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Honda

Episode 76: Damn it’s Wednesday, need a new engine

May 30th, 2011
by James Reazor.
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Episode 76: Damn it's Wednesday, need a new engine [ 1:15:35 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The on-going saga of the SV’s self consuming engine comes to a favorable end and the Sprint gets a grip. It’s not all rainbows and unicorns though, Chris has his own tale of motorcycling woe to impart this week.

It looks like Husqvarna has a promising new street bike in the pipe and Honda may have a new middleweight nudie bike (we hope!). Canada gets serious about noise, Aerostich wants to let use your smartphone with gloves on and we have lots of good stuff from listeners like you. There’s a gear review from Josh Davis, a video from Paul Jones, an audio sample from Jeff Gilbert and recommendations from Todd Lampone and Matt.

Episode 70: The One Glaring Design Flaw

Apr 10th, 2011
by Chris Hornberger.
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Episode 70 [ 1:06:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Episode 70: The One Glaring Design Flaw

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!

Opening music is No Way by Kunk

The Ducati Diavel

Episode 68: You’re only off by one

Mar 27th, 2011
by Chris Hornberger.
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Episode 68 – You’re only off by one
Standard Podcast [ 1:04:31 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week James and Chris lament on the early death of Spring; alas, dear Spring, we hardly knew ye, or something like that. Winter is back. So there. The guys whittle away at the time by talking about the industry’s support for the various Japan relief efforts. The state of Virginia is looking at options to draw tourism to the Tazewell and Smyth areas by cleverly renaming Rt. 16 and is actually going to do so with targeting motorcycle and sport car enthusiasts. Will this blow up in all our faces…? Time will tell.

The Super Tenere from Yamaha is getting some real-world testing and the guys point us at one of the reviews. It appears to be pushing all the right buttons with at least one tester. Honda’s CBR600F-series bike is also road tested, and although not yet planned for a release in the USA, it’s still a bike worth discussing. The return of this line’s 2-decades worth of legacy is worth talking about. Honda also release pricing information for the VFR800 based CrossTour. Also a bike not planned for the USA, the pricing hits some apparent good points.

Chris talks about some disappointment with Givi, specifically about the FL521 top case rack for his SV. It sucks. The guys lay out a new contest for some signed copies of David Hough’s venerable Proficient Riding book, and they talk a bit more about the upcoming ride to Barber Motorsports planned for the third week of September. Some quick feedback and a request for the community closes out the episode.

 

Episode 67: Not in the ballpark, and that’s OK!

Mar 20th, 2011
by Chris Hornberger.
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Episode 67 for March 20, 2011
Not in the ballpark, and that’s ok!
Standard Podcast [ 50:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
American muscle bike, hydrogen fuel cells and Zero gets far, far more than zero! This week, after a week’s hiatus, James and Chris are back to explain exactly what the new Motus will cost, and of course to delve into all the deep and detailed tech specs. After that, we get a science lesson on hydrogen – and by science we mean the guys speculate, guess and postulate on fuel cells. Zero wows us again, this time not with a new bike or model, but with investors tossing more and more cash at Zero. Pretty soon they’re going to have to start burning the cash because it’s got to be taking up all the room. James doens’t get all wacky and political, yet utters the words “good for the fed”, as we learn that there’s a bill pending to block the use of federal funds for motorcycle-only checkpoints. Japan has more on its plate than making sure the USA gets their toys; most of Japan’s motorcycle manufacturers shut down production for the time being.

iTunes makes donating to Japan’s relief efforts easy!
https://buy.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/buyCharityGiftWizard

Lots and lots of feedback!

Links…

The Yamaha Morphous as discovered by Scott Lewis

Episode 65: Galactically Stupid

Feb 27th, 2011
by James Reazor.
1 comment
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Standard Podcast [ 1:08:34 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There’s a lot of ranting in this episode. Really, almost nothing but ranting about stuff. There’s the “what could they possibly hope to accomplish” rant and the “what the hell is Honda thinking” rant. Then there’s the “the man is trying to stick it to us” rant and the “that’s galactically stupid” rant. There is a little non-rant content. Chris and I manage to have perfectly civil conversations about EBR’s new 1190RS, the new price on KTM’s RC8 R and the appearance of a Yamaha FZ8R in France.

Episode 62: This is a Motorcycle Show

Feb 6th, 2011
by James Reazor.
1 comment
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Standard Podcast [ 56:01 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Well, I’m sure this will surprise everyone but we’re talking about Honda again this week.

