Two Wheels…One Love

“Oh, thank God it’s motorcycle club night.”

Mike the bouncer at a well known bar in Tampa said.

“I think that’s the first time I ever heard that in my life.” I said.

He laughed. “I’m serious.”

“How so?”

“You and your friends know how to have a good time. No fights.” He paused.

“You all seem to know how to get along.”

“Oh yeah?” I said. “Tell a Ducati rider that a Gixxer is better in the flat and watch the sparks fly.”

My friend had made an interesting point, though. One that I had never noticed until he pointed it out. Sportbikers and stunters are very tight knit, exclusive groups. But, we are not interested in cliques. We don’t care what your background is. We don’t care what you do for a living. Man, woman, race, color, or creed do not matter. The only price of admission is a love and respect for riding the machine. If only the rest of the world were as open.

I can recall being shunned by many groups. Places where I wasn’t accepted for a variety of reasons. The reasons given don’t matter.The one group where I was never shunned or not invited was amongst sportbikers. Even when I didn’t have one their only concern was how soon till I could ride again. This is a source of pride to me when I speak to people who don’t ride.

Just take a look  at the list of pro stunters featured at ThrottleNation.com alone: Aaron Colton, Alex Flores, Bill Dixon, Brian Bubash, Britney Schara, Dan Jackson, Dena Sodano, Eric E-Brake Pettit, Graham, Guru Khalsa, Hollywood B, Jesse Toler, Kelly Jennings, Lin Eshalom, Luke Duke Emmons, Mitch Adams, Murdoc, Nick Apex, Rick Hart, Sean Parrish, Shinsuke Kinoshita, Sick Nick Hernandez, and J Beats just to name a few. Stunters of every background imaginable. All brought together in a common passion for riding and stunting. (And that’s not even mentioning all of the pros featured on the site who live to race on dirt or pavement.) If you can ride and you can stunt to their level of expertise-you’re in. No questions asked. The proof is in what you can do on two wheels. (Although, I have it on good authority that pro stunter Nick Apex hates Smooth Jazz with extreme prejudice, so you may have to pass some kind of special initiation with him if that’s also your thing. My apologies to the half dozen fans worldwide of that musical genre for this one exception. But, I digress.)

College degree? Who cares…show me what you can do. CEO of a fortune 500 company? That’s great…can you do a spreader? No. Then hit the bricks. Simple and straightforward.

In 2008, the Motorcycle Industry Council did an industry wide demographic census of new purchases of motorcycles. they found that while the United States population rose 5% from 2003 to 2008, the motorcycle population rose a whopping 19%. Women accounted for 23% of all riders in the same time period. From Gen Y to Gen X to the Boomers, age didn’t matter, they all increased in rider ownership. The total population of two wheelers accounted for more than the entire population of the state of Michigan.

What the report wasn’t able to state was the reason for the dramatic rise in ownership. Why were young and old, men and women, of every race and background taking to two wheels? I believe there are two reasons. One is The Secret Sportbikers Know, and the other is the fraternity of riders. The membership that only cares that you ride or stunt to the best of your ability.

Two years ago, at Clutch Control Reloaded in Philadelphia, pro stunter Jason Britton, wrapped up the events when he looked at a camera and said,

“Remember, two wheels and one love.”

That says it all.

See you on the streets…

~J

Just call him J.

Jaime Valentino is a writer with a wide background and array of experiences that he relates through his most current endeavor, Behind the Visor.

J. has been published by a diverse group of companies. Whether it was fantasy stories (through Raven, LLC a fiction publishing company) to Wine Blogs for Three Thieves Wine, he has always had an intimate knowledge and unique viewpoint that has translated well to his readers who have followed him over the years.

Sportbikes are the one passion in his life he has always returned to no matter what. He rode his first mini-bike at nine years old and has never looked back.

J. lives in New York City. Though he will tell you he thrives there…