Two years later

It has in fact been two years and just shy of two months since my last blog entry, not because I lost the love for motorcycles, but because universe had plans of its own and a special way of prioritizing everything we actually don’t want. Many things have happened in the motorcycle world in those two years, and I’m not going to try to recap, instead I will just jump right in as if nothing ever happened. So what’s the current situation?

Motorcycles are still awesome

GS is still the mothership

There are more adventure bikes of than ever before

They are more electric bikes than ever before and I have yet to try one out

I still believe lighter is better in the dirt

Bikers are still some of the nicest people you will ever come across

That is about it.

The reasonable choice for your new adventure motorcycle

ADV. 3 letters in motorcycling, that mean what in the automotive world SUV might mean, although sport-utility is more excitingly interpreted as adventure in the two-wheel world. And even though I'm sure it's just a marketing gimmick to play on the specific mindset of motorcyclists, one needs not be a huge motorcycle aficionado to see that the adventure motorcycle is the new norm.

Even though the exact statistics are difficult (read: expensive) to get, last 20 years have seen the rise of the adventure motorcycle in the way we know it today - large engine capacity, good weather protection, enough hauling capability for two-up and luggage, long suspension travel. We can also note that for many a motorcycle manufacturer the adventure model in their lineup has become the flagship - one that is ladden with all the newest and best technology and stands proudly in the middle of the showroom. Market does seem to be shifting recently, with the middle-weight ADV bikes becoming more popular, but there is still a high demand for those all-road cruise ships we've come to know and love. The most prominent OEMs in the segment are definitely BMW motorrad, KTM, Honda Motorcycles and Yamaha, but everyone dabbles in the segment - even the mighty Harley-Davidson which would in previous years rather be caught dead that to make anything else but a cruiser.

The upsides of riding a modern ADV motorcycle are many, and they are closely connected to their inherent traits described in the previous paragraph, power, speed, agility, ability - but there are downsides, too. Two that are most likely to put anyone off the adventure path are their sheer size/weight - these are large machines with tall seat height, huge ground clearance pushing north of 250kg, and once you add luggage and crash bars and tall windscreen and a tool kit and auxillary lights and all the little things people like to add on their ADVs these become even taller, wider and heavier; and their price - with only a few optional extras, a flagship adventure motorcycle from a top-tier OEM will set you back for at least 20k$, and that's no joke money for an average person.

Luckily, as the adventure segment has been growing for a while, the used market is flooded with bikes, many of which haven't seen much action and have been taken care of, so the majority of riders with not a lot of disposable income have something to choose from. And that brings me (almost) to the actual topic of this article - if I was in the market for a large adventure motorcycle, which one would I choose? Well, I'd choose the Honda Africa Twin, but I'm a little bit of a Honda fan-boy, and I accept that this might not actually be the best choice - the best choice is still BMW R1200/1250GS, and here is why.

The reason I list the two together is because they are mostly the same beast, and it may be too early in life if the 1250 to find an “affordable” used one, and 1200 cannot be bought new anymore - hopefully that explains it. And don't get me wrong, you might live in a place where it's common to ride a 15 year old motorcycle, in which case R1100GS or R1150GS will do just fine, and many would argue that one'd be better off with an old airhead, but that's a story for another thread. Back to the why…

