Ok, because you asked...

Yes, there is actually a picture of me with Ewan McGregor. It was taken at Laguna Seca Raceway in California in 2002. The stupid(er) look on my face is because he is grabbing my butt in the picture.

The story; It was my 2nd anniversary, but I was working in the booth on Ducati Island. Ewan (and His dad, pictured in the background) were super cool and hung out in our booth beating the heat and the crowds for a long time. We talked about motorcycles, steaks, wives and beer. After a little while he offered to call my wife and wish her a happy anniversary. He said "Hello Merritt, this is Ewan McGregor" she of course didn't believe him and thought it was one of my Scottish friends playing a prank on her. He eventually convinced her and said "I'm with Phil at the racetrack, and he's being a good boy, and I'm keeping an eye on him"...I could then hear her shout into the phone, "I'm watching you in Moulin Rouge right now!" he started laughing and chilled her out and wished her a happy anniversary. He made quite an impression on both of us, and it's given us a great story any time people talk about what their spouse got them (or didn't get them) for an anniversary. The next day Ewan and Ben Bostrom were invited to take a lap on Laguna Seca on scooters the company I was working for provided. We had a blast and actually rode the wrong way up the corkscrew just so Ewan could do it again faster (it's super intimidating). He was completely thrilled and kept saying "I was on Laguna Seca with Ben Bostrom!!! I will always say "I rode the corkscrew (twice) with Ewan McGregor and Ben Bostrom".

Clevelandmoto #79 To Scramble or NOT to Scramble?

We weigh in or opinions about scramblers and recap our trip to the motorcycle show a few weeks ago.

9° and Steve is still wearing Jorts.

Dustin, and math has shown if every listener sends us $1 we can buy a Walking Dead Winnebago...

paypal us $1 at clevelandmoto@gmail.com and if we go over $100 we'll start the worlds most ridiculous kickstarter. 

So, we've heard a rumor that there won't be a progressive international motorcycle show next year...while we can't find anything saying those words EXACTLY...we have found this...

http://www.aimexpousa.com/marketplace-events-announces-consumer-motorcycle-show-series-launch-for-2016/

You will eventually be able to buy the bike of your dreams....

http://www.sportrider.com/bikes/used-bike-buyer-s-guide-best-buys

http://www.cycleworld.com/2009/02/06/ten-best-used-bike-buys/

The second article is 6 years old...but it still represents some AMAZING deals.

Click on this picture to see what scrambler meant when the term was created.

KTM raises the bar on the term ADVENTURE BIKE...

Type Hipster Scrambler into google...what comes up? 

Clevelandmoto #78 (The Exhausting Episode).

We exhaust the topic of exhausts. Pipes, cans, mods that may need to be down to tune it properly. But first we touch back on the Craigslist topic to decide when even a buck a cc is to much.

Chris Smith wonders if $1000 is too much for a 1000cc motorcycle? 

EXHAUSTING - 

TO PLAY ALONG....Go Here: 

http://nocoastmotorsports.net/Manuals/Modern%20Engine%20Tuning-A%20G.Bell-4Stroke.pdf

2 Stroke Expansion Chamber: 

Zoomie Exhaust (aka Drag Pipes) 

Why is my Chrome turning blue? 

Why Can't I just drill a big hole in from the back???

That's the INSIDE of your factory exhaust system...do you understand where the pressure is going? It's a labyrinth. 

Podcast Special! Cleveland Motorcycle Show.

We go to most of the major booths and check out what they are offering for 2015. At each booth we all have to answer the same question. "If you had to leave this show with one bike here, which would it be and why".

We start in the Victory Booth where Johnny Chrome and John McElfresh both like the Magnum  and Cross Country,

Dustin loves the Gunner - As seen with our new friend Jacqui Van Ham

Over to the Indian Booth - Merritt likes the Scout, but like me can't stand the forward pegs and it's looking pretty grim for mid-controls. 

Johnny Chrome digs the Chieftan in the Blue/White color and it does look great. 

Chris Smith's kids Tegan (15) and Ty (24) actually do like the scout, so maybe that's a good thing for Indian. 

You can't talk about Polaris without mentioning the Slingshot, and we were wrong...they enter the market at $20,000

Everyone agrees we'd rather have one than a Can Am Spyder

KTM has scored a direct hit on our group with the new Duke 390

In the Suzuki booth Merritt and Johnny Chrome both picked the SVF650  - Argh!!! It is STILL called the Gladius....dammit, I'm certain the one in the booth wasn't blue and white, but I serious don't like what they've done to the venerable SV...

Man, you can't tell me that this bike is cooler than the old one...(Merritt's actual bike btw)

Honorable mention goes to the GSX-S750 

In the Yamaha booth Chris Smith loved the Super Tenere

Everyone else seemed to REALLY dig the FZ-07, young and old alike....

I think Yamaha has a real winner on their hands here. 

\

Unfortunately, I have to complain about the Bolt C-Spec...I didn't like the repli-sportster before and I definitely DON'T like it with drag bars and a plastic cover on the back seat. This bike has AWFUL ergos. 

Airbox and things were jamming into BOTH of my knees and who sit's like this? 

And you can SMAX your bitch up....

Wow...Harley davidson had 2 different bikes on rollers! 

Wow, the Harley booth got us kind of emotional....there were bikes sleeping on their sides...

Johnny Chrome liked the new Road Glide because he used to have the same bike 20 years ago...wow.

I love Chris Smith's choice the Road King Classic - This is what a retro Harley should look like. 

The Kawasaki Booth didn't give us any surprises....

Dustin of course still loves the Versys and the KLR650...but, so does Johnny Chrome and the young Ty...so points to the old tractor. 

Kawasaki Ergo fit...what do you mean if you're 5'4" you have to be a woman? 

Kawasaki uses male images for the mid and extended, but a female form for the "short". 

We go into the Honda Booth and Dustin loves the Honda CB1100 

I have to admit I have a guilty pleasure for the F6B, I like what they've done there...

Johnny Chrome digs the VFR1200...

Chris Smith spotted this really cool Honda Grom / GL1000 Gold wing tribute scooter they were raffling off. 

Ty digs the NC700 - the one at the show had the flappy/paddle electronic automatic transmission...

Not to be outdone, his younger brother Tegan went for the NM4 "Vultus" (best name for a new bike). 

 

Batman, we found your scooter.

And a big shout out to our friends at Metal Rescue, remember to send us a picture of something NASTY, so we can send you a free jug of Metal Rescue so we can get some real-world before and after pictures.

clevelandmoto@gmail.com