Rhyme time with Cernicky. | Photo by Jeff Allen

After a short ride on Gregg DesJardins’ Kenny Roberts TZ750-replica, dirt-track-style Yamaha R1 (February, 2010), I was thinking I’d found my new favorite streetbike. It for sure was my favorite custom. I was having way too much fun on this legitimate “street tracker” you can powerslide on pavement.

It’s a bike that must be ridden with a lot of conviction. But the GD R1 also inspired a bit of poetry in my head while I was hackin’ my way along some seriously cool backroads:

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Is this the end of the road?

Moto Morini lost what many, including yours truly, regard as its last chance to get back into business with its failed acquisition by tiny but financially solid Nuova Garelli. This resurrected old make has no factory or assembly lines in Italy. It’s just a marketing project to design and sell scooters made in China.

Nuova Garelli made a first bid to acquire Bologna-based Moto Morini before the company applied for Chapter 11. The negotiation failed due to opposition by the unions that in Bologna are ruled by the “soviet” branch of the leftovers of the Communist Party. No joke. Nuova Garelli then made a second bid that seemed to win the approval of both the court and manpower at Moto Morini. But when things appeared to be nearing a positive solution, both the unions and the authorities shunned the meeting. At that stage, Nuova Garelli shut the door for good.

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Before we charge ahead, consider these questions.

The current issue of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) “Automotive Engineering” magazine carries a story outlining the remarks of battery expert Dr. Menahem Anderman, made at a conference in May.

He emphasized that before cost and performance of electric vehicle batteries come safety, reliability and durability, which will take time to establish. One battery fire of sufficient seriousness to reach major media would have, he said, “very significant negative impact.” Everyone, of course, remembers the laptop computers of a few years ago whose lithium-ion batteries caught fire when they overheated. Li-ion batteries large enough to power cars or motorcycles are a thousand or more times the size of those found in laptops, and their cooling issues can be serious. This requires that battery makers be extremely cautious in preparing for this market—while forecasts of billion-dollar business drive a rush to become part of it. Let’s hope they get the balance between caution and speed right.

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Despite not many options, Euros still find fabulous places to race off-road.

I’ve been to a lot of races over the years; as a former racing photographer and huge fan, I’ve seen more motorcycle and car races than I can remember. Most of the races I’ve attended have been up and down the state of California, places like Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sears Point (Infineon), California Speedway, Glen Helen, Anaheim Stadium and Long Beach. But I’ve traveled all around the country for events at places like Road Atlanta, Daytona, Firebird, Barber, Budds Creek and so on. I’ve also had the chance to see MotoGP in China and Spain (Valencia) and have been to the Bol d’Or 24-hour endurance race in France.

But it was odd to find myself at a round of the Italian National Enduro championship recently, as it’s not exactly the level of event that you would fly 14 hours to see. But on my recent trip to ride Husqvarna’s new TE630 and SMS630 motorcycles, our small group including off-road legends Ty Davis and Scot Harden went to see the race prior to riding Huskys the following day. This early spring round of the series is often used as a tune-up for the World Enduro Championship, which visits the same northern Italy region just a month later. So we expected to see some big names.

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Allow me to begin by saying that it’s been a long, unrelenting winter for Midwest motoheads, fraught with huge quantities of freezing precipitation, vicious potholes and a disheartening lack of sunlight. Until just this past week, spring seemed as likely as cold fusion, peace in the Middle East or Donald Trump changing his hairstyle. So when the temperature broke the 50-degree mark in Chicago, it was time to go for a ride.

For those of you familiar with the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, try to recall the scene when the mischievous garage attendant and his cohort take the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California for an extended joy ride. Visualize the sheer, unadulterated glee cemented on their faces as they go airborne in the priceless Ferrari, the Star Wars theme song blaring in the background. My analogy might be a bit dramatic, but I’m fairly certain that the expression on my face was a near-perfect rendition of that very scene as I rode my first spring wheelie down Sheridan Road in Glencoe, Illinois.

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