I was glad I was aboard a 2019 Harley-Davidson Street Glide Special when we hit appalling weather and narrowly avoided... Read More
Touring
Touring motorcycles are becoming popular as riders extend their horizons beyond the local cafe. Touring bikes have larger capacity engines, bigger fuel tanks, more comfortable seats, pillion accommodation, luggage capacity, low maintenance and durability. MotorbikeWriter previews coming touring models, attends launches of touring bikes around the world and road tests the bikes in Australia and overseas.
Harley-Davidson is running another great competition where you test ride one of their Touring models and go in the draw to... Read More
KTM has unveiled its 1290 Super Duke GT touring sports bike and it’s coming to Australia early next year to fire up the touring sector. It is powered by the same lethal weapon 10301cc V-twin engine in the 1290 Super Duke R, but with new cylinder heads and new combustion... Read More
Harley-Davidson Australia is giving test riders of their Big Twins a chance to win one of 20 trips for two... Read More
For the first time, Harley-Davidson has shoehorned the Twin Cam 110B (1800cc) Screamin’ Eagle engine into “standard” bikes for more... Read More
Apart from the first electric motorcycles from Victory Motorcycles, the Empulse TT, the only changes in the 2016 model line-up are some new colours. READ ABOUT THE EMPULSE TT While Victory Motorcycles Australia and New Zealand hasn’t locked in all their 2016 colours yet, these photos show a few new... Read More
The 2016 Indian Motorcycle range is wearing some new paint, including a “pearl white” Chief Classic, a “blue diamond” Roadmaster,... Read More
If you’re into towing a trailer behind your motorcycle, this blow-up tent trailer may be just right. American travellers Mike... Read More
BMW looks set to return to cruisers – or at least cruiser-style baggers – with the release of the Concept 101 built in a joint venture with Roland Sands Design. The last time the Bavarian manufacturer and LA custom builder got together they produced the Concept Ninety which became the... Read More
Hot on the heels of the Benelli BN 302 learner-approved motorcycle come two 600cc sports tourers, one of which is... Read More
The Yamaha MT-09 Tracer is basically an MT-09 naked bike with a swag of accessories that turn it into a tourer... Read More
Italian-designed and Chinese-made Benelli motorcycles are adding two learner bike models to their line-up in 2015. The new BN 302 arrives in January at less than $5500 plus on-road costs, while the they will also release two sports touring versions of the BN 600 both at $9990 rideaway. The GTS... Read More
Hot on the heels of the announcement that Mercedes-AMG has taken a 25% share in the company, MV Agusta has... Read More
Black and white “urban camo” has been added to the 2015 Ural as the Russian motorcycle manufacturer fine-tunes its models. Ural Australia... Read More
The retro-styled Ural outfit is finally entering the space age with a limited edition model named after the combined USA-USSR Shuttle-Mir space program. The Russian-made Ural Mir (or МИР) even features a solar panel to bolster the battery and care auxiliary items such as phones, GPS, music players etc. It... Read More
To celebrate 40 years since the Honda Goldwing was introduced to the world at the Cologne Motorcycle Show, the Japanese... Read More
Australian riders may not be able to buy the new low-riding flagship Harley tourers available in other markets, but they will be... Read More
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNQIc9DMSnQ&sns=em Put simply, the Harley-Davidson Road Glide has the best aerodynamics of any touring bike I have ever ridden. The big tourer missed out on the Rushmore Project launch last year because Harley says they had so much on their plate with eight new models. However, I believe it’s because... Read More
Sometimes the planets align and all your ducks are in a row. That was today when I got to ride... Read More
If you are planning to travel long distances with style and grace, and in a great deal of comfort, the... Read More
The Harley-Davidson SuperLow XL1200T is not made for me, yet somehow I like it. The SuperLow is, as its name suggests, super low with a 663mm seat height. It’s built for smaller people than my 185cm frame. Short people, women and maybe novice riders will enjoy the easy reach to... Read More
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 11: A recent US survey found that customers want test rides more than anything; discounts included. Sounds simple,... Read More
The Victory Cross Roads Classic is a soft bagger that is made for the long haul. I reviewed the... Read More
(UPDATE JULY 21: Harley has just confirmed the Road Glide will return for 2015.) I’d like odds on Harley-Davidson reintroducing the bull-nosed Road Glide in September for the 2015 model year. The Road Glide is like a Street Glide, but with the fairing mounted to the chassis rather than the... Read More
Getting to the annual HOG Rally is half the fun. This year, a contingent of motorcycle media rode Harley-Davidson... Read More
Yamaha has added electronic suspension adjustment to its sports tour-de-force FJR1300. It is now called the FJR1300E and costs $26,999,... Read More
The Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic is unusual for a couple of reasons – Harley asked riders some questions and found the answers blowing in the wind. Sorry about being a bit cryptic, but Harley asked its riders what they wanted and some of the resulting updates were developed in a couple... Read More
Harley-Davidson’s big frame-mounted tourer, the Road Glide, is making a comeback. The bike was axed for 2014 and, as I... Read More
As Harley-Davidson is about to release its 2013 earnings figures, there have also been leaks of the power figures for... Read More
