This is going to be awkward. You see, you’re about to read a piece about Ducati’s most focused Streetfighter V4 yet. You’re going to expect it to be a highly refined and special machine, worthy of the Sport Production suffix. And you know what – you’re right. It’s good. It’s very good. 

Twenty-five years ago, the 1997 Kawasaki ZX-6 had not yet grown an “R.” It came with a centerstand, dual exhausts, and weighed 430 pounds full of 4.8 gallons of unleaded fuel. The leaded stuff hadn’t been phased out until one year earlier, which may explain a lot about the mental condition of many of us Boomers. It was a great, inexpensive, do-anything motorcycle in other words. I haven’t seen one in years, you? Take it away, Billy B.

I guess manufacturers know that you’re going to swap on aftermarket parts from the get go, but it doesn’t make it any less annoying that machines like KTM’s 500 EXC-F, which retails for $12,549, don’t come with even the most basic engine protection. In the rocky terrain I find myself riding in the western U.S., a skid plate is an essential worker. But that’s not the only bit of protection I like to get my machines outfitted with before hitting the trail. We already mentioned the purchase price of a new pumpkin, so spending a few more dollars to protect components before they have the chance to get smashed seems like a worthwhile investment.

Motorcyclists come in all shapes, sizes and tribes, but if there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that we hate paying a lot for motorcycle insurance. Sure, we grudgingly accept that it’s important to be properly insured, but the less we have to pay, the better.

In 1997, Harley-Davidson owned 49% of Buell Motorcycles and a lien on Erik Buell’s house; outwardly, the relationship appeared to be somewhat symbiotic. The M2 Cyclone was almost the last of the tube-framed Buells, while the first turbocharged XB fuel-in-aluminum-frame bike was on the drawing board. It was close, but sadly, none of it quite went according to plan…

Triumph is preparing to give the Street Twin and Street Scrambler new names, continuing its recent trend of giving its models new monikers. The changes may happen soon, as Triumph has filed certification documents in Australia, renaming the Street Twin as the Speed Twin 900, and similarly, changing the Street Scrambler to the Scrambler 900.

An hour into the ride, we were already in trouble. We’d lost the main road and were stuck in deep sand and didn’t know the way out.

Although I was born and raised in Virginia and North Carolina, I’ve done relatively little riding in the two states. When I got my first motorcycle license, I literally packed my belongings on my bike and set out for California the next day for a three-month, 11,000-mile tour. So, when I received the invitation to my 40th high school reunion (OK, 41st. Thanks, Covid.), thoughts of spending some quality, two-wheeled time in the mountains of my home states immediately came to mind.

The Triumph Trident 660 isn’t the first middleweight naked I would consider taking to the racetrack. Then again, sometimes I forget that some people only own one motorcycle that they use for everything. But, that didn’t stop Akrapovič from developing and manufacturing a closed-course only race-line full-system exhaust for it. I suppose if someone had to do it, it may as well be the Slovenians with their in-house titanium foundry and metallurgical laboratory.

Naturally, I reached for my Aerostich. The sport-tourer’s uniform of choice, it seemed like the right thing to wear when the invite to test Suzuki’s newest sport-tourer – the 2022 GSX-S1000GT+ – popped up in my inbox. It offers full-body protection from both the ground and the elements, is easy to take on and off, has loads of pockets, and has room underneath for layers (including an airbag, in my case). I felt like I made the right decision when I hopped on the bike. 

Cardo Systems has been a leading manufacturer of motorcycle communicators since 2004 when it introduced the first Bluetooth headsets designed for riders. The latest from Cardo is the Packtalk Edge, a new flagship product offering faster connectivity, improved sound quality, and a more compact chassis.

One day is good, but more is better. Words to live by if you appreciate consecutive long days of motorcycle touring. With thousands of kilometers of roads spider-webbing across Ontario, Canada, putting a memorable multi-day tour together is time-consuming. Lucky for us, the  GoTourOntario.ca website can get you started but allow us to make it even easier with this collection of five Ontario motorcycle routes you don’t want to miss.

“I’m not a fan of the Darth Vader looks.”

It’s happened. When I got into this business 30-some years ago, those who came before me were going on about Norton Commandos and BSA Gold Stars. I tried to fake it, but could form no mental picture of what they were even referring to? Are you sure you don’t have an earlybird special to get to or a nap to take? This year, the Honda CBR600 is 35 years old, and here am I to tell you all about probably the greatest motorcycle ever made. Strap in.

