Racing

American Ricky Brabec Wins Dakar Rally for Second Time

It’s easy enough to be the best at something once—the hard part is doing it again. American motorcycle racer Ricky Brabec just proved he can do it twice by snatching his second Dakar Rally victory. On January 19, Brabec won the motorcycle class of the 2024 Dakar Rally,

News

The Story of Elvis and Memphis Mafia’s Triumphs Confirmed

In 1965, Elvis Presley took his friend’s brand-new Triumph T120 650 Bonneville out for a test ride. He was so impressed with the bike that he immediately bought nine similar motorcycles for his entire friend group, known as the Memphis Mafia. That’s how the story goes, at least,

Tips

How Many Miles Per Day?

Too Long, Too Short...Where is Just Right? When on tour I often get this question from my pillion partner at the beginning of each day’s ride: How many miles are we riding today? Sometimes, if we’re just letting the road be our guide, I don’t really

News

Trends from EICMA 2023

The 2023 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan displayed the hottest new bikes, but it wasn’t all just about the latest machines. From the various bikes, we could also glean some information on the future direction of the entire motorcycling scene. Adventure bikes seem set to continue their triumph, but

Tips

Touring Tips: Riding in the Rain

Many, if not most, of us consider riding in the rain a necessary inconvenience when we’re caught out in it while going from point A to point B. The experience is frequently made more burdensome because of: inadequate riding gear, reduced vision of scenery and road hazards, loss of

Jan/Feb '24 Premium Content

E-Fuels: The (Potential) Fuel of The Future

We live in the e-age. We have email, e-books, e-commerce, and even e-bikes from the likes of Zero, LiveWire, and Energica. Soon enough, we can add e-fuels to this list. I can hear the confused whispering in the audience. How could liquid fuels be electric or electronic? Although the “E”

Destinations

Woolarock Museum & Wildlife Preserve

This former ranch, set in northeastern Oklahoma’s rolling Osage Hills, was built in 1925 by Frank Phillips, founder of Phillips Petroleum, as his weekend and holiday sanctuary. The rustic grounds have an assortment of fauna, including buffalo, elk, zebra, water buffalo, deer, elk, Longhorn cattle, and more. Just so

Columns Premium Content

Being a Part of the Show

I recently recounted my beginnings in motocross, which I shared with my best friend and next-door neighbor, Scott Johnson. We rode, learned, and raced together. Although I couldn’t afford to commit to racing, Scott stayed with it, moving from a beginner to a novice, intermediate, and then pro. In

News

Happening Now: Riding Past Current SoCal Road Closures

The classic California combination of an earthquake, a brush fire, and a landslide often imperils the best riding roads in the state. That has never been more true than at the present. Wet weather, following wildfires, took some of the most popular routes out of commission for most of 2023—

Columns Premium Content

The Thunderstorm: Aprilia Tuono and I

I was struck by the world of racing at the age of 12 when the local motorcycle club organized the European enduro championship race in my hometown. All of a sudden, life came into the secluded world of the German state of Hesse on the edge of the Iron Curtain.

Columns

A Motorcycle Reunion: Reviving a '75 Honda CB750F

When I was in college, say around 2006, my brother called me up and asked, “Do you want to buy a running motorcycle for $400?” Though I never had the chance to ride dirt bikes growing up, and I’d never ridden a motorcycle before, there was no hesitation as

Events

18th Annual Barber Vintage Festival

The Barber Vintage Festival is for sure the festival of motorcycling love in America. It’s one of the best, most joyous, and most inspiring motorcycle event at a U.S. racetrack. George Barber, the founder of Barber Motorsports Park and Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds, AL, is a

Accommodations

8 Quirky Places to Stay on a Missouri Moto Tour

Missouri has gorgeous landscapes laced with history linked to our country’s early days. As a riding destination, it is ripe with farmland, country backroads, small family farms, and plenty of small lakes, rivers and forests. If your two wheels take you to Missouri, here are eight suggestions to help

Sidetracked Premium Content

Honey, We Need to Talk!

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" my wife asked as she led me down the aisle of a ma and pa grocery store in Northern California. We were exploring the epicenter of the 1849 Gold Rush with a group of brisk riding friends. The morning had

Tips

How to Become a Better Rider Off the Saddle

Riding motorcycles is a physical and mental activity. Like any sport, it requires a certain amount of ability, physical attributes, and mental conditioning. The better shape you’re in, the more enjoyable and safer your riding experience will be. To attain an improved, even optimum riding shape isn’t just

News

Vance & Hines Adventure Hi-Output 450 Slip-On for Honda Africa Twin

The Honda Africa Twin is one of the most popular adventure motorcycles for a reason—but everyone can always improve. The new Vance & Hines Adventure Hi-Output slip-on takes the bike’s already thrilling growl to a whole other level. The hand-made stainless steel slip-on, with a 4.5-inch diameter,

Events

2023 Touratech DirtDaze Rally

The 2023 Touratech DirtDaze Rally event returned, once again, to the North Haverhill Fairgrounds location, on the edge of the majestic White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire. The original DirtDaze event was founded by Christian Dutcher about a decade ago, but it has since partnered with Touratech and pushed

A Year in Review

Most Interesting Stories of 2023

If you're reading this email, then you understand that motorcycling can change the way you see and interact with the world. It can also change the way you think about things in general. The following stories, in no particular order, are some of our favorites published in 2023.

News

Trevor Motorcycles Brings Its Electric Off-Road Flat-Tracker to US

Trevor Motorcycles is a Belgian pioneer in electric motorcycles whose DTRe Stella is a prime example of an electricity-powered flat track-type racing bike. There’s just one problem—the bike has only been available in Europe. Now that has changed. Trevor Motorcycles has brought the off-road-only variant of the Stella

News

Triumph TR Series Adds Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X to 2024 Lineup

It’s a triumphant day for fans of motorcycles that harken back to the styling cues of the classics. Triumph will be introducing not one but two all-new machines in its 2024 lineup. The 2024 Triumph Speed 400 joins Triumph’s Speed Twin catalog (although as a single-cylinder it doesn’

News

2023 Mileage Masters Contest Winners Announced

This year, we ran the RoadRUNNER Mileage Masters contest to challenge our readers to travel as much as they could in the riding season. The contest started with the Jun ‘23 issue and ran through the end of the Oct ‘23 issue. We asked participating riders to take starting and

Tips

How to Buy a Motorcycle in the US as a Foreigner

As a British international rider, the high-octane journey of buying a motorcycle in the U.S. isn't just about acquiring your dream bike. It's an adventure in itself. Over my own experience, I unveiled the intricacies, best-kept secrets, and labor-saving strategies that turn the buying and

Columns Premium Content

Speed the Wheel: The Vanishing Art of Getting Lost

I tend to be slow at acquiring new-fangled electronic gadgets. Case in point, I have a four-year old cell phone and only recently started dabbling in social media. Although this could be mere stubbornness or laziness, I prefer to think I’m acting out of sentimentality, fearful that we risk

Columns Premium Content

The Photo

In 1972, I was 14 years old. The Buchanan family had recently moved into a home in Pacific Palisades, CA, on a street appropriately named Friends. The kid next door, Scott Johnson, was the same age as I. Once we discovered a shared love of motocross, with dreams of one

Tips

Drinking and Riding has Legal Consequences

Alcohol affects the skills that are essential to riding a motorcycle—balance, coordination, and responsiveness. Evidence suggests that it plays a significant role in fatal motorcycle crashes. In fact, research has shown that in fatal crashes a larger proportion of motorcyclists had been drinking prior to an accident than operators