Lots of news from Milan, a little from Pennsylvania and a whole heapin’ healpin’ of e-mail.

• Links
• PA outlaws texting while driving
• Shoei replaces the Multitec with the Neotec
• CRP debuts an electric street bike prototype
• Kawasaki Versys 1000
• Honda NC700S and NC700X
• Honda updates the VFR1200F
• BMW’s Maxi-Scoots
• Bilt Demon Modular Helmet
• Opening music by KunK

This week the guys are talking with listener, friend, and all around great guy – despite the orange scooter – Ryan Hettenbach. Ryan rode along for some of the Pace Podcast Barber Museum trip in September, and recalls some of his impressions riding with a group, as well as riding longer days and longer miles on the scooter.

Ryan also talks about his preparations for next year’s Scooter Cannonball Run, running from East to West in 8 days.

After talking with Ryan, the guys try to discern: is it live or Memore… er… Is it a motorcycle or a scooter? We’re talking about the Aprilia SRV800; it’s got a frame-mounted engine, chain drive, scooter body styling and ergonomics, an auto trans, sport-sized tires. What is it?

Links:

Chris and I both spent this week riding bikes that belong to other people. We’ll let you know what we thought along with Motorcycle Consumer News’ opinion on Yamaha’s new FZ8. Here’s a hint. They like it a lot. Except for the lack of wind protection on a naked bike. Go figure.

We’ll wrap it up with another haepin’ helpin’ of listener feedback.

• Links
  • MCN’s review of the Yamaha FZ8
  • Bovinophobs
  • Motorcycle Daily’s article about increasing demand and limited product
  • STN’s Beginner’s Garage
• Opening music by KunK

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.

The Yamaha Morphous as discovered by Scott Lewis

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.

• Rant Worthy Links
  • MSF Study
  • 2012 Gold WIng
    • Motorcycle.com’s post
  • Buell 1190RS
  • Motorcycle Only Checkpoints
  • KTM RC8 R -$3500
  • Augmented Reality GPS
  • FZ8R?
• Opening music by KunK

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.

My Logitech headset is pretty cheap and low-end, so I expected it to by noisy and sloppy. My microphones, however, are both decent quality units – a Samson C01-U and a Blue Yeti. Part of the problem is that using good quality condenser microphones is a sure way to highlight and exacerbate any noise floors you have. Over the past few shows I was recording in a newly-emptied bedroom and between the condenser mic’s ability to pick up room noise, echo and the omnipresent noise on the interface, I nearly trashed the whole recording for a couple of shows and went without.

Ultimately, I didn’t and was happy that we got the shows out, but even a guest spot that James and I did on the Rant-Fu podcast made me sound like a rank amateur with the crappy sound quality. This was all doubly frustrating as I’m not a newcomer to audio engineering; back in high school I spent some time working at a recording studio, and I was involved in the A/V at school and with the bands for which I was playing. I generally know my way around equipment. But hey… “it’s just a hobby podcast, so who cares, right?”

Uh… no. That mindset only carries you so far, especially since, for me, this isn’t just a hobby podcast. This is something about which I’m pretty passionate and I truly love doing. So… it’s time to step up my audio quality.

First things first, I unpacked my used Shure SM58 dynamic mic, I found a used but good Yamaha 10-channel mixer on eBay (as well as a used and dirt-cheap Behringer Xenyx 802 mixer that’s still in the shipping box) and I wired it up. I tinkered around with the settings and figured out how to set up the mixer for one and several mics and other line-level inputs. I got it all wired up so I can do Skype mix-minus recordings on the computer or, eventually, perhaps to some external digital recorder.

Once I figured out that the mixer I have will do what I need, I sold my M-Audio pro interface. It’s entirely overkill for our needs and for 1/5th the price of the M-Audio, the Yamaha mixer is perfect for my needs. I have several other dynamic mics for when I host guests here at the house, and frankly doing multiple mics on the M-Audio was never just as simple as it could (should?) have been. The Yamaha is much simpler and more intuitive. Plus, the extra money is nice.

Now, for most of the shows, even the mixer is overkill. Most of the time, all that’s necessary is the mic, the computer and me, as James and I record the shows over Skype from our respective homes. With that in mind, I also found an ART tube mic pre-amp on Amazon for crazy cheap. This will allow me an even simpler interface – nearly as simple as using the USB mics – for most of the shows, but without the increased noise of the condenser mics and USB interface. Win.

