Motorcycles

Sep/Oct '14

Review: 2014 Triumph Thunderbird LT

For a British bike, the Thunderbird LT looks awfully American. Not that that’s a bad thing; it’s beautiful with its two-tone paint, whitewall tires, and abundance of chrome. Unlike the Thunderbird Storm and Commander, the LT ditches the twin headlight setup that’s a dead giveaway for a

Sep/Oct '14

Review: 2014 Indian Chieftain

When it comes to touring on the Chieftain, let’s get the worst out of the way immediately. It needs more range. Though my observed fuel economy was a respectable 39mpg, I found myself stopping for gas every 150 miles or so at best. I think this is primarily the

Sep/Oct '14

Comparison: 2014 BMW F 800 GS vs. 2014 Triumph Tiger 800 XC: Variations on a Theme

> The spicy flavor of this British-born, massaged sportbike machine delivers tons of passion from each twist of the wrist, but the BMW’s practical and concise demeanor also delivers in predictable and repeatable ways. Many ask the same question, “Which one?” But only your own taste buds know what

Jul/Aug '14

2014 Honda CTX1300 A Honda that’s a Hoot!

> Honda’s latest new model, the CTX1300, continues to carry the torch for the CTX series by combining pleasing ergonomics and modern styling with new technology. There are actually two choices: the basic CTX1300, which has a suggested retail price of $ 15,999, and the CTX1300 Deluxe for $ 17,

Jul/Aug '14

Comparison: BMW R 1200 GS vs Triumph 1200 Explorer XC vs Yamaha Ténéré

> Just as the number of sport touring riders in the last decade or so has risen, a similar growth spurt is currently happening in the dual-sport market. Gone are the days of overnighting a CB400 to the local woodlands or piling the camping kit on your dirt bike. Currently

May/Jun '14

Review: 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS

> Let’s get this over with. No, the new V-Strom is not a BMW GS clone. Yes, it has a beak, but it could be argued that BMW copied said beak from Suzuki’s 1988 DR-BIG and DR-Z. Who copied whom aside; Suzuki does have a legitimate claim to

May/Jun '14

Review: 2014 Can-Am Spyder RT Limited

> Thanks to the Spyder’s inherent stability, high-tech ingenuity, and Canadian bravado, Can-Am has made the “backwards trike” a household name in only seven years. For model year 2014, they continue their success by dropping the V-twin engine and replacing it with an all-new inline triple, adding a sixth

May/Jun '14

Review: 2014 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 ABS

> Kawasaki’s sporty and powerful Ninja 1000 has been morphed into a respectable sport-touring machine for 2014. Some of the biggest changes include standard ABS and revamped color-matched saddlebags, but there are a number of smaller tweaks that add up nicely. Powertrain and Performance Motive power continues to come

Mar/Apr '14

Review: 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure R

What’s a Little Dirt and Mud? Kraftfahrzeuge Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, or thankfully KTM for short, has replaced its 990 Adventure R model with the new 1190 Adventure R. Now that I’ve finally gotten the mud off my riding gear and it’s all dried out, let me tell you

Mar/Apr '14

Comparison: 2013 Yamaha FJR1300 vs 2013 Kawasaki Concours 14 Sport: Touring Title Fight

> We’ve been testing two of the most popular sport-touring motorcycles across the country over the past year. A mix of interstates, rural country byways, and the tight and chaotic roads of the Smokies provided the perfect testing grounds. History The FJR was first sold in the States in

Jan/Feb '14

2014 Indian Motorcycles: American Muscle

> When Polaris announced the purchase of Indian Motorcycles in April 2011, anticipation went through the entire motorcycle community. America’s first production motorcycle has seen its share of ups and downs since 1901. With a new parent company, Indian dove headfirst into a sea of Harleys at Sturgis for

Jan/Feb '14

2014 BMW F 800 GS: Adventure Rockin’ the Red Rocks

> BMW’s mid-size F 800 GS Adventure offers real, functional improvements over the regular F 800 GS, and that makes it even better suited to a long-distance adventure-touring role. Foremost among the changes, the Adventure’s fuel capacity has been boosted by 50 percent to 6.3 gallons, bringing

Jan/Feb '14

2014 Honda CTX700 and CTX700N: One to Grow On

> Amid the rush of rider-friendly and affordable motorcycles flooding our shores 
from Honda’s overseas plants, there is a single model targeted to more than just 
one type of rider. They call it an “anti-niche” bike and promote it in two different areas of their website—surprisingly, the Touring

