











Photos by Mary Caroline Russell We stopped by the Atlanta-based community motorcycle workspace Brother Moto to talk shop with the guys, hang out with the all-girl biker squad The Lady Fingers, and find out first hand from co-founder Bobby Russell how to keep up with some basic motorcycle maintenance.









Can you give us a little background on yourself? My name is Bobby Russell. I'm the bi-product of two military parents. They met in the Air Force in Germany and as a kid I moved around a lot for my parents' jobs. We ended up in Atlanta when I was 12 and I've been here for the last 20-ish years. Before this I was touring in a fairly successful band full time as a session bass player and was also working as a freelance photographer. I have no formal training in motorcycles or mechanics, and I'm about 8 credit hours away from my English degree.



How long have you been riding/working on motorcycles? I'm almost embarrassed to tell people this, but I have only been riding for 3 years. I have owned motorcycles for a few years longer than that, but they never ran. I used to buy motorcycles on Craigslist that were complete basket cases and would try to "fix" them—I always failed. I always joke that the obsession escalated quickly though during those first initial project bikes. I really fell in love with my first running motorbike, a 1974 BMW. In my 3 years of riding, I've been across the country and back on two wheels and have owned more than 7 motorbikes.



What's the story behind Brother Moto? Was there an "ah-hah" moment when you decided to create the space? My business partner and I met through a mutual friend and the three of us always found ourselves working on our bikes in apartment complex parking lots. We would sit on the ground in the sun with none of the tools we needed and it was on one of those hot summer days we realized there has to be a need for a shared space like this for city dwellers. We threw a couple of events to see if people liked the idea, and we were blown away at the response. At our first party I think 150 people showed up and we had no idea what we were doing. We sold some t-shirts and thought we were on to something that could be really great for the city.



What's the atmosphere like there on a normal day? Do people come in and help each other with things? The beauty of Brother Moto is you have all of these people from different walks of life all working on all kinds of different bikes. We have 110 members at the time I am writing this so it's been really encouraging to see everyone helping everyone out and learning from one another.



What's the motorcycle scene like down in Atlanta? The motorcycle scene in Atlanta is really great. There are a ton of other groups in Atlanta that have been really great and inviting to us. It's cool to see everyone getting along and just riding for the fun of it. The riding season in the south is pretty long, so that's also always a plus!

What do you love most about the city? I love that influence and culture always seem to trickle down from cities. Places of influence like New York, Los Angeles, or Paris inevitably seem to claim the most creative and brightest minds. That is not to say that I believe you can't be creative or influential outside of those places, but I do believe cities bring an energy and hustle that you won't find anywhere else.



What's the best way for someone to learn about taking care of their own bike? The best way is to first and foremost buy the manual. Clymer and Haynes make a lot of the manuals for both modern and vintage bikes and they can be invaluable for fixing things that break along the way. Beyond that, I would say get involved in online communities and local clubs or rides. My experience has been that most bikers love talking about their bikes and are eager to help as long as you have tried to do some homework (buy the manual) on your own.









The Lady Fingers





Hello Lady Fingers! Could you give us a little background on yourselves and your crew? We've been riding as a group for over a year now with July 2014 being when we rode together for the first time. There are about 20 women total with around 10 of us riding consistently on a weekly basis. We know each other through husbands, boyfriends, work relationships, social media, and word of mouth. We are still coming out of the wood work as the months go on!



What was the inspiration behind creating an all-girl bike crew? I think a lot of us were tired of being the lone girl in a pack of dudes, or just riding altogether alone. It's a lot of fun to have a group of other women who share the same interests as you. There's a kind of solidarity as well as the feeling of being in a secure environment where we can all learn together and support each other. It's also way less embarrassing to drop your bike, forget to turn the gas on, etc. when you are with a group of super supportive and funny women.



What got you into bikes in the first place? Every one if us is different in this regard. Some of us picked up the hobby from a spouse, or a close friend. Some of us grew up around dirt bikes or motorcycles in their families, and some of us just decided "you know what? I'd like to try that," and then bought a motorcycle.



What's the bike scene like in Atlanta right now? What makes it a good city for riding? The moto scene in Atlanta is great and it's growing. There is really something for everyone here. There are beautiful mountain rides just a short ways from the city. There are secret lovely roads right here in town that are dark and twisty and wooded for the urban explorer to find. There are scooter people, and moped people, and enduro people, sport bike people, and Harley people. The Atlanta moto community is expansive, and the people involved have such a wide variety of interests. There are people who love to build bikes, some are extremely talented riders, some are collectors, and there are people who love the fashion and form of motorcycles. The city is also full of photographers and film-makers who love motorcycles. Atlanta kind of has it all right now, in my opinion. There's an extremely long riding season. All year round if you want (and many of us do!).