And yes, Mr. Ravenscraft, I *do* record into a computer. I don’t have a spare $200-$400 laying around for the Edirol. Yet!

So, this is a long-winded way of saying I’m sorry about the recent crappy sound quality and starting with our first show of 2011, my end of the recordings should sound much, much better in terms of noise and general sound quality. I can’t do anything about my crappy voice, other than suggest you buy ear plugs.

Happy New Year everyone, and we look forward to more great shows and community interaction in the Near Year.

You may remember a few months back during our 1-year anniversary contests, listener Chad B. won the Mr. Happy puppet.  Chad won for his excellent picture of his favorite gear, which includes his top case’s ability to haul beer and cigars…

Well, Chad has taken the opportunity to send us a few pics proving that Mr. Happy is not only alive and well, but is out there seeing the world and clocking on the miles on his new Yamaha Zuma scooter. He also looks like he’s having fun on the mini racing circuit with Chad’s daughter and her go-cart.

Rock on, Mr. Happy. And Chad, thanks for the excellent pics!

This episode celebrates one year of The Pace Motorcycle Podcast.

I broke my jacket and got a new one, Scott sent us another clip, the big GS is available in black, black and more black and the FZ8 comes in any color you want as long as it’s black. Yamaha says you gotta put up or shut up if you want a Super Tenere in the States and Honda might bless us with a new adventurer tourer based on a smaller version of the VFR1200′s mill. Oh yeah… NEW CONTEST!

• And then there were links…
  • First Gear Teton at Cycle Gear – (This is an even better deal then the one I got in store!)
  • BMW GS1200 available in triple black
  • Official specs and pricing on the FZ8
  • PDP only for the 2012 Super Tenere
  • VFR800ADV?
• Contest Rules
  • Now that winter is closing in we want to know what kind of plans you’re making for spring. We know you’re thinking about it so ‘fess up. Call our voice mail line at 484-748-0042 and leave us a message. Please note that this is not a toll free number. You can record and MP3 and email it to feedback@thepacepodcast.com if that works better for you.
• Opening music by KunK

This week we open up with a volley of hurt on spammers. Ok, it’s actually just a lot of whining about spammers, but that doesn’t sound nearly as cool. Bottom line: if we accidentally deleted your comments or didn’t approve your forum signup, it’s not ’cause we don’t like you – we’re just really bad at figuring out who the real people are vs. the spammers. Sorry. Oh, and Canada… it was a joke. It’s all good.

After that we discuss recalled R6es and their awesome reflectors. We still love the ‘lectrics and we talk about a great article with a 3-bike electric comparo on motorcycle.com.

Ever want to flout the helmet laws? Do it in Myrtle Beach. Take THAT, city council! You’re not awesome!

James admits he loves Michael Bay but thinks the incredible transforming Krugger bike is less than awesome. MCN is awesome, though, because they have the ONLY reports of 2011 Gixxers on the planet. Awesome!

Moto Morini is dead; Long live Moto Morini. Except… no. And Honda aims at the FJR and C14 with the new, upcoming VFR1200T? Hmm… They might, rabbit. They might.

Continue to stay tuned for CONTESTS!!! We’re gonna take next week off, so look for us to come back on the 29th. Enjoy your vacation, James!

Links…

• Yamaha recall – http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/609/7685/Motorcycle-Article/Yamaha-Recalls-54000-YZF-R6-Motorcycles.aspx
• Electric bike comparo – http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/2010-ebike-shootout-89839.html
• Myrtle Beach refunds helmet citations – http://blog.motorcycle.com/2010/07/14/safety/motorcycle-helmet-violations-refunded/
• Krugger’s Veon Project transforming bike – http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2010/08/08/exclusive-motorcycle-cruiser-to-racer-in-5-seconds%E2%80%A6/
• MCN’s got the dirt. Or not. – http://www.motorcyclenews.com/upload/270922/images/new-paper-main.jpg
• Moto Morini: gone for good? – http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/285/7677/Motorcycle-Article/Euro-Gossip–August-2010-.aspx
• Tiez Bargain – http://www.teizms.com/lombard-p-2.html
  • (community discussion thread – http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php/topic,37107.0.html)
• Honda: The new ST? – http://www.motorcycledaily.com/2010/08/solo-moto-thinks-more-upright-vfr1200f-may-replace-st1300-this-fall/
• And just because Michael Bay is awesome – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiHsxQJ9ZOo

