Motorcycle Nation Podcast

The VTwin Expo is going on right now in Cincinnati, OH and as you can probably tell I am not there. I had my media credentials along with the recording equipment and camera ready to go only to wake up this morning to blowing snow. Yesterday we received a little over five inches and even more overnight. The roads here in central Indiana are passable at a slow rate but some of the counties that I would have to pass through to get to the Duke Energy Center have travel advisories and the state police are asking motorists to stay home.

So, the show is on hold for me until 2011. I could actually attempt the trip on Sunday but being the Indianapolis Colts fan that I am, how can I be gone during the Super Bowl? I was really looking forward to this show as it would be my first opportunity to cover a major show and the biggest names in the VTwin market are exhibiting there. I am very curious to see what new, innovative ideas the manufacturers have managed to come up with during their winter hibernation period. I guess if I can’t bring the show to you first hand we will have to get the information from our favorite magazines that cover this market segment. I will be looking through IronWorks Magazine, a friend of the podcast, to get any information that I can. We will be attempting to bring you some of the new product information straight from the mouths of the creators themselves. Time for me to start the research. Happy Super Bowl weekend and if you are able to ride this weekend then I am jealous. Be safe.

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Ever had the urge to take a motorcycle tour? I have been wanting to for quite some time and the first one that I will take is one offered by MotoCaribe Motorcycle Tours. Read the blog, sign up for email, updates, watch tour video and more at the MotoCaribe Motorcycle Tour blog. This tour is in the Dominican Republic and is one of the most affordable tours that I have found. The DR offers it all from mountains, to tropical rain forest, to arid desert regions, to the finest aqua blue water beach views around. Take a two wheel tour and explore a land widely untouched by the urbanization of the Western world. You can follow the link above or reach Ed to book a tour at 877-MOTOFUN ext. 100. This episode we talk with Ed Denzler, owner and lead rider of MotorCaribe.

We move into a mention of the FX show Sons of Anarchy. This is by far my fave show and one of the very few that I watch. It draws you in to the created world and makes you feel a part. There are two SOA podcasts that I have recently stumbled upon that I enjoy listening to. Check out Watchers of Anarchy and SAMCRO: A Podcast for the Fans of Sons of Anarchy. Give them a listen. After all, it is a long time until Season 3 starts. If you have been watching the show, listen in on the past episodes and you will discover show info that you missed.

Condolences to the Hurt family on the passing of Harry Hurt, the author of the famous Hurt Report that shaped motorcycle safety programs all over the nation and world. Harry passed away November 29th of a heart attack.

In the opening show dialogue I mentioned that we would cover recalls tonight. The MotoCaribe interview was going too well to shut it down and we went long. We will cover recalls in episode 16 coming out soon.

I have email addresses available for anyone interested. If you would like to have a You@mcnationpodcast.com email shoot me an email at steve@mcnationpodcast.com Include the name you want and I will set it up and contact you when complete.

Visit my friend Cliff Ravenscraft, The Podcast Answer Man for all your podcast equipment needs or for podcast consulting. Check out the bigger community Cliff has at GSPN.tv

Check out SideStand Up and find the links to the TalkShoe show that they do. If you are there on Tuesday nights from 7-9 pm you can participate in chat while the show is being recorded. It is available via iTunes and rss as well.

Music used on this episode are from musicalley.com Our opener was Ride by Adrenaline Factor and our closer was by Little Fish Big Pond called Velvet Sky.

Happy Holidays from The Motorcycle Nation Podcast!

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I am a huge fan of Sons of Anarchy and I plan on speaking a little bit about it in the next podcast episode that I plan on putting out sometime in the next week as time permits. I was very sad to see the season finale come as it seems that season 2 just began and it was over. The finale was so full of twists and turns and has left so many questions unanswered. I am dying to get on with the show and see what is going to happen next. Stahl is an animal and has really put Gemma in a bad situation. Cameron has really signed his death warrant if Jax and the boys can get to him. That prick Westin has been done in and I can’t wait for Zobelle to get his because I don’t think that Clay will let this go and he will make Zobelle’s murder his top priority. Rarely have I felt so much a part of a show that I felt true hatred towards a character when I saw them on screen. Westin and Zobelle are easy to hate. This show is gonna rock next season as well.

