Balls to the Wall

Have a rad weekend!

Image via coolisacolor

Epitome of Cool

Steve McQueen

Image via thekneeslider

Model Rider

Marisa Miller surfs and rides..I think I may have a mini girl crush.

Image via motorcycles.com

Makin' Moves..

Make shit happen today! 

Image via the fancy

Danish Designer

In honor of NY Fashion Week I want to highlight Anne Sofie Madsen. She has worked for John Galliano at Dior and Alexander McQueen. Her new fall collection is dedicated to "Sedna", a half-human, half Inuit goddess of the underworld, and is entirely made-to-order. Her designs were made to be on a motorcycle!
Vroom vroom..

Images via trendland

Sexy Bonneville Racer

The bike and the man..

Image via Patrick Daly

Trendy

I know ombre hair is so played out, but don't these colors just make you happy?

Image via Planet Blue

Meet The Man..

Meet Tahir..he is my big Russian friend who is the man behind customizing my BMW and keeping it running at top performance. He owns a Auto/Motorcycle Repair shop on Pico and Fairfax in Los Angeles but specializes in building custom sport/touring bikes.

Take a look at what he rides...

BMW HP2 Sport

BMW Mottorad is putting the sportiest, most powerful and lightest Boxer series of all times on the road with this baby. Of course you will not find it in matte black..that is all Tahir.

This HP model features numerous exclusive details, previously restricted to racing, that were never before see in series production vehicles. Technology such as the self-supporting and aerodynamically optimized fairings made completely of carbon fiber, the gear shift assistant, a dashboard similar to that used in the MotoGP, the forged aluminum wheels and brakes with radially mounted calipers make this HP2 a beast on both country roads and race tracks. 

This GP dashboard from 2D systems operates in two different modes. In ride mode you can view typical info such as revs, speeds, time, kilometers, remaining distance and driving time, and is shown supporting info during the warm-up phase of the engine.
In race mode the screen provides data about circuit times, maximum revs, top speed or number of gear shifts. In addition, there are eight freely programmable LED's in the upper area of the dashboard that can be used as a rev display or external gearshift light.

Tahir

5868 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90019

(323)965-1950

If you can't get a hold of him at his shop, I guarantee he is on the track at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, speeding through the Santa Monica Mountains, or getting his ceviche fix up the coast at Neptune's Net.

Half Full or Half Empty?

Image via moto mucci

Gaudy Moto Apparel

Over the weekend my mom and I ran a bizarre mash-up of errands together. Out of the Dance Supply Store, Turner's Outdoorsman and Chaparral Motorsports we had the biggest laugh at the last stop. I must take a moment and start my first (of many to come, I'm sure) blog rant about the ridiculousness of women's motorcycle apparel. I mean just look at this..

My mother was busting out with laughter every 3 or 4 pictures, super professional as my model. Do people really think this is what women want to wear? The bright lavender leather, tacky stars and fringe, a "smoking" magnum revolver, and a patch right on the chest with Hookers Headers embroidered on it. Needless to say it was on the clearance rack and Hookers really should just stick to headers, mufflers and exhaust systems.

The Batpod

If you haven't checked The Dark Knight Rises you must go see it at Rave Cinemas! It features a wall to wall and floor to ceiling curved silver screen with cushy seating. Ok, now onto the BatPod; this sick bike has 20" front and rear tires and is powered by a water-cooled, single-cylinder engine. The exhaust is routed through the hollow steel/aluminum/magnesium tubing used for the frame of the bike. For the film, the bike is armed with grappling hooks, canons, and machine guns. The best feature for me, hands down, is that the wheels roll against their normal access for added stability through sharp turns and for instant change in direction. Boom!

Image via capesonfilm

It is hard to believe that the Batpod started off as a Batcycle, 1965 Harley Davidson with a sidecar, in the 1966 Batman TV series.

Oh Phillip..

Why can't you design motorcycle saddlebags??

The 3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli bag

Image via Barneys

Ducati Diavel AMG

I was going through some pics from last year's LA Auto Show and came across this beauty..

The Diavel AMG was created to celebrate Ducati's partnership in MotoGP with AMG. This rare beast was hand-built (as with all Ducati motorcycles) and is dressed in matte black carbon fiber bodywork with AMG’s very own “Diamond White Bright” stripe and frame color contrasted with black wheels. The special edition wheels, seat and exhaust end-caps are all AMG branded while “AMG” is also laser-engraved into the air-duct panels either side of the fuel tank.

With Audi's purchase of Ducati earlier this year, questions about the status of the special-edition 1198cc V-Twin power-cruiser were raised when AMG’s parent company, Mercedes Benz, released the following statement: 

“Since the end of 2010, a successful marketing cooperation has existed between AMG and Ducati. The company takeover by a rival car manufacturer has understandably resulted in the end of any further collaboration. The takeover of Ducati was never our aim—our focus lies clearly in developing and producing premium performance cars, and we will be concentrating all our energy on this.”

Ducati says the Diavel AMG has been produced and plans to start deliveries this summer at a price of $26,495..clearly this is going to be a collector's dream bike. 

Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix

The Formula 1 of two-wheel racing, the MotoGP World Championship is going down this weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Who will win this year's title of World Champion?

Dani Pedrosa

 Image via Laguna Seca

Detour..

