RiderCoach:   Bob Johnson

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Current motorcycles:   2004 Suzuki V-Strom 650, 1997 Honda VFR750

Favorite place to ride:   Back roads of VT, NH, and western MA ... California mountains ... and off road.  Occasional track days at New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon, NH.

Riding since :   1983

First motorcycle:   1982 Suzuki Katana 550

Other motorcycles owned over the years:   The list is pretty long.  I think that I may suffer from the well known multiple bike disorder (MBD).  Here are the ones that I can remember:

      Two 1982 Suzuki Katana GS550MZs.  Cool styling.  Left-overs were available in 1983, so…My first bike, brand new for $1850 !

      1985 Honda Nighthawk 700S.  Comfortable bike with sporty looks, upright seating position, shaft drive, and hydraulically adjusted valves.

      Several Kawasaki Ninja EX500s.  A great starter bike that even experienced riders can have lots of fun with.  They are also popular choices of amateur club racers since they are light, cheap, bullet-proof reliable, and they handle well.

      1985 Honda Shadow 500.  Fun little cruiser.

      Several Honda Hawk NT650GTs.  A fun, light, sporty, cult classic.  V-twin, single-sided swingarm, clean naked styling, standard seating position.

      1990 Honda CB-1.  A very cool naked sport bike with a sweet 400cc inline four cylinder engine…very unique.  Simlar to the Honda Hawk NT650GT, these bikes did not sell well off the showroom floor since Americans wanted bigger bikes.  I guess that I am just an odd ball who loves fun, cheap, light, good-handling, cool looking bikes.

      1998 Honda VTR1000 SuperHawk.  A cool sport bike with a tourquey v-twin engine.  Seating position was a bit too radical for me to get comfortable.

      1995 Suzuki DR250S dual sport.  My first “dirt bike”.

      2001 Suzuki DRZ400S dual sport.  Fun bike for urban assault (through potholes, dirt roads, power wheelies, etc.)  A bit too tall for me to enjoy off road.  Definitely not made for highway droning on the daily commute.

      2002 Yamaha FZ1.  Sweet power, comfort, and styling.

      1984 Yamaha RZ350.  Twin-cylinder 2-stroke sport bike.  Very cool !  I wish that I did not sell this one!

      Two Suzuki SV650s.  A modern version of the Honda Hawk NT650GT.  Light, nimble, powerful, comfortable, cheap…this is my favorite bike yet.  I put hard luggage on mine for commuting.  Great for track days.

      Four Honda VFR 750s.  The v-4 engine is so smooth.  I raised the bars slightly and now I have all-day comfort.  Great for commuting.  A bit heavy, but handles well.

      2004 Suzuki V-Strom 650.  Same great engine as the SV650 in an adventure-touring bike. (styled like a big dirt bike)

      2002 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883. A fun, relatively light and powerful, inexpensive entry into HD.

 Favorite gear and gadgets:  

      Givi hard luggage

      Aerostich electric vest

      Dual Star Heated Grips

      Shoei full face helmet

      Sargent seats

      Aerostich wind triangle bandana

RiderCoach: Paul Luevano

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Paul has always been interested in bikes.  After college, he finally took an MSF course and bought his first bike.  As you can tell by the extensive bike-related activities in his profile below, it has all been down hill from there !  : ) 

Paul enjoys all types of riding from commuting to/from work, taking scenic back road rides in the autumn, organizing track days at New Hampshire International Speedway, and playing on dirt bikes. 

The picture above is from a 6-week, 12K mile, cross-country trip Paul took on his Honda CBR1100XX.  Check out his trip diary (raw and unedited) here: http://www.clarity.net/paul/2005_Trip/  ... Very cool pictures!
 

Riding since :   1994
 

First motorcycle:   1994 Honda CBR600 F2

Current motorcycles:  1997 Honda CBR1100XX, 1999 Honda CBR600 F4, 1986 Kawasaki KX125

Favorite place to ride / hangout:  

Moto Market, Acton, MA

Favorite Bikes:

Honda NSR750

Britten V1000

Honda CBR1100XX

Favorite gear and gadgets:  

HyperLights

Aerostich protective riding suits

Favorite mantra:  

"RIDE YOUR OWN RIDE"

RiderCoach: Ken Whitcher

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First motorcycle:   '75 Suzuki GT380 (two-stroke triple) - $1100 brand new!

Current motorcycle:  '02 Suzuki Intruder 1400

Favorite places to ride:  

Carolina and Florida

Favorite mantra:  

"the secret of life is enjoying the passing of time ..."

"a good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent upon arriving" (Lao tzu)"

RiderCoach: Ed O'Neil

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First motorcycle:   '82 Honda Nighthawk 750

Current motorcycle:  2006 Ducati Monster s2r1000

Favorite places to ride:  

Other Bikes Ed has owned:  

RiderCoach:   Tara El Naggar

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Riding Since: 2000

First Bike: 1979 Honda Twin Star-kickstart, 183cc

What I LOVE about riding:

I love riding in California, with my sister and friends.

