Motorcycle Culture
Bill Mayer Saddles
If memory serves me, the main character in "The Six Million Dollar Man" hailed from Ojai, California. You remember him, Colonel Steve Austin, in that totally cool 70s series about a pilot "barely alive" after an airplane crash. Rebuilt from bionic parts by Dr. Rudy Wells, he was deemed to be "better, stronger, faster." Go ahead and hum the theme, you...
The World of the Triumph Thruxton 900
The Thruxton 900 is a tribute to the days when a motorcycle was about rebellion and freedom, instead of a fat wallet. Welcome to an England of a bygone era.ThruxtonRace CircuitThe first race was held at a former air base in Hampshire in 1952. In 1968, it took its present form as a 2 1/3 mile circuit, and is considered the fastest in Great Britain. The...
The Name Says it All
Touratech combines touring and technology of course, and rallies and racing into a very successful young company – one with a lot to offer, whether your tour takes you across the county or the continent....
998cc Black Shadow - A fine motorbike
In our motorcycle-besotted, pre-license teen years, my buddies and I traded hyperbole like marbles. A Gold Star would do 90 miles per hour in first gear; a 650 Panther revved so slowly, it only fired once every streetlight; a 500 Velocette would pitch you over the handlebars if it backfired while you were kick-starting it. We knew these things to be...
The Passion Of Mark Jurus
It was simply love at first sight: the sensuous curves of the Italian beauty immediately captivated the recent college graduate with a degree in visual communication and graphic design. The year was 1992, the place was Boulder, Colorado, and Mark Jurus fell head-over-heels for Italian motor scooters. The design elements of these diminutive machines...
Secrets of Successful Baking
Head protection is one of the most important jobs of safety gear, and motorcycle helmets are high-tech products. Nolan, Europe's largest helmet manufacturer, gave our writer Oliver Ahrens a close look behind the scenes at their production facility in Bergamo, Italy....
Staying Single
The design exemplifying the British motorcycle during its golden age in the 1920s and '30s was the overhead valve single of 350 or 500cc. Every major manufacturer made at least one, and it was usually their bestseller. Simplicity combined with an excellent power-to-weight ratio and (usually) nimble handling made such a machine an ideal mount for Britain's...
A Softail Standard takes on Laguna Seca
While trying to keep up with a group of metrics through some back road twisties, you find out biking is more than cruising, that your Harley was designed for more than freeway riding, and that it's time to sign up for track lessons. I know you've ridden to Sturgis but think of your loved ones, think of Christopher Reeves, go on, take the course –...
Crossing the Delaware
The Delaware River was treacherous with ice on Christmas night 1776 when General George Washington led 2,500 Continental Army soldiers across in small boats during a snowstorm. A bold and dangerous mission, but one that quickly led to a stunning victory over the British and Hessian soldiers occupying Trenton, New Jersey, it revived the morale of a nascent...
Getting Ready for Europe Riding
Some choose to bungee jump, extreme ski, fly ultra-lights or skydive. However you get your thrills, there is one experience that any real motorcyclist should not miss. In September 2004, 20 others and I rode the Alps of Austria and Italy with RoadRUNNER publisher Christian Neuhauser, his brother Daniel, and senior staff member Mike Miller. Having lived...
