The Man behind Uncaged

There is the man I used to be and the man I am now.  With that said, there are good things and bad things about that.  Either way, when I first started this blog I posted a couple personal entries and various business entries but it's been some time since I've written anything personal and so I've decided to change that.

I started up Uncaged Motorsports with the help of a friend back in September 2008 and went from a life of living as someone doing what was needed to survive to a man with a passion focused on the passion regardless of the cost.  I lost a lot since then and may continue to lose more in the pursuit of doing what I want and enjoy doing.  For the most part, people around me have no idea of my challenges due to the fact that I smile and am happy and today I thought about that a bit.

It came across my mind that I don't spend much time with friends and how much I don't like that.  Curious why my brain focused on that fact at the million miles a second it normally runs and it spotted that my stresses and maintenance of a positive attitude causes my "free" time to be consumed trying to escape my world and very little gets done.  I really really want Uncaged Motorsports to succeed and that focus has essentially put me in divorce (obviously, under the circumstances, she didn't "Love" me because Love does not fail) breaking up my family (3 amazing children), lost me my awesome truck (2005 Ford F150 Lariat Crew Cab), my house and much of my sanity.

After less than a year of opening the wife left due to stress because finances were extremely tight due to spending all money on the shop to get it going and grow it.  I lost everything else not because she took it but because my source of income was my own business and I was now spending so much of my time trying to save my marriage including flying to Alaska (where she ran off to and hooked up with an old friend) to get her to come back.  Roughly a year after that all started, I had to give up on the business just to keep my head above water (plus I didn't have a place to run the business anymore since I lost the house to the bank).

I went to work as a Waiter at Wingers restaurant and lived off the tips primarily, because child support took 50% of my paycheck.  Then a man, whom I feel I now owe way more than I could ever pay back, contacted me about working on his Benelli motorcycle because of several people recommending me and made me an offer of working to get the business going out of his shop free of rent.  This was an opportunity I could not pass up because getting the shop going is definitely something I wanted and even though I felt I wasn't financially ready, a free shop was offered and so it started.  The downfall is that I really wasn't ready financially and still had too many debts that I accrued through the past and now I'm back to running the shop which some months cost me to do even with free rent.  Now I'm working nights at Roosters Steak and Chop house (Wingers fired me due to complications in scheduling and Roosters is only open at nights) and some of that money earned goes towards growing Uncaged, the kids spending time with me, paying debts and current bills.

Now, the time has come that I have to find a shop of my own and I'm having a hard time finding the financial means to make that happen but I also do not want to give up on Uncaged.  I truly feel I can make this work and that it would already be doing fairly well if I had the funds to have a sign made, do a little local advertising and so forth.  So I am at a crossroads of decisions and I feel like I'm falling apart due to the type of stress it is causing me.  I am currently homeless and have been since a great guy was helping me out by allowing me to live with him until he found a special someone and is now married to that person.  So I've been sleeping in my car, the shop, and with my cousin.  And I feel like I could possibly, with lots of hard work and little to no play, afford to pay rent but I cannot come up with deposit and such in the time frame that I have.

Homeless and a bit battered up I still manage to keep my self positive but at the cost of not having a best friend or many friends at all that I can manage the time to hang out with and stay connected with.  So often I have to deal with my brain telling me how much of a failure I am and that I can't accomplish anything and that I don't deserve anyone special in my life.  I expend lots of time and energy in staving off those thoughts that it's taking away from more important things that I could accomplish.

In conclusion, I need to make a decision, possibly a very difficult one for me and one that could create a stronger sense of failure, in order to save myself financially and mentally.

Well, time to get back to it.  Thanks for listening to me vent some very substantial information out of my own necessity.

Not "Fastest" but I want one

Yamaha showed a concept bike that I think is just a fantastic idea.  188 mpg and it just looks cool.  For getting around town I definitely want one of these.

