2010 Cannonball Endurance Run

The next time you hop on that modern bike, thumb the starter and point off to the horizon without a worry about your trusty (insert favorite brand of motorcycle here), think about trying this in 1915. And suppose you had decided that instead of a leisurely ride, you had entered a race with your trusty Flying Merkel or Excelsior. And it was a race across the country.

Wyman with his California

After that has sunk in for a while, remember, these pre-1916 motorcycles were generally rigid framed, single speed, leather belt driven, rear only clamp type or coaster brake with a blazing carbide lamp in front to light the way.

Highland Open House

Brad and I had the good fortune to attend an open house event at US Highland's new facility outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The weather was near perfect and Highland treated the crowd to good eats from the Rib Crib and Backyard Burgers. But there was a lot more here than just a free lunch! The on-site test track was open for demo rides and examples of the company's high performance off-road motorcycles and four-wheeler were on hand.

Highland AB is a Swedish company that has been building boutique bikes for over a decade. They also engineer nifty components for everyone from Husqvarna to Harley. Of course, we never hear about that stuff. A couple of years ago an American businessman took the bold step of suggesting motorcycle production be moved to the States. US Highland was born.

Are You Ready to Ride?

Heading out to discover your own Two Wheel Oklahoma?

We often get emails asking about getting started with motorcycling. Our answer is: If you're considering a motorcycle, or have recently started riding, we always recommend taking a rider safety course. And that goes for you old riders that just hopped back on- or what we like to call "born again bikers."

An organization called the Motorcycle Safety Foundation has created a curriculum for teaching would-be motorcycle riders the proper way to handle a bike. Their 15-hour Basic Rider Course will give you the fundamentals required to safely operate a motorcycle. The bike and helmet are provided, and the only prerequisite is the ability to ride a bicycle.

Brookside's Vintage Bike Spring Fling | April 18, 2010

Twice a year the gang down at Brookside Motorcycle Company have a fun little bike show with barbecue, sodas, vintage bikes and balloons for the kids.

Actually I made up that part about balloons.

But tons of cool old motorcycles get dusted off and cruise down Peoria every Spring and Fall for this casual get-together. All shapes and sizes of motorcycles show up, and there is no entry fee. It's always an eclectic assortment- old motocrossers, Harleys, race bikes and a few scooters for good measure. Lunch is provided from Bob's BBQ and trophies will be awarded!

2010 Spring Vintage Bike Show

Sunday, April 18
11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Brookside Motorcycle Company
4206 S. Peoria Ave
Tulsa, OK

Brad and I will be there- with or without a vintage bike. And even without free balloons, it should be a pretty darn good time.

Photos courtesy Mark Harrison

BMW S1000RR First Ride

We recently picked up a new S1000RR to give our impression of this new bike from the German manufacturer and let's get this straight, right off the bat.

This is the bike you need if you are in the market for a new liter bike this year.

The S1000RR marks a real change in direction from the typical bikes that come from BMW Motorrad. They set out to build a true Superbike again, and have jumped right back in to the deep end. Most people forget that the very first Superbike race ever held was swept by Steve McLaughlin and Reg Pridmore, each riding a BMW R90S. That was back in 1976 and BMW has been racing motorcycles on and off since then. But they are back in a big way with the new S1000RR.

BMWs are Back in Tulsa

BMW motorcycles are back in Tulsa. Seriously.

I know this has come up before, but after a few shaky starts in Tulsa over the last few years, it looks like they might be here to stay at Iron Lightning, now doing business as BMW Motorcycle Tulsa. The Iron Lightning dealership has carried the Big Dog line of motorcycles for some years now, and they have been in their current location at 8246 East 73rd Street since April of 2000. It is a family run business with Bill Ewerling and his wife Judy running the shop and their son, Bill Jr., working as a technician.

We visited with the owner, Bill Ewerling of Iron Lightning and got some insight on the dealership and their new range of bikes from Munich.

Behold: Aprilia RSV4 at Brookside Open House

Brookside Motorcycle Company will be holding an open house Friday evening, December 18 to unveil the newest superbike from Noale- the 2010 Aprilia RSV4 Factory. Stop by for refreshments and door prizes. Brad Mathison and Rex Brown will also be on hand to give away some Two Wheel Oklahoma swag and making a very special announcement. Casual attire acceptable.

Our Bikes

You'll see us riding different bikes on the various episodes of Two Wheel Oklahoma- most are courtesy of our special and wonderful sponsors- like an Aprilia from Brookside Motorcycles, or a Triumph courtesy Roadhouse Motorsports. But we're often asked about the bikes we own- the bikes we ride most of the time. So here's a quick look at the two-wheelers in our garage.

Uppity BMW Riders
Brad and I both own BMWs. We didn't get together and agree on buying BMWs- it's not any sort of master plan or multi-million dollar contract for product placement. Unfortunately. No, it just happened to work out that way.

In fact, neither of us ever really considered ourselves (make air quotes here) "BMW People." We both ended up owning Beemers by different paths and for very different reasons. And yes, they're both yellow- but otherwise the two could hardly be more different.

2009 Dallas Motorcycle Show

Just got back from the 29th annual Cycle World International Motorcycle Show at the Dallas Convention Center. Absent this year were Triumph, KTM, BMW and a few others, but the attendance looked much better than last year and demo rides were offered in Dallas for the first time.

We got to talk to quite a few factory reps and get the lowdown on some of the hot machines for 2010.

Test Ride: Moto Guzzi 1200 Norge

For our first motorcycle road test in this series we wanted something a little unique. Moto Guzzi's new entry into the sport-touring category seemed like a perfect choice. European chic, V-twin grunt and large carrying capacity. Advertised as the "gran turismo" motorcycle for the 21st century by the factory- we set off to find out just what that really means.

Road and Ride Tests

Checking out the Moto Guzzi Norge in Osage CountyLast week we began working on a new segment we hope makes the final cut. It will be a series of road tests of various motorcycles- new and used. We want to know what bikes you want us to shake down!

I realize there's nothing new about road testing a motorcycle- lots of magazines and TV shows do it. But we hope to put a different spin on it.

We had originally glossed over the idea because of the lack of "local content." But then we realized that road tests could be presented in a way that might add a little local flavor. Put a local spin on things that might be lacking from the Mainstream Media. Lemme'splain...

Scooteristas

There is an old saying with motorcyclists that have been around for a while. "There are two types of riders. Those that have crashed and those that will crash."

With the current rise in gas prices, I am seeing more and more people using motorcycles and scooters for their daily commute and general running around. I think this is great to see. The two-wheeled version of gettin' around is much easier to navigate through traffic, making your commute quicker, easier on the wallet and great for the environment. I welcome all the new riders to our two-wheeled "community". I honestly don't understand why more people don't choose the two-wheeled way of getting around.

Distracted Driving Safety Message

Last October the AMA and Nationwide Insurance released a video announcement aimed at raising the average driver's awareness of motorcyclists. Here's what the producers had to say about it...

"Distracted driving is a hazard to everyone on the road, as you will see in the latest Public Service Announcement from Nationwide Insurance and the American Motorcyclist Association. While the scenario shown is unlikely, I think you’ll agree that it does a good job of illustrating some of the dangers faced by motorcyclists."

We'd like to know what you think.

Should we air this PSA? Is it worth the time? Or are we just preaching to the crowd? Watch it, then click the Comment link to let us know your opinion.