#Touring

The day of your departure is approaching, so it’s time to stop planning and start packing for your motorcycle tour. Hopefully, your planning has been thorough, and you’ve gathered all of the gear you’re planning on taking on your tour. Now, hopefully, a few days before you’re scheduled to leave, you should take a moment to pack all the gear on your bike. This is the moment that, like all of us who have taken trips via motorcycle, you discover you have too much stuff! Fear not, that’s what this initial packing effort is all about.

After my recent first-time motorcycle trip to Europe (Split, Croatia, to be exact), I figured I would share some of my tips on how I prepared (and also what I wish I had known). From goats in the road, to switchback after switchback, straight mountain drop offs, confident European drivers who like to cross the center line, and road signs I’ve never seen, I sure got my fair share of learning experiences. However, for as many times as I felt nervous or unsure, there were double the times I widened my eyes in awe at the amazing views I saw and smiled at the wonderful people I met. Croatia was a beautiful place to visit and ride, one that I will never forget. Check out these 10 tips on how to prepare for an international moto trip – and feel free to share some of the things that may have worked for you as well!

It’s “Touring Month” here at MO, and how fitting, ’cause I’ve been riding the wheels off our borrowed Honda Gold Wing for a while now. (Just to let you know I’m not in Honda’s pocket, I’d be just as happy to be riding the wheels off the BMW K1600B, but BMW had to have it back.) I could also be happy to be riding the wheels off a Victory Cross Country 8-Ball, though a quick sweep through Cycle Trader informs me those things seem to be holding their value nicely and are still out of my price range.

Why don’t we go to Baja more often? Well, one reason is the manufacturers want us to get special dispensation before we take their bikes to a foreign country, you need to buy Mexican insurance, everybody speaks a weird language down there, you can’t drink the water… those are all really easy obstacles to overcome, and I’m told you can drink the Baja water now.

We’ve been force-feeding you an awful lot of electric-motorcycle content lately, but here’s something that’s been tugging at my mind for years. We know E-motos are good at racing, commuting and supermoto fundays, but their range – hovering around the 100-mile mark – is what’s limiting them from being truly all-around products.

When last we left it, in February, the BMW K 1600 B won out over a pack of six other baggers on our overnight whirlwind tour to Hoover Dam, Sin City and parts east. Some didn’t feel the six-cylinder German wonderbike should win since it’s not really a V-twin bagger, but then we’re not really bikers, either, so we just picked the motorcycle we liked best. The BMW was the smoothest, fastest, comfiest, highest-tech two-wheeled vehicle out there that sports saddlebags and a windshield.

Spy photographers have spotted a new BMW R1200RT undergoing testing with what looks like a new Boxer engine and other minor changes from the current model.

The limited edition Indian Chieftain Elite is back for 2018, featuring a new silver color scheme.

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.

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?

Motorcycle.com has been following the riding exploits of Michelle Christine, who is exploring adventures on two wheels in between the stand-up comedy shows she performs around the world.

From the moment I thumbed the starter button, I knew I was going to like the 2018 Yamaha Star Eluder. The exhaust note just hit me in the right place and made me smile. Now, the Yamaha product development folks would say that it was because the dual mufflers were tuned to slightly different notes so that they would harmonize, creating a more pleasant tone. Whatever, it worked. And then I got to let out the clutch and pull away from the curb.

Last week, Motorcycle.com was first to break the news of trademark filings for “ Harley-Davidson Bronx.” Today, we can report on two more trademarks we believe were also filed for Harley-Davidson: “48X” and “Pan America.” UPDATE: further filings with the UK’s trademark office confirm these names were filed by Harley-Davidson.