Black Girls Ride March/April 2015

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BLACK GIRLS Ride

CARAMEL CURVES MOTORCYCLE CLUB

FOUNDED: 2007 NEW ORLEANS, LA

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he original idea for CARAMEL CURVES MC started before Hurricane Katrina hit in 2004. After a few years of rebuilding, these ladies got back to business. In 2007, the founders returned to their vision and began planning to burn up the streets. We took a trip to sit at the table with the First Female MC of the Big Easy, and got the story behind their sisterhood, stuntin in heels, their signature pink smoke signals and their instagram hashtag, #BBOB...

Want your club featured? Email us! blackgirlsridemag@gmail.com

“2 Wheels, 2 Heels...

GO TEAM GO!”

@CARAMELCURVESMC 8 BLACKGIRLSRIDE.COM

Q. Give us a brief history of your club...

A. We had the idea for a club before Katrina hit in 2004, but we didn’t officially start, we were just in the planning stages.

After Katrina in 2007, we officially made it Caramel Curves MC. Our founders are CoCo, Carolyn and Baby Girl. We currently have 3 presidents: CoCo, Baby Girl and Tru. We are the first female MC of New Orleans, LA. Q. What’s the club’s mission or motto?

A. We’ve got a few: “2 Wheels, 2 Heels...

Go Team Go” and “#BBOB: Bad Bitches on Bikes”. We’re known for riding, stunting in heels and burning up the streets with our pink burnouts. That’s the Caramel Curves smoke signal. Shout out to Shinko Tires!

The best thing they ever did was create a colored tire for burnouts!

Q. What was your biggest challenge as a Female MC? A. When we first started, we didn’t have any rules or any dues. We felt that we were all grown women, and we thought we didn’t need to have any official positions. We realized that we had to add structure to progress. We had to learn the hard way.

We lost a lot of girls. Since then, we’ve grown from 6 to 22 sisters.

Q. What type of bikes do you ride?

A. We’re a Zuk family, most of us ride Suzuki or Can Ams. Don’t let the trikes fool you!

Our ladies will burnout with a trike too!

Q. What does your club look for in a member?

To be a Caramel Curve, you need to have a vagina and a motor bike.

People get offended when we say that, but when we say that we mean, we take women from all walks of life. Our members range from strippers to doctors. Some of us are stunters, street racers, and road racers.

At the end of the day, no sister is above another. We look for LOYALTY above all.

We look for dependability, elegance and you must be able to gel within our sisterhood.

Don’t bring drama. We also look for women who want to get out and ride! We have a minimum 90 day prospect period to get to know women and see if they’re a good fit.

Q. What annual events do you promote?

Our Caramel Curves Anniversary Weekend is always turned up! Friday - Super Sunday, it’s a non-stop party! Men love the Caramel Curves so they always come out to support us. Shout out to our brother club Street Made MC! We always have something special planned... everyone wants to see what our outfits are going to look like.

Our weekend is our time to shine! We have support our local bike blessing every year,and for the last 4 years, we’ve done an annual back to school event, and created a scholarship that sends kids to college.

Q. What do you want to leave our readers with?

Our goal is to be the baddest to ever do it on 2 Wheels in Heels. If you see the Pink Smoke, you know who it is! #BBOB!

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COCO

FOUNDER & PRESIDENT CARAMEL CURVES MC NEW ORLEANS, LA

Photos By: Akasha

Rabut

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CANDI

VICE PRESIDENT CARAMEL CURVES MC NEW ORLEANS, LA

TRU

PRESIDENT CARAMEL CURVES MC NEW ORLEANS, LA

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20+ Years on a Sports Bike & Now a 2015 HD Road Glide Words by Ken Stanberry. Photos courtesy of Harley-Davidson

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’ve been riding motorcycles for more than 20 years, and until this year I have always owned a Japanese manufactured sports bike. As recently as last year I owned and rode a Suzuki Hayabusa, one of the fastest production sports bikes ever made.

