid and Fork fluid since each are only necessary every two years.
Basic Package is $285 for all work, materials and storage for the entire winter season.

Radiator Package = Basic + Radiator fluids
Radiator Package is $315 for all work, materials and storage for the entire winter season.

Fork Package = Basic + Fork Oil change
Fork Package is $335 for all work, materials and storage for the entire winter season.

Premier Package = Basic + Radiator + Fork Packages
Premier Package is $375 for all work, materials and storage for the entire winter season.

If interested contact me.

James

Forgot to mention, the oil in this pricing is a full JASO oil that I personally fully believe in. There is also an oil that I use in my machine that I obviously fully trust and believe in but is not JASO certified. The prices with that oil would be a little less if your interested.

James

Motorcycle News/Stories

2011-11-03T16:24:00.000-07:00

There was a great article written up in one of the Motorcycle Mags (I have it around here somewhere) about an amazing character in the motorcycle racing world. He's not popular outside of the motorcycle world but I can say his name and find out if a person enjoys motorcycle racing and if a person doesn't know him than it's a safe bet that they aren't really into motorcycles as much as they should be (in my opinion haha).

Who the heck am I blabbing on about? Guy Martin!! He's got a great personality and a great track record but he has not yet been able to win a race in his chosen race format. Hopefully, as your reading this you read his name and already knew what race he participates in and possibly a bit more about him than that. But if not I'll tell you. Guy Martin races in the worlds oldest and most prestigious, dangerous, amazing, crazy road racing event in the world; Isle of Mann TT. It's the same place they held the very first Electric Motorcycle race event TTXGP.

There is a movie coming out this month that I will definitely be getting a hold of about the Isle of Mann and stars Guy Martin. A preview:

And also starting this month, Guy Martin will have another TV show (he's had one other TV Show before) on BBC (hopefully on BBC).

The other story that I've already talked about but there is continuously additional stories is that of Marco Simoncelli. What an impact his unfortunate incident has had on the world. There is a man in Italy that has put "graffiti" on a wall in remembrance of SuperSic and has left a blank area for others to "sign". What a great artist he is too, the wall looks great.

Also, MotoGP has a large wall at the Valencia circuit (Final race of the season) with Marco's number (58) on it and a space for fans to write their own message during their visit. Another aspect I personally find very cool is that Sic's dad Paolo requested not a minute of silence but rather a minute of noise making. And per his request, MotoGP will have a one minute of everyone revving their bikes and making noise. AWESOME!!

It's unfortunate that there are going to be a few racers not participating in this race due to injuries but it's nice to see another American taking the place of Colin Edwards in this weekend race. Josh Hayes has had a great year and I'm sure he's ecstatic about being Colin's fill in for this very emotional final MotoGP race of the season in Valencia.

Stefan Bradl also has an amazing final race to be excited about. As long as he finishes 13th or better he will be the Moto2 champion his rookie year in that class. Great job Stefan.

And I guess I will just stick to one more "Story". The images released for the new MV Augusta F3 675 looks amazing and some of the information on the engine and tech advances are very interesting to me. I really like it and wish for a chance to try it out. Here is a shot of it and a link to more information:

Thanks a lot for listening to my rambling.

James

Great Weekend Ride

2011-10-31T13:42:00.000-07:00

A group of us Southern Oregon Sport Riders all got together for a "Before Winter Ride" and the weather couldn't have been better not to mention the group of people. We only had one pull over by the "fun spoilers" and received 0 "fun ride bills".

Here are a few shots of the Saturday group of riders from multiple cities in Southern Oregon. These are from our meet up at a beautiful park in Grants Pass called Riverside Park:

These are from our eat stop in Crescent City, CA on the coast which is where we split up and most returned home while us Klamath guys continued on to Fortuna, CA:

The food at Chart Room in Crescent City is awesome. Clam Chowder bread bowl was extremely good and thanks to SingleTrackin for letting me try his Fish & Chips which were also super yummy.

Next stop for us overnighters was in Fortuna where we stayed the night and we ate at a small Italian place in Eureka, CA called Mazzoti's and we ate a lot of their delicious that the serve before the meal. We were able to park directly outside the window from where we sat.

