Highside/Lowside - A Motorcycle Podcast

Always a fantastic podcast with Spurgeon and Zack. Always appreciate the information, insight and humor. Tim is a fantastic guest and I’d love to hear about his experiences at Get on Adventure Fest after you both drag him out there!

Motorcycling has been a lifelong dream for me. Growing up, my dad had a 1979 Kawasaki 450 sitting in the garage, and I always imagined us restoring it and taking father-son rides together. I got my motorcycle license at 18, but life got in the way — I couldn’t afford a bike at the time. After my dad passed away from cancer, I turned 30 and finally bought my first motorcycle: a 2005 Yamaha Road Star Silverado. A friend picked it up from the dealership and brought it to my apartment. I was so nervous that I dropped it in the apartment parking lot. I managed to pick it up and tried to put it in neutral to push it back to the garage, but it was too much — I had to lay it down again. In that moment, trying to honor my father’s dream and my own, I felt like a failure. I had forgotten everything I learned at 18 and struggled just to get the bike back into the garage. It was a real low point. That experience showed me I needed to change my approach. I took a proper riding course with the South Dakota Safety Council, learned from the ground up, pushed through the fear, and within weeks I was riding from Sioux Falls across South Dakota. That first long trip was brutal — no cruise control, terrible seat pain — but I was hooked. Since then I’ve taken cross-country trips, joined local riding groups, and upgraded to a 2018 Indian Chieftain Classic that I’ve heavily modified to fit me perfectly. To stay connected to the riding world, I turned to High Side, Low Side. I really enjoy the deep knowledge that Zack and Spurg bring, the guest episodes, the fun engine sound games, and the behind-the-scenes industry stories. I’ve learned so much about different types of bikes, Barber Motorsports Park, the Isle of Man TT, and more. As a cruiser and bagger rider, I do wish they gave a little more love to our niche, but I still appreciate the broad perspective on all kinds of motorcycles. I especially admire how Zack came back to the show after his serious injury. What could have ended his riding completely showed real perseverance and love for what he does. I hope he continues to heal and recover strong. This is one of the best motorcycle podcasts out there. Highly recommend! 5 out of 5 stars.

Highside/Lowside is far and above my favorite podcast. Whether it’s my 5AM drive to work or midnight garage tinkering, you can usually find me listening to a new or repeat episode. The only downside to the show has been explaining to my very confused/concerned wife the backstory to phrases like “Mat Oxley’s ning-ning”. Keep it up Zack, Spurge, and Chase, you are doing a truly wonderful thing.

I’ve recently returned to riding after more than a decade, and ‘All Things Revzilla’ have become my go-to! I bought an old Vstrom 650 (shout out Spurge’s Dad!) and immediately turned to The Shop Manual for tips to catch up on the maintenance for a 15 year old bike with no shop records. With Ari’s sage advice the ‘ol WeeStrom and I spend our 60 mile work commute through the redwood forests of NorCal listening to the Highside/Lowside pod to catch up on everything that I’ve missed while I was away. Keep up the great work, and thank you for all that you do. Your inclusivity, wit, and knowledge are a great credit to our sport and a service to the culture of motorcycling. Many thanks and warm regards.