There's fun to be had

Riding a motorbike is all about having fun.

So why does so much of the motorcycle promo material  thrown around these days try so hard to tell us that motorbikes make you cool, rebellious and attractive to the opposite sex (all true by the way) yet leave out the fact that riding a motorcycle is quite simply, one of the most fantastically fun things you can do?

I want to see more promo material that screams 'AWESOME' - something that makes your inner child go 'coooooooool' - that you want to send to your motorcycling-gentile mates in the hope they'll join your fun-loving gentleman's club.

KTM seem to do be on the right track in this respect and their recent promo vid for the KTM Freeride 350 is the kind of vision that if I had my way, would be shown on prime-time television every evening. I mean, how can you watch this and not want to go score yourself an off-road bike and head for the hills for some mud-slinging mayhem?

The second video I've embedded below - which also happens to feature the very talented Frenchman Julien Dupont - is another prime example of the fun to be had when an engine is mounted twixt two wheels.  The amazing environment of the French Alps helps set the mood, but it is the peerless display of freestyle trials riding that gets the big grin going.

Despite both these vids featuring riders that pack serious skills and a fair set of cojones, you can't help but feel that you're right there with them and sharing in the reverie.

Enjoy.

KTM Freeride 350 promotional video

Ride the World: Julien Dupont & Arthur Coutard riding FMX Trials in the French Alps

The Long and Winding Road...

It's a little known fact that Paul McCartney penned the last ever Beatles single, 'The Long and Winding Road' after going for a scratch on Cheshire's famous Cat and Fiddle on his mint mk1 Norton Commando.  It's only a slighter better known fact that I'm a bullshit artist, but I digress.

Today we're talking about my favourite riding roads; all of them long and winding, and all of them well worth a visit if you're partial to two-wheeled devices that make ungodly noises when you twist the rubber thing on the right hand side.

There are a few roads that could've made this list but didn't - a couple in Germany and North Wales, in particular - but bad weather tainted my one impression I had with these byways, so they miss the cut.

Most importantly, when I thought of putting together this list, the entires listed below are the first ones that popped into my head and that has to count for something, right?

So in no particular order here they is: 

1. Grimsel Pass, Bern, Switzerland

This road has two claims to fame; it's probably my favourite road in Switzerland and it forms part of the picturesque backdrop that adorns this blog. Yes, it's that special.

Starting from the southern end of the pass, you come off the also excellent Furka pass and then wind your way up the tight switchbacks, before you hit the plateau that takes you pass the pretty Grimselsee on your left hand side.  

After this point on,  the road opens up a bit and from there it's on for young and old, as the excellent surface yields itself to a stunning set of sweepers with the odd twisty bit thrown in for good measure.  

To be honest, there's probably a dozen passes like this in Switzerland, but when I took to this particular road in the summer of 2009, it all just came together, with the great weather, lack of traffic and a good night's sleep the night before meaning I was well in the zone when I took this on.

Once you get to the town of Innertkirchen, stop for a brew at the nice cafe on the corner of Grimselstrasse and Sustenstrasse, the latter of which leads you to...

2. Susten Pass, Bern/Valais, Switzerland

.. the sensational Sustenpass.  

On my way up this road for the first time, I had a local in a WRX who wanted to indulge in a bit of the ol' slap and tickle and I duly obliged.  It was great for a first run to have a pace car, as a couple of the tighter corners definitely sneak up on you.

Once you get to the Alpine refuge at the top of the pass, park your ride, marvel at your balled up tyres and kick back in wonderment at the beautiful Stein Glacier trying in vain to throw itself off the top of the Sustenhorn.  You can then continue on your way down to Wassen, then head south back towards Andermatt, or do as I did and go to Wassen, chuck a U-turn and do the whole thing backwards... mmm satisfying. 

The Susten Pass, along with the Furka and Grimsel passes, constitute a great loop of mountain roads, so if you ever want to pack in a couple of days of crazy good riding in the country that taking sides forgot, book a night in Andermatt and go bonkers.

Susten Pass

3. Kings Highway - Braidwood to Nelligen, New South Wales, Australia

If you will, allow me to draw another strange parallel between sixties rock music and my favourite riding roads.  I have no idea if Jim Morrison was a motorcycle enthusiast, or if he ever visited southeastern Australia, but his LSD-induced raving during The Doors upbeat, ten-minute epic 'The End' eerily tells you almost everything you need to know about one of my all-time faves.

