Kawasaki’s Z1000SX has been a best-seller for the brand ever since it launched in 2011. It almost single-handedly breathed life into the dying Sports-Tourer genre of motorcycling, offering ageing Sports-Bike enthusiasts an alternative to the unstoppable Adventurer-Tourer juggernaut. Of course, it wasn’t perfect, and has been revised every couple of years since with nips and…
Now here is a bike I’ve been waiting a very long time to ride. I never found time last year, and with the pandemic shuttering the country for months on end it’s taking some time to work through my shortlist of sensible do-it-all motorcycles. Can Moto-Guzzi‘s retro-inspired entry into the increasingly-crowded market win me over?
How much does a modern motorcycle cost? As with perennial questions regarding the length of string, the answer is always “it depends”. But it’s easy to forget that the showroom price tag is just the tip of the iceberg. Every year you pay for your share of the potholes with the road fund license, shield…
There are a lot of motorcycles that, on paper, look perfect. Ride enough bikes and apply a little critical thinking and you can start to spot the things you like and the things you don’t in each offering. Eventually, you build up a list of the best aspects of each, mentally combining them into one…
With the global economy about to swan-dive into depths not seen for more than a century and many European governments piling on the pressure to speed up the transition to zero-tailpipe-emissions motoring, many are arguing that motorcycling faces an uncertain future. Some manufacturers are well-positioned and making positive steps to prepare for difficult times ahead,…
How many of you have ever actually looked at the section of your bike’s owner’s manual titled “Service schedule”? At best, you’ve maybe glanced at the long list, noted the intervals, and made a note to drop your bike off with your dealer or independent mechanic at the specified mileages. The problem with this hands-off…
A family relative recently advised me that they would be cancelling their subscription to a mainstream motorcycle magazine, commenting that they found my own reviews more useful and interesting than those written by apparently more experienced and certainly more professional motorcycle journalists. He complained that the reviews were all overly positive, with no real-world detail…
As we reach the end of the decade and another season packed with motorcycle shows has wrapped up it’s worth reflecting once more on where the last ten years have brought us, and where we might be going. The age of the superbike is over, and the age of the hyperbike has begun. But so,…
Has it really been six years? My RoadTrip report reckons so; it was the 5th of October 2013 when I signed the paperwork and rode away on my brand new Triumph Street Triple R. more than 40,000 miles later the very same motorcycle still sits in my garage, and though the odometer ticks up far…
While I ride some motorcycles purely out of a sense of curiosity, newcomers to this site may not realise that, in many cases, I’m simply documenting the process by which I search for my next bike. I usually have very specific requirements, and I’m always very, very picky.
Motorcyclists, on average, own more than one motorcycle. Only truly hardcore automotive enthusiasts own more than one car, the financial and logistical constraints of the format conspiring to ensure that even most performance-oriented cars need to be able to function as someone’s only mode of practical transport. Motorcycles don’t have that problem.
It’s been a little while since I test-rode any new motorcycles as part of my search for a comfortable, relaxing, low-speed, two-up touring bike. I wanted something with a feet-forward riding position, that could carry two in relative comfort while being sufficiently engaging that I wouldn’t mind the slower, more relaxed sort of riding that…
It’s safe to say that Triumph and I have had our differences over the years. My 2013 Street Triple R is the only motorcycle I’ve ever bought brand new, and the brand’s response to my textiles scuffing the paint on the tank within a few hundred miles was that it was my own fault for…
Originally published in Slipstream magazine, November 2018. Remember when the Dacia Sandero first launched in the UK? It made a big splash in the automotive press and even beyond; an actual, proper car for just £6,000 brand new. With the competition priced close to three times that amount, it was no surprise that a lot of people…
Originally published in Slipstream magazine, October 2018. Since returning from my most recent European motorcycling adventure I’ve been trying to figure out how to turn my experiences into an interesting article for the magazine. A straight-up ride report, “…and then we carved through yet another dozen hairpins…” does not, in my opinion, make for terribly engaging…
