Ride Oklahoma

Air Conditioner for Motorcycles

2010-01-27T09:54:00.000-05:00

Oh boy, we all need one of THESE! We could be SO COOl riding around with a VACUUM CLEANER attached to the back of our bike and plugged into our vest. Chicks would dig that. But wait, they would have nowhere to ride. Maybe on top of the vacuum cleaner?

Wonder why Kenny Roberts is King?

2009-12-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

WOW, just watch this. Riding a TZ-750 2 stroke at the Indy Mile. Twice the horsepower and 1/2 the weight of the Harley's, with a hair trigger throttle.

Who said "Harley's Can't Backflip"?

2009-12-07T10:47:00.002-05:00

This guy from Australia backflips a Harley XR1200 Sporster. Pretty darn cool. Next thing you know they will be racing them on motocross tracks!

Roller Derby

2009-10-13T11:00:00.002-04:00

I have discovered that lots of people who ride motorcycles also enjoy roller derby - especially banked track roller derby.

My daughter Emily is the coach of the Red Dirt Rebellion Roller Derby team and they will be holding a bout against Amarillo inside the main arena at Cox Convention Center on October 30. This is a TOTALLY cool even to watch as they thunder around their huge banked track sounding like a freight train, knocking gals over the rail while fans scream their heads off. Their last event inside Cox was a sellout so for this event they are in the main arena with more seating, a big sound and video system, music, lights, all kinds of cool stuff. Emily produced this video over the weekend. Pretty fun.

Heart Attack Grill

2009-10-09T17:37:00.001-04:00

Saw this on Youtube today. This is NOT something I need to be doing.

Heading to Clayton next week. Broke ribs there last year and was the start of a year chocked full of bad luck. Broken ribs in October which lead to a heart attack from a blood clot in January, tornado that destroyed our house in February, sour economy, the list goes on. Hoping Clayton this year is much better and the start of a better year.

Lucille's Restaurant burns

2009-09-03T11:49:00.003-04:00

Bad news. One of our favorite destinations, the historic Lucille's Restaurant in Mulhall, recently experienced a devastating fire. The cause is unknown, but several residents believe it was caused by a nearby lightning storm.

I called Jim Mears, general manager, to inquire on how the motorcycling community could help them out.

"We have insurance and are planning to rebuild" said Jim. "The restaurant was just now running on all eight cylinders and things were looking great. Our biker breakfast was really growing and quite successfull, and our lunch and evening crowd was doing well also. This is unfortunate, but I believe Jason (the owner) is planning to rebuild. We want to thank all the bike riders for their support since we opened and stay tuned as we rebuild."

Good luck to a great motorcycle-friendly location. We wish them the best!

Bikini Photo Shoot

2009-07-18T23:05:00.002-04:00

You know that guy on Discovery Channel that does the "Dirt Jobs" show? Well, that's NOT me. I sometimes have a really cool job like this one - photographing beautiful gals on really cool bikes. We set up in the Ride Oklahoma hangar last Sunday early in the morning to beat the heat and did a fun photo shoot. Below we have some pics from the shoot and a behind the scenes video. Enjoy!

Here are a few of our first pictures.

Emily

Jodi

Jordan

After the "money" shots, I decided to change my lighting around and try for some more dramatic shots. I used harder edged lighting to get more of a defined shape to Emily's face and body. This was the shot the customer actually prefered.

Emily then tried on some motocross clothes, and we ended up with this shot, one of my favorites from the shoot. I love the way the light defines her features.

My new assistant Josh shot some video while we were working. He is pretty inexperienced with video so bear with us.

Vendors who won't Pay

2009-06-16T15:38:00.003-04:00

Times are tough all across Oklahoma and the United States. The recession has really tightened the cash flow for a lot of businesses. Here at Ride Oklahoma we are keenly aware of that and work hard with our advertisers to make sure we bring value to the table and help improve their business. For the most part we have fantastic advertisers and even when some have had slow times, especially in the winter, we have worked with them to extend terms, reduce the frequency of their ads, and generally just cut them slack while things improve.

