tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66934639340521428172012-02-16T01:30:00.169-08:00A collection of stories, trials, and other stuff from Max Martin.Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.comBlogger261100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-68328480629950303752011-09-09T15:44:00.000-07:002011-09-09T15:44:27.222-07:00

Back in the mid 90’s my wife wanted to go over to the Washington peninsula for a short vacation. I think she read about the place on Lake Crescent in Sunset magazine or something. I was thinking that it didn’t sound like all that much fun unless I could take the bike. So she being the accommodating person she is, drove the car and I rode my Honda CBR600F2. After riding part of the day

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-37959460149262516942011-08-18T12:39:00.000-07:002011-08-18T12:39:09.318-07:00

The story of the 1962 BSA Goldstar DBD34GS  Everyone dreams about and talks about finding the ‘old board tracker’ or the Vincent in a barn, but rarely does it happen. However I own one of those and the entire story is not as romantic as it sounds. In 1976 I was working in a Kawasaki shop and a gentleman in his 60’s comes in and asked to buy a throttle cable. I asked him what it was for and he

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-33681568608753622722011-07-08T14:01:00.000-07:002011-07-08T14:01:29.141-07:00

Having worked in various dealerships for 10 years, starting in the early 70’s, I have met a lot of really great enthusiasts, as well as helping new people get started in our fantastic sport. One day in the summer of 1973, I had a young man in his late teens come in the shop.  He wore a long sleeve shirt that was torn and asked if he could use our bathroom. He then showed me his forearm that

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-89683490958072408302011-06-08T16:56:00.000-07:002011-06-08T16:56:54.349-07:00

When Harley Davidson was starting to build up sales momentum in the 1980’s there was also an increased interest in nostalgia. I was prompted by a friend, who was an Indian collector and enthusiast, to see if Avon would consider building an H speed rated whitewall tire. At the time the only wide whitewall motorcycle tire was made by the Coker Tire Company.  They were marketed toward machines

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-61344688397588119352011-05-20T15:54:00.000-07:002011-05-20T15:54:32.187-07:00

Have you ever wondered where the “Fat Freddie” Tire came From?  In this feature, Max Martin recalls about the inspiration and commencement of the Avon “Fat Freddie” Tire, also known as the start of the Wide Tire Craze! If you have ever been to a custom bike show, rally or anywhere that custom Harley-Davidsons gather, you have no doubt seen the oversize or fat rear tired monsters. This is the

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-63947644552395010512011-04-01T16:52:00.000-07:002011-04-01T16:52:19.190-07:00

While working for Avon Tyres, it had put me in contact with some really great people and some interesting situations. Prior to the development of the European Economic Community, the German government had a TUV standard that tires had to pass; today it is the ECE75.  This was because of the high speeds that could be obtained and sustained on the Autobahn.  In Europe, the motorcycle manufacturers

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-68545398934628803782011-03-23T16:33:00.000-07:002011-03-23T16:33:17.893-07:00

In 1976 I started working at Kawasaki Country in Yakima Washington. I have always said there are 3 types of motorcycle shops. Those that make it happen…those that watch it happen….and those that wonder what happened. Prior to this shop I worked in the latter type of shop, but this was a make it happen place. Don, the owner, was all for being creative and using your imagination. If anything, he

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-67074681622481493672011-03-07T13:04:00.000-08:002011-03-07T13:04:58.912-08:00

There was a time I worked in a Kawasaki shop that had been purchased by two guys who owned the local Harley-Davidson dealership.  They ended up putting the two dealerships together. The absentee owners put the fellow who had almost bankrupted the HD shop in charge. Yes this was a formula for disaster, and it eventually went under, but it was interesting for a time. When I first started to work at

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-29484942266751220972011-02-16T16:20:00.000-08:002011-02-16T16:20:20.674-08:00

