The Desert Comes Alive with Roar of Engines, Thundering Wild Parties

After two challenging years, like most of us in the motorcycle industry, Arizona Bike Week got the green flag to have its annual rally at WestWorld of Scottsdale. Unlike the last event, where tiny corrals would be installed to keep people separated, it would be wide open.

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This Dirty Dozen started off in Winslow, Arizona, for a spirited ride down the canyon pass of the BeeLine Highway. Funny to see brand new bikes exceeding 100 mph but like I said, the desert makes you do crazy things. They all entered the city and the celebration culminated at Yaffe’s booth inside WestWorld.

Foothill Ranch, Calif. (April 17, 2022) – Round 14 of the Monster Energy® AMA Supercross Championship brought riders from across the country to Atlanta Motor Speedway for a unique racetrack in the infield of the iconic racing venue. Monster Energy Kawasaki rider Jason Anderson claimed his fourth win of the season with a commanding performance in the 450SX Main Event. Meanwhile, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Jo Shimoda and Austin Forkner earned fourth place and seventh place respectively in the 250SX East/West Showdown.

Anderson and the rest of the Monster Energy Kawasaki team arrived to Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday morning to find the grounds flooded from overnight rainfall. As the rain continued through the morning hours, scheduling adjustments were made to preserve the track. The revised schedule granted the riders in each classification a single 13-minute timed qualifying session prior to the start of the racing program. Adding to the challenge of learning a track in such short time, the specially designed Atlanta circuit hosted one of the longest starts in Supercross history, multiple whoop sections and over twelve turns, altogether producing the longest lap times so far this season. Knowing his time on the track was limited, Anderson launched straight out to a high pace on lap one of the timed session. The No.21 KX™450SR rider battled at the top of the leader board for the entire session as he made the most of the slick conditions. When the session concluded, Anderson recorded the second fastest time of the morning with a 1:25.286.

At the start of the first 450SX Heat Race, Anderson emerged from the first turn in second position. With dryer track conditions and increased traction, Anderson quickly turned up the pace from his qualifying laps and took control of the lead before the end of Lap 1. The New Mexico native responded to pressure from the current points leader by improving his lap times as the race progressed. There was a brief exchange for the lead position on Lap 5 before a crowd animating pass while sliding around the inside of one of the track’s sweeping 180 turns moved Anderson back into the top spot. When the checkered flag flew, Anderson was over four seconds clear of the competition, claiming his fifth heat race win of the season.

When the gate dropped for the 450SX Main Event, Anderson once again launched his KX™450SR out to the front of the pack. The podium positions were tightly contested for the opening laps as Anderson tactfully moved passed his main championship rivals. On Lap 3, Anderson gained control of the lead by capitalizing on a mistake from the competition. The Atlanta crowd soon erupted again as Anderson took advantage of the clear track in front of him to start jumping an impressive triple-quad rhythm section before the finish line. Continuing to jump the rhythm lap after lap, igniting the crowd consistently, Anderson steadily built a sizeable lead over the riders behind. By Lap 11, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider was more than eight seconds ahead of the closest competitor. With a nearly perfect race from start to finish, Anderson crossed the checkered flag first, lighting the Monster Energy fire cannons and securing his fourth Monster Energy Supercross win of 2022.

Anderson’s impressive win in Atlanta moves him three points closer to the 450SX Championship points lead as he stands firmly in second place with three rounds remaining.

“It seemed like we might have a mudder this morning but, the dirt came around after the sun showed up around mid-day. By the time my Main Event started, the track was gnarly but, we’re in a great spot with the bike so I was able to keep pushing the pace through the tough conditions. Even though the whoops were cupped out and edgy, the bike was consistent and predictable, so I kept charging across them every lap. The whole team has put in a lot of effort to have the KX™450SR working as good as it is right now so hopefully we can enjoy a few more of these wins before the season ends.”
– Jason Anderson

Returning to the 250SX Eastern Regional Championship, Forkner joined his Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki 250SX Western Regional teammate Shimoda in Atlanta for the first East/West Showdown of the year. In one of the first groups to take to the wet track, Forkner proved he hasn’t missed a beat by jumping right to the top of the 250SX East qualifying leaderboard. When his qualifying session concluded, the Missouri native had the second fastest lap time with a 1:28.808. In the 250SX West qualifying, Shimoda made himself acquainted with the track by exploring a variety of different lines and setting the sixth fastest lap time with a 1:30.773.

