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Apple Maps Uses 7 Year Old Data & Can't Be Updated

If you use an iPhone you already know that Apple Maps for the iPhone sucks. But, what you don't know is that it REALLY sucks. Bigtime. When it launched, we heard, like you did that Apply basically did a sloppy job of this thing. Oh yea, so you'll be driving around and Apple doesn't know where the Statue of Liberty is or they'll steer you down a dead end road or whatever. So what. The day I upgraded my software I checked our location on the map products just to see what we looked like in the new kit. Sure enough, Apple had us wrong. They have us addressed in a town 2 towns away from our actual address in Redwood City and what that says to me is that Apple either a) got their GEO data for free [which is weird, because, you know, they are Apple and could buy California if they needed to] or b) got duped by whatever vendor they bought the GEO data from. The business data they're using is over 6 years old, at least. I know this, because one of the mapping data

Keeping It Real

Some one once said that all marketers are liars. In fact, he wrote a book about it and called it "All Marketers Are Liars". And while the bald guy who wrote the book of the same name may be right about a lot of things, I don't believe that the work involved in informing customers about your business is a process of lying. And though there's obviously more to the theory behind Seth's discussion of marketing, as a small business owner trying to get a message out to an ocean of customers, I don't like to think of what I am doing as "lying". But "lying" is rampant in our industry. Take this blurb I stumbled on recently at a competitors web site. At the bottom of their site, it reads "Motorcycle Parts are in high demad [sic] all summer, but with over thirty warehouses around the country, we have access to over a million aftermarket Sportbike Parts and OEM parts and accessories." Looking at the Google street view of this business, I

Stromer Electric Bike Elite

Demand is extremely high for the Stromer Electric Bik e. Here are some photos we took from a recent sales call

Alpinestars Slipstream Rider Backpack

This is a close-up image of the material used on the Alpinestars Slipstream Rider Backpack . In our worthless and totally biased opinion- one of the best backpacks ever produced.

Bicycle Repair in Redwood City

Motostrano Suburbanbikes now offers free pick-up and delivery service for bike repair in and around Redwood City. Call us or text us and we'll pick up your bike, perform any required maintenance and bring it back normally within 24-48 hours. Motostrano's bicycle mechanics are among the best in the business. No bad attitudes. No gimmicks. No rush jobs and no un-needed work. Just straight talk and good advice from the pros. If you are in Redwood City and need your bike fixed, call us, email us or text us for an appointment. We offer full service bicycle repair, from complete tune-ups to complete tear downs, assembly. 650-918-6259

Stromer Electric Bicycles are in Stock

After a short dry spell, Stromer Electric Bicycles are in stock again. We received a fresh shipment of 2012 models including elite and standard bikes. The Stromer is a Swiss designed bike now owned by the famed Swiss racing bicycle company BMC. The Stromer e-bike is taking the e-bike world by storm with one of the best, lightest and fastest e-bikes on the planet. We have the hydraulic brake version in stock!

Supermoto Wheels From The Pros

Motostrano has been selling supermoto wheels to customers worldwide for a long, long time. In fact, nearly 10 years. Not a lot has changed in that time frame. We've added a few brands, a few options, but for the most part, the options have remained about the same. Our best wheelset, the Excel Talon Supermoto wheels are the way to go if you want the best spoked wheel you can buy. The best rims, matched to the best hubs, by the best spokes. No brainer- and thought the flow of inventory has in previous years been a little on and off, it's been more on than off lately and that's a good thing. Our best tubeless wheelset, if you can get them, if you can wait for them - the Marchesini Supermoto wheels will set you back more cash and more time if you decide to bite the bullet and go tubeless. A good thing to do too if you're a bawler and want the best performing wheels you can own. Just be prepared to wait for your order as NO ONE STOCKS them, not even the dudes in Ita

Why We're Selling Bicycles

We've been selling motorcycle (bicycles with motors) stuff for the past ten years or so. We've been selling bicycles and bicycle stuff for the past three years or so and this year a few of our moto customers have recently expressed bewilderment about the fact that we're selling bicycles (motorcycles without motors), so we thought we'd address that here. Over the course of the past 10 years, Motostrano has evolved constantly. When we began operation in 2002, we sold used bikes on consignment out of a small garage across from a TacoBell and a block from a strip club called the Hanky Panky. From there we moved on to various aftermarket stuff; exhausts and rearsets, billet stuff, etc. For a while we imported a line of motard bikes from Italy called Vertemati. Then we added clothing to the mix and in a few years time became one of the biggest Alpinestars clothing retailers in the US. For about a year we had a tire machine and installed tires. We've always altered our

We Like Old Stuff

 Straight from the garage sale to our workshop, this old vintage Schwinn cruiser came in and left in a swirl of thumbs-ups and fond memories from all the folks who used to have an old Schwinn cruiser. new wheels, new tires, tubes. new lanes to cruise. new smiles to spread.