In other news: You can get an Ohlins on the (relative) cheap, we found some great pics of this year’s Dakar and Enfield has a new chief. A couple new Guzzi’s make their debut, Zero get’s some serious cash and we try to figure out what the hell the Agility Saietta is.

We’ll wrap it all up some listener feedback.

Jeff Katzer’s trip to Cape Flattery

Episode 61: If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere!

Jan 30th, 2011
by Chris Hornberger.
1 comment

Episode 61 – January 30, 2011

Standard Podcast [ 1:44:41 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We open up the show with some email feedback about recent topics. We discuss what we saw at the NYC IMS and field a question from voice mail about the show, then wrap up with some news and information. Oh, and my computer lost power early in the recording session. A brief public service tech note: when the power cord comes out and your battery is 6 years old, you’ll lose power pretty quickly.

Frankie boy sang about it. Its skyline is magnificent. Millions of people live, work and flock there all the year through. It’s New York, my friends. And we were there again this year to immerse ourselves in the motorcycle awesomeness that is the International Motorcycle Show.

We saw lots of interesting accessories and gear choices, including new additions to the textile riding suit market, a cool Schuberth comms system, and the newer models of helmets. Oh and polishing compounds. Lots and lots of polishing compounds. Everyone wants to be shiny, right?

Kawasaki seems to really have a hit on their hands with the Ninja 1000. People seem to love the bike, and also seem to like its versatility. Time will tell, but so far it’s gaining attention.

Triumph has hit it so far out of the park with the Tiger 800 family, that even the view from high above The Big Apple isn’t enough to see it.  Their Sprint GT seems to be a great freshening of a beloved sport-tourer. The Tiger’s torque curve is nothing short of amazing!

BMW’s R1000 is STILL drawing dense crowds and lots of attention. They really seem to have gotten it right.

When talking about the Yamaha Super Tenere we looked at, we also discuss an email from Ryan with his impressions of the bike as seen at another show. I also give my impressions of the FZ8, completely from an aesthetic point of view. James won this round. I fully agree; the looks are… interesting.

The Shoei Qwest seems to be a great entry in the street helmet market and we look forward to hearing more about it. Anyone have on yet?

James buys some gear and gives us his impression of the CBR250R, and ROK Straps helps us get into the show.

After the IMS discussion, we talk about a news item or two, including the fact that electric motorcycle manufacturer, Zero Motors, is building a new assembly plant.

Scott Bolton takes us out with a preview of the upcoming MotoGP racing season. Thanks, Scott!

Opening music, No Way by Kunk.

Episode 60: That groundhog better not F with me this year!

Jan 23rd, 2011
by James Reazor.
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Standard Podcast [ 1:01:53 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

We’re planning our trip to the New York International Motorcycle Show! We talk about tiny little bikes and a great big bike. Harley starts “building” bikes in India. BMW is ready to take your money for a new K1600 and the S1000RR beats out the GS for the best selling BMW title. The Mission-R gets naked, Maximum Bob does the Electric Boogaloo and Can-Am gets all hybridy. We also respond to some more feedback from you guys.

Mission-R

Episode 59 – Does Jar Jar ride a Honda?

Jan 16th, 2011
by Chris Hornberger.
1 comment
Episode 59 – Does Jar Jar ride a Honda?
Jan 16, 2011
Standard Podcast [ 1:11:14 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
This week James and I discuss what we did on Christmas vacation, our websites, and James’ warm hands with his new deer carcasses. We also talk about how Chevy is designing cars like sport bikes, and just how wrong I am about the aesthetics of Ducatis.

While we’re at it, we discuss all sorts of interesting things about roadway designs. Are left turns going to be made illegal? Does Jersey have the right idea? Are circles your friends?

We answer couple of email and phoned-in questions, and we help promote NewEnough’s name change to MotorcycleGear.com. We both agree that the new name is a good move, if a little bland and generic. Good luck and congrats on the new name, guys!

And now… Links!

Episode 58: It’s funny because it didn’t happen to me

Jan 9th, 2011
by James Reazor.
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Standard Podcast [ 2:06:40 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Jeff and Todd return to tell us about their 4 week tour of these United States. We talk about broken bits, wild life encounters, tips on reliving your self in inappropriate places and so much more. Pour yourself a tall one, lean back and get ready for another epic episode of The Pace.

You can find our first conversation with the guys here.

That's Todd on the BMW and Jeff on the VFR

*Technical Note: I reduced the bit rate on this episode pretty dramatically to reduce the file size. Please let us know if the difference in quality is objectionable.

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