Ride the King's Highway...

Right on, James.  Montonous, flat and boring for 80% of its length, it's the stretch from outside Braidwood to Nelligen that has made the Kings Highway a rite of passage for every rider from Canberra to Casey's Beach.

The west is the best...

It's as you reach the western edge of the coastal escarpment at Clyde Mountain that the fun begins.  Though shedding 800 metres of elevation in about 20 kilometres doesn't sound all that impressive, its the way 'the Clyde' does it that etches itself into the mind of every motorcyclist that partakes of its serpentine bounty.

The first part of the ascent I like best; tight hairpins at first that gradually open up into flowing left/right combinations, and eventually, fast sweepers.  Should you not want to carve it up, crack open your visor, take in the refreshing rainforest air and just cruise along - oh, and keep your eye out for the legendary 'pooh's corner'.

There's danger on the edge of town...

The only time I've been pinged by the ever friendly Highway Patrol has been around the towns that dot the Kings Highway.  With only three towns located along the 120 odd kilometres of road that makes up the highway, this is to be expected.

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on... 

Riiight, so this one's a bit morbid, but there's no denying Jimbo's sound logic on this one.  During day time, the Clyde is a haven for traffic and the aforementioned rozzers, so you're best bet is to set the alarm early, gear up post-haste and aim to hit the Clyde no later than a couple of hours after sun up, any earlier and you'll have to keep an eye out for wombats ;)

4. Macclesfield Road - Macclesfield to Strathalbyn, South Australia

Ah, this was my scratching post of choice when I lived in SA. We all have that one piece of asphalt we seem to gel with from the first time, and this one's mine.

One of the groups of riders I hooked up with when I lived in Adelaide were seriously fast and seriously crazy - I still shake my head when I think of them passing around a spliff the size of the olympic torch prior to one scorching run  - but on this one stretch of road I was almost untouchable.  Smooth tarmac and good sight lines makes this mix of sweepers with the odd tighter corner a joyful exercise in tyre torture.  

Not that there is anywhere nice to crash on the road, but this is one place you definitely don't want to leave the black stuff; huge gum trees line the road and in some cases the shoulder drops abruptly  a couple of metres into the cow paddocks below.

If there's one thing worse than writing your bike off while doing your best Evel Knievel impression, its writing your bike off while doing your best Evel Knievel impression and landing in one of old Daisy's freshly laid arse omelettes. You've been warned kiddies.

5. Passo della Mendola - Trentino, Italy

This pass sits on the opposite side of the Val di Sole from another honourable mention, the Passo Tonale, but the Mendola Pass gets the nod as it packs a lot more kdo*/kilometre and the pub at the top makes a nice counter meal with a view across to the stunning Dolomites to boot.

To sum it up; wicked.  I don't often see this road mentioned among Europe's best and I can only assume it's because it doesn't sit close to any major thoroughfare but do yourself a favour and give it a shot. 

Only thing to note with this road is that with it being a stone's throw from Bolzano and Trento, it gets seriously rammed on the summer weekends by local bikers - plan a mid-week visit if you can.

*kdo = kneedown opportunities... duh

Passo della Mendola

6. Gorges du Verdon and Route Napoleon, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France 

The roads of Alps de Haute Provence in southern France are well known to motorcyclists, both local and abroad, so there's no need for me to expand further on their awesomeness further here.

Between riding the Route Napoleon and the amazing detour through the Gorges du Verdon, I had one of my most enjoyable ever experiences on a motorcycle, these roads are just as good taken at a canter or a gallop, and if you ride a bike, live in Europe, and haven't visited this part of the world, you're missing out on something spectacular.

7. Col de la Bonette, Col de Vars, Col du Galabier, Col du you get the picture - Alpes Maritime/Hautes Alpes, France

Ok, so this one takes in a few roads, but it contains more mountain passes than you can shake a stick at. If you're heading to the south of France, are a sucker for saddle-induced punishment and want to experience riding nirvana, then why not treat yourself to this curvaceous coup de grâce?