I used to love riding my bike, pushing it to the limit. If you have ever had the opportunity to ride an unrestricted, slightly modified Busa on a back road, then you know that when you open the throttle in 6th gear, the bike just keeps going faster and faster never showing any signs of reaching its limit! Notice I said I used to love riding my bike, but in the last couple of years the enjoyment started to fade. I didn’t have any bad experience that changed my mind about riding; I just slowly started to lose interest in riding my bike… so I sold it. Several months without a bike, I started looking at the new Harley Davidson 2015 Road Glides; I didn’t really miss riding as much as I missed the convenience of owning a bike and being able to go for a ride. So as more of an investment I bought the 2015 HD Road Glide (RG). My thinking was that since HD’s didn’t lose their value like other bikes, and I always thought about buying a Harley, and I wasn’t missing the speed; now was the perfect time to make that purchase. Because HD did not produce a 2014 RG, and they took a year off to redesign the distinctive, frame mounted, shark-nosed cruiser, I figured that would also contribute to its value. The newly designed 2015 Road Glide Special returned with HD’s Project Rushmore upgrades which include: High Output Twin Cam 103 (1690cc) air-cooled v-twin engine, dual Daymaker LED headlights, completely redesigned triple splitstream fairing vents, swept back handlebars, cruise control, adjustable air-ride suspension, linked Brembo brakes with ABS, full-color infotainment system (USB Port with IPod/IPhone control, Voice Recognition, Bluetooth, 6.5 inch Touch Screen Display, GPS, & Joystick handlebar controls).

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20+ Years on a Sports Bike & Now a 2015 HD Road Glide (cont.)

After a week of owning my bike, my investment turned into enjoyment with no regrets. I now have a renewed love for riding, the 103 engines does more than enough to satisfy my need for speed, and the vented fairing makes controlling the beast through the canyons an easy task. Riding my Harley is a calming, relaxing experience, whereas riding my Busa was more like a hurried, stressed venture.

After some modifications, which I’ll discuss in a future article, I have a much more comfortable riding experience than I was having on my Busa – I actually look forward to getting on my bike and going for long enjoyable rides. Off the line acceleration is sharp, passing power is adequate, and there’s minimal vibration (compared to much older models, so I’m told). Engine heat is much higher compared to my crotch rockets (Air-Cooled vs Water-Cooled), but nothing that’s unbearable.

At 6’3” the handlebar position and reach leaves a bit to be desired.

The Infotainment System serves its purpose, with the head unit providing lots of great built-in features, though it is hard to see in the direct sun light, overall the system provides only mediocre clarity and volume (more on this in the future as well). A bike with built-in cruise control, it made for a great long distance ride. HD claims 42 MPG, but with my existing mods and settings I’m getting about 33 MPG, going to have to work on that and maybe remember it’s not a sports bike. MSRP on the RG Special is $23,199 to $23,699, not cheap for a bike, but apparently acceptable for a HD Road Glide.

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he stunt takeover movement has gained momentum over the last few years, nationwide.

While the bikers are usually looked at as a menace to society, Dirt2Streets looks to do more than just stop traffic with wheelies and burnouts. From at-risk youth to homelessness, The Dirt2Streets Movement uses their talent to shine a light on issues that plague our community. What started as a passion by a few riders has blossomed into a family affair. We talked with the ladies of Dirt2Streets to get their take on the future of their brand and stunting with the boys. Here’s what they had to say...

Dirt2Streets began as an organic street takeover movement by Rell and Josh, two young and energetic stunters that took the streets by storm. They generated such a following both on ground and online, that Rell’s mom, Jacque’ Bonner, took notice. She explains, “Derrell and Josh started it in the beginning, bringing people from all over. I took an interest when I saw their crowd growing. I saw the positivity in the comments from their followers and realized they had their attention. I wanted their vision to expand beyond just riding motorcycles. That’s when we decided to make Dirt2Streets official.” Jacque’ became the manager and chief brand officer of the team, which grew to include official team riders Rellevant, Keyvon and their 3 mascots.

When Jacque’ took the wheel, she began to steer the movement in a positive direction, focused on entertainment and service. She states, “Dirt2Streets is a Non-Profit Organization promoting non-violence in the community. Our focus is to give back mainly to the homeless and whoever’s in need. Once they come in and are drawn by the entertainment, we send out an additional message. We’re not just about riding bikes and stunting... We’re about so much more.”

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jer Photos By: Koi So ography for Snap N U Phot

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Morgan Westbrooks, owner of DUBE Energy Drinks, learned about the movement, watching videos of Rell and Josh online.

She was so impressed that she tracked them down. She met up with the guys and began to come along for the ride. Morgan sees Dirt2Streets as the perfect team to represent her brand. She explains, “I can see it going... I want it to become a recognized stunt team, and I can sign the riders to my DUBE Energy Drink team, like other companies do. Having a stunt team behind DUBE just looks real good. It’s a brand new thing, because all the big companies are sponsoring riders on the dirt. I want to sponsor riders on the street. We’re going to

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be the first Energy Stunt Street Team!”

