Wednesday, August 20, 2008

PLANET RACERS boyz


Digging into my folder of Sony Mavica floppy disk camera photos again, I came up with this one from a group of about four or five. I think we got Mike Dooney to take these for use either on the PLANET RACERS website or in the actual books (maybe both). This one shows me and Jim Lawson with a KTM "Duke", a "hooligan"-type streetbike on which I witnessed Jim do the scariest "stoppie" I'd ever seen. (A "stoppie" is kind of the opposite of a "wheelie" -- while moving forward, the rider jams on the front brake and allows the rear end of the bike to rise up in the air, the height of which is dependent on the speed the bike was going, the strength of the front brake, and the courage and skill of the rider.) This one was scary (to me, at least, given that Jim performed it as we both came up to the same stop, and he and his bike were about five feet away on my right side), but I'll also admit it was impressive. -- PL
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8 comments:

  1. joe-eyeballAugust 20, 2008 at 3:55 PM

    I love motorcycles and would like to get one someday. In fact I once had my eye on an 883 Harley Sportster but my wife did not approve. I, however do not like motorcycle stunts, only cruising. Stunts on bikes is exacltly like playing with fire. Two weeks ago a guy I work with who is an experienced rider was hotdogging it on the highway with a friend and they both wrecked. The guy I work with was injured badly and his friend died. If yor gonna ride you need to ride smart and ride safe.

    -Joe D

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  2. ~ tOkKaAugust 20, 2008 at 5:03 PM

    -->> Our two favourite hotdoggers.

    Hey , Pete .. dumb question

    ..you think you or Jim have any concept stuff on hand for Falcon's bike toy Playmates put out the other year ??

    Seems like people seem to forget there actually was an official Planetracers / TMNT toy out there ~~!!


    **




    ** KUDOS to Joe for the pointer

    >v<

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  3. Tristan JonesAugust 20, 2008 at 5:05 PM

    Yeah, I saw a mate, who is a fantastic dirt-bike rider, do a stoppie once. Scared the absolute crap out of his girlfriend, but I can't say I was completely unimpressed...

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  4. PLAugust 20, 2008 at 5:39 PM

    "~ tOkKa said...
    -->> Our two favourite hotdoggers.

    Hey , Pete .. dumb question

    ..you think you or Jim have any concept stuff on hand for Falcon's bike toy Playmates put out the other year ??

    Seems like people seem to forget there actually was an official Planetracers / TMNT toy out there ~~!!"

    Dave, I'm not sure that there WAS any concept art of the type I think you're referring to for that toy version of Falcon's bike -- Playmates may have just used the art from the graphic novels as reference. I'll look around, though, and hopefully remember to ask Jim if he recalls any. -- PL

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  5. PLAugust 20, 2008 at 5:46 PM

    "joe-eyeball said...
    I love motorcycles and would like to get one someday. In fact I once had my eye on an 883 Harley Sportster but my wife did not approve. I, however do not like motorcycle stunts, only cruising. Stunts on bikes is exacltly like playing with fire. Two weeks ago a guy I work with who is an experienced rider was hotdogging it on the highway with a friend and they both wrecked. The guy I work with was injured badly and his friend died. If yor gonna ride you need to ride smart and ride safe.

    -Joe D"

    Joe, I generally agree with what you said above. The last time I did a stunt on the street -- a wheelie -- was back in high school. But just to clarify the nature of Jim's "stoppie" stunt -- it was scary to me (mostly because (a) I wasn't ready for it, and (b) I wouldn't ever have the nerve to try something like that myself), but even if it had gone all wrong, it would very likely have resulted in embarrassment and maybe a few bent and/or broken pieces of the bike, but almost certainly not injury to Jim or anyone else. -- PL

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  6. PLAugust 20, 2008 at 5:47 PM

    " Tristan Jones said...
    Yeah, I saw a mate, who is a fantastic dirt-bike rider, do a stoppie once. Scared the absolute crap out of his girlfriend, but I can't say I was completely unimpressed..."

    Trist, please tell me that the dude's girlfriend wasn't a passenger on the bike at the moment he did the stoppie...! -- PL

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  7. Tristan JonesAugust 21, 2008 at 2:28 AM

    Hahah! No, fortunately, she just hates him doing it (even though he probably puts himself at greater risk doing other things).

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  8. Capital ChayApril 25, 2009 at 11:13 PM

    He was confident enough to spook you with the stunt thus he must be competent enough to pull it off. Mirage guys are no slackers in any department.

    ReplyDelete