News

Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed is a documentary by Mark Neale (director of FASTER) and narrated by Ewan McGregor; the film follows several teams to the world’s first zero-emissions grand prix on the Isle of Man–a demanding and deadly circuit–in 2009 and their return in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The movie is available for ...    Read more

Photography by Kevin Hipp For the first time since childhood, I went to a club race without suiting up and hitting the track. That’s because I literally hit the track (hard) back in April at the CBR600RR press launch, and my left knee still isn’t ready for the rigors of racing ...    Read more

Months after KTM’s CEO Stefan Pierer announced that his holding company had purchased Husqvarna from BMW, plans have been revealed that bring Husky and Husaberg together, while also severing ties with Husky’s current manufacturing facility in Biandronno, Italy. The new company will be called Husqvarna Sportmotorcycle GmbH, based ...    Read more

Photography by Horst Roesler and Frank Sander Unlike American custom bike builders who hem pretty closely to air-cooled V-twins as the basis of their custom builds, on the international scene it's anything goes—usually the stranger, the better. There's no finer example of this than the annual World Championship of Custom Bike Building, ...    Read more

According to Powersports Business, the new Suzuki Motor of America, Inc. has reported strong wholesale and retail sales growth after one month in operation. Combined motorcycle, ATV and scooter sales to Suzuki dealers are up 68 percent for April compared to last year’s sales (reported by American Suzuki Motor Corp.). Retail sales have been ...    Read more

Photography by Thomas Kinzer My most recent winner of attention is the Ducati Multistrada that was recently assigned to me as a long-term test bike. I’ve been reading up on history, looking up possible modifications, and always have my eyes and ears out for cultural uses of the Multi. Halfway around ...    Read more

Honda has introduced some new offerings for its 2014 lineup. Brand new are the 12-in wheel shod Grom (priced at $2999), and the Forza scooter (Price: $5599, $6099 for the Combined ABS model).  The 2014 CRF250R gets an entirely new engine and chassis, while the CRF450R introduced last year receives ...    Read more

Our near-800-mile road trip from Kansas City to Milwaukee to kick off Harley-Davidson's 110th anniversary ended with a quick and cold, 75-mile blast from Woodstock, Illinois, to the Harley-Davidson Museum in downtown Milwaukee. We didn't leave Woodstock without first stopping to check out the picturesque town square, ...    Read more

Legendary stripper Gypsy Rose Lee knew if you want to get the public all worked up over something, give it to ‘em slowly, a little bit at a time. If she hadn’t shuffled off the mortal feather boa in 1970, you might think she’s working for Indian Motorcycles now, because ...    Read more

I fell a few feet further down the Harley-Davidson rabbit hole today when I did something I've never done before—I bought my first Harley-Davidson dealer t-shirt. When the Best Western/HD110 tour made an early morning supply stop at Ted's Harley-Davidson in Alton, IL, and I saw even Harley-Davidson employees—who I ...    Read more

If Ducati's mechanical DNA makes its motorcycles inherently suited for carving up chicanes at Italian race circuits like Monza or Mugello, and BMW's big-bore touring bikes seem like they were born for the autobahn, the Midwestern United States is where a Harley-Davidson motorcycle comes into its own. It ...    Read more

When you think of BMW, odds are you think of adventure––riding around the world, eating strange food, and getting bitten by exotic fauna. But lately, along with the graying of American motorcyclists, the term “adventure” is broadening to encompass spa weekends and wine tours, often two-up. Recognizing that in this scenario ...    Read more

Like so many of us who were raised on sportbikes, I began life as an avowed Harley-hater. Insert your favorite Harley-Davidson stereotype here—too loud, too large, too leaky, too well-liked by people who are too old, too obese, too into leather chaps or otherwise too unlike yourself—I believed some variation ...    Read more

A great venue for this superb show. by Reg Kittrelle To say that “The Quail Motorcycle Gathering” features nice bikes is akin to noticing that the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel features nice paintings. While both statements are true, they only just begin to tell the story. I’ll leave Michelangelo’s Sistine efforts ...    Read more

by Dan Gruchala For three nights, the hills of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain were filled with the sounds of motorcycles, campfires, music and other essential noises of a good revelry. Unlike some places where only a smattering of people attend the early weekend practice sessions, the Jerez GP—the opening ...    Read more

This month, Harley-Davidson is celebrating women riders during the fifth annual Women Riders Month with a nationwide search for top stories of female independence. From May 1 to May 15, 2013, fans are encouraged to share stories about incredible women riders they might know. Fans can submit stories through a crowd-sourcing ...    Read more

For a couple of weeks now I’ve seen one of BMW’s new HP4 superbikes parked in the Motorcyclist parking lot. It’s striking, it’s beautiful, and it looks like it means business. The HP4 is currently the responsibility of Sport Rider’s Kent Kunitsugu, who informed me that the bike is actually privately owned. Only a ...    Read more

As a vintage rider, I look forward to attending the Corsa Moto Classica each year as much as a get together for the vintage motorcycle scene and seeing old friends as for the actual event activities.  It’s often a chance for me to see friends I haven’t seen for months—often ...    Read more

More is more: Traditional 600 Supersports are disappearing, replaced by bikes that offer something extra, like Triumph’s Daytona 675R and Kawasaki’s 636cc Ninja ZX-6R.  WORDS: Kevin Smith PHOTO: Kevin Wing Long ago, in an economy far, far away—say, 2008—the 600 Supersport class was a hotbed of technical advancement and sales activity. Exciting new ...    Read more

Laconia Harley-Davidson is commemorating the 90th anniversary of Laconia Motorcycle week from June 8th – 16th in Laconia, New Hampshire by launching a campaign to raise $30,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of the Lakes Region. A one-of-a-kind customized 2013 Harley-Davidson® Street Glide® has been donated by Laconia Harley-Davidson to be raffled off ...    Read more

CB350 on the workbench  A few years back I raced my father's vintage Honda CB350 as part of my Legacy Racing  story in our “Roots” issue (Nov. 2010, MC). It was a fantastic experience. Todd Henning, my father, developed the bike himself and raced it to dozens of American Historical Racing Motorcycle Association ...    Read more

Coming up on Saturday, May 11, motocross freestyle fans will have the opportunity to watch the world’s top riders compete in Red Bull X-Fighters at Glen Helen Raceway in Southern California. The series kicked off in March at Plaza de Toros, Mexico City's largest bullfighting arena, where Tomas Pages of France took ...    Read more

AMA Pro Roadracing finally got the TV deal it was looking for with the CBS Sports Network, announcing a two-year television agreement, in conjunction with Chet Burks Productions, to showcase GEICO Motorcycle AMA Pro Roadracing as part of the Network’s CBS Sports Spectacular series. Programming will begin Saturday, June 1 ...    Read more

Now I really feel like a part of the family. Nothing punches your moto-journalist card quite like being assigned a long-term test bike. And now the pressure's on, because mine is a doozy. Mr. Editor Cook must have been in a giving mood when he secured me a Ducati Multistrada ...    Read more

Words by Dan Gruchala Though Freddie Spencer had to see it coming, it still must have been painful to watch the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas despite COTA's widely praised exquisiteness. Marc Marquez replaced Spencer's name in the MotoGP history books for the second time in as many days ...    Read more