With its innovative cutting edge NDM technology, Swedish brand USWE has revolutionized the back satchel game. Whoa. Bold statement, aye? I get a kick out of the phrase “NDM technology” since NDM stands for No Dancing Monkey. But, opinions of the brand’s marketing choices aside, it’s kind of true. Having used the USWE (pronounced: yoo-swee) Raw 8 and the Core 25, I’m sold on the usefulness of the brand’s bounce-free backpacks.

Having your motorcycle stolen somehow feels like more of a personal attack than theft. In many cases, we are more attached to our two-wheeled friends than the four-wheeled ones. Unfortunately, motorcycles are also easier to steal, making them targets for purloiners.

The best way to experience the great outdoors and Northern Ontario wilderness is on two wheels! The north is big and full of endless trails and gravel roads to explore, which makes this area one of the best in the world for riders who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban roads and highways. This is a place where you’ll ride to communities where they count moose, cross boundaries where the water runs in a different direction and find historic sites that date back to the original exploration of Canada.

Ah, Los Angeles. The city of angels and Dodger dogs, beaches and mountains. It’s the land where everyone is famous – or trying to be. People from all over call LA home, and the result is a really amazing place, steeped with rich traditions and cultures from all over the world. 

If you didn’t know, we’re big fans of Racer gloves around here, having tested no less than five different models throughout the years. First, there was the Warm Up gloves, then the High Speed, the Stratos Goretex II, Sprint, the High Racer, and finally the Multitop 2. As you can see, we’ve gone through a few Racer gloves over the years, and for the most part, we’ve come away really happy with them. Though the name might say Racer, the Austrian company makes gloves for all different kinds of riding – and you certainly don’t need to be a racer to wear them. 

Our new friend Christian Brix, whose excellent book about a solo trek through Africa we reviewed here last July, has decided he’s now a rallyist, or whatever you call masochists who ride things like the Gibraltar Race, 2021. After completing that one, Christian had some thoughts (and some photos) to share with us. He’s pretty fun reading, no?

Triumph’s open-class ADV bike, the Tiger 1200 (or Tiger Explorer depending on what era we’re talking about), had begun to get a little long in the tooth. The big cat hadn’t received a major overhaul since its introduction in 2012 – only receiving incremental upgrades to keep the machine relevant over the past 10 years. The Brits did give the bike some refreshes and new tech over that time, but nothing compared to the latest iteration that I was lucky enough to get a proper two-day test of around the backroads and trails of the Iberian Peninsula.

Our favorite high-tech Slovenian pipe benders are at it again, now with a new slip-on system for Yamaha’s super-gnar 2022 MT-10 naked bike. Designed with a not-accidental resemblance to the Akrapovič exhaust for the Yamaha R1 Superbike, this new version of the EC/ECE type-approved Slip-On Line system is constructed using high-grade lightweight titanium in the link pipe, end cap, and muffler outer sleeve – which is sandblasted for an enhanced, satiny appearance.

With thousands of kilometers of road and a daunting number of potential moto touring routes to choose from, planning your next  Ontario motorcycle ride can be a challenge. What will it be, a long-distance epic, beach hopping along the great lakes shoreline or zigzagging between northern lakes and the Canadian Shield? Sure, a visit to the  GoTourOntario.ca can assist, but if you happen to be the kind of rider that believes lunch should be as good as the ride, allow us a few suggestions.

I could’ve sworn Honda had discontinued the 600RR years ago, when I bumped into a pretty red, white, and blue 2021 model on the corporate website a few weeks ago. What? Colin Miller, our American Honda media rep, assures me that’s not the case, and that the bike’s been available in the US all along. Hmmm, wonder why I haven’t ridden one in such a long time? 

Jim Lindemann was a genius in the suspension business who saw opportunity where others didn’t – by improving upon the suspension a motorcycle came with from the factory. Many moons ago, when Kawasaki Ninja 250s were littering race tracks as a fun and inexpensive way of getting into racing, competitors were replacing their shocks with aftermarket pieces. Lindemann, in keeping with the inexpensive nature of the class, modified a stock shock and gave it adjustable rebound and compression circuits, along with a remote reservoir to house the pressurized fluid, all for less than the aftermarket shocks on the market at the time. The result? I set a lap record around Willow Springs Raceway using that shock on a Ninja 250 (that was beaten a lap later by another racer). 

