“HOW COME YOU RIDE A MOTORCYCLE?” How many times have you been asked that question? Or, the more direct one that will be asked is, “Aren’t motorcycles dangerous?” I will often reply, “Of course motorcycles are dangerous. And that’s why they are not for everyone.” If the person is actually Read more
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. Read more
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 Read more
MOTORCYCLE INTELLIGENCE GETS A FACE-LIFT. For more than 2 years this website has had the same look with very little modification. One thing that hasn’t changed is the appreciation for all those who leave their comments and/or generally offer their experience and wisdom for the visitors that follow. Thanks a Read more
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 Read more
A VERY BIG NATIONAL PARK: This weekend kicked off another touring season with an annual trek to Death Valley National Park, and back to the Pacific Ocean. This trip was only an 800 mile adventure, and, as usual, included a lot of great roads (in and out of the park). Read more
CONFESSIONS OF A VETERAN ROOKIE: Fred Rau is one of my favorite motorcycle writers and I enjoy reading whatever he has to say every month. Over the decades, his words have been all over the moto mags so you have likely read him, as well. In and old issue of Read more
CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND OLD-FASHIONED MAPS: Maps for motorcycle adventurers have come a long way since I was a kid back in the days of that famous Italian, Christopher Columbus. There certainly wasn’t any GPS for motorbikes back then. Heck, there wasn’t even widespread consent that the earth was round. (At Read more
THE CONTROVERSY OVER NITROGEN-FILLED MOTORCYCLE TIRES: Does nitrogen help the performance of our motorcycle tires? Or is at unnecessary expense? Filling motorcycle tires with nitrogen (instead of air) has been a controversial subject for a number of years now with members of various motorcycle forums touting either its benefits, or Read more
U.S. MOTORCYCLE SALES, 1992-2014: They do a good job over at webbikeworld.com with their annual “US Motorcycle Sales” graph and survey. The obvious picture is that overall annual motorcycle sales are slowly recovering from a big fall that started going down before the recession and then dramatically fell with the Read more
THE BEST PART ABOUT RIDING IN THE RAIN: Having ridden through every imaginable type of rain condition all over North America, I consider the best part about rain riding to be that period for about an hour after the rain stops, when everything is wet and clean. Sort of like Mother Nature getting out of the shower, reinvigorated to take on life.
Of course, that perspective can be influenced by other factors, including the temperature, and how windy it might be, but there is something uniquely refreshing about riding through rain and continuing to ride after the rain stops….
Motorcycle riding in the rain isn’t for everyone. Some riders are so concerned about avoiding rain, that they may avoid riding if there exists even a remote possibility of rain in the forecast.
And of course, they would also miss many fine riding opportunities, regardless of whether it rained or not.
Others ride every day, in good or bad weather. (Heck, some riders even brave the snow! Which is another subject altogether).
If you are a rider who ventures out of town for overnight excursions or longer, you need to be prepared for rain.
And if you are a rider who commutes to work, regardless of rain, you will absolutely encounter wet weather – and at times, LOTS of it.
In brief, whether you are on a cross-country tour, or heading to work on Monday morning – if it’s raining – the main things that you need to accomplish are staying warm and dry while riding with a higher level of safety awareness.
Let’s take a look at our options for staying dry during wet-weather motorcycle riding, from head to toe…. (more…)
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 Read more
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 Read more
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 all-new Harley Davidson XR1200 had its world debut in Europe earlier in 2008. I took the bike out for a test Read more
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 and will be running through to February 2009, making the following 13 stops along the way: Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, San Mateo (outside of San Francisco), Novi (outside of Detroit), Washington DC, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, and in South Carolina, all in addition to this stop in Long Beach, which is typically one of the largest of the tour.
The 55,000 attendees were crammed everywhere, exploring all things related to motorcycles, but the show’s two most prominent areas of interest were the motorbikes inside the exhibition hall and the demo rides offered outside. (more…)