The Riding Obsession is an ever developing online venue for motorcycle enthusiasts who enjoy responsibly spirited riding along routes less travelled.
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Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin arrives at Putnam Park with Maggie's bone-stock SV650 in tow before slowly melting his knee pucks anyway. The track turns its cornfield disguise into elevation changes, blind apexes and a throttle lesson from Turn one to "Dead Bear". His verdict keeps both halves intact in that the riding is excellent, the people mostly mean well and organizers should write down the unwritten rules before shouting them across pit lane. Brian enters novice on a tall FJ09, ge
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin turns rider suffering into a choice instead of a personality trait, from a cold memorial run toward Florida to a closed Kentucky road that accidentally ends at Maker's Mark. The carrier question gets practical with 500-to-600-pound capacity for a Honda XR650L, solid receiver hardware and lights that remain visible behind the bike. He later argues that speed belongs with sightlines, restraint and enough manners to avoid creating one more cager with a motorcy
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin flips last week's paper lesson into a 40-app panic spiral, then rescues it with a plan. His new Maps to Apps Testing Grounds will put one navigator at a time against GPX handoff, offline maps, rider-aware routing and whatever feature manages not to melt when the cell signal is gone. Track-day prep later turns the same appetite for options into canopies, coolant rules, taped wheel weights and a choice between Maggie's SV and the paid-down GSX-8R. Brian separ
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin folds paper-map survival into sun position, town signs and trip-meter resets, then sends the route through Idaho 93 where a boring straight line somehow earns a love letter. He also weighs dealership trust against DIY limits, puts torque wrench range to work under the RV and sizes up rear-opening helmets without letting a novel latch become the next Jägermeister. The Cyborg weather voice is now free, though Indiana still answers with a yeehaw. Brian packs a
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin turns Midwest storm dodging into Rain Roulette, a judgment test built from tire confidence, body temperature and how much wet mesh a sane rider can tolerate. He owns one midnight floodwater run as the wrong answer, then shifts to Waze motorcycle routing, a separating tire that needs a trailer and a three-minute traffic gap for reclaiming famous roads from Jagoff Junction. Somewhere between scorched socket adapters and new torque wrenches, MotorcycleTraining
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Garmin may rescue you for free, GoPro wants another chance and a glow-in-the-dark wrench promises to survive gravel even when dignity doesn't. An LED backpack wins TRO's Dumbest New Gear Award while questionable gas-station chicken quietly withdraws from competition. Then, what sensible adults do ... spend imaginary lottery money by eliminating every inconvenience within reach (or wrench). Robin's local riding route, dubbed the "Leavenworth Lunchbox", is fully ma
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Joanne turns the second half of Hundred Money into a rich-person fitting appointment with actual consequences. Robin gets steered toward Shoei, Revit, Dainese and Alpinestars plus gloves that don't punish his hands for existing. He and Joanne agree that fitment, rider posture and seasonal tradeoffs matter more than whatever price tag makes Brian laugh. Brian gets an FJ09 prescription next, Joanne keeping it upright for touring without pretending a mild forward le
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin starts riverside in Leavenworth, Indiana, where the RV ramp becomes a patio over the Ohio and Highways 62/66 wait outside like an accidental welcome mat. Brown County rally stories follow him home with a tired rear tire, baby bottle beer jab, Craftsman warranty that aged into "craps, man" and enough tire-plug calm to keep the ride from turning theatrical. Cue the heatwave and humidity. Brian keeps the rally loose by design (set the date, manage beds, let ca
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Travis gets the featured-special chair after flying into New Mexico in moto boots, turning a helmet bag into a hard-shell purse and borrowing Maggie's bike for the Truth or Consequences tour. His ride report moves from Winston, Alpine and the Devil's Highway to blacktop that changes color, gravel that waits mid-corner and rain that dumps once then vanishes. By the end, the verdict is simple enough for a dehydrated punk-rock tourist: New Mexico is worth it ... but
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Brian drags a squishy-braked 2015 Yamaha FJ09 into the black-box confessional, where a factory ABS bleed apparently wants Yamaha diagnostic tool 9890-03231. His refrigerator, somehow the more transparent machine, becomes the comparison point: cheap heater, cheap timer, visible failure, fixable problem. The real gripe is not ABS, fuel injection or modern displays (it's useful technology locked behind tools owners can't buy). Robin brings news from the practical si
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Brian comes back from the Smokies with three days, 800-ish miles and a Newport base that beats the usual tourist circus by simply not being Gatlinburg. The Dragon gets demoted to been-there hardware. 19W, Hot Springs, NC 209 and the new Foothills Parkway section earn the good ink complete with Helene damage, dandelion-shaped route mistakes and car-club conga lines. Robin turns the correction desk into Devil's Highway housekeeping, then lets the episode wander int
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin opens the rebound lab with BMW RS nostalgia, Hayabusa sticker science and a Kentucky-bound track-day map that makes Putnam Park look like a fast way to learn religion. He turns KR's engine-braking question into practical street survival: stay in gear when the situation might change, use neutral only when the rear-view mirror says the buffer of destruction is doing its job and stop narrating every downshift like a Victorian train announcement. His suspension
