Do Loud Pipes Save Lives?
THE DEBATE GOES ON. I’ve never struggled so much to write a motorcycle article as I have with this one. A reader challenged me to enter the discussion about loud pipes earlier this year. At the time, I thought it an easy endeavor because I had my own years of experience and [...]
Harley Kills Off The Buell Brand
AN AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE BRAND GOES AWAY. I’m surprised by today’s news that Harley is killing off Buell Motorcycles.
Buell has offered innovative technology to the motorcycle world since 1993, as a small, American, sportbike manufacturer. Buell even won its first AMA Pro racing championship in September of this year.
Click here for the official word [...]
“My Bike is Better Than Yours”
MOTORCYCLE RIDERS ARE A UNIQUE BUNCH. Over the decades I’ve managed to ride all over North America, including coast-to-coast, multi-week tours a number of times. As much as I love riding, I also love to shoot the breeze with motorcycle riders of all ages and experience levels, wherever we may encounter each other and [...]
Zero Motorcycles and The Electric Revolution
THE RACE IS ON, THE ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE REVOLUTION IS HAPPENING
April 2009 has been an milestone month for electric motorcycles, and the two biggest news items are from the same company: Zero Motorcycles in Santa Cruz, California.
To begin wtih, Zero Motorcycles staged the first 24-hour endurance event for electric, off-road motorcycles. The “24 Hours of [...]
Harley Davidson Licenses Their “Harley Sound” to Honda
HAS HARLEY GONE TOO FAR?
I admire, respect, ride and enjoy all kinds of motorcycles. If it’s got two wheels and a motor, I’ll probably find something to like about it.
Additionally, I’m an advocate for greater brotherhood (and sisterhood) between riders of all kinds of bikes, the world over.
However, I can’t say I think Harley’s [...]
Overall Review of Motorcycle Tires
FOUR PURPOSES OF MOTORCYCLE TIRES
So, what the heck are the four things our tires do for us?
1) They support our bike. (Alternatively, a front and rear pogo stick would create a different kind of “riding” experience).
2) Our tires transmit traction and braking forces to the road, allowing us to get up and go, and slow [...]
Happy 35 Years Old, Mr. Goldwing
THE MOTORCYCLE CHOICES WE MAKE
As motorcycle riders, we have a lot of choices as to which bike(s) to call our own. As we use our checkbooks to vote for our favorite bikes over the passing years, we are either moving towards an idealized “best” bike, or simply trying something new.
Since every motorcycle is a [...]
2008 U.S. Motorcycle Sales Down: Dual-Purpose Up (Again)
U.S. MOTORCYCLE SALES, 1992-2008
They do a good job over webbikeworld.com with their annual “Motorcycle Sales” graph and survey. Yesterday they updated their “U.S. Motorcycle Sales, 1992 – 2008.”
Although the obvious picture is that overall annual sales are going down, what this graph does not show is that dual-purpose motorcycles are still the fastest growing [...]
Moto Guzzi Norge 1200 Review
The Norge 1200 is the most recent (since 2005) PURPOSE-BUILT “sport-touring” motorcycle offering in our world, brought to us by Italian maker, Moto Guzzi.
Side note: Some might argue that the Kawasaki Concours14 is the “newest,” “purpose-built” sport-tourer in the motorcycle world, since it was introduced in July 2007. But that Concours lineage goes back a [...]
Ducati Hypermotard 1100
Generally speaking, supermoto (or supermotard) machines are an alternative to high-performance bikes, with a notable difference in rider position: in this case the rider is seated upright, instead of the forward-leaning posture that sport-bikes demand.
That, by itself, lends any supermotard to practical service as an urban performance bike, since it provides greater traffic [...]
Harley Davidson XR1200 Unveiled for North America
The North American debut of the new Harley Davidson XR1200 motorcycle was featured at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, CA, on December 5, 2008.
The XR1200 is a unique machine for the Motor Company in two distinct ways:
It is not a cruiser
It is the first bike in Harley’s history (over 100 [...]
2008 Long Beach International Motorcycle Show
WHAT’S BETTER THAN A HUGE MOTORCYCLE SHOW RIGHT ON THE OCEAN?
Cycle World Magazine’s International Motorcycle Show (IMS) wrapped up its 28th expo this weekend (Dec 5-7, 08), just outside of Los Angeles, and as usual, right on the ocean, in the Long Beach Convention Center.
This year’s annual show started its United States tour in October [...]
Harley Davidson XR 1200 – Legendary Anomaly?
Harley Davidson has resurrected its legendary XR 750 dirt-tracker from the 70’s and 80’s into the reincarnated body of an XR 1200 for 2008. And if you want this modern spirit in your garage, you will have no problem if you live in Europe.
Ummmm, that’s right, this incarnation is not available in North America. [...]
Kawasaki Concours14: “Motorcycle of the Year”
It’s been about a year since the completely new Kawasaki Concours14 (4 cylinder, 1400cc) was released to the public for the first time — if it seems to you it’s been longer than that, it’s because it was “announced” in 2006.
So how has this Concours14 been received in its first year?
To be concise: quite [...]
New Indian Chief on the Horizon
Indian Motorcycles have a storied past going back to 1901. Hard to believe it now, but Indian was once the largest motorbike manufacturer in the world up until the first World War, producing over 20,000 bikes per year.
By 1911, Indian riders held every American speed and distance record.
In 1914, over 3,000 workers supported Indian’s [...]
Twisted Grip Personality Test
