KTM stunt rider Rok Bagoros knows no boundaries. This is not only true for his stunt riding—usually aboard a KTM 690 Duke—but also where he’ll perform.
His latest show was history maker; Bagoros became the first motorsport athlete in the world to perform tricks in Palestine, which claims the famed West Bank and Gaza Strip. He began the show performing before 6,000 fans and 300+ Palestinian riders in the West Bank’s Muslim town of Ramallah, then traveled to Bethlehem, Jericho and Jerusalem.According to a press release, when Rok Bagoros visited Israel this May and performed his spectacular RokON show, his Palestinian followers left messages of intolerance on his social networks. It was not an easy time for Rok, but fortunately, the KTM motorbike manufacturer decided to expand his production to the Palestinian area. The disappointment experienced by Palestinian motorsport aficionados in May turned into joyous racing brought to Palestine by the Slovenian Rok Bagoros.“When I go performing abroad, I usually know what to expect, but I hadn’t got the faintest idea what to expect in Palestine. I didn’t see one single rider on the road from the Tel Aviv airport to Ramallah! The following day, a severe traffic jam was blocking the road leading to the venue, from which the caravan of riders was supposed to start off after Ramallah,” Bagoros says.“I’ve already reconciled myself to the fact that there won’t be more than 30 riders. Suddenly, however, they began appearing from all directions and riding between cars. At the end, about 300 riders generated tremendous excitement all over Ramallah – as if we were trying to tell the world we don’t care for political disputes and we believe in a better tomorrow!”Bagoros continues: “When the show started, people climbed to the top of neighboring buildings and street lamps to get a better view. It was like being in a beehive. The spectators handed their babies into my arms and photographed me with them.“The DJ mixed my music with their traditional one – and the crowd went mad! The Palestinians’ hateful comments on my photos after my performance in May in Israel really affected me, but this is over now. Healthy competition is one thing, but hatred is completely different. I’m glad that the former triumphed,” said the 27-year-old rider from Radenci.”For more, check out the video above.Rok Bagoros stunting KTM Duke 690 in Palestine
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week’s episode features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the beautiful new Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST that is loosely based around the original FXRT Sport Glide from the 1980s. Hailing from The Golden State, these cult-status performance machines became known as West Coast style, with sportier suspension, increased horsepower, and niceties including creature comforts such as a tidy fairing and sporty luggage.
In past episodes you might have heard us mention my best friend, Daniel Schoenewald, and in the second segment I chat with him about some of the really special machines in his 170 or so—and growing—motorcycle collection. He’s always said to me that he doesn’t consider himself the owner, merely the curator of the motorcycles for the next generation.
Yet Daniel is not just a collector, but I can attest a really skilled rider. His bikes are not trailer queens, they’re ridden, and they’re ridden pretty hard. Actually, we have had many, many memorable rides on pretty much all of the machines in the collection at one time or another.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
