RoadRUNNER

Motorcycles

Filters: Classic/Vintage Cruiser Dual-Sport/Enduro Naked/Standard Scooter Sports/Race Supermoto Touring

Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad - Long-Term Evaluation

Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad - Long-Term Evaluation

> Oddly enough, it's on a four-lane highway somewhere outside of Danville, Virginia, that it dawns on me. This bike's moniker really fits. A nomad is one who doesn't stay in the same place very long, a wanderer if you will. And while the

1981 Laverda 1000 Jota

1981 Laverda 1000 Jota

> "Any color as long as it's black." Not surprisingly, it was in the psychedelic seventies when motorcycle manufacturers first broke with the tradition of black-painted frames. First came BSA's "dove grey," intended, it's said, to reprise the company'

Honda CBR1000RR

Honda CBR1000RR

> Old habits die hard. I ride maybe 25,000 miles a year on roads that range from interstate to gravel, and I reckon I usually hold my own. But the racetrack is different. It takes me a whole day at California's Buttonwillow circuit to overcome my road-bound

2005 Yamaha FZ1 - Long-term Evaluation

2005 Yamaha FZ1 - Long-term Evaluation

> "Large increases in cost with questionable increases in performance can be tolerated only for racehorses and fancy women," wrote 19th-century physicist William Thomson, Lord Kelvin. He would have appreciated the 2005 Yamaha FZ1 then, which offers most of the performance of the company's flagship R1

Ducati 749S / Suzuki GSX-R750

Ducati 749S / Suzuki GSX-R750

> I have to be honest with you, folks. My boy-racer days are well behind me. Though I still covet a brisk pace across endless stretches of tasty twisties, there are usually packed saddlebags and often the world's greatest copilot along for the ride. Yep, these days I&

Honda FSC600A3 Silver Wing

Honda FSC600A3 Silver Wing

> Remember the original Silver Wing? It wasn't a scooter; it was a motorcycle. Honda used the CX 500 transverse-mounted V-twin platform to launch their version of a slenderized touring machine, the GL500 Silver Wing Interstate. A sort of Gold Wing "lite" if you will. After

Let's Get It On

Let's Get It On

> No punches pulled, it's the stuff of which classic fights are made. In one corner we have the thoroughbred champion, a machine many regard as the finest road-going sport bike in the world today. Its clean, svelte bodywork transmits a menacing sense of purpose and a stylistic

Harley-Davidson FLHTCUI Ultra Classic Electra Glide - Long-term Evaluation

Harley-Davidson FLHTCUI Ultra Classic Electra Glide - Long-term Evaluation

> My first ride on the 2005 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic was one of those dreaded, droning highway runs on I-95/85 - from the H-D factory in York, Pennsylvania, to the RoadRUNNER offices in North Carolina - and although the plush seat and excellent sound system certainly eased the boredom

Victory Hammer

> Riding a motorcycle is cool. We all know that to be true. But riding a motorcycle that truly turns heads, that adds a whole new dimension to the feeling. Blasting down the highway somewhere outside of Minneapolis on Victory's '06 Hammer, I'm noticing the

Total Recall

> A life is a warehouse of sensations and experiences best opened and shared with as many others as possible. Whatever we choose to stock the warehouse shelves with indicates our particular passions and often leads us back to our inner selves. For me, the vintage bike experience holds a

Honda CBR100RR / Kawasaki ZX-10R / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Yamaha YFR-R1

Honda CBR100RR / Kawasaki ZX-10R / Suzuki GSX-R1000 / Yamaha YFR-R1

> The best of the best, cream of the crop, and pick of the litter are all phrases used to denote the outstanding single example of a collective. And when surveying the four 1000cc supersport models parked in the hotel parking lot, it quickly becomes apparent that picking the "

Honda GL1800A Gold Wing (ABS) - Long-term Evaluation

Honda GL1800A Gold Wing (ABS) - Long-term Evaluation

I've never liked Gold Wings. For years they were objects of derision. The characterizations I'd hurl in their direction included too big, too clumsy, too heavy, and the ever popular "it's nothing but a car on two wheels." On top of everything

Who You Callin' Scooter?