MVD Racewear in the USA at Motostrano

Motostrano has been importing and distributing MVD Racewear now for 3 or 4 years. Motostrano is the US Importer for MVD, a company based in the Netherlands. You can order MVD gear on our web site, or by phone or by visiting our store. You can also contact your local motorcycle accessories dealer and invite them to call us to become an MVD dealer. We are actively seeking MVD dealers through out the US to represent the line. MVD offers a leather riding and racing jacket that is specifically suited for Supermoto. There is also a leather pant and gloves, as well as a jersey. The styling is likely not what Americans are used to, but the graphics are stand out. Good stuff. http://www.motostrano.com/MVD-Racewear-s/2292.htm

Motostrano Supermoto Wheels

The summer of 2012 is proving difficult for the budget supermoto customizer and conversionizer. Wheels from Warp 9 and DNA have been coming in at a sloooowww rate due to a variety of demand and supply issues. As a result, we've come up with a new product to get folks wheels quick and cheap. Our Motostrano wheel package has been modified to include a set of wheels using D.I.D. supermoto rims laced to OEM hubs. This kit is available as wheels alone, or as wheels and tires and wheels and tires and brakes. A good solution. Laced by Motostrano's professional wheel builders.
Add caption   VANMOOF 3.7 28 Bike No more loose hanging cables! No more rusty dynamo's dangling in your spokes! No more lights stolen off your bike! The secret lays in what's NOT there. The VANMOOF № 3 has a striking aluminum anodized rust-free frame with a highly advanced and unique Philips LED light system built inside its tubes. These LEDS are powered by a fully integrated dynamo hub in the front wheel. The coaster brake is great for the city: unbreakable, light and safe. The thick wide wheels make riding on and off pavements and obstacles go problem free. The broad handle bar, weatherproof SYAD saddle and durable Schwalbe tires top-off the smooth no-nonsense look of this ultimate urban commuter tool. High quality is our number one priority. Therefore, we have chosen for the best parts only. And all this for an affordable consumer price. You don't want an expensive bike in the city!

Test: Ultra Motor A2B Metro Electric Bike

Today we're riding the latest model of A2B Metro bike from Ultra Motor . This bike has been around a good while now and the latest model Metro has numerous upgrades over previous years that make the A2B one of the best bikes in our catalog. This bike has a hyper-modern design, yet rides like a very plush cruiser, with full suspension, great brakes, wide bars. The Ultra Motor A2B Metro is the bike to get if you don't mind having a bike that doesn't look like a bicycle and behaves more like a moped. The bike's frame, wheels and tires are all wide and burly. As a result, the bike is very planted. Excellent tire grip. Excellent mountain-bike like handling due to the bike's wide bars and full suspension. What's different in this newest model is a seemingly more powerful motor, a speedo, a front headlight and a tail light- all nice amenities on a bike that is already well-appointed with excellent grade, European-spec controls and levers.  Out of the box, the

Electric Bikes For People Moving

Riding around town on electric bikes gives you a unique perspective. You are not a bike. You are not a car or a motorcycle. You are something foreign, new, cool and futuristic. You arrive silently. You startle pedestrians on the sidewalk in an entirely different way that a barreling Harley bombing down a silent suburban neighborhood might. You appear out of no where. You are a little invisible, unknown. In disguise. One of the bike brands we took on over at motostrano on a few months ago was the electric scooter/bike hybrid, the FlyKly . Not so much on purpose, mind you. The Flykly came to us when the company's owner contacted us seeking help for a local warranty job for a local customer of theirs who had some technical problems with a recently purchased bike and needed help. Due to our electric bicycle expertise and our general good-guyedness (excellent reputation), or maybe it was our dumb willingness to tinker around on something entirely foreign, we were hired

TEST UPDATE: Stromer Electric Bike

Motostrano has been selling the Stromer Electric Bicycle now for oh six months or so. In spite of the fact that I have full faith in humanity's ability to create solutions with technology, like you, I still hold out a chunk of skepticism when it comes to some stuff. And, even though electric bicycles have been around for practically a hundred years- there's still a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of crap-tech and junk-tech that manages to get to market. So, unlike a bike with no motor- we're always in "test mode" with electric bikes. Maybe we are being too hard on them? Comparing an e-bike to all the qualities of a non-motorized bicycle isn't totally fair, perhaps. A traditional bicycle can sit around in a garage for fifty years and still function basically as it did when new. An electric bicycle has other things going on that reduce it's lifespan significantly. Still- we want these investments to last and perform as long and as good as possible. We expec

NEW: Icon Elsinore Boots

We received our first load of the new ICON 1000 Elsinore Boots . They are now shipping. Good looking boots. Extreme looking boots with a comfortable fit. Madmax would wear these, but so can Joe Moto whether he be on a Supermoto hooligan bike, a KLR 650 ADV bike or some blacked out Cafe Racer. It's a classic moto boot. A motorcyclists' motorcycle boot.

Twowheelsteals.com, We're Phasing it Out...

