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Bob Starr considers himself “lucky,” having spent his entire career in the motorcycle industry, including more than 32 years at Yamaha in marketing and, currently, corporate communications. “I turned a passion of mine at a very early age into a lifelong career,” he says with the enthusiasm of a teenager, “and I have really, really enjoyed it. I hope I’ve made a difference in the industry and, certainly, to Yamaha.”
As the New Hampshire native relates, motorcycles made an early impression. Playing in the front yard of his childhood home, he vividly recalls hearing a bike pass by. “It was a Triumph, and it happened to belong to a local volunteer fire-department member. I would always wave, and he would always wave back. He had pipes on it, and it made a lot of noise. It was very influential to me.”
Some of the behind-the-scenes highlights that Starr relates to Mark Long, host of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, are almost too good to be true. Like the time Wayne Rainey proposed that fellow three-time 500cc World Champion and mentor Kenny Roberts ride a two-stroke TZ750 flat-tracker at the 2009 Indianapolis Mile in exchange for Yamaha sponsorship at a celebrity pro-am golf tournament. Lucky, indeed.
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The couple that rides together, stays together, right? Well, Cassey Stone, founder of the “Hell Yeah! Moto” women’s dirt bike riding school, and Jacob Michna, former head of the AMA Hare and Hound National Championship Series now running the AMA West Hare Scramble Championship Series, bring vastly different two-wheel experiences to their relationship, which probably explains why they get along so well.
“Is it a Cassey ride?” That’s the most-asked question Stone hears when word spreads of a single-track off-road ride that she may in fact be leading through the wilds of Idaho. “I love showing people around and taking them on trails,” says Stone, adding that she enjoys turning up the heat. “When people start to ride in the desert, the next step has got to be the walk-out-at-midnight ride in the mountains with Cassey.”
Both Michna and “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long have survived Stone’s outings. “She definitely taught me a lot of the ways of the woods—stuff like how to saw deadfall trees,” admits Michna, whose day job is events manager for FLY Racing. “Any woods knowledge I have, I’ve definitely learned through her.” Listen to this episode, and you will understand even better why Stone and Michna perfectly complement each other.
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Stage names often have interesting backstories. For Ryan Kluftinger, better known as “RyanF9,” host of the “FortNine” YouTube channel, the explanation is straightforward: His boss came up with the internet alias. At the time, Ryan wasn’t exactly pleased, but he shrugged it off, figuring that was a small cost for the opportunity to produce his own content. Nearly a decade later, “RyanF9” is a household name in motorcycle circles.
Ryan holds degrees in art history and physics, but he takes a journalistic approach to his videos. About FortNine, “Canada’s online shopping source for motorcycle accessories,” he says, “From Day 1, they said, ‘Go make some content, brand it under FortNine, and make sure that motorcyclists find it useful or entertaining or valuable.’ They never said, ‘Try to say nice things about the stuff we sell or try to promote this brand.’”
Kluftinger is no charlatan. He’s a second-generation motorcyclist who has been on two wheels since his pre-teen years. The Canadian earned his motorcycle license at age 17, and he doesn’t own an automobile. “I tend to buy older stuff,” he admits. He currently owns four motorcycles, a Yamaha TT-R90, a Suzuki RV125 VanVan, a Honda GL500 Silver Wing, and a Yamaha TT350. In other words, he’s one of us.
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Like so many of his peers, Sean Bice began his lifelong love affair with motorcycling on a minibike. His adventures in small-town, northern New York state eventually led to the purchase at age 16 of a two-stroke Yamaha RD350, which Bice still owns. “My dad was cool enough to go, ‘I’ll pay for half, you pay for half, but you have to take care of this bike,’” he recalls. “It’s where I got started. I have a lot of memories of that motorcycle.”
A writer by trade, Bice kicked off his professional career working for advertising agencies, but he is best known within motorcycling for time spent with first Yamaha and now MotoAmerica. “When I worked for Yamaha as a press officer,” he explains, “there were a fair amount of people who knew me for that, and it was mostly because I not only did road racing, but I also did motocross, supercross, off-road, and ATV.”
