I saw him from the distance, as he walked toward me at the port of Los Angeles. He looked like some kind of Anime character dressed in a long black leather trench coat over bright layers, shirt and scarf, black leather chaps and black boots. I noticed the mud splattered up the back of his coat and up the front of his boots and chaps. His grey hair appeared to have not been brushed in a month. He had some odd things hanging around his neck. I was later to find out they were a golden Buddha inside a coin like pendant, and some tiger fur in a sealed capsule from the Tiger Temple in Thailand. Both items were covered in welding dust, and grit. He smiled a genuine soul smile with flashes of beautiful shiny metallic teeth. He said very few words, and his voice was like a large cat purring.
“WOW!” I thought, “This guy looks like he has been somewhere!”
Later that night we met again at the floating Yacht Club. This sounds posh, but to my surprise, it was more like a super-sized redneck patio party with plastic furniture and next to no class, but great, friendly people, to me a balance of pure perfection. I was on a nice roll, sharing my stories of personal enlightenment, and surrounded by about six eager suitors. I decided then to dub this man, ‘The Most Interesting Man’ on earth. That guy on the popular U.S. commercials paled in comparison. At the end of the night when he walked out and was standing next to his super cool black and chromed bike in the parking lot, that was it! This guy just kept getting better!
Soon I found out the bike was the beautiful, cool looking ATK GV 650, all black and chrome. It looked like a really expensive motorcycle; I figured he paid around twenty grand for it. Surprisingly, the cool chromed beauty sells for just under seven grand, brand new! It looked like the cool cruiser of my dreams. Little did I know a few months later, I would be learning to ride on the same motorcycle, and also writing a review for Bikernet.com.
My first meeting with the guys, Keith and Ray, at BIKERNET Headquarters was very comfortable and cool. As The Most Interesting went out to find a carton of his favorite Canadian smokes, I was given the grand tour from Keith Ball, who is a tall drink of water, and well poised, which is fairly rare for me to say as I stand at nearly six foot tall. Keith showed me beautiful bikes, of different shapes and sizes, some old, some new, some that had raced and won at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, motorcycles upstairs and down, and even incredible glass over motorcycle office and patio furniture. The art that graced the walls was intricate and incredible, and much of it had graced motorcycle magazine covers and pages throughout the years. I just knew this was every bike aficionado’s wet dream.
I left with Keith’s new book, and a race team sticker and patch. The books cover read, “Harbor Town Seduction a Wild Chance Hogan Ride” by K. Randall Ball. “Murder, treachery, and too many women at every turn”.
“Nice”, I thought, “I need a new good read”. The sticker and matching patch had a pin up girl in a racing checkered bikini, casually leaning over an orange #5 cue ball, and on it was printed, “Bikernet.com racing team”. Then I went to meet Ray, a very fit man with longish white hair and beard, who radiated kindness and positive intentions. He was still talking about renting a few mermaids, as I had recently been contacted by Thom Shouse the “tail man” and asked if I would like to be a mermaid, after he saw my Facebook bodysurfing videos, freediving videos, and my general love and ability in the ocean.
Earlier that day I had tried on my first Thom Shouse tail. I had explained to Ray and Keith over dinner how Thom had contacted me because of my freediving and love of being under the sea. To my amazement, most mermaids apparently just sit on the beach collecting buckets of sand in their tails, flopping this way and that, looking cute, and do not or can not swim.
Ray’s walls also were graced with cool biker art, and I noticed a panoramic picture of a bunch of guys with bikes on what looked like some white washed desert playa somewhere. I questioned it as it interested me. Turns out it was the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, where land speed records were set and broken. He casually asks me, “So, you want to go to that place, Bonneville…with us next time?”
“Hell yea!” I exclaimed.
“I like her” he says in general, and hands me another book I am instructed to read first. It is another book by Keith, with a cool illustrated cover that looks a lot like Keith on a Black and chromed bike on the cover, holding some kind of assault rifle, and ammo rounds about his neck. It reads, “Sam Chopper Orwell”. Sweet.
By this time I wasn’t just itching to learn to ride; my itch had turned into a full-blown “want to ride” rash. My first and only lesson was around 20 years earlier on a big heavy Moto Guzzi, that had power and was pointed toward a sandy curb in Huntington Beach, California. My all of 3 second ride ended in the bike sliding out and resting a very hot muffler on my leg peeling off all the skin, and branding me with a scar that lasted for awhile. I did not try learning again after that until now, and had only on a couple of occasions been a passenger. I was nervous to say the least.
My first ride with the Most Interesting Man was as a passenger, who as I had previously discovered through some “small link” dock talk, had some sort of land speed record. “Wow, things just keep getting more interesting!” I thought, and I wondered what the hell I was getting myself in for. I met up with The Most Interesting, or Dr. Feng, as BIKERNET readers know him, in order to pick out my helmet. Silver, white and black that had a couple of small dragons on the crown to balance my Chinese year of the rat, and for safety (of course), was recommended. All geared up we set out. The ATK GV 650 was all cleaned up, gassed up and ready to go. The ride as a passenger was a comfortable one. I felt balanced and safe on the seat, and at no time felt like I was going to slide off the back and eat pavement like I had previously on another ride as a passenger in my past.
