SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GIRL GANG - KIKI AZIM

VC LONDON November 24, 2015

So what can we say about the infamous Kiki ...... We first met her at Babes Ride Out when we'd just rolled in after a 3 hour marathon along the highway. Stood on top of a 6 foot high podium swinging her hair around like a nutty windmill it was pretty safe to say we were gonna be good friends.

While at BRO she was riding one of the most bad ass Triumph scramblers we've ever seen, built & lent to her by British Customs, with her 2 friends Liz & Marie & filming an incredible video for caferacerxxx. Impressed yet?

This girl is an absolute adventurer in every sense of the word & rides road, dirt & well, anything that she can get her hands on with two wheels. Born & raised in Pakistan, shes spent the last 13 years living all over the world from the South of France to travelling through the US & finally calling Portland her home, & now we're lucky enough to have her for a hot minute with us in London. On top of all this she is one of the friendliest, warmest & craziest moto ladies we've met so far. We caught up with her while she was in London recently to her to talk about how she first got into riding, her welding skills (?!) & how she got on on a recent trip motoring through her native Pakistan!

KIKI FOR MAYOR!!!!!!!!!!!!

PHOTO: BECKY GOEBEL AT www.themroadapples.com

How long have you been riding?

I officially started riding 3 years ago just before my 30th birthday

What was you first bike?

A HONDA Z50 monkey bike with a 125cc engine.

What do you ride now?

I still ride the monkey & my 1976 Honda XL250. I modified the lil guy a little with motocross handle bars & customised bmx racing bar pads & oury grips. Changed the air filter & installed minimalistic indicator lights. the enduro is pretty much all stock & in mint condition!

KIKI WITH LIZ @DEATHRODDIXIE & MARIE @MARIE_VILL BY @PAIGE_LONEWOLF — KIKI WITH LIZ @DEATHRODDIXIE & MARIE @MARIE_VILL BY *@PAIGE_LONEWOLF*

Dream bike?

As much as I think a chopper would look & feel damn good, i would have to say a Dirt/street/Flat tracker style bike is the ultimate Moto for me as far as aesthetic & comfort & dynamic is concerned.

Road or dirt?

Ah ha ha! You're asking a girl who loves her enduro & wants to rip around on every kind of surface possible but ideally I'd choose the best of both worlds.

Built or bought?

Both again. It's great to have a solid base to start a project with & sure, modifications can come along the way if you're patient & get creative. I can mig & tig weld so I dream of working on my own custom bike one day!

IMAGE FROM: https://www.instagram.com/ainjul/

VIDEO FROM WWW.CAFERACERXXX.COM

Favourite moto builder?

Tough one when I know so many out there that I respect & just stare at their work in awe, but my Salt City Builds boys in Utah won my heart with their Honda Xr650 custom they did for Dustin Haggett. Check her out!

Favourite moto place to hang in the world?

Dude, put me on any damned place in the world on something with a motor & 2 wheels & it'll be my favorite! But seriously though, home. OREGON.

Tell us about your recent trip to Pakistan! How you've found riding there?

HOLY MOTHER OF CHRIST it's a total shit show I am surprised I am still alive but once you get a hang of the chaos you realize just how organized & completely sensical it is. I'm pretty much the only female rider here. Personally I don't know how my parents are okay with me riding in Pakistan as socially it's not acceptable for a woman to be straddling a motorcycle for some cultural/religious/stupid reason I guess. I generally cover my face & try to venture in remoter areas, where the villagers are more open to the idea of a woman rider. People are really curious, children are in awe, road conditions are not exactly ideal, it's a poor country & lacks proper security. In the city they still ride while side saddling their husband with one child on her lap, another between her & the rider & yet one more child carefully holding on for dear life on the gas tank! It's my homeland & where my love for motorcycles began in the first place so it's a dream come true for me to finally roam my childhood streets and favorite spots on two wheels and you never know, I might hopefully change the mentality of the existing Moto community to be more accepting of female riders.

IMAGES FROM @monicasemergiu , @el3_productions & @ainjul

HOUSE OF BONZORRO @ BLACK SKULLS LOCK UP

VC LONDON November 21, 2015

Londons finest purveyor of hard to find moto treasure & vintage has set up shop at Black Skulls Lock up. Get yourselves down there to scope out vintage finds hand picked by the man himself & even get a hot cuppa Dark Arts Coffee there while you're at it.

OPEN THURSDAY - SUNDAY FROM 11am- 7pm @ Black Skulls Lock Up- Wilton way ,Hackney, London, E8 3BG

If you can't get down check out Bonzorros website HERE for his world of wonderful wares...