However, there are some vendors that just like to take advantage of people. They sign contracts and never pay, or they come up with excuses over and over about what WE were doing wrong and that makes them months late on their bills. Below we have several advertisers who we highly recommend you NOT do business with, and our reasons for this recommendation.

RATTPHINQUES - This is a small bar in Edmond located at 617 S. Broadway Extension. The owner Jeff Kuykendall signed up for a single 1/2 page ad in our August 2008 issue. We have a signed contract with his name clearly spelling out the terms of the contract. After we ran the ad, Jeff refused to pay us for it and refuses to take our phone calls. I actually called him today and as soon as he figured out I was from Ride Oklahoma, he hung up the phone. He has never attempted to pay, never explained why he can't pay, never tried to work out terms, nothing. He just ran an ad, signed a contract, then refused to pay or even talk to us. The bar is still open, they still serve customers, and we assume they still intend to stay in business.

SPINOZI'S - Most bikers know about Spinozi's on 63rd & Broadway Extension. They have a weekly bike night I have attended on and off for several years. It is now owned by Tammy Nix-Cross. On August 8, 2008 Tammy decided to advertise in Ride Oklahoma and signed a one year contract to run a 1/2 page ad in Ride Oklahoma. Once again, we have a signed contract clearly stating the terms, what issues the ad would run in, and when payment was expected, and it was signed by Tammy. As many readers remember, we ran the ad for several issue in our magazine. We have yet to be paid for a single ad - not once. In total we ran 5 ads without getting paid. When we started calling to find out about payment, Tammy tried to deny that she wanted us to run an ad and claimed she never signed anything. We designed their ad for them at no cost. I faxed her a copy of the contract with her signature and since then she has still refused to pay or even explain why they were unable to pay. She does not answer her phone and if you leave a message she refuses to call us back. This is really a shame, since they have a pretty cool bike night, but in my opinion it is just not right to contract with someone to run an ad, then never ever pay anything on the ad and refuse to even talk to us about it. So instead of Spinozi's, head to Hooters or Old Chicago or better yet, Lucille's Restaurant. They pay their bills.

SAUCED - Located in the Paseo district at 2912 Paseo, Sauced is a cool summer hangout with a nice patio and good pizza. But the owner Ed Baldwin is really difficult to work with. My biggest complaint is the excuses. We have a signed contract with them to run a 1/4 page ad starting in September 2008. I went and photographed the ad and we produced it at no cost to them. Since that time we have run the ad in six issues. It took several phone calls and several months to finally get paid on the first ad we ran. Ed had many excuses about how WE were not doing our job - not calling him to change the ad, not contacting him each month to follow up, etc. We log all our phone calls and emails and have documented where our staff has called Ed over 20 times and left messages without a return phone call. So his complaints are pretty unfounded - just excuses. It is quite clear we produced the ad at no cost, ran the ad for six months, only got paid for one issue, and now he just continues with the excuses and won't even attempt to pay the bill.

AMSOIL - Douglas Crawford is an Amsoil distributor who ran two ads in 2008. He promised payment several times but never has paid a single penny. He is nice enough to take our calls but just doesn't pay the bills despite several verbal promises.

CLASSIC 50'S DINER - another restaurant that doesn't pay their bills. Jodie Burgurd is the owner. Located in Nicoma Park on 23rd street, they signed a contract and ran a single ad in June 2008 - one year ago. Despite repeated attempts to contact them and work out a payment plan, they still have made no attempt to pay the bill, which is only $115. You would think a restaurant could come up with $115 to pay a bill they committed to over a year ago.

It is frustrating when advertisers want the exposure offered by Ride Oklahoma, but then don't want to pay the bill as they promised. They could have easily chosen NOT to advertise with us. We would much prefer that than for them to run an ad, take advantage of us and then make no attempt to pay the bill. That is just not cool and not the way to treat people or businesses. I don't mind at all working with an advertiser if they run across tough or slow times. Heck, I have extended credit for over a year before, done trade outs, all kinds of things with advertisers who are up front, honest and try to do the right thing. But when people try to stiff us, make excuses or make no attempt to do the right thing, then it really upsets me and I think our readers should know about it.

