Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

I am quite fond of my Dainese Torque 3 Out Air Boots, and they have been my three-season boots here in warm, dry SoCal for years. Unfortunately, the exceptional venting means they are not waterproof. When I started planning my Ducati Multistrada 4S tour in Virginia and North Carolina, I learned that, on average, there is a 30% chance of rain during the week I would be there. That’s before the current weather patterns were considered. So, I figured I better be prepared for all eventualities. What I settled on were the Dainese Axial Gore-Tex Boots. They offered the two features I was most concerned about (other than excellent protection) on this trip: venting for hot weather and waterproofing for April showers.

Top-notch features

With Gore-Tex in the name, the Axials are guaranteed to be waterproof – and somewhat more breathable than other waterproof boots. This was very important to me during a tour in the Southeast because of the possibility of both rain and humidity. Additionally, perforations would add a degree of cooling out on the road.

With the boots’ upper meeting my requirements, I looked towards the protective qualities. Aside from the abrasion-resistant D-Stone outer shell, the primary protection comes from the Axial Distortion Control System, which allows freedom of movement for operating the controls on the bike but protects the delicate ankle joint from twisting injuries. Constructed of lightweight carbon and aramid fiber, the Axial Distortion Control System also guards against penetration injuries. Additionally, a nylon heel cup combines with a nylon-reinforced toe to protect the rest of your foot in a tumble.

The zippered rear entry and speed-lacing system make donning and doffing these boots easy without compromising the snug fit around the ankles that both aids in protection and makes them so easy to move around in. The speed lacing system helps hold the ankle and heel in position for less movement within the boot without being overly snug for maximum comfort on and off the bike. Two elastic straps allow the rider to tune how tightly the inner portion of the rear closure hugs the Achilles’ tendon.

Although I was born and raised in Virginia and North Carolina, I’ve done relatively little riding in the two states. When I got my first motorcycle license, I literally packed my belongings on my bike and set out for California the next day for a three-month, 11,000-mile tour. So, when I received the invitation to my 40th high school reunion (OK, 41st. Thanks, Covid.), thoughts of spending some quality, two-wheeled time in the mountains of my home states immediately came to mind.

After reaching out to Ducati, I was informed that I could pick up a 2021 Ducati Multistrada V4S in Charlotte, NC. Although the bike was a 2021 model, it has been upgraded with the 2022 firmware for the smartphone-powered infotainment system and now features a new, button-operated suspension lowering mode among other changes. Since Ryan has already written an in-depth review of the Multistrada V4, you should read that article first if you’re unfamiliar with all of the bike’s technical details or you want to know how the V4 did in the dirt. As I envisioned this tour, I figured that five days would give me ample time to see how the big Ducati would behave on your typical sport tour. In retrospect, maybe I should have set aside seven. Or ten.

Editor Score: 94%

Setting the stage

My first full day with the Multistrada was destination focused. After a brief visit the night before with family and friends, I needed to get from Charlotte, NC to Richmond, VA as efficiently as possible, meaning it would be a 320-mile freeway slog. That’s fine. Whether or not you think the Multistrada’s prefix should be adventure or sport, it has tourer in its classification, and this day would be a great way to test its freeway mettle.

In case you didn’t read the subhead above, Michelin is the world’s largest manufacturer of tires. In the motorcycle world, Michelin has the contract to supply the tires for the MotoGP series, providing the best riders in the world with the grip that only they can exploit. Aside from those tidbits, Michelin has been on the forefront of most of the major breakthroughs in tires. For example: It made the first removable pneumatic bicycle tire (which didn’t need to be glued to the rim) in 1891, the first run-flat tire in 1934, and the first radial tire in 1946. The radial automobile tire didn’t really get to the US until the late 1960s, when Michelin partnered with Sears to sell them as Allstates. More germane for us, Michelin’s first radial motorcycle tire burst into the limelight on the back of Freddie Spencer’s 500cc Grand Prix Honda in 1983.