When the 250SX East Heat Race rounded the first turn, Forkner found himself ahead of only one rider as he narrowly avoided a first turn crash. The No.33 KX™250 rider made quick moves through the opening lap, however, passing his way into seventh by the end of Lap 1. Despite racing through traffic on the wet track, Forkner began setting the fastest laps of the race. Forkner passed at least one rider each lap while rapidly closing the distance between himself and the leader. When the white flag waved, Forkner was up to third in the running order but, the tenacious rider wasn’t settled. On the final lap, the fans at Atlanta Motor Speedway roared with cheers as Forkner made two daring passes to claim the 250SX East Heat win by a thrillingly slim margin and establish himself as a contender to win the 250SX East/West Showdown.

At the start of the 250SX West Heat race, Shimoda proved he had made gains with his starts by launching out to the early lead. Shimoda led the opening lap before a couple minor mistakes on Lap 2 forced him to relinquish the position and settle into third place. The Japanese-born rider matched pace with the riders ahead as a battle for the top five positions ensued for the better portion of the qualifying race. On the final lap, Shimoda lost one more position before finishing out the race in fourth place with a direct transfer to the 250SX East/West Showdown.

When the gate dropped for the 250SX East/West Showdown Main Event, the No.30 KX™250 rider Shimoda rocketed out to the holeshot and early lead while Forkner quickly made his way forward from sixth. After a few swift passes by Forkner, the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki duo occupied two of the three podium positions for the opening laps with Shimoda setting the pace out front and amassing a roughly two second gap over the rest of the field. On Lap 3, Forkner lost a position after the split sand section and settled into fourth until he eventually dropped back to seventh due to a small crash in a rutted corner a few laps later. Meanwhile, Shimoda proved his grit by battling for podium contention and withstanding pressure from the respective championship challengers of each regional series through the first 10 laps of the race. Shimoda balanced intensity with finesse on the non-traditional supercross track to maintain control of third position in the running order until he was overtaken through the whoops while approaching the white flag. Shimoda challenged back for a final lap battle over the last podium position but ultimately crossed the finish in fourth place. Forkner regained his momentum late in the race and finished with a respectable seventh place result.

Shimoda’s fourth place finish in Atlanta marks his fourth top-five of the season and moves him to only two points shy of fourth in the 250SX Western Regional Championship points standings.

Forkner’s seventh place finish secures his third top-ten result of the season as the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/ Kawasaki rider had an impressive return to the 250SX Eastern Regional Championship.

“This weekend my starts were really good in the heat and the Main Event so that is nice progress on something I’ve been working to improve. At the beginning of the main I felt strong and was comfortable out front with the lead but, I think my speed was a little bit off this weekend, so I ended up being passed by a few riders. I want to be back on the podium, so I wouldn’t say that I’m satisfied with fourth place but, there are positives to take away from this weekend and we will keep trying to be better.”
– Jo Shimoda

“I’ve been eager to get back to racing and definitely wanted to show that I’m a contender for wins this year. In the Heat Race, I was really happy with my riding. To come through the whole field and get a win with a last lap pass on last weekend’s overall winner was a good way to get back into the swing of things. I’ve only been back on the bike about a week now, so I was really happy with my race craft and I think I was on track to have another strong performance in the Main Event until I crashed while running in third. Overall, it was great to be racing again and I’m ready to fight for some wins before the championship ends.”
– Austin Forkner

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Lowbrow Battery Line-Up and J&P about Testing

By Bandit, the Lowbrow Team and Anthony Todd from J&P Cycles

We found ourselves in the battery market again recently. We ran into a couple of issues. First, trying to fit a battery into an almost stock 1948 center oil tank. Lowbrow has an option, but it involved a very small anti-gravity lithium battery. Unfortunately, they were out of stock. Plus, they didn’t have a gel option. They did have a cool, stock, replica battery case.

I did find a stock replacement battery but only in 6 Volt. I needed a 12-Volt unit for my 1948 UL. It had been modified for a 12-Volt system. Then the Lowbrow crew came up with this handy battery guide, so I thought I would share it with an article by Anthony Todd, of J&P Cycles, about testing charging systems.

I went to J&P Cycles, but they don’t list battery dimensions on their website. I would think that would be a major drawback to sales, especially involving custom bikes. We all face custom oil bags with odd size battery holes. Or worse, we have limited space for a battery and need to adapt. We need to know the dimensions. Let’s roll through the Lowbrow report.

The development of motorcycle batteries has really advanced in recent years. Back in-the-day a conventional motorcycle battery with an acid pack was the standard. You would open the top caps, pour in your acid pack, and throw it on a charger for 24 hours. This was the typical process for a lead acid classic motorcycle battery.

