2026Southern Oregon TT - My Soul Is Full

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Remember last year? I put a hole in my right piston on my ’73 CL350 and spent the year slowly getting back on the road. I have my good pal Joe T. to thank for not only keeping me on track, but being there to make sure things were right, and pitching in with rebuilding the head. Woulda taken me a week, him, minutes. Well, I’m here to tell you she did absolutely fine, carting this mule all over the gorgeous Ashland hills, making sure I made it back every one of the three nights and heading out again the following mornin’. There was a bit of a scare on that monstrous 5 climb, but we’ll forget about that.

bloody gorgeous mate

The rides are some kind of glorious. The kind that make you dream when see them every once in a while in movie or on your YouTubes while tuning out your boss. There’s no doubt the Ponderosa gang might be hauling along or maybe inviting you in for a cold one, which is pretty much how it felt when we pulled into Callahan’s on day one. A frosty and a burger makes you feel reeeeeeel good after a long haul, given you have enough room left to fit in your gear and haul yourself back out. It’s easy to get a little in your own head when you’re having a killer roll through forests and prairies while friends are buzzing all around you. Don’t hesitate on them long hills. Hug that tank if you gotta and give it all she’s got, ’cause it looks short but sure is a long stairway. Then when you get there, you can feel your steed give a little cough and grunt and head downhill like it’s made of glass.

Top of mt. ashland. perfect spot for a cheese wheel toss.

Now don’t go thinking the SOTT is a three-day hi-dee-ho ride. You gotta be sure your machine’s got what it takes, and you can take what it makes. The roads are long. Some of ’em seemed twice as long as Head Honcho Mike warned us about: be ready for 100 miles with no gas stations. You don’t want to end up on the sag wagon, though you’ll be glad if you have to. You shoulda seen how some of these contraptions were prepped, ready for the moment the machine would start gaspin’ for a drop. Heck, I had a siphon swirled onto my seat that got used five or six times, and I was one of ’em! All that aside, sometimes you get to a spot that only the angels visit, like Crater Lake. And the toilet nearby. Both were a sight for sore eyes, though I was sore after using the toilet. Joe and me got a cool shot at the crater and we headed back out. And if you didn’t know, that was one of the gas-em-up places.

getting roostered helping a fella out. Photo by the fella

Some corners seemed to creep up on you in the most beautiful places, and on one uphill we had a get-off. The fella shook it off and rode on. Somewhere in the distance, a bike was leaning over and another fella jumped to grab it, taking a low-grade tumble, but enough to blow himself up into the Hulk with this inflatable inner-tube safety gizmo. I heard he had a hard time getting his helmet off due to the pressure! Heroes were all around us. As the gallons sucked by, we’d eventually find ourselves back at the motel with the other fellas, enjoying a cold brew at the salt swimming pool in the middle of the parking lot. I imagine it’s salty since I never saw anyone shower before getting in.

food to “flip” for!

The first evening before the ride, we had a delish dinner setup by Flip Burgers at the motel. Catered, tasty burgers of your likin’, homemade chips and drinks. Everyone got cool swag: shirt, mug, flask or water bottle, stickers, and a sweet haulin’ bag. Second night we was on our own. Many dudes went to Omar’s, others wherever, but we all gathered back at the cabana to one-up each other on riding and fixing things. Night three was a BBQ at our host Mike’s pad, and what a party. Food, drinks, and cool people. And the last night was a smokin’ banquet, complete with awards, accolades, mentions, and tasty grub at a pizza pub.

the sasquatch brothers

Every time I’m there, I’m super excited and deal with whatever issues come up, so I’m a step ahead. Sometimes I forget I’m in God’s country having a complete blast and that I should savor it. But like a tasty steak, I chew, savor, chew, savor, and then it’s gone. I sit back and smile. It’s later when I think, Wow. Someone went so far out of their way to put this together for others to enjoy, and they did a fantastic job.

And I gotta end it there.

Mike, Becky, the chase crew, the scouting crew, the locating crew, and countless others got together, joined minds, and gave their free time so a bunch of us could go disappear into Southern Oregon for a few days and have this spectacular time.

That’s a pretty damn good thing. It’s very generous.

Thanks, organizers.

And thanks, fellow riders. Each one of you is a hoot and a sweetheart.

My soul is full.

Fly Robin, Fly

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I'm convinced this was filmed on expired film stock with absolutely no adult supervision, then copied five hundred times to get this final result. And that’s before it was edited.

It's equal parts motorcycle film, fever dream, and accidental masterpiece.

Moto Meeto July Edition!

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Moto Meeto this Saturday!

With all the chaos in the world, let's catch up over a tasty cuppa and talk motorcycles.

I'm especially stoked because I finally got my Honda CL350 back on the road just in time for the Southern Oregon TT! Whether your bike is freshly restored, covered in bugs, or still wearing last weekend's dirt, bring it along. Grab a coffee, catch up with old friends, meet a few new ones, and let's talk all things moto.

Good bikes, good coffee, good company. See you there!

Moto Meeto June Edition - Dixon Swap Meet

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Howdy all! How about a bit of a change this month? Let's catch up at the Dixon Fairgrounds and check out some cool bikes and the swap meet. The Fort Sutter chapter of the AMCA is hosting its national swap meet and motorcycle show. There'll be plenty to see and, with any luck, a few moto treasures to take home.

You can either meet us at the Dixon Fairgrounds, or join the ride over from West Sac. We'll cross the Yolo Causeway and take a more scenic route into Dixon after the freeway.

Riders: Meet at the Chevron ExtraMile, 4800 W. Capitol Ave., West Sacramento at 8am.
We leave at 8:30 AM sharp.

