The Lowdown Show - By ADVRider Neil Graham

Wes Siler turned a contempt for US motorcycle media circa 2010 into the highly influential website Hell for Leather. Believing rigorous journalism was compromised because of too-cozy relationships between media and manufacturers, Wes became the most disliked man in the business—a role he relished. But then he sold HFL and it because a very watered-down property that eventually died. Wes currently is a contributor for Outside magazine and lives in the wilds of Montana. Remarkable for his ability to reinvent himself, Wes solders on with his sandpaper-like personally always at the ready to offend a new subset of the population. 

If you've been paying attention for the past decade, you know that India's motorcycle industry is booming. But what's it like to ride there? And why does it matter to North American riders? In this episode of The Lowdown Podcast, Neil returns from riding India, where his eyes were opened.

Neil's no stranger to challenging riding; he's a racer (including years in flat track, speedway and roadracing). He's ridden bikes as a magazine writer and editor in locations all over the world. But India was a whole new level of difficulty, with traffic—including a gas tanker—liable to be coming at you the wrong way, down the opposite shoulder of the road where it belongs.

And yet, the country is moto-mad. People are buying bikes in a scale we just cannot appreciate here in North America. This week, motorcycle designer/industry analyst Michael Uhlarik returns to give us a rundown of the players on that scene, companies that you might have never heard of, but companies that are making motorcycles in a scale that far eclipses familiar North American players like Indian and Harley-Davidson. And you might not think that will matter in North America or Europe, but that's not the case. Historically, western countries extracted resources and financial wealth from India. Now, money is still flowing out of India, but it's returning as companies like Bajaj, Mahindra or TVS buy ownership in brands like KTM, BSA or Norton.

The made-in-India revolution has already hit the world of motorcycles, but Uhlarik suggests it might go even further—with the most American brand of all a potential target of Indian capital…

This week, Neil is talking to Zac Kurylyk, aka Kawazacky, the managing editor here at ADVrider. Kawazacky has a long history here at ADVrider, joining as an inmate more than 15 years back, using the Ride Reports as inspiration to move beyond the world of commuting. He's been running around the halls of motojournalism for roughly the same amount of time, writing for online and print mags across the US and Canada, starting here at ADVrider five years ago. Today, he phones in from his workshop to talk bikes.

Over the past couple of the years, one of the most controversial columns that Zac has written asks: Why aren't kids buying motorcycles today, like they did in the 1970s? Inmates had lots of opinions, blaming everything from parental neglect to video games to distracted drivers, but Neil asks Zac: Why does it matter if young people lose interest in bikes? According to Zac, riders' rights are at stake, if things don't change... 

Later, this episode discusses: Who are the motorcycle rebels of today? And what are Neil and Zacs guilty pleasure bikes, the ones they secretly want even though they don't make sense?

For episode 1 on The Lowdown Show, we’re joined by Michael Uhlarik, a world-renowned motorcycle designer, founder of Motorcycle Global and an avid fan of electrification.

Why have major players in the space emerged onto the scene with so much excitement and then fizzled? What happened to Cake? And is this the natural path forward for electrification in the motorcycle industry?

We’ll put all of these questions and more to Uhlarik and learn plenty about the tribulations and triumphs of battery bikes.