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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #45 – Handsome

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Episode 45 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is a good one, and starts with a discussion about The One Moto Show in Portland, Oregon and the hipsterness that ensued at the popular event.

Getting into the news, the guys talk about the rumblings of V4 superbikes from Honda and Ducati. That conversation spins out some good rabbit holes on homologation specials and the general state of the sport bike segment, which we think you will enjoy.

The episode also touches on the growing role of aerodynamics in the MotoGP Championship, and its eventual trickling into production motorcycles. The show ends with a quick discussion about power curves, and how even race tuners chase dyno numbers to their own peril.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #44 – Michael Lock

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Episode 44 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is very special, because we have our very first guest on the show, Michael Lock from AMA Pro Racing.

Some of you might know Lock as the man behind the freshly rebranded American Flat Track series, and he has deep roots in the motorcycle industry, leading the US efforts for Ducati and Triumph, as well as working for Honda in the UK and across Europe.

As such, we had a very interesting time picking Lock’s brain about the current state of the US motorcycle industry, what is wrong with road racing, and what he is doing with flat track (with a bevy of side topics along the way, of course).

You will want to grab some provisions before hitting the play button on this show, because this one is super long (two hours) – we just didn’t want to cut out any of Lock’s insights.

Duration aside, we think you will find Lock’s comments and perspective to be very insightful, especially during these uncertain times for the motorcycle industry. 

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #43 – A Flawed Victory

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Episode 43 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is out, and it focuses on the demise of Victory Motorcycles, which was recently shutdown by Polaris Industries. Of course, when we say that the show focuses on  just this one topic, we mean that in the Two Enthusiasts’ sense of the word.

As such, from the ashes of the Victory discussion spring forth a myriad of topics, the current landscape of the American motorcycle industry, the rise of a new generation of motorcyclist, the industry’s slow willingness to change, and how that all plays into the products and actions we seeing manufacturers making.

There is a lot to chew on in this 75-minute show, and we hope you find the episode as interesting as we do. 

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #42 – 2016 in Review

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It’s 2017 and the Two Enthusiasts Podcast crew is back into the swing of things, bringing you a slightly irreverent perspective on the motorcycle industry.

To get the new year started off right, we have an extra long Episode 42 for you, which covers all of the major stories from last year – what bikes were hot, what news items were important, and a review of the racing season await you. 

We’ve got some interesting shows lined up for 2017, and we think you’ll enjoy how we’re starting off this next orbit around the sun.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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News

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #41 – Brappy Holidays

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Brappy Holidays from the Two Enthusiasts Podcast crew, as we bring you Episode 41 – our penultimate show of the 2016 season.

To help get through the winter doldrums, we catch up on several recent news items, namely the changes to the World Superbike Championship rules, the management shuffle at KTM North America, and the AMA anointing WERA as its amateur motorcycle racing league of choice.

It is an interesting and entertaining show…and our apologies in advance to any of our French listeners. If we can be so bold to say, the rabbit holes on this episode are especially choice. Tis the season to be brappy!

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #40 – Adverse Possession

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Episode 40 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is a busy one, as we are back in the studio (my living room) after our live show in Portland. 

The show starts with a talk about the new A&R Pro premium accounts on Asphalt & Rubber, and then morphs into a discussion about the changing media landscape. Obviously, that makes it a good time to talk about the changes occurring over at Motorcyclist as well.

We then turn our attention to a recent press launch with AGV, where I rode with the new AGV Corsa R and AGV Pista GP R helmets. Quentin gets his first taste of them on the show, which is funny in a way only Quentin can make it.

We wrap-up that conversation with a discussion about heavy metals near Bakersfield, CA – home of Buttonwillow Raceway, as well as my first impressions of the new Michelin Power RS street tires.

Lastly, our final topic turns to MV Agusta, which is about to sign a financing deal with Black Ocean, a Russian investment group the hopes to make Italian motorcycles great again. All in all, it’s a jam-packed show.