Then we enjoyed a few beers at Eel River Brewery in Fortuna which was real close to our Hotel.

In the morning we ate at Peppers Restaraunt and headed out on Highway 36 to Wildwood Rd. and 3 through Weaverville into Yreka. I5 to Ashland and back home.

All together we did just under 700 miles and it was super fun.

Tourmaster Synergy Gear Review

2011-10-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

I'm not in a good financial position in life to try lots of different gear and accessories and give reviews on them but since it's something I eventually want to get to the point of doing I will start with some of the products that I have already tried. I'm not a writer, or employed by anyone other than myself. I am simple and fair and will review every product with the most understanding and real review I can.

The Synergy gloves that I have are a little too tight. My hand measures 200mm/7-7/8" from the tip of my middle finger to the point right at the first line of the wrist. The gloves I have are size Large/10. If your hand was about 10 mm shorter than it would probably be properly snug.
The Velcro strapping is well placed and functional allowing you to get it to feel secure and the extra "sleeve" aspect is very nice for closing in the heat.
The heating is amazing and feels very uniform and in my opinion very much out does the Gerbing gloves that I also have but at least they fit (A little too big but doable).

The Synergy Jacket fits well at Large/44 but it would be really nice if it was just a little bit longer from neck to waist. I'm 6'2 and not overweight at 205 and if I went up to the 46 I probably would have better length but I feel that it would then not fit around me as well.
Again the heating works very well. Uniform and not to drastic. At first it feels hot as it is getting up to temp but then just seems to smooth out and doesn't even feel like it's on but I'm not cold. Tourmaster did a great job on this product line.

Same goes for the pants. Great products at a fair price. Very much recommend for anyone brave enough to endure the cold weather like I am. And yes, I have ridden on the snow and in very cold temperatures on my R1. Without the heated gear turned on it does a great job just as cold weather gear as well. I've ridden in 40 degrees without it on and was fairly comfortable. Great products!!!

I still need to try the socks and will be very excited to do so. Have they made a Balaclava with heated neck area yet? :)

Please post up any comments in regards to your impressions or reviews of the same product.

James

RIP Simoncelli MotoGP's rising star

2011-10-24T09:08:00.000-07:00

It was so extremely difficult to watch Marcos crash and I can only imagine how horrific it is for both Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. I got fairly emotional after seeing it and still have a hard time accepting that it really happened and wasn't just a bad dream. Extremely unfortunate and definitely wish it didn't happen.

However, what really pisses me off is all of the talks and discussions of how it raises questions into the safety of Motorsports. Many are saying that after the two separate deaths of both Dan Wheldon and Marco Simoncelli that safety is of great concern. Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?!?! I can understand many of the discussions of the situation with Dan Wheldon referring to the fact that the specific race that had many "Noobs" racing because of a current lack of skill required in an open tire race at a full out 220 MPH around the entire track. But the instance involving Marco in the MotoGP race is nothing like that. I'm glad they will be reviewing the incident but it's pretty simple to see that it was a freak accident and very rare.

It is very rare for these types of things to occur and it would be nice if they never did but if it were me, I would much prefer to lose my life in a pursuit of my passion over many other options that I hear about much more often. Let's see, walking across the street and not being noticed, heart attack because I was too fat and lazy to keep myself healthy, getting cancer and not discovering it till it was too late. SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT THE SAFETY SHIT. It was a horrible incident but safety in both of these cases and throughout the motorsports world is handled very well and should not be under such scrutiny.

RIP to both of you amazing gentleman and may I have the pleasure to one day have a fraction of the success that you had in yours in mine or my children's life. You were both special and I definitely will always look up to you.

James

Instructional Video from Simon Crafar

2011-10-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

I will definitely be getting this video. Instructional video from a great rider on how to ride better, what's not to love about that. Motorcycle racing is something that I find amazing and thrilling. To me, it's much better than any car racing, even with F1 being extremely cool. The lean angle is the one thing that just sets it apart as far as I'm concerned.

This promotional video is a bit lacking but I will share it anyways since it at least gives an idea of what is going to be on the DVD.