I carefully mapped this part of my road trip by the tried-and-true method of using Google Maps to scope out the squiggliest succession of roads I could find and the results were nothing short of phenomenal.

Heading north from Nice, I took the D64 over the windswept Col de la Bonette - Europe's highest paved road - the D902 through the Col de Vars and Col D'Izoard, before heading north-west out of Briancon on the D1091 to take in the Col du Galibier.

Needless to say at the end of the day the arm-pump was coming on, my knees were seizing up, and for an hour I nursed a beer while gazing at my bike in an adrenalin-incuded stupor. Brilliant.

Special note:  While stuck in a herd of grazing cows crossing the bottom of the Route Galibier, I had one of the most frighteningly weird transcendental moments of my life. There I was on my bike, wrapped head to toe in moo-skin when in unison, the entire herd, stopped, turned around, and stared at me - I could only think that if a cow rode down the King's road in Chelsea wrapped in a two-piece human skin ensemble, they'd probably get the same reaction.

Col de la Bonette

8. Passo Pian del Fugazze - Trentino/Veneto, Italy

Is there a more beautiful place on earth than the Dolomites in Autumn?  There could well be, but from behind the clip-ons of my RSV last year, the place seemed like heaven on Earth.

I prefer doing this road from west to east; starting from Rovereto, winding your way up the mountain and staying on the southernside of the valley, before crossing the river just before Vallarsa and continuing on to the Valli del Pasubio.

This road isn't the best in terms of pure riding thrills - though it does have a couple of fantastic sections - but some of the vistas along this trip are straight out of God's own scrapbook and make this road something you have to experience at least once.


So there you have it, eight electrifying roads to scratch that riding itch - what are you waiting for?

The 'fro must go on

'..by being a racing driver you are racing with other people and if you no longer go for a gap that exists you are no longer a racing driver...we are competing to win, the main motivation for all of us is to compete for the victory not to come third, fourth, fifth or sixth...'

Thus spake Ayrton Senna after being questioned by Jackie Stewart about his, at times, borderline approach to racing that resulted in him - more often than compared to a lot of his contemporaries it must be said - coming a cropper with a fellow driver.

It's a statement that rings true for all racers; two and four-wheeled alike, and it was Senna's heartfelt response that flickered into my mind as I watched Dani Pedrosa clutching his collarbone through the cloud of dust at Chemin Aux Boeufs. 

Following the PedroCelli incident at Le Mans, I found it somewhat suprising how many people were frothing at the mouth, hurling vitriol towards the fastest afro in the west when all he did was try to pass someone, even if it was a bold move.

A pass was there to be had and Simoncelli - being a racer - went for it.  Unfortunately, it came off badly for Pedrosa but there was no malice in the move, though you wouldn't think that reading and listening to some of the reactions out there!

Not since the Zapruder film has one piece of footage been played, replayed and disected to the point where you're almost expecting to see a muzzle flash from behind the grassy knoll at Garage Bleu.  Ok, it's fun to analyze such situations, but it has risked turning racing into a bunch of raw numbers as pundits try to establish clear definitions on what is a clean pass and what isn't - everything looks oh so simple when freeze framed.

When I go back and check out some footage during the 'Golden Age' of GP's, there was a lot of close racing and swapping paint with your competitor was seen more of an occupational annoyance than a declaration of war.  This was a period dominated by American riders,most of whom graduated to GP's after cutting their teeth on unforgiving, cumbersone machines in speedway and superbikes. 

Many of the 500cc champions crowned in the 80's, namely Eddie Lawson, Freddie Spencer and Wayne Gardner moved straight to the 500cc world championship, so the hard nosed tactics they picked up back home were taken straight to the big leagues and as history shows us, they all did pretty damn well. Yes some of these guys raced 250's in various domestic championships, but on the world stage it was straight to the big, bad 500's.

These days, most wannabe MotoGP racers go about their craft in a more refined way, spending loads of time on finely tuned GP machines until graduating to the razor-edged 800's - though words like 'unforgiving' can be used to describe these machines, words like 'cumbersome' certainly can not.

So kids tootling around on a metrakit under the hopeful eyes of their parents are brought up in the racing world on machines that dynamically, do things a lot better than the popeye-forearmed racers from the 80's had to put up with, so to some extent it's understandable that contact during racing these days is viewed with such distaste, as in many cases, there is no good excuse for it.

