False Neutral

After taking a week off due to travel, the flashy new models shown at the recent Intermot motorcycle show caught our attention this week. Garrett and Eric and Pete review what's new for 2017, and of course how we personally feel about the many new and tweaked models. We also discuss Garrett's TX750 (it's good news this time!) and Ford Escape shock towers (not-so good news for Eric). We wrap up with a review of the book Save The Triumph Bonneville by John Rosamond and a bit of background on the Meriden Workers' Cooperative.

This week we're doing something different. Rather than just let you listen to Garrett talk about his YZ450F supermoto conversion, he's created a helmet-cam video. After he gives us a quick walk-around of the bike, he shares the experience of riding across town and gives us the lowdown on how he converted the bike and what it's like to own and ride. We're providing this audio-only version those of you who listen to the False Neutral in your car or while mowing your yard. If you're riding the bus or near your computer, go to Hooniverse.com to watch the video in 1080p HD and leave your comments.

This week's episode has no special guest, just your three regular hosts. We talk about our own bikes and bikes we've recently seen for sale, both online and in person, and bikes we'd LIKE to see for sale. The discussion wraps up with Pete's reactions to his visit to the Harper classic bike auction.

This week, Hooniverse regular Jeepjeff joins us to share his crazy (and fairly unwise) adventure, crossing Death Valley on his Yamaha TW200 during the recent LeMons Hell On Wheels Rally. We also find out how and why Garrett got a painful case of roadrash on his new Supermoto conversion.

This week Pete's old friend and long-time riding buddy Rusty Spokes joins the crew. We discuss his new Africa Twin, Honda's DCT with somebody who actually rides one this time, and talk about his past bikes and riding experiences. Meanwhile, Eric rode a BMW C650GT scooter in Canada.

So much of our recent conversation has been about bikes — colors, prices, configuration, wrenching — that we decided it was time to talk about, you know, actually riding the dang things. After the usual "old business" segment, Eric, Garrett, and Pete talk about the risks, rewards, and hassles of riding motorcycles, from commuting (and why none of us does it too regularly) to day trips to multi-day tours.

In part two of our discussion about color schemes, graphics, and racing team liveries, we look at Italian bikes and cruisers, before things go further afield (as usual). The merits of gold paint and Buells are pondered. Eric goes down a disturbing Japanese Internet hole, and Garrett follows him.

As always, visit hooniverse.com/tag/falseneutral to check out pictures of all the bikes we discuss. WARNING: some of this week's images cannot be unseen.

Pete, Eric and Garrett are all in attendance this week. After we discuss our current (and prospective) contents of our garages, we explore motorcycle graphics in response to a listener suggestion: production paint schemes, factory race liveries, and various motorcycle makers' iconic graphic signatures. Especially due of this week's highly visual subject, definitely go to Hooniverse.com and check out photos of all (or nearly all) of the bikes we discuss. This episode is on the shorter side for us, but with the overwhelming number of motorcycles we talk about, we thought it best to split it. This week we concentrate on Japanese sports bikes, before moving to European bikes and cruisers next week.

Surprise! All three hosts are on the podcast together this week, even if Pete shows up a tiny bit late. We discuss the recent Gear Patrol article on "The Best Vintage Superbikes Under $10,000," and share our own point/counterpoint about the bikes they picked. While our views differed, we all agreed that there are plenty of cool deals to be found from the late '80s through the late '90s.

Pete is on his own this week. In this abbreviated solo episode, he tells a sad account of finding a certain Japanese bike he'd always wanted on Craigslist, and then discovered that the unavailability of parts is hastening this model's doom. On a brighter note, he also went new bike shopping with his wife, and found some new tech and new styling that just might suit him.