KLK Holiday

With it being the holiday season, I figure I should do a cheerful entry this week.  Here’s my crack at it!  I’ll kind of explain how KLK Cycles started in the process.

Last winter was the longest in recent memory.  I live in a place that winter can last for five months!  A shitty place for a motorcycle guy, I know.  This place is great for other reasons, but I get pretty crabby when there’s still snow in April (just ask my wife). 

This was around the time I came up with the concept for KLK Cycles.  I needed something to get my mind off f$%&ing snow!  A couple of my friends live a couple hundred miles away from me and work in the motorcycle industry.  We had always discussed starting something together, so I figured that this could be it.  I could do something that I’m passionate about and they could do the same while providing their expertise.  We didn’t really post anything until December (not a big surprise, since riding weather happened before we really got going).

Right now we’re just doing blogs, but hopefully we’ll have different content coming (how-to videos, motovlogs, product reviews, etc).  We’ll see how things go.  It’s just great collaborating with my friends, doing stuff we all enjoy.

For all of you reading this, thank you!  I consider all of you my family on two wheels.  There’s too much division between riders, street vs. dirt, cruiser vs. sport, Harley vs. the rest.  If you ride, then I consider you a friend.  Motorcycles brought all of us in KLK Cycles together.  We hope that we can bring other riders together though our content.  I’m really hoping that doing this keeps me sane for another winter!

Happy Holidays to all of our two-wheeled family!

“The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.” – Mario Puzo

Decide the Ride

So, you took my advice from last week and bought a reasonably priced bike and rode it for a year or two.  If you didn’t read last week’s post, see here: http://klkcycles.blogspot.com/2014/12/sons-of-common-sense.html.  You know you are definitely riding for life.  You can’t imagine life without two wheels.  Now you want an upgrade?  Awesome!

Now figure out what kind of rider you are.  Do you get amped up when you come up on a twisty road?  Do you love just hopping on your bike and cruising to any destination?  Enjoy racing from stoplight to stoplight?  Do you like to ride trails?  How about riding cross country?

Is cornering for you?  Sport bikes are the way to go!  Nothing corners like Supersports (Honda CBR, Kawasaki Ninja, Yamaha R’s, and Suzuki GSX-R’s are the big 4), but a good naked bike will be close (Ducati Monsters, Yamaha FZ’s, Triumph Speed Triple to name a few).

If you’re more into cruising, any cruiser will do.  It doesn’t have to be a Harley, Google “cruiser motorcycle” and see what comes up (Yamaha V-Stars, Kawasaki Vulcans).

If you like riding fast and hard in a straight line, then you’ll want a torque monster!  Triumph Rocket, Yamaha V-Max, and the Screaming Eagle Harleys come to mind. 

If you like riding in the dirt, but still need to ride on the road, there’s a ton of dual sports out there.  There are also some factory scramblers out on the market that aren’t quite as good in the dirt, but are f&%$ing gorgeous (Ducati and Triumph make em)!

If long distance is for you, get a touring bike.  Harley makes great ones, but guys that have a Honda Goldwing or BMW touring bike claim they’d never ride anything else.

Now to pick which model you want.  My advice is to pick what looks good to you.  Don’t make your decision based on horsepower, or torque, or quarter mile time.  Maybe you know you’re a Harley guy.  Great!  I don’t know why riders have to be so pro or anti Harley.  I say bikes are fun, no matter what they are.  If you’ve heard someone say a Harley isn’t fun to ride, than they haven’t ridden one, or they are letting their bias make up their mind!

Another thing to keep in mind is comfort.  The only way to determine this is to take a bike for a ride.  Lots of bike shops have demo days, where you can ride the latest model year bikes.  Other shops are more than willing to let you take test rides.  If your ass is numb and wrists ache after a mile, than maybe you’re on the wrong bike.

When I decided to buy my first new bike, I liked all the above.  This drove me toward a Ducati Monster.  It corners great, has a little better riding position than a supersport, and has a little extra torque .  Can’t ride trails though (Damn it!!!!).

“The decision is mine, and I choose happiness” ― Malori Howell

Sons of Common Sense

Yesterday I watched the series finale of Sons of Anarchy.  Actually, I believe I’ve watched every episode for the last seven years.  Don’t judge!  I like crime shows and if you throw bikes on top of it…I’m hooked.  I believe the finale finished the series pretty damn well (don’t worry, no spoilers here for those of you who plan on watching the series on Netflix). I know others disagree with me, but I felt satisfied.

I heard a quote from the series creator, Kurt Sutter that 1% club membership drastically increased while this series was airing. This got me thinking that if memberships of outlaw motorcycle clubs increased because of the show, then lots of people must’ve been inspired to buy Harleys.  This leads me to a point…People should not buy brand new Harleys for their first bike!!!

I’m all for the increased interest in motorcycles.  Hell, the more the merrier I’d say.  But, a guy (or girl) dropping 10-20k on a brand new bike without figuring out if they really enjoy it first is f@#$ing moronic!

Please if you feel interested in a bike…spend a grand and get something that runs, but won’t be an entire waste if you figure out that you don’t really like riding.  Also, if you have a little hands on ability, you can take a $1000 bike and make it look pretty cool.  A friend of mine has a seventies model Kawasaki 400 that he made into a flat track racer.  It looks pretty damn cool, for not much money.

It’s tough to know if you really like riding, or you just like the fact that every time you pull into a parking lot you think dudes are jealous and all the chicks want the D because of your new ride.  If you have a bike that nobody looks twice at, but still love to ride, you know you’re probably in it for life!

I’m not trying to just pick on Harley riders either.  You sport bike riders are just as bad, if not worse!  The truth is that novice sport riders are not only spending too much money, but they get way more bike than they would ever need if they buy a brand new liter bike.  To me, these guys should get cheap 250 or 500cc bike and learn to ride first.  Also, there is quite a bit of satisfaction in riding a bike to its limit instead of riding to the limit of your ability.

Rant over.  Like I said before, I’m happy that lots of people are getting into bikes, but please don’t go out and buy a brand new Dyna because Jax Teller rides one!

“Something happens at around 92 miles an hour – thunder – headers drown out all sound, engine vibrations travel at a heart’s rate, field of vision funnels into the immediate and suddenly you’re not on the road, you’re in it.  A part of it. Traffic, scenery, cops – just cardboard cutouts blowing over as you pass.” – Jax Teller (from Son’s of Anarchy)