Originally published in Slipstream magazine, July 2017. Regardless of whether you have ever taken an extended, long-distance tour by bike or not, everyone has their own idea of what a “motorcycle trip” looks like. It’s even possible that many of us never consider that others might plan and execute their two-wheeled vacations in a completely different…
Originally published in Slipstream magazine, July 2016. Along with power output and brakes, a motorcycle’s suspension is the component most often discussed in any new review, yet it’s the part most often ignored by riders. Suspension doesn’t work on-demand like brakes or throttle, doesn’t make any cool noises, and is usually tucked away out of sight.…
Originally published in Slipstream magazine, May 2016. Scotland is one of those tour destinations that’s often overlooked, particularly by those of us in the southern parts of these British Isles. There are plenty of reasons for this: it’s still in the UK, and so it doesn’t feel like you’re really going on holiday, yet it’s far…
Originally published in Slipstream magazine, March 2016. Normally, this is the time of year when you start reading magazine articles about “Preparing yourself and the bike for the riding season”. They usually discuss cleaning the mice out of the airbox, checking the tyres for dry-rot and how to troubleshoot battery issues after a long winter on…
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…
When Ducati’s original Diavel was revealed at the end of 2010, pretty much everyone thought the Italian firm had utterly lost the plot. It looked a bit like a cruiser, but packed a 160bhp 1200cc engine borrowed from the 1198 sportsbike and could accelerate, brake and go around corners in a way that completely surprised…
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.…
My friends and family are always joking about how contradictory my motorcycle buying choices are. I either buy a silly toy of a bike, then set about trying to make it practical and comfortable, equipping it with luggage and satellite navigation, or I buy a boring, sensible bike, and then try my damndest to make…
Harley-Davidson has been using just two engines and four frames to make hundreds of different motorcycles over the last few decades. The big-boned Touring, Dyna and Softail bikes have rolled along under a succession of “big twin” engines, the latest launching this week with 4-valve heads and a pair massive 900cc pistons to push their ever-increasing…
In many ways, the development and subsequent announcement of this motorcycle was an inevitability. More and more manufacturers are embracing platform sharing as a way to reduce both the costs and risks of bringing an extended range of models to market. After the tremendous critical and commercial success of the MT-09 and it’s half-faired version the Tracer 900,…
