#GabeEts-hokin

I love electric vehicles. No, I really love electric vehicles. I didn’t used to love them so much, and you may not, either. But then I rode one and fell in love.

Awesome [aw–suh m] adjective: Causing or inducing awe; inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear: an awesome sight.

Lead Photo: Brian Bartlow (29) and Kirk Korenko battling it out for first place, Sonoma Raceway 2011. Photo by Gary Rather.

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking. – Henry Ford*

In the pantheon of American motorcycle badasses, sitting high amongst the crowd are Steve McQueen and Evel Knievel. In 2006, our very own Gabe Ets-Hokin and Pete Brissette set out to pay homage to the two legends, riding the marques that McQueen and Knievel are most associated with. So for this week’s Church feature we revisit the McQueen vs. Knievel Road Test, pitting the Triumph Scrambler against the Harley-Davidson Sportster. The test location was special as well: San Francisco, a city both men have a connection to, as the story goes on to explain. Read on to see the antics Gabe and Pete got themselves into in their quest to emulate two of America’s motorcycling icons.

Close your eyes and imagine your favorite motorcycle.

Whenever former staffer, and now MO contributor and guest columnist, Gabe Ets-Hokin, talks about bromances, as he did in his recent Skidmarks column, further investigation is needed. In his column, Gabe talks about his first time meeting Lee Parks, forming an instant bond with the riding skills master. Buried in that column is a link to this magical experience Gabe had riding motorcycles in Lee’s front yard, then shooting guns in the back. This story from 2005 was too good to let rest in a hyperlink in a column, so for this week’s Church feature we’re re-publishing it in all its glory. 

“It’s clear to me that more of us are dying because there are too many people who really shouldn’t ride motorcycles and the industry and advocacy groups do nothing to discourage them.” – Me, “So Why Are we Dying?,” CityBike Magazine, August 2012.

In his 2006 review of the BMW K1200R, former MO staffer and current MO contributor, Gabe Ets-Hokin called the Bavarian muscle bike a “Gorilla In A Tuxedo.” It’s an appropriate term, as the 1157cc inline-Four packs an approximately 140 hp and 80 lb-ft punch. Essentially a naked version of the K1200S, the lack of any substantial bodywork exposes the K bike’s funky styling and gives a better view of the Duolever front suspension. But as Gabe points out, the big takeaway from the K1200R is its refined approach to going blisteringly fast. Here’s Gabe to give you his complete take on the K1200R from eight years ago. Also, be sure to check out the photo gallery for three pages full of K1200R pictures.

The playground where I take my three-year-old son to blow off steam is called Astro Park, but aside from a large asteroid-like climbing structure, you’d never guess why it has that name. That’s because about 15 years ago, a crew from the City of Oakland hauled away a large steel flying-saucer shaped play structure that had been there since 1968.

For a motorcycle built to suit the needs of American riders, it’s a shame the Kawasaki Z 750S, the topic of this week’s Church of MO, failed to resonate with American consumers. By all objective measures it was competent machine for someone looking for the modern day Universal Japanese Motorcycle. Maybe it was lost in the shadows of its bigger sibling, the Z1000. Here, we travel back to 2005, and the Z 750S press introduction. Our very own Gabe Ets-Hokin got to burn some miles with the naked bike, where he had this to say. Also, don’t forget to check out the three-page Z 750S photo gallery for more pictures.

“…Combat is like unsafe sex in that it’s a major thrill with possible horrible consequences.” —Carl Marlantes, What it is Like to go to War