Motorcycles

State of the Industry, Part 3: Bikes

Originally published in Slipstream magazine, April 2017. Welcome to the third and final part of our series examining the state and future of the motorcycle industry. Congratulations if you’ve made it this far, and hopefully some of the facts, figures and arguments put forward in the first two-part have resonated somewhat, or at last made you…

Suzuki Booth

State of the Industry, Part 2: Dealerships

Originally published in Slipstream magazine, March 2016. Welcome back for the second part in our three-part series analysing the State of the Motorcycling Industry. Some of you let us know last month that you were surprised at how opinionated the piece was, and you know what – you’re absolutely right. It’s my opinion that the motorcycle…

Suzuki Advert

State of the Industry, Part 1: Marketing

Originally published in Slipstream magazine, February 2018. It’s been another year of launches, announcements and behind-the-scenes news from the global Motorcycle Industry. Some of it is business as usual, still more represents continuing trends, but beneath it all lies evidence of growing bewilderment and panic amongst the world’s top manufacturers that evidences itself in almost everything…

I’m Back!

Has it really been that long? Yes, it’s been a whole 26 months – that’s more than two years – since I last posted a piece to BoyMeetsBike. Like many of my reviews, I still refer back to the piece I wrote on the Ducati X-Diavel; it’s a useful way to remind myself what exactly…

Cheap Transport or Expensive Hobby?

One of the key advantages that proponents of motorcycling will claim when trying to persuade a non-believer to join the church of leather and textiles is that a motorcycle is a much, much cheaper way to get around than a car. They’ll also claim that it’s a lot more enjoyable, but that’s very much subjective.…

BMW R1200GS

The Missing Link

I’ve come to the unpleasant conclusion that if you want to split motorcycling into groups, I’d very much end up in the very small category marked “other”. And while stereotypically people seem to think of motorcyclists as an “other” all on their own, motorcycling can be a very sociable experience. After all, go to a motorcycle…

Why Do Bikes Use So Much Fuel?

Motorcycling has a problem. I’m not sure if it’s historic, or indifference, or simply acceptance that this is how things are, but when it comes to fuel efficiency, motorcycles are just terrible. In a world where many small cars can now achieve 60 miles per gallon (UK) in real-world day-to-day driving, how is 45mpg “pretty good” for a tiny,…

The Death Of An Icon

The title’s a little dramatic, perhaps, but then it was a dramatic crash. Filtering along stationary traffic after work one day, no traffic coming the other way, 10-15mph, carefully watching the line of cars ahead for hints of gaps or turning wheels that might signal calamity. Up ahead, a gap – possibly a junction. I begin rolling…

Keep It Simple, Stupid

It feels to me like motorcycling has suddenly been split in two, torn down the middle by the two camps heading in opposite directions. And while I appreciate and enjoy all forms of motorcycling, I’m genuinely surprised about where I’m finding myself planting my flag. You see, motorcycling has been getting more and more sophisticated…

Clearance Sale: Honda’s Hidden Costs

Do you remember buying your first bike? If you’re anything like me, and you got involved when you were relatively young, then you scraped together what little money you had for the bike, the gear, and the insurance, and were already out the door before the ink had dried on the documents. You then proceeded…