Basem's Motorcycles Blog July 2007 Archive

It's hard to overstate the impact the film On Any Sunday has had on motorcycling, and one of its most memorable highlights was the breathtakingly fluid riding of Malcolm Smith, ... Read More

Yes, that's right: we're putting horsepower before year, make and model. Why, you ask? For starters, the Concours boasts the most horsepower in its class, and the only thing more ... Read More

The "penny test" has long been the standard for determining when tire tread reaches dangerously low levels, but The Tire Rack recently conducted a study that suggests that the top ... Read More

I attended my first MotoGP race this past weekend, and it only seemed proper to celebrate the occasion by riding up to the event. My motorcycle of choice was ... Read More

Britain's Motorcycle News has reported that Honda might build reproductions of its revolutionary CB750, and according to MCN, a prototype should be shown at October's Tokyo Motor Show. Especially since ... Read More

BMW has announced they will acquire Husqvarna Motorcycles, the manufacturer known for building rugged, off-road bikes as seen in the seminal 1971 film On Any Sunday. Dr. Herbert Diess, General Director ... Read More

Suzuki has beefed up their 2008 lineup, which includes three new bikes and numerous model revisions. Though the Lilliputian DR-Z70 dirt bike and the substantial C109R cruiser are new for '08, ... Read More

Changes are brewing at Harley-Davidson, and it was quite a thrill to see the '08 bikes presented firsthand by Bill Davidson and the H-D crew in Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, ... Read More

Holler if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that most motorcyclists aren't avid environmentalists. While there may be a handful of tree-huggers who choose to lessen their impact on natural ... Read More

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company is summoning Hog owners everywhere to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for what promises to be a raucous celebration of epic proportions. All roads, originating from 105 starting points across ... Read More

As if the Honda/Harley merger rumors weren't bad enough, Victory (aka the "other" American bike builder) is now taking orders on their Vision, which will reach consumers this fall. Its styling ... Read More

For the past several weeks, the business world has been abuzz with rumors that Honda, the venerable Japanese manufacturer, is scheming to buy Harley-Davidson, the all-American symbol of two-wheeled freedom. The ... Read More

Using their first ever liquid-cooled engine* in a street-legal bike, Buell's new 2008 1125R enters the superbike fray with a host of firsts from the Harley-Davidson-owned manufacturer. Mechanically, the 1125R features ... Read More

It might not seem like a lot of money, but it's a start. The AMA recently praised the motorcycle industry for funding a long-overdue motorcycle crash study, the first major effort ... Read More

It's launch season in the motorcycle world, and I recently attended a press event in Santa Rosa, California for an intriguing new, '08 model: the Kawasaki Concours 14. Santa Rosa's known ... Read More

If lower price tags and longer service intervals have made Ducati's new 1098 and Hypermotard motorcycles more accessible, the Italian manufacturer is also keeping exclusivity alive by releasing a special ... Read More