CityBike - Ride Fast / Take Chances - The San Francisco Motorcylist Rag

Brian Halton

Honduras or bust

GOING SOUTH
by Brian Halton

Christ, was never so happy to see someone in my life. Drudge thought it was just under 100 degrees farenheit. And with the heat coming off of his huge Ford engine In just the few hours he was in that area he looked like he was going to lose his mind. I mean the mountains had all these small brush fires going on them and the air smelled of fire and was hazy and incredibly hot. Incredibly hot. Just kept drinking water and stopping at juice stands for liquados made of bananas and coconut milk that was cold. Tasted like mother´s milk.

Aprilia 450 sxv

Aprilia 450 sxv
by Brian Halton
Azis Kadri first began riding when he was fifteen years old and his mount at the time was a Honda 90. The San Francisco native reckons that must have been in that memorable year of 1966. Attracted to motorcycles intensely he sought employment in a motorcycle shop after school and during his summers. His first place of employment was in Mill Valley where the Kaiser brothers had a shop not far from Tam High. He then did several years working for Alex Maclean at Motorcycles Unlimited while attending College of Marin. His next mount during that period was the legendary Honda 305 Scrambler and he remembers riding the hills and trails that wound around Tiburon. City Bike has published several photos in the past of actual motocross races at the same location, now China Camp State Park. Races attended often by big name riders of the time.

Living the Simple Life with Honda’s CRF 230

Living the Simple Life with Honda’s CRF 230 by Brian Halton pictures this page Bob Stokstad
The most important thing for me when dirt bike trail riding is to finish. And finish within reasonable time of the other riders I might be riding with, since I tend to ride with those individuals who ride much better (and always faster) than I do. Which is a good thing, right? And I also do not ever wish to be a bother to my companions by informing them that I simply cannot go UP that trail or DOWN that trail because I lack the skill involved. Not acceptable.

ural

Story: By Brian Halton

When I rode down to meet Ski Jablonski and check out his Ural dealership in San Jose I was pleasantly surprised to find how good looking the place was and more importantly how good looking the Ural sidecars were.

I had only been there a short time when a man and woman entered the showroom and I immediately did what I have done countless times when visiting a dealership and what appears to be a serious buyer appears---I walked away. Business is business...
But not that far away as to not be able to overhear what was taking place. The man was Russian or Russian/American and his companion, a blond woman of similar age, also seemed to have a bit of an accent.

CRF230 Review

Living the Simple Life with Honda’s CRF 230 by Brian Halton pictures this page Bob Stokstad
The most important thing for me when dirt bike trail riding is to finish. And finish within reasonable time of the other riders individuals who ride much better (and always faster) than I do. Which is a good thing, right? And I also do not ever wish to I simply cannot go UP that trail or DOWN that trail because I lack the skill involved. Not acceptable.

So although I have a trick Husqvarna 125 motocrosser, turned trail bike that I simply love for its lightness and quickness, I instead. The little red machine can do all things well, while the Husky can do many things extraordinarily well IF you have But when a bit tired at the end of the day and facing a rocky, shitty uphill the Husky can quickly turn into a handful. The back Needs a clutch hand that is constantly fanning. Needs deep skill to remain in that narrow power band. Needs to be kicked when pilot to be standing up on the machine most of the time for it to be at its best. Standing for long lengths of time if necessary.

Not so, the little Honda 230. It chugs, it bumps along with me sitting down for vast amounts of time. And when you stall, you I have come to think of my Husky as my Hollister/Carnegie bike. At those facilities I can whick up the Husky 125 and fly a madman. I can even stand longer on those fast easy trails. But when we head for Georgetown or the Sierra’s Bear Valley to get real in terms of what will be encountered in the course of two tough days. Rocks, altitude, and more rocks. Loose rocks down hills. Always fun.

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