For those who have ever followed American motorcycle road racing, Josh Hayes is a familiar name and face. The four-time AMA Superbike champion and his wife Melissa Paris have established themselves as motorcycle racing royalty here in the States, setting/breaking records, leading successful race teams, coaching younger riders, and were even featured in the already iconic motorcycling movie, “Why We Ride”. Neither needs any introduction.
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Jake Gagne defended his Superbike crown in style at Barber Motorsports Park over the weekend, capping off a thrilling season of racing not only in Superbike, but in every other race class as well. The now 2x National Superbike Champion snagged a race 1 win on Saturday in typical Jake fashion, i.e. got the jump on everyone at the start, then ran away from the pack. Race 2 shaped up differently, in a fashion that took many by surprise. This one will be talked about among road racing fans for quite some time, we’re guessing. What a finish to a memorable year.
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So much of proficient motorcycle riding is all in your head. We all assume a measure of risk every time we throw a leg over and throttle out. Most people are unwilling to take that risk upon themselves. That’s what makes us motorcyclists different, sets us apart. We control our fears, conquer our reservations, and prepare ourselves as best we can to enjoy what we love- two wheels, a motor, and an open road before us. It all begins “between the ears.” This truth became abundantly clear to me on a recent road trip with friends.
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But if life and cognizance is critical to you, as it is to me, a quality motorcycle helmet is a must. The problem is, superior protection comes at a superior price, a concern in these uncertain economic times that might be difficult for some. So where can you find quality at an affordable price point? I found the HJC i10 Robust line of motorbike helmets, and I think they might fit the bill, literally.
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We’d had the 2022 Tiger Sport 660 in the Road Dirt garage for a couple of weeks already, and I was very much enjoying the bike. I asked Adam, “How would you sum up the little Tiger’s reception so far this year in the North American market?” After a moment of reflection, Adam replied, “It’s the bike nobody knows they want.”
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I’m hard on the throttle exiting the wide sweeping curve known as “The Bowl”, trying to click up through the gears as fast as possible before the brake/downshift zone and the left hairpin that is turn 1. As I drift wide so as to dive deep into turn 1’s apex, an 11-year old named Cooper undercuts me on the inside, passing me on a 110cc Ohvale like I’m standing still. “That kid’s good,” I muse to myself as he rockets away down the back straight.
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The first time I ever beheld a Flying Merkel up close was at the Barber Museum in Birmingham, Alabama during the annual Vintage Festival they host every October. In a large side room where a Bonham’s auction would soon be staged, the bright orange machine arrested my attention, and I stood transfixed by this beautiful 100+ year old motorcycle. I’ve no idea what the bike later fetched on the auction block, but I’ve read they can go for well over $100K in good or restored condition. It’s easy to understand why, when the history of the brand is explored.
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The human hand is an extraordinary engineering marvel. A complex structure of three types of bones (phalanges in the fingers, metacarpals in the palms, carpals in the wrists), and a plethora of nerves, tendons, ligaments, and joints wrapped in several variations of skin, our hands grant us the ability to quite literally shape our world and our lives. Yet we’ve seen so many motorcycle riders neglect their most important tactile riding appendages with cheap gloves, fingerless gloves, or no gloves at all. We should always be wearing solid protective gear, and our “grippers” deserve no less.
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Exiting turn 7 at the top of the track some racers call “the North Georgia rollercoaster”, I’m hard on the throttle as the XSR900 uprights, and clicking up through the gears as I rocket down the long, undulating back straight of this famous course, the Yamaha triple howling down the hill. Road Atlanta is legendary for its highly challenging layout, which winds up and down a hillside that could easily have been a ski slope in colder climates of the country. From the tight twisty “Esses” after climbing turn 1, to turns 6-7 at the pinnacle, down the long back stretch to the 45 degree pairings of 10A and 10B, then floating the front up under the bridge before the free fall to turn 12 and the front straight, Road Atlanta is a wild ride of technical curves and elevation changes.
And here we were putting the 2022 Yamaha XSR900 through its paces.
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