This little antidote comes via my sister and her ex- husband who was a racer. I knew of Skip because of the TT expert he was in his racing days, but I never got to know him personally until he was a distributor of Marushin helmets (back in the mid 80’s). Skip Van Leeuwen While I was visiting my sister, who lives near Solvang, California, I knew that Skip and a friend would be in the area, so

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-19220843053550685782011-02-11T16:59:00.000-08:002011-02-11T16:59:46.737-08:00

As I mentioned, I often ride to Laguna Seca for the MotoGP from Seattle. I think it is about 1,000 miles if you take the freeway, but the way I go it takes me 3 days or more, and it is about 1,500 miles. Northern California has some great roads between Highway 101 and Highway 1 that are fun to explore. One year, while on my return trip, I was riding my modified Triumph Daytona and after looking

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-81203841288869452442011-02-08T13:37:00.000-08:002011-02-08T13:37:36.621-08:00

Let me start by saying that I am not a fast rider. I can do okay, but I am not a retired racer, nor have I ever taken ’track lessons’. I used to ride with a bunch of dentists who called themselves the ‘molar rollers’ and there were some fast guys in this group!  Most of these guys rode Ducatis or 1000cc sportbikes.  David Edwards (ex Cycle World editor) called Wiley the ‘world’s fasted dentist’.

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-37545215030151190022011-01-21T14:09:00.000-08:002011-01-21T14:09:19.165-08:00

Are you the real Kevin Schwantz? Years ago, as I was riding with a sales rep in Houston, a Ducati 916 passed us on the freeway and was picking off the slower cars. The rider had on a replica Arai Schwantz helmet and the Dainese replica jacket with ‘Schwantz’ across the back. I said to Lewis (the rep) “There goes Kevin!”  He said “You do realize you are in Texas, and it just might be!” I guess

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-37754638540280997952011-01-14T15:09:00.000-08:002011-01-14T15:09:57.792-08:00

Dave Leach with the famous Yellow with Red Polka Dot Helmet!    On my first trip to the Isle of Man in 1990, I met Dave Leach, a racer riding for FM Yamaha and shod with Avon tires.  He was a three time TT winner, with his first race win in 1988 on a Padgetts FZ1000 0W01. In 1990 he was riding a FZR400 RRSP, which is kind of a baby 0W01. Standing at the starting line I was talking to Dave and

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-85211257494839183732011-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:002011-01-07T16:11:02.850-08:00

One of the great things about the motorcycle industry is meeting a lot of really great people.  And you get to do things with motorcycles all the time and call it ‘work’. I have been going to Monterey, California to attend the races at Laguna Seca Raceway since the mid ‘60s, when I was in high school. Back then it was with SCCA and the Can-Am car series, and I was part of the crash crew (but

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-8371944272050966932010-12-23T14:34:00.000-08:002010-12-23T14:34:45.698-08:00

Letting it sit. . .  My mother used to manage an apartment complex in the San Francisco area, and on one of my visits she introduced me to one of the tenants who was an enthusiast. He had an XJ650 Yamaha turbo and a 1976 Triumph Bonneville but had not ridden for years. He said the Triumph was seized up, so I bought it for $200.00 and hauled it back to Seattle. First I put oil in the cylinders

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-6563305457025427352010-12-17T16:11:00.000-08:002010-12-17T16:12:09.495-08:00

The motorcycle industry has gone through several ups and downs since I got started in the early 70’s. Like many I got started behind the parts counter, but one’s enthusiasm always boils over onto the show room. The first motorcycle I sold was a Honda CL350 because the owner wanted what he considered “a bike he could ride on and off road”. Unless he lived on a gravel road, I don’t think that

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-50852284790737854062010-12-09T09:39:00.000-08:002010-12-09T09:39:01.439-08:00

One day I was standing in my garage and thinking “I have enough parts to make a bike”. I had the slim line Norton featherbed frame with the forks and the Triumph 650cc motor from my dirt tracker and several sets of wheels. So I ordered a gas and oil tank as well as seat and engine mounting plates from Unity in England. This was going to be a nice Triton, not a show quality piece, but nice all