Sherell and Morgan have since become good friends and both have taken an interest in riding and stunting with the team. Sherell, 22, rides both a Suzuki GSXR 600 and a Kawasaki 450 dirt bike. Morgan, 24, rides a Kawasaki KX250. As the only two women in the crew, they garner a lot of attention when they hit the streets. Sherell explains, “We get a lot of attention... I’m just learning how to stunt. Morgan has it down more than I do. All you have to do is get on the bike and be a girl and they’re like “Oh My God!” But, once you learn how to stunt, that’s a whole different ball game.” (cont. on pg. 21)

RELL

FOUNDER DIRT2STREETS @9BOYYY

MORGAN

OWNER DUBE ENERGY DRINKS @MOMMYISTATTEDD

SHERELL

FOUNDER DIRT2STREETS @RELLEVANT

josh

FOUNDER DIRT2STREETS @TROUBUL

Indeed, Morgan has blossomed into a stunter in her own right, and can often be found on the streets of Compton, CA on one wheel. “Like Sherell said, at first I was just on a bike, both me and her. We were just riding trying to keep up with the guys. And then we said, we want to do what they do! So, one day we both got out there for a whole day, just trying to pop the bike up. After the day was over, we improved. I just stuck with it.

But at the same time, she was on a bike that wasn’t hers, and you really have to know your bike whenever you try to stunt. So, everyday I kept doing what her brother Rell, and Josh taught me. I just took what they had and now I’m doing wheelies on the block. And when I’m out, the guys go crazy for it. Every car you pass, they are recording... Every light, they ask, “Can I take a picture with you?”

They’ll pull over and talk to you for a min.”

The future is clear for Dirt2Streets and Jacque’ wants the team to continue to focus on giving back, “I want to see Dirt2Streets in an actual office and more connected with at-risk children, teens and homeless. I want to see us as philanthropists, in addition to riding bikes. If we can all come together, we can do a lot for this community, and across the united states. And I just want us to be accepted and respected by the police department and older families that just think that we’re thugs. The see us on the news and they see the bikes burning rubber and they think that we’re being destructive.

There’s so much more to what these riders do besides what they see on the news.”

JACQUE’ BONNER MANAGER DIRT2STREETS @DIRT2STREETS

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sj harris

FOUNDER THREADER RACING @SJ24_SIDEWAYZ

Nexx Helmet Review: XR1R & XR2

from a Road Racer, Rider, and Woman’s Perspective Words and Photos by SJ Harris

Ladies!!! Here’s a full face helmet review for you that will leave you curious… Have you ever heard of NEXX Helmets? Be honest…

Think… maybe last month? Did you NOT see it on the cover of the hottest women’s motorcycle magazine out there? Go take a look if you missed it; that was a NEXX Helmet. (XR1R Blade - Orange) HELMETS THAT ARE LIGHTWEIGHT ARE THE RIGHT WEIGHT. Your neck and back muscles control and support your head movements, the more weight placed on your neck obviously increases fatigue to these muscles after a full day of riding. The Nexx XR1R Blade weighs in at 1300g, that’s 2.86 lbs, one of the lightest full-face helmets on the market. Running a close second is its predecessor the Nexx XR1R Carbon Speed weighing just 1200g. Coming from riding in helmets weighing 5 lbs or more to racing in the Nexx XR1R’s at 3 lbs. was a definite weight improvement. The newer XR2 helmet is no exception to the lightweight category, at weighing a little over 1300 grams, the reduction in weight makes a noticeable difference in your ride.

BREATHE EASY BEAUTIFUL. Getting to test 2 out of 3 Nexx full face helmets in weather above 90 degree (on the roads and on the race track), I can honestly say the ventilation is above average. Now ladies how many of us have been there? Sitting at a red light, sweltering in the heat; looking up in the sky so if a cool breeze blows by you can catch some of it in your helmet from your neck area? I know you’re smiling because we’ve all been there if you’re an avid Full Facer like me. Rest assured that if you have a Nexx on your neck you’ll surely feel the breeze. The XR1R &

Tri-composite vents deliver a tangible flow of cool air making it easy to wear on those longer out of town rides. The newer XR2 helmets were built with a chin vent that snaps open and closed, allowing the air to flow into the helmet along the top of the chin bar and helping to defog the back of the face shield (I call the face shield “The WINDOW”)

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IT IS ALL VISUAL The visor eye port is HUGE both horizontally and vertically.

“The Window” gives you a fantastic view of the road, and everything not in front of you yet. Having been known for their range in visibility, Nexx Helmet’s XR2 Torpedo doesn’t fall short of this at all.