What's your relationship with Brother Moto? How long have you been going there? The Brother Moto guys have been supportive neighbors and friends of ours since they opened. A couple of us met for the first time at their party before they had their spot open. Some of the Ladyfingers have memberships and they very kindly provided us with a space to have a ladies night not too long ago. They are two of the nicest people in the Atlanta motorcycle community. They are continually looking for ways to bring us all together to have a good time and to learn more about each other and motorcycles in general.

What are your types of bikes? I feel as though among the group of us there is almost every type of bike you can imagine. Large displacement, small displacement, old, new, sport, dirt, scooter, moped... You name it and one of us has likely had or has one. We are a pretty rag-tag group of ladies. All bikes welcome.



How should someone approach looking for their first motorcycle? Well, first they should address their budget, obviously. Don't go getting attached to a brand new $5000 bike if you can only afford a $500 beater. Also, I would personally recommend starting with something older and cheaper. You don't want to be flinching every time you drop or bump it because you will do one if not both of those things. Next, you'll need to think about fit. Do you want to flat foot? Can you handle being on your tippy toes? Is it light enough that you feel comfortable maneuvering it into a parking space? These things are more important in the beginning than how it looks. You can always sell it and buy something different when you are a more capable rider.



Any advice for a first time rider? Wear gear. All the time. They don't have to be expensive: Long pants, boots, jacket, gloves, and a full face helmet. You'll probably biff it at least once, so don't regret wearing those shorts. Also, don't be afraid to go at your own pace and ask questions. Always look twice and don't depend on the person in front of you to take your timing turning into traffic into account. And never ever take a turn too wide and go into the other lane. Being focused and calm is essential.









A motorcycle requires three things to be able to run: Fuel, air, and spark. If you find yourself in a situation where you have fuel and air, the next thing you will want to check is your spark plug to see if it's got spark. This tutorial walks through how to check your spark plug on the "side of the road" and to clean and inspect the plug so that you can hopefully make it on home.



These tools are really handy for changing out a spark plug. The sockets are pretty self explanatory but I always try and keep around a knife just because you never know, and a field journal to write down how often I change plugs out or clean them. Having some sand paper around is always nice if you need to clean off your plugs on the side of the road, and a gap tool makes sure that you are installing your plugs within proper spec. You can change a plug without all of these tools, but it makes it way easier if you have them all.



The first thing you will want to do on any motorcycle is to remove the "plug wire" from the spark plug. This wire connects to your motorcycle's coils and are pretty easy to remove. In most bikes you will just pull up on the plug wires lightly to separate them from the spark plug.



With the plug wire removed, the next step in the process is to remove the spark plug. Place the socket over the spark plug and lightly turn the socket to remove the plug. This should not take too much force and remember, "right tighty, lefty loosey."



The next thing to do is to inspect the plug to check the color and burn. You can actually learn a lot about your bikes running condition just by looking into the color of the plug. For instance, if the plug is really dark in color and moist you could be running your bike too rich. The best plug is one that looks to have an even burn and resembles a toasted marshmallow. You are looking for a light tan/grey even burn all the way around the spark plug. This plug is running too rich so we will pretend we don't have a new plug around and clean it to get us home.



At this point using the sand paper in between the gap of the spark plug to remove residue can be a lifesaver. You want to remove as much carbon buildup as possible and get that plug back to looking like new. It's important to note that this is a quick fix; however, you will soon want to purchase a new spark plug set and troubleshoot why your plug is fouling out and running the way it is.



After giving that plug a nice clean sanding, you'll want to check the gap of your plug with your gap tool. The best way to know the gap for your bike is to look in the manual for your specific bike. If you don't have a gap tool or know the proper gap, you can always continue to run on the gap that was already set for a short period of time. Once knowing this, simply slide the tool in the spark plug to the right width.



Lastly you will want to put everything back in its proper place and reverse order as you took it apart. I say a good rule of thumb when putting the plugs back in is to hand tighten the plugs to avoid stripping out the threads. After hand tightening the plugs, you will want to lightly snug the plugs into the cylinder head with the socket ever so lightly. Remember, don't gorilla grip it. Soft hands. After that, put those plug wires back on the plug and you will be back in business.











