Join over a quarter-million subscribers as we bridge the gap between high-level engineering and real-world riding. Brian is a seasoned racer and engineer who dives deep into the technical "why" of motorcycle physics. Dave is a professional rider coach with 25 years of experience, and a moto-journalist, who specializes in simplifying those complex ideas into actionable street and track techniques. From MotoGP analysis to crash recovery, get the honest, expert advice you need to become a better, safer, and faster rider.
"Brake to the Apex" Is Bad Advice (And MotoGP Proves It)
Motegi wasn't an exciting weekend, but it was a fascinating one. A brand new track surface, a Michelin rear tire that came apart in the sprint, and a hard-carcass "safety tire" that not one rider mounted until Sunday warm up, which turned out to be the tire they should have been on all weekend.
Dave and Brian dig into why that happened, how Marc Marquez played cat and mouse with Jorge Martin in the Grand Prix, and what the on-screen rider data shows about how the fastest riders in the world really enter a corner.
That leads into a full riding breakdown: what "brake to the apex" really means, how trail braking trades brake pressure for lean angle, why you want the fork to stay loaded at tip-in, when to pick the throttle back up, and where your eyes should be the whole time. It all applies on the street as much as the track.
We wrap up with MotoGP's plan to add a Friday sprint qualifying session next year, why we think it's about selling Friday tickets and will cost riders, and Brian's idea for a better way to set the grid.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome back
2:07 Motegi preview and the championship fight
4:28 New surface and Michelin's tire gamble
6:05 Sprint: first-lap crash and Martin's shredded tire
12:51 The hard tire nobody tried
18:28 Grand Prix: Marquez's cat and mouse with Martin
24:17 Why MotoGP gets better the more you know
29:39 Riding tip: do you really brake to the apex?
38:03 Anatomy of a corner: braking, tip-in, throttle
43:37 Vision, and using track skills on the street
50:10 MotoGP's new Friday sprint qualifying
59:32 Brian's fix for the sprint grid
1:00:54 Dave's Moto Guzzi video
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/CanyonChasers
29 Sept 2026
Old vs New Ducati Panigale V2 Back to Back: Did Ducati Ruin It?
There's a new bike in the garage: a 2021 Ducati Panigale V2, bought to replace an Aprilia RSV4 Factory as a club race bike. We talk about the first track days on a completely bone stock V2 (slicks only), what the Showa Big Piston Fork does well on the brakes and where it falls apart mid-corner, and why racers ditch BPF internals for cartridges.
Then the good part: riding the old 955 V2 and the new 890 V2 back to back on the same track, same day. The new bike has less power, a double-sided swingarm, and a very different personality. On paper it looks like a step backward. On track and on the street, it might be the better bike for most riders.
We also get into why club racing is worth it, whether 155 hp belongs in a middleweight class, Honda's electric-supercharged V3, the unforgivable sin of Honda never building a production V5, a Discovery Channel show that led to an Air Force career in metalworking, and an update on Frunk the cat.
0:00 The new bike: 2021 Ducati Panigale V2
1:09 Why leave the Aprilia RSV4 Factory?
3:31 First track days, bone stock
6:25 Big Piston Forks: great braking, vague mid-corner
17:28 Engine, frame, and the single-sided swingarm
28:00 Old V2 vs new V2 back to back
38:48 The new V2 should have been called a SuperSport
40:53 Will he race it? A love letter to club racing
51:26 Honda's V3 and shifting a twin
59:27 Paint plans and a Discovery Channel origin story
1:04:21 Honda's missing V5, EICMA, and a Triple R wish
1:09:51 Frunk the cat
#PanigaleV2 #Ducati #CanyonChasers
23 Sept 2026
Royal Enfield Is What Harley Buyers Think They're Buying
Royal Enfield might be the heritage motorcycle Harley buyers think they're getting, and after 800 miles of Route 66 on a Classic 650, Dave has thoughts. The CanyonChasers Podcast is back.
In this episode: riding Route 66 from Tulsa to Albuquerque on the Royal Enfield Classic 650 125th anniversary special edition, why Route 66 towns are fading, and why Royal Enfield is built in India. Then a trip to Mandello del Lario for Moto Guzzi's 105th anniversary: the parade, the new factory, running into Max Biaggi, and riding a Stelvio and V85 TT around Lake Como.
Along the way: why motorcycle dealerships have to become community hubs to survive, why forums built better motorcycle culture than social media, a flat track racer driving the chase van, the one-bike quiver debate, and a Jimmy Wood story about secret weighted flat track wheels.
00:00 We're back
01:07 Track day and the one-bike quiver
03:35 Route 66 on a Royal Enfield
07:18 Royal Enfield vs Harley: real heritage
08:35 Why Royal Enfield is built in India
13:35 The future of motorcycle dealerships
18:09 Why Royal Enfield has a cult following
20:28 Flat trackers and the Jimmy Wood story
25:57 Moto Guzzi's 105th and meeting Max Biaggi
31:57 Lake Como: Stelvio or V85 TT?
35:30 Brand tribes and the motorcycle wave
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/CanyonChasers
Who has been a guest on CanyonChasers Podcast
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Greg
Doodle On a Motorcycle
Greg Tada
Dr Matt Tolstoy
Freddie Spencer
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Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
11 ratings
Spotify
4.6 / 5
31 ratings
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