Carving through Chuckwalla Valley Raceway’s bowl, on my way to setting a personal best lap time on a completely stock motorcycle, I came to a realization: Aprilia’s Tuono 660 Factory is a cheat code to the middleweight naked bike class and sporty riding in general. On the surface, it is unintimidating with a flat handlebar and seemingly modestly sized...

Adventure riding means different things to different people. For some, it means coffee shops and the occasional dirt road. For others, it means remote villages, passport stamps, and getting lost to find yourself. For me, the DesertX calls up a mental image of the Dakar heroes of yesteryear aboard Cagivas—and based on the shared color scheme the association is...

The most important Harley-Davidson model since 1970? Hard to argue against the 1971 FX Super Glide. It’s the first “factory custom” and the detonator for the explosion of what became the cruiser market. Even if the trademark boattail bodywork proved to be unpopular and was removed from the 1972 model, this bike paved the way for a period of...

The peak of superbike evolution right now? Hard to argue against the 2026 Ducati Panigale V4: the bike that in our tester’s R model 998cc homologation guise is utterly dominating the 2026 World Superbike season. Every year it turns up with even better aero and even smarter electronics to get even more performance for the track. And this 2026...

This is not only a momentous time for Norton but also for the entire motorcycle community, as the “new” Norton, now owned by TVS Motor, jumps back into the fray with the all-new V4 Norton Manx R. Why so momentous? Because Norton, for all its well-documented highs and lows, remains perhaps the most evocative marque of them all. Established...

Chinese motorcycle companies continue to make inroads to the US market. Some, like Kove, Voge, and CFMoto, function under their own original brand names. Others, like Moto Morini, apply a historic name, in this case Italian, to its motorcycles. Moto Morini is headquartered in Milan, Italy, and uses Chinese manufacturing of its parent company–Zhongneng Vehicle Group–for production..embed-container { position: relative;...

They’re approachable, they’re affordable, and they’re getting really good: Small-displacement, lightweight adventure motorcycles are lowering price tags and opening doors in the ADV world. Take the 2026 Moto Morini Vettore 450, for example. It shares an engine and many chassis components with the CFMoto Ibex 450, but with an Italian twist on a Chinese-made, value-priced lightweight ADV. The question...

There are press launches, and then there are statements.Suzuki didn’t just roll out the refreshed 2027 GSX-R1000R 40th Anniversary Edition for the world’s motorcycle press. Instead, it staged a six-hour endurance race at Circuito Monteblanco outside of Sevilla, Spain, complete with a Le Mans-style start, pit stops, and rotating stints. It’s the kind of event usually reserved for factory...

The original three-cylinder Triumph Trident may not have achieved the enduring and iconic status of its twin-cylinder Bonneville stablemate, but it is widely regarded as one the best high-performance roadsters of its time. Produced between 1968 and 1975 it was as quick as it was accomplished and, for a moment at least, took the fight back to Honda’s CB750...

Triumph Motorcycles introduced its 400cc models in 2023 and has since sold more than 150,000 of them. The lineup now expands with two new models: one that revives a historic name–the Thruxton–and one all-new, but still rooted in Triumph racing history–the Tracker 400. These bikes add new style and improved performance to the 400 platform. Updated TR-Series EngineThruxton and...

The lightweight adventure bike market is red hot with a plethora of options now available for riders who seek the road less traveled, and with the 2026 KLE500 ABS, Kawasaki has entered the rally that is the small-bore ADV segment. Albeit with a somewhat familiar face.Originally released in 1991 for the European market, the KLE500 enjoyed a solid run...

Beneath the bodywork of the Yamaha YZF-R7 is a CW-dyno-proven 65 hp engine that also powers the Tenere 700 adventure bike and MT-07 naked bike. Yamaha’s R7 entered the middleweight class as an accessible sportbike and won a lot of hearts. This year, flexible engine remains, but Yamaha reworked its aggressive stance and styling, sporty riding position, adjustable suspension,...

The 2026 Ducati Hypermotard V2 SP marks the end of an era. But not for me. The first time I rode the Hypermotard 950, the V2’s predecessor, I knew that motorcycling would never be the same. It gave a 215-horsepower experience for 115-horsepower money. It was motorcycling amplified, unadulterated, and hyperstimulating. I wasn’t in the market for a new...

As we made our way to Elephant Moto headquarters for the start of an ADV tour on BMW’s R 1300 GS, all of my preconceptions about Colombia bubbled to the surface. My big brother’s warning rang in my ear: “don’t get kidnapped.” Four of us were crammed in a van, juggling helmets and jackets on our laps, when we...

For a company like Harley-Davidson, updating bodywork is not as simple as choosing an efficient new design. In fact, through the sheer cultural force of its traditions, the Motor Company is especially susceptible to this conundrum: Do too much and you’re straying too far from the brand’s identity; do too little and you’re not updating enough to keep up...