By Richard Vohsing I started my new bike search in the same way any proper enthusiast would – browsing Craigslist during a conference call at work. My laptop screen quickly became a collage of motorcycles dancing to the background music of TPS reports and lame buzzwords like “synergy” and “ideation” and “dammit Richard
By Richard Vohsing I can remember it like it was just last week. Okay maybe it was just last week, but that’s besides the point. Let me set the scene: There I was, astride my trusty iron steed, enjoying a beautiful morning. The sun was out, the birds were singing their song, traffic was
By Kurt Sunderbruch Motorcycles are the most amazing curiosity enablers. When I’m out riding, I see things all the time that pique my curiosity. I wonder: “where does that road go?” “Man, that restaurant smells great!” “What kind of car is that?” “What’s in that museum?” These questions come up all the time in
By Dennis Dumapias (There are ‘first-world problems,’ and then there are ‘Dennis-first-world problems’…) Part of the fun in dreaming is finally having that which you hope to attain. The ultimate goal. The thing you’ve desired the most. But what happens when you achieve something sooner than you could’ve expected? What happens when you finally
By Talya Adams For years I’ve noticed bikers utilizing GoPros and other types of action cameras. They usually mount them to their helmets or bikes. As with most new technology to hit the market, the price for one of these cameras used to be quite expensive. I’m talking upwards of three hundred dollars, and
By Dennis Dumapias I make no claim that the early-gen RSV Mille is one of the best motorcycles ever made, or that it holds a fabled status like its other Italian counterparts such as Ducati’s 916, or MV Agusta’s F4. The RSV Mille is Aprilia’s first hand at a superbike, but other than that,
By Dennis Dumapias I keep going back and forth between leaving the OEM quad pipes on the F4, or running the aftermarket titanium dual slip-ons I found for it. Ever since finding the aftermarket slip-ons, I’ve swapped between those and the OEM pipes three times now, and I’m pretty sure I’m not done oscillating
By Bill Harr If you are reading this, there’s a good chance you have some knowledge of online motorcycle information. Years ago, information on how to work on your bike required knowing someone who would share the information with you. Factory service manuals were so expensive that you might need to share the cost
Distractions are inevitable in all aspects of your life. The best you can ever attempt to do is manage them. One of the main reasons I enjoying riding my motorcycle is because it forces me to focus on just one thing; operating my machine. However, over the past year I’ve noticed more and more gadgets
I have very little room to add a new motorcycle to my garage. Additionally, I don’t think my girlfriend would appreciate my purchasing another new or used bike. With that said, it’s usually around this time of year that I’m constantly scouring the classifieds for too-good-to-pass-up deals. Many riders tend to list their unwanted motorcycles
You probably have seen the ad on TV where the car automatically stops itself just inches in front of the announcer. Or another one where a car stops itself while backing out a driveway and saving the life of a kid on the sidewalk. I wondered when we would see these active safety systems on
By Devon Self What if you could combine a scooter, a motorcycle and a dirtbike all together? Well wonder no more, as the Honda Bulldog has been born. This is only a concept vehicle and is not for sale stateside just yet. With elements reminiscent of the Ruckus along with storage racks and low profile,
Generally speaking, I never recommend new riders to buy a brand new motorcycle, since many will end up getting bored or dropping their new ride. This inevitably leads to endless grief and regret at the financial loss. That said, some prefer to dive right into a brand new bike. If you’ve decided to go this
When buying into the motorcycle lifestyle, you can’t just stop at your ride. With the proper accessories, you can be safer, have more fun and potentially save yourself big on the long hauls. Some people spend the fruits of their every working hour on more motorcycle ‘stuff’. For the rest of us, we’ll need to
I am the type of person who always likes to think about options. Luckily with motorcycles, your options are only as limitless as your budget allows. Being on a budget myself, I often like to troll the “motorcycles for sale” section contemplating my “options”. I like using keywords such as “runs” or “carb clean” rather
This afternoon is my every-other-weekend maintenance session. It isn’t a big deal. Check the oil level. Check the tire pressure and a few other points. Clean and lubricate the chain. It only takes 15 or 20 minutes. Once in a while I have to adjust the chain too. Again, this is easy. Remove the cotter
