#BrentJaswinski

Look good, feel good, ride good. From the moment I first saw it, I knew I needed to have it. The Alpinestars Brera leather jacket is quite possibly one of the best looking, most stylish motorcycle jackets on the market. Throw built-in, slim-fitting CE certified Bio Armor on your elbows and shoulders, and you’ve pretty much got yourself the total package.

You know what they say, “Bad news travels fast,” and a few months ago, it seemed like the motorcycle industry was full of it. Every day felt like there was a new report painting a gloomy portrait and claiming the motorcycle industry was doomed if we didn’t do something about it. How could something so awesome as motorcycling be destined for failure?

Bridgestone has just introduced two new tire families to their lineup – the Battlax Adventure A41 and the Battlax Sport Touring T31. The driving goal behind these two new models was to improve on their outgoing predecessors’ overall performance by focusing on and upgrading wet grip and handling with an emphasis in low temperatures. On top of that, Bridgestone set out to increase feedback and contact feel across all lean angles, all while maintaining stability and no sacrifice on wear life. Sounds easy enough, right? Well…

Two weeks ago we got the opportunity to ride the all-new Alta Motors 2018 Redshift MXR, as well as the Redshift MX for comparison. It was my first time riding an Alta, and an electric dirtbike for that matter, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. How easy would it be to ride and how would it compare to a regular gas-powered dirtbike?

Today marks the start of the 2018 American Flat Track season in Daytona Beach with the famed DAYTONA TT. The off-season has been a busy one for anyone involved with the sport and this year is sure to provide some of the closest, most exciting, edge-of-your-seat racing ever seen. Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles are obviously the two biggest heavyweights competing for not only race wins, but bragging rights too.

No motorcycle in Harley-Davidson’s 115-year history has been as successful or versatile as the Sportster. The Sportster line has been in production now for over 60 years and has left its mark on just about every genre of motorcycling you could possibly imagine. From dirt tracking to road racing, hill climbing to commuting, chopping to touring and everywhere in between – there is very little the Sportster can’t do.

Started in 2013, Mama Tried is an indoor invitational motorcycle show that showcases some of the coolest, craziest, rarest and most unusual homebuilt bikes. Having only been able to drool over the event through Instagram from thousands of miles away in years past, I finally got the opportunity to check the show out in person, and holy smokes was I not disappointed.

Modern technology is great and all, but there was once a time when you couldn’t just Google something or watch a ‘How to’ video on YouTube demonstrating the proper technique to do whatever it was you were trying to do. There were books back then, and these places called libraries were full of them. Fortunately, printed, hard-copy books are still around, and there’s a certain variety of them called manuals that any motorcycle, or vehicle owner for that matter, must own to accompany whatever type of bike they have.

We’ve all heard about them, talked about them, and maybe even looked them up on Google, but in the end, most of us probably figured a full-size electric dirtbike is an expensive and impractical novelty motorcycle only those with deep pockets could afford to add to their toy collection… until now. Alta Motors has just released an upgraded 2018 Redshift MX model as well as its all-new Redshift MXR, and we finally got to throw a leg over both, not only to see if they lived up to the hype, but how they stack up to their gas burning rivals.

Just like anything else, motorcycles are continually evolving and getting lighter, faster and more powerful with each passing year. Despite improvements to how well bikes handle and perform these days, having an accident and crashing is always a looming threat that can never be eliminated, only mitigated. Fortunately for us riders, there are engineers working hard to keep our heads and bodies as safe as possible so we can continue to enjoy riding motorcycles both on- and off-road with confidence in knowing that we have the best chance in decreasing the amount of damage a potential crash can cause.

There’s a lot of old and barbaric punishments for certain crimes that most people in our ever-softening current society would consider to be too cruel or unjust by today’s standards. One such practice is cutting off a thief’s hand(s), which I think can be quite appropriate depending on what was stolen.

Trust. It comes in many different forms, and it’s usually the foundation of any relationship.

Scooters are often thought of as second-class citizens in the world of motorcycles and take a backseat to their more common, two-wheeled brethren. But in fact, scooters offer certain advantages and conveniences that regular motorcycles for the most part can’t even begin to compete with. Admittedly, I’ve never really paid much attention to scooters, especially not maxi scooters, because I figured if you’re going to get a big-displacement scooter, why not just ride a regular motorcycle? Well, I now know why.

Choppers ain’t everyone’s cup of tea – I get that. In a lot of ways they represent the rebellious, non-conformist or even outlaw side of motorcycling, as choppers were typically the ride of choice for many bikers and club members during the post-WWII era extending into the ‘60s and ‘70s when outlaw motorcycle clubs were most prevalent in the U.S. I like to think I was lucky to be raised around choppers and the culture that came with it while growing up as my dad and uncles all had choppers and ties to different MCs, but I’ll leave it at that…

For many of us motorcyclists, cold climates and wintery conditions of the “off-season” means buttoning up our bikes until the tides of spring return with warmer temperatures to melt away the snow and ice. This, however, doesn’t have to be the case. Not if you live in the Northeast, anyhow. The Appalachian Moto Jam is relatively new event, best described as a free-format, “run what ya brung” traveling race series that’s open to any and all riders looking to race their motorcycles and have a great time.