If you have not been watching the show I urge you to check it out. It is not for everyone and there will even be motorcyclists that have no interest in it but you should watch one episode and give it a shot. Hulu has many past episodes and you can also buy season 1 on DVD. Season 3 will start in September of 2010. Check it out, you won’t be sorry. I also ran across two podcasts that are SOA fan podcasts that I enjoy listening to. I just discovered them last night and have been listening to the episodes all day today trying to catch up with all of them. Check out Watchers of Anarchy and SAMCRO: A Podcast for the Fans of Sons of Anarchy

I was guided to a blog the other day called Forty Years on Two Wheels where the author was on a rant about the quality of American motorcycle shows. His evaluation discussed the fact that most seemed low budget and revolved around the V-Twin motorcycles. He went on to point out that the coverage is focused at Daytona, Sturgis, and other traditional American Iron gatherings. And he even mentioned the hosts. The feuding Teutuls, the ex racers, and the well endowed, none of which he considers to be worthy.

I love my V-Twin. As a matter of fact there are two products of the Motor Company sitting in my garage. But, I have to agree with the author. The world outside of HD and V-Twins has so much to offer and we need someone to step up and produce a show. I personally would love to see a show on adventure bikes. Maybe a shootout to crown the champion. I have my eye set on the BMW F800GS and would welcome the opportunity for a full review of the off highway capabilities. A show profiling the sport tourers would be cool too. A Honda ST1300 or that old reliable Kawasaki Concours could hold a spot in my garage as well.

I don’t want this blog to be a Harley only blog. Invite all your friends here so we can talk all motorcycles. Maybe someone with some pull will see that there is a need for a TV show that focuses on every brand of motorcycle and every type of riding. If you know someone, put the bug in their ear.

Ride Safe

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We are led into this episode by the Eclipse Band, an Indiana biker band that plays some good old Southern Rock. We give some quick info on a tire recall and a recall on some Buell motorcycles.

After that it is straight in to Part 2 of our discussion with Paul where we discuss charity rides and the dilution of the available dollar due to the amount of rides out there now. After that we wrap up that conversation with a discussion on rider responsibility. That is the responsibility to our fellow motorcyclists by not doing stupid things to make us all look bad.

The show finishes up with the full version of our lead in song from the Eclipse Band. As always, thanks for listening. Look me up on Twitter at the username @harleymac1 and come check out a free for all motorcycle chat with my cohost Jeff Kirby from Fred Motor Company over on Talkshoe Sunday April 12th at 8 PM EST.

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Earlier today we returned from the International Motorcycle Show in Chicago. Me, my wife Angie, and our friends Dennis and Kim Tyger, all riders, made the trip an overnighter. We left Indy early Saturday morning and made it to the show at about noon. The question in my mind leading up to the show was what effect the economy would have on the show attendance and the sales. I noticed people buying the many items that were available but I did not see a major portion of the people with anything. In our walk through the show, I saw no more than 5 helmet boxes in attendee’s hands and a scattering of T-shirts and sunglasses. I do not know what big ticket items were sold such as motorcycles, ATV’s, and scooters. I am assuming that most of the sales were for accessories or riding gear. As for the attendance, during our 3 to 4 hours there it was not easy to move through the aisles as it was packed! Whether able to spend money or not, people definitely wanted to get out and look.

I am not sure exactly what I was expecting to find at the show but I must say that I was a little disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high but I left there feeling that something was missing. We have the Indiana Motorcycle Expo in Indianapolis every year at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and although it does not have a corporate, manufacturer type presence and is smaller than the IMS, it is just as enjoyable to attend. Maybe I was expecting the hype of another new unveiling like IMS New York got to experience with the Honda Fury. Maybe they actually did have some new, major product announcement at Chicago and we were just not there for it. I am not sure, but I still left feeling like they left something out. I am not saying don’t go but definitely go with a more open expectation than I did.

Due to the large attendance at the show, I was unable to get interviews with the vendors. I was looking for some unique items and I found some but that was also a magnet for the crowd therefore keeping the representatives in the booth very busy. I did make contacts and trade business cards and I have some phone interviews to do for you in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned for that.

I do have to say that overall, the most enjoyable part of the weekend was driving to Twin Lakes, WI and having dinner with my sister, brother-in-law, and one of my nieces. We went to a place called Popeye’s in nearby Lake Geneva. Popeye’s sits across the street from the water and is one of those restaurants that truly has something for every taste. It was truly hard to decide on a meal with all of the choices. They had everything from burgers to the finest fresh lobster with rotisserie chicken and ribs in the middle (the chicken and ribs were awesome) The menu also boasted about the local favorite, bluegill. Shoot, they even had the Mardi Gras menu and I found it very hard to choose between the chicken and ribs and the jambalaya. There was also plenty of choice in the drink department and I settled on Spotted Cow on draft. A quite tasty beer with a slightly sweet aftertaste I do have to say. As you have probably figured out, we are not talking about the local chicken joint named Popeye’s. We all agreed that this will be a summer destination for a bike road trip in ‘09.

Stay tuned for a podcast in the very near future and don’t forget the upcoming move. If you have any questions please contact me at steve@mcnationpodcast.com

Ride Safe
Bullitt