Posts Tagged ‘motorcycle movie’

Motorcycle Movie Review: Florian’s Knights

Posted: January 16, 2023 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle TV
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Saint Florian – the Patron Saint of Firefighters

By the title of the movie, you can guess this is a film about a firefighter motorcycle club.  You would be right, but there is a lot more to it than just a motorcycle club movie.

This is a movie more about the mental health aspects of first responders and what they bring home after years of service.  How PTSD is impacting their lives and that of their families and the fact that they find it difficult to deal with the issues while on duty.

That said…. This is a difficult film to watch.

The Florian Knights were formed in 2017 in Vancouver, Canada by an active firefighter. It was his attempt to create a group of motorcyclists to ride with and to talk about the hard stuff, away from work. Each of the members of this chapter had a reason, beyond riding, to join the club.

A year or so later, in New York City, another firefighter was starting a riding club with the same name, Florian Knights. When he found out that there was already a firefighter motorcycle club by that name, they decided to open a new chapter to help fulfill the same purpose.

My motorcycle is my medicine.

Many of the Florian Knights, throughout the movie, comment that motorcycling helps cope with their stress and PTSD. This is where the first twist in the movie occurs.

The film switches from a documentary of the two clubs to an actual scientific study of motorcycling on the brain.  A Doctor of Psychology wants to track brain patterns and uses many members of the clubs as test subjects.  Putting on wired caps under their helmets to track how their brains worked while riding.

No surprise to us, motorcycling reduces stress by 28% according to the study.

Right after this segment the movie takes a second, harsher, twist.  This twist I am not going to describe as I will leave it to you to create your own take away. I am also not going to rate this motorcycle move as I don’t think it can judge it on a normal scale, it is just so different.

What do you think of how this motorcycle movie ends? Let me know in the comments.

Motorcycle TV: Never Ride Alone

Posted: January 24, 2020 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle Rides, Motorcycle TV
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Never Ride Alone is a good rule to live by if you ride motorcycles. As a title of a dirt bike motorcycle film where the guy does just that in some of the most rugged and remote parts of the Peruvian Andes, well it’s weird.

Not only did he ride his dirt bike alone Scott Englund also was the star, director, editor, cameraman, narrator and everything else. For a one man project this film turned out wonderfully. Although I just don’t get the tag line “Because you can’t tell a story with a band-aid”, some of my best stories end with band-aids or worse!

In the film Scott walks us through what brought him to this point in his life. Moving his family to Peru setting up several businesses, including an off-road motorcycle touring company, all to serve the local community. He shows us how he and some of his customers and friends ride the rugged trails including one scene where a guy drops a bike over the hill, there was little left of the motorcycle.

Next, he shows us how he trains to get ready for the big ride, his training is also alone. Riding his motorcycle over even more harsh and severe terrain at high altitudes to get his body and mind ready to ride up and over a 15,000 peak where no one had ridden a motorcycle before.

The final ride up and over the peak was very well filmed. I just can’t imagine riding 30-40 feet stopping and moving the camera’s or breaking out a drone, putting away a drone and riding another 30-40 feet. Put that on top of some of the toughest off-road motorcycling I have seen, wow, props to Scott!

You can find Never Ride Alone on VIMEO or FilmFreeway.

“Never Ride Alone” was a Portland Motorcycle Film Festival Peoples Choice winner in 2019 and a 2018 Official CARE Awards Selection. Now it is also a IJustWant2Ride.com 5-star award winner (which that and $10 might buy you a cup of Star Bucks).

5 star

 

Motorcycle TV: Oil in the Blood

Posted: December 24, 2019 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle TV, Uncategorized
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A feature length documentary released in 2019 covering the “contemporary motorcycle culture”. The film attempts, and I think accomplishes, to show how individualism is embedded into our culture. “This is not a film about motorcycles, its about motorcycle people.”

This was a very ambitious undertaking. According to their website they interviewed nearly 300 custom motorcycle builders, riders, racers, artists, etc. from the US, Japan, Europe, Australia, and Africa. They also talked with representatives from Harley Davidson, BMW, Yamaha, Ducati and Royal Enfield. ON TOP of all that how about attending events at the Bike Shed in London and Paris, The Trip Out, The Brooklyn Invitational, The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, Dirt Quake, Snow Quake, Mama Tried, and Mooneyes among many others.

So, with all that, is this motorcycle film any good, is it worth your time? Yes and yes. Theob 1 only negative was that they had so much content that some will think it is a bit too long at 2 hours. Now don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of fun to watch and it will be on my winter 2020 motorcycle movie list! I like the interviews and discussion around why people are doing the things they are doing. I really loved seeing myself or someone I know in nearly every person they talked with.

