Very first Motosquirrel sketch! Squirrel on a Boxer Type bike! 2018 All rights reserved Motosquirrel
Author: CaptainSquirrel
Beginnings of cruiser cartoon sketch from 2018. All rights reserved Motosquirrel
Almost Done! Of “PHAT” cartoon sketch from 2018. All rights reserved Motosquirrel
Beginnings of “Phat” cartoon sketch from 2018. All rights reserved Motosquirrel
Beginnings of phat cartoon sketch from 2018. All rights reserved Motosquirrel
The Moto Elephant In The Room!
Part One
(Part Two: A Review of Our Favorite Motovloggers!)
11/6/2020
What the Moto Industry won’t tell you: Magazines, Print-Journalism, Moto-Industry events, mag-Ads, billboards, Movie product placement and the advertisement tools of the old analogue days are either dead or dying.
(Here is the big fake-out! -And quite possibly why the industry may turn back to these older forms again eventually).
But the industry, seemingly, is reluctant to tell us (The Moto buying public) or, at least, admit to this enormous elephant in the room!
The truth is that most of the moto fanatical public grabs their information, excitement, reviews and details about the bikes, manufacturers, riders and events with which they are most interested in through the means of digital platforms such as Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and on and on.
No more proof of this (Not-So-Hidden) elephant in the room is necessary to make this point as to witness a new bike press launch “Unveiled” at a coastal track here in the states, at locations like Leguna Seca.
The first things out of our moto-journalists hands are not notebooks or journals, but, more likely- GoPros!
How many times have we logged into our gigantic conglomerate controlled Youtube in order to catch our favorite Moto-Vlogger-reviewer channel to catch these unveiling vids- only to find the elephant in the room?
“What is this mysterious elephant, Pray-tell Motosquirrel!?”, you may ask!
Answer: With the importance of “Influencers”, social media stars, reviewers, vloggers, bloggers, videographers and the like only growing and quickly cementing itself as a digital foundation in support of many industries (As within the Motorcycle Industry); it is a farce and charade at best for the media personalities who are testing and reviewing these products NOT to acknowledge each other.
A good example would be Motosquirrels viewing of the most recent track-day unveiling of the new Honda 2021 CBR1000RR press event.
Here our reviewer Adam Waheed get’s ready to try the new Honda CBR1000RR’s launch control. (Note: All original visuals are the properties of the original channel creators and only used here for illustrative purposes. Motosquirrel makes no claims of ownership.)
Catching the video via Motorcyclist Magazine (Formerly Bonnier Group now Octane) as hosted by Adam Waheed (Who we are fond of and feel has earned his ground as a great moto-journalist!) we can clearly see Zack Courts (The former host of MC Commute and Co-creator of On Two Wheels – Very creative and super talented as well!) waving a cameo hello as Adam films himself about to take off and try Honda’s newly offered launch control. These two personalities clearly know each other, have spent time together and have had the same employers etc.
Does either rider truly acknowledge each other? Nope! Have they met or acknowledged each other in the past? As mentioned above, of course. So why are we, the viewing public, viewing the larger/older formally print media giant of Motorcyclist and that of the largest on-line retailer of moto gear, namely, Revzilla – pretending to NOT be in the same room (AKA a very intimate Moto Press Event)?
The Elephant:
The power of video personalities, their audiences, video market share as well as social prowess is, in our Motosquirrel opinion, deemed so important by these publication/distributors that they do not want any viewer to mistake, confuse, meld or mulch their understanding of which reviewer/rider represents which marquee.
Zack nonchantly say hello to Adam and former employ! (Note: All original visuals are the properties of the original channel creators and only used here for illustrative purposes. Motosquirrel makes no claims of ownership.)
If, say, these two personalities (Zack and Adam) were caught on film interacting for more than a few seconds- how would their cubicle bound marketers be able to “Metric” what and how viewers were excited or not-so excited about the video filmed or posted? Who would they give “Thumbs Up” credit to? Was it Adam making a pass-by on a Zack review? Or was it them giving each other a high five on turn two? It would be too muddy for these more than slightly greedy companies to parse! (No offense but they are making a living!)
