BMW Motorrad has a gap in its product range large enough to drive a Bundeswehr Unimog through: it doesn’t have a retro roadster to compete with the hugely popular Triumph Bonneville or the expanding Moto Guzzi V7 fleet. Which is strange, given the remarkable popularity… Read more
I’ve always liked the Yamaha XJR1300. It’s an uncomplicated bruiser of a bike, an unassuming retro-style naked powered by a air-cooled motor with a lineage over a quarter of a century long. Yamaha knows that if it ain’t broke, you don’t fix it. But the… Read more
Equestrians have a term for the ideal proportions of a horse: conformation. The conformation of a draft horse is obviously different to that of a Kentucky Derby winner, but there is an ideal for both. And so it is with motorcycles. It’s what we all… Read more
The Buell Blast tends to polarize opinions; Erik Buell himself symbolically crushed one at the end of the production run in 2010. And even some owners have mixed feelings, like Ben McKee of Oxnard, California. “The stock Blast did have some issues—namely the frame, wheels,… Read more
BlueCat Motors of St. Paul, MN is the kind of motorcycle shop that every town should have. It’s run by enthusiasts who are comfortable working on both vintage and modern machinery. BlueCat often resurrects older bikes, and this beautiful 1974 Honda CB450 K7 is a… Read more
Most folks agree that the Triumph Speed Triple is one of the best ‘naked’ bikes you can buy. But there’s always someone, somewhere, who wants to improve on perfection. That’s where companies like Vilner come in. Best known for its custom cars and a client… Read more
Fully-faired sportbikes don’t really get my motor running, no matter how exotic. But if I had to put an Italian stallion in my garage, it’d be one of Ducati’s mid-displacement models. So I like the way Radical Ducati are thinking. Their latest build, the 7½… Read more
