Copyright 2001, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

Chris Pyles, 2000 WERA 125cc Grand Prix National Challenge Series Champion and current AMA 250cc Grand Prix racer, starting filming the pilot for a motorcycle TV show called “Crossroads TV” Sunday, July 29 in Washington D.C.

Pyles, who has a degree in Broadcast Journalism, said that the show is similar in format to other how-to auto repair and customizing shows already seen on cable channels like TNN and Speedvision.

“The first thing, a customer comes in with a bike,” described Pyles. “We check it out, just a general check over like they’re buying the bike. We go through what we’re doing, kind of bouncing back and forth. We haven’t shot the whole thing yet.”

Pyles will co-host the show with former Formula USA Chief Technical Official Dennis Ferm. “Dennis has a section of the show called ‘Custom Corner’ because he builds these custom, tricked-out Japanese cruiser bikes. So in his segment, he went over frame selection. Then we have ‘The Racer’s Edge’, which is my section. I went over basic suspension set-up,” said Pyles from his home in Germantown, Maryland.

“It’s kind of appealing to people re-entering the motorcycling world,” explained Pyles. “That’s a huge sector of the industry. It’s also appealing to the young sportbike crowd. We’re going to have a live audience there while we’re doing it in like a bar area outside the garage. Kind of like where people can ride their bikes up and hang out in a live studio audience.”

The project is being led by television producer Steve Zarpas of CNBC. Zarpas formerly owned the Crowbar, a motorcycle-friendly tavern in Washington, D.C.

“(Zarpas) is gonna pitch it to some people,” said Pyles. “He’s psyched about it. He’s wanted to do it for a long time. I talked to him about it this past winter because I really wanted to move from announcing and into TV. When he finally wanted to do it, he called me up. He has a lot of really great ideas.

“We’re calling it ‘Crossroads TV’ because Dennis’ shop is Crossroads Cycles. I don’t think it really has a name yet. I really don’t know when it will be ready for distribution. Our individual segments are done. We’ve got to do the crowd shots and all. I know he wants to get moving on it.”