Your Ideas

2011-10-19T11:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever come up with a cool idea for an accessory for your motorcycle but just didn't know how, or have the time, to get it started. It's a very challenging process and it takes a lot of time that's for sure. Coming up with the idea is crucial for getting it started but it's only a very small part of the whole process. You then have to engineer all aspects of it so that it functions and to truly be successful it'll have to function very well. Manufacturing it comes next and then marketing and selling it.

I am working on two different products currently and have found that I thoroughly enjoy doing this. If you have come up with an idea and think you'd like to get some assistance in making it happen, let me know and if I agree that it could be a great product and that we could make some money producing it, I would be more than happy to do the other aspects of making it come to fruition.

James

Amazing Save

2011-10-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

What an Amazing save by Gino Rea. It's unfortunate for Parkes that he got caught up in the situation however. Take a look at what I mean:

A Damaged Finger?

2011-10-16T00:25:00.000-07:00

Big Congratulations to Casey Stoner in clinching the 2011 MotoGP Championship. What an amazing racer he is and he definitely deserves the title. Phenomenal race to watch as far as being dramatic too. Got myself pumped up a bit.

Very disappointed in Jorge Lorenzo however. It's difficult to believe that after hurting one of his fingers on his left hand that he couldn't still race. I don't know all circumstances but just feel that the effort was lacking. Part of me questions if he didn't simply puss out due to the fact that Casey Stoner has been able to consistently dominate him and attempts at taking back the Championship felt futile. I surely hope not. The idea of it just infuriates me. Being a Yamaha fan as I am, I'm also frustrated with the misfortune of both Factory Yamaha riders being completely out of the race at Phillip Island. Seems that Ben Spies was able to ride decently well after his fall but I'm sure the issue is the sustained race time. Very unfortunate instances in both cases.

I was really expecting much better racing this year with the line-up but with Casey dominating so much and Jorge seemingly the only one to be able to stay somewhat close, I feel that we as fans have been slightly cheated. Hopefully, next year with the change to 1000cc bikes will be a little bit more fulfilling on the side of competition. It's an amazing sport and I'm hoping that others will catch on to that fact and the popularity rises and we can enjoy some great action filled motorcycle racing.

Excited to see how next week goes. Goodnight.

James

MotoGP Crash caused by Irresponsibility

2011-10-14T08:52:00.000-07:00

Just to speak with my opinions, I am very glad to hear the FIM gave Marquez the penalty. He definitely was being a irresponsible jack ass. The speed difference between Marquez and both other riders that were in front of him makes it very apparent to me and I'm shocked that his team tried to appeal the decision. WTF!!! The checkered flag means the racing is done. Not, get another good lap in just to make sure. Having missed seeing a flag before on the track, I can understand if possibly he wasn't completely aware but that is nobody's fault but his own and should have accepted the penalty without further question. It would be interesting to know if that was the case or what else was going through Marc's head just prior to the incident.

Here is the exact wording from the MotoGP site:
"Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol rider Marc Márquez will have one minute added onto his best lap time in Saturday’s qualifying session at the Iveco Australian Grand Prix, after being penalised by Race Direction for an incident involving Ratthapark Wilairot during the Friday morning practice session at Phillip Island.
Márquez and Wilairot collided at the end of the session once the chequered flag had been passed by both riders, in an incident in which Márquez crashed into the back of the Thai rider. After reviewing the incident Race Direction decided to hand Márquez the one-minute penalty.
In a statement the FIM said that Márquez had ridden in “an irresponsible manner, causing danger to Wilairot which is an infringement of Article 1.21.2 of the 2011 FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix Regulations”.
An appeal was lodged by Márquez’s team, following which FIM Stewards confirmed the decision of Race Direction. The decision of the FIM Stewards is final."

My Motorcycle Mechanical Problem

2011-10-13T10:40:00.000-07:00

Early September I made a trip to Wisconsin to be there for my Uncles wedding. A beautiful wedding it was and an amazing visit with my Uncle whom I hadn't seen in too long of a time. Got a chance to meet his Bride and her family and everything about the visit was super wonderful. She's a great person and so is all the friends and family that I got the pleasure to meet.

The visit was great but for money saving reasons I was flying out of Oakland (about 6.5 hour drive from here) and decided that I would ride to Napa. Napa is the home of some of my extended family and I planned on driving, actually riding, to visit them in the process. Plan: Park Bike at W & R's house, get ride to Oakland airport, fly to WI, come back and visit multiple people that I know in and around that area.