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-28549480946699752502010-11-24T11:22:00.000-08:002010-11-24T11:22:26.043-08:00

Tom Turkey, not very ridable! This is not story about family and friends sitting down to eat a big bird. This is about one of the ‘turkeys’ I have owned. Over the years I have bought and sold numerous bikes, usually British and vintage. Most often I buy junk, fix it up, and then help it find a new owner who will give it the love that I no longer have for it. Sometimes the love affair is short

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-21250602325830076872010-11-19T11:37:00.000-08:002010-11-19T11:37:54.918-08:00

Almost anytime you go riding it is a good day. Granted some days are better than others but riding is always better than working. It can be iffy sometimes. I remember trail riding with my brother in law in Washington’s Cascade Mountains in this area call Goat’s Peak, a heavily forested area with what seemed like straight up and straight down single track. There were numerous smooth rocks and tree

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-58648957008251569842010-11-12T16:27:00.000-08:002010-11-12T16:27:54.203-08:00

As I previously mentioned the rules of the road at the Isle of Man are not the same as in the USA. There are no speed limits when you are outside of the city limits and where it’s not posted as a speed zone. Plus if there is room to pass, then you just go for it – no matter what the lines on the road say. Not sure how legal it was, but everyone did it as long as it was safe. So on our last day on

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-724998274635117842010-11-03T16:56:00.000-07:002011-01-14T15:11:58.510-08:00

No Speed Limit Sign One of the truly unique features about going to the Isle of Man is the fact that outside of the city limits, or where it is posted, there are no speed limits! This is the only place in Europe, to my knowledge, where you can ride the country roads like a complete fool and be perfectly legal. The good news is you can ride very fast and pretend you are Joey Dunlop. The bad

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-53769875817772708362010-10-29T16:34:00.000-07:002010-10-29T16:34:36.172-07:00

William Rudolph Michael Feilding, 11th Earl of Denbigh. That was his name, but we called him ‘Rollo’, as he was always introduced as Rollo Denbigh or Lord Denbigh. He was a regular guy who loved cars and motorcycles. I got to know him on my first trip to the Isle of Man in 1990 and he was an enthusiast in the true sense of the word.  He was riding the bike Geoff Johnson had won the Production

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-61964114810161883582010-10-21T15:21:00.000-07:002010-10-22T12:08:36.813-07:00

Ever ridden in England? It is a ball!! First thing, they are very motorcycle friendly. Back in the 90’s, three of us were on our way to the Isle of Mann; Alan Blake, then national sales manager for Avon Motorcycle Tyres, my friend Terry, and myself.  As we are going up this hill (remember on the left side of the road), the cars are all pulling over so we can ‘lane split’, which is a little scary

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-57559538542784648652010-10-13T14:24:00.000-07:002010-10-13T14:31:48.120-07:00

Are you a Valentino Rossi fan? Fan or not you have to respect the talent he has, especially after this last week end at the Malaysia race - he scored his 46th victory, a magical number for him. To top all that off he is a great guy, so it is no wonder he has such a huge following. Valentino Rossi, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Turn 5, 2006.  Photo by Kenny Jones When I was a Regional Sales manager

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-10463705823620173322010-10-01T11:33:00.000-07:002010-10-01T11:33:56.924-07:00

Do you enjoy motorcycle stories? Several of my friends have been after me to do this blog, so let’s see if I can entertain you with some of the things that have happened to me over the 35 years I have been in the motorcycle industry. Not all of the stories you will read will have happened to me, but they are accurate to the best of my memory. I got into motorcycles because of my ex-brother in law

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6693463934052142817.post-84859497615085010762010-09-13T17:03:00.000-07:002010-09-13T17:03:23.387-07:00

The Adventures of Motorcycle Max Coming Soon!

Motorcycle Maxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06608117544998379846noreply@blogger.com0