You can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #39 – Live in PDX

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Episode 39 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is a celebration of one year of motorcycle podcasting, and to celebrate our birthday, we figured we should do a live show in our hometown of Portland, Oregon.

The good folks at MotoCorsa were kind enough to host the 40 brave souls that braved the PNW weather to listen to Quentin and myself blather about motorcycles.

It was good fun, and we covered topics like the recent MotoGP test in Valencia, the business issues that comes with running a race track, and how “race” ABS works and how it’s evolving.

We finish the show with a Q&A session from the audience, with questions about racing, race tracks, new bikes, and how to pronounce Spanish words being the topics of choice.

We are extremely grateful for the turnout at our first live show, and hope to bring the format to other cities in the coming months. We are also thankful for all our listeners who couldn’t make it to Portland, but continue to listen to the show each week. Hopefully, we can meet you all soon.

Until then, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #38 – EICMA

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Episode 38 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast is aptly named, as it covers some of the new bikes that debuted at the 2016 EICMA show in Milan, Italy. There’s no need for a long summary of the show, as Quentin and I merely cover some of the standout machines that caught our eye in Milan this year.

We think you will enjoy this podcast, it’s pretty much classic Two Enthusiasts fodder (when we remember to hit the record button), and we give more than one shout-out to the departed Husqvarna Nuda 900, a bike we hardly knew.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Dirt

Two Enthusiasts Podcast #37 – Dustin Pipes

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Episode 37 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast covers a bit of motorcycle happenings in the past few weeks, and starts off with a discussion about the Red Bull Straight Rhythm event in Southern California.

An interesting racing format for supercross fans, those in attendance were also treated to the Alta Motors Redshift MX electric dirt bike racing against its 250cc gas counterparts. It did quite well, with Josh Hill finishing fourth overall on the Alta.

Our conversation then turns to cruisers, as Quentin and I got some seat time on the Victory Octane. Neither of us are big fans of the cruiser motorcycle format, but had some interesting thoughts on the Octane, which is a pretty good bike for its $9,999 price tag.

We then turn our attention to the new bike season, with the debut of the Yamaha YZF-R6 at the AIMExpo, the leaked images of the now released Ducati 1299 Superleggera, and other machines.

It’s a classic Two Enthusiasts show, we think you will enjoy it. Also, if you’re in the Portland area on Friday, November 18th, you should attend our live show at the MotoCorsa dealership. We hope to see you there.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #36 – Tikka Masala

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Recapping the recent INTERMOT show, Episode 36 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast covers the three big themes that emerged from Cologne: homologation specials, vintage motorcycles, and rider aids.

With these themes in mind, we have a good conversation about the three homologation specials we saw from the Japanese manufacturers at INTERMOT: the Honda CBR1000RR SP2, the Suzuki GSX-R1000R, and the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10RR.

The conversation then turns to the neo-vintage models we saw in Germany, and how brands like Triumph and BMW are investing heavily in this trendy niche.

We finish up the show talking about motorcycle electronics, inertial measurement units (IMUs) to be specific. This game-changing technology continues to permeate through the motorcycle industry, along with other rider aids, so we have a good conversation about the rise of the IMU.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Two Enthusiasts Podcast #35 – No Brainer

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Episode 35 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast comes to us right after my trip to Los Angeles for the Arai Helmets press launch for the Quantum-X and Signet-X helmets. The show covers these new helmets, as well as what it’s like to ride the Piaggio MP3 500 – a three-wheeled leaning scooter. Spoiler alert, it’s pretty fun.

The conversation about helmets eventually evolves into a discussion about helmet design and construction, how the business side of this part of the industry works, and what the future holds for helmet designs.

There’s a fair bit of debunking going on in this part of the show, with helmets being a subject where conjecture and bad information exist in too large of quantity.

The show ends with a listener question from the folks at Rizoma, who was about air injection for emissions controls. This leads into a pretty lengthy conversation about how motorcycle control the gases they emit, and also how valve timing affects how motorcycle make power and handle emissions.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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