Gear Brands
Suzuki Could Release the Chinese-Made Haojue DR300 as Its Own
Could This be the Suzuki GSX-S300 Suzuki and the Chinese motorcycle company Haojue have a strong partnership. Haojue has a new DR300 naked motorcycle and now the Indian press, publications like Zig Wheels, is speculating that Suzuki could release that motorcycle as a Suzuki model with the model name GSX-S300. Haojue isn’t a well-known name …
Harley-Davidson Begins “The Rewire”
A Big Mistake? Harley-Davidson is feeling the full brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis. The company is to put it plainly doing really poorly (big surprise, huh?). Because of this, Harley decided to restructure its strategy from the “More Roads to Harley-Davidson” plan that was put in place by the former …
Cake Ösa+ and Ösa Lite Deliveries Begin
The Bikes Will be Delivered Several Markets The innovative electric motorcycle company Cake has some interesting machines. The workhorse of the lineup is the Ösa model. Cake sells an Ösa+ and Ösa Lite, and I recently received word from the Cake team that the new model will now be delivered to United States customers. Europe, …
MV Agusta CEO Says It’s Focusing on Its Dealership Network
MV Agusta CEO Timur Sardarov Is Taking Point MV Agusta’s CEO in an interview with Italian media outlet Moto.it said that the company is reworking its dealership network. He called the previous dealership network a “practically destroyed dealership network” and the next move for the company will be to not only rebuild it but to build …
Could the TVS Apache RR 310 Birth a BMW G 310 RR
Another BMW Made by TVS? TVS has been in the news a lot lately due to the fact that it bought Norton Motorcycles, but the Indian motorcycle manufacturer has been in the big leagues for quite some time. The company has a partnership with BMW to produce the BMW G 310 R and G 310 …
Brixton Motorcycles 1200 Concept Will Enter Production
A Triumph Bonneville Challenger Enters the Arena If you don’t know about Brixton Motorcycles, then let me introduce the company. It makes classic-looking motorcycles in Europe. They’re handsome and fun machines priced reasonably. The company introduced a 1200 concept not too long ago, and according to MoreBikes, that motorcycle will now enter production. The Austrian …
Indian Motorcycle’s Sales are Actually up in Q1 of 2020
A Feat in Today’s World Yesterday I reported that Harley-Davidson is struggling pretty hard to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the economy. It seems Indian Motorcycle is much better suited to weather the storm. Indian’s sales were actually up seven percent when compared with Q1 of last year. Polaris owns Indian, …
Twisted Road Now Protects Owners and Riders for up to $1,000,000
All the Protection You Could Need The motorcycle rental company Twisted Road announced two significant changes recently to its insurance policy for both riders and motorcycle owners renting their motorcycle. Owners will now receive $1 million in liability coverage free of charge. Riders will now be able to receive up to $1 million in coverage …
Harley-Davidson’s Business Is Hurting Due to Coronavirus
COIVD-19 Takes Its Toll The COVID-19 pandemic has been hard on every industry. The market has dipped considerably, and Harley-Davidson wasn’t able to escape it. Like other motorcycle company’s Harley is struggling to cope. The company saw sales drop by 18 percent in Q1 of 2020 when compared with 2019’s Q1 sales results. In terms …
NIU Launches the NQi GTS and UQi GT
Electric Scootin’ I’ve written about NIU before. The company has a lot of electric scooters around the world in various rideshare programs. Now it has launched some new electric scooters in Italy. The scooters are the NQi GTS and the UQi GT. They’re both small commuting scooters, and they provide good performance for urban environments. …
Indian Teases the FTR Carbon
It’s Coming May 1 On May 1, Indian will reveal the FTR Carbon. The upcoming new version of the motorcycle was recently teased on Indian’s YouTube channel. It was touted as the closest thing to the champion flat track racing bike. This would suggest to me that it will be fully decked out in carbon …
Energica Resumes Production
Getting Back In the Swing of Things I reported that Italy’s motorcycle manufacturers are starting production again since the COVID-19 outbreak. One of them kicking things back in gear, so to speak, is Energica. The company resumed production yesterday and will continue to ramp up production from there. Soon the company will be back to …
My Prediction for 2020’s Motorcycle of the Year
What Is the Best New Bike? Looking over the long list of new or updated motorcycles for 2020, I have to say that there are some truly killer machines out there this year. There are far more new or updated models than I originally thought, and there are standouts in each segment of the motorcycle …
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 Fireball Coming?