Why, we here at Motosquirrel, feel that this Non-Intermixing philosophy is old, worn-out, tired and won’t stick in the new age of digital social media!
This tired paradigm of journalism also reminds us of the old days when freelancers were mostly tossed around until they got a more permanent gig at a major magazine or marquee. Once there, the writer or creative had to adhere to guidelines of not mentioning other media sources or any past catalogue of work etc. (With some exceptions of course). It poorly assumed that the reader wouldn’t think the whole thing a funny exercise in fakery, posteuring or immanence! As readers of any serial magazine, review periodicals or newspapers- we ALWAYS know where our favorite and less favorite writers are and, more importantly, who they are stringing for. Pretending otherwise is always stupid and assumes stupidity on behalf of their reading/watching audience.
In the digital social media age, the very tools of communication, cross-pollination and opportunity to participate on many platforms, are changing the means by which we value information. Especially as it pertains to customers purchasing decisions when buying important gear or motorcycles.
Initially, platforms like YouTube, offered a unique environment where whole worlds within universes of content could offer a viewer any insight, however candid, to any creators potential of opinions and filming creativity. Add in the ingredients of social behavior opportunity, comments, monetization, subscriber supports, limitless bandwidth, freedom of speech, the opportunity to grow a presence larger than some industry names and the ability to be watched or view vids throughout the globe- are just a few advances in this product venue alone. This burgeoning marketplace of ideas is only beginning.
Adam Waheed, freelancing, strikes out on his own. Caught up in the reviews with Ari Fleming of Motorcyclist (Note: All original visuals are the properties of the original channel creators and only used here for illustrative purposes. Motosquirrel makes no claims of ownership.)
Now that the money-making juggernaut of Social Media has long let the Cat-Out-Of-The-Bag and whole empires of wealth have been created around YouTube personalities alone, there can be NO doubt that this same gold-rush environment has, is, and will keep changing.
Del of Delboy’s Garage makes one, if not THE first, in front of camera appearances. (Note: All original visuals are the properties of the original channel creators and only used here for illustrative purposes. Motosquirrel makes no claims of ownership.)
In earlier days the videos and tweets were, perhaps, more innocent.
We had Grandpa taking out his new Gold-Wing for the first time. Joe the Superstar mechanic showing you how HE prefers to adjust a chain. Maybe some travel-logs etc. These early days gave birth to (In Motosquirrels opinion) the very first long-form first person videos (Via small camcorders and eventually GoPros) while riding motorcycles.
“Back in the Day” Delboy was a hoot to watch riding on his Harley XR1200X at night. Don’t even think this was a GoPro or smaller camcorder! (Note: All original visuals are the properties of the original channel creators and only used here for illustrative purposes. Motosquirrel makes no claims of ownership.)
These first-gen type films (Some being called F.R.O.’s in England and other such acronyms) were very innovative, if not simple, for the time. It gave us a glimpse into what it was like to ride a bike from a riders perspective. Throw in his/her narrative concerning their environment or personal dealings in their own lives by way of microphone- well it made for some very compelling video at best and, sometimes, complete audio/video non-sensical examples of mediocrity at it’s worst! (Today Motosquirrel meets many riders who got inspired to ride a Moto via watching videos and…..wait for it….even learned how to ride their very first time while WATCHING a “How To Shift” video on their phone…..while riding! (Not too safe but not kidding)
As “Motovlogging” grew, so did the channels and varying content. A content creators ability to see in tandem what was also popular for viewers of other channels, only heightened the competition for views, and, in some cases deadened creativity in exchange for copycat behavior. Subsequently, as viewership and subscribership exploded, so did the cognitive dissonance of the Creators themselves, i.e. : should they continue providing content that their audience seems happy and familiar with or should they “Up the Ante” like so-n-so’s Motovlog where he/she got a “Million Views”?
Derrick puts himself on the map by being one the best D.I.Y. type of mechanic/custom makers in the U.K. circa 2011. (Note: All original visuals are the properties of the original channel creators and only used here for illustrative purposes. Motosquirrel makes no claims of ownership.)
