Motorcycling, like most anything worth doing, requires multiple investments. There are the obvious financial expenditures— the bike itself, insurance, gas, gear, tires, maintenance—as well as the actual riding. All in all, we pour a lot of time, money, and energy into the sport we love, and we’re more than happy to do it. But there’s [...]

With the price we pay for gasoline today, you would expect that the fuel would be far better than back when it was about a quarter per gallon. But such is not necessarily the case. There are many more additives now, which are designed to change the rate of evaporation and burn more cleanly, but [...]

We ride small quiet roads in search of Les Elyzes. It’s considerably colder than yesterday but not unbearable, and everything is covered with low gray clouds and the specter of the impending storm. Le Elyzes is a small, run of the mill village, but its proximity to numerous prehistoric attractions makes it a busy hub [...]

As we arrive in Sarlat, we can see that this medieval town is spotless, its buildings made with tan/light peach colored stones. The deeper we go the narrower the streets become, until we’re cruising at 20 mph in second gear on cobblestone streets where there are businesses of all sorts. We advance with the rhythmic [...]

I got married on October 29, 2004 in Macon, GA. This date was hastily chosen because it was the last good weekend to profit from the wonderful colors of the autumn leaves. My French bride, a newcomer to the motorcycling world, was excited about the idea of honeymooning on a motorcycle. After a simple wedding [...]

Do you ever sit back and think about how important things begin? Maybe it’s watching your son or daughter walk across a stage and receive a diploma that makes you think about when they were first learning to walk. Maybe a sidelong glance across the room at your spouse reminds you of that fateful first [...]

Recently my riding friend Bob Brown invited me (Jim Parks) to a luncheon in Gettysburg, PA with a group of BMW riders. One of the attendees was Paul Mihalka, an 80-something year old rider who has logged over a million miles on BMWs. Paul, who was born in Hungary, moved with his family to Caracas, [...]

As the summer wore on, Torri was riding more, but practicing less. Clearly, the exhilaration of long, weekend rides with me and fellow bikers took precedence over the mind-numbing drudgery of practicing cone weaves, sharp rights, and U-turns in parking lots. Nevertheless, her October date with destiny, in the form of another MVA test, loomed [...]

Torri had progressed to the point where she could ride to our practice lot on her own, while I rode my bike behind her. She affixed a “Student Rider” sign to her topcase to serve notice to all to steer clear for the time being. After a few weeks of practice, we were kicked out [...]

  It was a beautiful, bright Saturday morning in October when I rode Torri’s brand-spanking-new, used bike to the parking lot of the old National Geographic Building, across the main road and the lake from my home. She followed me in her car. I laid out a few miniature orange cones, which Torri had purchased [...]

Torri apparently had lived a very deprived childhood. As if life weren’t hard enough growing up in Philadelphia and becoming a Phillies and Eagles fan, her parents somehow never got around to teaching her how to ride a bicycle. So, our first task was to go out and buy her a suitable bike on which [...]

I turned 60 earlier this year and have been riding for over 13 years. I had wanted to ride since I was a teenager, but my parents wouldn’t let me. So instead, I used to secretly hitch rides to high school baseball practice on the back of my buddy’s Yamaha 125. Sheer exhilaration. But it [...]

RoadRUNNER’s publisher, Christa Neuhauser, asked me to ride the BMW F 650 GS that Jim Parks has done a series of articles on, and to give my evaluation of the added aftermarket items. The timing coincided nicely with my being in Maggie Valley for the annual RoadRUNNER Touring Weekend, allowing me to ride the BMW [...]

Most motorcycles use cables to connect the twist grip to the carb(s) or throttle bodies; many also use cables for the clutch, cold-start control, and even brakes. Servicing these critical components is fairly simple and prevents problems later. Maintenance intervals vary, and bikes ridden in dust, sand, or mud need extra maintenance. It’s good to [...]

In the final installment of this series, we further improve the long distance touring capabilities and comfort of the F 650 GS with installation of an aftermarket suspension and a custom seat. Touring Enhancements Install Time           Retail Cost*    1. Progressive Rear Suspension (part #465-5017): The handling and carrying capacity of a [...]