Some pics taken this summer on my annual STAR trip hosted by the MSTA This year it was to Taos, NM with an after tour up to Avon, CO and Rocky Mountain National Park.  That’s where a friend rode up beside me and snapped the 1st one.  The others were at an overlook on Highway 64 going up to Chama and Highway 434 south of Angel Fire.  434 reminds me of the narrow roads in the Alps.

That trip was approximately 3000 miles in 10 days and included a chance to demo the new Honda VFR DCT version.  Nice bike but not a replacement for my FZ1.  I’m working towards 200k on it.

This week we recap our stellar record in predicting the results of the Cycle World Top 10. We are then joined by Chris Harr while we talk about Suzuki’s triumphant “return” to the U.S. market, Gladiator Rio’s review of the Super Tenere and an iPhone app called TripCast from Jeep. That’s right, Jeep. We close it out with a great conversation about Mr. Harr’s very drool-worthy Aprilia RSV4.

• Links
  • Cycle World’s Top 10 (again)
  • 2011 Suzukis start to brake cover
  • Motorcycle USA’s Super Tenere review
  • TripCast by Jeep
    • iTunes Link
  • Ogio No Drag Backpack
• Opening music by KunK

We’ve got it all this week. Boots that keep water in, Barney the Dinosaur and even bigger Bavarian beasts. Then we’ll talk about unidentified things in the woods, something neither of us cares about, electric bikes that might be affordable, and a fleet of electrics from the tuning fork company. Someone can’t count, we’ll bring you the latest installment of Aerostich: Genius or Madness and if you’re keeping score, Chris and I are tied at one each.

• Linkage
  • BMW K1600GT and GTL
  • New Triumph Adventure Bikes
  • 2011 Kawasaki ZX10R
  • Big Dog
  • Electric Motorsports Native S
  • Yamaha goes electric
  • Dispelling 4 (or maybe just 3) Myths About Electric Motorcycles
  • Genius or Madness?
  • Cycle World’s 10 Best of 2010
• Music
  • KunK

*I completely changed my post production workflow this week. Please let me know how it sounds.

This week Chris and I talk about the VFR1200F’s new (over priced) high-tech (over priced) dual clutch (over priced) transmission (it costs a lot). We also cover Ducati’s rumored run at Mr. Max’s power cruiser crown, the Sprint ST’s continued existence and Kawasaki’s newest Ninja.

We’ll give you a peak at a gizmo that will keep your iPhone out of harm’s way as long as you have one of those ancient 3G or 3GS models and we’ll talk about a CEO that actually rides what he builds. Then there’s a very large gathering of R1 and R6 riders at The Tail of the Dragon including one very well equipped Mr. Chuck Graves. Yep, that Chuck Graves. Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and many other get their festival Mojo working in Sturgis. We wrap it all up with the shocking revelation that California does not feel the love for loud aftermarket pipes.

Links

• Bikes
  • The VFR’s DCT
  • Ducati’s potential power cruiser
  • 2011 Triumph Sprint ST
  • Kawasaki Ninja 400R
• Gear
  • Magellan ToughCase
• Other Really Interesting Stuff
  • BMW’s CEO Rides Morocco
  • Yamaha’s invade the Dragon
  • The Rock N Rev Festival in Sturgis
  • California votes on epa-stickered exhaust systems
• Music
  • KunK
  • The Five Jacks

• News and Rumors
  • Honda’s Sportster Shadow RS
  • Triumph Sprint GT
  • Buy ans R1 get a free Akrapovic exhaust (at least in the U.K.)
  • MCN is looking for Monster owners to test the new 796
• Gear
  • Chris’ new top box from Coocase
  • RF1100 review from James
• Music provided by Music Alley
  • Opening music: ‘No Way’ by KunK

I am traveling on business this week. Wayne sits in from The Swanson Skunkwerx for an open discussion on the Yamaha FZ1 and on his cross country trip with Chris.