In previous helmets (non-Nexx) I noticed that I was able to see the sides of the helmet shells in my peripheral vision. Wearing an XR2 makes this virtually impossible. This kind of vision improvement is a big deal, making the helmet much nicer to wear when riding fast, this also contributes less to fatigue because you don’t have to crank your neck so much to see around the track corners when hanging off the bike.

Nexx has made ways of keeping you seen when out on a night run. They’ve managed to build in reflective pieces of material into the liner that adds to its design as well as the helmets creative construction. Reflective safety gear is usually bright and loud, but this was executed so well that most people will never even notice that it exists. At least not until someone shines a light on it.

HEAR ME ON THIS…The sound levels are a bit quieter than most, however if you wear ear plugs like most of us racers have to wear, everything is a bit quieter than normal

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so don’t hold me to this particular critique.

Nexx adds a double layer of padding and liner material around the ears to help kill noise. If you’ve got room, you can install a third ear pad (provided) to further quiet things down.

Overall, wind noise is on the quieter side of average.

IT JUST FITS. It’s almost as if you’ve found the perfect pillow. The plush liner, contrast stitching and leather trim is nice, but even nicer is the way it feels when it’s on your head. Other helmet companies design different helmets to fit different head shapes, Nexx uses an “Ergo Padding System” that is removable and adjustable enough to allow for fitting the neutrally-designed helmet to your head. If you have an oval shaped head, the fit should be perfect right out of the box.

If not, you have the option to pull the liner out and start adding the provided pads to tailor fit you. I Nexx’s cheek pads even have emergency release tabs while the chin strap padding is wide, cushioned extra-long and as comfortable as they come.

Most of my overheating experiences take place in 10 lbs of cowhide sitting on the race track starting grid. As a race helmet, the XR2 has a lot to be desired. The new design allows it to look like it will make you slice through the air but a true race helmet locks shut. The face shield removal system is a plastic lever holding the face shield in place. Coming in after a race to change a rear tire for a split second and the piece fell off. It broke and I didn’t have a spare part.

Glad they supplied me with a spare helmet.

Plastic pieces are not ideal when depending on your visor to stay put at 90 mph, knee down in a turn.

EASY DOES IT. With all the positive features Nexx offers, who hasn’t noticed the mellow, easy going design of the helmet. The designers wanted to stand out obviously, I grew to appreciate what resembles hand drawn designs with touches of shine laced throughout the clear coat. Sometimes less is more. The center piece of my favorite Nexx helmet was of course the carbon fiber, and then I CRASHED… Which leads me to one of my final points, price and safety! The carbon fiber made it look like nothing happened on the outside.

When my team and I researched deeper, we found that the shell was completely totaled on the inside; micro-cracks and splatters where everywhere. That happens to EVERY HELMET that ANYONE crashes in ANYWHERE. This why some may have

heard: as soon as you drop a helmet a good distance the integrity is compromised.

My name is SJ and I race motorcycles SIDEWAYZ, knee down. All of my helmets got me there. You can wear what I wear but I’d prefer you to be able to do what I do, and that’s BE SAFE. I’d prefer to wear my name on my back and head but since I haven’t reached that goal yet, I will review the products that we BEAUTIFUL BIKERS wear to enjoy our motorcycle passion.

Safety is not found in going broke, nor is it located in a company name. Safety is found in wearing your gear and learning your machine in and out. Plus you can look up Nexx Helmet’s prices for yourself online at NEXX-USA.com. Stay tuned Nexx Helmets is revamping their brand for 2015. Believe it or not they are well worth a try.

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E L A M FE

R E V O E K A T

E D I R

CH, FL COCO BEA7, 2015 february

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he All Female Takeover Ride to Coco Beach, Florida took place on Saturday February 7, 2015. This ride was designed to bring unity among all female riders, no matter the race, age, club, or level of experience. This movement helped women to bond with like-minded women who share the passion to RIDE. We allowed women to get out of their comfort zone and eliminate the phase “I don’t ride with everybody”. Women came from Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Orlando, Tampa, even South Carolina to join the long distance run. The ride was about 350 miles round trip from Jacksonville to Coco Beach.

We had a tight knit group of 26 women that supported the move. This ride gave educational tips, fellowship, and most importantly, sisterhood, all while putting in miles. The biker community showed so much support. We achieved our goal and purpose; to provide an opportunity females to ride and fellowship without limitation.

JENNIFER BREWINGTON FEMALE TAKEOVER RIDE CO-ORDINATOR

BGR TEXAS AMBASSADORS TKAT & U’NIQUE

SHARE YOUR

BEST SHOT

WITH US!

@BLACKGIRLSRIDE #BEAUTIFULBIKERS #BLACKGIRLSRIDE

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