Glen Irani is a moto junkie and the principal designer at Glen Irani Architects. Of his many examples of work, my favorite is probably Hover House 2, one of a series of homes designed with the idea of maximizing outdoor space and connecting the front and back yards of a property by ‘hovering’ a portion of the building. But most importantly (at least to me), Glen was also one of the first people to subscribe to this site. His passion for bikes and fantastic sense of design are something to be shared, so I thought I’d hit him with some questions. Enjoy!
How did you get started with motorcycles – how did you learn, and what was your first bike?
I’m almost 50 and the first time I rode a motorcycle I was about 10. It was a Z50 and it was my ticket to total freedom and excitement. It wasn’t mine, it was a friends. Before long the whole neighborhood gang had bikes (KX’s, YZ’s, XR’s – dirt bikes) and I was the only kid whose parents absolutely refused to buy one for. So I learned to ride a lot of my friends bikes until I had a real bad spill on an Yamaha RD(Radical Death)400 Daytona when I was 17. That put me in casts on BOTH arms for three months and my mother had to do everything include wipe my ass. I even had to buy a new 59 Bugeye Sprite to get to school since I couldn’t reach the shifter in my current car (a beater ’66 Vette roadster). It was so graphic and humiliating that from that point on I swore off street bikes. Fast forward 35 years and I finally realized that I had no idea how to ride a motorcycle back then and it was a wonder I didn’t kill myself. I’d just narrowly survived cancer and realized that now every day was a bonus and I wasn’t going to live my life in fear of anything unreal. So I vowed to learn to ride at the age of 47 and I consider that the real start of my motorcycling life. I took lessons through Earthrider (Lane McTague) who was just terrific at breaking down all the “parts” and bringing clarity to my mission. The rest is history. No broken arms yet!
What bikes do you currently own?
In the order of the purchases: 2008 KTM 690E, 2006 BMW R1200GSA, 2007 KTM 450EXC (plated), 2006 Ducati Paul Smart 1000LE. [And since he answered these questions, he’s picked up a Ducati Hypermotard 1100S!]
Assume for a moment that money is no object, and importation laws aren’t a problem. What’s the next bike you’d buy, and what would you do with it?
That’s a real tough one since I’m just learning about the incredible numbers of great bikes, particularly the more valuable and obscure ones. I will say that I don’t necessarily want to ride most of the bikes that I really respect. I race cars and I hate things that don’t perform to current standards. That’s why I could never be a historical racer. I also don’t ‘get” supersport riding techniques like I do dirt riding techniques, so the most gorgeous and coveted SS bikes would only make great garage sculpture in my world. But that’s OK as I have my sites set on a great tarmac ripper like a Ducati Hypermotard 1100 Evo SP with a lot of CF and a Termi exhaust to cover my remaining “needs” so I could use my unlimited funds on a…I just can’t decide!!! Oh well. I’ll roll the dice and say it’s a toss up between a mint Ducati 750 SS and a Ritmo Sereno BMW R90S Café Racer (below).
What’s the most memorable motorcycle trip you’ve ever taken?
A 10 day adventure ride paralleling the PCT from the Mexican border to Yosemite. It was my first true adventure ride and like all first times, it’ll always be a great memory. I took the GSA (shoulda taken the 690E though) and I think I dropped it 50 times, had it stuck in the sand twice, and had to coerce it back up a deadend R9 trail that most people would have laughed at and passed on. But I was naïve and stupid enough to go down it on a GSA, I learned how to get down AND up one of those trails and I’m here to tell the story. Sounds like a win-win to me! I always tell my design staff, the greatest results can come from the greatest naivete so PLEASE take the risk!
Do you listen to music while riding? If no, why not? If yes, what are some of your favorite tunes when you’re on your bike?
I don’t see how bikers can stand music with all that ambient noise. It’s hard enough to imagine NOT going deaf at a young age when you ride all the time, but riding with music just sounds like a recipe for very premature hearing loss. But what do I know? I’ve never even tried it because I can’t imagine taking out my earplugs!
What’s your favorite piece of gear?
My gloves. I love a great pair of gloves. I’m really enjoying my Klim adventure gloves and a cheap pair of off band leather gloves that just happen to fit my hands perfectly and never give me any cause to complain. I also love a great helmet like my Shoei 1200. Oh – I really love my REV’ITundergarments and socks – fantastic quality and I can ride for days without stinking too badly.
You’re not what I’d consider the stereotypical motorcyclist. When your colleagues discovered your enthusiasm for motorcycles, did that change any of your professional relationships?
About a year or so ago our local Architects Newspaper edition published a gossip column humorously calling me out for racing cars while my fellow colleagues endured this harsh recession. They jokingly asked where I found the time, let alone the money. So I can only imagine what they’d say if they found out that I own four bikes and ride too. I didn’t tell them that my racing was fully sponsored, but in truth, I’d rather they hate me for doing what I love than love me for groveling in the same mud puddle they choose to tease me from.
I’ve never grown up enough to have a midlife crisis.As for my real friends, they all think I’ve lost my good sense and that I’m “suffering” a tumultuous midlife crisis. Which is silly. I’ve never grown up enough to have a midlife crisis. Ask my wife and son. They’re both more mature than I am!
Too often, the first thing someone says after finding out you ride is something along the lines of “Careful, a friend of a friend got hurt riding a motorcycle!” What’s your usual response?
I just smile and tell them that more people died in race cars last year than motorcycle riders (which isn’t true of course). Of course, they know I race cars, so they just look at me like I’m completely stupid while I hold a straight face. Then I tell them that actually more people died of random gunshots than from motorcycle accidents last year. That gets them thinking I hope without me casting any judgement over how they choose to live or not live.
You have $25,000 to spend on anything in the world of motorcycles – 1 new bikes, several old bikes, track days, a trip, you name it. How do you spend it?
About a dozen track lessons, a Kushitani suit, and a used GSXR750 track bike to flog for a year or so. I really want to learn how to do that without killing myself! And if I take to it, I’ll take another $30k and buy myself a Ducati Panigale 1199 R, a 2010 Streetfighter S an HP4 or a S1000R (which should be incredible and I actually have a deposit on one already) depending on how low I want my bars.
What do you expect from the future of motorcycling, good or bad?
I think it’s really going to take off as a sport and for commuting in the US like it has most other places in the world. Unfortunately, the race bikes are going to have more nannies and all bikes will get heavier with more crap that we don’t need – just like cars have. It’s the mainstream game. And, like cars, it’s going to make the coveted classics even more coveted and pricey. The bikes are just on an earlier part of the same development curve that cars are on in my estimation. BUY NOW!!!