Bice has been part of the MotoAmerica team for the past eight years. On this episode, he provides a primer on the eight classes that comprise the 10-round national series. Bice also touches on the forthcoming Talent Cup, which will replace Junior Cup in 2025, as well as the youth-oriented Mini Cup. On free weekends, Bice enjoys throttle therapy. “I like to go out on a perfect Sunday afternoon,” he says, “and just bomb around town.”
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What comes to mind when someone says, “Sturgis”? As in, the annual motorcycle rally set in the South Dakota city of the same name. If you’re Mark Long, host of “Driven to Ride,” you know only what you’ve read or been told. See, before this year, Mark had never been to Sturgis, never mind the rally. So this past August, he packed his bags and pointed the headlight of his Yamaha XSR900 toward Mount Rushmore.
Among the half-a-million rally attendees, some, like Mark, are wide-eyed newbies. Take it from Richard Worsham, co-founder of Janus Motorcycles: “Driving through Sturgis at night, it’s wild—bikes back to back.” Others, like Zach Parham, president and CEO of Comoto Holdings, have been coming to the Black Hills for decades. “I rode my first time on my own bike when I was 16,” he says. “This is my 29th year.”
Long relates his own adventure, with insights from Worsham, Parham, photographer Michael Lichter, YouTube star “Doodle on a Motorcycle,” and others, including Cody Ertman, media and PR manager at the Legendary Sturgis Buffalo Chip, known as “The Best Party Anywhere.” He says, “If I wasn’t working at ‘The Chip,’ I would definitely be one of those people who came every year. It’s such a cool experience.”The Buffalo Chip
Janus Motorcycles
Official Sturgis Website
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Keith Keller ventured from the U.S. to the Cayman Islands to experience first-hand the spectacular diving and snorkeling for which the British overseas territory located in the western Caribbean Sea is known, and he stayed for the motorcycling. That description may seem odd to dyed-in-the-wool riders, since Grand Cayman, the largest of the three islands, only encompasses 75 square miles—not exactly tailor-made for touring.
On this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, show host Mark Long interviews Keller, a California native whom he met while vacationing on Grand Cayman. A lifelong motorcyclist, Keller owns Cayman Custom Cycles, a “one-stop shop for all things motorcycle in Grand Cayman.” He also operates “Cayman Islands Motorcycle Tours,” which offers a lap of the island from the seat of a late-model Harley-Davidson Big Twin.
Keller is a staunch advocate for the local motorcycling community and the founder of the Cayman Islands Motorcycle Riders Association—don’t call it a “club.” The tours themselves are relaxed affairs, as Long can vouch, with Keller leading from the front, albeit on the left side of the road, which is the rule of law in the Caymans. Figure 90 miles round trip. “But,” Keller says proudly, “you see the whole island.”
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True story: “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long booked a Kawasaki Vulcan S through Riders Share for the MotoGP race weekend at Circuit of The Americas. Upon arrival in Austin, Texas, he went to the designated location to pick up the bike from owner Guillermo Cornejo. Turns out, Cornejo is the founder of Riders Share, said to be the largest motorcycle-sharing community in the world. What are the chances of that happening?
Wait, there’s more. The Kawasaki was only available for Long to use that weekend because Cornejo forgot to pause his motorcycle listing on the Riders Share website. Stranded without his usual two-wheel transportation, he was forced to Uber to COTA. “It was a terrible mistake,” admitted Cornejo, adding, “but I still made more money on Riders Share than I spent on Uber.” All’s well that ends well, right?
On this episode of “Driven to Ride,” Cornejo explains why booking a motorcycle through Riders Share can be easier and more cost-effective than renting one from a national agency or even a local brick-and-mortar dealer. Is Riders Share the right choice for your motorcycle-rental needs? Listen to this episode and decide for yourself. Perhaps, like Mark, you might even meet the owner of the company.Connect with Us:
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For generations of teenagers, a driver’s license represented independence, a milestone moment that transported fresh-faced wheelmen (and women) one step closer to adulthood. That is less so now, with fewer young drivers showing interest in taking to the road. Andrew Pieper, however, is all about bucking trends. In fact, he couldn’t wait to pass his driving exam so he could buy, you guessed it, a motorcycle.