In 1997, Bill Clinton started his second term, nobody was sure if the Titanic had sunk or not as the Leonardo di Caprio film had just debuted – along with the Toyota Prius in Japan. Love was in the air, the median California home price was $186k, and what the hell was Motorcycle Online? What could possibly go wrong?

Kyle Wyman knows a thing or two about superbikes. Having ridden quite a few over the years as a MotoAmerica rider, and having built some himself as a MotoAmerica team owner – including the Ducati Panigale V4R he campaigned most recently – the 2021 MotoAmerica King of the Baggers champion didn’t mince his words when describing the synergy between himself, Harley-Davidson, and the Road Glide he took all the way to the title.

Your new-for-2022 Indian Pursuit unleashes the next generation of American V-Twin touring performance, says Indian. Basically, what’s going on is turning the Challenger bagger into a full-on tourer mit trunk, and adding some new twists like electronic rear-shock preload adjustment and driving light lowers (on the Premium models).

Just two days ago, MO’s own Dennis Chung leaked the collaboration between KTM and the German automotive tuning house (or is that haus?) Brabus and their creation of the 2022 Brabus 1300 R. Today, that collaboration was made official as KTM sent out the below press release detailing all there is to know about the Brabus 1300 R.

Tire manufacturers are getting bold these days, pumping out tires that barely pass the bar for what counts as street legal. Take the Michelin Power Cup 2, for example. If it weren’t for the scant traces of tread marks down the middle, you could easily mistake these tires for a racing slick. And with a 5% void ratio, clearly, that’s the point. Michelin also goes so far as to outright claim the Power Cup 2 as a 90/10 tire – that is, it’s made to spend 90% of its time on track and 10% on the street. The slight tread profile proves just enough for the Department of Transportation to deem it legal for use on public roads. With that endorsement, KTM – you know, being “Ready To Race” and all – have even found it fitting to slap the Power Cup 2 tires on the 890 Duke R – stock!

A few years after the original M900 Monster attacked America circa 1993, Ducati expanded the repertoire with the 1997 M750 Monster – a simple, air-cooled, four-valve V-twin putting out a massive 68 horsepower. What I learned today: “In cold weather conditions you can turn on a petcock found on the oil cooling system and warm up the carburetors quickly using engine oil.” For reals?

There are some famous motorcycle routes all over the country: Mulholland Highway, Beartooth Highway, Blue Ridge Parkway, The Tail of the Dragon, just to name a few. As fun as these roads are, one thing remains true: you’ll always find a local who claims to know much better roads that are far less crowded. That then reignites your wanderlust to visit those roads. Or, if time is limited, you’ll wish you had gone to those roads instead. In the end, local knowledge is invaluable, and we, as motorcyclists, tend to take pride in knowing about “the good roads” nobody else knows about. But the fact of the matter is that you can’t possibly know every winding road throughout this lovely country. So, what do you do?

What’s going on with the 2022 Indian Scout Rogues is this: blacked-out trim, a quarter fairing, mini ape-hanger handlebars, a “sport-style” seat, and a 19-inch front wheel. We were big fans of the Scout when it got here, enough so that we made it our 2015 Motorcycle of the Year. At the time, we liked the portent Indian had established with a few new bikes in as many years, as well as the Scout being a direct shot across the Sportster’s bow: No doubt the new Sportster competitor was one of the factors that motivated H-D to get off its, ah, laurels.

Twenty-five years ago, “Open Superbikes” meant something entirely different than what it means now. The GSX-R1100 was the most optimized of these for the race track, but one year before the first Yamaha R1, all four leaned more toward high-performance sport-tourer than to anorexic track tool. For most of us, that wasn’t a bad thing at all. As a class of motorcycle, this one doesn’t really exist anymore. Or does it? When the Suzuki Hayabusa arrived in 1999, the other three just faded away. Forgive the tiny photos while you remember this 1997 Open Superbikes epic was originally posted with videos, lost in the mists of time. Download that on your Dell desktop with Linux and smoke it. 

I’m a product of rider education. Before I logged my first mile on the street, I spent two weekends on the range, attending an MSF-certified beginning rider’s course in Connecticut. Later, I became a CMSP instructor for the State of California and taught a similar program. Throughout all my years of riding, I’ve attended six different riding schools, some of them multiple times. Additionally, I’ve been fortunate enough to work and ride with some of the most talented motorcyclists around. So, given the folks I ride with, I feel like I am a perpetual student. That’s a good thing. Motorcycling is a sport that offers tremendous rewards to those who pay attention. And you should, because the costs of inattention can be very high. 

