This week James and Chris discuss “the one glaring design flaw” with James’ new Teiz Commute suit. Turns out, zippers don’t stop water. James has some ideas on a fix. Will he Betsy Ross it into submission and stop the water? Time will tell. Chris also tells us about *gasp* a new jacket. Go figure. This time it’s the Roadgear XTreme 4-season adventure-touring style ¾ jacket. He gives it two thumbs up, so far. Will rain and the coming Summer heat keep the jacket in favor? Time will tell.

It’s Ducati, folks… do they really need to justify a 68% jump in sales? Do they? The guys don’t think so. Sales are up, sales are down. On the down side, Big Dog cycles seems to be riding the falling tide of Custom bike sales. Do all (Big) Dogs really go to Heaven? Time will tell. The town of Sturgis apparently has to pay a nickel every time someone says its name. Federal trademark for the organization that manages the famous bike rally. Will this hold up? Time will te… oh never mind.

Jeff Gilbert lets us know about the “small sport bike” comparison found on SportRider.com. Thomas Hunt talks to us about riding in California, and Jamie Perkins wants to discuss riding in the “danger zone” between newbie and veteran. Where do we all fall in that range? Time will… really, I’ll stop now.

The Pace has a Flickr group and again, we want to send a huge THANK YOU out to the community. You guys rock!

• Gear review: Roadgear XTreme jacket
  • http://www.roadgear.com/Technical_Wear/Jackets/Xtreme_Jacket/
• How much of Ducati’s 68% growth is due to Japanese pricing, and “I can finally afford a Ducati”, vs other factors? Did Ducati suddenly hit some magic recipe, or have people always wanted them like this and now there’s perceived value where there wasn’t before?
  • http://www.ultimatemotorcycling.com/ducati-2011-q1-sales-up-68-percent
• Do all Big Dogs go to Heaven?
  • http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/4/1024/6/Motorcycle-Blog-Post/Is-Big-Dog-Motorcycles-Closing-its-Doors-.aspx
• Sturgis. There I said it. Here’s a nickel.
  • http://www.dealernews.com/dealernews/LATEST+NEWS/STURGIS-now-a-federal-trademark/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/715343?contextCategoryId=48475
  • Can they really trademark a town name that’s been around since 1904?
  • http://www.townofsturgis.com/history.htm
• From Jeff Gilbert – 250cc HP comparo
  • http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/2011/146_1103_2011_250_sportbikes_dyno/index.html

• Thomas Hunt – riding in NorCal
• Jeremy Perkins – riding in the danger zone (in terms of years) disucssion?
• Flickr – http://www.flickr.com/groups/thepacepodcast/

Opening music is No Way by Kunk