There are a variety of types of motorcycle batteries for you to choose from these days. AGM maintenance free batteries, Gel AGM batteries, and Lithium motorcycle batteries are all on the market.

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Remember to Not Be Evil

TWELVE QUOTES ON SACRIFICE:

“To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” – Steve Prefontaine

“Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

“Great achievement is usually born of great sacrifice, and is never the result of selfishness.” – Napoleon Hill

“People sacrifice the present for the future. But life is available only in the present. That is why we should walk in such a way that every step can bring us to the here and the now.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“The greatest of follies is to sacrifice health for any other kind of happiness.” – Arthur Schopenhauer

“I think that the good and the great are only separated by the willingness to sacrifice.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

“There is no moral authority like that of sacrifice.” – Nadine Gordimer

“Every wish, every dream, every idea comes to existence only through blood, sweat and sacrifice.” – Ivan Moody

“Sometimes, you have to sacrifice your talent to please the public.” – Govinda (actor)

“Mankind deserves sacrifice – but not of mankind.” – Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

“If you choose to do something, then you shouldn’t say it’s a sacrifice, because nobody forced you to do it.” – Aung San Suu Kyi

“If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married.” – Katharine Hepburn

Sometimes the news kicks my ass. Then a hot news flash flies in the door. In this case we received a report from The Sierra Madre Motorcycle Company, Austin, Texas branch operated by Steve Klein. He currently holds one of the rarest Crockers on the planet and several other motorcycle treasures. He recently bought 400 acres of land outside of town to hide his line-up of the rarest motorcycles on the planet, plus tend to his herd of cows and riding horses.

1steve_4706

I’m going to attempt to add a video clip to this report, plus Mr. Klein’s report and images of life threatening hail.

Bandit, this poor quality 8 second video was taken by my neighbors across the road from our property 4.5 miles West of Salado TX. All the trees/woods you see in the video are on my land. The twister did not cross my fence line. But it took out two rural baptist churches and 15 homes on acreages in the two miles adjoins me. When it arrived at my fence line it lifted over us for several miles and dropped back down and tore up more homes & killed more horses and cattle.

We were both not at home. Joanie in Dallas with Grandbabies and I in South Texas working.

We were blessed! Thank you fir checking in on us!

–Steve Klein

Partner

Sierra Madre Motorcycle Company

www.sierramadremotorcyclecompany.com 

BIKE SHED MOTO COMES TO LA–Housed in a huge warehouse built in the Arts District in 1945, in concrete, brick, wood, glass & steel, on a 30,000SF plot, Bike Shed L.A. offers a 325 seat restaurant, cafe, fully-licensed-bar and multi-brand retail emporium with an events space, barbershop, tattoo studio and private members bar.

1580 Industrial St, LOS ANGELES

www.bikeshetmoto.com

–Markus Cuff

City Streets Investigator

Bikernet.com(TM)

NEW PRODUCTS NOW AVAILABLE!
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• Replaces rubber antenna grommets when factory antenna is relocated or removed.
• Comes with all necessary hardware for installation.
• We recommend the use of the Kodlin Curved Touring License Plate Kit KUS20100 / KUS 20101 (check license plate fitment applications).
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The Legislative session is more than three-quarters over with today being day 94 and 26 days left. Quick numbers: Senate introduced 206 bills; 14 to S-T&E with only 8 transportation issues; House introduced 376 bills; 32 to H-T&LG with 12 about transportation. So, you can see, there hasn’t been much concern with transportation issues this year. There continues to be only 1-2 more bills introduced each day because of being “late-statis” bills which need approval from the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House. The various committees are busy right now, even addressing those bills that were introduced way back in January, but there will still be some bills that are “killed” due to no action at all.

I haven’t done an in-depth analysis yet, but it appears more bills are being passed than are being PI (killed). The Governor has signed pretty many already but hasn’t gotten to HB22-1043 (Definition of a Motorcycle).

SB22-175 (Distracted Driving) passed the Senate floor on 2^nd reading yesterday and is scheduled for 3^rd reading on Monday, 4/18. Senate Minority Leader, Sen. Holbert, gave a very “persuasive” argument in support of the bill at 2^nd reading, citing how his personal distracted driving experiences have changed his view to supporting a bill which he had opposed in the past. More later as the bill progresses through the process.

Making progress on a resolution for “May is Motorcycle Safety and Awareness Month”. More later….

–Deb Craig

www.MRF.org