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In-action shot#1: Triumph Explorer XC

2014 Triumph Explorer XC – First Ride Hightailing it around the Scottish Highlands on the Brit’s newest adventure bike.

It’s all about the whiskey and the wool here in the Scottish Highlands…and of course, the wide-open spaces that nurture the requisite barley and sheep. Those same rolling hills and lush glens are also brilliant for adventuring. Just ask James Bond. And Triumph Motorcycle’s product manager, Simon Warburton, who’s invited [...]

2014 Yamaha Star Bolt - action #4

2014 Yamaha Star Bolt – First Ride Dancing with the Star.

If bikes were dance partners, I’d want the Star Bolt to be mine. This, I’m thinking as I twirl and dip the new bobber around the cultural patchwork that makes up urban San Diego. The Bolt is the best kind of partner. You lead, it follows. Effortless. So light and [...]

2013 Harley-Davidson FXSB Breakout in-action

2013 Harley-Davidson FXSB Breakout – First Ride A slammed Softail that rides like a Cadillac.

Halfway through dinner at a swanky oceanfront hotel in Daytona Beach, Mark Strong, tech lead for the 2013 Harley-Davidson FXSB Breakout, raised his hand. “Can we talk about the rear suspension?” he asked. As the rest of the design-and-development team bellied up to their steaks, Strong explained how careful attention [...]

2013 Moto Guzzi California 1400 Custom - action #2

2013 Moto Guzzi California 1400 Custom – First Ride Italian V-Twin power cruiser gets naked.

Long before the glamorous center-stage unveiling of the California 1400 at last year’s Milan show, Moto Guzzi knew that its new V-Twin power cruiser had the potential to restore the image of one of the greatest names in the history of motorcycling. Spending the money to bring this new machine [...]

Ducati 1199 Panigale R in-action #4

Ducati 1199 Panigale R – First Ride Ducati’s ultimate V-Twin production superbike.

Austin, Texas—What a combination: Ducati’s 1199 Panigale R, the ultimate iteration of the Italian company’s Superbike range, and the brand-new Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, the incredible racetrack that will host MotoGP in April. Wow! How did I get so lucky? At this first-ever motorcycle press launch at [...]

2014 Aprilia Caponord 1200 with travelpack - action shot #2

2014 Aprilia Caponord 1200 – First Ride Borrowing a name from Aprilia’s past, the new Caponord 1200 is an adventure-tourer for the future.

Sardinia, Italy—When I first saw the Caponord at the EICMA show, I quickly dismissed it as a smart, full-dress evolution of the Aprilia Dorsoduro, a bike conceived to snatch a slice of the growing adventure-touring pie from the iconic BMW R1200GS. However, after riding the Aprilia Caponord 1200 on some [...]

2013 MV Agusta Brutale 800 - action shot #3

2013 MV Agusta Brutale 800 – First Ride A new Italian middleweight naked bike that feels and performs more like an Open-class sportbike.

As the old saying goes, if you want to extract all of the potential from an engine, stroke it! Well, that’s exactly what MV Agusta has done with its three-cylinder Brutale 675 to create a new, higher-performing 800cc middleweight naked bike. MV’s engineers kept bore at 79mm and increased stroke [...]

2013 Ducati Hypermotard SP - action shot #1

2013 Ducati Hypermotard and Hypermotard SP – First Ride All-new 821cc, liquid-cooled Testastretta delivers supermoto goodness.

Ronda, Spain—If there was one complaint we had about the first-generation Ducati Hypermotard, it was a lack of versatility. Its unforgiving riding position and wedge-like seat made escaping even your own neighborhood an uncomfortable exercise in willpower. But if you did manage to venture out and find a tight, twisty [...]

Yamaha Star V Star 1300 Deluxe

Yamaha Star V Star 1300 Deluxe – First Ride V stands for Value.

It’s a good thing the V Star 1300 Deluxe is such a civilized machine. If not, the swanky folks in Santa Barbara might not have been as charmed watching a dozen throttled through their storybook city. But as Yamaha would have it, this pack of quietly badass V Stars brought [...]

Aprilia RSV4 ABS Factory in-action shot #5

2013 Aprilia RSV 4 ABS Factory – First Ride More electronic trickery from the WSBK title winner.

Although Max Biaggi won the 2012 World Superbike title on his RSV 4 Factory, Aprilia hasn’t had much time to rest on its laurels. For 2013, improvements to the 65-degree, V-Four engine result in an additional 4 horsepower (a claimed 184 at 12,500 rpm) and a slight bump in torque [...]