During preparations to head out I just had one more stop to make aboard "Silver Monkey" and sitting at a traffic light, I hear a relatively loud pop that seemed to come from my bike. Check it out real quick and everything appeared to be fully functional and nothing leaking etc.... And since I am in somewhat of a hurry to get going, I decide to get a move on and not look into it any further. That is nearly always the wrong answer.

Approximately 30- 35 miles into my trip I get caught up in road construction which kills about 25 minutes of time and still concerned about what that noise was, I got off the bike and looked around it still not finding anything. The gentleman ahead of me gets out of his vehicle to stretch his legs and we end up in a conversation and it was nice. Other direction traffic is starting to come by so he returns to his vehicle and I begin putting my gear back on. When I press the start button for the bike it seems oddly unfamiliar in character but she starts up. Not 5 miles past the construction area, she starts acting like she's out of gas and then dies out altogether.

Now I'm on the side of the road a bit upset and trying to add up the information I have to figure out what happened. My display is now showing an error code (46 on a 2004 Yamaha R1) meaning that the fuel injection system is not working properly which makes sense on the "running out of fuel" feeling I got just before. And it's seeming to me that there is a charging system issue which I'm guessing is stator or reg/rec.

Well, I start making calls because as of now I'm going to end up very short on time and will now have to travel through the night to get to the airport in Oakland on time. Thanks to the great friends I have, S picks up my motorcycle and takes it to his house, E picks me up and takes me to W's place where W proceeds to let me take his motorcycle to complete my trip.

Get back after about 2 weeks of a much needed vacation and start to work on "Silver Monkey" to find out for sure what needs to be fixed and so first thing I do is take the cover off for the stator and find that the stator is find but Yamaha used a very cool but "special" system and that the magnets are affixed to the Rotor not the stator, well at least they are suppose to be. Mine have not been able to hang on any longer and the loud pop I heard was the breakage of the setup that has them there. The battery was able to keep me running long enough to get out of town and stranded but no more than that.

The other bad news to that is just how much the new Rotor Assembly is because of how "special" it is. Retail price of $540. Goodness gracious. So, I track a used one down and manage to get a great deal on it (in fact I purchased the part I needed and the stator, stator cover and bolts, and starter clutch all together. I now have an extra stator just in case. I found a couple minor little tidbits that were not mentioned in the service manual that if not properly completed could cause additional problems. But tested everything, put it all together and my baby was once again running and I couldn't wait to go for a ride.

This Sunday, I will be going on a very nice ride to truly break her in and I'm very excited for it. If anyone out there has a 2004-2008 Yamaha R1 and gets the error code 46 and finds they have the same problem as myself. Contact me for more information and also I may be able to help find a great deal for you on the parts and I will also give you all information to assist a smooth and successful operation.

Have a great day and keep riding. And stays safe too.

James

Aaaaay!!! ~ The Fonz

2011-10-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

Below is my original post in regards to the TR5 Triumph going up for auction and the reason I am re-awakening the post is because I just got word that the very same bike is going up for auction....again? Does anyone know what happened? Did it not fetch what they wanted, did it sell and the new owner has decided to see if he can turn it around for a little extra by adding the information that it was previously owned by Bud Ekins who was Steve McQueens good friend? I'm at a loss and will now be researching to see if I can find out. If you have any information, I would greatly appreciate it if you helped me out. :)

Thanks, James

The Fonz from "Happy Days" was one of those iconic figures that sometimes makes me wonder how? lol He was just simple and "cool" and of course it helps that he was a biker ;)

Well apparently they are going to be auctioning off the motorcycle he rode on the show next month. It doesn't run but it's a very famous 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 ridden by Henry Winkler as Fonzie in the sitcom show "Happy Days".

The bike on topic has not been ridden since 1984 and has been collecting dust for the last 15 years with a broken speedometer. Poor thing. Hope it will find a great home where someone will take care of it, fix it up and make it all pretty again :)

MV Augusta F4R, I want :)

2011-10-06T12:12:00.000-07:00

This is my third blog entry of the day. I need to stop roaming the internet and get some actual work done. But I couldn't help but put this up. This thing looks great and I am one of those guys that believes Harley Davidson made a mistake when they cut-off Buell motorcycles and also sold the MV division.

