MotoBrief

Some members of the BMW-GS mailing list recently spoke highly of the Oregon Scientific ATC 2K Action Cam Flash Memory Camcorder. I may try one of these myself, since it seems an inexpensive alternative to the well-armored cameras from HelmetCamera.com. The ATC 2K quality doesn’t seem to be as good but it’s hard to draw any conclusions from highly compressed web video. Oregon Scientific has a site for the camera where you can check out some video yourself. I think it’s worth looking into for a self-contained unit costing less than $100.

Last Saturday the man responsible for the most famous motorcycle stunt in movie history died. Bud Ekins was an off-road racer turned Hollywood stuntman who doubled for Steve McQueen in the climactic motorcycle jump in “The Great Escape.”

Ekins was a legend and will be missed. But he’ll never be forgotten — I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels that the first 2 1/2 hours of “The Great Escape” is just an elaborate prologue to a movie about a guy trying to jump a motorcycle into Switzerland.

Bud Ekins was 77.

What do you get when you hack together pieces of an old airplane engine, giant (really giant!) custom tires and a seat? The answer is obvious — a 6,278 cc motorcycle that looks like it might have been built for a giant.

Check out the excellent article over at the Kneeslider.

I mentioned this a month and a half ago on the podcast. Now Boing Boing Gadgets has posted about it and it made me want to mention it all over again. Triumph has a brilliant, hilarious company video on how they manufacture the mammoth 2300cc Rocket III.

Most of the time, when companies try to be funny they fail miserably. Maybe the British are just better at this than companies over here.

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.