Welcome to Friday Fudge – a weekly round up of the more ‘unusual’ motorcycle related stories that are just too silly to post on their own, but raise a much bigger chortle when you slap them all together and take the piss.
How racers relax
Ever wonder how MotoGP racers stay in the game in their downtime? Apparently, by playing games. Weird games. Games that involve a buzzer and old Repsol race team photos. Sounds awful, right?
Well it’s not as sketchy as it sounds – watch the video below to see Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso, Dani Pedrosa, and Moto2 rider Marc Marquez play some game that apparently requires you to guess the person and location in the photos they see on screen. Maybe they couldn’t find the Monopoly board?
Budget cuts catching up?
It’s a fact that many law enforcement agencies are running on extremely tight budgets these days. Perhaps that’s the reason behind this photo. Judging by the picture, it appears that an underfunded sheriff’s department simply couldn’t afford a tow truck to haul away an impounded motorcycle from the scene of an arrest.
It would probably have been better, though, if the cops had invested in a roof rack first.
Story source: Bikes in the Fast Lane
A safety precaution?
A scientific study earlier this year announced that wearing a motorcycle helmet can be hard on your hearing, but did you know that it can hurt your health in other ways?
Actually, we didn’t know that either, but that’s what supermarket staff told a U.K. man. when he tried to fill up his bike at the gas bar. Les Remshaw was simply trying to fuel up his Harley-Davidson when “helpful” staff asked him to remove his skid lid before they would turn the pump on.
Irritated over the hassle, Remshaw sent a letter off to the supermarket’s customer service branch, who explained the company’s policy. Supposedly, they claimed, harmful fuel vapours collect in motorcyclists’ helmets when they gas up, which can cause nausea and eventually render the rider unconscious.
After the technical director of the Petrol Retailers’ Association pointed out their ridiculous statement was completely improbable, the supermarket then claimed they wanted riders to remove their helmets so criminals couldn’t use them as disguises – particularly ironic, considering A) Remshaw is a police officer and B), he was wearing an open-face helmet.
Story source: Motorcycle News
A college criminal?
When you think of a college professor, you usually conjure up an image of a pipe-smoking intellectual with a tweed jacket (complete with elbow patches), whose main concern is that you haven’t scrawled an exam cheat sheet on the back of your hand.
The times, they are a-changin’, though, according to California law enforcement authorities, who’ve declared Cal State San Bernardino professor Stephen Kinzey a fugitive from the law, after alleging the prof was a drug-dealing member of the Devils Diciples motorcycle gang.
Although the charges sound preposterous, they come following a raid on Kinzey’s home where cops say they found drugs, guns, and just about anything else needed for a fun weekend. Kinzey’s girlfriend has been locked up, but the teacher is still on the run.
The whole mad story sounds like a Breaking Bad/Sons of Anarchy crossover, but even if Kinzey is captured, we bet his career won’t suffer any permanent damage. After all, universities have always loved free-spirited teachers, and we bet he’ll never have to worry about a student handing in a late paper again – they’ll all be too terrified of retribution from his biker buddies.
Story source: L.A. Times
(Un)Truth in advertising
You can’t believe everything you people tell you. Need proof? Check out this commercial for a CBZ XTreme from Hero, featuring a hard-riding secret agent.
It looks like a pretty rockin’ little ride, with power to burn, until you go visit the company’s website and find out the machine only has a 150cc engine – the only extreme thing going on here is the commercial’s exaggeration.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vut8cp4OpI
If you think that people with multiple university degrees are illiterate, you’ve got bigger issues.
Oh, but the ad does include one bit of truth: it boasts the bike can do 0-60 kph in a whopping FIVE SECONDS.
Exaggerated skills? Like how a bunch of illiterate camel humpers can navigate 757s above the clouds, not once but 4 times.
Not sure about the illiterate part, since they had apparently taken flight training.
Also not sure how you are making the logic jump to compare a Hero-Honda commercial from India with the 911 tragedy.
Bit of a stretch there mate.
Maybe it’s just the media saturation regarding this particular anniversary; I can certainly see how it’s front and center in everyone’s radar.
Let’s hope we don’t “mis-underestimate” them “camel humpers” next time.
Cheers