Long-Term Bikes

Latest Long-Term Bikes

BMW K1600GTL – Long-Term Wrap-Up The easiest 10K ever.

From the first ride CW got on the K1600GTL at the South African press introduction to the exclusive first testbike we received in the U.S. to the last few feet we rode the bike while loading it on BMW’s truck after more than 10,000 miles, we were amazed at the [...]

Honda CBR250R ABS – Long-Term Test Update #1 Town, highway, track day.

We’ve had so much fun every time we’ve ridden Honda’s quarter-liter machine that we decided to add one to our long-term fleet. Over the first three months of “ownership,” we’ve piled on a lot of fuel-sipping commuter miles, and staffers always return from a ride grinning. The biggest smiles came [...]

Yamaha Super Tenere – Long-Term Test Update #2 Rackin’ up easy miles.

Our long-term Super Ténéré is so popular with CW editors that we’ve had to resort to putting requests to borrow it on a calendar. Must have something to do with the bike’s versatility, as it seems to be the first machine staffers think of when they want to cover serious [...]

Victory Cross Country – Long-Term Wrap-Up Gone, but not forgotten.

It was with mixed emotions that we bid farewell to our long-term Cross Country. We miss the big white bagger’s days-on-end comfort, the stonk and thunder of its 106-inch V-Twin, the amazing backroad agility it offered for such a big lump, and the steamer-trunk capacity of its three-piece baggage (which [...]

Kawasaki ZX-10R ABS – Long-Term Test Update #2 Seeking track optimization.

We sent our green machine to the north for some serious track time in the hands of Ken Hill, an instructor at the Yamaha Champions Riding School as well as a private riding coach. He’s already put 600 track miles (at Thunderhill Park and Infineon Raceway) on the CW ZX-10R. [...]

Victory Cross Country – Long-Term Test Update #3 Just as good Cross Town.

Lots of commuting on our long-term Cross Country, since our new offices in Irvine, California, present some staffers with longer trips to and from work. The big white Victory handles those chores quite nicely, thank you. Its spacious ergonomics are as relaxing as an easy chair, and the wind/weather protection [...]

Yamaha Super Tenere – Long-Term Test Update #1 Better adventures ahead.

After watching the Europeans get to play with the Super Ténéré a full year prior to its U.S. release, we were salivating to put it head-to-head against the adventure-touring class stalwarts. It didn’t disappoint, proving that it was a better all-around motorcycle than either the BMW R1200GS or KTM 990 [...]

Kawasaki ZX-14R – Long-Term Test Update #1 Free wheelie.

While our stock Ninja may be the most powerful production motor-cycle CW has ever tested, onboard electronics can make the metallic green monster amazingly docile when toggled into low-power mode and traction control level 3. It also has a reduced rev limit in sixth gear that restricts the beast from [...]

Husqvarna TE630 – Long-Term Test Wrap-Up Dual-sport adventurer.

When we first rode the 2011 TE630 in Italy, we knew that we wanted to add one to our long-term test fleet. The bike impressed us in stock form, but we had a totally different concept in mind for our evaluation: Make it a lightweight adventure-touring machine. We figured that [...]

Can-Am Spyder RT-S – Long-Term Wrap-Up A three-wheel tourer.

By the time our Can-Am “touring roadster” racked up 10,000 miles, we’d been riding it for almost 18 months, and we’d learned a lot about the $26,499 three-wheeler from Bombardier Recreational Products. In addition to riding it in all weathers and climes from desert to high mountains, we put it [...]