To quote my favorite sailor man, the venerable Popeye, “That’s all I can stands, ‘cuz I can’t stands n’ more!” In other words, enough is enough! March was almost over, and I was finally reaching the end of my rope. The trifecta of a never-ending winter here in the Northeast, not attending Daytona Bike Week for the first time in years, and a long-distance relationship that was on the rocks and about to completely fall apart was finally taking its toll on me. Then just as I was at my breaking point, my good friend and motorcycle industry veteran Matt Moore called me up and asked me if I wanted to come out to Wichita, Kansas to join him hunt, skeet, shoot, and check out the motorcycles he is building with his latest business venture, Kansas Motorcycle Works (KMW). After Matt and I worked out the details and locked in some dates, I called up my longtime riding biddy Jon Nevis to see if he wanted to join us and ten booked us some flights. Within hours of those phone calls, I found myself already decompressing as I looked forward to the trip we had locked in.

Located in south-central Kansas on the banks of the Arkansas River, Wichita is the largest city in the state. It has a colorful history that is directly tied to the cattle drives that regularly came through town in the late 1800s. During the 1920s and 1930s, a number of aircraft manufacturing companies set up shop in town and were so successful that, to this day, the area is still considered an aviation and manufacturing hub.

After flying to Whichita, we headed over to KMW’s 10,000 plus sq. ft. facility to check it out. Once there, we got the VIP tour of the company’s offices, production area, and showroom, where we were told about the company’s current and future business plans. It was here that we were given the keys to a couple of KMW Euro-spec Choppers to ride with Just One helmet for the next couple of days. —Joe Knezevic