When you're miles away from help and need to get your bike running, how do you fix the problem? Step 1: Isolate the problem Step 2: Bypass the problem, or MacGyver a fix Step 3: Organize a permanent solution Of course, that is much easier to type than it is to do. I'm going to
After a few years on my KLR650-E, I’d say “jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none” is the most accurate overall description of Kawasaki’s long-standing dual-sport. It’s a solid enough performer both on and off the street, though not quite what I’d call ideal for either. Still, I’ve made only minor modifications, and I can basically jump on the bike
Hopefully, I’ve created enough awareness in the miles I’ve racked up since this paint job. Rewind to March earlier this year, when it was the shared birth month for my bike and I. As I customarily do for the bike and myself, I did buy a little “bike present” for the both of us. It
Three weeks and over 500 miles into this union… We aren’t supposed to make sense, the bike and I. It’s too small and narrow for me, who’s too tall for it. I thought that the first time I laid eyes on such a diminutive bike, that it looks like it should be riding me, which
Royal Enfield Cafe Racer – It’s stirring my soul. The first time I laid my eyes on a photo of a café racer, it struck and stuck with me. It was just an image of the purest form of a motorcycle – no frills, no nuances it didn’t need. I was reminded of the motorcycles
Just over two and a half years ago, I inadvertently found myself having one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. SSB Yamaha Custom Showdown stall Suffice it to say, though I had only hoped to display my bike in any area they could make available for me under the Yamaha banner, what Sarah
“In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependency on initial conditions in which a small change at one place in a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state.” – Wikipedia This was the butterfly. So in continuation of my Brass Knuckle’s saga, my friend Rob and his crew
Action cameras, you have one or you’ve seen them before. They’re strapped on helmets and motorcycles capturing the spectacles of your ride telling a story of greatness. You hit the record button and let the 1080 HD do its magic going on an adventure ride through the city, canyons, or the track having a blast
With 2014 upon us (If we’re not already in it by the time this is posted!), a new riding season will soon follow given that California’s off-season for riding is actually really short. As it is, we’re having an uncharacteristically warm winter season, making the off-season feel anything but. With the start of every new
Zero vs. Brammo vs. Saietta Electric motorcycles…but why? Well for one they're cool. For two, they can be cheap, depending on who you are. And three, have you ever felt the torque of a powerful electric motor? I mean, in truth, they're not for everyone. Like all consumer goods, they have their place…and it's definitely
I’m fortunate enough to be good friends with a master motorcycle mechanic, that whenever work needed on any of my bikes are either out of my ability to tackle or requiring time beyond what I have available, I can just take it to his shop (Evolution Motorcycles) and he or one of his mechanics can
The holidays are here once again and boy are we excited (maybe, maybe not). Thanksgiving and Christmas can be a hectic time, and can also be a fun time with family, food, and friends. I have compiled a list of great Christmas gifts tailor-made for any motorcycle lover in your life. Heck, buy one for
Why would you need to upgrade your sportbike? Exhibit A: My decked-out 2002 R1 In my last entry, I wrote about how motorcycles today are capable of such technical prowess that if you're really looking for the most bang for your buck, you're better off buying the most badass sportbike you can find rather than
In my last entry, having written about my recently acquired 1999 Triumph Speed Triple, did you happen to notice any similarities between that and the two other bikes I had written about in the same entry? No? I'll give you a hint: They are all over ten years old by now. They are all my
In 2008, I bought my dream bike – a 2000 Aprilia RSV Mille. I had never seen a bike look the way it does, and to my surprise, it rode and sounded every bit like the dream that I thought it would. When I lost the bike in late-2008 following an on-track collision with another
Following World War 1, the auto industry began producing more affordable vehicles such as the Ford Model T. For this reason, sidecars (along with motorcycles in general) began falling out of fashion among consumers. As an example, Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles saw one-third and two-third reductions in sales respectively from 1920 to 1922. Safety
The most accepted story about the beginnings of the sidecar, or at least its' introduction into recorded history, was by way of a competition in France aimed at solving the issue of carrying a passenger on early bicycles. The sidecar was put fourth by a French army officer by the name of Mr. M Bertoux.
