#Honda

American Honda announced a revamped PCX150 scooter for the 2019 model year with a new chassis, a revised engine and an ABS option. The 2019 Honda PCX150 will be offered for $3,699, a $100 increase over the 2018 model, while the ABS version is priced at $3,999.

It took a while longer than we had hoped, but American Honda has finally announced the new Neo-Sports Café-inspired CB300R is coming to the United States as a 2019 model. At $4,649 for the base model and $4,949 with ABS, the 2019 Honda CB300R is priced $300 higher than the 2018 CB300F which it will replace.

The season opener at Losail went mostly according to expectations, which is to say it was crowded up front. At one point I counted nine bikes in the lead group, a sight normally seen in Moto3. French sophomore Johann Zarco led from pole most of the day, fueling a lot of premature trash talk. Once his tires went up, though, it came down to Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez for early bragging rights. Round One goes to the Italian on points. No TKO.

Nothing like the start of a new racing season to turn the iron in a man’s blood into the lead in his pencil. All the speculation, all the testing, all the contingencies will become moot once the lights go out in far-away Qatar. The Alien class – Marc Marquez, Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales – is sharpening their fairings in anticipation. Another handful of riders dream of getting their tickets punched in 2018.

ED: Bruce Allen’s 2018 MotoGP season preview continues with a look at what we can expect from each team and their riders. If you missed it, here’s Part 1.

Honda has revised its Forza 300 scooter for Europe, introducing traction control, a redesigned chassis and a 26-pound weight reduction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the 2018 Honda Forza 300 is coming to the U.S., where it was last offered in 2016.

ED: With the pre-season testing now complete, Bruce Allen previews the 2018 MotoGP season. In this first part, Bruce presents his observations on the tests. Check back here next week for Bruce’s team-by-team analysis.

Being the Canada-based staffer of a primarily U.S.-targeted site like Motorcycle.com, it’s hard not to feel jealous of my American colleagues sometimes. In between minding the three-hour time difference between me and the other MO editors, and remembering to omit the “u” in words like “color” and “rumor”, I get to read about their exploits in sunny California from my desk in grey gray Toronto.

The MO journey to bring you this review of the 2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour has turned into the story of two very different trips gone awry for two very different reasons. However, despite the hiccups along the way, we end up with a comprehensive look at Honda’s touring flagship under a variety of riding conditions, and despite the frustrations of our respective challenges, our impressions of the Gold Wing Tour stand out as remarkably positive.

There’s something about waking up face down in a strange motel room in yesterday’s clothes that gives one pause. Or at least it should. No, I hadn’t been on a bender the night before, but after 11 hours of unconsciousness, I could no longer deny how sick I was. I had to accept that my (overly?) ambitious route for this extended Honda Gold Wing Tour ride was simply not going to happen. Still, I was determined to visit the Titan Missile Museum as part of my newly shortened trip home.

Finally, motorcycle roads! I knew, when I was planning the trip, that Day 3 would be the most fun because I would spend hours riding on roads that motorcyclists live for. I wasn’t disappointed.

Today was one of those days I’d like to forget. I awoke with a headache that, by the time I had the 2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour fully loaded, was blooming into a migraine. Oh joy. Nevertheless, I pushed ahead because I was 900 miles from home, and I had a schedule to keep. I remember the ride into Los Alamos, NM as being scenic – and little else other than the pain in my head.

The Mugen Shinden is the most decorated electric race bike around, having captured the last four TT Zero races and holding the record for electric motorcycles with a 119.279 mph lap of the Isle of Man TT‘s Mountain Course.

Today was my get-to-know-you ride with the 2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour. A first date, if you will. Of course, one that took place over 12 hours and 600 miles. In that time, we learned a lot about each other, but first we had to get past that initial awkward stage of the Wing being a DCT model and me reaching for the clutch lever at each stop for the first 30 minutes or so. After that, we began to click off the miles.

I’ve been writing about motorcycles for over 20 years, and while riding the bikes we test is a huge part of my job, there have only been a handful of times that I’ve been given the opportunity to put together extended multi-day rides. Even rarer are the chances to spend that time riding solo – an activity I find good for the moto-soul. So, you can imagine my surprise when both Honda and my boss gave me the okay on my long-shot pitch to ride the 2018 Honda Gold Wing Tour from Austin, TX, back to Los Angeles. They called my bluff, and I suddenly found myself with a Gold Wing Tour, four days, and as many miles as I could cram into the adventure. A direct path home would be around 1,400 miles of freeway droning – not a recipe for much fun. And riding motorcycles is all about fun, right?