When you see Yamaha’s MT-09, your gaze doesn’t go away very quickly. You end up staring at it. Granted, there’s not much to look at, but what is there is eye-catching. From the hunched shoulders of the gas tank to the creases and natural lines of the frame, you can’t help but look at it. But what keeps your vision stuck on it is the face you see staring back at you when you look at it head-on. 

Reader, as you likely know, we here at Motorcycle.com test a lot of bikes. It’s kind of our job. As such, there’s always a continual rotation of motorbikes coming and going from our respective homes. Naturally, where would you put a motorcycle at your home? In your garage, of course. The cars can live outside, hun. The garage is reserved for motorbikes. 

Last month, the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) provided the first look at  the new “ Supersport Next Generation” models that will redefine middleweight racing class.

I rode in the desert for the first time in the spring of 1969. I was fourteen, and I owned a 100cc Bridgestone. Although I had spent some time on a friend’s Hodaka and had done some trail riding on a 50cc Suzuki, I wasn’t prepared for the experience. On the wrong bike, with the wrong tires, wearing the wrong gear, I fell and then fell some more, and hurt myself in places where I didn’t even know I had places.

Dear MOby,

For the track portion of our 2021 Heavyweight Naked Bike Shootout, we tried a little experiment. As if there wasn’t enough going on during our track test with simply riding the bikes (and also trying on a bunch of different helmets), we also fitted a few AiM Solo2 lap timers/data loggers onto the bikes and let the boys rip. The Solo2 is a cool device because, beyond just recording lap times, the internal gyroscopes, accelerometers, and GPS can record speed, acceleration, deceleration, lean angles, and so much more. The goal here was to have a little fun and try our hands at collecting data. By no means am I an expert at reading the data (far from it), but I had assistance from a few friends to help make sense of it all. 

The International Motorcycling Federation (FIM) has released provisional regulations for the revamped World Supersport championship, including new motorcycles being added to the series as “Supersport Next Generation” models.

You’ve read our weeks long tribute to 2021 in the form of the MO Best Of awards. You’ve had your chance to debate the validity of our selection of the Harley-Davidson Pan America as the Motorcycle of the Year. Now that 2021 is almost completely in our rear view mirrors, it’s time to shift our gaze to the future. As is tradition, the Motorcycle.com staff has put together our list of the bikes that we are most looking forward to testing in the upcoming year. We’ve explained which 2022 models have caught our eye and why. But this doesn’t just have to be about us and our desires. Take a moment and share the bike(s) that you are most excited about for 2022. 

If you’re a regular reader of Motorcycle.com, then you’ve probably noticed we’ve done a lot of shootouts this year. First, we put together a few middleweight Twins, then some extra-middleweight Twins, followed by a gang of lightweight twiddlers, then ending at the other end of the spectrum with the gnarly crew of heavyweight nakeds on the street and the track. It’s been quite the year with a lot of riding and testing involved. And just when you thought our shootouts were over…

Ducati today dropped a minor bombshell with the press release below, announcing testing for its prototype MotoE racer had already begun. For those unaware, Ducati is set to become the sole manufacturer for the MotoE World Cup starting in 2023, replacing Energica, whose contract as the sole – and so far only – manufacturer for MotoE expires at the end of the 2022 season.

If you haven’t heard of the Dutch motorcycle gear company REV’IT!, chances are you live under a rock or in your mom’s basement – not that there’s anything wrong with that. Founded in 1995 by Ivan Vos in the Netherlands, REV’IT! made the hop across the pond to North America in 2002. Since then, the company has grown at an impressive rate, now offering a comprehensive range of motorcycle gear from race suits that can be found protecting MotoGP athletes, to a wide swath of adventure and off-road gear. REV’IT! has also produced licensed products for major brands such as Touratech, Ducati, Husqvarna, Yamaha, and Harley-Davidson, to name a few. 

Harley-Davidson announced plans to take LiveWire public, making the brand the first publicly-traded electric motorcycle company in the U.S. The transaction is expected to raise net proceeds of $545 million which will be used to fund new product development.

Honda Press Release:

Continental’s Product Manager for motorcycle tires Raphael Michels says he mostly never bothered to warm the Conti RoadAttack 3 rubber on his Husqvarna 450 supermoto racer, and still managed to get right down to dragging peg in the first corner anyway. Of the brand-new Conti RoadAttack 4 just introduced yesterday, he says you really can’t even tell the difference between hot and cold anymore.