Get more information and more pictures HERE

FASTEST

Fastest the Movie is out and ready for order.  I will be getting the movie in before the New Year and setting up a "Movie Night" for everyone interested to come and watch to ease the pain of not being able to ride.  The details are still unknown but I will update when I figure it all out.  :)

Until then, Head on over to their site to see a preview.  I'm excited to see it myself.

MotoGP 2011 ~ Eventful and Emotional

I was really hoping for more of a fight for the championship with 14 previous world champions all racing in this years MotoGP.  Instead, Casey Stoner stole the show and did an amazing job at securing the Championship for 2011.  However, that does not mean it wasn't an intense year in MotoGP.  There were lots of great battles to watch and it was obvious that these highly skilled motorcycle racers were pushing these bikes to the very edge.  Jorge Lorenzo showed us all why he was the Champion that Stoner had to take the title from, being one of the very few that could run with Stoner aboard his very potent Honda package.  Honda definitely showed their might throughout the season with every rider having amazing lap times aboard their Honda.

Watching these "superheroes" push their respective equipment to the limits is what makes it so enjoyable to watch, but it has inherent risks that presented itself in a horrible way this year.  Last season during the 11th round of the Moto2 race, motorcycle racing lost a very young and rising star in Shoya Tomizawa and this was the first on-track fatality at GP level since Kato in 2003.  And this year we lost Marco Simoncelli who was sure to make great things happen.  He was such a character, from his hair style to how he dealt with people.  On track he was unforgiving and extremely determined and pushed 120% at all times.  Sure to be a legend on the race field he is a legend in our hearts.  SuperSic's death came during the 2nd to last race of the season with only Valencia left to race and his Team was unsure of participation in any category.  However, they decided that the best way to honor Simoncelli would be to race and what an honor it ended up being.  Michele Pirro won the Moto2 race, very first win for him in the Moto2 class and dedicated it to Simoncelli saying, “After setting pole yesterday I just had to do well today. The conditions were really difficult for the race but I tried to stay focused and then Marco did the rest from on high. He was with me throughout the race and on every lap I was asking him not to leave me alone. It was a long 27 laps and being out there riding alone isn't easy. This victory is dedicated to his family, who are suffering more than anybody right now, to his girlfriend and also to the guys in the team. It hasn't been an easy year for us but a victory at the end of it is a nice tonic. We had a tough time after Malaysia but we managed to convince Fausto to come to Valencia and I am sure it was the right choice because it is what Marco would have wanted. Racing was his life and this was the best way to honour him and remember him.” Whether your a fan like me or not, that is pure awesomeness.

Also, Loris Caparossi wrapped up his racing career this year.  After a 22-year career with 328 races and 99 podiums under his belt has decided to hang up the leathers and retire from racing.  Today, I heard that he will still be working with MotoGP but instead of as a racer, he will use his extensive experience as a racer to assist in matters of safety having been appointed in an advisory role for safety in the MotoGP World Championship.  Also, in recognition of his contribution to the sport throughout his career, it has been requested to retire his number 65 from use in the MotoGP World Championship.

Now, with new regulations and MotoGP going back to 1000cc motorcycles we wait with heavy anticipation for 2012 racing season to start.  I'm very excited and I know that you are too, just admit it.

James

Motorcycle News/Stories

There was a great article written up in one of the Motorcycle Mags (I have it around here somewhere) about an amazing character in the motorcycle racing world.  He's not popular outside of the motorcycle world but I can say his name and find out if a person enjoys motorcycle racing and if a person doesn't know him than it's a safe bet that they aren't really into motorcycles as much as they should be (in my opinion haha).

Who the heck am I blabbing on about?  Guy Martin!!  He's got a great personality and a great track record but he has not yet been able to win a race in his chosen race format.  Hopefully, as your reading this you read his name and already knew what race he participates in and possibly a bit more about him than that.  But if not I'll tell you.  Guy Martin races in the worlds oldest and most prestigious, dangerous, amazing, crazy road racing event in the world; Isle of Mann TT.  It's the same place they held the very first Electric Motorcycle race event TTXGP.