The mountains and coastline are the best!

RiderCoach:   Mike White

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Riding Since: 1986

First Bike: 1985 Yamaha pw50

How I got interested in Bikes: I have been riding bikes pretty much my whole life.  After graduating from Motoring Technical Training Institute in 2004, I worked in a few dealerships as a tech until I got into custom stuff.  I worked for 3 years in various custom car and motorcycle shops until I opened up Black Knight Custom Motorcycles in 2007 where I build, fabricate, and paint ground-up custom choppers. 

Current Bike: Black Knight Custom Motorcycles Bob Rod

Favorite place to ride:   Daytona, FL; NH; the Badlands, SD; and up and down the California coast.

Mantra: "Keep the rubber side down".

RiderCoach:   Marjorie Charney

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First motorcycle:   1963 Honda C100 50-cc blue Super Cub with step-through frame and centrifugal clutch

Current motorcycles:   2007 BMW F 650GS-P, 2007 BMW F800S (I’m an F-bike grrl; never thought that would happen!)

Other motorcycles owned over the years (in order of appearance in my life):  

• 1967 Honda S90, purchased new for $409 in Syracuse, NY.

• Black 1965 Triumph Bonneville

• Gold 1971 Honda CB175

• Burgundy 1978 Honda CB 550K (the seat was too high, I dropped it all the time, and didn’t know about high-soled boots back then!)

• Black 1981 Yamaha 750 Virago (the first V-Twin-powered cruiser-style motorcycle produced by a Japanese manufacturer, as well as one of the earliest mass-produced motorcycles with a mono-shock rear suspension; it supposedly had a seat height of 28.1 inches, which is why I bought it, but you could bet me!...it was still too tall and I had long legs for someone under five feet tall! I went to a women’s poetry reading in Brooklyn and someone said, “How did you get a bike with the name of Virago? Do you know what that means?” “No,” I said, and went home and looked it up. It means two things: a loud, overbearing woman, a termagant, a shrew, and a woman of strong qualities of body and mind. I chose the second definition and have had the email handle ever since!

• Custom-paint 1984 Yamaha XV1000 Virago

• 1979 BMW R65

• 1999 BMW R1100S

Not a lot of bikes for all those years but I rode a lot of rental bikes, other people’s bikes, and worked for a bike company for 11 years so had my pick of the stable: BMW R11RS, R11R, R11S, R1150S, K12RS, K13S, F800S, F650GS, K12LT (yup! believe it!) and many more.

Favorite Bikes: Any Beemer with a Type 259 or later Boxer engine. There is no bike that can carve the canyons better.

Favorite place to ride: Anywhere in the Pacific Northwest—the North Cascades, Mt. Rainier, the Palouse (WA/ID/OR), John Day in Oregon, Hell’s Canyon, the Olympic Peninsula…  

Riding since:   1967, my sophomore year in college
Favorite gear and gadgets:   OMG, my Gerbing’s electric jacket liner, by far!

How I got interested in bikes: Don’t know what drew me but as soon as I was off on my own with a little extra money, I bought one and was hooked!

What I LOVE about riding: I love the empowerment that I get from riding; like how strong I feel at the end of a 600-mile day or after I’ve ridden a really difficult ride that required all of my attention and skill.

Clubs/Affiliations: Moving Violations Motorcycle Club, Founding Sister (1985); American Motorcyclist Association (lifetime member); BMW Owners of America

RiderCoach:   Suzan Czajkowski

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First motorcycle: 1996 Kawasaki Ninja 600

Current motorcycles:   2009 BMW F 650 GS

Other motorcycles owned over the years: 2007 BMW F800S

Favorite Bikes: I love multi-day riding so I prefer a comfortable bike, but it has to have power that’s easily accessible. It’s got to be agile, able to handle the curves and the dirt. Those miles won’t be straight or flat.

Favorite place to ride: New Hampshire and Vermont back roads. The further north, the better.

Riding since: 2001

Favorite gear and gadgets: Sena Bluetooth system – music & communication device, no wires.

How I got interested in bikes: For most of my life, it was a love affair from afar. I loved the idea of riding but was terrified of the equipment. In my 20’s, it seemed like one of my requirements of a boyfriend was that they rode a motorcycle. Eventually, though, it’s time to step in and take control. Wish I’d done it 10 years sooner. It literally changed my life.

What I LOVE about riding: Freedom. Flexibility. Independence. The skill required plus the constant need to improve. I’m all about adventure and learning and with motorcycles, the next adventure is just around the corner & the learning never ends.

Clubs/Affiliations: NeDOD