Loud3r Blog

LOUD3R Founder Talks Motorcylces

When did you first ride a motorcycle?

I guess there are really two stories here. When I was about 12 my uncle bought a 50cc moped. I think it was a Puch. When I would go to visit him all I wanted to do was ride the moped. I rode it flat out all the time.

My re-introduction to bikes was in 1997. My friend Jerry had just started riding and purchased a Yamaha Seca II. We went together to the Rose Bowl parking lot in Pasadena. Lots of people go there to learn to drive and practice. He handed me his helmet and the keys. I got on the bike and started it up.

Now on the old moped you had to give it a handful to get going. This is not the case on a 900cc motorcycle. I gave it a handful of gas, let out the clutch and pulled a huge wheelie. I managed to not fall off, but scared myself silly. I was hooked. Now I don't even really know how to wheelie.

How many bikes have you owned?

Ten, including Ducati, KTM, BMW & Yamaha

What do you own now?

Right now I own a KTM 950 Supermoto. It is a fantastic bike. I think KTM makes the coolest, sexiest, most fun motorcycles on the market.

How many miles do you expect to ride this year?

Not that many. Probably about 10,000.

You are the moving force behind FAST3R. What inspired you to start it? Was it an extension of your interest in motorcycles, or did it just seem like a logical market?

I started Loud3r Inc. in June of 2007. Our aim is to build a network of enthusiast content sites for many topics. When it came time to pick topics to test the software, motorcycles were an obvious choice. There is a great passionate community of people involved with motorcycling. The content and interest areas are very diverse. To be successful we needed to be able to find and publish the best content about everything from Sturgis to World Superbike to Stunt riding.

Because motorcycles are a huge passion for me I knew that I could provide a good eye in judging whether the product was really working. When I started finding cool articles every day that I couldn't easily find elsewhere, I knew we were on to something.

Motorcycling isn't a singular thing. There is a real difference between the person interested in sport bikes, the person interested in heavy cruisers, and the dirt bike rider (just to name three). How do you see bridging those diverse interests? Few traditional media companies even try.

I think you're right that motorcycling is incredibly diverse. Riders have much more diverse personal tastes than traditional magazines and sites seem to understand. How many riders have a dirt bike and a sport bike?

The idea with FAST3R is to let the individual user pick the content they think is cool. The product helps you find just Honda content if that's your thing or you can choose to read about Motocross or Adventure Touring. I think that's much closer to the reality of people's interests.

What attracted you to motorcycling? Why do you ride?

My dad rode bikes when he was younger, but motorcycles were forbidden when I was growing up. I guess that was part of the initial interest. Once I started to ride I got swept away by it.

With all of the intrusions of work, life and technology, riding is one of the few things that requires my full concentration: 100%. There an incredible satisfaction in riding and controlling the bike. There's also a paradox of being in greater touch with the world around you. Let's face it, a motorcycle is an artificial intrusion into the world. It's loud. It pollutes. But, when I ride I do feel more in touch with the world around me. The smells. The changing light. The surface of the road.

What's the coolest thing you've done on a motorcycle?

I went with a group of friends on a trip riding across part of Alaska on KLR 650s. Fast dirt roads. Glaciers. Moose. A great trip with a great group of guys.