When I was a kid I had a neighbor who, every weekend, would roll his dirt bike out from the garage and kick it to life. It usually took two or three kicks before that two-stroke would fire up. Then he’d just let it sit there for a few minutes, blipping the throttle as two-strokers tend to do. Ring-ding-ding. Ring-ding-ding. Ring-ding-ding. Eventually he would lift it up off the milk crate, throw a leg over it, and roar down the block. My neighbors probably hated him for it, but I remember I would stop whatever I was doing and watch that bike go flying by. 

I really wish I could blame Covid inactivity or a medication that has weight gain as a side-effect (though both are true), but the responsibility for my physical state rests firmly on me. As a kid, I could eat anything and everything at any time and not gain a pound. For most of my life, I wanted to gain weight, and until my late 40s, I never had to think about my diet. Oh, and I have a relentless sweet tooth. So, as I celebrated my 59th birthday, my bulk had grown by almost 60 pounds during my tenure at Motorcycle.com. Stepping on the scale in mid-May and seeing it register 218 lbs was the last straw. 

Modern full-size pickup trucks are more capable, efficient, comfortable and technologically advanced than ever before. They really have become the jack-of-all-trades choice amongst the automotive world. So when an all-new pick-up debuts, it’s a big deal.

Twists. Turns. Suspense. Being the track portion of our mega 7-bike Heavyweight Naked Bike Shootout you’d think we’re talking about the sinuous nature of racetrack testing. No, sir. This is the plotline that would come to define this test! After conducting the street portion, some would say the outcome basically worked out as expected. Which would mean the track portion would follow suit, right? Well, as the late, great Nicky Hayden once said, “That’s why we line up on Sunday.” 

“Powersports will always be a part of my life.”

Well the seat was a little high, at 34.6 inches, but that didn’t stop the Yamaha Ténéré 700 from doing very well in last summer’s blockbuster middleweight ADV comparison. Keeping it simple and keeping the weight down was a great recipe for success, and now Yamaha is fixin’ to take it to the next level with a Ténéré 700 Raid, for which this machine it showed at EICMA serves as prototype.

This news should come as a surprise to nobody, but it’s still equally as exciting to finally get the official confirmation: Yamaha is bringing an updated MT-10 to the US. Maybe more exciting is the announcement that Yamaha is also bringing an MT-10 SP here as well. We reported earlier this month that a new MT-10 was coming, but at the time, the report was only confirmed for Europe. Now the US can rest assured it’s coming here, too.

Welcome to Motorcycle.com’s 2021 Heavyweight Naked bike Shootout. If you haven’t noticed, 2021 has been the year of naked bike shootouts here at MO. We’re dubbing it Motorcycle.com’s Naked Summer, and it has all been building up to this moment – seven of the biggest, baddest naked bikes on the market today. We’ve teased the bikes on our Youtube channel for days now, and we’ll also assume you’ve already seen the specs for these seven monsters in our Spec Sheet Shootout, expertly crafted by Dennis Chung.

You’re reading this because of a simple, almost throwaway, comment a friend made a little over six months ago. Just days after my birthday, they asked if I had anything special planned for my 60th trip around the sun. I’m sure the person who said this doesn’t remember the conversation, and honestly, I’m not 100 percent sure who actually said it to me. The question, however, stuck with me. It nagged at me in a very subtle way, like a tiny splinter in my finger that I couldn’t see to remove but could clearly feel when I slid it across my skin. 

It’s all about the batteries, and Zero says its new tech makes a 20% increase in capacity possible, setting a new high-water mark for onboard battery capacity and delivering an industry-leading 227 miles of city range/ 113 miles at 70 mph. ZERO’s latest Cypher III+ operating system comes standard on 2022 SR/F, SR/S and the all-new 2022 SR models, and will allow owners of those bikes to access a bunch of range, performance, and feature upgrades with the tap of a finger on the app or at www.zeromotorcycles.com/cypherstore. Faster Charging, extended range, speed and performance boost, park mode (reverse!), heated grips, and on-dash navigation are all optional for 2022 SR/S, SR/F, and SRs, with more features and expanded model compatibility to come.

And so it came to pass, ten years ago, that Trizzle, Pete and Duke did verily pilgrimage to Buttonwillow. And so we give a shoutout to the shootout of the most exciting new 2011 ZX-10R against the most exciting superbike of the year before, the BMW S1000RR… you know the drill.