BMW put itself on the adventure motorcycle map back in 1981 when Hubert Auriol won the Paris-Dakar rally on BMW R80G/S (notice the old designation), and with one year giving it over the Honda XR550, it continued to rule Paris-Dakar for the next 3 years. Interstingly enough, BMW Motorrad hasn't won a Dakar rally since (!?) Back in the day though, adventure motorcycles weren't the bikes we know today, they were oversized dirt bikes - dual-purpose motorcycles, with clumsy fairings and much less capable chassis; even the sports bikes of the era couldn't come close in power and capabilities of modern day ADVs, nonetheless the rally bikes. Things were going ok, but the end of the millennium was definitely a street-racer era, so in reality adventure motorcycles didn't rise in popularity until 2004, when although BMW just introduced the BMW R1200GS, Ewan McGregor and Charlie Bowman went on the (now legendary) Long Way Round - riding east (?) from London to New York on a pair of R1150GS BMWs! Intersting thing to note is that the team considered using KTM, BMW andHonda motorcycles, and they decided to go with the KTM - however KTM subsequently declined to participate in the (ad)venture in concern that the this experiment might fail. Allow me to make a presumptuous claim - KTM was absolutely certain Ewan and Charlie would fail on a pair of KTMs, because those machines although extremely capable were utterly unreliable. BMW jumped in and helped make history - GS became a staple designation in adventure motorcycling, and up to date, in all different itterations, BMW has sold over half a million motorcycles wearing that insignia. R1200GS has proven over the years to be dependable and reliable, and there are thousands of testimonials of bikes going to the end of the world and back clocking hundreds of thousands of kilometers without major failures. Of course for a motorcycle that has been around for as long the R1200GS, the aftermarket is huge, and there literally isn't a part for it you cannot find with a quick Google search. BMW Motorrad service network is decent, but the fact that it is such a popular motorcycle means that today you can find a mechanic and parts practically wherever you are in the world. 1200cc boxers are frugal, have just enough poke to keep you entertained, and with some practice one can really dare take them to every kind of terrain. Another thing that many people may also find to be very important when it comes to choosing a motorcycle is resale value - not something many a motorcycle can boast with, and R1200GS holds that firmly no matter which market you are in, there isn't a country in the world that does not consider the iconic boxer twin worthless.

So in short, whether you are in the market for a new or used adventure motorcycle, and you are looking for a capable, reliable, omnipotent, entertaining motorcycle with good service network, huge accessibility and aftermarket and excellent resale value, there is only one obviously reasonable choice for where to spend your hard-earned money - BMW R1200/1250GS.

Why should we always practice riding fundamentals

I'm sure some thing in this life are just like riding a bicycle - you can never forget how to do it. And it's true about motorcycles, or is it?

There are many more implications to safety on a motorcycle than there are riding a bicycle, a minimal instance of hesitation, negligence, distraction, recklessness can end up fatally, or very close to. That's why riding motorcycles requires more than just riding, it requires practice. Anyone who has taken some time off from riding will tell you that there was an smell of intimidation lingering in the air, and it was worse it a person took time off as a consequence of a crash, even if without injury. People like this would be apprehensive, and opposite to many new riders who would chose to start on the biggest, baddest machine, these reconvalescents would usually chose a smaller, lighter, slower motorcycle. The difference is that a returning rider knows there are things he doesn't know, and that's a good thing.

And what are the things so many of us don't know that we don't know? Well, it's the fundamentals. And not just riding fundamentals like swerving, emergency braking, target fixation, but also traffic fundamentals like lane positioning in heavy traffic or blind spot awareness. These are the skills that are not always required, ones we may only need to use once in a blue moon, so how will you make sure you can execute them properly when the time comes? You might have had a really good riding instructor, and you might have practiced these things before, but have you practiced them on your new motorcycle, have you practiced them on that new set of tires you just mounted? Even though the mechanics of a motorcycle are more or less the same, they are also very different from bine to bike, tire to tire.

Practicing fundamentals before you get back in the horse after some time off, or after you've made a change will not only improve your chances of staying alive when things go south, but will allow you to gain confidence in that piece of machinery between your legs as it will allow you to better understand where the limits are and how it behaves.

So next time when you decide to go and explore some new roads, think about some intrinsic exploration and go to a nearby empty parking lot, do some slaloms, figure 8s, swerves and hard brakes. You'll thank me later 🤗

Full range of Tridents

Triumph Trident 660 is all the hype these days, and honestly it's refreshing to see some new bikes in the category, because I'm sick of hearing stories about mt-07 and sv650.

This picture is taken in a Triumph dealers meeting, and apparently there is a whole range of Tridents waiting to happen. Don't know how soon it will come out, but if you ask me - it can't come soon enough.

