Motorcycles & Misfits

Motorcycles & Misfits

The Motorcycles and Misfits Podcast is how we share our passion for all things two-wheeled. We ride street, dirt, ADV, track, touring, vintage and scooters, and we wrench, ride, race and attend events year round. We share our stories and interviews every week from the Re-Cycle Garage in sunny Santa Cruz, Ca.

Episodes

September 29, 2025 • 111 mins
Charlotte Kainz was just a kid, and even though we never met her, we have a lot in common with her. Like us, she was obsessed with bikes since she was little. She got her first bike, a PW50 at the age of four, and with her family's support, starting racing flat track at a young age. It was a family affair, and they could be found most weekends at the local track, where the owners treated everyone like extended family. It was here t...
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This episode takes a more philosophical twist. We are joined by The Existential Biker, Louisa Swaden, whose new book The Stoic Rider: Philosophy in Motion has just been published. After decades away from motorcycling Louisa returned in her 50s as a nervous novice with a fear of speed. Which makes her story all the more extraordinary because within the space of eighteen months she went from being afraid to go over 50mph on the freew...
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On this podcast we are joined by Bagel's friend Bud, who discussed their recent trip to the Heinkel rally. He also gushes about his new electric motorcycle; the Ryvid. Big Head Todd updates us on his basket case Ducati 996 he's rebuilding, and we end with some great listener emails. With Miss Emma, Stumpy John, Big Head Todd, Naked Jim, Scottie, Bagel and Bud. www.motorcyclesandmisfits.com motorcyclesandmisfits@gmail.com www.patr...
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September 7, 2025 • 130 mins
Attending the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials has been a bucket list event for us, so when an opportunity came up we took it. Now you might think Bonneville is all about speed, and for the most part it is, but what was most amazing was the community (or the salt family as we came to learn). You'll find everything from 50cc antique bikes to 3000cc fully shrouded custom built streamliners, and everything in between. We talked with...
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September 1, 2025 • 127 mins
Wendy Crockett joins the Misfits for a weekend of dirt instruction, wrenching and podcasting. In this episode Jim and Liza give a small recap on the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, and Jim tells a story about trying to fix a flat tire in the middle of nowhere, and ultimately running out of f**ks. Wendy and Liza taught a basic dirt bike class, and have some ideas of their own of what should be included in the perfect moto train...
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Here's another one of Liza's favorites from the archives, daredevil Debbie Lawler. When Debbie beat Even Knievel's jumping record in February 1974 at the age if 21, the American press was riveted. While there had been a handful of women who raced motorcycles there hadn't been any female daredevils professionally jumping them - much-less upstaging the brashest stunt rider of the era on national TV. Newspapers labeled her the "female...
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We all dream about the perfect garage. What would be in yours? All the best tools? Couches? A cigar bar and big screen TV? What about a clean checkerboard floor to display all of your bikes? Now take it bigger; what would your dream parcel be? Would your land have a track and a giant barn size shop? Maybe a bike wash station? Now dream even bigger. What if you could take over and old mall, make the Sears the bike shop, the Macy's a...
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We all love new technology; ABS brakes, fuel injection, traction control, etc. But when is it too much? Sometimes it's nice to have a simple bike that is all mechanical, and everything can be taken apart and fixed. Advancing or retarding the timing, changing the jets and being able to easily access the spark plugs. These are things that we like having control of. Now don't get your panties in a wad about modern technology. We know ...
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August 3, 2025 • 123 mins
Everyone is wrong according to Miss Emma. What is often referred to as a retro bike, is in fact a nostalgia bike. In some cases, it might be a vintage, or a modern retro, or even a modern retro vintage. So what is the difference? And what category do "retro" bikes really belong in? Sit back and listen to the Misfits get into the minutiae of it. And while we are in it, let's just hop into another debatable topic. What is the officia...
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July 28, 2025 • 152 mins
AMA Vintage Days does not disappoint. Bigger than ever with an attendance estimated at more than 70,000 and heavy rain storms in the forecast, it still was an amazing weekend. In fact, the mud seemed to add to the list of things to experience and brought us all together sharing our stories. But fortunately the rain came in spurts, leaving plenty of sunshine to keep the races and activities going. We enlisted the help of stunt Misfi...