Add in the factor of the exposure of motorcycling lifestyles or “Culture” as a whole to an uninitiated public who does not ride, but rather, enjoys watching other people endanger themselves, take chances, travel far and sometimes curse the “Cagers’- we ended up with video’s masking speedometers, anonymized riding personalities and many edits of film not showing where or what a rider may be doing at any given lawful/unlawful location.
(This article is not intended as a historical guide on the history of Youtube or other social media that acts as underpinning of the Motorcycle Industry. But, we feel it is necessary to note the environment which MAY be beginning to stagnate for the big Moto-Publishers.)
Where we are now.
With Google and Amazon being, arguably, the two largest influencers or platforms for marketing, affiliate marketing, cross-linking, add-grossing and venues with which any industry must aknowlege at the least and navigate at the worst- it only makes sense that we are seeing MORE elephants in the room.
We, as moto-fans, are witnessing would-be professional actors who “Also-Ride” pretending to just “Start a Channel” in order to “Have Fun”. Of course, in reality, they are an asset of some industry and are being paid somehow for their product views, behavior or influence. (These are only logical suspicions on Motosquirrels behalf! But, clearly, there is something suspect about a Moto-vlogger who consistently reviews bikes that they do not like because they are stinky or too loud, or vibrate or or or……..hmmm …..then they like only the electric ones…..!!).
Add-In the would-be models (Many of them being women) who are constantly being “Recommended” for our viewership. Do they ride?- Yep. Did they go from having a few thousand subscribers to millions, instantly? Yep indeed. Although there may be a legal caveat to disclaim an association with a presented products before any advisement in our own country (U.S.A.), there may not be that transparent a rule in another.
Another trend (A very good one in our opinion) is that of smaller to mid-size Moto sites or channels that are being recognized by the industry and are being given bikes to review or borrow as a result. In some cases, they are getting them in parellel timing to the bigger publishers (Whatever publisher means anymore!).
A sidenote should also be made that many of these same smaller motovloggers, bloggers and reviewers are being invited by OEMs to press launches etc. And currently, during Covid2020, many motovloggers were offered bikes to review allowing the smarter manufaturers to reach further fans, in lieu of being able to attend such events as EICMA.
In defence of the stupid- and in an attempt to save the Elephant, can the small and modest Motosquirrel offer some advice to the larger (Think top three or so i.e. Revzilla, Motorcyclist, Motorcycle.com etc.) moto product magazines/online-retailers out there?
We don’t ask permission here at Motosquirrel!
We, the fans of all things motorcycle, promise to suspend our disbelief when watching a video that has narration referring to a “First-Look” or “Exclusive First Look” at a certain bike as it wizzes past the camera only to partially obscure another rider, representing another company, riding on the very same bike in the distance- albeit slighty obscured. (Fade in California Canyon roads here!)
The linear days of a single reader having a single subscription to one bike magazine are long gone. Today, in an instantly socialized web, when a fan subscribes to many sources he/she knows the where and how as well as the who will likely be at an event and most likely cover the excitement in today’s moto circles.
In a tech ruled world where we are all, as a society, constantly falling forward to create a substantial career, life, business and possibly a name for ourselves, it is of no revelation that we are all “Subbed To” and “Subbed By” all types of bikers- AND it is now a necessity. Within an industry that is shrinking in the west, (But can hopefully be resurrected by the teenagers of today who seem to know all things tech, BUT want to have a more hands-on experience) to pretend that other film crews, personalities or companies are not “Right On Your Shot” is a mistake!
Also offering (As in a most recent video by Motorcyclist) a behind-the-scenes view of what it takes to make a Motorcycle review complete with captions; only to make the entire thing look over glossy, over edited and anything but spontaneous, is a mistake in our opinion!
If you were trying to illustrate what separates the small-potato Moto-Vloggers from ‘The Big Boys” – you came off as overpaid and bloated. We (No insult intended) at Motosquirrel ended up asking: “Did it take that much crew, that much equipment, that big a rig- only to film something that looks so fake?” and also “Why have a behind-the-scenes film of a motorcycle on-location shoot that only leads one to think as to where the THIRD person filming the “REAL” behind-the-scenes film via a GoPro really is?”
