Neale Bayly

Neale Bayly Rides: Mishaps & Second Chances

Posted by Neale Bayly | Sep 5, 2024 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

‘Where ignorance is bliss tis folly to be wise,’ should have been stamped on my birth certificate. Spinning down into my hometown on a beautiful late summer’s morn, around the crack of eleven, on a new 1983 Honda CBX550, all in the world was well. August in South Devon, England is charming, and my friend was waiting at our local café on the terrace to share his latest horse racing system that was going to make us rich. Having found the joy of credit, credit cards, bank loans and financing, we were basking in the joy of fast motorcycles, pockets full of drugs, and the other accoutrements of our newfound wealth.
We just hadn’t figured out how to pay it back yet.

Neale Bayly Rides: Grand Plans, Harsh Realities

Posted by Neale Bayly | Aug 7, 2024 | Ride Life |

Riding my 1973 Honda SL125 onto the ferry back to mainland England from the Island of Jersey with the hangover from hades, just seven days after arriving, the prophetic words of the not-so-friendly policeman we had met were ringing embarrassingly true. Accompanied by my Nit Wit Mate Wibbly, on a slightly newer Honda XL125, our only mission now was figuring out how we could sneak back into town unnoticed: Especially after the fanfare of the local newspaper announcing our “round-the-world” motorcycle trip just two weeks earlier.

Goodbye Wedgie, My Old Friend

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jun 30, 2024 | Ride Life |

Recently a message on social media brought me the sad news that my dear friend Steven O’Brien, affectionately known as “Wedgie,” had passed away. Having been in my orbit for close to 40 years, and a major part of my formative motorcycle and travel years, it was a huge personal loss. Memories of racing to London on our Japanese 550cc four-cylinder sport bikes, strafing the lanes of England, he in the saddle of his big Ducati V-twin and me on my Laverda triple will be always be there to remind me of my fun loving, gregarious friend. With his laugh, demeanor, his zest and love for life, Wedgie was, without a doubt, one of the largest personalities you could ever hope to meet.

Neale Bayly Rides: Cheap Fun On Two Wheels

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jun 3, 2024 | Ride Life |

That little Yamaha TT-R125L proved to be absolutely bullet proof, and apart from oil changes, air filter cleaning, chain lubing and adjusting, the only time it needed any wrenches turned was when something got too bent to ride. My son Luke had a unique ability to provide not only the most spectacular laps, but also more bent parts than the rest of us put together. So it was no surprise that the TT-R ended up on the ground in a pile of dust and limbs more times than any of us could remember while thankfully always surviving to ride another day.

Neale Bayly Rides: The Threads of Life’s Tapestry

Posted by Neale Bayly | May 6, 2024 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

“Of course, when the Russians kidnapped me, they held me at gun point for 36 hours, but I’ve got to go…” as the phone line went silent. My mind drifted back to the day I crossed the Carpathian Mountains on my old KLR 650 and down into the city of Bucharest in search of my old friend, Simon. The year was 1996 and I hadn’t seen or spoken to him since the mid ’80s when we ran together in our hometown on the coast in South Devon, England.

Neale Bayly Rides: Danger In Namibia

Posted by Neale Bayly | Apr 1, 2024 | Ride Life |

As the torrential rain relentlessly pounded the slippery dirt road beneath my boots, I watched in horror as the BMW F800GS in front of me dived into some deep water, churned and ground its way forward, then spat a submerged rock from under the front wheel causing it to lurch sideways. Desperately trying to use forward momentum to right the bike, the rider found himself stalling out in thigh-deep water, left leg submerged and sinking into the sand with his right leg stuck over the bike as it attempted to push him down under the fast-flowing water. With the two of us alone, now long separated from our group, I had to act quickly as I had no idea how long he could last in such a precarious position.

Neale Bayly Rides: My Most Prized Possession

Posted by Neale Bayly | Mar 4, 2024 | Ride Life |

I can’t remember how many racetrack schools, off-road, and dirt-focused classes I’ve attended throughout my career. And I can’t remember how many inexperienced newbies have shown up at race track weekends on super-expensive motorcycles with $2,500+ aftermarket exhaust systems and thousands more on accessories and such, before going out and crashing on the first lap.

Neale Bayly Rides: Getting Up

Posted by Neale Bayly | Feb 2, 2024 | Ride Life |

In the movies, when you think the chief protagonist has taken his last beating and can’t go on, he somehow summons the strength to defeat the bad guy, save the world, and get the girl. I’m assuming he stays in the next night to eat pizza; how do you follow up on a day like that? It doesn’t seem to work like that in real life though, and after the biggest beating of my life, it just seemed like no matter how often I got up, something kept knocking me down. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it got worse, and then got worse again: It got so bad at one point that if I had a dog, it probably would have run away.

Biker Fitness: Mountain Bike Makeover

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jan 19, 2024 | Nuts & Bolts, Ride Life |

Now, while this might seem odd to most of you, I’ve noticed something very strange lately. Every year I seem to be getting older and those track days, adventure rides or dirt bike sessions seem to be getting a little more challenging. Without much chance of adding to my limited skill set, I made a conscious decision to stay as motorcycle fit as I can and to that end find myself doing a fair amount of bicycling these days. Nearly all top level motorcycle racers use cycling as part of their training. With it being the perfect activity to complement our motorcycling habits, I found myself in Georgia recently riding with my good buddy Scott Russell. Those of your old enough to remember rotary phones will remember he won the World Superbike Championship in 1993, as well as numerous American championships and a few Daytona 200s. Well, packing up to leave his place recently he grabbed his Mountain bike and shoved it in my car saying, “Pay me later.”