Who You Callin' Scooter?

> In America, more is more. Size matters. We like things big - upsized, super-sized. From Jumbo Jets to Jumbotrons, we're Dumbo for humongo. We relish taking everything to the next level. Did you ever think the Big Gulp® would get bigger? Me neither. Well, now you can

2005 Triumph Sprint 1050ST

2005 Triumph Sprint 1050ST

> I'm stuck behind a line of cars following a dawdling farm tractor along the winding A259 road between Rye and Hastings in East Sussex, England. A gap appears in the oncoming flow: time to test the new 1050 Sprint ST's acceleration. Staying in third gear,

BMW K1200S

It's rare air up in the hyper-tourer stratosphere. You've got the Suzuki Hayabusa, the Kawasaki ZX-12R, the discontinued-stateside Blackbird, and now, the BMW K1200S has joined the fray. Never known for speed and acceleration, the K series is nonetheless my favorite line of Beemers, and the

Victory Kingpin Deluxe

Victory Kingpin Deluxe

> The appeal of a big, American-made motorcycle is undeniable. Anybody who's thrown a leg over of one of these iron horses will attest to the thrill derived from that intoxicating staccato of the pistons doing their thing. There's also that throb coming through the handlebars,

Kawasaki Z750S

> Many of you who have been riding for a while may remember the UJM days. Universal Japanese Motorcycle, a term often used derisively back in the 70s and early 80s to describe those 'standard' machines that arrived on U.S. shores in droves. Though lacking the mystique

Review:1968 Royal Enfield Interceptor TT Mk1A

Review:1968 Royal Enfield Interceptor TT Mk1A

> Jim Stothard wasn't looking for a motorcycle when he heard about the Royal Enfield his boss had in storage. He wasn't even sure what an Enfield was. But the idea of buying it wouldn't go away. It took two years of needling and

2006 Harley-Davidson VRSCR

2006 Harley-Davidson VRSCR

The whispers began almost immediately. No sooner had the motojournalists finished wiping their lips after their first taste of the V-Rod at its introduction in 2001, than they began licking their chops at the prospect of a Revolution-powered, pure performance bike. Oh sure, the V-Rod was one heck of a

The World of the Triumph Thruxton 900

The World of the Triumph Thruxton 900

The Thruxton 900 is a tribute to the days when a motorcycle was about rebellion and freedom, instead of a fat wallet. Welcome to an England of a bygone era. Thruxton Race Circuit The first race was held at a former air base in Hampshire in 1952. In 1968, it

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R vs. Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R vs. Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R

> I felt an adrenaline rush simply from reading Christian's e-mail message, "Eric, could you do a test ride for us as soon as you return from Thailand? Hayabusa vs. ZX-12R. Please let me know." Talk about an offer I couldn't refuse! In my

Honda VTX1800R

> All right, all of you cruiser guys can line up to give me a moto-wedgie for what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyway. Seven-hundred-and-fifty pounds of dry mass on a two-wheeled chassis is heavy. Yeah, yeah, sure...I can hear all you

Yamaha Majesty

> Webster's definition of 'majesty' begins many sage enumerations with "sovereign power, authority, or dignity." Lofty implications, those. But Yamaha appears not at all concerned. Appropriated, these terms laud a lithe arrival in the Court of Maxi-Scooters. And even though it's ceding

Suzuki SV650s / Triumph Speed Four / Yamaha FZ6

Suzuki SV650s / Triumph Speed Four / Yamaha FZ6

> Here in the good old US of A, it's no secret we like things big. Need an example? Just look at the recent spate of big honkin' pavement-churning machines on display at your local bike shop - 1600, 1800, 2000cc and more. Is this really necessary?

Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad

Kawasaki Vulcan 1600 Nomad

As so often happens, I'm sitting in this huge plane getting ready to fly between Charlotte and L.A., and I'm wondering: When did they build the first of these Jumbos? More then 30 years ago. It's 2005 and this bird looks the same.