I've Been a Terrible Blogger

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Tom Parker

I haven’t given this blog any love in awhile, so I’m going to rededicate myself today to posting daily. We’ll see how long that lasts.

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Classic Board Track Racing Footage

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Tom Parker

The Jockey Journal points to some awesome footage of board track racing from the early 20th century. As the story goes, the footage was shot by the Czech importer of Indian motorcycles during a visit to the United States. This may or may not be accurate, since the story also claims it was shot at a board track in Daytona that never existed.

It’s remarkably good footage and includes some sidecar racing. These guys were real men — I can’t imagine taking a spill on that track. If anyone has any idea what track is really shown, leave a comment.

Posted in Motorcycling, Racing | 2 Comments

Dakar Rally Route Shown on YouTube

Posted on December 31, 2007 by Tom Parker

OK, I’ve been gone, spending all my time on a new job and on MotoBrief.tv. But the Dakar schedule is up and they’ve posted a YouTube video showing the entire route. The race begins January 5 in Lisbon.

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Oregon Scientific ATC 2K Action Cam — Inexpensive Helmet Camcorder

Posted on October 15, 2007 by Tom Parker

ATC 2K Action CamSome 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.

Posted in Gadgets, Motorcycling | 1 Comment

Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bud Ekins Dies

Posted on October 12, 2007 by Tom Parker

The JumpLast 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.

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Leonhardt 350 Horsepower Custom Motorcycle

Posted on October 11, 2007 by Tom Parker

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.

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How They Make the Triumph Rocket III

Posted on October 11, 2007 by Tom Parker

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.

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Red Wing Motorcycles Introduces New Cruisers

Posted on September 26, 2007 by Tom Parker

Red Wing Motorcycles & Steven TylerSteven 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.

Posted in Motorcycles | 4 Comments

Arkansas Likes Motorcycles

Posted on September 25, 2007 by Tom Parker

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.

River MarketThe 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.

Posted in Motorcycling, Travel | 1 Comment

Two Wheels Through Terror on National Geographic Channel

Posted on September 25, 2007 by Tom Parker

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!

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