So many race fans still look back to the 80's longingly and though expecting a return to such a style of racing is far fetched simply due to the performance traits of modern MotoGP machines, why do so many others treat with such derision the odd bump between riders when this was meat and potatoes stuff just over a decade ago?

What apart from the bikes what's changed?  Could part of the current inquisitory mindset surrounding the paddock be attributed to general social attitudes which permeate everything in life, even our precious octane-charged biodome of the MotoGP paddock? Is the litigatious, health and safety leanings of 21st century society seeping into the last bastion of white-knuckled, balls-to-the-wall competition that is motorcycle road racing?

You can see it out there on the internet forums and blogs of the world: 'Simoncelli is crazy'; 'he has no place in MotoGP'; and my favourite: 'He clearly doesn't know what he's doing'!

Have these people forgotten what racing is all about?  These guys are racing for the ultimate prize and they're consummate professionals but at the end of the day they are human and so, mistakes will happen.  But please, the nanny-state posturing that breeds some of the comments I've seen has no place in the racing world. 

The tobacco money is gone, replaced in some part by the hip, in-your-face and socially acceptable sponsorship dollars of the energy-drinks cartel.  The grid girls, God bless 'em are still there but no doubt there is a coven of beige-business-suit bedecked feminists out there who are plotting their downfall too.  The last thing we need is for race direction to adopt a more socially acceptable stance and start sending riders to the naughty corner because they went for a pass.

So where am I going with all this?  I don't know, there was a lot more scotch left in the bottle when I started, but my message to the race direction overlords it this: It's only a matter of time until the sensibilities of the outside world bring our beautiful racing nirvana crumbling down around us. Let's not give them an in by sanctioning racers for doing the thing they do best. Racing.

Why World Superbikes rocks..

Sup people. Most of us know WSBK rocks, but what is it that makes it rock so hard?

Now don't get me wrong, I love MotoGP and truthfully, in part this blog entry is the result of my frustration at watching motorcycle's flagship event lose its cut-and-thrust, take-no-prisoners attitude (and yes that includes the last race in Jerez!)

MotoGP may have the prestige, the bigger names, more silicon per grid girl and of course, the quicker, badder bikes but as a racing spectacle it can't hold a candle to its poorer, production-based sibling at the moment.

We're talking racing here folks, it isn't a time trial.  And when it comes to racing, speed is a relative phenomena - regardless of how close the WSBK field laps a given circuit compared to the MotoGP guys (and in some cases it is damn close) unless you have a grid where a large number of the riders have the potential to lap with the front runner's over a race distance then overtaking becomes the exception, not the rule.

I was going to conjure some excel-trickery replete with pie-charts and things that flash with pretty colours to show you the amount of lead changes, lap-time differences and the like between WSBK and MotoGP, but to save your time and mine just take a look at the opening two rounds of the respective championships (if you haven't already, what the hell are you doing!?!?) and you'll see what I mean.

Now there are those of you out there who will say 'Oh but MotoGP is a prototype class, close racing is just the cherry on the cake' that argument might hold water among died-in-the-wool race fans, but with motorcycle racing in general crying out for new fans (and the associated sponsorship $$$) it must be confusing to outsiders when they see manufacturers field bikes in both series which to the layman look staggeringly similar.  For many the only difference will be when they sit down to watch a race and they notice that one race offers consistently closer racing and larger grids, while the other, unfortunately doesn't.

Try and get a newbie race fan to tell the difference between a blue and white M1 and R1 tearing around a circuit and they'll probably murmur an incomprehensible answer under their breath with all the assuredness of a 'I-can't-believe-it's-not-butter' taste tester's understudy. 

Another problem is the sheer predictability of MotoGP - something which the premier class has arguably been burdened with since 1994 to some degree.  But while the Doohan/Rossi era could be called predictable when it came to the crowning of the champion, at least for most of the time we had decent sized grids, not to mention the odd riposte from satellite riders who on their day could stick it to the factory teams.  We all used to cheer on at the efforts of Garry McCoy and Regis Laconi on the Red Bull Yamaha, Loris Capirossi on the Pons Honda, not to mention the last victory by a satellite rider - Toni Elias' balls to the wall victory at Estoril in 2006.  Marco Simoncelli has a great opportunity to get one back for the satellite riders this year, albeit on a factory spec RC212V.

