Why We Ride Film Motopsyco’s October Website of the Month!

<Whyweridefilm.com ValleyOfFire>

It’s worth going to the website just for the great pictures like this.

Whyweridefilm.com

Let me be up front with you, when International Motorcycle Shows first posted the trailer for this movie on Facebook I almost didn’t click on it. So often these “documentaries” about motorcycling are so one dimensional that they seem to be written for a narrow group of riders and/or racers. While I have yet to see the movie itself I have watched the trailer about 10 times already! There are interviews with kids, moms, street riders, Harley aficionados, crotch rocket jockeys, & racers from a variety of two wheeled motorsports all talking about how much they love to ride motorcycles & trying to explain the feeling to the rest of the world. Those of us who already ride understand the passion that just overflows out with the words they speak. Hopefully some of the normal people that get dragged to this film by friends and family will feel it too, and if they don’t at least want to try it will at least get an understanding of what draws us to these machines that so many people mistakenly see as deathtraps.

<whyweridefilm.com Sturgis>

another fantastic pic from whyweridefilm.com

I ride a motorcycle & I love it. When I was a skinny little nerdy kid it was my favorite escape. No matter how bad my days at school were, when I slid that two stroke Kawasaki around a curve in the woods behind the cow pasture & then jumped one of the hills at the side of the canal ditch I was the ultimate 6th grade badass and all was right with the world! Today most of my riding is commuting back & forth to work on my ancient Honda, but it is still my escape and when everything is just right, I still roll on the throttle exiting that last turn before a long straight and pin it to the stop, while the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson whispers in my ear, “screw it on you big pussy” as the speedometer hurtles toward that magic number that all the Ton Up Boys lived & died for. It has been approximately 37 years since I got my first motorcycle and even though age and injuries have made me more cautious it still thrills me. Just like the first time! Every time. Even when just putting around at slow cruising speeds like the old fart that I am becoming. Bottom line is, I’ll quit riding when I die.

Even if you don’t visit the website at least click on this line and go watch the trailer!   Then come back here & tell me & the rest of the world why YOU ride in the comments section. I am going to close this out by quoting from the synopsis on the movie website.

“Your senses will heighten as the world rushes in, your heart will beat to the pulse of the engine, your mind will race and set you free. Once you let a motorcycle into your life, it will change you forever.”

Sums it up for me,

Peace Y’all

August W.O.T.M. A Growing Familiy

Wait a minute what does a blog with a name like agrowingfamily.com have to do with motorcycles? Yes this is Joseph R Fehlen’s personal blog, in which he shares his family, faith & his motorcycling experiences with the world. I recently read his book Ride On; A Motorcycle Journey to Awake Your Soul and Rediscover its Maker, and highly recommend it to you. Most of the time I deliberately avoid folks who try to mix religion & motorcycling as they often cause me indigestion by being excessively legalistic & quite frankly taking all the fun out of motorcycling by becoming too focused on group rides, formation discipline, driving 10 mph below the speed limit, holding up traffic etc. Instead we get to read about a Minister of God whom actually rides his motorcycle day in & day out up in the great Northwet corner of America and the lessons he has learned from life’s roads.

So go check out A Growing Family for yourself and be sure to get yourself a copy of his book Ride On.

Peace Y’all

Psyco

quadfathercarson.com the July Website of the Month.

This website belongs to a man whom I consider to be one of the all time best friends I have. This site has nothing to do with motorcycles or atvs. The quad in the name is short for “quadriplegic.”  My friend Carson suffers from ALS, yet he is still as interesting & conversant as ever. Please check out his site over at quadfathercarson.com and follow along as he battles his way through this disease with a failing body but a soaring spirit.

Just click here to visit quadfathercarson.com

Dark Horse Racing 9623 The May Website of the Month!

Do you really want to know how fast you can go with a 250cc four stroke engine? Then go check out Dark Horse Racing 9623. This is the internet home to the Worlds Fastest 250 Ninja, as certified by the East Coast Timing Association. Be sure to watch the video of his 123 mph run.  Go check it out here at this link!

<fast 250 Ninja>

Adventureism The April Website of the Month!

A fellow WordPress blogger named Jesse Mckay is getting read to head off on a coast to coast to coast ride (He’s starting from Corpus Christi, Texas) on April 29th.

Click here to check out his blog at  http://twowheelin.wordpress.com/. 

This gentleman has a lot of that good do it yourself spirit that used to be universally prevalent amongst motorcyclists. Check out his Buell Blast modification page too. At any rates let’s all wish him a safe, happy trip & follow along on the ride.!

Again the link is http://twowheelin.wordpress.com/

Existential Motorcycles The March 2013 Website of the Month

Existential Motorcycles is a different kind of motorcycle website. It’s run by a gentleman in N.C. whom repairs &  restores motorcycles for a living. While it is in some ways an advertisement for his business, when you read it you realize that it is so much more. Articles like The Wretched Truth About Restorations, and So You Think You Want a Custom Cafe Racer,  tell a kind of truth you may never read anywhere else.

I really like the following quote from his home page.