Michelin Motorcycle Tires: Everything You Need To Know

That’s pretty cool, but what we’re here to celebrate is Michelin’s agreement to provide one lucky Motorcycle.com reader with a free set of Michelin motorcycle tires of their choice. Yep, you can order a set of Michelin Road 6 sport touring tires that we’re currently flogging for a review, or you could win a set of cruiser tires, touring tires, off-road tires, or even track day tires. All you need to do is give us your email address, which, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t much when you consider the potential for thousands of miles of motorcycling pleasure.

Now, it seems kind of silly to have to say this, but if you want to win, we have to notify you that you’ve won. So, you’ll need to enter a functional email address and make sure that the Motorcycle.com domain is whitelisted with your spam blocker. You have no idea how many entrants have missed out on their prizes because they never responded to the notification email and forced us to move further down the list of entrants. Do the right thing.

LiveWire announced it will reveal its next electric motorcycle on May 10. Dubbed the S2 Del Mar LE, the new model will be powered by a new modular Arrow EV architecture and slot in under the LiveWire One as a new middleweight-level model.

Harley-Davidson Takes LiveWire Public, Announces New Arrow Powertrain

The announcement was accompanied by a brief video released on social media channels that shows some flat track racing footage and the tag line “The Next Victory Lap.” The footage appears to be of Harley-Davidson factory rider Scott Parker racing at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Oct. 11, 1998, for his fifth straight national championship.

The video also offers a brief, but distorted look at the S2 Del Mar LE, showing the rear of the bike from its left side.

LiveWire previously confirmed the S2 Del Mar would use the new Arrow architecture, which combines the motor, battery, inverter and on-board charger into a single unit. The Arrow EV system would be scalable to suit a range of configurations and performance levels. The S2 indicates middleweight-level applications, which will eventually be followed by lightweight S3 models and heavyweight S4 models.

Here at Motorcycle.com, all of our staff wear earplugs every time we ride. We value our hearing, and we want to make sure we can hear our bikes’ exhaust note for years to come. Consequently, we’ve tested tons of different types and brands of earplugs. What’s really cool is that, after seemingly generations of little movement beyond the foam plugs of old, we’re currently in a period of technological growth in earplugs.

MO Tested: EarPeace Moto Pro Earplugs Review

After our positive experience with MO-branded, limited-edition EarPeace earplugs, we decided to join forces with the folks at EarPeace again to create a limited edition product for our fellow MOrons in celebration of Motorcycle Safety Month this May. After receiving a prototype that has the Motorcycle.com logo on a red earplug container, we know we have another hit on our hands. So now, you can carry a little bit of MO with you when you ride, showing that you’re a discriminating motorcyclist.

Motorcycles And Hearing Loss

Wearing earplugs means that you’re aware of the danger to your hearing that riding a motorcycle poses. At 65mph wind noise inside a full-face helmet can exceed 100dB. OSHA has defined 85 dB as the intensity beyond which there is the potential for permanent damage to your hearing. In other words, the longer you listen to sounds above 85 dB, the more cumulative damage you will suffer. Hearing protection is an extremely important part of your motorcycle gear.

Ten years ago, the www and Motorcycle.com had finally established a bridgehead, and were attacking on all moto fronts, including the video one. Shame about the cheesy music, but that’s how copyright law works. If you’re not feeling Harley’s new Sportsters, perhaps remembering the SuperLow will stimulate your affection glands – though our main complaint ten years ago was, wait for it – two inches of rear-wheel travel. 

The Sportster hasn’t been all that sporty for some time now – that is aside from the 2021 Sportster S that the Nightster shares more than a handful of tricks with. It’s been 65 years since Harley-Davidson introduced the Sportster as America’s answer to the British invasion of bikes that had begun to increase in popularity Stateside around that time. Back then, folks used their motorcycles for everything – drags, trials, enduros, scrambles, hare and hounds, road runs, and Sunday cruising. You could do it all on a Harley according to the 1958 ad for the Sportster CH and C models below. The market wasn’t so segmented.