Remember the days of the sidecar? When you couldn't go more than a couple blocks around town before seeing a Harley retrofitted with a dingy carriage on the side, occupied by a disgruntled dog or girlfriend who was clearly thinking "this wasn't what I was expecting when he said he rode a motorcycle". Ok well
Great beginner bikes come in many forms, and choosing the right one for you can be easy. Most riders prefer to learn how to ride their first motorcycle on a smaller engine, and easier to maneuver bike. For this, we will focus on the Kawasaki 250, Kawasaki 300, and the Honda 500. Which one you
The new Honda Nighthawk ready for action Around three years ago, my buddy John let me ride his 750 Nighthawk around town. At that time, my regular scoot was a 150cc Honda CA95. I am in the process of rebuilding that bike, and will post that build later, but that little Honda sure felt smaller
By: Jacob Wisdom I write a lot about dual sports, because personally I find them to be the most fun way to get around on two wheels. With a Stage 2 HotShots Cam and titanium Pro Circuit exhaust, my XR650R had an incredible power to weight ratio, and would scream around the streets sliding the
A bike that is okay at everything but fantastic at nothing. Those are my cliff-notes for this review. I acquired my 2004 KLR650 while trekking in Central America. I had never viewed the bike as the most advanced piece of machinery (and trust me it isn't) but instead an economical workhorse that will get you
There are books written on buying used motorcycles, so let's just hit the major highlights: Start with the type of motorcycle you want. Narrowing the field to a specific type, brand or model of bike makes it easier to research particular items. If you know what you want, check online forums for that particular brand
Above: The GS500 has been a staple of Suzuki for decades I really like that mid-size bikes are being brought back into the motorcycle market. The CBR250 from Honda and the tried-and-true Ninja 250 from Kawasaki are great beginner bikes, offering ample power and bulletproof reliability. These characteristics are perfect for beginners and riding around
Step One of any ride: Pull in the clutch. As much as anything, that's what sets riding a bike apart from driving a car. This isn't about the difference between pushing on a clutch pedal and pulling in the clutch lever. It's a matter of having a clutch. In recent years, new cars sales with
I have been riding CB450's for almost 4 years now. It's a dual overhead cam motor with little things called "torsion bars" instead of valve springs. I became fascinated with the engine design, and the engine design has become fascinated with my wallet! I now am on my second CB450, since I was rear-ended while
My brother got a long-time project bike on the road this week, so I thought I would take a break of the legal mumbo-jumbo that you’ve all grown accustomed to on this blog, and share his work with my readers. (In fairness though, I am a motorcycle accident lawyer, so legal mumbo-jumbo is kind of
There are hundreds of thousands of “apps” for the iPhone. Many of them are useful to drivers and motorcycle riders. Many are just for fun. Many seem altogether useless. The “Gas Cubby App” is a tool that allows you to track fuel mileage and maintenance on your car or motorcycle. “Parking App” tells you where
A week or two ago, we posted a blog about AGV’s “Trade in your Helmet” promotion. We were enthusiastic about it. It sounded like a good promotion, and a chance to get a little something for nothing. Well, we checked it out, and nothing is exactly what we got. According to the AGV website, “From
Yesterday, a Phoenix-area news station’s website posted a story about the so-called “Harley Death Wobble.” The story begins with the classic “Some riders chose Harley for this reason, some chose it for that, status symbol, made in America, yadda yadda yadda.” It then goes on to describe a motorcycle accident involving a biker who had
An electric motorcycle that rides like a motorcycle? I’ll believe it when I see it. But Brammo’s new bikes sound like they just may be getting close. A year or so ago, I spoke to a salesman at an electric motorcycle dealership for the Santa Cruz-based Zero Motorcycles. He wouldn’t stop bragging about how much
