How do engineers decide how to send power to the rear wheel of a particular motorcycle? Is it a cost issue? Is there any reason at all? Why do so many people hold diehard opinions about their particular favorite method of final drive? Which one is best? Man, thats a lot of questions. -Lemmy Why Things Are The Way They Are: Final Drive
Allowing lane-splitting by motorcyclists is good for both safety and efficiency. The experiences of thousands of Californians who do it and science both agree. The state of Washington, being the progressive, marijuana-approving state that it is, introduced and was set to pass EB 5623, a bill that would allow motorcyclists to split lanes whenever traffic was moving under 25 mph and at a speed no faster than 10 mph over current traffic conditions. Seems legit so far, right? Then things got weird. -Sean MacDonald Washington State Lane-Splitting Law
Yamaha R3 Video Review <iframe width="640" height="390" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z844MP3GypQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
At the northern latitudes, motorcycles pop up on the road on the first nice day like a hatch of mayflies: one day none, the next they're everywhere. And that phenomenon explains why riders need to be extra smart in the spring. There are special hazards to springtime riding that require us to be mentally prepared. They easily break down into three categories: hazards from the environment, from those around us, and from within. -Lance Oliver Top 3 Spring Riding Hazards
It looks like Honda has chosen the Osaka Motorcycle Show to unveil all sorts of goodies. First, we had the CRF250 Rally Concept, and now this. Honda is calling the Bulldog Concept a "Lovable Touring Partner," because of its go-anywhere nature and easy-riding accessibility. -Sean MacDonald Honda Bulldog Concept
Polaris, now the owners of an electric motorcycle company, has filed for a trademark on the name "Victory Charger." Last year, Brammo released "sketches" of new models supposedly in their pipeline in an attempt to improve their fundraising. The drawing labeled "eCRUISER" drew some interest given that it followed the public relations splash of the Harley-Davidson LiveWire Experience demo tour. -Sean MacDonald Polaris Trademarks "Victory Charger"
I am going to buy my first motorcycle but I wasnt going to tell you because I didnt want you to get pissed at me, she said, while raising her cup to her lips. Water cooler banter around our office is always a bit different from my days teaching public school. At this point, you are probably wondering, Why would a young woman, working for a motorcycle company, expect to upset anyone for wanting to buy her first bike? You and me both. So I asked... -Spurgeon Dunbar Kickstarters and Beer: How she got her vintage Honda in my garage
The guys from Aether kept us locked out of the warehouse so we couldn't see their diabolical obstacle course before riding it. All they told us was that it would be hard and a teeter-totter was involved. One by one, riders entered the shadows of the building while I wondered whether I was about to cement my reputation as a motorcycle professional or dump my Suzuki DR-Z400SM into a pile of cardboard boxes. Just another Sunday in the big city... -Sean MacDonald Aether's Urban Adventure 2015
Last December, we brought you the sad news that uber-premium helmet brand Ruby was closing up shop. I'm happy to report that the company went to auction this January. A wide variety of bids were made, both for the partial pieces of the company as well as the whole, by numerous potential buyers. The winning bid bought the whole shebang, including the brand name, offices, website, foreign subsidiaries, inventory and stock. -Sean MacDonald Les Ateliers Ruby is back in business!