The Italian marque will make their bikes safer this year with the introduction of ABS on Australian 2014 models. The new models to get the anti-lock braking system will include the coming Dragster which is rumoured to be turbo-charged. MV Agusta has reported that it will offer a Bosch 9MP... Read More
Australia is one of the top five markets in the world for Ural motorcyles and sidecars. It makes sense since... Read More
Honda’s NC700SA “new concept” commuter has grown some highway legs, as well as more manners and grunt. It’s now the... Read More
Victory has added the word “Tour” to its Victory Vision and made it one of the best options for those who want to tour the country. The Vision Tour now has cruise control, heated seats and grips, ABS and adjustable floorboards, all for $30,495 ride away. That’s cheaper than many... Read More
While this year will be remembered as the year of hi-tech, my pick for bike of the year is more... Read More
Despite the numerous changes to the 2014 Harley-Davidson Street Glide, there are two that stand out the most. Well,... Read More
Kawasaki has launched two new 2014 sports touring models. The new 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 ABS SE has more power, torque, sharper acceleration, a more exciting induction roar, new forks, better handling, improved brakes and a new handlebar for more relaxed rider ergonomics. It also has fresh colours and costs only... Read More
2013 has undoubtedly been the year of the Indian Chief. Thanks to Polaris profits and industrial acumen, the iconic American... Read More
Chinese brand CFMoto was a little premature in the launch of the 650TK touring bike earlier this year. The pre-production... Read More
Victory Motorcycles just keep getting more and more attractive – in looks and price. For 2014 they have optional factory custom paint, while prices are down as much as $1000 on some models. Special paint costs an extra $500 to $1000 depending on detailing, two-tone colour schemes and packaging with... Read More
Just as BMW 7 Series (and Mercedes S-Class) are the epitome of hi-tech in the car world, the new BMW K 1600 GTL Exclusive... Read More
Honda doesn’t seem content following the herd. Consequently the CTX1300 was unveiled at the Milan motorcycle show. It’s a cross... Read More
It snuck up on us without warning, but Chinese manufacturer CFMoto is now selling more units than BMW Motorrad in Australia. In the first nine months of 2013, the Hangzhou company was the ninth biggest importer and by the end of the year could even surpass Triumph or Polaris. Granted... Read More
The Suzuki C50T is an aptly named cruiser. The C stands for classic, referring to its traditional big fenders, two-tone... Read More
Before the BMW R 1200 GS went to partial water cooling, I drew up a wish list for the new... Read More
The new KTM 1190 Adventure follows its biggest competitor, BMW’s R 1200 GS, into a more road-focused market. Both are now geared for 90% tar and occasional dirt. But it’s KTM which has made the biggest leap forward with a massive increase in engine capacity from 990 to 1190cc and... Read More
Honda Goldwing has shed some weight, but gained some street cred. The new F6B (flat six bagger) is a menacing-looking... Read More
A day riding the Indian Chief Vintage with brown leather saddle and bags leaves you feeling a bit like an... Read More
Riders in hot climates should appreciate the cool, new Indian Chief. Indian Motorcycles product manager Gary Gray from the USA told Australian media at the first ride of the bikes in the Tweed Coast that the bike has been tested in their environmental chamber up to 50C as well as... Read More
Yamaha XV1300: Most cruisers are air cooled and low revving, but the Yamaha XV1300A and T (touring model) are delightful... Read More
It took some time, but Harley-Davidson has suddenly come thundering into the 21st century, thanks to its Project Rushmore. The... Read More
Harley-Davidson has solved a raft of “first-world problems” with its new Touring range. It’s not as if they have discovered a cure for cancer or how to feed the poor, but they have solved some very important problems that, for me at least, were deal breakers. I have loved the... Read More
Harley admits that customers had asked for an adjustable windscreen on the new Touring range, but they rejected the idea.... Read More
Has Harley really gone water-cooled? When Harley launched the 2014 model range this week they introduced a new Twin-Cooled 103... Read More
Harley-Davidson has axed the Road Glide for 2014. But I doubt it will be the last we see of the big frame-mounted fairing Touring model. While the Road Glide has an ugly “bull nose” that some refer to as a shark nose, I reckon it’s the best handling of the... Read More
Triumph has fine-tined its Tiger 1050 from adventure to sports. The more sporty version has 50mm lower suspension and therefore... Read More
Riding the Aprilia Dorsoduro 1200 on the morning commute is a bit like taking a bazooka to a knife fight.... Read More
There are some bikes that scream and demand attention. And then there are those that quietly go about their business in a calm and efficient manner. The Suzuki Bandit is the latter. I’ve always admired the “universal Japanese motorcycle” as a no-nonsense, no-frills bike and one of the best proponents... Read More
Versatility is the key word for the Harley-Davidson Dyna Switchback. It’s a tourer with hard panniers and a big windscreen,... Read More
There is no replacement for displacement and you’ll buy the Yamaha Star Tourer (XV1900AT) just for its thumping engine.... Read More
The new Yamaha FJR1300A is a big-torquing sports tourer with a healthy dose of modern technology. While keeping the same lithe chassis, Yamaha has uprated the 1298cc inline four-cylinder engine for even more power and torque, added lashings of electronic wizardry and improved rider and passenger safety, comfort and... Read More