Motorcycles

In my last post, I asked a question of myself: Was I uninspired by the V Star 250 because it's essentially uninspiring or because I dislike cruisers in general? I admitted that I missed horsepower, but all else being equal the little Star offers pretty much everything any other low-slung ...    Read more

If you're WSBK champion Aprilia Racing, how do you keep the momentum going after your champion retires? Turn to a "young veteran" known for his gritty racing: Sylvain Guintoli. Guintoli has been chosen by the Aprilia Racing Team for its 2013 World Superbike Championship squad, replacing Max Biaggi. Guintoli will ...    Read more

Yamaha didn’t release any notable new models at the 2012 Intermot Motorcycle Fair, but the company did create lots of buzz—and plenty of questions—with its crossplane triple engine concept. Yamaha shared zero information about the concept beyond some vague mumbo-jumbo about the Japanese philosophy of Jinki Kanno (“…a sense of ...    Read more

Photo: Oxymoron Photography I enjoy racing because it offers the opportunity to push myself to the limit, and provides a thrill like no other. I’ve raced 600s, and they're exhilarating. But after a race weekend I often find myself physically and emotionally exhausted. My bank account takes a beating, too. For me, ...    Read more

Words by Ben Purvis Ever since MotoGP transitioned from 500cc two-strokes to 1000cc fourstrokes in 2003, rumors have been whirling that Honda would build a proper MotoGP replica for the street. While the 2010 VFR1200F did borrow some technology from the RC211V, that 594-pound sport tourer could hardly be called a ...    Read more

WORDS & PHOTOS: Michael Lichter There always seemed to be one more building, one more booth, one more motorcycle to digest. Despite my big appetite, I was full the first day, but I couldn’t stop myself. The EICMA Motorcycle Industry Expo in Milan, Italy, in the middle of November was a veritable ...    Read more

Photo by Andrew Wheeler - AutoMotoPhoto. Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that Valentino Rossi is the winningest rider in the modern era and arguably the brightest genius roadracing has ever seen. As fans, it has pained us to watch him struggle against the torrential current of MotoGP development ...    Read more

I just got in from a 150-mile jaunt on an injudiciously modified Triumph Daytona 675—a machine I dubbed the “farkelbike” the first time I saw it. It’s actually a pretty neat piece. Seriously hard-core, yes, but the modifications have not ruined it, which is always slightly amazing. Along with the ...    Read more

The other shoe has dropped in the shakeup for Ducati’s MotoGP squad as embattled engineer Fillipo Preziosi has been moved up the corporate ladder while ex-BMW Superbike Director, Bernhard Gobmeier takes his place as GM of Ducati Corse. Valentino Rossi’s relationship with Preziosi unraveled in the press over the last ...    Read more

Harley-Davidson motorcycles have been ridden to every corner of the earth, but none has ever made a journey as remarkable as Ikuo Yokoyama’s 2004 Softail Night Train. Yokoyama had his Harley parked in a storage container outside his home in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture when the devastating, 8.9-magnitude Tohoku earthquake struck ...    Read more

KTM’s 990 Adventure was always the most off-road capable of all big-bore adventure tourers, with its 21-inch front wheel, rally-bred chassis, and peaky, 990cc V-twin engine. But while Dakar DNA made the original Adventure at home off road, that competence came at the expense of some on-road performance—and the reality ...    Read more

Now that my beloved V Star 250 has been returned to the Yamaha mother ship, I find myself reflecting on the time spent with the baby cruiser and the fun we had. Not least of which, I might add, was competing in a "slow race" (photo above), where, believe it ...    Read more

Triumph’s Daytona 675 has never suffered harsh criticism or dismissal. It’s long been a favorite due to its sharp looks, excellent handling, and the broadband power. The bike that debuted in 2006 was simply outstanding, and Triumph has kept the supersport at the forefront with conservative updates. The bike underwent ...    Read more

PHOTOS: Kevin Wing They say: "Timeless look, inspired performance." We say: "Half the guys who see it won't know it's new." At a time when so many retro bikes center on Honda hardware, it’s ironic that the company itself has shied away from the old-is-new angle for the last decade. In 1999, Honda ...    Read more

The quarter-liter displacement category is getting downright crowded lately, with multiple new models from Honda and Kawasaki creating excitement in American showrooms and streets. Now Suzuki is jumping into the 250cc fray with the all-new GW250 standard, which will be offered for sale stateside as a 2013 model. Featuring modern ...    Read more

Most storylines regarding Suzuki’s Hayabusa revolve around its awesome acceleration, but for model year 2013, the big news is an upgrade to better brakes. Big speed demands big brakes, of course, and stopping power was one area in particular where last year’s Hayabusa came up short. In fact, in ...    Read more

Coming hot on the heels of news that Ducati will reenter the World Superbike Championship in 2013 with an all-new, factory-supported racing effort run by Belgium’s Team Alstare, this is our first look at the bike that Alstare racers Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini will ride. The 1199 Panigale R, ...    Read more

If Ducati’s interpretation of a cruiser in the form of the Diavel left a lot of riders scratching their heads, imagine what this will do. Here is the 2013 Diavel Strada, Borgo Panigale’s take on the touring cruiser. Atop the Diavel's unexpectedly good chassis and polarizing styling ...    Read more

Ducati has comprehensively updated the Hypermotard line for 2013 by shoehorning in a version of the Testastretta 11-degree engine, offering two specifications of the main model, and adding something called the Hyperstrada, a distance-worthy model likely to be known as the mini-Multi for its resemblance to the ...    Read more

Continuing the development of its three-cylinder series and expanding the model options, MV Agusta has introduced the Rivale 800, a clear competitor to the Ducati Hypermotard. Featuring the firm’s newly punched-out triple, bumped from 675cc to 800cc, the Rivale employs a signature steel-tube trellis frame that gives ...    Read more

The 250cc class, once the preferred entry point for new riders, almost died off years ago except for a few hardy survivors like Kawasaki’s 250 Ninja. But now that Honda’s CBR250R has joined the quarter-liter party,  and the Ninja got a displacement bump to 300cc, suddenly everyone wants a big ...    Read more

Unless you’re already standing on the top step of the podium there’s probably room for improvement in your riding. American Supercamp helps road racers, flat trackers, motocrossers, and supermoto riders––even street riders––hone their skills under the tutelage of some of the best instructors in the business. And starting in 2013 ...    Read more

We were all sad to see the two-strokes go. The last of the fire-breathing 500 GP machines were parked at the end of the 2002 season, and in 2010 the 250s were supplanted by the 600cc four-strokes of Moto2. Finally, at the beginning of this year, the screaming 125s were ...    Read more

With so many convenient ways to communicate with Motorcyclist staff—via our public email account (mcmail@sorc.com), our Facebook site, the comment sections on our Web site, our Web forum, Twitter, Instagram, and more—I’m surprised that some fans still write to us the old-fashioned way, with pen and ink. Some write this ...    Read more

American Suzuki Motor reported today that its automotive division will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and "wind down" operations. According to the company, "The most important thing for you to know is that we intend to continue to operate our Motorcycles/ATV and Marine businesses as usual. We ...    Read more