Editor Score: 81%

That is, of course, not to discredit the history the Sportster model has had in competition. While my 30-something-year-old view of the Sportster knows it as a platform for customizers and the gateway drug into the H-D fold, the dynamic character of the bike is the reason the Sportster line has been so popular since its inception. From enduros and drags of the late ’50s and ’60s, to the hooligan races of today and all of the customized machines along the way, the Sportster has been used in a myriad of ways by enthusiasts of every ilk. With the all-new Nightster, what we have now is a Sportster with some seriously modern sporting capability.

The Triumph Trident 660 isn’t the first middleweight naked I would consider taking to the racetrack. Then again, sometimes I forget that some people only own one motorcycle that they use for everything. But, that didn’t stop Akrapovič from developing and manufacturing a closed-course only race-line full-system exhaust for it. I suppose if someone had to do it, it may as well be the Slovenians with their in-house titanium foundry and metallurgical laboratory.

Renowned worldwide, Akrapovič exhausts can be found in the most elite levels of racing – both in the motorcycle-verse and automotive. A common sight from MotoGP to MXGP and all the way to your local racing scene, the Slovenian company has been around since 1991, but has managed to amass more than 140 world titles to its name since 2000. 

Out with the old, in with the new

For modern motorcycles – ones complete with sophisticated emissions systems anyway – an aftermarket exhaust should be considered for weight savings, aesthetics, and sound for most folks. If you’re looking for power, even a full system on its own is unlikely to produce much more than the stock unit thanks to automatically adapting O2 sensors, and modern engineering in general. 

The stainless steel and titanium race system that we received weighs in at just under 10 pounds with all of its hardware – 3 lbs for the header, 3 lbs for the mid-pipe, 3 lbs for the silencer, and just under a pound for its hardware. The stock unit (with its required emissions internals) tipped the scales at 18 lbs. Eight pounds is not an insignificant weight loss on a 427-pound motorcycle, but given that the Trident’s stock unit was packaged so low on the motorcycle in the first place, it’s hard to notice any significant changes in handling right away. Resident racer, Troy Siahaan reminds us of the old racer knowledge that, “losing seven pounds is about equal to gaining the power of one horse.”

The US motojournalist/influencer corps doesn’t look much at all like the people in the ads for Indian’s new Scout Rogue and Rogue Sixty. Carey Hart did meet us for lunch in Ojai during our ride, and he’d fit right in. The former MXer/freestyler not only looks the part, he actually builds custom motorcycles in his own big shop.

But most of the rest of us are quite a bit older, less tattooed and pierced, and make our living typing and politicking instead of grinding metal and being cool. It’s impossible for us to maintain that fashion-model scowl when we’re riding around on free motorcycles on a beautiful spring California day with our old besties.

Editor Score: 81%

You may be shocked to learn that most of us, truth be told, aren’t the biggest cruiser fans either. But all of us are willing to play along to keep this most excellent ball rolling, and the fact is the modern cruiser is a far more engaging thing to ride than most earlier efforts. You could almost credit Indian for that. We named the all-new Scout our Motorcycle of the Year in 2015, and the pressure that bike put on Harley-Davidson couldn’t have gone unnoticed when it was time for the new Sportsters just now rolling out. Also, Indian’s success following Victory’s failure might have even caused the Japanese to ponder, what’s in a name? A lot, apparently.

GasGas officially revealed two new single-cylinder streetbikes, the ES 700 dual sport and the SM 700 supermoto. Both models will be released internationally as 2022 models, but North American consumers will have to wait for the 2023 model year.



With GasGas now under the ownership of Pierer Mobility, the 700 models share much in common with their counterparts from KTM and Husqvarna. From the image juxtaposition below, you can see the similarities, and differences, between the GasGas SM 700 and the KTM 690 SMC R. The GasGas ES 700 is likewise based on the KTM Enduro R.



The engine remains a liquid-cooled 693cc Single claiming peak performance figures of 74 hp at 8000 rpm and 54.2 lb-ft.at 6500 rpm. Both GasGas 700 models are fitted with PASC slipper clutches, six-speed transmissions, and up-and-down quickshifters.

GasGas is preparing to reveal its first street-legal models tomorrow, but photos of one of the models have already leaked online.

