Continuing our live chat video series on YouTube with members of the motorcycle industry, on Monday, June 15th at 5pm PDT / 8pm EDT, Asphalt & Rubber will be sitting down with Joe Karvonen, of Kramer Motorcycles USA
As usual for our live chats, I will of course have some questions of my own for Joe, but we want to make the show interactive, so we will be taking questions from the audience as well.
Over the course of this year, we are going to bring you a number of motorcycle stories that focus on the experience of going motorcycle racing at the amateur level. We call the series “Gone Racing”, and if you have been following us on Instagram or listening to the Brap Talk podcast then you have likely already been privy to some of the preparation for these features.
The concept is pretty simple, yours truly will be competing here in Portland with the Oregon Motorcycle Road Racing Association (OMRRA) – as a true blue novice – using a Kramer HKR EVO2 as a racing and testing platform.
The goal of the series is to give a glimpse into what it is like to go from a track day rider to novice racer, and to use that experience as a springboard to explore various topics, like getting a race license, what gear to use, setting up a bike for racing, preparing as a rider, and so forth.
For our A&R Pro readers, we will also have some stories that take a deep dive on various technical topics, like the number of fuels available to racers (aka the cost-benefit analysis of MR12), how to read your tires (aka the dark art of the black round things), and the real difference between braking components (aka why does the Brembo GP4-RR cost as much a decent track bike?).
It was just a few weeks ago that we told you how Pirelli was making purpose-built tires for the 300cc racing category, and now we get word that Dunlop is doing the same.
Creating the all-new KR448 front tire, and KR451 rear tire in sizes and compounds for bikes in the 300cc to 400cc range, Dunlop its making sure that it has a firm grip on the small-displacement categories that are filling grids on race tracks around the world, but especially in the United States.
Another week, and so another episode of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is up, for your listening pleasure. Episode 31 sees Quentin and myself with a new recording time, which is earlier in the week, so the show is less about current events, and more an exploration of topics, this time around.
As such, we share some stories from the track, focusing mostly on bike safety and track preparation. No topic is left uncovered, which means a healthy discussion about the time-honored topics of motorcycle oil and tires. Spoiler alert, Quentin has some interesting practices when it comes to motorcycle lubrication…
We finish the show with some listener questions, all of which we think you will find highly engaging, so give it play (or two).
As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!
It is a sad day in Southern California amateur motorcycle racing, as the Willow Springs Motorcycle Club (WSMC) is closing its doors ahead of its second round of the 2012 season. Catering to amateur motorcycle racers from LA County and its surrounding areas for the past 21 years, Willow Springs owner Bill Huth has had no choice but to close the racing league because of its lack of profitability.
While this announcement in no way affects track days held at either Streets of Willow or at the “Big Track”, it does mean that amateur motorcycle racing at Willow Springs Raceway will cease to exist, at least for the time being.