If the sole intent of Google and all of the larger enterprizes represented on Youtube as well as other social media platforms is to slowly create cable type “Networks” whose task is to entice or crowd out the smaller more reality based Vloggers…………We acknowledge that through monetary and algorithmic manipulation as well as shadow banning, personality artificial thumb-pumping and faux ranking as well as plain old payoffs- you may succeed!
But, we creators who wish to impart our own personalities, creativity, passion, entrepreneurship and connection to our own audiences will have to find or even create new platforms elsewhere.
It is what made the beginnings of Youtube amazing!
Reader Note: Part Two coming in 48hours!
Motosquirrel’s favorite Motovloggers!
Kawasaki Teases and Pleases!
(Rebirth of the KLR from the ashes?)
Note to Kawi: WE SAW THE BEAK SHADOW!
10/12/20
We SAW it! Kawasaki! That is definitely Dual-Sport! (Original Images property of Kawasaki Heavy Industries)
In the modern world, many companies, especially sports conglomorates have forgotten how to “Tease” an audience! Too many spoilers presented as trailers for upcoming films have made many a potential movie goer actually SKIP seeing the very film(s) initially teased altogether!
Not Kawasaki. Nope not this time. Maybe we here at Motosquirrel have been locked-down, away or shut-in for too long…..but- we don’t remember Kawasaki hinting at some of the new bikes they are about to present to us on Nov. 23 at any previous bike show etc. we visited.
Let’s cut to the chase. We here at Moto “SQ” don’t care to weigh in on the millions of guesses as to what these models may or may not be. There are thousands of empty-ish vloggers on the tube who are thirsty for subject matter by which to fill bits and also satisfy subscriber attentions ad nauseum. (We will know the bikes when they unveil them…….SEE! we told you so)
We, on the other hand, want to be ….wait for it….surprised!
Yep! – In this age of non-anonymity, instant communication, gratification, information, meta-marketing, likes and dislikes and on and on….. We just want to be surprised!
“Why?”, You (Our favorite Squirrel-Friends) may ask?
Because there is one thing no one can take away from Kawasaki whether you are a fan-boy or girl-fan. It is that Kawi makes exciting bikes. And, if at times they don’t, they quite often create a “Sleeper” hit of a bike that becomes so popular that no so-called Moto Journalist could have predicted it! Enter the KLR 650 or the Versys 650 etc.
Exciting motorcycles in their beginnings- not so much. But these bikes have become iconic work horses through time and space. In the case of the KLR- it is such a great, time withstanding brute that it was used by many military units throughout the world. Can anyone say KLR Diesel?
As a matter of fact, here in the U.S.A., so many people love the Good’Ol KLR 650 so much that they practically think of it as an “Merc’an” (Say with terrible stereotyping accent- Sorry to our great South!) product. As in “It’s so good it OUGHT to be American”- Yep wrap your head around that one!
(How and why Euro-Globalist emissions standards WILL kill combustion engines and motorcycling ALTOGETHER is a subject for another article)
So………..Teasers are meant to spark anticipation, excitement and emotions plus foment a million questions!
Our questions (Not answers to what this new group of Kawi models could be) to the possibility of a KLR re-birth are thus:
1. If it is a “New” KLR what motor will it have? Single cylinder?
2. Same big single with a better balancer, doohickey and EFI?
3. Will it still be a rugged-as-hell bike?
4. Will regular Joe/Jill still be able to wrench on it?
5. Can it finally really do some highway here in the U.S.?
6. Does it still have a massive tank?
7. Will it share some of the same specs as to not throw out the great things of the Original?
8. 400cc parallel twin? 650cc twin? Thump Thump?
9. New electronics? Updated Dash? But still very analog?
10. Still priced for the everyday rider?
11. Better seat options for smaller/larger riders
12. LED lighting and an 18in rear wheel?
Sorry………we are excited!
Thanks to Kawasaki for making a real “Teaser” thirty second vid that has got the industry, motorcyclists and enthusiasts the world over excited!