“My shop is in an over-sized two-car garage attached to my home. My work is a calling, in the theological sense of the word. Ethical and moral questions arise every day – they are hard, sharp, unambiguous and unavoidable.”

There are people who can work on motorcycles, and there are people who can write really well. When we find someone who can do both we should pay attention.

Peace Y’all

February Website of the Month: motorcycleshows.com

Yes, I realize the whole Progressive International Motorcycle Show series is a giant money making commercial venture designed to sell products while entertaining the masses. That is cool with me as long as I have a good time while I am there. Most of the events for this season have already concluded, but there are a couple left to go. Plus the website is really cool and packed with lots of information about the various motorcycle line that the manufacturers will have on display including specs and msrp. I am planning to check out the Charlotte N.C. show and will take some pictures to share with you when I get back.

motorcycleshows.com

 

January 2013 Website of the Month: Hell for Leather Magazine.

 

Some websites are informative, some are entertaining, others are edgy & controversial. This month I am sharing with you one of my favorite motorcycle blogs Hell for Leather Magazine. This crew is definitely entertaining. You will be educated, entertained, sometimes pissed off, and sometime made to LOL, but you wont get bored digging through the stuff they present. I read it almost every day!

Carolina Fun Machines! Motopsyco’s September Website of the Month!

Carolina Fun Machines

Carolina Fun Machines is located at 12995 East Independence Boulevard. Matthews N.C.

www.carolinafunmachines.com

Yes I know they are mainly a scooter dealer. Even so all of you hairy chested macho badass guys & gals who only care about “real” motorcycles need to check these folks out after all in addition to the top quality scooters they also carry Cleveland Cyclwerks, Hyosung, and Sym motorcycles. Plus scooters are cool again, sure a lot of them are still 50cc post DUI transport, but there are available in larger fullsize and full speed models but in today’s world scooters are once again in style. And Carolina Fun Machines is the best scooter dealership I have ever had the pleasure of visiting. They are not some fly by night scooter dealer at the flea market, not a used car lot, with a batch of cheap shit scooters to sell for a quick buck but an actual functioning dealership that carries reasonably priced products of better quality. Plus the story of this stores founding is worth reading even if you have no other interest in their products, go check out the “about page” right now. Now click here to see the service department!

Here’s a shot of the store front for you.

at Carolina Fun Machines in Matthews N.C.

Hey Look its a Misfit, some cool scoots, and a go kart!

For you crotch rocket jockeys, how about a Hyosung GT-R? You can get it in a 250 or a 650!!

GT250R    GT650R

Hyosung GT R sitting in the showroom.

Meet the Syms!

Sym Wolf Classic, & Symba

The 110cc Symba and the Cafe Styled 150cc Wolf Classic

To check out the Wolf click here.

For the Symba…

And from the mighty company known as Cleveland Cyclewerks the meanest 250 chopper in all the world, Tha Heist

THe 250 chopper

Are you ready for some serious posing?

Don’t forget Tha Misfit!

Let me add one more picture of a Hyosung Motorcycle. Cruisers are available up to 700cc

Hyosung V Twin Cruiser

Hyosung V Twin Cruiser

There you have it folks they are a scooter dealer and so much more. I want to extend my thanks and gratitude to Tim and his staff for their help during my visit and for allowing me to drive the Misfit that I rode for my review last month. Please go visit the Carolina Fun Machines website or even better visit the store in person. Trust me if you live anywhere in North or South Carolina and are even remotely thinking of buying a moped, scooter of any size, or a small to midsize motorcycle, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

Peace Y’all

Cleveland Cyclewerks My August Website of the Month

I just love this picture and the text it contains….

250 cc cafe racer

one cool 250cc cafe racer

Normally I don’t get too excited about new American motorcycle start ups, after all we’ve been down that road before with Indian, Excelsior Henderson, etc. Sure Victory made it but they have the power of the colossal Polaris corporation behind them. Plus they specialize in exactly the kind of motorcycle that the above photo from Cleveland Cyclewerks is talking about.

My current motorcycle of choice is a 250 Ninja that my wife purchased for me as a Christmas gift a few years ago when I was ready to start back riding after a gnarly bone crushing crash. I was sure that it if I kept riding that it would be gone soon in favor of a larger & more powerful machine. Guess what? It has turned out to be a fantastic ride that I may keep forever. Plus it has opened my eyes to just how much sense motorbikes in this class make. Yet they are still capable of providing one with all of the thrills and chills found in a larger motorcycle.

Please keep in mind that I have never ridden any of their products, am not a paid endorser, nor do I have anything to gain from this. But I like their style and bravado, and I am a fan of small and quick handling motorcycles. The bikes that make sense is what their ad copy says, and in these times, this class of machine makes a lot of sense.

Of course if the fine people at Cleveland Cyclewerks feel so inclined as to set a lonely blogger up with a chance for an extended test drive, I’ll be glad to give them an honest review from the viewpoint of a rider, commuter, and small bike enthusiast.

Go check out Cleveland Cyclewerks and see if you like their style as much as I do!