September 2012 - CityBike

Events at Motoshop: Moto Shop
325 South Maple Ave #20, South San Francisco.
650/239-6686, bayareamotoshop.com
Roadside Repair Class
Thursday August 23rd 6pm - 9pm
Have you ever broken down on the side of the road with your moto, or a friend’s
moto, and not known what to do? This can happen to anyone, anywhere—even in
your garage. This class will help you attempt to figure out what the problem may be
and fix it yourself. We will also teach how to pick up a dropped bike, fix a flat, load a
bike on a truck, and more.
Basic Motorcycle Maintenance Clinic
Sunday September 2nd 9am - 1pm
Get your bike ready for riding! During this hands-on clinic you will perform a
complete inspection and make minor adjustments on your motorcycle to make
sure it is safe and ready for many good miles of riding. This will include chain,
brakes, tires, wheels, controls, lights, battery, fluids, suspension, and more! This
clinic is perfect if you are new to your bike or new to riding.
Lee Parks All-Day Suspension Clinic
Sunday September 9th 9am - 5pm
Learn the art and science of suspension setup from one of the leading experts in the
country, Lee Parks. This all-day clinic will teach you the secrets used by top tuners
to increase performance and safety.
Barbara Vos Art Opening @ Moto Shop
Sunday Sept 16th 6pm - 10pm
Join us for an evening of art and music at Moto Shop. barbaravossanfrancisco.com
at extraordinary stunt shows and the
Globe of Death. Spend some money with
more than 300 vendors and more than 15
factory rigs selling everything motorcycle
and more. Crosby, Still and Nash, the folk
rock supergroup, will be headlining at the
Reno Events Center on September 22.
Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com.
You can register as a Street Vibrations®
participant online, at the Reno Ballroom
at 4th and Center St. in downtown Reno
or at Street Vibrations Headquarters.
A portion of the proceeds benefits the
Juvenile Diabetes Association. The nocolors
event is open to all motorcycles.
More info: road-shows.com/street_
vibrations.php or dial 775/329-7469.
Saturday, September 22nd
8:00 am to 4:00 pm: El Camino Cycle
Meet and Swap (Irwindale Raceway, 500
Speedway Drive, Irwindale California
909/629-7420, classiccycleevents.com)
Check out over 350 vendors and an
antique/classic motorcycle show with
over 100 bikes at the largest swap-meet
and show on the West Coast. The long
drive down to SoCal should be worth
it—food, fun, vintage parts exchange,
bike-sale corral and FREE parking for
ride-in motorcycles (other vehicles: $5
each). Vendor space starts at just $75, or
enter your bike in the show for $35 for
the first bike, $10 for each additional.
Participants get an event pin, poster and
other souvenirs.
Sunday, September 23th
11:00 am to 5:00 pm: 2012 Cannonball
Finish Party at Dudley Perkins (Dudley
Perkins Co. Harley-Davidson, 333 Corey
Way, South San Francisco, 650/737-6547,
dpchd.com
Join the staff, customers and friends of
one of the country’s oldest and most
storied Harley dealers as they welcome
the finishers
of the 2012
Cannonball
Rally. The
Cannonball
is a cross
country
endurance
riding event
for antique
motorcycles
manufactured
before
1930. The
Cannonball
ride starts in
Newburgh,
NY on
September 7,
and travels across the country to finish on
September 23rd in San Francisco.
Come to welcome these intrepid men
and women and celebrate this epic
journey. Mingle with the riders and
hear their stories of the road, and check
out their machines, every single one of
them a piece of history. The event will
feature live entertainment, food and
refreshments. Several local companies
will be showcasing their products as
well. Come and attend this unique event
and become a part of motorcycling’s
rich history! The riders are expected in
at 1:15, but well, you can understand if
they’re late. See you there!
Sunday, September 30th
1:00 pm: Santa Rosa Mile AMA Pro
Flat Track (Sonoma County Fairgrounds,
1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa)
After a 42-year absence, the spectacular
two-wheeled action of AMA Pro Flat
Track racing returns to the Santa Rosa
Fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon,
September 30th.
Run in 1968, 1969 and 1970, the Santa
Rosa Mile spotlighted the top level
competitors of the time such as Dick
Mann, Gary Nixon, Freddie Nix, Chuck
Palmgren, Jim Rice and more wrestling
BSA, Harley- Davidson and Triumph
machines for dominance on the dirt.
Now it is back. Be sure to be on hand
to witness the return of America’s
most spectacular two-wheeled
competition. Order your tickets now
by calling 888/71-TICKETS or go to
santarosamile.com and be part of this
historic event.
Sunday, September 30 to Tuesday,
October 2
Giro d’ California no. 8
Three days of timed-trial riding, 1950s
Italian style in the coastal mountains
of Northern and Central California.
Pre-1958, 175cc and smaller machines
compete in regularity trials between
secret checkpoints. Entry fees include
hotel accommodations, lunches and
awards banquet, along with t-shirt and
bag-o-swag. If you have a little old Italian
roadster, you need to do this event!
Go to girodcalifornia.com or email
girodcalifornia@earthlink.net to get
your application.
Saturday, October 13
9:00 am-4:00 pm: Central Coast
Classic Motorcycle Club Show and
Swap Meet in San Luis Obispo (1775
Calle Joaquin in SLO).