There is a movie coming out this month that I will definitely be getting a hold of about the Isle of Mann and stars Guy Martin.  A preview:

And also starting this month, Guy Martin will have another TV show (he's had one other TV Show before) on BBC (hopefully on BBC).

The other story that I've already talked about but there is continuously additional stories is that of Marco Simoncelli.  What an impact his unfortunate incident has had on the world.  There is a man in Italy that has put "graffiti" on a wall in remembrance of SuperSic and has left a blank area for others to "sign".  What a great artist he is too, the wall looks great.

Also, MotoGP has a large wall at the Valencia circuit (Final race of the season) with Marco's number (58) on it and a space for fans to write their own message during their visit.  Another aspect I personally find very cool is that Sic's dad Paolo requested not a minute of silence but rather a minute of noise making.  And per his request, MotoGP will have a one minute of everyone revving their bikes and making noise.  AWESOME!!

It's unfortunate that there are going to be a few racers not participating in this race due to injuries but it's nice to see another American taking the place of Colin Edwards in this weekend race.  Josh Hayes has had a great year and I'm sure he's ecstatic about being Colin's fill in for this very emotional final MotoGP race of the season in Valencia.

Stefan Bradl also has an amazing final race to be excited about.  As long as he finishes 13th or better he will be the Moto2 champion  his rookie year in that class.  Great job Stefan.

And I guess I will just stick to one more "Story".  The images released for the new MV Augusta F3 675 looks amazing and some of the information on the engine and tech advances are very interesting to me.  I really like it and wish for a chance to try it out.  Here is a shot of it and a link to more information:

Thanks a lot for listening to my rambling.

James

Great Weekend Ride

A group of us Southern Oregon Sport Riders all got together for a "Before Winter Ride" and the weather couldn't have been better not to mention the group of people. We only had one pull over by the "fun spoilers" and received 0 "fun ride bills".

Here are a few shots of the Saturday group of riders from multiple cities in Southern Oregon. These are from our meet up at a beautiful park in Grants Pass called Riverside Park:

 These are from our eat stop in Crescent City, CA on the coast which is where we split up and most returned home while us Klamath guys continued on to Fortuna, CA:

The food at Chart Room in Crescent City is awesome.  Clam Chowder bread bowl was extremely good and thanks to SingleTrackin for letting me try his Fish & Chips which were also super yummy.  

Next stop for us overnighters was in Fortuna where we stayed the night and we ate at a small Italian place in Eureka, CA called Mazzoti's and we ate a lot of their delicious that the serve before the meal.  We were able to park directly outside the window from where we sat.

Then we enjoyed a few beers at Eel River Brewery in Fortuna which was real close to our Hotel.  

In the morning we ate at Peppers Restaraunt and headed out on Highway 36 to Wildwood Rd. and 3 through Weaverville into Yreka.  I5 to Ashland and back home.  

All together we did just under 700 miles and it was super fun.

Tourmaster Synergy Gear Review

I'm not in a good financial position in life to try lots of different gear and accessories and give reviews on them but since it's something I eventually want to get to the point of doing I will start with some of the products that I have already tried.  I'm not a writer, or employed by anyone other than myself.  I am simple and fair and will review every product with the most understanding and real review I can.

The Synergy gloves that I have are a little too tight.  My hand measures 200mm/7-7/8" from the tip of my middle finger to the point right at the first line of the wrist.  The gloves I have are size Large/10.  If your hand was about 10 mm shorter than it would probably be properly snug.
The Velcro strapping is well placed and functional allowing you to get it to feel secure and the extra "sleeve" aspect is very nice for closing in the heat.
The heating is amazing and feels very uniform and in my opinion very much out does the Gerbing gloves that I also have but at least they fit (A little too big but doable).

The Synergy Jacket fits well at Large/44 but it would be really nice if it was just a little bit longer from neck to waist.  I'm 6'2 and not overweight at 205 and if I went up to the 46 I probably would have better length but I feel that it would then not fit around me as well.
Again the heating works very well.  Uniform and not to drastic.  At first it feels hot as it is getting up to temp but then just seems to smooth out and doesn't even feel like it's on but I'm not cold.  Tourmaster did a great job on this product line.