Instead as readers of our magazines, we highly recommend you do business with vendors such as BMW of OKC (our very first and most loyal advertiser who pays on time every month) or Green Country Cycle in Broken Arrow, or Lucille's Restaurant in Mulhall, House of Kawasaki or Ajax Kawasaki, Bluetek Helmets, Performance Cycle, or Old Chicago Pizza in south OKC. All of our current advertisers have been great to work with and we highly recommend them.

Dustin Dominguez wins Fontana AMA Supersport Race

2009-03-21T22:56:00.005-04:00

Dustin Dominguez, profiled recently in Ride Oklahoma Magazine, today won the hotly contested AMA Supersport pro race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on his House of Kawasaki sponsored Kawasaki ZX-6R. Not only did he win, but he dominated, leaving the second place rider almost 5 seconds behind. This is a major AMA pro class with lots of competition. Way to go Dustin!!!

In addition, Tulsa's own Dany Eslick won the AMA Pro Daytona Sportbike race in Fontana on his Bruce Rossmeyer Buell 1125R, beating out such pro racers as Kawasaki's Jamie Hacking, Jake Zemke and Jason DiSalvo. Watch this video from Roadracing World, featuring Danny Eslick.
Danny Eslick on podium

Looks like we have some fast road racers hailing from Oklahoma!

Ride Oklahoma web site updated

2009-03-17T12:52:00.003-04:00

After several months of planning and work, we finally rolled out the new Ride Oklahoma web site. Most likely you have already seen it if you are reading this blog, but if not you can find it here.

Our goal is to enhance the web site to bring our readers even more information on places to ride, and the people who make up the motorcycling community in Oklahoma. Already our web site gets over 200 unique visitors per day and we see that growning substantially as we expand the content. We want to make www.rideok.com THE resource for motorcycling in Oklahoma - with active rider forums, an up to date event calendar, and information on the best places to ride in the Sooner state.

One of our major plans for 2009 is to increase the video content on our site. To that end we now have the Ride Oklahoma YouTube channel. You can reach it from our home page and watch videos of rider interviews, destination restaurants, and motorcycling events going on around the state. Stay tuned as we bring you even more unique content about motorcycling in Oklahoma.

I hope you enjoy the new look as much as we enjoy bringing it to you!

OKC Motorcycle Show Stunt Video

2009-02-23T20:21:00.002-05:00

As promised, we are posting the first of several videos from Jeff Williams OKC Motorcycle Show this past weekend at the OKC Fairgrounds.

Tommy Bolton with Tombo Racing hosts this feature on Trials Stunt Riding.

Later Tommy interviewed the owner of this beautifully restored 1945 Harley Davidson WWII-era motorcycle.

OKC Motorcycle Show Success

2009-02-23T15:36:00.004-05:00

Ride Oklahoma had a great time at Jeff Williams' OKC Motorcycle Show on Feb 21-22 at the OKC Fairgrounds. This year we were invited to share a booth with our good friend Tommy Bolton of Tombo Racing. It was fun to be at the show with our good friends and advertisers such as Tony Baustert at T-Fab Custom Metal Fabricators, Sam Wills at OKC Thunder Cycles and Racing Innovations, and Tim Rains at Two Brothers Painting. Gerald Tims with Performance Cycle had a number of his antique motorcycles on display, and our friends at Papa's Leather Barn had the largest booth in the building. We have several fun videos of the event that we will post soon, so stay tuned.

In addition, Ride Oklahoma held a drawing for a 1/2 page ad in an upcoming issue. Alan Hackworth, owner of Animalistic Designs in Apache, OK was the lucky winner. Watch for an upcoming ad for them soon, and thanks to all the participants who entered the drawing.