Triumph was never secretive about Trident being a direct competitor to Yamaha mt-07, but with an adventure bike and a sports tourer, obviously it has the whole CP2 range in it's crosshairs. Now they just need to be priced right and offer good engine tunes to make the 660 tractable enough for different uses. 81bhp and 64Nm in the Trident is definitely competent, but different applications will require some different power bands.

We know Aprilia is already doing a similar thing with the parallel-twin 660 range, with the RS already out and a baby Tuono and an ADV version in the works. Kawasaki has long had the z-650 and the Versys 650, and we are all wishing for the teased off-road model to be a KLR700, so maybe the Z and Versys are expected to grow to 700cc, too.

Whatever it is, I am looking forward to the party!

Are neo-cruisers the future?

I have never been a fan of numbers, and had a serious issue with statistics, but the old saying is that numbers don't lie. I this matter, numbers state that cruiser motorcycle sales are in decline and that the average buyer is more likely to look at the adventure and naked bike segment. Mainstream OEMs, excluding the American v-twin brothers, namely: Harley-Davidson and Indian, have practically stopped development of cruiser motorcycles. New BMW R18 is an exception that confirms the rule. It is not that they do not produce any, they do, but most of them have not had a update in years and the ones that have, kept it minor.

It comes as a surprise to me that the manufacturers from the eastern hemisphere are actually going in this direction, and have a very different approach. Bold looks, smaller displacement and low price seem to be the mantra. We have seen in recent times the Benelli coming out with the 502c, and Royal Enfield extensively testing their 650 twin cruiser/bobber. Do they know something we don't?

And now we have Benda, to the rest of the world quite unknown brand, coming out with a very bold looking, at least from the renders - very well thought out and designed middle weight cruiser. Benda BD700 has low seat height, very powerful stance, fat 310mm-wide rear tire, and looks as an overall well proportioned motorcycle. The oddball here is that it utilizes and inline-4 engine which seems to be largely based in the Honda 650 mill with increased stroke that pushes it up to almost 700cc. It should push out around 97hp, and the top speed will probably be electronically limited to 180km/h. It has a turbine-like headlight which acts as ram-air, and from what we can see in the renders, it is a production-ready design.

Chances are though, that we won't see this bike as it will most likely first be sold on Far East and South Asian markets, but I wouldn't mind taking a closer look at one and trying to understand what this bike is all about.

Is this a modern recipe for a cruiser? Will 21st century highway gangs in leather vests be riding a bunch of 700cc bikes into the sunset? Time will show. Call me skeptical, but I think it's unlikely, then again - I have been wrong in the past

The thrill of riding a motorcycle for the first time ever!

Written by Atiq

As motorcycle riders, we’ve all started somewhere at some point. We’ve all experienced the adrenaline rush, the energy, the excitement – the moment at which you can feel your heart pumping out to the brink of an explosion! All of this… when you first set sight on the first-ever motorcycle that you’re going to saddle and conquer. Yes, even before you get your feet off of the ground.

This is my origin story about turning into the free-spirited rebel that I’ve always dreamt of becoming. If you’ve been through the journey, then sit back reminisce. If you’re starting out on your own fresh journey then I hope this can be a source of inspiration. Either way, read on!

Background

One of my first experiences on a motorcycle was when I was on vacation back home as a child riding pillion with my uncle going from town to town, cutting through traffic, parking anywhere and everywhere. That felt like freedom.

When he would stop to talk to his friend, whom he’d met on the way, he would put his foot down with the engine running, frequently blipping the throttle like he’s ready to launch at any second. That felt badass.

I knew then, I wanted to become a rider some day. But at the time my feet would dangle in the air when I sat on the parked motorcycle, while no one was around, pretending I was cruising around town. I knew I had to wait until I could at least tip toe. Obviously I couldn’t wait! I was desperate enough to try something… I took the motorcycle off its kickstand, rocking the motorcycle (which then felt like a heavy truck) from left to right balancing myself, and fighting hard against gravity. And boy did gravity win. When momentum took over, me and the bike were both on the ground. That drop ended my dreams.

