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Two Enthusiasts Podcast – Episode 22 – Two ADV Bikes

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Episode 22 of the Two Enthusiasts Podcast starts off with a frank and insightful conversation about traction control, and how it applies in off-road scenarios. Quentin and Jensen discuss the various ways OEMs and racers control the rear wheel’s movements, and what “true” traction control really means, if there is such a thing.

Moving along from that discussion, Quentin and Jensen talk about their separate and different experiences riding two of the hottest ADV bikes out in 2016 – the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro and the Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L.

Riding the Africa Twin at Honda’s press launch in Moab, Jensen tells how Big Red’s adventure bike handles both on the road, and on the trail. Meanwhile, Quentin was in Eastern Oregon, putting some miles on Ducati’s latest iteration of the Multistrada, getting some serious off-road time in the process.

The guys tell their stories, and trade some notes on these two machines, which makes for an interesting discussion. Whether or not you are a hardcore ADV rider, we think you’ll find this show highly engaging.

As always, you can listen to the show via the embedded SoundCloud player, after the jump, or you can find the show on iTunes (please leave a review) or this RSS feed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as well. Enjoy the show!

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Dirt

Video: Mind & Motor with Maverick Viñales

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Forgive us as we play into Alpinestars’ marketing game, as the video we are about to show was made strictly to help sell more motorcycle leathers. But still, it is also a great insight into a MotoGP rider that has been hogging headlines recently, Maverick Viñales.

Tipped by many in the paddock as the next alien, Viñales was the major roadblock in this year’s MotoGP contract negotiations, as the young Spaniard had a difficult time choosing to leave the factory Suzuki MotoGP team for the factory Yamaha outfit.

Viñales even tells of his thought process for that decision in the video, which is remarkably candid of him to do, especially considering that the media is a sponsor’s marketing video.

Other items of note is how Maverick Viñales nearly found himself racing MX bikes, instead of GP bikes. He also talks about how he trains on the motocross track with his girlfriend, Kiara Fontanesi, who also happens to be a four-time Women’s Motocross World Champion.

Long story short, the video is well worth a watch. Check it out after the jump.

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Bikes

The SnoPed is An Evil Villain’s Snowbike

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Summer is right around the corner for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, so the obviously appropriate time to talk about a snowbike is now, right?

What the SnoPed lacks in seasonal appropriateness, it absolutely makes up for in super-villain stature, as the modern-looking snowbike looks like it rolled (is that the right verb?) off the set of a Hollywood spy movie.

The brainchild of American designer Joey Ruiter, SnoPed features a 90cc engine (out of a Chrysler Sno-runner) underneath its sculpted body, which isn’t exactly going to blow your socks off when knee-deep in the powpow, but is enough to scurry down a groomed cross-country trail.

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Bikes

More Electronic Rider Aids Comes to the Dirt – Husqvarna’s 2017 Motocross Line Features Traction Control

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The rise of electronic rider aids has come to consumer-level dirt bikes, with Husqvarna now offering traction control on all of its four-stroke motocross motorcycles for the 2017 model year.

Traction control on dirt bikes isn’t a new concept, with racing machines featuring the technology for almost a decade now (in some form or another, and depsite what the rules say), but Husqvarna’s foray into the use of electronics marks a new era for consumer dirt bikes.

As we see already in the on-road segments, traction control and other electronics are proving themselves to be the new horsepower. Their introduction into the off-road realm was all but assured (and started with the 2015 Kawasaki KX450F), and now that day has seemingly come for the masses.

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Bikes

Gone Riding: Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L

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Hello from the road, dear readers. I’m out in Moab, Utah for the next few days, testing the Honda Africa Twin CRF1000L adventure-touring motorcycle. We have a solid couple of days riding ahead of us, with Tuesday being an on-road day, and Wednesday seeing our feet get dirty with some off-road action.

Weather here in Moab has been fluctuating for the past few days, with rain, hail, and flurries being previously on the menu, but the forecast promises us some sunshine for our stay. Hopefully the weatherman right.

One of the most anticipated machines for the 2016 model year, the Honda Africa Twin is finally about to arrive in motorcycle dealerships (though, in limited numbers). We’ve been looking forward to swinging a leg over this off-road focused ADV machine for some time, to see if it lives up to the hype.

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Bikes

Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro Mega Gallery

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The Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro is perhaps the Italian model we look forward to riding the most this year, as it marks the first modern Ducati that earnestly is meant to go off-road.