Let’s get out of our houses, do the dangerous fun things and take some chances like Kawi does once in while!
Cheers!
Moto-Out!
1/30/2020
All photos and illustrations are the property of Motosquirrel LLC. 2020
MOTO Sugru?
Who Knew? Check out our Review!
We will stop rhyming too!
Firstly, we must explain further as to what *Sugru is! Well..we DO NOT KNOW! Here is what we DO know:
Sugru is a mysteriously mould-able man-made material that was originally designed/developed by some sexy young smart chick from the UK.. It’s proprietary formula is a defiantly well kept secret! Copy at your own risk!
It is mostly non-toxic, welcome to the touch, mould-able, relatively fast hardening and can be formed into lengths, limitless shapes and can easily accept the relief patterns pushed into it. It is very heat resistant, durable and can be used as a quick fix, for initial modeling, filling gaps and limitless opportunities where a mould-able/rubbery material is needed.
It also comes in many colors as well as both black and white and can be color mixed (Albeit not easily) to better match existing colors for consistency etc.
Sugru used to create a rounded/spherical clutch end for better grip and on center.
What Sugru is NOT! Although we here a Motosquirrel have experimented with this incredible material on about ten or so occasions, we have taken note at what Sugru shouldn’t be used as. For example, this material should not be used as one would incorporate epoxies or high-stress glues like JB weld etc. This gummy yet dense material ends up feeling more like the density of your handlebar grips rather than a hard plastic that can withstand lateral stress over planes etc. So…this material shouldn’t be used to patch a punctured engine case etc. Sugru is NOT that material! It shouldn’t be employed to bind high stress or high modulus components such as metals, fiberglass or composites.
That said, there are still a million uses for this incredible material! Have a punctured hole in the rubber sole of your Moto Boot? Clean it off, slap some Sugru on it, shape it quick…and wait a day! Need a grip on a tool that has an end or has been cut off?- Wrap some Sugru around the end to either fit your hand perfectly and/or add the textured grip pattern you wish! Got a USB wire connection that is fraying? Slap on some Sugru! Got some rattling on your bike where a body panel meets the frame etc.?- Custom SLAP some Sugru on the inside or as a special washer etc.! Need some new earpiece ends for your sunglasses, goggles or a new nose-piece?- Wait for it…….Slap some Sugru on it! Have a torn grip…..no time to wait for new ones……you get the idea!
Sugru is used to mimic a cap/cover piece no longer available as OEM.
We have included a few photo examples of how we have utilized Sugru on our bike or for our other related motorcycle products. Over the last three years we have been impressed with this products ease of use, infinite applications, colors available AND not lastly, it’s ability to save products or give them new life, especially when products are discontinued etc.(specifically in the case of boots that are our favorite(s) but no longer available and cannot be repaired by a professional). This ability is unique to Sugru!
The bad. The other two things that are unique to Sugru is its’ prohibitive pricing….at (Aprx.) .16 cents an ounce ($2.75 per .17 oz. ketchup sized packet), it ain’t cheap. The smallest size to experiment with would be a three-pack. And you WILL find a million uses for this material, as we have! Likely, you will also be combining these overly small ketchup packet sized parcels. Order more than you think you need!
Sugru is utilized here to attach a GoPro cam quick cleat to a Scorpion Helmet.
The second bad. Somehow, someway (place eerie conspiracy music here) whenever there is a fantastic DIY, how-to, or tut on how to make your own “Sugru” on any social stream or blog host provider….wait for it…., yep, it gets taken down! Someone out there is VERY protective of our little designer girl friend! Hmm…..was it her or 3M? We will never know!
You can get Sugru here, here and HERE!
BUY IT FROM SUGRU! THIS BUTTON TAKES YOU THERE!
SUGRU 3-PACK VIA AMAZON @7.99 U.S. (ATOW)
SUGRU ALL BLACK 8-PACK VIA AMAZON @15.99 (ATOW)
WARNING: Motosquirrel provides reviews and opinions only and is not compensated for this review. Any and all purchasing and utilization of the product mentioned in the attached post is the sole responsibility of the purchaser or receiver. The host provider for the Motosquirrel website is not connected in any legal way with Motosquirrel or the products, opinions, suggestions or stories as provided herein.
