Meet Chet DuBois

I

Test rider Chet DuBois whipping a Kawasaki KDX for Twistgrip Magazine.

Photo by Nick Cedar

Growing up, the canyons and rolling hills of Northern California was my playground.

As a youngster, my preferred method of travel was on the seat of my mini, traversing the hills around my boyhood home. Riding dirt soon became a way of life for me. Just like food and water, time spent on my dirt bike was a necessity, not just a choice. This lifestyle follows me to this day.

Bob Hannah was god. Any red-blooded American kid who had a jones for riding dirt bikes in the late 70s or early 80s spoke Hannah's name with awe and reverence. A natural off shoot was the desire to be like Bob. So I loaded up my YZ-250 and went to Baylands, a now defunct motorsports track in Fremont, California, and competed in my first motocross race with less-than-stellar results. Even the resulting crutches didn't diminish the racing bug. From that point on until the late 1980s, I competed in regional motocross events two to three times a week. Hare Scrambles and Hill Climbs soon followed and I fell easily into the vagabond lifestyle of an active motocrosser, travelling self-contained and doing all my setup and tuning with no support. The trophies started to pile up.

In 1989, I stepped into the retail side of the business. I took a position with a local Honda/Suzuki dealership and spent the next 10 years honing my off road maintenance and tuning skills. Totally immersing myself in motorcycles only reinforced my riding and racing and by 1990, I was competing in Qualifiers and National Enduros on a regular basis.

In 1998, I was hired my Twistgrip magazine as a staff test rider. I travelled to locales across the West to ride and evaluate the latest in dirt bike technology from all of the Big 4 manufacturers. For a kid from the canyons who started the journey with bagged out 250 two stroke, it was a dream come true. I took the job to heart and built relationships with movers and shakers in the industry that remain strong to this day. As a soulful bonus, I got to meet and ride with many of my childhood heros, include The Hurricane, Mickey Diamond, Broc Glover, and Malcom Smith and created many memories that I feel blessed to have collected.

The next year at the request of Twist Grip, I stepped into the blossoming niche of Supermoto and competed regularly in AMA sanctioned events across California.

I opened my own parts and accessories shop in 2001, serving local riders in Livermore CA. Motowrx was an immediate success, opening even more doors in the industry and cementing my lifetime of commitment to the sport of motorcycling. I sold the business to a close friend in 2003.

Through relationships developed within my shop, I stepped into the roadracing side of the sport. My skills as an accomplished motocrosser and Supermoto rider seamlessly bled into high horsepower road racing machinery. In short order, I became a track instructor with The Track Club and began teaching beginning riders the finer points of riding a road racing circuit. I ride some 30 to 35 dates a year, instructing students at road courses all over California.

As a final culmination of my 35 years of motorcycling experience, I now offer you The Cycle Clinic. The Cycle Clinic is my final stop on this long and varied journey through all facets of competition and recreation on two wheels. My personal goal with The Cycle Clinic is to bring satisfaction, smiles, and a sense of accomplishment to you, the beginning rider.

A few hours in one of my clinics might not make you the next Bob Hannah, but it will set you on the correct path to adventure on two wheels.

Thanks for stopping in and I look forward to talking to you soon.

Chet