Ride Oklahoma was invited to share a booth with Tombo Racing

OKC Thunder Cycles was promoting their Thunder Run V, one of our favorite charity rides

The legendary drag racer Sam Wills, owner of Racing Innovations and General Manager of OKC Thunder Cycles, was across the show floor from the Ride Oklahoma booth

Master fabricator Tony Baustert with T-Fab Custom Metal Fabricators had one of the best looking booths at the show

Tim Rains with 2 Brothers Paint was on hand reading the latest issue of Ride Oklahoma

OKC Motorcycle Show Feb 21-22

2009-02-19T12:39:00.002-05:00

Saturday begins the big annual OKC Motorcycle Show at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds. Ride Oklahoma will be attending and will have a booth where you can sign up for subscriptions and pick up past copies of the magazine. See you there!

2009 CA Run

2009-02-09T18:41:00.002-05:00

CA - short for candy-bass (without the b) was held Sunday at Harley World on I-40 & Meridian. My son Adam and I attended on some really big touring bikes.

Story here

Ride Oklahoma's own Brian Hopkins continues to entertain us with short video clips and unusual info. How about Travis Pastrana backflipping a tricycle?

Brian's World - Travis Backflips Anything

Of course Brian has really bad case of that unhamed disease that hits most of us. I just call it "Brian Hopkin's Lymphoma" or the urge to go out and buy yet ANOTHER bike.

Ride Oklahoma Magazine goes on-line

2009-02-08T13:19:00.003-05:00

Thanks to our friends at Amatuer Motocross Magazine, we found a way to bring you an on-line version of Ride Oklahoma Magazine. We are still experimenting with the format so bear with us, but just click on the image below to view an online version of the current issue. Let us know what you think!

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Picture published in Cycle World

2009-02-04T22:17:00.004-05:00

Last fall I went to South Carolina and did some commercial photography work for BMW Motorrad (motorcycle division). My pics are featured in some BMW advertising. The first ad came out in the March issue of Cycle World, so I went to Barnes & Noble and snapped this pic with my iPhone:

My pic is inside the BMW ad as the gal with the R1200GS:

While there I also took a picture on my iPhone of the latest issue of Ride Oklahoma Magazine on the rack front and center at Barnes & Noble.

Sure is nice having your work published in the largest selling motorcycle magazine!

Feb 2009 Ride Oklahoma Magazine available now

2009-02-03T16:08:00.002-05:00

The February 2009 issue of Ride Oklahoma Magazine went out in the mail today and should be available on newstands and at Oklahoma area motorcycle dealers right now.

This month' cover features a beautifully restored 1967 Ducati Mach 1/S racer owned by Gerald Tims of Performance Cycle. This is the last of the springhead racers and was photographed at Hallett Raceway.

We also have a story about Tommy Bolton of Tombo Racing restoring a Yamaha Stratoliner that was damaged in Hurrican Katrina. We profile a family of motorcycle racers, the Sinclairs from Watonga. And finally Bill Dragoo has a funny story about Ruts, Rocks and Broken Ribs in southeast Oklahoma.

OKC Motorcycle Show

2009-01-23T11:25:00.002-05:00

Ride Oklahoma Magazine will be attending Jeff William's 12th Annual OKC Motorycle Show on February 21-22 at the OKC Fairgrounds. This year we will have a booth and hand out magazines and sign people up for subscriptions. We will have pictures displayed from motorcycling events across Oklahoma.

Enjoy pictures from last years show.

Despite Sour Economy, BMW experiences excellent sales

2009-01-21T16:45:00.003-05:00

Watching TV and reading the papers, all you hear and see is gloom and doom about the economy. But BMW's recent press release proves that if you make a great product that customers want, you can survive and even thrive even in a down economy.

In tough market conditions, BMW Motorrad has been able to follow up on its record sales of the previous year. In 2008, 101,685 (previous year: 102,467 units) BMW motorcycles were delivered to customers – a slight drop of 0.8%. Clear growth signals were shown especially in the second half of the year. In December, sales were even 9.3% above the level of the previous year at 7,457 units (previous year: 6,821 units).

Despite a decline in motorcycle markets in general, BMW Motorrad saw clear increases in sales in the European markets of Italy, France, Great Britain/Ireland, Switzerland, Austria, Greece and Poland as well as Latin America and South Africa amongst others. As a result of the ongoing product offensive, the blue-and-white brand was able to assert itself impressively in the other export markets and in some cases significantly increase market shares.

