Welcome to Urban Moto Mag.com, the online home of Urban Moto Magazine, America’s #1 guerrilla motorcycle magazine, printed monthly in the Bay Area, California, distributed FREE worldwide. We cover current news,
events, motorcycle clubs, moto celebs, moto shops, bikes, products and more. You’ll find every kind of motorcycle – sportbike, streetbike, ratbike, dirtbike, super-motard, racebike, touring bike, vintage bike -
and all kinds of bikers and moto-nuts, from street to track to dirt to stunts to sidecars, scooters or mopeds, we’ve got it all, anything on two or three wheels.
Our readers are very connected and involved with the motorcycling community, and many are daily riders. Active participants in everything involving motorcycles, it's a way of life, not just a hobby.
And we’re happy to include you. Come along for the ride.
Aprilla RSV4R Loose In San Francisco Bonus footage includes a water induced fishtail served up at 100 mph in a tunnel.
BMW S1000RR Kills Competition at Masterbike Test
"BMW’s stunningly fast S1000RR has defeated all eight of its major rivals on the race track, comfortably annihilating the competition from both Japan and Europe." (MCN news)
Experts took part in the annual Masterbike test at the new Motorland circuit near Valencia, Spain, where all nine 1000cc inline-fours and 1200 V-twin sportsbikes competed head-to-head. The manufacturers were allowed to select from a choice of track tyres to suit their machines, and set suspension up to suit track riding. Each bike was subject to an independent dyno test to ensure the bikes weren’t tuned.
And if you like this story, just wait for Urban Moto's March issue featuring the BMW S100RR - coming soon!
Pictured right, Wade Boyd on the revered Beemer, by Conan Soranno
Skate this Art! Call to All Artists
3rd Annual 'Skate this Art' exhibition April 2-30 at Gallery 28 in north beach.
The exhibit benefits North Beach Citizens, a nonprofit outreach program started by Francis Ford Coppola to assist the disabled and homeless of North Beach.
Signed decks by Tony Hawk, Mickey Reyes, Boardhead Brothers as well as skateboard art by Ed Hardy, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Winston Smith, Jason Norelli, Brandon Swinehard, Anna-Lisa Stardust van der Valk – and YOU – will be for sale & auction (50% of sale to NBC, 50% to artist).
All artwork must be on a skateboard (two-dimensional; paint, draw, stencil, mixed media, etc. - no sculpture). Used decks available for sale $5, new ones $15. If ya wanna buy a board, ya gotta submit it to the exhibit. Deadline Mar 25-27. Curator Randall John.
Skateboard art pictured here by Anna-Lisa Stardust van der Valk 2009
An Urban Moto staffer had his Red '95 Ducati 900ss stolen from north beach Saturday night, Feb 20. The motorcycle had a disc lock on the front wheel. Half fairing CR model, very clean, Corbin seat.
License plate is 16T2289 VIN ZDM1LC4N9TB021512
If you see this bike for sale, or on the street please contact the San Francisco Police Department Central Station at (415) 315-2400 and refer them to case number 100-174-741
"$100 reward for every thieving finger brought to me on a string. ...... there is a reason we used to hang horse thieves."
Jonah Street riding a KTM for San Francisco based team Rally Pan Am finished the race in 7th place overall and was the highest ranked American. Frenchman Cyril Depres claimed overall victory in the 2010 Dakar. He finished 1 hour 2 minutes 58 secs ahead of Norway's Pal Anders Ullevalseter. Francisco Lopez Contardo from Chile finished 3rd overall riding an Aprilia.
Swedish racer Annie Seel’s KTM crashed at the bottom of a 17ft-deep tomb, but Seel miraculously avoided the near-fatal accident. "I rode too slow to jump and too fast to stop. Put brakes on, slide bike to the left and abandon ship. I managed to jump to the left edge while bike tumbled down. I am lucky not to go down cause the walls were impossible to climb."
A helicopter hoisted the bike out of the hole. Remarkably the KTM was able to continue racing and Seel suffered only a swollen ankle. But the real capper is that Seel finished the Dakar, top female of the 6 female riders, 45th overall. Way to go Annie Seel.
Wendell Jones, one of the original founders of San Francisco's Dirtbag Challenge sent in the following: "From the eastern front...Dirtbike Challenge 2010. Late Spring 2010 Take all winter to build something or just finish your long over due project, no pressure, no rules, no budget, no hidden fees, NO WAY! Free beer, tee shirts and music and as much fun as you can have with your clothes on! Bring your Harleys, Nortons, Suzukis, WHATEVER. There is no website, no blog BS, and there will be no calenders printed of anything, it's not about the money, Bro. Stay tuned for more info as it comes in. Build away, event date spring 2010. Stayed tuned" Continued in Motolife Community
Harley-Davidson is recalling almost 112,000 motorcycles across the world after tests showed the fuel tank could leak following a severe crash.