I was amazed at how far we traveled that day and how many places we saw with very little expense on the gas. Let’s just say, Dr. Feng is by nature fast, and I was comfortable going at the speeds he liked on the freeway, even at points feeling like I was flying, and so comfortable I closed my eyes for a little rest and meditation on the freeways of Southern California. The ride as a passenger was very nice.
We were able to cover lots of ground. First we rode to the Los Angeles art district from Port of Los Angeles area, and then into Chinatown to meet up with Keith and Ray for lunch, and a break. At lunch Dr. Feng ordered enough slippery shrimp to feed the entire Chinese army, along with other food. Keith mentions something about getting The Most Interesting into a different job where he would be cleaned up and, “Not in the dirt all day.” Over a bite of slippery shrimp, I puked just a bit into the back of my throat, as an image flashed in my mind of The Most Interesting, looking anything but that, in low end broke lawyer’s garb, cheap shiny shoes, slacks that were short and tight because they shrunk up, as the fit changed due to the sedentary desk job lifestyle and belly weight gain.
“NO!” I exclaim without thinking, “That is why I was interested in talking with him in the first place! He looked like he’d been places!” Everybody laughs.
Next to the Buddhist temple to check that out, and back onto the ATK. Now heading back into San Pedro, we were able to see the Korean Bell, and then the Wayfarers Chapel. As a passenger on the bike I felt more in touch with the places we traveled, and felt like we covered much more distance than we would have in my car. The bike was so sturdy and stable we both took our hands off and just let the bike glide down a hill on the way back to headquarters. Dr. Feng, with his hands off the handlebars jokingly flailed a bit, and the balance of the bike was evident, so even during that, I was comfortable. My next ride would be in the mountains as both a rider and a passenger.
Up to the Angeles mountains, where I was to begin to learn to ride, with me on the front as the driver and Dr., Feng on the back as a passenger, reaching over me and letting go of the handlebars when he felt I had my balance and comfort. Just due to my own past experiences, I tensed up and my legs were shaking, and I found the steering different. We pulled over. Dr. Feng explains to me the concept of counter steering, where at certain speeds you can very gently, with one finger, push the handlebars in the OPPOSITE direction you desire to turn and the bike leans and turns just right, with little effort. I try this the next day on my next ride.
The ATK GV 650 started up easily and immediately with the turn of the key. The controls are clear and easy to read. With Dr. Feng on the back again, he gets me off the side and onto the road, from first into second, then as I gain confidence he lets go, and seems to disappear, only giving suggestions as needed. The ride was smooth and beautiful. With the counter steering that Dr. Feng had taught me the day before, the bike turned and leaned into each turn comfortably, with almost no effort. I moved up through to 4th gear, and although it took a little pressure to shift gears (1 down, 2, 3, 4 and 5 up), the throttle was punchy and sensitive, even for someone just learning it was easy enough. The ATK is a V-twin, and even though it is a 650 it has 880 horsepower. It is fairly light for a comparable bike of its size, and has a low center of gravity and is very stable, and easy to control. With Dr. Feng as the passenger, while driving I did not even feel that he was there, and the ride was fun. The next day went even better, as I comfortably, safely and smoothly got up to 75 miles per hour, on only my third lesson.
Obviously, Dr. Feng wanted to test what the bike really had, how it handles at higher speeds (and possibly what I really had in me as well), so we did the incredible. We pulled up on the side of the road near a decent group in some really nice cars from some racing club. We casually watched the group pull away, and The Most Interesting casually finished his cigarette, slowly takes a couple of photographs of me on the bike and says, “So shall we catch up with them?”
“Sure” I thought mounting the bike and putting on my gloves.
Then we were off. The ATK handled wonderfully. Even at higher speeds and as a passenger I felt totally safe, on this wild ride. We were hauling and the bike handled well. Both I as a passenger, and the saddlebags weighed us down. The ATK handled well in the turns, and Dr. Feng was pushing to pass, often scraping both foot pedal and muffler on our right side on the ground. We passed a Lotus and a Mercedes, and half the group the first attempt but it took a bit longer to pass the final two racers. They were spraying us with rocks and dust. Racing around 30 plus miles, The Most Interesting finally, seizes the opportunity and passes the final two racers. After passing everyone and leaving them in the dust The Most Interesting floors it on a straight section and reaches speeds of upwards of 120, so obviously the bike works well in 5th gear. We would have continued accelerating, only slowing down when I had to tap out, as my helmet was lifting off my head due to the wind against my Go Pro camera mounted on my helmet. Let’s just say we got noticed.
By the time the racecar group caught up to us, and passed by the restaurant we had stopped at to rest, Dr. Feng, the Most Interesting Man on earth, was half way through his cigarette, kicking back, and I was off the bike with my helmet off and relaxing. I waved as they passed. Not a car waved back. Toby informed me they were probably pissed, because a cruiser weighed down with bags and a passenger smoked them all. Apparently that just normally does not happen. Needless to say the back tire needed to be replaced shortly thereafter.
Dr. Feng later informed me that last ride would be added to his list of top ten rides in his incredible motorcycle riding career, which says a lot about the handling and capabilities of the ATK GV650. Seriously though, this bike rocks, it was an absolutely great time on a fun, well built, exciting bike. Need I say more?
Check out this great Article on the ATK 650 by Dr. Feng.
New 5-Ball Racing Shirts.
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