Jan/Feb '14

2014 Harley-Davidson Lineup: Rushmore’s No Longer Just a Mountain!

> To kick off Harley-Davidson’s 2014 new-model press launch, the Motor Company’s President and Chief Operation Officer, Matt Levatich, and Senior VP and Chief Marketing Officer, Mark-Hans Richer, first introduced Project Rushmore. Rushmore, which was spawned in 2009 during the dark days of the Great Recession, is a

News

The New 2014 BMW K1600GT Sport

For 2014 BMW is adding a new trim-line to their king-tourer, the K1600. The “new” K 1600 GT Sport differentiates itself from its siblings, the K 1600 GT and K 1600 GTL, with a two-color Sakhir orange metallic and black metallic paint scheme, black gloss coated wheels, low windshield, and

Nov/Dec '13

2013 Ducati Hyperstrada: The Minimalist, Say Hello to Motard Touring

> This addition to Ducati’s model lineup can be called the younger cousin of the Multistrada or the responsible brother of the Hypermotard. An absolute blast to ride with its light weight, power, and ergonomics, the Hyperstrada is also comfortable for a long day in the saddle, and it

Nov/Dec '13

Comparison: 2013 BMW R 1200 GS vs 2013 KTM 1190 Adventure R: Battle of the Giants

> With the allure of traveling around the world on two wheels ever increasing, the adventure-type motorcycles seem to be at their limits. “How much better can they get?” one might ask. Well, since they can already get to almost any place on earth, now they can do it fast,

Nov/Dec '13

2014 Kymco MYROAD 700i: The New King of the (Scooter) Hill

> Lately, there seems to be a displacement war going on in the most unlikely of motoring segments: scooters. There are now at least five companies in the U.S. selling scooters with displacements of 500cc and up, but there can be only one displacement king. And here it is—

Sep/Oct '13

2013 Moto Guzzi California 1400 Touring and Custom: Cruisers that Can Carve Corners!

> Moto Guzzi has completely revamped its flagship California model and offers two handsome versions for 2013, the Touring and the Custom. Choose the Touring model and get hard saddlebags, fog lights, a windscreen, and a passenger grab rail. Select the Custom model and get a naked cruiser. Both versions

Sep/Oct '13

2013 BMW F 800 GT: The Right Piece of the Puzzle

> BMW thins the herd and replaces a first-model sport tourer with a longer and leaner next-generation machine. Gone are the F 800 S and ST; welcome to the higher horsepower F 800 GT, an everyday bike with touring capabilities. Like picking through a puzzle box, so many of the

Sep/Oct '13

2013 Honda CBR500R and CB500F: Budget Bikes with Gusto

> Honda’s new entry-level 500s, the CBR500R and the CB500F, are budget bikes with gusto. With fuel-injected parallel twins that are as smooth as four cylinder bikes, the newest micro racer and sport standard are impressive world-market machines. Since February of this year, Honda has introduced six new models

Jul/Aug '13

2013 Star V Star 1300 Deluxe: Yamaha Adds a Budget-friendly Bagger

> Yamaha’s Star cruiser division has launched its new 2013 V Star 1300 Deluxe, which it calls a “midsize” bagger. My, how times have changed. Why, it wasn’t that long ago that an 80-cubic-inch motorcycle was considered full size! A bright multi-reflector headlight, LED taillight, and turn signals

Jul/Aug '13

Comparison: 2012 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring vs. 2012 Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX

> What we have here are birds of a feather, V-twins from the land of Chianti and chiaroscuro that represent two very different interpretations of the fastest growing segment in our little playground—adventure touring. Both marques have a strong touring heritage, so it’s no surprise that they’ve

Jul/Aug '13

2013 Honda CRF250L: Dual Sport Darling

> After being away for almost a decade (the street-legal XR250L was dropped in 2004), Honda is back in the 250cc dual sport segment with the CRF250L. The new machine receives its crisp styling from Honda’s CRF series, but the engine design is borrowed from the CBR250R sportbike. Powertrain

Jul/Aug '13

2013 Kymco Xciting 500i ABS: Scooting Redefined

> Most scooters are designed with one task in mind—urban commuting, and it is a role that suits them well. There are, however, some scoots that are capable of much more, even some for whom words like “highway” or “tour” aren’t so dirty. One of these is the