Every now and again I’m reminded that the Crossrunner exists. Overlooked, it didn’t sell very well in it’s previous incarnation, being little more than a jacked-up VFR800, suffering from oddball styling and many of the same problems that plagued the 14-year-old design of its sport-touring cousin. But shortly after the VFR itself was overhauled, the…
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…
As regular readers of this site will know, I rather like my Suzuki V-Strom 650. It’s comfortable, economical, practical and, most importantly, fun. Because if a motorcycle isn’t fun to ride, then we might as well all drive Toyota Priuses. But what if someone told you that there was a motorcycle that combined all the practical…
I think that Harley-Davidson might have their marketing for this bike all wrong. Sure, it’s stylish, highly fashionable amongst the young beards-and-beer set and definitely better suited to the sort of weather that you get in sunny California. But with the exception of a brief dalliance with sportiness in the 2008-2012 XR1200, Harley has been synonymous with…
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,…
Well, it’s been a while since I posted anything new. And to be honest, that’s good news for Suzuki. You see, back in February I finally followed my own advice and bought myself another motorcycle – a lightly used 2012 Suzuki V-Strom 650. Since then I’ve ridden it more than 10,000 miles, filled her up 56…
Riding the Suzuki V-Strom 650 a few months ago, followed by a 1200-mile, 5-day tour of Yorkshire on my Street Triple R, further reinforced my belief that my perfect two-up touring/commuting motorcycle might well be found in the modern-day Adventure Tourer. I felt sure that I wanted to have the upright seating position for all-day comfort,…
I’ve spent the past nine months or so test riding, researching and carefully evaluating any number of motorcycles for consideration as my two-up tourer and winter commuter. A year with a Triumph Street Triple R has shown it to be a bike with tremendous strengths, such that I if I were to sell it I would…
Triumph’s Bonneville: Sunday cruiser or hipster throwback? Most articles I’ve read about the British firm’s modern remake of their once-famous roadster suggests that I should be comparing it to Moto Guzzi’s V7, Harley Davidson’s 883 Sportster and Kawasaki’s W800 – all classic naked designs evoking an era of mechanical simplicity and wind-in-your-hair motoring. The marketing…
In my ongoing quest to choose a new two-up tourer and all-year commuter, I’ve ridden BMW’s two big boxer-engined bikes, as well as Triumph’s flagship triple. I’ve experimented with middleweight adventure bikes in the Tiger and found them lacking. All the faired middleweight sport-touring bikes like the Bandit seem to have been whittled down to a…
Boy Meets Bike 
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