Motorcycle Review

A collection of 26 posts

Motorcycle Review

Review: Royal Enfield Super Meteor 650

Riding motorcycles in India is a unique experience for those habituated to the relative predictability of American, Japanese, and European roads. For one thing, there are a lot more cows—and they tend to be on the road. That’s just daily life for the millions of riders aboard the

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Kawasaki Vulcan S

Riding the 2023 Kawasaki Vulcan S home to Long Beach from the company’s headquarters in Foothill Ranch, I noticed many things. The 649cc parallel-twin powering the motorcycle is a peppy companion. The bike feels lighter than its 498-pound claimed curb weight suggests. Throttle response can be kind of light

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Janus Halcyon 250

Awash in unending spectacle, it takes something special to command the attention of the average passerby in Venice Beach, the unofficial ogling capital of California. The Janus motorcycle I was riding had no problem drawing gazes, though. Maybe it was because two Janus models were puttering around the beach town

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 KTM 890 Adventure

KTM chose Portugal as the place to show off the 2023 base model of the 890 Adventure. It couldn’t have been more suitable. The country’s winding paved roads, interlaced with various off-road sections, run the gamut from skittish hard-pack to lush loam, from deep sand to tree-lined rock-strewn

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Ducati Multistrada V4 Rally

Ducati has redesigned the Multistrada to create the Rally model, a premium adventure bike to travel faster, farther, and more comfortably, even off-road and with a passenger. I took the bike for my first ride in Sardinia, Italy. With the Rally, Ducati goes one step further than the previous Multistradas

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Aprilia Tuareg

Many things have been said and written about the off-road qualities of the Aprilia Tuareg. But while private and semi-official teams kept lining up at the starting gates of ADV raids and European off-road races with the Yamaha Ténéré 700 bikes, Aprilia still hadn’t seen the opportunities that the

Mar/Apr '23

Review: 2022 Harley-Davidson Low Rider El Diablo

With the Low Rider El Diablo, Harley-Davidson has leveled up the strange bedfellows of opulence and austerity. Parked on its side stand, the layered, faded, and pinstriped custom paint is breathtaking, highlighted by the textured black finishes of the valve covers and various other metal bits. Swinging a leg over

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Janus Halcyon 450

There’s something odd about this picture. I’m motoring along the backstreets of Venice, CA, on a motorcycle that is somewhat deficient in terms of power. There’s engine vibration ebbing up through the chassis into the handlebar and a pronounced sound of chain lash and road noise. Yet,

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2019 Royal Enfield INT650

I like the seating position on a Universal Japanese Motorcycle (UJM) and on classic British iron. I also like their looks. When I was a kid, my mom suggested I try building a model airplane. At the time, I was so young—probably around 7—that I didn’t know

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Vespa GTS 300

Oh, to be 19 in Rome. That’s the age Vespa turns officially with its newest incarnation of the GTS scooter, given that the Granturismo line was born in 2003. It gives poetic significance to Ernest Hemingway’s famous adage: “One doesn’t grow old in Rome, but they grow

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Royal Enfield Scram 411

Motorcycles and motorcycling, as well as the people who ride them, are changing. Over the past decade, among many enthusiasts, there has been a noticeable swing away from focusing on raw power, performance, and top speed in favor of more simplistic riding experiences. A large segment of the motorcycle community—

Nov/Dec '22

Review: 2023 Ducati DesertX

Motorcyclists have always been drawn to do-it-all machines. Since the invention of the motorcycle in the late 1800s, riders have pushed their limits—traveling farther, going faster, and navigating through rougher terrain. There’s just something about two wheels, their freedom, and not being held back by the limitations of

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2022 Honda NC750X DCT

Honda first introduced its automatic dual-clutch transmission (DCT) in 2010 on the VFR1200F. In a continuing evolution and application of its automatic transmission technology, Honda has since adapted it to the Africa Twin and the Gold Wing. The other model in Honda’s line-up that offers a DCT transmission is