Same goes for the pants.  Great products at a fair price.  Very much recommend for anyone brave enough to endure the cold weather like I am.  And yes, I have ridden on the snow and in very cold temperatures on my R1.  Without the heated gear turned on it does a great job just as cold weather gear as well.  I've ridden in 40 degrees without it on and was fairly comfortable.  Great products!!!

I still need to try the socks and will be very excited to do so.  Have they made a Balaclava with heated neck area yet?  :)

Please post up any comments in regards to your impressions or reviews of the same product.

James

Instructional Video from Simon Crafar

I will definitely be getting this video.  Instructional video from a great rider on how to ride better, what's not to love about that.  Motorcycle racing is something that I find amazing and thrilling.  To me, it's much better than any car racing, even with F1 being extremely cool.  The lean angle is the one thing that just sets it apart as far as I'm concerned.

This promotional video is a bit lacking but I will share it anyways since it at least gives an idea of what is going to be on the DVD.

Your Ideas

Have you ever come up with a cool idea for an accessory for your motorcycle but just didn't know how, or have the time, to get it started.  It's a very challenging process and it takes a lot of time that's for sure.  Coming up with the idea is crucial for getting it started but it's only a very small part of the whole process.  You then have to engineer all aspects of it so that it functions and to truly be successful it'll have to function very well.  Manufacturing it comes next and then marketing and selling it.

I am working on two different products currently and have found that I thoroughly enjoy doing this.  If you have come up with an idea and think you'd like to get some assistance in making it happen, let me know and if I agree that it could be a great product and that we could make some money producing it, I would be more than happy to do the other aspects of making it come to fruition.

James

A Damaged Finger?

Big Congratulations to Casey Stoner in clinching the 2011 MotoGP Championship.  What an amazing racer he is and he definitely deserves the title.  Phenomenal race to watch as far as being dramatic too.  Got myself pumped up a bit.

Very disappointed in Jorge Lorenzo however.  It's difficult to believe that after hurting one of his fingers on his left hand that he couldn't still race.  I don't know all circumstances but just feel that the effort was lacking.  Part of me questions if he didn't simply puss out due to the fact that Casey Stoner has been able to consistently dominate him and attempts at taking back the Championship felt futile.  I surely hope not.  The idea of it just infuriates me.  Being a Yamaha fan as I am, I'm also frustrated with the misfortune of both Factory Yamaha riders being completely out of the race at Phillip Island.  Seems that Ben Spies was able to ride decently well after his fall but I'm sure the issue is the sustained race time.  Very unfortunate instances in both cases.

I was really expecting much better racing this year with the line-up but with Casey dominating so much and Jorge seemingly the only one to be able to stay somewhat close, I feel that we as fans have been slightly cheated.  Hopefully, next year with the change to 1000cc bikes will be a little bit more fulfilling on the side of competition.  It's an amazing sport and I'm hoping that others will catch on to that fact and the popularity rises and we can enjoy some great action filled motorcycle racing.

Excited to see how next week goes.  Goodnight.

James

Aaaaay!!! ~ The Fonz

Below is my original post in regards to the TR5 Triumph going up for auction and the reason I am re-awakening the post is because I just got word that the very same bike is going up for auction....again? Does anyone know what happened? Did it not fetch what they wanted, did it sell and the new owner has decided to see if he can turn it around for a little extra by adding the information that it was previously owned by Bud Ekins who was Steve McQueens good friend? I'm at a loss and will now be researching to see if I can find out. If you have any information, I would greatly appreciate it if you helped me out.  :) 

Thanks,  James

The Fonz from "Happy Days" was one of those iconic figures that sometimes makes me wonder how?  lol  He was just simple and "cool" and of course it helps that he was a biker ;)

Well apparently they are going to be auctioning off the motorcycle he rode on the show next month.  It doesn't run but it's a very famous 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 ridden by Henry Winkler as Fonzie in the sitcom show "Happy Days".

