#featured

Recently, we brought you the story of Michael Czysz, designer/architect to the stars, fervent motorcycle enthusiast, and a visionary in the motorcycle world. It’s a tale of the man, his passion, his unfortunate illness, and how motorcycles make him feel alive again. Judging by the comments left by you, our readers, Michael Czysz has had an impact on many of you as well.

My first drag down the airport runway aboard Can-Am’s new 2015 Spyder F3 was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of tire squeal and the smell of torched rubber. This was not, however, the result of dumping the clutch at high RPMs on the base model’s six-speed manual transmission. This was the up-spec F3-S with the SE6 semi-automatic transmission. Nothing but horsepower, baby! Intrigued?

The new Scrambler is the first new-model announcement from Ducati this year, a stripped-down, retro-hued roadster that will cut a broad swathe of demographics, from hipster 20-somethings to nostalgic Baby Boomers. It’s also the platform that will ensure Ducati’s air-cooled V-Twin powerplant a life beyond 2015.

UPDATE: Suzuki Motor of America has confirmed the GSX-S1000 and GSX-S1000F are coming to the U.S. as early-release 2016 models.

The dance of the Seven Videos (okay, nine) is over at last, as Kawasaki releases its jaw-dropping new H2R.

BMW pulled the covers off a new R1200R featuring the liquid-cooled boxer engine first introduced on the R1200GS and also equipped on the R1200RT and the newly revealed R1200RS.

The fall motorcycle season kicks off in Cologne, Germany, with the 50th edition of the Intermot show. The biennial showcase rivals EICMA as one of the biggest motorcycle shows in the world with more than 200,000 visitors expected. Several major manufacturers will be revealing new 2015 models at Cologne. BMW has already confirmed it will reveal three models including an updated S1000RR for its home motorcycle show, while its Austrian neighbor KTM has also announced it will present its 1290 Super Adventure. Ducati‘s lengthy teaser campaign for the Scrambler will finally come to a head at Intermot, while Kawasaki’s supercharged Ninja H2 is already an early favorite to be the biggest news of the show. Other brands such as Aprilia, Moto Guzzi and Yamaha have already released information on their new Intermot show models, but we wouldn’t be shocked if they have a few surprises in store as well. Motorcycle.com will bring you all of the latest Intermot updates from Germany starting Sept. 30. Keep checking this space throughout Tuesday morning for more 2015 model releases as they happen!

It goes without saying you need a new motorcycle, a new one to you, anyway. What’s sometimes less obvious is exactly why you need a new motorcycle, especially if you need to justify it to others who contribute to your Gross Family Income. It becomes even more difficult if you don’t have a particular bike in mind. It’s too easy at that point to let it slide, to cruise happily along in your current flip phone, zombie-like state, while you attend to affairs which seem more pressing but really are not. Don’t fall into that trap. At MO, we’re always here to help extricate you from the mundane.

Michael Czysz has a reputation for bucking trends and marching to the beat of his own drum. After creating his own gas-powered superbike, then an electric version that lapped the 37-miles of the Isle of Man TT at an average speed over 100 mph, Czysz’s motorcycling career has seemingly been one of David trying to topple the OEM Goliath and beat the odds.

When dreaming of exploring the globe on two wheels, adventure riders usually dream big, aspiring to high-end machines like BMW’s iconic R1200GS and KTM’s wonderfully fast and capable 1190 Adventure. However, those lust-worthy globetrotters are priced in a strata that is a stretch for the reality of most riders. Both have entry fees starting around $16,000, but adding optional accessories can bring the MSRPs dangerously close to $20k.

There’s been a lot of buzz about Kawasaki’s relentlessly teased H2 sportbike, but information with any details is thus far practically non-existent. The only things certain are that it will be powered by a supercharged inline-Four engine and packaged in a fully faired sportbike platform.

The little bottle of lube was the first sign things were different. Then the lack of any noticeable gears, ratchets or levers was another. “What the hell do I do with this thing?!” I thought to myself. Realizing I might be in for a tougher challenge than I expected, I broke the first rule of the Guy Code. I read the manual.

The 2014 GP TIM di San Marino e Della Rivera di Rimini will be remembered for a number of things in years to come. The 54,543 Italian fans in attendance experienced the ecstasy of watching their idol, Movistar Yamaha mullah Valentino Rossi, win for the first time since Assen in 2013 and for the first time in Italy since Misano in 2009. They witnessed the annual crash of the impertinent Marc Marquez, who laid his Repsol Honda down going perhaps 35 miles per hour in Turn 4 of Lap 10. They saw their national motorcycle, Ducati, place two riders in the top five. And, for the first time since The Renaissance, they could head home feeling their country may have turned the corner after 500 years of uninterrupted decline.

Beginner bikes. Save for the obscure cruiser-ish thing you rode during your MSF courses, the two we hear more often than not for learning the moto-trade, especially if sporty-type riding is your thing, are the Kawasaki Ninja 300 (and formerly 250) and Honda CBR250R, now to include the CBR300R. However, we’re here to remind you there are other, potentially better, options.

Kawasaki is building hype around its new, and potentially groundbreaking, Ninja H2 sportbike with a series of short videos. Each one highlights a certain aspect about the bike, and last week’s third teaser video was an audible delight, as we got to hear the supercharger discharge get expelled every time the throttle was closed.