Yesterday my wife and I were meeting with our lawyer to make out our will, what people of a “certain age” do for bonding. In the midst of this catalog of paperwork is the health part, and those questions about extending your life by being put on “machines,” of which my answer was no. It [...]

Personally, one of the best things about motorcycling is that it necessitates living in the moment. No past or present; only now matters. It’s a Zen concept but one that certainly applies to riding. It’s a time to recharge your batteries and go places deep within yourself that are better reached without words, places we [...]

We are currently testing out a pair of POV cameras – the Contour ROAM and DriftHD. Both are small, able to mount on a helmet or on the bike, are waterproof, and shoot HD 1080p video. We’ll be putting them through their paces this summer, taking them on stories and other adventures. In the meantime, we’d like [...]

Many motorcycles, particularly dual sport and other off-road-oriented bikes, still use manual clutch cables. For fear of being stranded in the middle of nowhere by a broken clutch cable, I always carried an extra cable, along with an additional front inner tube and several other tools and repair items for my 2006 Kawasaki 650 KLR. [...]

It has only been one week since the race in Jerez, Spain and the excitement continues on the Iberian peninsula. The Estoril Circuit in Portugal presented the third round of the 2012 MotoGP series. Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) qualified for pole position in Sunday’s race, followed by Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) and Cal Crutchlow (Monster [...]

One of my all-time favorite movies is Creator (1985), starring Peter O’Toole. It’s a quirky film that appeals to my nostalgic and sympathetic nature. The main character (Dr. Harry Wolper) is talking longingly of his late wife when he says: “When Lucy and I first met, Paul, the world was a pet. It came along [...]

No, I’m not talking about those interstate joints with the instantly recognizable logos and monikers of soothing, focus-group-driven words with the obligatory “Inn” tacked on. The motels I’m looking for are the old-school motor courts. They used to be everywhere, their colorful, flashing neon signs beckoning weary travelers with promises of “Color TV” and “Air-Conditioning.” [...]

In honor of Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, an initiative supported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, we wanted to remind you that motorcycle safety has a direct correlation to preventing accidents, avoiding insurance and legal troubles, and protecting your financial security. Take a Motorcycle Safety Course: Motorcycle safety courses can teach riders how to [...]

Short answer: in my opinion, nothing. Nothing of this earthly plane, or made by the hand of man, is perfect. By, or of, its nature, all things are flawed. Yet perfection is the utopian goal; whether a piece of art, or a work of prose, it must be perfect. Machines must work “perfectly,” yet none [...]

Several years ago we reviewed the J&M Integratr IV, a device that connected a cell phone, GPS unit, intercom, radar detector, bike-to-bike radio, as well as FM and MP3 or satellite radio functions. This system worked pretty well, and connected with a wide variety of communications gear. However, as time has passed, new and improved [...]

Motorcycle riding, and especially the morning commute, opens a rider’s eyes to all kinds of bad driving behavior. I was somewhat amused coming up with this list of offenders. If you’ve ridden long enough, I’m sure you’ve come across some, or possibly all, of these. The Decelerating Merger: This is the driver who’s afraid to [...]

The second round of the 2012 MotoGP in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, got quite a bit more interesting as the weather remained inconsistent with rain impacting both the QP on Saturday and the race on Sunday. About 30 minutes into the qualification practice, dark clouds threaten to cut the window of dry and rain-free [...]

You know that little boy who stares at you, mouth agape, as you ride by? That was me, John Flores, thirty-plus years ago. There was something about two-wheeled travel that always fascinated me, and for years I channeled that fascination into bicycling. I’ve raced bicycles, as well as riding through Colorado, from Oakland to Los [...]

In December my riding buddy Peter proposed that the BMW Club of Southern California set-up a three-day camping trip to Morro Bay State Park. A number of the club members were enthusiastic about the idea, but since the trip was planned for the middle of January, we were a little concerned about the weather. As [...]

Monday mornings always rank low on the spectrum of life. Unfortunately, this past workweek began with a heavy slap of tragedy. I found out that we lost a fellow motorcyclist. I didn’t know Danny; he was a friend of a friend. I’d seen him around and we often exchanged “How’s it goings”. I wasn’t even [...]