Leavenworth is a hidden gem tucked into a river valley in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Modeled after a quaint Bavarian village, this place is a tourists paradise. What few of those tourists know is that the woods around Leavenworth offer Forest Service roads and twisty single-track for weekend (off-road) warriors and avid adventure-touring motorcyclists. Not to mention some epic views of Washington's lush, breathtaking and ancient forests. -Kyra Sacdalan Biers, Brauts and Bikes: Off-road exploring around Leavenworth
Here's a motorcycle for people like me who enjoy working on things, even in this age when most manufacturers go to great efforts to dissuade you from wrenching on your own machine. Enter the new CSC RX-3 Cyclone. CSC (which stands for California Scooter Company) is a small firm located in Azusa, Calif., focused on building affordable, two-wheeled transportation for the American market. With the RX-3 Cyclone, CSC steps away from the scooters the company is known for to produce a 250cc dual-sport motorcycle that comes fully loaded with luggage and crash bars for the “ride it like you stole it” price of $3,495.00. -Spurgeon Dunbar $3,500 ADV Motorcycle w/ Luggage and Crash Bars for the DIYer
With ICON’s penchant for utilizing customized Triumphs, most notably with "Raiden Files: Portland to Dakar", it was no surprise to see them finally join forces with British Customs for their new "Salt of the Earth" video. California-based British Customs is known for manufacturing high-end aftermarket parts for Hinkley-era Triumphs, as well as building one-off custom bikes to display their parts. In their most recent video, ICON decided to forgo building a bike themselves and instead abuse one of the ones built by the fine gentlemen over at British Customs. -Spurgeon Dunbar Video: Closed course. Unhuman rider. Do not attempt. <iframe width="650" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n4SYUWp2j18" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Explaining the evolution of motorcycle frames without making folks glassy-eyed from boredom is not an easy task. Things I'm avoiding: massively difficult engineering jargon and theory, as well as exotic and esoteric frame types. The chassis designs that have dominated the industry did so because they worked, and those are the ones I shall touch on. Most folks know nothing about frames, which is a pity. So much R&D has gone into frames. Why are frames made the way they are? Why does a modern sportbike look so much different from the bikes of yesteryear? -Lemmy Why things are the way they are: Frame Design
I will take long trips on any machine I happen to have in the shop. Why? I dunno. Why not? Because of this, I have learned to trim the amount of stuff I haul with me on my bike trips. Ive done hundreds of thousands of miles on bikes from Savages to Street Glides and from CBs to ZGs. Sure, baggers make long-hauling easy, but some choppers and smaller bikes leave only tiny areas in which to cram crap. By extracting every possible use out of the items I have at hand, and forcing items to do more than their designers ever dreamed of, I can live on the road with surprisingly little. -Lemmy Double Duty: A Bike Hiker's Guide To Packing Extra Light
Last month, a 1915 Cyclone board-track racer that was once part of Steve McQueen's collection was sold by Mecum Auctions for $775,000. One data point does not make a trend. But it is true that over the last decade, through the Great Recession and the real estate bust, through the slow economic recovery and wide fluctuations in other assets, the value of vintage motorcycles has steadily risen. -Panhead Jim Why the Prices of Vintage Motorcycles Keep Going Up
If you havent noticed by now, RevZilla takes video seriously. We strive to provide the most killer productions the moto world has seen and part of that includes using the best gear. Enter the GoPro Hero4. GoPro boasts another iteration to the Hero line with changes to the physical design, software, and feature set. As a power user of the GoPro Hero3+ Black, I put the Hero4 Black and Silver through our daily grind to see if they have the chops to join our team, which might help you decide if one, or both, should join yours. -Ryan Schultz [Video Testing] Which GoPro is right for you?
It was a rigorous four-day excursion that started with an invitation: Would you guys like to see something cool? Always. Even better, that something cool can only be accessed by foot. Or by dual-sport motorcycle (cue happy face). On a dreary April evening, Justin and I set out to Port Angeles, Wash., where our friends awaited us on their semi-off-the-grid, eight-acre compound that would be our base camp for this impending adventure. What were we looking for? American ruins. Forgotten fortresses swallowed by the Olympic Peninsulas fiercely growing vegetation. Who needs to go to the jungles of Asia or South America to find the remnants of civilization? We found it in our very own backyard. Well, someones backyard. -Kyra Sacdalan Riding to American Ruins
Port Angeles on the Olympic Peninsula? Well, in the image, it's sunny. If it's not sunny that means it's raining. If it IS sunny that means it's going to rain.
Yeah, Kyra lucked out on her ride. Olympic Peninsula Forecast: Rain with a chance of heavier rain -HVB