IMAGE FROM: http://www.laboratoirebonzorro.com — IMAGE FROM: http://www.laboratoirebonzorro.com

IMAGE FROM: https://instagram.com/darkartscoffee/ — IMAGE FROM: https://instagram.com/darkartscoffee/

SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GIRL GANG- SHELBY ROSSI & THE SCARLET HEADERS

VC LONDON November 16, 2015

Meet the the incredible SCARLET HEADERS from Denver, Colorado....

IMAGE FROM: www.thescarletheaders.com/blog

This incredible gang of moto ladies, founded by the amazing Shelby Rossi (aka @therippinkittin) are a real example, for me, of how inspiring the international womens moto community can be. They not only arrange meet ups, ride outs, race track & ride dirt together (looking absolutely bad ass doing both by the way) but also get together to regularly volunteer in their local community to help out a other people along the way. If they don't inspire more women to get on bikes I don't know what will!

We spoke to the gorgeous Shelby recently as part of our "support your locals girls gangs series" about her experiences in motorcycling with her family & how she first started out.

Enjoy!

Photo by @eparrillaphotos for http://caferacersofinstagram.tumblr.com

Hi Shelby! How long have you been riding?:

S: My dad built me my first dirt bike when I was 5 years old. It was an old 50cc Italjet with a red and white zebra seat. He bought it as a box of parts and turned into a chapter of my life I'll never forget. I remember riding it as a kid and bringing it to my first show-and-tell in second grade. It's still sitting in my dad's garage! Since then I have been riding dirt (mostly trail riding), and once I turned 18 I got my M license and started riding on the street.

What inspired you to start riding?:

S: I don’t want to say my parents forced me into riding motorcycles, but as a young kid I had no choice but to spend most of my weekends at a track. Both of my parents used to race motorcycles when I was growing up. My dad and mom road raced in a local circuit in Colorado called the MRA, and also enjoyed other styles of riding such as ice racing, enduros, flat track and the annual Pikes Peak Hill Climb in Colorado Springs.

As I got older, my dad combined his passion of motorcycles and medicine and became a doctor for the AMA, World SBK, MotoGP and now Moto America. During grade school I traveled with him to numerous tracks around the U.S. and started my own passion for the sport. It's something we did together all the time and continue to bond over today. To this day, both parents are my biggest supporters and constantly inspire me to progress as a rider.

What was your first bike?:

S: My first street bike was a Monster 900. It's still my daily rider.

What do you ride now? Any mods? :

S: My boyfriend and I have a full garage of projects, but the two bikes I ride currently:

2004 KTM 200 - no mods, but a great FMF pipe, spare tank, extra body work, & Slavens suspension. It's the SX, but set up for good trail riding. I'd like to add a headlight at some point.
1995 Ducati Monster 900 - no mods yet, but it's equipped with awesome retro Rizoma parts. I have big ideas for this bike, I just need to get my ideas on a piece a paper and go for it.

What is your dream bike?:

S: I'm always gawking, but I think my ultimate dream bike would be any of Valentino Rossi's old race bikes. My first pick would be the Honda he won his first 500cc race on in 2000 at the British GP. He is my favorite racer of all time (even after the Sepang Clash), so anything of his would make me pass out.

Road or dirt?:

S: This is a tough question for me. Nothing really beats a weekend of riding single track in Moab, UT. But at the same time I've really enjoyed getting into road racing this past season. I raced my first road race this year and loved every second of it. I'd say tie!

Built or bought?:

S: Everyone buys a bike at some point. Everyone builds it their own way.

Tell us some more about the Scarlet Headers:

S: I started the Scarlet Headers in August of 2014 in hope of getting local women riders to come together. I had been watching the women's motorcycle scene continuously grow and finally decided to do something about in Denver! It has been a wonderful experience to share the same passion with so many likeminded women. The thing I like best about TSH is there's no expectation to be anything else other than what you are. No matter the age, no matter the skill level, comfort level, the bike, the background, we're ALL enjoying the same sport and growing individually as riders. Why not surround yourself with supportive women who are learning alongside you? Not to mention the women's motorcycling community is contagious, loving and inspiring to say the least! The amount of connections and friends that have been established through TSH is truly something special.

We heart you VCMC!!!

IMAGES FROM @thescarletheaders instagram by @golden_warrior, @kate_rosse, @jillybeancolorado, @jordan_holloway, @adriennenevy,

We absolutely adore these ladies & desperately hope we get to go ride with them one day! If you're ever in Denver look them up! Also follow their instagram HERE & go check out their website at www.thescarletheaders.com/blog & support your international girl gangs!