“I always wanted a bike,” admits Pieper. “When I turned 16 and got my license, I immediately got my motorcycle endorsement. I didn’t even have a car until college. I rode everywhere.” Everywhere, indeed. In June, 2022, Piper set the record for the fastest time on a motorcycle across America—from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, California—28 hours and 42 minutes.
On this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, host Mark Long interviews the South Carolina native, who describes himself as, “Just a guy trying to live life fully alive.” Racing the clock on a Honda CBR1100XX Super Blackbird isn’t for the faint of heart, and Pieper spent a lot of time planning his cross-country record attempt, not to mention enlisting a slew of supporters to help him achieve his unique goal.
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If spectating at a MotoGP race in Europe is on your bucket list, then the Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello won’t disappoint, as “Driven to Ride” host Mark Long discovered firsthand this past June. Long spent the week traveling with his buddy Mike, who lives in Switzerland. Together, they enjoyed the full, immersive race-weekend experience camping on the scenic (and noisy!) Tuscan hillsides.
To better understand the nuts and bolts of a MotoGP race, especially one held on the Continent, Long spoke with Friné Velilla, who has worked for series commercial rights-holder Dorna for 20 years, the past 15 as media manager. FIM MotoGP Stewards Panel Chairman Freddie Spencer knows his way around Mugello, too, the three-time world champ having won both the 250cc and the 500cc races on the same day in 1985.
One of the fastest circuits on the calendar, Mugello is also one of the most difficult to nail as a rider. “It’s technical, it’s high-speed,” Spencer explained, “but it challenges you mentally.” Long met two more Americans, J.J. and his son Connor. “This is number one on my list of the tracks I wanted to go watch,” J.J. said about Mugello. And Long’s post-event advice? Go. Just go. But remember to bring earplugs. You’ll need ’em.
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“You’ve come a long way, baby,” was an advertising slogan created in the 1960s by Philip Morris for cigarette brand Virginia Slims. Aimed exclusively at women, the long-running campaign promoted equality among genders, particularly in the workplace. Crystal Fong has come a long way, too—both literally and figuratively—as she explains to host Mark Long on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast.
California-born Fong, who has ridden her 250cc Honda Dominator through 40 European countries, was first exposed to motorcycling while attending college. “A friend of mine took me on the back of his bike,” she recalls. “I wore a cotton hoodie, with Nike Dunks, and a helmet that was way too big. We went 160 mph and did wheelies and endos. That was really fun, but very nerve-wracking, because I had no control.”
Turns out, Fong prefers to be in control, as in the rider, not the passenger. She eventually earned her motorcycle license, bought a bike, and began commuting. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she rode with a friend to Yellowstone National Park. The psyche-calming joy of being on a motorcycle ultimately led Fong to set her sights overseas. All taken one step—or more appropriately, one kilometer—at a time.
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“Farm to fork” is a popular movement in which restaurants source fresh, locally grown ingredients from nearby farms for the meals they serve, as opposed to purchasing those items from wholesale distributors that cater to nationwide chains. Janus Motorcycles is the farm-to-fork of motorcycle makers, a regionally focused alternative to the global parts vendors used by many long-established manufacturers.
In this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast, host Mark Long interviews classically trained architect Richard Worsham, who founded Janus Motorcycles in Goshen, Indiana. The northeastern part of the Hoosier state is well-known for its large Amish community, which provides the highly skilled and practiced labor to fabricate everything from steel frames—modeled after the classic Norton featherbed—to leather seats and saddlebags.
Janus Motorcycles has purposely kept its offerings smaller in displacement and largely free from current technology trends. “We’re more about the activity our customers are doing on the bike than we are about the technology it takes to get there,” says Worsham. “In our experience, we found the less technology you use, the more direct that feeling actually is—that sensation, that experience you have on the bike.”
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Have you ever met someone who describes their life on this planet in such an entertaining way you lose track of time? Well, that is the dilemma “Driven to Ride” podcast host Mark Long faced with Mike van der Sleesen. Mike, the CEO of Vanson Leathers, was one of Mark’s first guests, and that interview barely scratched the surface of a life of adventure spent on and around two wheels.