Buell
First, they decide to just simply cut Buell and now Erik Buell is back at it and is looking great. I am anxious to see what his 2012 bike is going to look like and also the data on it. Super Excited.

MV Augusta
And then they sell of the MV Augusta line right back to the guys that they bought it from in order to focus on their tradition. MV has always had some great looking bikes and now I see this one and drool.

I will make the rest of this post simple: Click here to read all about it!

James

Steve Jobs Is a Biker

2011-10-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Steve Jobs, Co-Founder of Apple/Computer Genius, has left this world for another as of yesterday, October 5th, 2011. He left this world after a great deal of success and some amazing products. Someone to live like as an example. Immediately, many people were posting up quotes from this Silicon Valley success story and the main theme was about living life outside the realm of what people say is possible but rather following your heart and mind to achieve everything that you can. Great words from a man who proved it to be true.

The thing that I stumbled upon that struck my interest enough to add a post to my blog about Steve was the fact that "Steve Jobs Is a Biker". I understand that I put is when it really should be was but to me when you are a biker (someone who has found his place amongst the "dreamality" of 2wheels), you never stop being a biker. All information about Jobs' riding has him riding sans helmet and even sans socks in his ADIDAS shoes and jeans and Plaid shirt. Riding appears to be his preferred means of transportation during the early periods of his success.

Here is the section out of a National Geographic Article that pertains to Steve Jobs:

Steve Jobs is pleased with the falling prices. He hopes that his computer will become the Volkswagen of the industry, the computer every family can own. The 27-year-old co-founder of Apple Computer, whose typewriter-size instrument is pioneering the incorporation of the computer into daily life, bristles a little, too, as he reminds, “We’d rather call the Apple a personal than a home computer.” Although 1981 and 1982 have been the “years of the personal computer,” with giants like IBM jumping into the market and about two million now in use in the United States, predictions that computers would be the nerve centers of our homes by the early 1980s have proved premature.
“It’s no more difficult than learning to cook, but people are afraid they can’t handle it,” says Jobs’s Silicon Valley neighbor Dan Fylstra, whose VisiCorp software packages are simple enough for use in the home. The machines are just not yet “user friendly” enough. Though research labs all over the valley are struggling to solve the elusive problem of speech recognition, we are a long way from marketing a computer that can respond to ordinary conversation—the ultimate friendliness.
So Jobs and his growing host of competitors have directed their sales efforts to office uses. But the Apple has inspired a dedicated cult of hard-core enthusiasts who trade new uses for the computer in the columns of Apple magazines; one engineer has programmed his Apple to activate a small motor that rocks the crib when his colicky baby cries or wriggles. And Jobs has become a potent role model for a new breed of bright kids who are writing and selling software programs and, with their arcane computer skills, gaining the prestige formerly tasted only by the high-school football team.
Over herb tea in a vegetarian restaurant, Jobs explained to me, “For us, computers have always been around. That’s what separates us guys from you guys. You were born B.C.—Before Computers. And it’s because of this place. I was born here. When I was 14,1 was asking famous computer engineers here questions. Apple came out of the microprocessor, created in this valley just five miles from here.”
Jobs’s passion has paid off handsomely. With Steve Wozniak he built his first Apple in 1976 in his parents’ Los Altos garage because they couldn’t afford to buy a computer; now he owns Apple Computer stock worth 100 million dollars. While the chip companies suffered this spring, Apple’s revenues soared 81 percent over last year’s. Apple now occupies 22 buildings in Silicon Valley and plants in Texas, Singapore, and Ireland, which is bidding to become Europe’s Silicon Valley.
Although Jobs drives the requisite Mercedes, success seems not to have spoiled the first folk hero of the computer age. In plaid shirt and jeans, he still prefers, as a friend said, “to drive his motorcycle to my place, sit around and drink wine, and talk about what we’re going to do when we grow up.”

