MotoBrief

Steven Tyler (yes, that Steven Tyler), together with engineer Mark Dirico and Stephen Talarico of AC Custom Motorcycles, has delivered the first models from new motorcycle venture Red Wing Motorcycles.

Tyler is credited with the bikes’ design aesthetic, while Dirico and Talarico did the heavy lifting in designing and building the machines. Is the world ready for another retro-Harley-look cruiser, even if it is signed by Steven Tyler?

I don’t know. The bikes look good and I’d check one out if I was in the market for a cruiser. I like the lean, unfaired cruiser look — no highway pegs, running boards and all that stuff. Just give me a nice, classic motorcycle.

Good luck, Red Wing.

Given the bad rap that motorcyclists sometimes get, it’s nice when a state makes an effort to invite riders to visit. The Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism has a section of its website devoted to motorcycling in the state.

The site provides some video, suggests some places to ride and points out some hot spots and rallies for motorcycles. There are even some safety tips for riding in Arkansas, which is apparently “The Natural State.” (As opposed to all the artificial states.) There’s a brochure available for download and even an email newsletter you can sign up for that’s specifically about motorcycling in the state.

Talk about rolling out the red carpet. Thanks, Arkansas.

Tonight (and several more times in the near future) the National Geographic Channel will air a docu-drama based on Two Wheels Through Terror, Glenn Heggstad’s story of being captured by Colombian insurgents during a 2001 motorcycle tour through South America. Heggstad’s story will appear in an episode of the series Locked Up Abroad. I’m going to set the TiVo now!

Casey Stoner locked up the MotoGP title yesterday in Motegi, Japan, coming in sixth against a thirteenth place showing by nearest contender Valentino Rossi. Finishing ahead of Rossi guaranteed that the Doctor could not earn enough points in the remaining three races to pass Stoner and clinched the title for the young Australian. Stoner’s title win overshadowed his Ducati teammate Loris Capirossi, who took first place in an impressive Motegi hat trick.

Rossi came on strong early in the race and was poised to take first place. As the track dried following morning rain, the racers switched from wet tires. Rossi and Dani Pedrosa chose to remain on their wet tires as long as possible while other riders went into the pits to switch motorcycles.

The decision proved disastrous for both of them. Rossi thought there was a problem with his front tire and went back into pits; his team didn’t find anything and it appeared that the tire just hadn’t heated up yet. Pedrosa crashed in the 15th lap, still riding on the wet tires.

Some days, after half a dozen close calls with distracted auto drivers, it can feel like the world’s out to get you. But really, it’s not just you. According to the San Jose Mercury News, they’ll even run down George Clooney.

I’ve scoured the web about this story and nowhere, not from one of these so-called “journalists,” can I find an answer to the most important question: What was he riding?

Fortunately Clooney and his passenger weren’t hurt. But seriously, what was he riding?

Update: So the police have cleared things up — Clooney was riding a Harley-Davidson. Their statement said the other guy was driving a 1999 Mazda Millenia. We only get year, make and model on the car? Some people have no sense of priorities.

Anyway, it sounds like a classic case of automobile driver inattention and neglect. The car attempted to turn right from the left-hand lane, Clooney was on the right and got tagged by the car.

I saw in recent forum postings that Chris Blais is back at home after the spinal cord injury he suffered on August 5. There is also an update today on the website of the Chris Blais Medical Fund, with a Paypal link for donations toward his ongoing rehabilitation.

The mayor of Seattle wants to put four firefighters on motorcycles in a pilot program designed to improve the response time of emergency services. Mayor Greg Nichols proposed budgeting $570,000 for the two-year pilot.

Motorcycle-mounted emergency medical services in the U.S. have been around for a few years. I remember reading about a New Jersey motorcycle medic team in the late 90s and a handful of cities, including Miami and Pittsburgh, use them today. But the idea is much more common in Europe and Asia, where bikes like the one shown here from Hong Kong are used to cut through heavy city traffic.

Between two motorcycles, the paramedics can carry all the gear needed to stabilize a patient until an ambulance arrives.

Valentino Rossi took first place in yesterday’s Portugese Grand Prix in Estoril. This means that Casey Stoner, whom many expected to lock the title in this race, will have to try again another day. Stoner came in third behind Dani Pedrosa, leaving him 76 points ahead of Rossi overall.

Rossi dedicated the win to former world rally champion Colin McRae, who was killed Saturday when the helicopter he was piloting crashed on the grounds of his home in Lanark, Scotland.

Some guy put a LoJack on his bike. It turned out to be a good idea, since it was stolen by some scumbag. Police followed the signal and busted a motorcycle chop shop.

From the article:

When authorities searched the location they found 11 motorcycles. All but one was reported stolen. They also found all sorts of other stolen motorcycle parts with serial numbers removed or scratched out so they couldn’t be traced.

Are there people out there for whom a scratched out serial number doesn’t raise a red flag? Who buys parts from these people? How can anyone who rides a motorcycle, who loves motorcycling, buy a part that they know has been stolen from someone else’s bike?

For many years, BMW has offered training at the Enduro Park in Hechlingen for those willing to make the pilgrimage to Germany. I’ve never had the opportunity to go. But it looks like it’s gotten a bit easier for those of us in the U.S. They’re now conducting on-road and off-road classes at the BMW Performance Center in South Carolina, where they’ve done automobile driving courses since 1999.

Courses start at $480 if you’re bringing your own BMW motorcycle, or BMW will provide an F650GS ($550), a G650 Xchallenge ($600) or an R1200GS ($650). Interestingly enough, BMW uses the F650GS and R1200GS in the on-road classes, too — you can’t choose from any of BMW’s street-oriented motorcycles. That’s disappointing. As big a fan as I am of the GS line, if I was going to take the on-road class I’d want to be using the new F800S.

There’s no mention of the courses on the Performance Center website, so you’ll need to call them to get more information. It looks like there are at least two of each course scheduled every month through the end of the year.