As discussed yesterday, Indian Motorcycles, once the leader in motorcycle manufacturing, has had a rocky past. After multiple owners and multiple bankruptcies, the brand is back. This time, however, perhaps there is hope that it will be back for good. Why? Because the new owner of the Indian brand is not
They disappeared for a long time. Then they were back, for a short time. Gone, then back again. This time, for even less time. Indian Motorcycles, once Harley-Davidson’s biggest rival, is now a ghost more than anything else. The old ones, of course, are classics. The “new” ones, well, I’m not really sure what that
On Sunday, your favorite motorcycle accident lawyer (me, I mean) drove from Pasadena up to Bakersfield, looking at yet another Harley-Davidson Dyna Wide Glide FXDWG. This one was another Evo — but was a little newer than the last couple of bikes I had looked at. Truth be told, based on the last Harley I
So if you’ve been following my last couple of blogs, you know that I have been pondering what to buy to replace my old Sportster. I think, last week, I left you with me, a suspicious-by-nature motorcycle accident attorney, in Orange County, looking at a used motorcycle. The bike, if you recall, was a 1993
Although I really haven’t made a clear decision between Harley-Davidson and Moto Guzzi, it’s feeling like it’s going to be one of the two for my next cruiser. That said, with decidedly fewer Guzzi’s out there for sale, it’s likely that my next bike will be an Hog. So here’s the question I’ve been
Ugh. This should be easier than it is. This weekend, I took a much-needed break from the office, took off the “motorcycle accident lawyer” hat, and strapped on a helmet. No legal nonsense. No insurance adjusters. Just a biker looking for a new ride. Those of you who keep up with my blog know that
If you read my blog yesterday, you know about my bad luck with my Harley Sportster, and how it died on me after just 40 or 50k miles thanks to a manufacturing defect. Now, I’m searching for a new cruiser. Here’s what I’ve figured out so far: I don’t need a sport bike. I’m keeping
A few months ago, my 2004 Harley Davidson Sportster broke. Again. It’s a long and frustrating story, but the gist of it is this. I bought the bike new in 2004. I put a fair amount of money into it, and got it just the way I wanted it. Progressive shocks and springs, high-flow air
I’ll admit it — I’ve never heard of them. And truth be told, based on the name I would have thought they were Italian. But as this company has reached a significant milestone, I figured I would share the news with our readers. Just six years after their launch, Italika Motorcycles has sold their one-millionth
We can all breathe easy. Motorcycle accidents are about to be a thing of the past. It’s true. I read it on the internet. Uh oh — That means my law firm is about to go out of business, and I’m going to have to switch my career from that of a skilled and devoted
One of the internet motorcycle sites that I regularly check out, Motorcycle-USA.com, is running a multi-part story on the 2011 Ducati Monster 796. Sadly, the premise of the article is nothing short of absurd. Worse, it is offensive, and in our opinion, dangerous. So what is the premise? They are running this machine through the
Italian motorcycle manufacturer, Moto Guzzi, unveiled two new models last week in Monte Carlo at the Piaggio Group International Dealer Convention. The newest bikes in the Moto Guzzi lineup include a new “California” model, and a “Scrambler,” that will compete with Triumph’s Bonneville of the same name. A lot of the motorcycle accident lawyers here
Today, Zero Motorcycles, a Santa Cruz-based manufacturer of electric motorcycles, announced plans to build a new manufacturing plant. The new facility will be in Scotts Valley, California, next door to their corporate headquarters. The company expects the new plant to be operation next month. You may remember our blog earlier this month about Scotts Valley
On Thursday, Harley-Davidson unveiled the newest in a long line of “softail” V-Twin motorcycles. This one, called the “Blackline,” features what one writer summed up as “back-to-basics styling, new fuel tank and split drag handlebars.” We are fans of Harley Davidson, and we like the look of this new model. But let’s be honest. There