General Admission $10. Classic bike
show, swap meet, and motorcycle games.
Fundraiser for Making Strides Against
Breast Cancer of SLO. Catered by
Splash Café. Details at 805/704-6357 or
centralcoastclassicmc.com
Sunday, October 21st
Photo: Craig Howell
All Day: Carnegie OHV Area Visitor
Appreciation Day (Carnegie SVRA,
18600 Corral Hollow Road, Tracy
925/447-9027 motomartcarnegie.com)
Free Admission to the Park, Product
Displays from Area Motorcycle
Dealers, Free Suspension Clinic,
Dual Sport Poker Run, Scavenger
Hunt for Kids, Free Raffle Ticket,
Drawing for Great Prizes, Food
Booths in the Event Area, Off-
Road Demonstrations, Music,
ATV Simulator Rides, Hillclimb
exhibitions, Factory Representatives,
Blue Ribbon Coalition, AMA District
36, Special Guests, and a visit from the
REACH helicopter. Bring the family
and get dirty!
Check out the Carnegie website for
more details as we near the date: ohv.
parks.ca.gov/?page_id=1172
By Gabe Ets-Hokin
Photos by Bob Stokstad
“OMG!” I typed in the email “That
bike is made out of Win!” Art Director
Lapp had taken a moment to browse
Craigslist for an interesting Dirtbag-
Challenge candidate and fixated on a
diamond in the rough—$850 would buy
you a SOHC Honda CB750 with a rakedout
girder-style front end, chromed valve
cover, custom seat and ape-hanger bars.
The rusted-out tank and crudely modded
frame were customized, with the faded
magenta and cream paint overlaid with
sprays of marijuana leaves and on the top
of the tank, the willowy figure of a buxom
African-American woman (who looks
suspiciously like Nichelle Nichols, who
played mega-hot Lt. Uhura on Star Trek),
nude, Afro-ed, and intently picking the
kind, abundant harvest. Sadly, though the
bike was non-running, a collector in L.A.
snapped it up within 12 hours.
After savoring the delicious post-modern
irony of this Blaxploitaiton-era kitsch, it
made me think. How big did your balls
have to be to ride this thing around the
East Bay in the ‘70s? An image appeared
in my mind—the CB750 with an
enormous black man riding it helmetless,
skimpily-clad girl on the back, wraparound
shades and leather vest with
nothing underneath, riding straight into
the waiting arms of the San Leandro
police. What was it like to be a black biker
in Soul-Era Oakland?
For an answer, I called up the East Bay
Dragons, arguably the best-known and
oldest continuously operating all-black
motorcycle club in
the country. I was
expecting some
tough guy to answer
the phone, and I
wasn’t disappointed.
Ali Rasheed, the
Dragon’s business
manager, looks the
part of the tough
biker—leather
vest and all the
trimmings—but is
also well-educated, retired
after a professional career
and evenly enthusiastic
about motorcycles—he’s
ridden all kinds of brands,
but later in life settled on
Harleys. He’s just sold off
his V-Rod after piling up
60,000 miles for a trickedout
Sportster, in contrast
to the other members’
chrome-slathered baggers. “My taste has
always been performance.”
Hanging out around the never-ending
domino game in the clubhouse garage. was
member Charles Jones—aka Darth Vader.
Typical of many members, Darth came to
the Dragons after tiring of another club,
the Japanese-riding Vagabonds. “I grew up
East Bay Dragons
The strange but not-so-terrible story of
Oakland’s oldest surviving
African-American motorcycle club.
with Harleys, but we liked speed so we rode was the ‘chop,’ a heavyweight touring bike way of rider or passenger comfort. We’re
cafe racers, Hondas.”
like a Panhead or Knucklehead customized, talking about the classic Easyriders choppers,
stripped and souped-up for maximum with massively raked forks, skinny front
Rasheed and Jones came to the club older,
straight-line performance—but little in the tires, hardtail rears and straight pipes. Not
but there are some younger Dragons
picking up the torch. “Diddy,” in his early
30s, was in his second week of being a club
‘rook,’ after spending some time riding We fix anything on American V-Twin bikes
around the East Bay on Japanese sportbikes
with the Ruff Ryders. Joining the club
seemed like a natural choice—his uncles
are members and it’s always been in his life.
But why join a
black-only club?
That’s secondary
to Diddy; he likes
the tradition and
camaraderie,
but also likes
the safer, longdistance
riding
style of the
Dragons.
That’s right—
long distance. The
Dragons, formed in 1958,
is all about riding long
distances. Trips to L.A.,
where the club has longstanding
relationships
with similar clubs, are
routine, and rides to the
Central Valley are barely
an afterthought. I talked
to members who had just
ridden halfway across the country and
talked about their trips as if referring to a
daily commute.
It wasn’t always that way. According to club
founder (and current President-for-Life)
Tobey Gene Levingston’s book Soul on Bikes
(2004, Motorbooks International, written
with Keith and Kent Zimmerman, out of
print), the ride of choice in the early days
Fast, friendly service: no extra charge
408-298-6800
>Ask for Bernard when you call or stop by<
75 Phelan Avenue, San Jose
Open 7 Days a week
September 2012 | 12 | CityBike.com
September 2012 | 13 | CityBike.com