Until one day, when I realized that I had grown over 6ft tall by some miracle and that I could comfortably flat foot any bike on the planet! Now I was ready, I was truly ready. The next step would be to (A) convince my parents and (B) actually learn how to ride a motorcycle. The first part took another 10 years to accomplish, and the next had its own hurdles.

Groundwork

I’ve spent all my life in the UAE where motorcycling is almost a taboo topic, predominantly owing to the extreme weather. But whenever I brought up the topic with absolutely anyone, the blatant response would annoyingly be: “Why? Do you want to become a delivery boy?” (massive respect going out to all the delivery riders who ride all the way through summers and winters inspiring us all!). And as such, with no access to a motorcycle or someone who actually rides, I had to turn to the universal gurus: Google and YouTube.

With enough dedication and research, I had managed to learn everything there was to learn about motorcycles - well not everything, but there’s only so much the internet could teach a noob! I learned anatomy of a motorcycle and the basic principles of riding but things got scary watching crash compilations. Fortunately, I had made a friend who was even more enthusiastic about motorcycles than me, and we would discuss these crashes and the things one should and shouldn’t do when riding in order to avoid such incidents. We were both dreamers, and there was hope!

Training

And so begins the next phase - RIDING. I went through the standard licensing procedure and got my learning permit that said “ دراجة نارية“. I was on cloud 9 and couldn’t wait to get on a motorcycle. I took the earliest available dates to get over with the academic part of the training and moved on to practical training. I showed up at the training center, patiently waiting. I was asked by the instructor to wait outside where the cones were placed. While waiting, I could hear a mighty 150cc motorcycle engine that got louder as it came closer and when it finally came into view, my heart skipped a beat and all I could see and hear was that motorcycle. I couldn’t believe my dreams were coming true. This was the moment I had been waiting for my entire life and I was proud of the fact that I was doing it right. I was officially going to begin training.

When the instructor got off the motorcycle and we got the introductions out of the way, he asked me: “Have you ridden a motorcycle before?”. He was expecting the obvious “YES!”, but was stunned when I told him I had never ridden one before. And then there were some follow up questions after which he was certain that I was a certified noob. I started to feel as though I was the first person ever to show up at the training center, who was there to actually learn how to ride a bike rather than simply to practice for the cone test.

Nevertheless, he had a strategy. He asked me to ride in a straight line and make a wide U-turn and instructed me to keep doing so for the rest of the course. He showed me what’s what on the motorcycle and asked me to hop on, and so I did because obviously I was ready! It all felt so familiar yet so new. All of my countless hours of YouTube training went out the window. This was the real deal and I could hear my heart pounding.

I knew the concept of clutch control: friction zone and bite point. I pulled in the clutch with all my life and held it there. And as I was about to press the ignition, the instructor said: “Stop! Use the kick start”. Kick start? Are you kidding me? I wasn’t ready for that! It was tricky as I had to hold in the clutch, balance the motorcycle and jump on the kick start all at the same time. My first feeble attempt was a failure, so was my second and the third. The instructor told me to really yank it! I did, and the engine was brought back to life! NOW I was gonna start riding.

I slowly started releasing the clutch lever in anticipation, expecting the bike to start creeping forward, at which point I was prepared to twist the throttle, and suddenly there was a jerk and dead silence - an utter ‘facepalm’ moment. I had to do it all over again, multiple times, until I got the hang of it. But once you get going, you really get going and its smooth sailing then on.

Purchasing my first motorcycle

Fast forward to a few months later, I now have my license but no bike to ride. The only experiences I’ve had so far were on 150 cc training motorcycles. By now I had friends who had bought 600 cc and 1000 cc supersports but I didn’t dare to ride them as the internet had me scarred for life. Since we were in the middle of February and riding season was soon coming to an end, I had to get my own motorcycle ASAP. But as it is typical, the good ones, that are fairly priced, get snatched up overnight. I was on the hunt. I was looking for any type of motorcycle that the internet recommended for beginners: small displacement, single cylinders, parallel twins, or V-twins. I was running out of time and luck. I was looking at cruisers, naked bikes, street bikes, anything really that wasn’t a supersport and fit my budget. I set my eyes on a beautiful low mileage Suzuki SV650, started looking up reviews, reading blogs, and watching endless hours of YouTube videos raving about what an amazing bike it is for beginners and experienced riders alike. The hype was surreal, got me excited, got me dreaming of riding it all across the Emirates. However, that too was gone in the blink of an eye.