The recall involves 21 models from the 2009 and 2010 ranges in the touring, custom and trike ranges and came to light following Harley-Davidson’s own crash testing.
There are no reports of any injuries or deaths as a result of the defect.
The recall will involve fitting new, stronger braces to the fuel tank mount.
We at Urban Moto can't wait to get our hands on one. Traction control, 400lbs, anti-lock brakes, 199 crank hp, 4 different hp settings on the motor, including a 149 hp setting to use in the wet. The S1000RR is a completely new motorcycle with a 999cc in-line 4-cylinder engine and is very compact and light. This is a radical departure for BMW and its their first World Superbike machine. The cost is about $16,000.
According to MCN chief road tester Trevor Franklin, "the handling will make other manufacturers wince with embarrassment." Check out the vid below.
Sadly, the last Buell was rolled off the production line. Harley issued the following statement: “A Buell Lightning XB12Scg rolled off the company’s East Troy, Wis., assembly line, the last of the 136,923 motorcycles built in the company’s 26 years of operation. "Parent Harley-Davidson announced on Oct. 15 that the Buell lineup of motorcycles would be discontinued effective Dec. 18, 2009. Buell motorcycles will continue to be sold through existing dealers until inventory is depleted.”
Ducati is aiming the new Multistrada 1200 straight at the heart of the BMW R1200GS, but has given the motorcycle an ultra-modern twist and 150 bhp! There are two versions of the Multistrada 1200 – a standard version that can be specified with or without ABS and then a higher specification S.
The S can be ordered in either Sport Edition or Touring Edition. The Sport has carbon fibre parts like engine covers, front air intakes, rear mudguard and spoilers. The Touring has panniers, heated grips and a centre stand. The S also gets the Ohlins electronically adjustable suspension system.
1. UNDERSLUNG EXHAUSTS Erik Buell pondered why riders should put up with side-mounted exhausts that were non-aerodynamic, spoiled the line of the bike and made the rider hot. His answer: an exhaust mounted centrally under the bike.
2. FUEL IN FRAME Erik’s passion for racing made him question why a race bike had to handle like a pig when the fuel level dropped. Using a bike’s aluminium beam frame as the fuel tank means the weight of the fuel remains low, so the bike handles well no matter how much fuel is onboard...
BUELL OFFICIALS THANKED CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES AND DEALERS FOR THE UNFORGETTABLE RIDE, following today’s announcement by Harley-Davidson, Inc. that it will discontinue the Buell® product line as part of Harley-Davidson’s go-forward business strategy. The new long-term strategy aims to drive Company growth through a focus of efforts and resources on the Harley-Davidson® brand.
For the last 30 years Edelweiss Bike Travel has operated exciting and creative motorcycle tours, first in the European Alps and then expanding to all five continents.
But now the Edelweiss team in Mieming, Austria has come up with an unbeatable "short ride" that will certainly be a dream for most bikers:
A motorcycle tour around our entire globe on a path that includes all five continents! For Edelweiss 30th anniversary, company founder Werner Wachter is putting a gigantic project on two wheels, something that has never been done before now.
Cafe Society Documentary featuring Ace Cafe London
“Cafe Society” is the first full-length documentary to chronicle the origins, legacy and rebirth of the Cafe Racer subculture. Two years in the making and shot in Europe (mainly England) and the US, this documentary provides an intimate view. The Cafe Racer Cult had been kept very much alive by events - Rocker Reunions held on London’s Chelsea Bridge, and goings-on at Ace Cafe in London. But very few know about the rich history of the Ton-Up culture and the stories of the men and women who created the first high-performance street bikes. To take you on the city streets wild ride, the film features great rockabilly music as stripped-down as a Bonneville Bobber. A Chet Burks Productions with Mike Seate reporting and interviews. Pre-order the DVD by at the Cafe Society Website.
The distant buzzing noise soon became a loud roar when 170 scooters and motorcycles turned the corner invading the Stockton Tunnel in San Francisco at exactly 3pm on some random day in May, like they do every year, unannounced and unrecognizable. If we were to name names or publicize the event, they'd kill us! The moto-hoodlums rode up and down both lanes numerous times, filling the tunnel with smoke and noise. Riders stopped traffic at both ends of the tunnel while the fuckers had their fun, then five minutes later, as sudenly as they appeared, they were gone.
