What was introduced as a first-time invitational event last October at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, CA returns in 2021 with more races, more corporate backing and certainly increased chatter as street riders become aware that professional motorcycle racers are now going at it on behemoth baggers. Yes, the cruiser …
Read More »Royal Enfield’s New Meteor 350 Line To Start At $4,399
MILWAUKEE – Royal Enfield’s strategy is to be an “accessible, affordable and authentic brand,” according to Krishnan Ramaswamy, president of Royal Enfield Americas. The India-based company brought the Himalayan adventure model to the U.S. in 2018 and followed up with the INT 650 and Continental GT twin models a year …
Read More »Children’s Author Beverly Cleary Dies At 104, Created Motorcycle-Riding Mouse
Of all the books ever written about or involving motorcycles, Beverly Cleary’s “The Mouse and the Motorcycle” could well be the top seller of all time. After all, in a writing career that lasted decades, Cleary sold more than 85 million books. And who knows how many riders can trace …
Read More »Harley-Davidson Plans Pan America Demo Tour With New England Stops
MILWAUKEE – Harley-Davidson has announced plans for an eight-month demo tour of its new Pan America 1250 adventure model that includes five stops in the Northeast. The 25-stop tour kicks off in mid-April in Dallas, but makes its way to New England in June when it visits Laconia Motorcycle Week …
Read More »Triumph Shows Off Design Of Project TE-1 Electric Prototype
HINCKLEY, Leicestershire – Touting its prototype design as “significantly more compact and lighter than anything currently available on the market,” Triumph today provided a peek at its “Project TE-1” electric model that has been in development for nearly two years. Featuring sport bike/roadster styling, the TE-1 is a collaboration of …
Read More »Best And Worst Motorcycles Based On Particulates Found In Motor Oil
It’s a fascinating video that contains some surprising and not-so-surprising conclusions on the build practices of various motorcycle brands. It’s perhaps predictable that the Chinese brand Yin Xiang gets labeled as “atrocious but cheap” and Italian makes Aprilia and Ducati get written off as “shoddy.” However, Royal Enfield from India …
Read More »Poll: Readers Itching To Buy Motorcycles, New Poll On Plans To Attend Shows
There were some open spaces on showroom floors last year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Customers who were anxious to buy motorcycles and escape were a big part of the reason for the gaps, but factory shutdowns also presumably played a role. If dealerships did well in 2020, they may …
Read More »U.K. Survey Results Suggest Electric Future For Riding
At this stage, it’s still anyone’s guess when the riding landscape will significantly shift to electric motorcycles from those that are powered by gas. However, just-released results from a survey done by the BikeSure insurance company suggest a rapid switch may happen fairly soon, at least across the pond. More …
Read More »“If You Had Asked Me…” Has Battery Sharing, New Models
Six weeks have passed, so it’s definitely time for a fresh helping of “If You Had Asked Me, I Would Have Told You…” It’s the column that updates recent stories, adds some items that didn’t get a full post, and tosses in a bit of opinion. Here goes: “If You …
Read More »A New Brough Superior Aptly Named Lawrence
SAINT-JEAN, FRANCE – It’s named in memory of legendary British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat and writer T.E. Lawrence (aka “Lawrence of Arabia”) who died in a motorcycle crash in 1935 while riding an original Brough Superior SS100. Unveiled Monday by the revived Brough Superior brand in France, the Lawrence model …
Read More »Pan America 1250 Arrives From Harley-Davidson
MILWAUKEE – After nearly three years of teasing the Pan America 1250, Harley-Davidson today finally took the wrapper off its nascent adventure model. Set to arrive in showrooms in May, the model will come in two variants – the base Pan America 1250 at $17,319 and the Pan America 1250 …
Read More »Buell Back In Production With 10 Models Planned
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – It took several attempts to revive the Indian brand before success was realized under the ownership of Polaris. Can Buell do it quicker? We’ll see. An announcement was made this evening that Buell Motorcycles are being built once again, with a plan to “launch 10 performance …
Read More »Pandemic Didn’t Diminish Motorcycle Sales In 2020
IRVINE, CA – The COVID-19 pandemic turned lives upside down in 2020, but what it didn’t do was have a negative impact on motorcycle sales in the United States. Just the opposite. Motorcycle and scooter sales rose 11.4 percent. Indeed the broader power sports industry saw its sales increase 18.4 …
Read More »Suzuki’s 2022 Hayabusa Is New But Very Recognizable
BREA, CA – Suzuki is out today with a new Hayabusa sport model for 2022 that has fewer pounds, fresh styling and better performance. More than 550 new or redesigned parts make the Hayabusa “all-new” yet “instantly recognizable,” the company says. While there’s no mistaking it, the 2022 Hayabusa is …
Read More »Kawasaki Revives KLR650 After Three-Year Absence
FOOTHILL RANCH, CA – It was inevitable, predictable and overdue. Three years after discontinuing the KLR650, a single-cylinder, dual-sport model that endured for more than 30 years, Kawasaki is bringing it back for the 2022 model year. The new KLR650 will have fuel injection, a fractionally larger engine (652cc versus …
Read More »