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin turns fresh MCN bits into sport touring math: smoother UK roads, pump-price pain and smart helmets that might still start a comms compatibility bar fight. A friend's Ducati Hypermotard arrives with tires worn on the sides, not the center, because New Mexico apparently invented trailer-to-twisties tire geometry. He folds family memory, Iron Butt attempts, Kentucky roots and Trip 7's Super Clover fallback into one clean idea: a ride gets better when it has a
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin keeps it loose with playlist shoutouts, Insta gadget jabs and side eye. He gives patient compression tips: a dash of oil in the plug, steady hand on the gauge. He handles the "harsh howdy" rider, coins the vertical Irish goodbye, steering back love to plot a next trip. Brian plays practical grease monkey, dropping a clear, hands on primer on compression tests. He preaches solid gear, pull the intake as needed, check battery, oil tells and sort fork seals. H
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Brian tees up the GSX-8R as a first bike, tire plug truths and goblins in our helmets. Kit gospel lands fast: use Nealey sticky-string plugs, carry a pump, cut them flush and babysit your pressure. Ride boss mode says control the scene, use the hot-pit and avoid road confetti. Robin brings cringey pass tales, calls out riders who check out and reminds us that risk is always along for the ride. He turns tech guide, plugs RevZilla reverse-bleed vids, wrestles fork
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! This round, we're 100% raw, unedited, live without a net! Joanne goes from scooter to sportbike after a year of seat time, proving practice beats impulse buys. She builds muscle memory and confidence, so Ninja-to-Seca II feels natural, the journey leading her to coach others. She points couples toward focus, puts partner comfort first, keeps it honest, fits gear, finds friendly groups and never forces bikes they didn't choose. Brian is equal parts grease monkey a
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin rockets in, riffing on the Triumph 660, Trident talk, Tiger tweaks and sub-10k stunners that make wallets cackle. He hacks eBay space-Lego hunts, then talks oil, changing it pre and post storage because recycling is hip and useful, albeit neurotic in his case. In leader bias, he cops to mirror checks, comm quirks and LP1/2/3 to shield loved ones w/o running folks off road. Brian, the spec-sheet whisperer, cheers Triumph near-100 hp value and drops a GS850 l
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin rolls from a Bayard cafe to a dirt-bike chase flick to a humbling dealer finance saga. He digs practical dash tech like tidy TPMS, one-box Android hubs and gives Garmin rear radar a careful nod but keep your own eyes working. He pitches modular, personalized training and tees up for his return to the midwest. Brian, anchored with scalpel takes, cheers an 18-year-old Daytona podium and even blesses KLRs at track days. He tracks trends from PandoMoto street a
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Meet Dean Johnson, fifth gen guide, bourbon pusher and tiger oak bar wrangler at Sherwood Inn. He sprints from 1875 launch to the 1913 rebuild, rail side oddities, family remodels and its National Register cred. With bourbon and monk fudge trivia, he sells a warm, slightly haunted rider stop with real rooms, bar welcome and ridge twisties Robin keeps citing. Brian rolls in like the garage nerd you phone at 2 a.m., with Airoh helmets finally landing in the U.S. He
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Brian's runnin' the show like a safety-obsessed flight instructor for what is a "Two Wheeled Pilot" redux. He spams teamwork analogies, bad-habit warnings and checklists backed by IMSAFE and GUMPS (with a T-Clocks chaser). War tales from sneaky CA dual sport to NM leg cramps, cures for get-there-itis and ride your own ride, wild zingers and nerdy, useful tire psi guilt. Angelmarie voices the rookie jitters, eyeing a 45-minute kickstands 'n' coffee gathering while
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin opens like a ringmaster of a half-planned circus, revives old bits, drops an Alliteration Grab Baguette by way of goofy book experiments. He pushes inclusivity and track-day prep, says research your provider and learn the lingo. He flips biker stereotypes into lessons, admits a hardware store jerk moment, stays human and opinionated and asks curiosity over cheap digs. Brian brings travel bravado and prep, rents a crusty 2009 V-Strom on Twisted Road for Cali
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin kicks on, spins a random song, plugs it, boosts a friend's Insta and revisits Maptastic Mayhem. He riffs on a Silver City cruise, a Cuban sandwich fling and light/shadow vibes that make you slow when you want to rip. He hijacks RideWithGPS for a live Portland to Glacier sketch, plugs a Kurtis Minder book chat, okays a grab baguette bit and tries to keep the chaos ... charming. Brian is the calm tech foil who rode to lunch and brought actual wisdom, not just
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin demands you read a massive article about GSX-8R valve checks beforehand, even if it hasn't been published yet. Apparently we should all spend our weekends measuring microscopic engine gaps instead of actually going somewhere. It's the ultimate bedtime story for nerds who think getting grease under their fingernails counts as a personality trait. Brian wandered into a dealership to ogle the new Triumph models and complain about people touching the merchandis
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Angelmarie is bringin' more of those positive beginner vibes. She and the crew tackle MSF basics, the infamous offset weave, target fixation and looking ahead (not "confronting" cones). From rev-match jitters to clutch-free shifting, the chat stays practical, approachable and most importantly, human. Brian grins through OPM, Other People's Motorcycles and Other People's Money, turning it into a learning playground. He helped a friend score a Triumph Tiger Sport 8
Radio TRO is brought to you in part by: Twisted Road - Motorcycle Rental in the USA Visit Twisted.TRO.bike to get a FREE riding day! Robin and Brian detour into the literary world of The Relaxation Response, framing it as integral to decompressing from modern life stress. Brian highlights how simple, secular powers of any mantra can lower the heart rate, while Robin acknowledges a profound mental shift that occurs when we quiet our internal dialogue. Together, they pitch the practice as Zen's tune-up, proving even tech-obsessed riders need to downshift their nervous system now and then. But fi
