RIDING W BRENDAN

On December 3rd, the Flint Motorcycle Club hosted the 62nd Annual Indoor Motorcycle Race at Dort Financial Center in Flint. Reasons To Ride: Michigan came out and set up along with Michigan Biker Law to help promote the event which raises funds for Big Brothers / Big Sisters of Genesee County.

If you’ve never been to the event – or seen indoor motorcycle ice racing – you’re missing out!

As we arrived, the Zamboni was just taking to the ice as if the Flint Firebirds were scheduled to play that evening. Instead, though, the lower level of the arena was packed with racers and their crews preparing to take their bikes out. In fact, every class was filled out with racers wanting to compete in this once a year event. Racers of all ages, competed at virtually all levels. There were seasoned veterans – including top D14 Ice Racers from across the state – as well as younger kids hitting the ice for the first time indoors. All were excited and the energy flowed throughout the arena. Despite the undeniable sense of competition amongst the racers, this is clearly a tight knit group as most everyone knew each other and helped prepare the bikes. It was great touring the pit area to see the bikes up close – noting the different strategies taken.

“Horsepower is simultaneously your best friend and worst enemy in both studded and non-studded, although you aren’t going to have much luck with a stock motor outside of the stock classes. It’s like any form of racing—a balancing act. You can only put so much power to the tires before they lose

traction. Finding that sweet spot is the key.” – “ICE RACING

BASICS”, Stephen Tripp (RTR Contributor / www.StephenTripp.com) from

DirtWheelsMag.com Once the racers were introduced and the first bikes started taking laps around the ice, the night just flew by with one race after another. It wasn’t just the racing that made the event so great – it was the

turnout as well. It wasn’t just racers and their families that filled the arena. MC’s and riding organizations from across central Michigan were well represented. Other ice racing organizations, such as Port Huron Motorcycle Club and Lucky Thumb were both making the rounds – talking about their upcoming races. And there were plenty of both MX fans and just plain old street riders there as well, enjoying the opportunity to hear the roar of motorcycles inside the arena as the temperatures were dropping outside. We’d like to thank the Flint Motorcycle Club for their hospitality and all the effort they put into the event. Nord-Ride Motorsports (www. NordRide.com) for both helping to sponsor the event and hanging with the RTR Crew. The One of Many Veterans Motorcycle Club brought Santa out for the kids and hosted a photo booth on the upper level, which was much appreciate by the kids – both big and small. For more photos of the event, you can visit our Facebook page (www. facebook.com/RTRMichigan) or that of the Flint Motorcycle Club.

2022 RACE RESULTS

50cc PW TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 726 YAM Levi Teeter 2 2 YAM Cain Horton, Burton 3 5 YAM Oakley Inches, Fairgrove

50cc MULTI SPEED TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 2 HON Odin Music, Piconning 2 93 HON Grady Piche 3 72 HON Jack Lynch, Piconning

50cc Chain TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 1 Avery Bailey, Lapeer 2 597 Abigail Furno 3 814 Cob McKenzie Jacques, Flint

65cc TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 54 YAM Deegan Lickfeldt, Midland 2 968 Leigha Templeton, Flint 3 23 HON Hunter Christan

85cc TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 22 KTM Evan D. Myers, Piconning 2 110 Charles J. Jaques, Flint 3 820 HON Seth Bradley, Grand Blanc

250cc TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 65 Levi Montgomery, Webberville 2 527 KTM Eric Haggart, Coleman 3 727 Cole Bradley, Grand Blanc

Rubber Tire Class TOP FINISHERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 16 Kyle D. Oboyle 2 74 Bob Knapp 3 60 KTM Skylar Sentell

Pro Class A Main FINISHING RACERS

FINISH NUMBER MAKE RACER 1 15 HON Kirk Cheney 2 54 HON Nicholas Myers, Midland 3 79 KTM Jayson Bloss, Millington 4 1 HON Josh C Shoup, Shelbyville 5 69 KTM Aaron L. Fortenberry, Montrose 6 43 HON Joey A. Howard, Muskegon 7 56 HON Jordan Jean, Midland 8 99 HON Logan McGrane

Sport Touring Corner

By Norm Kern, MSTA Editor / ReasonsToRide.com Contributor

“Should I buy heated grips or heated

Let's kick off the new year at Reasons to Ride! I'm Norm Kern, long time Dayton Ohio Motorcycle Club member and friend of Derek Smith, who invited me to submit some articles in Thunder Roads Ohio about five years ago and this column was the result. This column is about sport touring- the riders, the bikes, places to go and a lot more.

I've ridden a variety of styles and bike over the past 60 years, including British bikes of the '60s, pure touring bikes such as the classic Moto Guzzis of the '70s, plus off-road enduros and dual sport rides on a variety of dirt bikes. Most of my miles have been on the road. I've always enjoyed day rides and long trips, but found the twisty back roads of the Appalachian mountains to be my favorite. I grew to like a brisk pace and lost interest in large pure touring bikes in the 1980s. In 1986, I had a opportunity to trade a friend for a Kawasaki Concours. With over 100 horsepower, decent adjustable suspension, cornering clearance, good brakes, shaft drive, large tank and fairing, it turned me into a sport touring rider for good.

What is Sport Touring?

First, it's a riding style. There are many individual opinions on exactly what defines it, but here are mine: 1. "Sport" in this context is best seen in the definition of sport as "A usually challenging activity undertaken for amusement." The sport touring rider views motorcycling as a skill-based sport.

That doesn't necessarily mean they are focused on racing or competition, but rather look forward to a challenge and enjoy

practicing and developing their riding skill. It's not just riding a beautiful road- it's riding it in complete control, often at a brisk pace. 2. "Touring" distinguishes this riding style from regular sport bike riding. A pure sport bike is not comfortable for most people to ride all day or a long distance. Sport touring typically includes day rides of hundreds of miles and multi-day rides and trips.

What makes a sport touring bike?

Any bike you have or like to ride will work for you, but some bike characteristics make sport touring more fun. Here are my top priorities: 1. Comfort- If I'm going to ride 100-600+ miles in a day, I want a comfortable seat and riding position. 2. Light weight- Riding twisty and technical roads is a lot more fun if you can flick the bike from side to side and change direction quickly. 3. Power- Enough power to go as quickly as I wish, including hours at 70-80mph on an interstate to get somewhere that's fun to ride. 4. Capable tires and suspension- Tires that work in the wet, corner well, yet wear long enough that I don't have to change them on a trip. 5. Effective brakes- Not only need to stop the bike but enable fine control in corners. 6. Cornering clearance- A bike that drags stuff every time you lean it is a big liability and possible safety hazard 7. Fuel capacity- I like a minimum range of 200 miles. My idea of sport touring does not include constantly searching for fuel in the remote areas I like to ride. 8. Luggage- When doing multi day travel, I want a top case and saddlebags. A tank bag is also very handy. 9. Electrical capacity- Ability to run additional lighting and heated gear in cold weather is a big plus.