Just as I was about to give up hope, I randomly opened Dubizzle one night before bed, and I came across a recently posted SV1000. The big brother of the SV650, a thousand cc V-twin - a litre bike! Not knowing much about it, I looked it up, and then it was a whole different story. It was a torque monster. I couldn’t figure out if it was even the right choice for me. But the price was so tempting, I decided to give it a shot. I called up the owner and we arranged a viewing. I fell in love the moment I heard the dual exhaust of the V-twin, and from that moment on, it was all I wanted to have! Nonetheless, I was still terrified so I got my experienced friend to check it out. He pointed out the obvious cosmetic flaws and the work that needed to be done, but I disregarded most of them saying: “It adds character”. And boy what a character it was.

Long story short, after a few days of consideration, I purchased it and was absolutely thrilled, it was mine, I owned it, yet I hadn’t even sat on it! I was terrified after I had heard how torquey it was. I got my friend to ride it home for me and it sat there parked… waiting for its new owner to show it some love. After about a week, I realized I was being ridiculous. I had been waiting all my life for this and then I was too scared to ride it? Pfft. The decision was made, and the thrill and excitement of riding a bike for the first time ever - all came back.

Summary

The first new experiences in life are always the most vivid. And riding a motorcycle for the first time ever is no different. However, what is different, is that you get the same level of excitement and adrenaline rush every time you ride a different bike that is unfamiliar to you. They are all so different, have their own character and charm, it’s like falling in love all over again. That’s whats so great about motorcycles. And I suppose I have to agree with the slogan “2 wheels move the soul” because they do.

That was my story, the beginning. I’m still a freshie and hope to have a long journey ahead, continually evolving, learning, and experiencing new things in the world of motorcycles.

Novice to Expert in 5 (not so) easy steps

I read this somewhere, and it made a lot of sense to me: - Before you assume you are an expert, remember that you are probably an advanced beginner!

“Outrageaous!” - you think? So did I for a split second. Then I pulled myself out of my own butt, and decided on a thorough self assessment. In the process I developed a few categories of rider proficiency, and here they are as I see them.

Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist, and this list is neither scientific nor evidence based, it is purely empirical, and from my own point of view. You should not take it too seriously

1. Novice rider level - Noob!

Novice riders have, from none to basic knowledge of how things work on a motorcycle. They rely on the few techniques they were taught to get them through, without giving much thought to why this, and not that.

Example: Noobs know that they need to downshift while approaching a stop, but they don't know why. They know that bike needs to lean in order to turn, but don’t really think about how that works from a physics or mechanics standpoint. When things go wrong, noobs blame the motorcycle or technique they applied (and probably swear at whomever sold them the bike and thought them how to ride). They never consider that it was the wrong technique for the situation, because they don’t know better. Also, they are overwhelmed with all the information and they try to consider all the variables, as they don't know which variable is important in a given situation. What noobs needs to do is to practice more. Acquire more tecniques, purposefully - one specific skill at a time. It is going to be hard, but as their skills improve they will start self troubleshooting, and figuring which variables are important in specific situations.

2. Advanced Beginner - Neighborhood Rider

These are riders who started being aware of their own mistakes, and although they are still using the basic techniques, now they have become better at them, and hopefully by now - learnt some new ones. They give more context to the things happening and when things go wrong, they go ahead try something different.

Example: Noobs upshift at random revcount, without considering the revs/torque, and blame the motorcycle for the less than optimal acceleration. Now, because the Neighborhood Riders started shifting at different revs in different situations, they are probably aware that there is a sweet spot on any given bike. Perhaps not yet by the sound of the engine alone, but by looking at the rev counter - they just need to find it! They apply this to any and all other skills and they are ready to level up!