*Please NOTE: Motosquirrel as well as it’s Host Provider are not affiliated in any way with the product “Sugru” and are not representatives of this product and assume no endorsement or relationship whatever.
Giant Doughnut Gas Nozzles SUCK!
1/16/20
Battling The Bleepn’ Anti-Bikers!
(These Sucky-Suck, Vacuum Sucking Doughnut Gas nozzles…SUCK!)
A MOTOSQUIRREL RANT:
This motorcycle beef has been on the back-burner since this last spring. (Of course- once this article is published, it will fulfill the need and void of various Youtuber’s who lack any original ideas etc….we digress!).
It was this last Spring, in April, when we were trying out a new pair of tires and taking on some new territory with our small two-wheeled Squirrel-Mobile.
Needing gas (We don’t need gas! WE are full of hot-air), rather- the bike needed gas, so we stopped in at a locally owned gas station (Yep, we care about small business….you will too someday!).
The Squirrels had been there before and when we were preparing to fill up, everything felt the same. Same pump- check, same pump station- check, same overhang and station- check, check.
What was different was when it was time to get the dam 97 octane to flow out! It wasn’t happening! A bit miffed, your Squirrel wasn’t conquered for long and decided that it was a temporarily screwed up pump and proceeded to pack up, take the bike off it’s stand and relocate it in order to attempt a go at the pump number next to it.
Motosquirrel swiped the card, pressed in all of the required Bleepn’ information, smacked my favorite 97 octane….and…..the same dam thing! No Gas!- What the H*ll?
Feeling stupid (We have a cure for this- A future article is due)….we took a deep breath and went in to ask the Station Attendant what was up or what, perhaps we were doing wrong. Having a minute to spare, he came out and watched as we proceeded to again gas up our motorcycle.
Note: This is a nozzle example filling a car etc.
As he watched he sort-of chuckled and said that we were doing it wrong! He explained (With his heavy accent) that these were the “NEW” pump knozzles that were installed a few months back. He exclaimed, “You see that round part there?”, pointing to this rounded doughnut shaped black part that rested between the long metal tube I was used to and the normal handle mechanism that is covered in rubber. He continued, “You have to push that round part against the edge of your car or gas tank flat- so that it will detect or know that the nozzle is hooked up to your vehicle”.
Note: This is a nozzle example filling a car etc.
I thought about it and the original designs that had existed for years and were set up to detect a venturi vacuum difference so that the whole system wouldn’t overflow while you were filling. In THIS instance he was informing myself that the system wanted to know, or needed detection, that it was engaged in order to fill!
I asked him if they had installed all of this newer (Better?) units in all of the super gas stations and retailers as well. He noted that they had and the reason why I probably haven’t noticed is that most cars and vehicles have a natural boundary or flat surface which will readily be a place to shove or engage the units. We both thought it likely that most users wouldn’t notice the difference- if the unit(s) didn’t begin filling into a cager-mobile, most consumers would probably just push it or wiggle it until it would work.
But NOW we are talking bikes! Motorcycles have a limited depth to work with as well as a myriad of design difference which could prevent a newer nozzle of this type from engaging/sealing/kissing their gas tanks. Add in all the difference tank-bag attachments and you have a recipe for certain stupidtood!
How would I get this unit to seal at the time of my filling and this new information. Instinctively, I grabbed that doughnut with both hands and pulled it toward the handle base, acting like a suction action would. As the dip-tube insertion part hung partly inside the tank, I was able to awkwardly fill my tank!
But this sucked! We motorcyclists need to be able to interrupt our filling to check our tanks, top it off proper PLUS be able to see the top of the tank as we fill. This giant sucking doughnut from hell makes this very hard. Especially to fill with one hand!
Needless to say, I got gas all over the place! Who or what was this mini-bit of inventive stoopid invented for!? NOT Motorcyclists!
Motosquirrel is still mad!