The bike on topic has not been ridden since 1984 and has been collecting dust for the last 15 years with a broken speedometer.  Poor thing.  Hope it will find a great home where someone will take care of it, fix it up and make it all pretty again  :)

The "Drama" MotoGP Race

This has been a tough year for a lot of great riders in MotoGP and has made for some interesting races but none so filled with drama as the Motegi race that occurred less than 9 hours ago.  Casey Stoner has been doing an amazing job this season on board the Honda machine that is a thorn in all other machines out there on the track.  I for one am a huge Yamaha fan and so this season has been a little painful watching Jorge Lorenzo ride absolutely brilliantly just to fall short of the current leader.  Also, being American, Ben Spies is my #1 racer to watch and he has been doing an amazing job as well but just shy of where I and I'm sure his entire team would like to see him.  Rossi on the Ducati is currently not working as well as they expected by this time in the season and appear to be more focused on next season which I believe is a good idea.

That all said, the Motegi race was a thrill ride of Drama led by "Dovi" who had the chance to lead the race after Casey Stoner managed to avoid crashing but ran off track.  I would have been thrilled and would have cheered him the whole way through if it weren't for the "false start" ride through.  Definitely feel for him for the way this whole season has gone for him.  Then add to his false start, Simoncelli and Crutchlow also had false start penalties to deal with.  That alone makes for a drama filled start.  Add to that the drama in Turn 2 where Rossi and Lorenzo come together and causes Valentino Rossi, who had a great pre race practice sessions, to crash out.  Rossi has had a very difficult season and after the practice sessions, this race seemed to be his best chance to do some real good racing.  Along with Rossi going out he brought along with him Ben Spies off track with him but Ben Spies managed to stay upright and rejoin the race in 17th position.  Barbera has a bad crash where he fracture his right collar bone.  Dovi has a beautiful run through the first few laps before he has to complete a ride through penalty which he follows with some great riding before crashing out later in the race.

Simoncelli manages to get back into 4th place, Dovi into 5th place and Spies into 6th place.  All making a great performance, after the horrible start, to finish in these positions.  Stoner gets up to 3rd place after his run off and Pedrosa manages the race beautifully to finish off the race as the winner with Lorenzo behind him not able to compete with his Honda.

If you haven't watched it yet, you should.  If you want, I will re watch the race with you here at Uncaged Motorsports. 

Have a Great day,  James

A new Motorcycle Accessory

In the design phase currently, I (and a great friend) are working on designing and testing and inevitably marketing a new accessory that I have thought of many times but only recently made it a goal to accomplish.  Currently, we may be able to make a prototype as early as this winter and if all goes well I will be able to begin marketing and testing the waters for interest.  And of course be able to tell you more information on what this great new modification will be.

What I can tell you right now is that we are very excited because we honestly feel that you will all love it and want one.  It will make you wonder why it has not already been done.  There have been other products that had similar ideas and concepts in mind but were not as convenient and capable as what we will be offering. 

Excited?  Me too. 

More information to come, so stay tuned.

First Track Day of 2011

Been just over a week since I have made a new post so I am slacking slightly!  :)

I just got back yesterday from my first "Track Day" of 2011 and am planning on sticking to my goals of doing at least 5 this year and also one "New Racer School".  As for this track day, it did not start of wonderfully for multiple reasons.  One of those reasons is that I did not get anyone to go with me, whether to spectate or participate.  That means no videos or pictures of me doing my thing out on the track!  :(  It also means that I ended up having to ride my motorcycle down to the track and back on top of using it on the track!  Don't matter a whole lot to me, I've done it before and I'll do it again but leaving Klamath Falls on Monday morning (due to working Sunday and barely having the time to get my bike ready for the track) was a bit scary .....