As for WSBK, well we only have to look to last year and Carlos Checa's exploits to see a privateer team go postal on the factory teams, while in the last five years just off the top of my head I can nameBarros and Xaus as taking race wins on non-factory equipment.  Open up the roster to include podium places and the difference with MotoGP is even more pronounced.

On top of all that, at the last round in Donington the top seven placings were occupied by the seven participating manufacturers - that makes me warm in my special place.


Why else does WSBK rock?  Well there is a more established career path for the stars in both the junior classes (i.e. Stock 600 > WSS > WSBK) and various domestic championships (BSB, CIV, AMA etc) to move up to the big time.  I am probably over-simplifying this, but this is probably due mainly to the fact that grid sizes on the WSBK circuit are large enough to accomodate incoming talent as new teams are still coming into the fold, or in some cases, established teams are expanding.  Money, or the lack thereof obviously has a huge bearing on this.

And the winner in the end? The fans of course! Once again this season we have seen series debutants like Sam Lowes show great promise in WSS, while in WSBK Eugene Laverty just missed out on the podium in his first race at Phillip Island and the talent of Marco Melandri was able to shine as he took overall honors at Donington.

Yes OK, it should be harder to get into MotoGP then it is to get a glaswegian to buy a round of beers - that's part of the appeal, but with just 17 bikes on the grid (10 of which are eligble for rookies) and 40-odd in Moto2 it is very much a case of trying to fit a round peg in an oversquare hole.  Add in the ever-increasing pressure for riders to bring money with them to secure a seat in MotoGP and Moto2 is in danger of becoming a premier class purgatory.


MotoGP's place at the pinnacle of motorcycle racing will never be threatened and it is still the ultimate goal of any racer out there.  But at the end of day, with the sponsorship dollar becoming ever more difficult to secure, a complete overhaul in the long term strategy of the series is needed to make it a racing spectacle on par with WSBK.  This has to be done while keeping the series relevant to the marketing needs of the participant manufacturers without sacrificing the viability of privateer teams.

It's a good thing Carmelo Ezpeleta doesn't have much hair, because if he did I am sure he would be pulling it out right now.

Shocking news from home

Thanks to my work I am supplied with a constant supply of motorcycle magazines from around the world, which is both incredibly useful for what I do and also helps me keep up to date with what is happening back home with all things two-wheeled.

While thumbing through the December ‘10 of issue of Australian MCN, I spotted a snippet featuring Laurie Smith’s latest creation. Laurie hails from the same part of the rock as yours truly and runs his shock shop ‘Suspension Smith’ out in Fyshwick. Now some Aussies may know Fyshwick as some iniquitous outpost where fireworks and exotica* of all denominations can be had by with a diversionary cough and wry wink in the right direction.

But amongst the bordellos and caches of explosives, Laurie tinkers away in his workshop and is gaining a reputation for turning out some crazy pieces of machinery. Some of his previous works include a bonkers ZX-10R Dirt Bike/Supermoto and his latest Frankensteinesque effort is knocking up a neo-girder front-end for a Yamaha R1. He isn’t the only person to undertake such a task but I took special interest due to Laurie being from Canbrah.

I’ve met Laurie only the one time actually; back in 2006. On the advice of my uncle I paid him a visit to see if he could perk up the handling on my ’98 VFR 800 – my first ‘big’ bike - as ground clearance and a squidgy rear end under power were becoming a problem. While pondering the options Laurie presented, I cruised around the corner, scored a test ride on the current ZX-10R and after wiping the foam from my mouth, promptly traded in the old girl. From that point on the only rear-end that got squidgy under power was my own.

With his latest venture, it seems Laurie is trying to gauge the effectiveness of a design which although deemed archaic, could find a new lease of life thanks to modern metallurgy, engineering and manufacturing processes. Yamaha and Bimota among others have tried hub-centre steering and BMW have their Duolever setup so there is definitely more than one way to skin a dead cat when it comes to making a bike steer.

Necessity may be the mother of invention, but surely curiousity is the next best thing.

* See I didn’t use the ‘p’ word, despite the increase of traffic it would’ve undoubtedly sent my way.