Recently I was given the opportunity by American Flat Track and Honda Powersports to take a ride in a modern version of those old buggys, a Honda Talon 1000X-4 side-by-side. At the Dixie Speedway round of the AFT season, they gave me the chance to not only experience a ride in one of these beasts, but we would run several hot laps around the track to experience the thrill of powering and sliding it across the Georgia red clay.
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I spent the beautiful September day up in the north Georgia foothills, visiting my childhood chum Kent Giles (a military fiction writer) at his hermitage in Marble Hill, and tooling around the Jasper/Coal Mountain area on my last full day with the Tiger 900. A gloomy weekend of rain had given way to abundant sunshine, cool breezes, and being a Monday, largely empty back roads. Diving the Tiger through curves and corners, I suddenly came upon a tight, right-turner that I couldn’t see through. Downshifting and scrubbing off some mph, I shifted weight and leaned through the curve, only to find a patch of wet, right at the apex, laden with an amalgam of brown/red leaves and corner grit. No braking, a slight roll off the gas, and some considerable anal pucker, but the Tiger held the line, tracked through without a hiccup, and I continued on my merry way. Albeit, a bit more measured, we’ll call it.
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While attending the MotoAmerica race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, Road Dirt photog Dean Phelps and I had the unique opportunity to attend the unveiling of an entirely new motorcycle being debuted by MV Agusta. While up in the media center at race control, Doug McCloskey, the CEO of MV Agusta USA walked up and introduced himself, and invited me to a special “reveal party” to be held that night across the track in the famed Motorsports Museum. “We’d be thrilled and honored,” I assured Doug.
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Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha Cameron Beaubier won his 13th race of the year on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama, a day after winning his 12th of the season and the 50th of his stellar AMA Superbike career. Sunday’s victory was similar to his other 12 wins with Beaubier jumping out front off the line, storming away at an unmatchable pace, and then maintaining that lead to the finish.
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Monster Energy Attack Performance Yamaha’s Cameron Beaubier leaves New Jersey Motorsports Park and heads to Barber Motorsports Park this week with a massive 84-point lead in the 2020 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship after what was another walk-in-the-park victory for the four-time series champion. Over in Liqui Moly Junior Cup and Twins Cup, 15-year old “Boy Wonder” Rocco Landers dominated both classes, both days, with four wins across the weekend to claim the points lead in both.
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Most of us over the age of 25 remember where we were, what we were doing, and who we were with, on that fateful day in early September, 2001. I had ridden my Yamaha Royal Star to the office that day, and after pouring up a cup of coffee, was at my desk going through the morning’s emails. A coworker send a staff wide message, stating a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. Soon, several of us were gathered in a conference room, watching the events unfold on screen. Thinking a freak accident had happened, and somehow a small plane had flown into the building, we were suddenly horrified to witness a second plane, a large jetliner, plow into the second tower, fire and debris exploding out from the impact. The first words out of my mouth, when I could finally find words to speak, were “We’re under attack.” I’ll go to my grave remembering the images and footage all day from New York, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. It was a defining moment in American history, and a defining moment in many of our lives.
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Returning home from town the other day, I was witness to a “squid” couple on a blacked-out, swingarm stretched, and open-piped Yamaha R1. The “pilot” wore shredded, holey blue jeans with white sneakers, a grinning skull bandana covering his face, and a non-DOT spiked “Kaiser” helmet. His passenger, a rather rotund young lady, wore a good full-face helmet (admirable), but tight shorts, a tank top, and sandals (not admirable). They turned right at the light, and nearly lifting the front wheel off the pavement, he loudly rocketed away, his girl clinging for dear life. “Pair of squids,” I grumbled aloud.
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The trailer for “Long Way Up,” the epic, new Apple Original series from stars Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman is now available. The first three episodes of the 11-part unscripted series will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on Friday, September 18. New episodes will roll out weekly, every Friday.
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In a press release this week, Triumph Motorcycles unveiled a prototype of a new roadster styled motorcycle that should go into production in the coming year, wearing the famous “Trident” moniker. The model name has been in use by Triumph over the years since about 1968, and graced a number of legendary bikes in their lineup.
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