Nov/Dec '22

Review: 2022 Yamaha MT-10

Getting Randy with Torque In the popular mind, southern California is the home of the motorcycle industry. Sure, there’s BMW Motorrad headquartered in New Jersey, Triumph in Atlanta, and the American brands up by the lakes, but most other OEMs all called southern California home. Without a doubt, the

Motorcycle Review

Review: Bill's Take on the 2022 Kawasaki KLR650 Adventure

Few motorcycles have as long a lineage—or as loyal an owner base—as Kawasaki’s iconic KLR650 adventure bike. Introduced in 1984 as the KLR600, it stayed essentially frozen in the same form and specifications for almost four decades. For 2022, Kawasaki introduced some welcome changes. These include fuel

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2023 Zero DSR/X

Zero Motorcycles has unveiled what it calls “the first true electric adventure motorcycle in the world.” Purpose-built to compete with big-bore ADV bikes in what Zero has identified as the fastest-growing motorcycle segment, the all-new 2023 Zero DSR/X is in a class of its own. The DSR/X began

Sep/Oct '22

Review: 2022 BMW K1600 Grand America

Having just ridden the new Indian Pursuit, I was eagerly anticipating the Bavarian interpretation of a heavyweight bagger with a backrest. One may quip that the opposed-twin of the R 18 Transcontinental may better represent that particular segment. But the R 18 B model with a backrest doesn’t have

Sep/Oct '22

Review: 2022 Energica Experia

I’m riding through one of the world’s most famous playgrounds for motorcyclists and outdoor enthusiasts alike. As I zoom past hundreds of fellow riders, their jaws drop. My bike silently whizzes by them. I’m part of a small group of journalists riding Energica Experia—the world’s

Sep/Oct '22

Review: 2022 Triumph Tiger Sport 660

Adventure style motorcycles tend to be more comfortable and versatile than most other machines. That’s part of the reason their popularity has skyrocketed in the last decade. We saw manufacturers enter a race for the biggest and baddest ADV on the market, but riders didn’t follow that logic

Sep/Oct '22

Review: 2022 Indian Pursuit Limited

> The first thing I noticed upon straddling the 2022 Indian Pursuit Limited was that it’s built with size in mind. Endeavoring For Touring Supremacy With my derriere against the back of the seat, my arms were at full lock, gripping a handlebar that’s among the widest I’ve

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS

The 2021 Honda Trail 125 ABS is a ridiculous motorcycle. Its 125cc thumper motor is underpowered and slow. Its centrifugal clutch is clunky. It’s only got four speeds. Its suspension is crude: I have kitchen stools with thicker legs than the forks and rear swingarm on the Trail. Did

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2022 Yamaha XSR900

The first small turn of the throttle as the XSR900 warmed up served as an enticing preview of what the new Yamaha had in store beneath its retro-styled aesthetics. The high-performance CP3 cross-plane triple-cylinder configuration of its engine possesses an enthralling sound and a quick-revving demeanor. Once underway, the bike’

Motorcycle Review

Review: 2022 Aprilia Tuareg 660

For many years after the retirement of Aprilia’s ETV 1200 Caponord, the Italian company lacked an adventure touring bike in its line-up. Finally, we got the Aprilia Tuareg 660 which we tested in Sardinia. The Italians have chosen to name the bike after their legendary Tuareg 250 Rally bike

Motorcycle Review

Review: Oset 24.0 Racing

Los Angeles was already a little rough around the edges; it didn’t need a years-long pandemic. But despite ourselves, the lockdown looked good on us. We were more polite and patient, even when the streets weren’t so pretty. Delivery drivers stripped their latex gloves into gutters, and paper

Motorcycle Review

​​Comparison: 2021 Indian Chieftain Elite vs. 2022 BMW R 18 B

Baggers are big business. New bikes are coming from some interesting quarters in the industry, including the typically cruiser-averse BMW with the new R 18 B. Indian, conversely, has been making touring motorcycles practically since the dawn of time—and certainly since they were restarted by Polaris back in 2011.