Adding a Fireball? The rumor is that Royal Enfield has a Meteor 350 in the works, but new information suggests the company will add the suffix Fireball to the bike’s name. GaadiWaadi recently posted an article with some leaked images that showed the suffix added to the bike. It’s unclear exactly what this means. Maybe …
Former Harley-Davidson and Land Rover Boss Announced as Interim CEO of Norton
The New Norton Begins to Emerge Stuart Garner ran Norton Motorcycles into the ground, opening the door for TVS Motors to buy the company and start rebuilding. One of the company’s first moves was to appoint John Russell, formerly of Harley-Davidson and Land Rover, to the Interim CEO position with the brand. According to MoreBikes, …
Kawasaki Starts Home-Delivery Service
Another Brand Offering This With few people coming out to dealerships right now due to the Coronavirus, it makes sense to do home delivery. Several companies have started to do so and now Kawasaki is one of them. The company recently announced its home delivery program. This will be done through the current dealership network. …
Deals We Love This Week: Select Klim Gear Up to 46% Off
Premium Gear, Not a Premium Price Klim makes some killer gear and if you’re an adventure rider you already know this. The company is equipping the folks out there taking the truly killer rides, but the gear comes at a price. Klim gear is expensive, so it’s important to keep an eye out for the …
Brembo Makes Million Euro Donation to Fight COVID-19
Trying to Stop the Coronavirus With some companies beginning to return to work after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, you might think we’re out of the woods. Well, that’s not the case yet. It will be many months before the pandemic is under control. Brembo is here to help. The company recently made a …
In India, the Biggest Suzuki You Can Buy Is a 250
Say Goodbye to Suzuki Large Displacement Bikes The upcoming emissions standards for the Indian market have killed off more bikes that we really like to see. It has opened up room for some new models as well, but now Suzuki has canceled all of its street bikes bigger than 250cc, according to various sources. The …
Trevor FTR Stella Is an Electric Flat Tracker
A Cool Electric Bike Most electric bikes fit into a few different categories it’s they’re either small commuter machines or they offer something on the complete another end of the spectrum and usually a sportbike. The Trevor FTR Stella is a little different. This bike is an electric flat track racer. Coming from Trevor Motorcycles, …
Ducati Is Back to Work, Others Will Follow
Getting Back on Track COVID-19 threw a giant wrench in the inner workings of the motorcycle industry. Bike manufacturers from all over were temporarily shutting down, and now it looks like things might start to reopen. According to OmniMoto, Ducati is easing back into production again. A number of Ducati employees are back in the …
[In-Depth] SENA Momentum EVO Review
The Sena Momentum Gains Mesh… After reviewing the Sena Momentum Pro last fall, based on that positive experience, I was hoping to have another Momentum helmet review opportunity…seeing as how the Sena Momentum EVO with Mesh had just been announced while completing the Momentum Pro review. Fortuitously, while coordinating the provision of a Sena SRL …
[Review] Volt Heat Fusion 12V/7V Dual-Source Heated Vest
Foreword A big thank you to Chris at Volt Heat who provided the Fusion 12V/7V Dual Source Heated Vest for this review along with the (reviewed) Fusion 12V/7V Dual Source Leather Motorcycle Heated Gloves and a 12V Heated Jacket Liner with Therm Controller for a future review. Introduction Compared to what is happening on a …
[Review] Volt Heat Fusion 12V-7V Dual Source Leather MC Heated Gloves
Foreword A big thank you is due to Chris at Volt Heat who supplied wBW with the 2XL Volt Heat Fusion 12V/7V Dual Source Leather Motorcycle Heated Gloves and subsequently, one of the first (new) Fusion Vests in XL with wireless Bluetooth interface and App (wBW review to follow). Introduction Winter in this part of …
MotoGP Could Race With Minimal Crew and No Race Fans
COVID-19 Racing MotoGP, like all other forms of sporting events, hasn’t been able to continue in the wake of COVID-19. Races have been postponed or canceled, and people are looking for a solution. One of the solutions being considered according to an email shared by Asphalt & Rubber is that races could be held behind …
Jawa Will Bring Bikes to Europe
Expansion Continues Jawa Motorcycles burst back onto the scene in 2018. Its resurgence was plagued by some issues, but it’s safe to say interest in the company is high. There’s a lot of promise with this company, and now it seems Jawa will bring its bikes to Europe. According to Indian Autos Blog and several …
Ducati, Piaggio, and Other Motorcycle Manufacturers Looking to Reopen
Getting Back on the Throttle In the Before COVID-19 (BC) days motorcycle manufacturers were churning out bikes developing new ones and things were chugging along rather well. After COVID-19 (AC), motorcycle manufacturers were forced to temporarily shut down and put all things on hold. Now companies are trying to return to the good ole BC …