See, Mike was born in the U.S. but he grew up in The Netherlands and France, where he was first exposed to the joys of motorcycling at 9 years old on a Solex, its front wheel driven by a small engine. Van der Sleesen progressed to two- and four-speed Puchs, followed by another two-stroke, a Garelli. Slot in behind a passing truck at just the right moment, Mike recalled with a chuckle, and you might catch its draft.
In the 1960s, Van der Sleesen found himself in the thick of the vibrant British motorcycle scene, and he has never lost interest. Today, Mike owns five Nortons in various trims, one of which he bought in 1972—two years before he co-founded Vanson Leathers, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Van der Sleesen reminds us that motorcycling, much like life, is all about the journey.
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Jeff Allen has been taking beautiful photographs of motorcycles for Cycle World magazine and its digital sister, cycleworld.com, for more than 30 years. Jeff got his start in the early 1990s as a studio assistant. His current position as staff photographer has taken Jeff all over the world in a unique role that enables him to capture the essence of the sport while also experiencing two wheels firsthand.
Jeff has often documented his experiences for publication in both print and on the web. “Royal Nepal Adventure: Entering the Forbidden Kingdom of Lo Manthang” left him gasping for oxygen at 15,000 feet on a Tibetan plateau. With son Evan, he set out on adventure bikes to experience the “winter wonders of the Baja California Peninsula” and to answer one of life’s great questions: “Corn or flour tortillas?”
Jeff Allen is not only an expert lensman; he is an expert rider. More often than not, on any job he is assigned, Jeff will be the rider with a large pack crammed with camera bodies, lenses, and related gear strapped to his back. But don’t for one moment think the size or the weight of that pack slows him down, forcing others to wait for him to catch up. Jeff is always close behind, looking for the perfect photo opportunity.
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We're taking you to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas for the Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas. We're not just going to the race - we're talking with Clerk of the Course Beth Miller; Sean Bice, the prolific MotoAmerica content creator who co-hosts the series’ weekly “Off Track” podcast; Brian Case, Executive Director of the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum; and 1993 500cc Grand Prix World Champion Kevin Schwantz, who played a crucial role in the design of the 20-turn, 3.41-mile racetrack. You've never heard a MotoGP race like this.
Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas MotoGP Race Highlights
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If there was a dictionary entry for “Moto California,” the definition might be “a nightclub on two wheels.” Or at least that is the concept West Coast transplant George Beavers had in his mind when he cooked up the idea of creating an exclusive and unique intercontinental vacation experience centered around riding fun motorcycles on spectacular roads in fairy-tale locations.
Beaver’s two-wheel-oriented business aspirations stem from a lifelong enthusiasm for all things motorcycle, which he relates to host Mark Long in this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast. “I looked at what everybody was doing,” said Beavers, “and I wanted to be different.” Hey, what else would you expect from someone who earned his motorcycle endorsement on a turbocharged Honda CBX?
If Beavers, a schoolboy motocrosser and one-time champion club road racer, is enamored with the serpentine roads that populate California’s Central Coast, the Tuscan countryside blows his mind. “Italians must spend all their money on pavement,” he says, “because the roads there are like glass.” Better yet, he adds, when it comes to the one-stop luxury accommodations, “You only unpack once.”
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Are you afraid to ride a motorcycle at night? Does your heart skip a beat when drops of rain appear on your faceshield? You’re not alone. Carolyn Figueria—better known as “Doodle on a Motorcycle” to the legion of fans who subscribe to her YouTube channel—uses her ever-expanding platform to address these and other challenges that could have prevented her from enjoying motorcycling to its fullest.
Known for her personal approach to creating unique content, Figueria has taken on many two-wheel topics relevant to both newer and more experienced riders, including picking up a fallen motorcycle. Showcasing her never-give-up approach to life, Carolyn went to the extreme, laying her 500-plus-pound, three-cylinder Triumph Tiger 900 on its side and then picking it up 100 times every day for a month.