Ducati has made some obvious changes to its Multistrada 1200 platform to make the Enduro model ready for the dirt, the most noticeable of which are the spoked wheels (with a 19-incher up front) and the beefier double-sided swingarm. The optionally equipped Pirelli Scorpion Rally tires, slimmer exhaust can, and crash bars help complete the transformation, as well.

With 158hp on tap from the 1198cc Testastretta DVT v-twin engine, the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro should be quite potent on-road as well – something we are seeing more of in the ADV space.

It will be interesting to see how the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro stacks up against the KTM 1190 Adventure, which makes 10hp less than the Ducati, but also comes with KTM’s impeccable off-roading credentials.

The ADV market is heating up now, especially with the on-road focused “Adventure-Sport” machines that we have seen from European manufacturers, which are supplanting the sport-tourer markets.

The more off-road leaning selections are getting beefier as well though. Does this mean that we’ll see a 150hp+ ADV bike from BMW? Based off the S1000XR, perhaps?

The German manufacturer is obviously still dominating this sector with its R1200GS offering, but ADV riders certainly have more choices now than they did previously. The ADV market should be an interesting segment to watch.

In the meantime, we have over 100 high-resolution photos of the Ducati Multistrada 1200 Enduro available for your photonic consumption. Enjoy!

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Dirt

Recall: Husqvarna TR650 Terra and TR650 Strada

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Remember the Husqvarna TR650 Terra and the Husqvarna TR650 Strada? The ill-fated dual-sport models, along with the Husqvarna Nuda 900, came out just before Husqvarna was sold by BMW Motorrad to KTM’s Stefan Pierer.

In the USA, those models are now the responsibility of KTM North America, and as such Team Orange is recalling 1,015 units of the Terra/Strada duo.

The recall centers around bikes built between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2013, which stall for an reasons that are still being determined.

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Bikes

New Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept Puts the BMW R1200GS Adventure on Notice

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The Honda Africa Twin is on the short list for being one of the top bikes released in 2016, with Big Red finally getting serious about the adventure-touring market.

To drive that point home further though, Honda has released another variation of the Africa Twin, which it calls the Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept.

The premise with the Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept is pretty simply, and it borrows heavily from what others in the ADV space have done: if the Africa Twin is Honda’s answer to the BMW R1200GS, then the Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept is Honda’s answer to the BMW R1200GS Adventure.

A more stoutly built platform with a larger bias for off-road riding, the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept is meant to be taken through the most rugged ADV terrain, whatever that may be.

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Racing

Chilean Government Opts Out of Hosting 2017 Dakar Rally

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For the second year in a row, Chile will not feature as part of the Dakar Rally, as the Chilean government has opted not to host the iconic rally raid.

The recent decision comes from the Chamber of Deputies of Chile (the lower house of Chile’s bicameral Congress), which failed to get the needed majority vote to continue hosting the race.

With 42 votes in favor of hosting the Dakar Rally again, 33 against, and 17 abstentions, the failed proposal was opposed mostly on environmental grounds, as many deputies thought that the environmental impact of the race on Chile’s terrain has been too great.

This news is an about-face for the Dakar Rally, as the ASO (the organizers of the Dakar Rally) seemed to have all but confirmed Chile and Argentina for competition back in January of this year.

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Bikes

Honda, Give Us the CRF250 Rally Already

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For the second year in a row, Honda will be showing its CRF250 Rally concept at the prestigious Tokyo Motorcycle Show – further tempting us with its small-displacement adventure bike.

Honda announced the re-showing of the CRF250 Rally concept today, along with a slew of other machines and concepts it plans on displaying at the Tokyo show.

This announcement only seems to confirm the internet speculation, which widely pegs the model to debut for the 2017 model year. Its continued arrival at trade and enthusiasts only fuels that fire.

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Bikes

Timbersled Snow Bikes Look Like Serious Fun

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I was surprised when I discovered that we haven’t spoken about Timbersled before now, and the company’s line of snow bike conversion kits. It’s a concept that’s been intriguing me for some time now.

That intrigue started when the Idaho-based company was acquired by Polaris last year – adding to the juggernaut that Scott Wine is creating in Medina, Minnesota – which is where I first saw Timbersled’s interesting take on motorized winter fun.

For those who don’t know, Timbersled’s concept is a pretty simple one: it allows dirt bike owners a fairly straight forward kit that enables them to create a snow bike for winter riding.

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