Coyote from day 4

• FZ1OA forum
• The ArcPosse cross country road trip log
• Wayne’s trip log
• Music provided by Music Alley
  • Opening music: ‘No Way’ by KunK
  • Additional music: ‘Take Me Down’, ‘You Got Me Bad’ and ‘Devils On The Phone’ by Mickey and The Sins

• News and Opinion
  • Ducati and Piaggio sitting in a tree…
  • Middle weight monster?
  • Full specs on the Yamaha FZ8 in the U.K.
  • Honda CB1100 for Asia only
  • Star’s new Stratoliner Deluxe
  • BMW’s S1000RR to contest the Isle of Man TT
  • 2010 Hyosung ST7
  • Tail of the Dragon closed due to a rock slide
  • ThermaHelm brain cooling helmet

• Music provided by Music Alley
  • Opening music: ‘No Way’ by KunK
  • Additional music: ‘Ooolin Poolin Oy’, ‘Road Hazard’, ‘Mermaid in Japan’ and ‘Dyer Moon’ by Blue Wave Theory

• Xtreme Sports Insurance for those engaging in ‘extreme’ activity - http://www.cyclenews.com/articles/industry-news/2010/02/18/moto-insurance
  • Available for nearly anyone
  • covers any and all injuries – pays directly to the insured
  • www.MotoInsuranceNow.com
• AMA (American Motorcycle Association) - http://www.ama-cycle.org/

Opinions

• Useful iPhone / Smartphone apps: You got any? Discussions on the forums.
  • Adaptunes
  • Fuelly
  • Pandora (iPhone)
  • Pandora (BlackBerry)
  • Voice Recorder
  • Units / Convert Units
  • HUD-Plus
  • FTPOnTheGo
  • MyRide

Intro music, No Way by Kunk. Additonal music by Helix and is provided by Music Alley.com

• News and Opinion
  • Official pics of the Yamaha FZ8 and Fazer8
  • New Scorpion helmets
    • EXO 750
    • New colors for the EXO 900
  • University study on the effects of wind noise inside the helmet
  • Tires
  • Cycle World IMS in NY
    • I couldn’t dig up the info I was looking for on the HAs. If anyone remembers the story better then I do feel free to record it as an MP3 and send it in.
    • Visit our Facebook page for pics (more will be added this week)
• Music provided by Music Alley
  • Opening music: ‘No Way’ by KunK
  • Additional music: ‘Dig The Rock N Roll’, ‘Fine Sexy Baby’ and ‘Spend A Real Cool Time In Hell’ by The Stockmen (God I love MySpace. I really wish more bands had MySpace pages. That would be awesome.)
• Links
  • Metric Devil Moto

The Pace Podcast

• Special Guest: Prubert (email: prubert01@yahoo.com)
  • Rider Training and Education
    • Motorcycle Safety Foundation
      • Find a class
      • Becoming a Rider Coach
  • News and Opinion
    • Yamaha FZ8
      • MCN Link
    • Music provided by Music Alley
      • Opening music: ‘No Way’ by KunK
      • Additional Music: ‘Open Road’ and ‘Hold Me Down’ by Nathan Lee (MySpace)

• News and Opinions
  • Suzuki in trouble?
  • Yamaha – nothing new in the lineup
  • 2010 Concours 14 – upgrades and improvements

• Mods and Maintenance
  • Winter bike storage prep
  • Dynabeads – snake oil or reality? ( http://innovativebalancing.com/ )
• Followup and feedback
  • from last week – clarification on BRP & Rotax. Rotax is the driveline/engine manufacturing division of BRP. ( http://www.kart-rotax.com/company/history.html )
  • Re: Buell’s sales… info from a Harley insider:
    • Buell’s best selling model is the Blast with almost 25,000 sold!
    • The Uly was a good seller and topped the ranks for 2006 & 2007
• Links
  • Chris’ FZ6 Review (http://thepacepodcast.com/forums/index.php?topic=18.0)

• Music provided by Music Alley
  • Opening music: “No Way” by KunK
    • http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=fd8d99d1215e164f0120bd7a04f92282

• • Remaining music: “Piece of My”, “Hands Up – Instrumental Version” and “Employee of the Month” by Atomic Brother
    • http://music.podshow.com/music/listeners/artistdetails.php?BandHash=577a4301db0a4603a2794d58bc0814a6