As we were first to confirm back in February, GasGas will be adding two street legal models to its lineup, the SM 700 supermoto and the ES 700 dual-sport. Over the last week, GasGas has been teasing an announcement on social media, hinting at two new models. Most notably, the teaser shows one bike equipped with mirrors, which suggests a street legal model, a first for the Spanish brand.

Later posts confirmed a reveal set for April 26, showing more details including a headlight. Though the launch isn’t until tomorrow, it appears GasGas’ web team has already been prepping its official site. A landing page for new GasGas “Travel” models popped up online last week and was quickly taken down again. Italian site Moto.it was first to publish the leak, but its post has also been taken down. Thanks to Google, we’ve been able to pull up a cached version of the page and get our hands on it, including the first photos.

Official specs and details were not revealed, but the text confirms the ES 700. Translated from Italian, it reads:

Naturally, I reached for my Aerostich. The sport-tourer’s uniform of choice, it seemed like the right thing to wear when the invite to test Suzuki’s newest sport-tourer – the 2022 GSX-S1000GT+ – popped up in my inbox. It offers full-body protection from both the ground and the elements, is easy to take on and off, has loads of pockets, and has room underneath for layers (including an airbag, in my case). I felt like I made the right decision when I hopped on the bike. 

In hindsight, maybe I should have grabbed my leathers. 

Editor Score: 93%

Instead of a relaxing ride through some of central California’s best roads, we were hauling arse, channeling the inner GSX-R inside. Strafing corners like we were going for Superpole and letting the big Gixxer-based engine eat when the road opened up, for 300-plus miles we were living in our own little Isle of Man TT. And this was just day one. When we finally stopped to smell the roses, it dawned on us that we had a handlebar instead of clip-ons and saddlebags behind us with a change of clothes and a toothbrush. Maybe we should have taken the Suzuki reps seriously when they told us the GSX-S1000GT+ was a sport-touring bike with the heart of a GSX-R.

One score (that’s 20) and no years ago, Honda re-sampled possibly its greatest hit – the 750 V-four Interceptor it had been building since 1983. A perineal favorite of sophisticated riders ever since its inception, not to mention winner of a slew of roadracing championships, the new 2002 VFR800 gained a few pounds, a fashionable undertail exhaust, and Honda’s VTEC variable valve system. It remained one of the slickest sporty tourers of all time, and Honda must’ve lost money on every one. The Gen 7 VFR800 that replaced it, circa 2014, was somehow neutered and overpriced, and when the last VFR quietly disappeared a few years later, few mourners were in attendance. Sad. 

Dear Rick,

As we’re all not aware, the Mean Streak was a power cruiser Kawasaki sprung in 2002, when power cruisers were a big deal. The Harley-Davidson V-Rod had appeared a few years earlier, in 1999, and imitation was the sincerest form of flattery then as now – even weak imitation.

Cardo Systems has been a leading manufacturer of motorcycle communicators since 2004 when it introduced the first Bluetooth headsets designed for riders. The latest from Cardo is the Packtalk Edge, a new flagship product offering faster connectivity, improved sound quality, and a more compact chassis.

The Packtalk Edge is powered by Cardo’s second-generation Dynamic Mesh Communication technology. Like the first generation, DMC gen. 2 can connect up to 15 riders within a range of up to a mile (or 1.6 km), and is self-healing, allowing riders to reconnect to the network automatically if they move out of range. The second generation system is simpler and offers a faster grouping process than earlier Cardo communicators while providing clearer wideband intercom audio for improved sound quality.

For connecting with headsets from other manufacturers, Cardo equipped the Packtalk Edge with a Bluetooth 5.2 chip, with faster pairing and improved security, while also working more efficiently to prolong battery life compared to the 4.1 chip used on previous Packtalk headsets.

Cardo worked with JBL to redesign the sound system for the Packtalk Edge. The 40 mm JBL speakers are the same size as the Packtalk Bold’s (though smaller than the 45 mm speakers on the Packtalk Black), but the sound quality improved thanks to a new music processor and three redesigned audio profiles.