Aprilia Has an Upcoming Small-Displacement Adventure Bike
It’s a 250cc Aprilia is known for its sportbikes, not adventure bikes, but the company recently saw success with the Terra 150 in Asia and now the company seems to be working on a 250cc. According to MoreBikes, the bike in the image above is a 250cc tester that was spotted. The spy photographer snapped …
The Royal Enfield 650 Twins Have Sold Well in 2020
The INT650 and Continental GT Royal Enfield, like many other motorcycle manufacturers right now, is having a tough time selling motorcycles in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s sales were down by 44 percent in India in March, according to Car and Bike. There is some good news, though. The company’s 650cc motorcycles, …
This Katalis EV500 Design for an Electric Scooter Is Awesome
The Electric Scooter The World Needs So, electric scooters seem to be gaining ground, and I would expect they will be an important force in the motorcycle world in the future. I have one big problem with the vast majority of them: they’re ugly. That changes with the Katalis EV500. Katalis is an Indonesian design …
Honda Patents New Mini Bike Design
The Rebirth of the Z50? Honda has the new Monkey, which is a fun and silly-looking bike based on the Honda Grom, but apparently that isn’t enough. The company looks like it’s thinking of an even smaller Mini Moto model. MoreBikes revealed some new patent drawings that show a smaller bike than the current Monkey …
Watch the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-25R Four-Cylinder 250cc Scream on the Dyno
That’s an Angry-Sounding Motorcycle Small 250cc motorcycles don’t usually have four-cylinders so, Kawasaki’s new Ninja ZX-25R is a unique machine. Unfortunately, at this time it is not going to be a North American model, but I hope that changes. Recently, the folks at Kawasaki Indonesia posted a video of the ZX-25R doing its thing on …
TVS Says Rebuilding Norton’s Brand Is Biggest Priority
Restore the Brand to its Former Glory It’s no secret that Norton Motorcycles has been in dire straights for quite a while now. After the company entered into administration TVS was able to purchase the brand. The Indian company has said the British brand’s production will stay in Britain. In a recent interview with Motorcycle …
Alpinestars Showcases Some New Adventure Touring Gear
Need Something New to Wear on Your Next Adventure? Alpinestars has some killer new adventure riding gear. The company recently showcased some of its new gear in a press release. The pieces included a jacket, pants, and two backpacks. If you’re planning a big motorcycle adventure in the next year or so, then these pieces …
Dymag Wheels are On Sale
No 2020 Isle of Man Puts These Wheels on Sale With the Coronavirus postponing the Isle of Man 2020 and the Superbike Race Series, Dymag has excess stock of race specification wheels. That means the company will sell these wheels at a notable discount while supplies last. The company issued a press release, which was …
Former Royal Enfield President and BMW Group India President Rudratej Singh Dies at 46
A Blow to the Motorcycling Community Rudratej Singh died on April 20 of cardiac arrest. He was only 46 years old, according to Bloomberg. Singh was the head of BMW Group India and had held that position since August 1, 2019. He is perhaps best known for being the former Global President of Royal Enfield. …
TVS Motors Won’t Move Norton Motorcycles Manufacturing to India
Manufacturing in the UK Still TVS Motors recently purchased Norton Motorcycles, and there was a lot of speculation about what would happen to the UK facilities and if Norton bikes would be made outside of the UK. Well, according to Car and Bike, TVS Motors doesn’t plan to move any Norton Motorcycles manufacturing to India. …
NIU Offers Free Transportation to Healthcare Workers
The Electric Scooter Company Is Trying to Help The electric scooter company NIU wants to help with the Coronavirus pandemic in the only way it knows how by providing scooters to healthcare workers. The company wants to offer free transportation to healthcare workers. NIU is strongest in China. It has 1050 stores in 181 cities …
Watch Some Honda Cubs Take Things Off-Road
They Do Surprisingly Well The Honda Cub is the best-selling motorcycle of all time, but the bike isn’t known for off-roading. However, that’s what a group of guys do. The YouTuber zeze NoPro recently put together a little video of he and some of his buddies taking a group of these little motorcycles on some …
Powersports Employees Are Now Essential Workers
Newly Revised Federal Guidelines The U.S. federal government recently revised the guidelines around essential workers. Now included among the list of essential workers are powersports employees. Also included are manufacturing, distribution, sales, rentals, and maintenance. This clarifies some of the ambiguity around the powersports industry. Previously, automotive repair and service workers were included in the …