Drivers: Meet at the Dixon Fairgrounds, 655 S 1st St, Dixon, CA 95620. Gates open shortly after 8:00 AM. Ideally, everyone will be at the fairgrounds by 9:00 AM.

Looking forward to a fine ride, good company, and perhaps finding a few moto jewels along the way!

1958 BMW ISDT Hillclimber: Vintage Enduro Philosophy, Translated

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At the last Moto Meeto, while we were all properly drooling on the bikes, I mentioned that Norm’s ISDT BMW had been flogged and ridden with serious intent, built to echo the feel and attitude of the original International Six Days Trial machines.

The bike is officially registered as a 1958 BMW R60, and it carries that era’s spirit in every detail, even if it’s been heavily reworked for modern dirt duty.

Below is an English translation of the video interview, which I had translated and lightly edited for readability. It offers a fascinating look into the riding philosophy, the history, and the mindset behind machines like this, best read in their own words. Epic machine.

English translation of the original interview, edited slightly for readability:

Fabio Fasola: Whoever sees them today, the first thought is usually to look cool at the café — ride up, put the bike on the stand, snap the rubber strap because yes, these still have the rubber strap, and that’s it.

But those who lived through that era, who know the past, know that with these motorcycles in the ’60s and ’70s, the German giants raced the International Six Days Trial, the World Championship, the European Championship — races that truly were difficult back then, hard races. Yet with these twin-cylinder bikes they rode through taped-off courses, challenged the mud without problems.

Today we wanted to recreate those situations: a muddy enduro course, one with beautiful wide turns. But above all, we wanted to ride these motorcycles again. Thanks in part to experience with modern bikes, you can better understand what riders really suffered through back then.

And honestly, today it doesn’t seem like they suffered that much, because the gap between then and now isn’t actually that huge. It’s a motorcycle that handles well, but more importantly it’s one of those bikes that already showed evolution — the kind of evolution that makes you realize they were already on the right technological path.

Despite the weight, you can still use the engine well, use the suspension well, and above all, it feels like you can do things that look impossible. Because with the weight of these bikes, people say, “No way that section is possible.” But actually, you can do it just fine.

An expert in this kind of riding — this rough, dirty riding style — is Paolo Bergamaschi. So now we’ll talk with Paolo Bergamaschi, and later we’ll speak with Mr. Nanni, who is not only a restorer, but also the man who built one of the few replicas of this motorcycle — only four bikes — replicas that faithfully reflect the BMW machines of the 1970s.

Fabio Fasola: Paolo, how do you ride this bike in such an aggressive way?

Paolo Bergamaschi: Well, for example this one… you ride it and it’s spectacular. The bike itself is rough, and it makes you rough along with it. It transfers its aggression to you, and you end up riding at 110%.

This is a real bull. Pure blooded bull. Honestly, I don’t know how they managed to do those things back then — crossing rivers, riding special tests through deep mud, pushing these 150–160 kilo machines. It was truly pioneer enduro riding. Almost impossible.

Because the problem isn’t riding it — the problem is when you crash. Picking it back up. And especially when it gets away from you. Because when a bike like this gets away from you, you’re not catching it again. You make one little mistake and then you’re stretched out on the ground.

And on top of that, the huge cylinders get buried in the mud, and once you’re exhausted you can’t lift it anymore.

Seriously, just turning around and trying to climb the hill again… it’s truly something for a psychotic masochist.

Fabio Fasola: You ride this kind of motorcycle a lot, but you also ride modern bikes. Which bike gives you the most satisfaction? And how do you judge the difference between old bikes and modern ones?

Paolo Bergamaschi: Look — and I’m not just saying this because I’m supposed to praise this bike — the satisfaction of riding this compared to a modern bike is a perfect 10. Because you can basically do the same things.

Now, I’m comparing riding an average easy enduro course. Obviously if you tell me to go ride extreme hard-enduro obstacles, I don’t know. But in this context — flowing trails, gentle Apennine terrain, a few rocky mule tracks — this gives way more satisfaction than modern bikes.

With modern bikes, you already know the bike can do it — it’s just whether you’re capable enough to ride it.

Fabio Fasola: Nanni, when did you get the idea to recreate these 1970s bikes?

Nanni: The idea started, I’d say, five or six years ago, when we honestly weren’t in a recession. We thought we’d build ten bikes, sell nine of them, and use the profit to keep one for ourselves out of passion.

But unfortunately, what happened to everyone happened to us too, and sales were lower than expected. So far we’ve sold four, and we’re still waiting for people interested in the other six. Anyone who wants one can still come get one built to measure.

The bike was born from an idea by a friend of ours working with us. He recovered a frame and reconstructed it.

The frame originally belonged to the motorcycle of Laszlo Peres, who was both a rider and an engineer in BMW’s racing department in 1978–79, when these motorcycles won the Six Days in their class.

So, going back to what we were saying earlier, my friend from Bologna took all the measurements from the original frame, and once we understood the project was viable, we already committed on paper to buying ten frames. So our friend worked with some security behind him.

Everything else — from the wheels to the handlebars to all the engine components — was sourced by us through an obsessive search for period-correct parts, then assembled by our… let’s say “factory,” to use a big word — really by our mechanic, Corrado Pessina from Monza.

And the motorcycle you see here was the very first one ever assembled.

As they say, it’s one thing to draw it and another thing entirely to build it. Once we assembled it, we realized there were lots of little things to correct, and we refined it.

I’ll finish by saying this: go back and watch the old tapes, the old footage, because surely you’ll see motorcycles like this — and having one beneath you will make you smile and have fun.