I took a quick trip this week and lived it up in The City That Never Sleeps. Time always flies while I'm there and I am always left wishing I had more of it. I never got a chance to get to Brooklyn, but next time I'm in town I definitely want to hit up Brooklyn Motor Works and see what those boys are up to.

Image via my iphone (excuse the blurriness)

If you happen to be in town September 22, 2012 you have to check out
The Brooklyn Invitational Custom Motorcycle Show!

Black and Yellow

Image via racingcafe

BMW R12 by Nicolas Petit

BMW R80GS Dakar

Image via hookmotors

The BMW R80G/S was manufactured from 1981 to 1987 and features a flat-twin (boxer) engine. It was the first in the BMW GS family of specialized dual-sport bikes. G/S is the acronym of the German words Gelände/Strasse which mean off-road/road. How sweet are the colors and the "vintage" saddle bag!?

REV'IT Raven Jacket

I have been on the look out for a quality, white leather moto jacket for a while now. Sometimes it's just too damn hot to wear the standard all black leathers. I finally found the REV'IT Raven jacket; where protection, ergonomics and style all come together. Bam! Pick it up here.

image via beachmoto

Baggage

Over the course of my life I have slowly learned how to pack smarter and lighter. Yes, I used to be a chronic over-packer, but if traveling on a motorcycle has taught me anything it is to continually ask myself the dreaded question..  "Do I really need this?" I have to say that it is always a challenge.

Here are two bags that make my travels easier.

image via ascycles

The Cortech sport tail bag is easy and fast to attach with built in bungee cord hooks. It is cushy on the inside and durable on the outside with an expandable, easy access, top-loading main compartment. For $80 it is a great travel bag. Cortech is currently sold out of them but I found it available here.

image via dainese

I love this backpack! It is super comfortable with adjustable shoulders and lumbar strips. It has internal waterproof lining, a padded inside pocket for your laptop and it expands for full-face helmet transportation. It's $100 and worth every cent. Buy it here.

As I plan to take longer trips on my bike I know I will have to step it up on the luggage front. Here is what I am thinking of next..

image via ascycles

At roughly $400 for each side, sadly, these bad boys will have to wait..but just imagine how many pairs of shoes I could travel with if I had them!

Happy 4th of July!!!

To our freedom, fireworks, great company and of course fast motorcycles.

Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better. Albert Camus

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

After three months of my Netflix rotation being nearly stagnant, I finally made a date with my grandma and watched one of my favorite director's films. Pedro Almodóvar did it again with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. His colorful, deliberately scandalous, dark comedies never disappoint. My quick breakdown of the 1988 film; sidetracked suicide attempts, a forgotten blender full of spiked gazpacho, a blissful affair with a Shiite terrorist, an eager Mambo-loving cab driver, and a crazed, scorned woman with two guns on the back of a Harley Davidson. My favorite piece of dialogue:

ANA

I'm fed up!

I'm gonna get myself some quick cash..buy myself his bike and split.

With a bike!

PEPA

Who needs a man?

Learning mechanics is easier than learning male psychology.

You can figure out a bike..but you can never figure out a man.

Birthday Ride up PCH

Despite the June gloom last Friday I decided to jump on my bike and cruise up the coast. Somewhere between Zuma and Neptune's Net I started to feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude. After a self-induced stressful week of placing my energy into all the wrong things (i.e. turning the big, scary 3-0 and the new wrinkles that have set into the sides of my eyes, not having a definitive career and making more money, eating too many cupcakes and not doing enough cardio, never learning to speak Spanish, not traveling enough in my 20's, and never buying that vintage mirror from my favorite little shop in Desert Hot Springs). Sometimes it takes a ride on my motorcycle and an open road for me to come back to earth and remember that I have lived a great life thus far and have many memories and things to be grateful for. It reminds me of this great quote I heard a few years ago:


“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” 

― Epicurus


At the end of the day I chop it up to this; 30 is just a number and I feel great, I have my health and my hair, my family and my friends, I live in an amazing city where the sun shines nearly 365 days a year, I have acquired a pretty fabulous shoe collection and I own a BMW K1200S with a custom paint job and an upgraded exhaust that hauls ass at the flick of the throttle. Life is good.

Gemini Fashionistas

Happy Birthday fashion savvy sisters, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen!

image via ibtimes

I still need to pick up their book Influence. The twins interviewed people such as Christian Louboutin (my fave shoe designer), Terry Richardson (mega fashion photographer), and Alexandre de Betak (producer for Victoria's Secret Fashion shows) with questions in the scope of work ethic, inspiration and personal philosophies. With these sister's blatant affection for art and fashion I wonder how this book cannot be inspiring.

National Peanut Butter Cookie Day

In honor of this special day (not only for the love of peanut butter but for my very first post) I want to share my new discovery; PB2. The secret of PB2 is that their peanuts are slow roasted then pressed to remove the fat and oil. The end product is an all natural, no additives, rich in flavor powdered peanut butter with way less than half the fat and calories as regular peanut butter. All you have to do is mix 2 tbsp. of PB2 with 1 tbsp. of water and stir until smooth. I think a late night peanut butter snack just transformed itself from naughty to not so bad on the hips and thighs.

Check out their website here for ordering info and recipes.