3. Competent rider - Commuter

Commuters are competent riders, they are able to consider many variables, and although still using the basic techniques, they start to make their own choices at given situations, which makes them more emotionally invested in the outcome. So because now they have much more information and more skill, in order not to get overwhelmed, they starts creating rules/algorithms: 6000 rpm for quick accelerating, shift body weight before initiating a turn etc. Every mistake from now on will become more of a personal thing for the Commuters, and as competent riders, they want to feel good about their choices and start relying on these rules to give positive outcomes. As the emotinal response to decisions will reinforce the ones with positive outcomes and discourage the ones with negative outcomes, our commuter will develop a more intuitive way of assessing the situation. Think less, ride more!

4. Proficient rider - Street Rossi

Proficient in every sense of the word, Street Rossis will lanesplit as if there was enough space for an 18-wheeler. They will drag knees in roundabouts, and will be comfortable on a bike of any size and shape right off the bat. Proficient riders look the part of Expert riders, and although they intuitively know what the goal needs to be in a specific situation, they still need a moment to rationally choose the course of action

Example: They feel they are in too hot for that reducing radius corner, but they need to think of the correct process to manage it - slow down, not target fixate, look through the corner, off the throttle/trailbrake, lean deeper.. If they had intuitively known what to do in that situation, they would have been…

5. Expert riders - Old guys on sports tourers

OGST's ride the most comfortable, fastest possible motorcycles. Bikes are just extensions of their butts and they do everything without a second thought. Old guys on sports tourers won't have trouble deciding what to do, but more likely, trouble explaining why they did what they did. Researches show that, less than 1% of all riders fall under this category. OGST's are not easy to come by, and if you ever wonder who they are, you'll know them when you see them. And if you ever see one, take their number and let me know I would loooove to talk to them!

Now you tell me where do you think you are on my skill level chart, comments are down below.

In future blogs and vlogs I'll elaborate on each level separately, and suggest the exercises you can do to level up!

Have a great one!

Blast from the past

This morning, while doing some market research for this, soon to be running, operation, I came across an old study, that placed MTT - Marine Turbine Technologies, a company from Southern Louisiana, that designs, engineers, produces and refurbishes jet turbine engines, as one of key players in motorcycle industries. I have to say, the name did not ring a bell, so I opened up a new tab and decided to see for myself. And there it was, Y2K, the jet bike... I thought to myself: “ I remember you, you old behemoth with that - whale face”. Just staring at it for a while made me happy. Balls... These guys have some huge ones. Coming out with something so outrageous, that it verges incomprehensible, means that Isle of Man TT riders have met their match.

The original Y2K, it shows signs of age, technologies have improved so much that something 20 years old, looks and feels out of the stone age, not that it's lacking, it's just dated. And if you do think that it's Fred Flintstones bike, you might have a point, because the the Rolls Royce Allison 250 gas turbine engine is a 50 year old technology, however, sticking 420hp/52,000rpm and around 500ft/lbs of torque in a motorcycle that weights just around 500lbs is something that even nowadays only a few OEMs will try. Because it's not profitable, or because they have nothing to prove, or just because they are so worked up about profits and shares and markets, that they don't make things just because they can.

Did I mention it runs on Diesel? It runs on DIESEL!

And that is exactly why MTT did it. Because they could, and because they were told it cannot be done. There is an old saying - “The person who says it cannot be done, should not disturb the person doing it”, and there we have it.

Y2K costed 175,000$ when it was new in the year 2000, and nowadays you can pick a used one up for - well… you can't really. There aren't many, or ANY for sale, and I suspect even if there are they are not much cheaper than there were new. Luckily, MTT has a new, updated version, the 420, it's race ready and looks pretty neat if you ask me. They even went out on a curb and made a trike! Now that's a proper mobility scooter if I ever saw one!

In reality, most of us will never have a chance to ride, or even see one in person, and pictures and low quality old YouTube videos is all we have to experience what's it like to be in a presence of an absolute legend.

MTT 420 RR