Figueria has spent the past eight years on a mission to become a better motorcycle rider. Along the way, she has showcased those adventures—both the highs and the lows—to educate, engage, and empower others. For all those reasons and more, Carolyn is an inspiration to motorcyclists everywhere, and we are pleased she is the guest on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast.
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Some people seem destined for a certain line of work—a family business, for example—while others set out on a unique and unexpected career path with a specific goal in mind. Sarah Schilke identifies with the latter, the Oregon native having established early on that a life spent on two wheels in the motorcycle industry was the one and only direction for her.
Schilke has been employed at nearly every level of the industry. She began her journey as a motorcycle-safety instructor, worked the parts counter at a dealership, conducted market research, managed advertising and marketing programs, negotiated strategic business alliances, and ultimately has become one of the most recognized and valued members of the powersports community.
Through her varied professional path, Sarah has never stopped riding motorcycles. She is an accomplished on- and off-road rider who never lets foul weather stand in her way of logging more miles. True to her family heritage, Sarah is fluent in German, which comes in handy with her current role as vice president for SW-Motech USA, the Beaverton-based distributor of SW-Motech products.
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When Hank Snow took “I’ve Been Everywhere” to number one on the country-music charts, Dennis Noyes was writing for a daily newspaper in Venezuela. South America is a long way from central Illinois, where Noyes was born and raised. His father wrote for the “Stars And Stripes” and his mother was a linguistics professor at Purdue University, so words have always been and remain integral to Dennis’ existence.
Noyes ultimately landed in Spain, where he became a motorcycle road tester for Solo Moto and Motociclismo magazines, as well as a national championship-winning racer. For years, Dennis traveled the world reporting on the biggest names in Grand Prix road racing. Noyes’ youngest son, Kenny, followed in his father’s wheel tracks, making his world championship debut in 2010 and winning the Spanish national title in 2014.
Today, Noyes is retired and living with his wife, Heidi, in California’s Anza-Borrego Desert. He still kicks up dust on two wheels, namely a John Bloor-era Triumph Thruxton with a pair of Mikuni round-slide carburetors replacing the modern electronic fuel injection styled to look like traditional mixers. Noyes recently published his first novel, “Yonders, Illinois.”
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When Bridget McCutchen set off from her rural midwestern home on a world tour, she had no idea what the next 16 months would bring. Some 451 days later, after covering nearly 50,000 miles and visiting 45 countries, the 22-year-old Wisconsin native had successfully checked off all the requirements to become the youngest person, man or woman, to travel around the world by motorcycle.
McCutchen was new to motorcycling, with relatively few miles under her belt, when she began to map out her journey. No surprise, her trip wasn’t as simple as connecting the dots. In Chile, McCutchen and a friend were robbed. Later, she was hit by a car, resulting in a concussion and other injuries. And then there was the war in Ukraine, which scratched plans to travel through Russia.
“Part of the reason I'm traveling around the world is to show that the motorcycle demographic is changing,” McCutchen wrote partway through the trip on her website, two-wheels-round.com. “I represent the new generation of riders. Young women who enjoy motorcycling are a growing force; they are people who want to be more present, enveloped in the world, not encapsulated in the bubble of a car.”
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Would you let a complete stranger ride your prized motorcycle? Austin Rothbard is betting that you will—for a fee, of course. In fact, Rothbard started a business in 2017 based on that very concept. Rothbard is a motorcyclist himself and the founder and CEO of “Twisted Road,” a peer-to-peer, community-based rental service that he fondly refers to as the “Airbnb of motorcycles.”
Twisted Road builds relationships with motorcycle owners who care about their machines. They keep their bikes clean and shiny. Proper maintenance is a priority. They can spout tire pressures—cold or hot?—quicker than their spouses’ birthdates. And they expect the same from customers. One of the rental stipulations, for example, is that every motorcycle is returned with a full tank of gas.
Find a motorcycle, book your days, and enjoy the ride of your life. According to Rothbard, the Twisted Road experience is that easy. Aiming to “unlock the motorcycles of the world so more people can experience life on two wheels,” the New Jersey native who now calls Chicago home truly embodies the entrepreneurial spirit. We are pleased to have Austin as a guest on this episode of the “Driven to Ride” podcast.
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