Attention Motostrano Shoppers: Over the next few days (hopefully) we'll be phasing out our Twowheelsteals.com web site and moving all the of the deals and inventory over to the main Motostrano.com web site under the CLEARANCE tab. As cool as the TWS site was, it was always a placeholder for clearance deals, deals of the day and close-out stuff until we integrated this same system into the main motostrano web site. Managing two separate sites was always a bit of a chore. So, presto , the wait is done, and we'll be offering the same deals, the same one-off or limited inventory programs and savings at motostrano.com so you can combine shopping carts and all that good stuff. That is all. Have a nice day.

Felt's Steampunk Muscle Bike: the Deep Six

Motostrano has taken delivery of a small batch of the limited run Felt Deep Six cruiser. What a bike. We wanted them all but Felt would only give us a few. Beautiful deep paint. Matching rims. Details. Cream fat tires. Details. Felt has created a masterpiece with the Deep Six. This is the kind of bike you first bring into your living room, dim the lights, put on some Monk and sip on something deep and mysterious while admiring its lines, its shadows and its undulations. We were talking about this bike today in the studio and as much as any bike should be ridden, we feel that this bike should not. It's kind of a fantasy bike. An imagination. It feels a bit like it comes from another world and perhaps doesn't actually operate in our world. Or it maybe has some secret controls of operation. Should be steered by an alien with 3 heads and 2 fingers. But it doesn't and you can ride it.

NEW: Koso Sportbike Mirrors

We think the mirrors on a motorcycle are one of the most important function and design elements on the bike. So, when ever a good new mirror comes out, our ears perk up a bit. We spotted these in a new vendor catalog recently. New for 2012, the Koso TT Style Mirrors look like the real deal and could be used tastefully on a lot of bike builds.

NEW: Alpinestars MOAB Knee Protectors

We'd been pre-selling the new Alpinestars MOAB Knee Protectors before they actually came out for about a month. Damand for these burly knee protectors has been vibrant. When they finally came in it took 2 more orders just to ship our back orders on them and so we finally have time to post about them up close. These are beefy knee protectors. Designed for Mountain Bike, but honestly we think they could hold up in motocross, supermoto and supermoto. Maybe even the street, if you like flashy white. The Moabs come in 2 sizes, offer full knee and shin coverage and have 3 large adjustable straps. They are sold as a pair and Alpinestars recommends using the Alpinestars knee sock for additional comfort.

Stromer Electric Bike - Commuter Modifications

We have been working with the new Stromer Electric Bicycle now for about two months. The base model of the Stromer is the Deluxe Model of last year. Same bike, same price, upgraded. As a base bike, the Stromer is excellent. We are calling this the Mercedes of the electric bike world. It really is that good. But, there are some simple improvements we've been able to incorporate into the bike and we have created our own model from the modifications. We're calling it the Commuter . In actuality, the mods come from actual customer requests on bike orders. The Stromer, we are finding is quote popular with Silicon Valley execs who are happier commuting by bike, instead of car. And why not? It's the best way to travel. So, for starters, to mod this bike into an effective commuter, we added a Topeak rack to the back. The bike has a disc brake, so we used the rack that allows space for the disc brake. Next we added fenders. After adding the rack, there was really no room to add a f

Some new Alpinestars on the way

Alpinestars gave its dealers a sneak-peak of some new things that will be coming out next month for the spring 2012 season. Though, not really helping any of us as buyers, or you as customers, this pre-announcment does give us Internet-savvy shops a head start on the brick-n-mortar folks to get on the blogosphere and start talking about stuff we have absolutely no real experience with but will "recommend" to customers any way, at least in a blog post, along with heftly links back to our product pages and even make up actual "product review" videos about this stuff we don't know anything about, so we can elbow up to the top of the rankings in Google as soon as possible, stake our claim, as it were. There's a few interesting things in the new release. One of a new Alpinestars Race Replica Suit that is being called the Alpinestars Race Replica Suit For Tech Air System because it's integrated with their hi-tech air system you can

AGV Rossi Eyeball Helmet - Limited 2012 Rossi

The all new AGV Rossi Eyeball Helmet - Limited 2012 Rossi i s now available. We have our first stock rolling in and all eyes are on the EYEBALL helmet from AGV. What a cool helmet. We've seen the Limited Rossi AGV helmets since the first one came through our store and this certainly is one of the most interesting designs. It's not too whacky, but whacky enough. Has some style. A little 2001 A Space Oddysyish Motostrano customers typically collect these helmets, so please buy early. Even with the economy as it is, the AGV Rossi helmets sell fast. "Welcome to the coolest AGV Rossi Limited helmets to come to our shores here in a loooong time. Enjoy. Called both the "EYEBALL" helmet, it's also the AGV Mugello helmet for 2012. Worn by Rossi, the fastest racer in the world. The GP-Tech is AGVs range topping race helmet and as such we believe you?d struggle to find anything better than this. Shell: SSL ? Super-super-light Carbon-Kevlar construction Number of She