Just before I set out on my trip to Sturgis this year, I decided to throw a new set of shoes on the ZX-10R. I’d heard all the hype surrounding the Dunlop Q2’s when these tires were released a while back, what with the media claiming they were great, resulting in faster lap times and so on and so on.
But the hype still left me wondering about the tire’s abilities on the street. I was pretty certain they performed quite well at the hands of experts on the racetrack, but I had questions about how well they would operate under a bit of a whack job like myself (especially … Continue Reading
It’s not often in the motorcycle world that something truly new comes along. But in the case of longtime performance exhaust manufacturer Akrapovic, something new has come along and it’s moving pretty fast.
For years, Akrapovic has set the standard as the best of the best when it comes to performance sport bike exhaust systems, a factoid that is reinforced by the many factory superbike teams that install them on their bikes at the highest levels of racing.
And now, Akrapovic has made the decision to cross over a bit, releasing a new line of exhaust equipment for late-model Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They brought with them an innate ability for … Continue Reading
Once again, the AMD World Championship of Custom Bike Building set up shop smack dab in the middle of Sturgis and true to form, exhibited the absolute cream of the crop when it comes to fabrication. In fact, it appeared to us that fabrication skills were on display more so this year than bike-building skills.
Functionality appeared to be lost in the translation on a lot of these entries. To us, it looked like builders were more intent on showing off their insane engineering and fabrication pieces, and the motorcycles themselves were secondary. So as Zach and I cruised the isles looking for the perfect machine for our Partner Pick … Continue Reading
This year marked my second 
consecutive in-person visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy MotoGP after years of following what I consider to be the world’s premier motorcycling championship on the television set.
Last year I experienced some culture shock during my first visit — but it was my kind of culture and so I embraced it! This year’s trip was just as exciting, but I experienced less awe and a whole lot more agenda. It was after all, a working trip, so the first few days were spent setting up the J&P Cycles rig in the interactive vendor display area.
Then it was off to ride “Willies … Continue Reading
For the past seven years I’ve worked 
in one capacity or another in Sturgis, and each of those years I’ve thrown a leg over my bike in late July, pointed it west and pinned it for 800 miles. I do the ride in one day, simply because I just don’t have all that much time.
I get there three weeks before the start of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and when I arrive, I’ve got exactly one day to do whatever I want before I get down to work. Other than my short 
morning blasts through Vanocker Canyon, that’s the last riding I do for the next month. While most of … Continue Reading
Two of the most beautiful words in a motorcyclist’s
vocabulary are “barn find.” It’s something most of us bikers daydream about. You know, an old Knucklehead or old single-cylinder HD just waiting patiently for us to rescue it from the corner of a some old farmer’s shed and refurbish it for a triumphant return to the open road.
That being said, I’m thinking Williamstown, New Jersey, might just be home to the mother of all barn finds. Four decades ago, Nick — of Nick’s Custom Cycles — opened up a small bike shop in what was originally intended to be a chicken coop. Nick slapped some additions onto the old … Continue Reading
The café racer got its start in
Europe in the early 1960s, making its way across the pond later in that decade, and eventually catching on with a few factories in the U.S. Even Harley-Davidson gave it a shot in 1977 with the XLCR. But the AMF-built bike was pretty much ignored in showrooms and quickly vanished from the H-D lineup. Unlike the Beatles and Stones, the café racer trend in America was short-lived.
Then a new craze smacked America
upside the head in the late ’80s and early ’90s with bikers morphing their motorcycles into grossly overpriced machines where functionality took a back seat to the largest back tire … Continue Reading
Let’s face facts. Stock sucks. Doesn’t
matter if we’re talking about stock pipes, stock air cleaner, stock windshield or stock seat. Hell, the motorcycle industry is based on the very idea that “stock sucks.” If stock didn’t suck there’d be no need for an Arlen Ness or a Jesse James. If stock didn’t suck, you wouldn’t be reading this right now. You’d be out on your stock bike put-putting down the street.
So now that we’ve established the lameness of stock, why are you rocking a
stock stereo in your bagger? I’m pretty sure you ditched the stock mufflers the minute you rolled into your garage, trading … Continue Reading
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be following along with Steve Johnson, president and COO of Tucker Rocky and Bikers Choice, as he takes his 2010 Road Glide to S&S Cycle for the royal treatment. S&S will be doing a four-stage build and documenting each step on video — complete with before and after dyno runs, walking you through each installation right down to tool selection.
Joining Steve Johnson in this first video is George Smith, executive chairman and CEO of S&S. Smith’s suggestion to viewers is to take your time on this upgrade. “Get up to speed at your own speed”.
He describes upcoming videos that enable builders to … Continue Reading
With riding weather hitting full stride, time’s short to spruce up your ride and add some well-deserved swag to its magnificence. There you stand in your garage, staring at your machine and wondering what bit of functional bling you could add to the bike to brighten its appearance or add punch to the motor.
By complete design, the folks at Performance Machine step forward to throw their hats in the ring with a pair of very good suggestions for 2011:
PM’s Fast Air Intake offers a new take on an old idea. This intake utilizes the highest-quality and best-performing K&N filter element, which results in a 10.21 hp increase on … Continue Reading
Just before I set out on my trip to Sturgis this year, I decided to throw a new set of shoes on the ZX-10R. I’d heard all the hype surrounding the Dunlop Q2’s when these tires were released a while back, what with the media claiming they were great, resulting in faster lap times and so on and so on.
