#JohnBurns
2018 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and 1000XT First Ride Review
Yours truly was a big fan of the bigger ’Strom upon its redesign for 2014, and so was our man T. Roderick when he rode the new bike, but maybe to a lesser extent. It was hard to argue with Suzuki’s punched-out-to 1037cc tuned-for-torque L-Twin allied with the V-Strom 1000’s low-mass approach, and it still is.
First Look: 2018 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 and 1000XT
The way our Suzuki rep ’splained it, is that it’s a 2018 model if it’s being produced in 2017. Go figure… anyway, the V-Strom 1000 was new in 2015. For 2018, it’s received a few significant upgrades to make it even more likeable, not to mention safer, including the addition of the new 1000XT version in the lead image.
Harley-Davidson Motorclothes Sully 3-in-1 Jacket Review
Some of the stuff in the Harley-Davidson Motorclothes catalog is too good not to wear, whether you ride a Harley or not. Case in point, this Sully jacket, possibly named for Tom Hanks’ character in the movie of the same name. Harley fixed me up with one when we went to Daytona in March to ride a couple of its new machines (Street Rod and Road King Special). I didn’t wear it while I was in Florida since my wardrobe was, as always, meticulously pre-arranged, but I have worn it quite a bit since then, when I’m able to get it away from a woman friend who keeps trying to steal it.
Whatever! - Armchair Supercross Racing!
Okay, I admit I’m pretty out of touch when it comes to Supercross. I enjoy watching sports that I slightly know how to participate in (even if it was decades ago), but I just haven’t ever been able to relate to that much flying through the air. I love riding dirt bikes when I get the occasional chance, but stadium Supercross has about as much to do with how I ride a dirt bike as a Saturday morning softball game has to do with the World Series; they’re almost not even recognizably similar activities. They’re really even further apart than that. I wouldn’t be afraid to stand at the plate and listen to a 100-mph fastball sizzle past me (doubt I’d be able to see it), but I’d be terrified to hit a triple wide open on a modern 450. Or a modern 250. Or a modern PW50.
Things You Did Not Know About This Weekend's Spanish MotoGP
This weekend’s MotoGP in Jerez, Spain, will be the 3,000th race since the World Championship series began in 1949. Let’s look back at some other historic events in motorcycle grand prix history.
Top 10 Cult Bikes of the Modern Era
Cult: A small religious group that is not part of a larger and more accepted religion and that has beliefs regarded by many people as extreme or dangerous; a situation in which people admire and care about something or someone very much or too much. —Merriam-Webster
2017 Kawasaki Versys-X 300 ABS Review
I know at least two people who are convinced the Kawasaki Versys 650 is the world’s greatest do-it-all motorcycle, including our own Sean Alexander. I would not attempt to convince them otherwise. The big Versys 1000 is pretty swell, too, and now Kawasaki completes the circle with this all-new Versys-X 300, packing a revised version of the excellent 296cc Ninja 300 parallel-Twin.
