Motos and Friends from Ultimate Motorcycle magazine

In this week’s episode we hear about the Honda CRF300LS from Associate Editor Kelly Callan. It’s a dual-sport bike that is likely to interest entry-level or novice riders. However, it’s also capable enough that it may also appeal to intermediate and even experts who want to have some inexpensive fun.

In our product Snippet this week, Arthur Coldwells introduces you to the recently launched Cortech Lite gloves that have really got riders talking. Essentially, Cortech has utilized a new type of material that is both tough, yet also super-thin, to make 3 variations of a riding glove. He's a big fan of feel and feedback when riding, so he decided to try out a pair of Cortech Lites when on a recent tour round Tuscany with MotoCalifornia.

Our second segment features Mark ‘Thriller’ Miller. Mark’s electrifying 20-year professional racing career saw him race—and finish on the podium—at Macau; 46 starts at the Isle of Man TT; National factory racing during the AMA heyday; and even a stint endurance racing at the Bol d’Or 24 hours. Mark is now a commentator at the IOM event, and his easy style of narrative makes for fascinating listening. It belies his electrifying experiences that include surviving a shockingly fast crash at Ago’s Leap, as well as winning a TT riding the fabled Moto Czysz electric racebike.

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In this week’s first segment, Senior Editor Nic de Sena tells all about the Aprilia RS 660 Trofeo. The fabled Italian racing marque has produced a track-only version of its excellent streetbike, and Nic gave it a good thrashing around Laguna Seca recently. Even if you’re not a track junkie, you’ll find this to be an interesting take on an already really good machine.   

In the second segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams chats with teen racing sensation Kayla Yaakov.  Kayla made a name for herself in the smaller classes as she was growing up, but having just turned 16 a few weeks ago, she was able to move up a class and race 600 Supersport for Tytler’s Racing at the last Moto America race of this year. In case you’re thinking this may be hype—she finished on the podium in 3rd place, having started the race 13th on the grid. That’s a heck of an accomplishment for a first race in the most competitive class of them all. Teejay chats with Kayla about growing up and where it all started.     

From all of us here at Motos & Friends… we hope you enjoy this episode!

Kayla Yaakov Facebook

Kayla Yaakov Instagram 

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In this week’s first segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams headed off to Oceanside to try out the all new Kawasaki Eliminator. This cruiser-style motorcycle is perhaps a little more Pro Street than cruiser, and Teejay gives us her take on who this motorcycle is aimed at, and how it performed.  

In the second segment, Teejay chats with Dale Schmidtchen. Dale has been around racing and the motorcycle industry for several decades now, and he has the inside track on some interesting stuff. He recently moved to Thailand for work, but has clearly fallen in love with the country and its people. Sure, we’ve all heard about the bars and nightspots, and the amazing beaches, but there’s a lot more to Thailand than just those. The motorcycle culture and especially racing is absolutely enormous in Thailand, and Dale’s stories about the country and its sights make the place sound very appealing indeed.  

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Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells.

In the first segment this week, Nic de Sena rides the new 2024 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R. This is the 636cc four-cylinder supersport screamer that has proven so popular for the last couple of decades. Nic rides the Ninja at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington and reminds us of why supersport machines are so much fun to ride.

In our second segment Teejay Adams chats with Associate Editor Freeman Wood, who rode to Sturgis and back with one of his buddies. Riding an Indian Springfield Dark Horse, Freeman makes it sound like it was an interesting—and sometimes arduous—trip from Southern California, but ultimately a good time was had by all.

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Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, brought to you by the editors at Ultimate Motorcycling. 

The Suzuki SV650 has been around for several decades now, and is largely unchanged. Yet the middleweight Suzuki continues to be incredibly popular. Associate Editor Kelly Callan tells us why she continues to rate it as one of her favorite bikes.

Our second segment features another of my really good friends, Joel Larson. Joel has been a hardcore motorcycle rider for most of his life and has owned everything from Suzuki Gixxers to several Ducati Multistradas. Joel’s extraordinary life started in earnest as a teenage drummer, when he founded the iconic 60s band “the Grass Roots”. They sold some 36 Million records during its heyday. Along his 30 year touring career it can be said that Joel fully embraced the rock n’ roll lifestyle, and even these tales told here hint at the sheer joy of living large. One of the nicest people I’ve ever known, Joel’s effervescent, positive appreciation of life is definitely catching.

WARNING: As you might imagine, this segment contains adult themed content and is NOT suitable for children or those of a sensitive nature. Please exercise discretion.

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The Yamaha name stands for a heritage of motorcycle performance and classic styling. Visit your local dealer to find the 2023 Yamaha sport heritage bike for you or go to YamahaMotorsports.com to find out more.

This week, Associate Editor Kelly Callan rides the new Honda SCL500. This neo-scrambler is essentially a freshly styled model using Honda’s tried n’ true 471cc parallel twin motor. This is inexpensive motorcycling on a cool-looking bike, and Kelly tells us whether the scrambler is actually worthy of the Honda brand name.

In our second segment, Arthur gets to chat with one of his buddies—“Fast” Frankie Garcia. Riding for the highly professional Saddlemen Bagger racing team, Frankie got his first motorcycle—literally—since before he could walk.  Now he’s racing in the sensational Moto America, Mission King of the Baggers series, and in the first race he finished on the podium. Frankie’s story with its ups and downs, tells the story of what it’s like to try and earn a living from motorcycle racing. If you’re curious as to what it takes to get a racing Bagger on to the grid, what helps make them so fast, and what it’s like to actually ride one, then you’re going to enjoy hearing what Frankie has to say.