In Germany, the biggest single market for BMW Motorrad, a total of 18,112 BMW motorcycles were newly registered (previous year: 22,065 units), a decline of 17.9%. Nonetheless BMW Motorrad was able to maintain market leadership in the overall market, which once again declined (minus 8.8 %), as well as in the segment of motorcycles over 500 cc. The BMW share of the total market as of December was 17.3% (previous year: 19.2%), in the segment over 500 cc the market share was 18.1% (previous year: 20.4%).

As in the previous year, the second biggest market for BMW Motorrad was Italy. 15,342 BMW motorcycles (previous year: 14,533 units) were newly registered, an increase of 5.6%. In the Italian market as a whole, in which there was a general decline (total market: minus 8.6%), BMW not only recorded an increase in registrations but was also able to expand its market share to 11.2 % (previous year: 9.7%).

In the USA too, BMW Motorrad’s third largest market, the total market declined by 4.6 %. Nonetheless 0.6% more BMW motorcycles were registered by customers than in the previous year, with total sales of 11,839 units (previous year: 11,768 units); at the same time the BMW Motorrad market share increased from 1.7% to 1.8%.

A little Hiccup

2009-01-21T15:50:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the delay in not getting more images from 2008 posted. Had a little hiccup - had to get a stent put in my ticker, caused by a blood clot. Slows me down just a bit. Just now getting back to normal and will post up some more pics from 2008 a bit later today.

Year in Pictures - March '08

2008-12-17T16:31:00.002-05:00

Continuing with our year in Ride Oklahoma pictures, we have some outtakes from a photo shoot that never saw the pages of the magazine. We were planning to highlight a Hayabusa drag bike that was painted in Repsol Honda colors but the story just didn't work out, so we decided to post one of the pictures here. Tommy Bolton was doing work on the bike for the owner, and some of Tommy's friends were in the picture at a local motorcycle hangout.

I also photographed a nice Kawasaki Z1 owned Tommy's friend "Country Boy".

December Ride Oklahoma Magazine now available

2008-12-12T17:57:00.002-05:00

The December issue of Ride Oklahoma Magazine is in the mail and available at bookstores and motorcycle dealers statewide. If you would like your subscription delivered to your door, click here.

Forth Thunder HD Charity Event

2008-12-12T12:08:00.004-05:00

Last night ws a big gala event at the new Fort Thunder Harley Davidson in Moore. They were auctioning off this beautiful Harley Ultra Classic signed by Toby Keith as a charity event for Alley's House. Our friend David Wiist was there to help coordinate things. They had a large crowd with lots of Toby Keith music playing. Free food provided by local vendors, and the Hooters girls were there to sell drinks.

Thursday night Fort Thunder Harley Davidson was hopping with the sound of Toby Keith and big inch American V-Twins

David busy discussing business with the OKC Yard Dawgs cheerleaders

Year in Pictures - Australia

2008-12-08T14:17:00.002-05:00

Just in time for the new movie "Australia", we have a few motorcycle-related pictures from the vacation Kay and I took to Australia last year. We stopped by Philip Island just outside Melbourne and just happened upon a group of Japanese workers wearing Honda shirts at a local watering hole.

From this I surmised they were doing MotoGP testing at the nearby racetrack. Kay and I conned John Hopkins into getting us into the track for testing. We got some pretty cool pictures of them running at 170+ mph in rainy conditions - not something I would be doing!

Below is British rider Anthony West rollling out of the Kawasaki pits for testing in the rain.

2007 World Champion Casey Stoner from Australia on his Ducati blasting down the front straight at speeds approaching 170 mph. Notice the rain mist coming off his rear tire.

2006 World Champion Nicky Hayden from Kentucky rode within inches of me when rolling into the pits on his Honda RC-212V.

Australia is a very motorcycle-oriented country with cool motorcycling restaurants all along the coast and lots of bikes on the twisty roads. Very nice. We need more of those in Oklahoma!