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July 20, 2025 • 120 mins
Can a Chinese brand bike survive the Iron Butt Rally? 11,000 in 11 days. This is a question that will remain unanswered for now. Our friend and sometimes stunt Misfit Wendy Crockett attempted to prove that it is possible, but things did not go her way. And when we say it didn't go her way, the dead bike on the side of the road quickly because the smaller of her problems. So did the bike die because Chinese bikes are presumably chea...
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There's so much going on this week so we packed it all into one episode. First up, Neal and Stumpy John took an adventure ride up to the Lost Coast in N. Cali. Everything up there is either ocean, redwoods, pot farms or vineyards, so you know the ride was epic. Next up, we spent the weekend down at Laguna Seca for the MotoAmerica races. For some of us, we've been going for years, so we focus on test riding bikes and all the things...
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Peter Egan is a legend in the world motorcycle journalism. He is best known for his work as an automotive and motorcycle writer. He gained prominence through his long-running columns and features in Road & Track and Cycle World magazines, where his storytelling combined mechanical insight with a nostalgic, often humorous style. Egan began writing for Cycle World in the late 1970s and later joined Road & Track in the 1980s. His writ...
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June 29, 2025 • 97 mins
On this week's motorcycle podcast we discuss a bunch of topics including ADV bikes, old Harleys in Jake 2.0's truck, teaching military personnel how to ride and the goings on in the garage. Featuring Naked Jim, Miss Emma, Stumpy John, Neal, Jake 2.0 and Tim. womenridersworldrelay.com/ wima-usa.com/2025-international-rally/ www.motorcyclesandmisfits.com motorcyclesandmisfits@gmail.com www.patreon.com/motorcyclesandmisfits www.zazzl...
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June 23, 2025 • 132 mins
Harley Davidson Sportster; the red headed step child of the motorcycle world. Harley people think they are "beginner" or "girl's bikes", and non Harley riders just think it's a Hardley. So where do they belong? In the sports category as HD has them? As an 883cc beginner bike? Here's the thing, they have an interesting history and a race lineage to boot. For a cruiser they are pretty nimble and fun, and as Chris has proven on 4-1/2 ...
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June 15, 2025 • 120 mins
Ride reports. Boy have we got them. Emma took a trip up to the Avenue of the Giants on her trusty RF800, aka 'Rufus' where she encountered a frightful situation. Scottie rode up to Washington for the Dreamroll rally, where apparently everyone rides topless. Liza took a ride up to SF and on her way back, became trapped for hours in the middle of the night due to a horrific accident up ahead. Fortunately she made it home safely, but ...
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Cyril Williams was an Isle of Man TT racer, riding his AJS to victory in 1920. The TT is known as one of the most dangerous races in the world, yet this paled in comparison to what he experienced just a couple of years before. During the World War 1, TT racers were brought in with their race bikes to serve as dispatch riders, risking their lives by outrunning bullets to insure critical messages were delivered to and from the front ...
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June 2, 2025 • 122 mins
Welcome to another rousing episode of our show. We got the band back together, and have a lot of catching up to do. Liza is back from England, and went to some really cool places, including the Sidecarcross World Championship and the Bike Shed Show. Meanwhile, Emma and Neil were at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering and have their own stories to tell. Liza introduces a new game called "Read My Mind" where we have to guess the spirit a...
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From our listener submissions for our Insta 360 camera contest, it seems as if the critters are out to get us! On this motorcycle podcast we discuss garage happenings and Naked Jim and Stumpy John's recent high desert adventures. Miss Emma gives us a short lesson on anti-lock brakes. We also read the submissions we received from our contest. So many great stories! While all submissions were great, we picked a winner! Featuring Mis...
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Liza is off riding the mountains of Pakistan again, so it's her turn to pick a favorite from the archives, and it doesn't get much better than Debbie Evans Leavitt. She's a 7 time Taurus World Stunt Award winner, she's in the AMA Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Stunt Hall of Fame. She's got almost 400 movie and TV credits to her name, and was also one of the best trials riders in the world. But for us her most notable job has been ...
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