I do have one additional negative; they went back to one guy multiple times who did nothing but lambast people who “customize” via bolt on and manufactures who sell limited addition motorcycle. That guy really pissed me off. Not all of us are a wiz welders and have hundreds of hours to create our personal masterpieces.

I am giving this film 5 stars. I know some will think that this is a bit long, but I enjoyed seeing that motorcycle people, around the world, are pretty much the same. The “Oil in the Blood” documentary is available on Apple, Google, Amazon and other streaming services.

5 star

Motorcycle Movie Review: Bennett’s War

Posted: September 5, 2019 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle racing, motorcycle show, Motorcycle TV
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Bennett's War

It is not very often that we get to see a movie about motorcycle culture on the big screen, Bennett’s War is the first in several years. I went to see this film at our local theater, going in with the premise that this was based on a true story, it wasn’t. No big deal, my assumption on that.

Bennett’s War story opens with two soldiers parachuting into an unknown location along with a couple crates. Turns out there are, what appears to be electric, adventure style, motorcycles in the crates. They had me hooked right there, fictional as hell, but hooked.

Soon Bennett is seriously wounded rescuing his buddy, while riding the motorcycle, by an explosive boobytrap. Waking up in the hospital the doctors tell him that is injury is so bad he is going to be medically retired and will never ride again.

HA! We know that won’t happen!

Soon he is at home and learns dad is going to lose the farm and he goes back to racing to Bennett's warearn the money to save it. From this point on there was lots of race footage, from Glen Helen Motocross track, that look spectacular at times and bit hokey at times, BUT well done.

If you had told me that Hallmark had made this film, it did have the romance and family tension they are known for, I would have believed you no questions asked. Turns out that his film was financed by Forrest Lucas of Lucas Oil Motocross fame! In this age of a downturn in motorcycling I salute Mr. Lucas for putting his money into his passion!

Ok it may be formulaic and predictable but it is also fun. At no time did I go moto-snob and feel like I needed to go pifffffttt. I am giving the Bennett’s War 4 stars and a job well done. Recommend that you go see it while it is on the big screen, it will not be the same on TV.

4 out 5 stars

 

 

Motorcycle TV: The Best Bar in America

Posted: December 7, 2018 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle TV
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In this film the motorcycle should have gotten a best supporting actor award. Currently showing on Amazon Prime, “The Best Bar In America” uses a vintage BMW sidecar motorcycle throughout the show as a character playing a role.

You can watch the trailer here.

The basic plot of this motorcycle movie is that the owner is riding his motorcycle to every bar in the western United States in order to write a book about the best bar in America. Along the way he loses his wife, drinks too much, makes a new best friend, loses the best friend, loses the book deal, finds new love and rides his motorcycle.

From the opening scene to near the end of movie the motorcycle has a place. Called worthless, a stinking machine and a NAZI PoS as well as other terms of endearment, it is a central plot device that helps hold the movie together. I am not sure that this film would be as good as it is if it were not for the vintage motorcycle.

There was one quick scene where the starting sequence was laid out, open petcock, little twist of throttle, a couple short strokes of the kicker, another twist of the throttle and then big kick…just like any kick start bike of that age, you have to know how to stroke it to lite it up. That one scene summed up both the leads relationship with the motorcycle and why he was struggling in life; both require a lot of work to keep running.

All in all this was an enjoyable movie. I recommend it as a good movie for lovers of motorcycles. I am giving it 4 Stars.

4 Stars

Motorcycle Movie: Has CHiPs The Movie done something terrible?!?!?!

Posted: January 19, 2017 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle TV, Uncategorized
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As a product of the 1970s I loved CHiPs as the best motorcycle TV show of its time (LOL it might have been the only one)!  Ponch and Jon riding their motorcycles to “protect and serve”, it was a lot of fun.  Now we have a CHiPs move coming out in March of 2017.

I am looking forward to the CHiPs The Movie but I am aghast at what has to be a horrible, terrible, awful plot hole that, in the end, may ruin the movie for me.  It is not the fact that are riding BMWs not Kawasaki. In this motorcycle themed movie based on iconic, beloved characters …..

“Ponch does not exist!!!!!”

In the movie trailer “Ponch” is the undercover name of an FBI agent tasked with finding the bad cops in the highway patrol.  “Jon” still exists; he is a rookie cop on this first assignment teamed with the fake Ponch.  But I don’t know how there can be a ChiPs movie without a “real” ponch!

Check the movie trailer below and let me know if I a wrong!!!

I will go see the movie but this is almost too much to take!  🙂

Happy New Year… Lets go old school 1920 Board Track Motorcycle Racing … you need to watch this vintage film.