I left my house at just after 4am to attempt to get to the track on time but the roads were covered in snow and ice and I still had to stop at the store to get a couple things!  The fastest I could go in these conditions was 25.  Luckily, the roads cleared up shortly after I got out of town but it was so F'ing cold that I had to actually stop a couple times simply to warm up so I could continue to use my limbs for operating the motorcycle.  This was my 2nd stop to warm up and the sun had just started to come out and it was absolutely stunning.  (Cell phone pic doesn't do it any justice at all)

All this caused me to be late to the event.  Normally, you get 7 20minute sessions to get out on the track and have some fun but because I got there late I missed the first 3 and then I missed one other one due to technical difficulties with my baby. 

My first session out was very disappointing.  I felt super slow, I never touched knee even a little, and kept getting passed.  Came off the track a bit upset but calmed myself down and talked with some of the other guys there for Track day as well.  I gave myself the benefit of the doubt since I haven't been out on a track since November 2, 2009  and because of everything I was going through personally barely did any riding through all of 2010.  Well, apparently, I was right because my second session out went 10 fold better.  My body position felt better, the corners went by smoother and I was definitely improving my braking into the corners.  Yay!!!  It made the session when I broke 140mph on the straight and didn't even feel concerned of the 1st corner coming up.  :)    :)     :)    All worth it now at this point! 
The next out for my group I'm headed for the entrance and feel shaking in the front and that's when I realized my neck bearings needed to be retightened, so I missed that session. 
Last session of the day was another fantastic one, got to play a little cat and mouse with one of the guys I met there and it really added to the fun of the session.

One of the concerns of riding the bike down there that your using on the track is, since your pushing yourself on the track, the chance of going down is rather high and if you do then how do you get home.  Well, I did not go down, had a great time and rode home with much better temperatures and road conditions then when I rode down!  So, first trip to the racetrack this year...................SUCCESS!!!!!

Oh, and almost forgot!  A picture of the rear wheel after session 2!

Excitement (Track Day and Products)

I can't stop thinking about the Track day that's coming.  It's been a little while since I was able to go last and I've really wanting to work on some skills.  And not only that but now I've got contacts that may be there to help me improve myself even more than I can do on my own.  My last trackday was November 2nd, 2009 and Dito at GotBlueMilk always gets great shots of the action and I was very happy with my pictures.  Not only did I finally get my knee dragging picture but I saw areas that I needed to adjust to be better.  Here are a couple of my favorites:


Turn 14



Turn 11?



Turn 2



Turn 2 Coming out

Which do you like most?  Leave a comment and let me know.

The other part of the excitement is some of the great products that I have to offer.  Like:



Shoei X-Twelve Glory 2 Helmet

Retail: $807.99  Through me as a follower: $655.00 (no shipping cost)



I can also get Arai helmets, Sidi boots and many other high quality products.  I work hard to get the best prices I can so just let me know what you want and I will let you know what I can do.

Another reason to stay tuned is I'm considering also giving riding tips and advice on here.  Until next time, take advantage of beautiful days and ride but take steps to make sure you can do it the following day as well.  Take care and hope to see you on the road some day.

Track Day

Going to the Race Track is such an amazing thing.  It's definitely the coolest/funnest thing I've ever done.  And this year I have a goal of going to at least 5 of them and also doing my racing test to see if I'm fast enough on the track to get my racing license.  On the 28th of this month I'm going to my first for the year!  Super excited!!!  I've already got my tires in, I've got my pucks for my suit coming in on Friday and also a Power Commander for the motorcycle that I've been needing to get on there for awhile now.  :)

Today in the mailbox I received the new, 2011, Helmet House catalog!  And the sale flyer for some of their products as well.  Anything that Helmet House offers I can get directly shipped to you and I will give you the best price for it with no shipping to pay!  :) 

Some of the Sale items:

The HJC FS-15 Prism Helmet

Retail: $249.99   Uncaged: $95.00

Cortech Latigo Leather Jacket

Retail: $279.99  Uncaged: $220.00

Cortech GX Air Series Jacket

Retail: $159.99  Uncaged: $128.00

 

 

I will post up more products tomorrow with some of my favorites.  Not necessarily going to be sale items but still I will post up my best prices and again, no shipping anywhere in the US.  :)

See ya later