I think that's very cool. Also, I'd like to say that, not being a fan of Apple, that the first part of this section in the article says that Jobs wanted his Apple to be the "Volkswagen of the industry, the computer that every family can own." For me Apple was always too expensive, therefore, it was more of the "BMW" of computers and that's not a bad thing. Great Job Steve, I will definitely have to ride with you on the "Great Road in the Sky" one day. Till then I will strive to follow your quotes to attempt similar success.

James

New World SuperBike image

2011-10-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

After 25 years of being the world class leader in production-bike road racing, FIM is redesigning their look and feel reflecting the extreme sport and increasing awareness around the world. InFront Sports & Media is the media company that will be taking the Superbike World Championship to a new level.

Paolo Flammini, CEO of Infront Motor Sports, commented: “Passion, competition and accessibility are three key values that we continuously endeavour to communicate to our audience. People perceive and recognize them appropriate for SBK. The road is our origin: SBK comes from the roads, our bikes are production-derived bikes, our races are competitive and exciting and enable fans to identify themselves with the riders. This is why we have chosen to further develop the chevron, a familiar icon from the roads worldwide, as a key visual element for the new SBK brand family and bring it to life wherever we can.”

This is such a great thing for the success of motorcycles on the road accross the world. Many countries have definitely found motorcycles to be a more-than-viable means of transportation, from scooters to rockets on two wheels but here in the states and many other countries I feel there is still a very large space to fill in this area. Popularity is the means to that. Between fuel prices, the effect on the roads physically, the congestion aspects, and just simple fun and enjoyment, motorcycles are the place to sit your butt. Whether in cars or any other vehicle, some people are going to be excessive and cause "trouble" so the argument of safety is silly to me. For those concerned about trying your hand at "Riding", "Don't knock it till you've tried it".

James

Read more about the new look at: InFront Sports & Media, RoadRacingWorld, and/or TwoWheels Blog

Another Step Towards Success

2011-10-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

The accessory that I am currently developing for motorcycles has been consuming my time and thoughts much of the day and if I previously made it seem like something that was going to be simple and not take much time, I didn't mean to. Today was another step towards completion after a "problem" was causing my brain to overheat. However, today that problem currently has a solution that I hope will a successful one. It's one that has got me very excited for the design process (since I have to design a part to be built to accomplish the "fix"). The design will be finished tomorrow.

The great part about this project is just how much my excitement increases the more I think about it. It really feels like this is going to be something that you all will appreciate and desire to have. It will make riding more enjoyable and comfortable for you, and me as well for that matter. And the fact that it could be a great start to my success in this "dream business" of mine makes it that much more exciting.

Along with the "problem fix" today, an additional benefit to this products arose and it's pretty cool. Not as great of a benefit as the main aspect of the product but cool none-the-less. I really hope that with the next few months I can get to the point where I will have the idea "protected" and I can begin to share with you the details so that you can be as excited as I am.

Thank you soooo much for following my blog and listening to all my jibbering. I never did well in English class because I'm not much of a writer, so the idea of a blog really didn't feel like something I could do. Now, it is a great project for me because I know that I have people "listening" to me which feels really good. So, THANKS. I will keep you up to date on this new product and also the normal things that I discuss on here.

James

PS Click to Follow and when the product is available, if you are interested in it, I will give you "Best Pricing".

Laundry Day

2011-10-04T10:50:00.000-07:00

Saturday I had to suck it up and get laundry done or go without clean clothes. So, I just sat around and did nothing............ LOL Just kidding. My son, Anthony, had his friends birthday party to go to and Elizabeth and Hailey came to hang out with me. So, we all went and did laundry together, every kids dream. Of course we went and played around in Fred Meyers, got some food and drinks and made it fun. Here are a couple pictures of the fun we had:

On the way back, walking to the shop (Uncaged), Hailey nearly ran the whole way. Anytime we walk anywhere she is insisting on running. She tries to get everyone running and of course I make sure to let her win the running races and get the kids to do the same except on occassion they get to win too. :)

Before the trip to do laundry, Hailey wasn't feeling good and had thrown up so Elizabeth and I let her sleep while we played some games. I sure hope they both enjoyed themselves. A lot of the times that they spend with me, I'm at the shop and doing stuff "fun" isn't easy. I'll have to do some more activity stuff with them.

James