Posted: January 1, 2015 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news, Motorcycle racing, Motorcycle TV
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board track rader

WOW.. you never know what you can find on You Tube, this historic record of motorcycle racing blew me away.

Mr. Frantisek Marik, an Indian Dealer in the Czech Republic, came to the United States to attend the 1920 races in Daytona (although some have pointed out it might not actually be Daytona). Mr. Marik was also pretty darn good with a film camera and recorded this account of the race.  As you will see when you watch the film he recorded more than just this particular board track race event but this is the only one to survive.

Now, just what blew me away about the film:

1) The quality of the film was just better than what you normally expect from that period.

2) I have seen other board track videos but the SIZE and scope of this WOOD track was unexpected.

3) That they could race 10 -12 across if they wanted was very cool.

4) That Mr. Marik filmed from all angles including from cars and sidecars.

5) That they raced sidecar rigs as well as regular bikes on this track.

6) The sidecar guys were racing 7 across at times.

7) The amateur and sidecar races were 10 miles long and the professional race was 100.

8) How high the banking in the turns was.

9) 212 KMPH = 132 MPH

 I got excited just watching this old film.  As I have stated before I think this type of motorcycle racing might do well in modern America (pavement not wood) over road racing.  I can just see 30 bikes racing at some of the NACAR short tracks.

 All in all this is 10 minutes well spent if you have any interest in motorcycles history!

 

Motorcycle Movies: Another one for you to check out “The Best Bar in America”

Posted: December 11, 2014 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle news, Motorcycle TV
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A few days ago I posted about a movie I ran across Sit Stay Ride: The Story of America’s Sidecar Dogs a documentary on dogs that ride in the side car.

Now I have a run across another move. In Best Bar in America a writer is motorcycling across the west in a writing assignment to find the best bar in America. The trailer really intrigued me and you might be interested in it as well, or not.  I will order both right after the New Year starts and let you know what I think about them.

 

9 Holiday Gift Ideas for the Motorcycle Rider in your life.

Posted: December 3, 2014 in Motorcycle
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Not sure what to get for the motorcyclist/biker?

I have complied a list of 9 items for you to consider (again everyone does 10 and 11 is to many for me 🙂 With the exception of the idea for a new helmet, most of the items listed here are under $100 US.PocketTirePlugger__00217_1410670546_451_416

Tire Puncture Kit – Might be a good idea to have one available. Make sure you know what kind of tires they have (tubed/tubeless). For example, if they have tubeless tires this kit from Stop and Go has everything they would need for a “quick” fix on the road.

Micro Tire Pump – If the puncture kit does not include (or you don’t prefer) CO2 cartridges then a small pump might be for your rider. Plus with one of these small pumps you can top off your tires anytime you need. The Slime 40001 motorcycle tire inflator is small and has a lot of good reviews.

Battery Tender – If I was lucky you read my post on preparing a motorcycle for winter storage. One of the items on the list was the use of a battery tender to ensure the battery survives the cold. I can recommend Battery Tender Battery Plus, I have been using it for a few years without problems. It comes with every connection your rider should need to hook up the battery to life support.

New Riding Gloves – There are so many types and styles of gloves available there can be no one recommendation. Take a look at what your rider currently has; if the gloves are well worn you might not be wrong by just replacing with the same brand/style.

MotoAmerica Tickets – The new all American road race series was released their schedule for 2015. If the MotoAmerica series is coming to a track near your home, tickets for you and your rider should be on your gift list. If you are outside the US consider local race series or even MotoGP.

New Helmet – Is your rider’s helmet more than five years old or has some damage? Consider getting her or him a “gift certificate” for a new helmet. I recommend the certificate because you will never get this one right…the wrong size, style, color, make, model, visor would only disappoint both of you.

Movies – Whether you buy DVDs or download here are a couple of classics (IMHO).

Why We Ride On Any Sunday

The World’s Fastest Indian Easy Rider

Across the Dirt: Dirt Bike Documentary Long Way Round

 

Chrome – Riding a Harley Davidson? It would be hard to go wrong with chrome. If you are not sure what chrome to buy find a dull or dark part of your riders Hog, go to the dealership and point out the spot on a like bike.

Membership in the AMA – It does not matter what you rider rides or where they ride the American Motorcyclist Association (or similar organization if you are not in the US) is there to help ensure that our rights are not infringed. There are different types of memberships and you can get roadside assistance as one of the options.

 

The DawgHouse goes to the movies… On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter

Posted: November 12, 2014 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle racing, Motorcycle radio
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If you are in the Northern Virginia area today (12 November 2014) at 4:45PM consider joining the DawgHouse crew at the Regal Cinema in Sterling Va to watch the this movie.