Motorcycle Reviews

Ride Review – Yamaha XSR900

My dog doesn’t care for the Yamaha XSR900. When I arrive home on any other motorcycle the small ball of fur masquerading as a canine runs to the window to stare out at me. But for the last few weeks, I’ve been riding the XSR900, the family furniture destroyer is nowhere to…

Ride Review – Triumph Speed Twin

O, to be a motorcycle journalist in the 1970s. When men were hairy, and bikes were lairy. With their barely-there brakes, explosive power bands and ‘let’s hope this works’ engineering, bikes back then were about as hard to review as cold beer is to drink. If they didn’t break your bones or…

Ride Review – 2019 Street Twin & Scrambler 900

It’s been 3 years since the release of Triumph’s water-cooled Bonneville range. Amongst the first of the new Modern Classics to hit showroom floors was the Street Twin. Powered by a 900cc version of the updated parallel twin, it was the entry-level option in the all-new range. At the time of its…

Ride Review – Royal Enfield 650 Twins

Royal Enfield lay claim to producing the world’s longest constant production motorcycle design. The first Royal Enfield Bullet rolled out of the UK factory back in 1931. Despite it being produced for some 88 years there are still many similarities between the first Bullet and those being produced today. So, as you…

Honda Neo Sports Cafe CB1000R – Ride Review

In the world of modern-retro motorcycles, there’s a new player who is somewhat of a black sheep. That’s mainly due to the fact that this motorcycle isn’t as “retro” looking as it’s brethren. To get around the issue its manufacturer (Honda) has created a new category of motorcycle which they’ve coined ‘Neo…

Retro Bike on a Budget – 5 Cheap Motorcycles

The motorcycle industry as a whole has been struggling through declining sales for several years now. There are plenty of theories as to why this is, but one that I think isn’t being discussed enough is the price. Right now in Australia if you wanted to go out and buy a brand new,…

Motorcycle Reviews

Husqvarna Vitpilen 701-Ride Review

I’d been burning around town on the Svartpilen 401 for a week. The time had finally come to exchange it for the top of the range Husqvarna Vitpilen 701. This was the one I’d be waiting for. Although Husqvarna doesn’t openly state it, this bike is without a doubt a modern interpretation…

Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 – Ride Review

Too much hype can lead to disappointment. We see it almost every time Apple reveals a new product or there’s another episode added to the Star Wars saga. Marketers feed us juicy images and teaser videos to get us all excited, but when the product arrives it doesn’t deliver. This was my…

10 Off-The-Shelf Modern Cafe Racers

Is there such a thing as a factory built cafe racer? If you ask a purist they’ll tell you no way, but Honda, Ducati, Triumph, BMW and several other manufacturers are determined to have you thinking otherwise. It’s become pretty clear that this Cafe Racer fad is well and truly here to…

Kawasaki Z900RS Cafe – Ride Review

I have to confess I tend to get a bit excited when a motorcycle manufacturer announces they are releasing a cafe racer styled machine. I suppose it has something to do with me running this cafe racer focused website for the last 12 years. Unfortunately, my excitement often leads to disappointment when…

Ducati Scrambler Café Racer – Ride Review

A couple of weeks back I flew to Sydney to take part in a ride hosted by Ducati Australia called the ‘Sydney Scramble’. The ride brought a few good people from the online motorcycle community together for 2 days of fun on the current 803cc Scrambler range. We weaved our way a…