Instagram: @frankiegarcia24 

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Welcome once again to Motos and Friends, brought to you by the spectacular Yamaha R7 – a new generation of supersport machine.

Nic de Sena recently spent the day near Boise, Idaho riding the all new Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+. The Tracer has made a name for itself in the last few years as a typically sporting Yamaha—with a really good touring side to it as well. With the addition of a host of new additions to the model, Nic gives us his thoughts on the new Tracer, and where the model fits in the market.   

Our second feature segment is about the Royal Enfield sponsored Build. Train. Race. program for 12 lady racers. Teejay Adams and myself, Arthur Coldwells join the program at the Brainerd, Minnesota round of the Moto America racing series, where we chat with several of the players involved in this uniquely fascinating program. The individual stories of these ladies is all about the challenges they face and the grit they need to bring out the best in themselves. There can only be one winner on track, but off-track every one of these ladies seems to be a winner in her own right.

So, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling—we hope you enjoy this episode!  

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The Yamaha name stands for a heritage of motorcycle performance and classic styling. Visit your local dealer to find the 2023 Yamaha sport heritage bike for you or go to YamahaMotorsports.com to find out more.

This week, Editor Don Williams brings you the all-new Harley-Davidson Breakout. This uber-cool and fearsomely powerful motorcycle is not just a head-turner in the looks department. Don explores what he loves about the bike and points out its possible shortcoming as well.    

In our second segment, Teejay Adams chats with MotoGP commentator and technical guru, Simon Crafar. Many of you know that he was a successful top-level racer and an ex-Ohlins suspension tech, but it’s less likely you know that he and his wife are also passionate dog lovers and rescuers too. Simon realized that many of his colleagues in the Paddock shared their desire. So they started Riders For Dogs—a non profit organisation that raises money to support dog rescue charities and they have had a hugely positive reaction from both the MotoGP Paddock as well as all you motorcyclists around the world. Check out their social media to see auctions of awesome rider gear, or of course you can just donate to this incredibly worthy  cause. The big news is that an incredibly generous German couple recently donated a spectacular Honda RC45 in Castrol colors, similar to the one that Simon raced in the ‘90s. After Simon has finished with some necessary TLC, the bike will be auctioned and every penny raised will go to Riders For Dogs.  

As well as his charity work for dogs, Simon also gives us some opinions and insight into some of the current MotoGP happenings.

Please check out Riders For Dogs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100093614162628

https://www.instagram.com/ridersfordogs/

https://twitter.com/RidersForDogs

eMail: [email protected] 

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Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, brought to you by the spectacular Yamaha R7 – a new generation of supersport machine.

Nic de Sena recently spent the day in Malibu with the 2023 MV Agusta Dragster RR SCS America. This is the limited edition model with the lovely red white and blue livery. Nic takes us through his thoughts on the Dragster’s specs and ride, and also includes his thoughts on how the proprietary SCS automatic clutch works and fits into the Dragster persona.   

John Ulrich and his son Chris started the Roadracing World Action Fund non-profit in 2001, with the goal of buying air-fence rider protection for use around American racetracks. They have been spectacularly successful. One of their main ways to raise money is by having ex-Superbike Pro racer Chris, take guests on fun, two-up rides around the track at each round of the Moto America series in exchange for a donation—he’s raised over $60,000 so far. Teejay Adams got to experience this thrill ride of a lifetime at Brainerd Raceway, and she gives us her impressions of what it’s like to cling on for dear life at 160 miles per hour. Spoiler alert: She absolutely loved it. You can check out her on-board video on our YouTube Channel.

Donate to RWAF and check out the impressive list of Contributors.  

Check out RoadRacing World and Motorcycle Technology magazine.  

In our second feature segment, Cat McLeod of Leod Escapes comes back to chat with Teejay about traveling in Europe including some handy gear and packing tips. The always-lively and very entertaining Cat gives us the dos and don’ts of how to  travel and hopefully avoid making a fool of yourself when you’re embedded in a foreign-language (to us!) country.

So from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling—we hope you enjoy this episode!  

1. Police Gear

AirTags

1. Passort Airtag Holder

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Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, brought to you by the spectacular Yamaha R7 – a new generation of supersport machine.

Associate Editor Will Embree recently went to the world launch in Italy of the GasGas range of Motocross and Enduro off-road machines. The model variation is very extensive, and American buyers have a choice between several four-strokes as well as two-strokes to choose from. Will explains the differences between all of them and for those of you undecided where GasGas fits into the market with its sibling brands, and which GasGas model might interest you, he will help you make up your mind.

This week’s snippet is brought to you from the Saddlemen racing pit at Brainerd International Raceway in Minnesota. Teejay Adams caught up with Lady Racer Patricia Fernandez [@lady_racer926] who tells us a little bit about the Saddlemen racing program in the Moto America King of the Baggers series, and why Saddlemen products are of real world benefit to her. 

In our second feature segment, Neale Bayly once again catches up with world-traveler Allen Karl who continues to talk about his journey around the globe on his BMW F 650 GS Dakar.   

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