When it comes to states that are friendly to motorcyclists, we can add Arizona to the list, as the Grand Canyon State has passed a law that makes it legal to lane-filter on a motorcycle.
The states that motorcyclists can pass between stopped vehicles, at a speed no faster than 15 mph, and only on roads with speed limits below 45mph.
Can-Am isn’t the first name when you think of motorcycle manufacturers, but the Canadian brand has a rich tradition in the two-wheeled world, especially when it comes to off-road racing.
They are getting back to their roots now though, albeit with a modern twist, as Can-Am has announced that it will return to the two-wheeled space, brining a lineup of electric motorcycles by the year 2024.
The Honda Hawk11 made its public debut this past weekend, unveiled at the Osaka Motorcycle Show.
Thanks to spy shots and details that leaked ahead of the bike’s debut, there aren’t too many surprises to be found from this Africa Twin powered roadster.
In fact, the biggest surprise is not on the spec-sheet, as Honda is so far saying that the Hawk11 is destined only for the Japanese market, with nary a word from the European and North American subsidiaries about the bike arriving in those regions.
It is with a heavy heart that we report the death of legendary stunt rider Chris Pfeiffer, who passed away this past weekend. Speedweek is reporting that the 51-year-old icon’s body was found after he took his own life, ending a months-long bout of serious depression.
A legend in the stunt-riding community, Pfeiffer won multiple motorcycle stunt world championships and brought the niche extreme sport to mainstream attention with his close links to BMW Motorrad and Red Bull.
His shows pushed the boundaries of what could be done on two wheels, paved the way for a countless number of stunters who are in the sport today, and reached a legion of fans around the world. The man was truly impressive.
The KTM 790 Duke is coming back as a 2022 model year machine, so says the Austrian brand. That might come as a bit of surprise, since the KTM 890 Duke R replaced its smaller sibling in late-2019.
This curious move seems to come for the benefit of the European market, where a 95hp version of the KTM 790 Duke will be made available for A2 license holders, with a price tag of €8,999.
The rest of the world’s markets will get the 2022 KTM 790 Duke with its full pop of 105hp, though it’s not clear if the 790 will come to North American soil.
After three years of shopping it around, Investcorp has finally sold the Dainese group of brands, with The Carlyle Group (an American private equity firm) purchasing the Italian apparel manufacturer for a reported €630 million.
That number represents a nearly 5x return from the €130 million that Investcorp spent when it purchased 80% of Dainese SpA from founder Lino Dainese in 2014 – making the venture quite a profitable one for the Bahraini firm.
I am just going to front-load this opinion: motorcycle press photos need more wiener dogs in them. It just works, and when they are paired with a pint-sized motorcycle like the Honda Dax…well, it just makes obvious sense.
An early 2023 model, the Honda ST125 Dax is a continuation of Big Red’s miniMoto lineup, using the same 9hp, 124cc, SOHC, two-valve engine found on the Honda Super Cub 125, complete with an auto-clutch handling shifting for the four-speed gearbox.
It was a day we had been looking forward to for a long time: March 14th was the day that MotoGP Unlimited was to be launched on Amazon Prime. The series was due to be available in 170 different territories around the world.
As midnight passed in Europe, social media lit up with responses to the series. And unfortunately, those responses were very far from positive. Not because of the content of the documentary series, but because of the editorial decisions apparently made by Amazon Prime.
In the UK and US, the only version available was the dubbed version, where actors have voiced over everyone speaking in their own language. In Australia, India, and some Southeast Asian countries, MotoGP Unlimited was not available at all.
The problems reported seem to be a result of decisions taken by Amazon, rather than either Dorna or The MEDIAPRO Studio, the producers of the show. But the process by which these decisions were made is very hard to fathom.
The final bike of Ducati’s 2022 model year releases has finally dropped, but technically it is a 2023 machine. That’s okay, because the 2023 Ducati Panigale V4 SP2 is set to be a killer Italian superbike.
As we mentioned in our rumors coverage, there isn’t anything too surprising in the design and concept with this new SP2 model, as the Italian brand has taken the potent improvements brought to the 2022 Ducati Panigale V4 S, given them the “SP” treatment, and added an extra number for good measure.
The new Buell SuperTouring 1190 motorcycle debuted this past weekend at the Daytona Bike Week, but you would never know it from the American brand. Save for one video on Instagram, the machine is virtually non-existent from Buell’s marketing channels.
The lack of a coordinated product launch live at an event and also virtually online can perhaps be forgiven from a small company with limited resources, but that same forgiveness shouldn’t apply to the motorcycle itself.
“A lack of resources” is perhaps the best way to describe the new Buell SuperTouring 1190, as the bike shown in Daytona is generously a bit rough around the edges, and not what you would expect from a serious player in the motorcycle industry.
Before there was an Asphalt & Rubber, I spent some time working for the United Nations, prosecuting war criminals from the Balkan and Rwandan conflicts. These we massively devastating events, where neighbors found ways to dehumanize each other and through that process, commit acts that rose to the level of genocide and crimes against humanity.
While those crimes unfolded, the world stood by and watched, and in the case of the massacre done in Srebrenica, forces of good were forced to stand idly by and watch evil perpetrated right in front of them.
My work then at The Hague was part of an effort to correct the wrongs of indifferent nations, who suffered the guilt of not doing more – not interceding, largely because their toolbox of remedies was so limited and complicated at the time.
For the past weeks, I have found myself watching once again as neighbors attack neighbors, and heinous acts are perpetrated against the innocent. It is as deeply troubling this time around as it was before, but it is also different.
The past few days have seen a new front against evil emerge, one that spans outside the realm of politics and non-governmental organizations. In Thomas Friedman’s flat world, economics and business have just as much influence as armies and politicians.
Companies that are willing to draw a line in the sand between profits and people are showing that they can influence the world in new ways, and that we have shared goals of prospering together. This is a new kind of modern warfare.
So, it is warming to see that those in the motorcycle industry who have a voice and influence over the events surrounding them are using that platform, and I am sincerely thankful to see in my inbox today the following open letter from MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov, himself a Russian national.