John M. Flores

Mar/Apr '19 Premium Content

Laconia, New Hampshire Shamrock Tour®: Autumn Leaves

Long after Laconia Motorcycle Week is over, and long after the summer vacationers have left Lake Winnipesaukee and gone back to school and the humdrum of workaday life, Gary and I show up at Weirs Beach on a pair of black-as-night BMWs (me on a K 1600 Grand America, Gary

Sep/Oct '19 Premium Content

Maryland and Virginia: Old Bay

More than 150 rivers and streams wind their way from New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, and empty into the Chesapeake Bay. At 200 miles long and 30 miles wide at its widest point, this estuary’s shallow waters (average depth is just 21 feet) and countless bays,

May/Jun '19 Premium Content

New York City: More than Apples in the Big Apple

New York City is the original melting pot. Generation after generation of immigrants from all over the world have come here to settle in neighborhoods in one of the five distinctive boroughs and make this place their own. A motorcycle is one of the best ways to unlock The City’

Jan/Feb '19 Premium Content

Billings, Montana Shamrock Tour®: Touch the Sky

I land in Billings and meet Cameron at the moto-inspired MoAV Coffee House. We’re both eager to spend time in Big Sky country, and brand-new 2018 Gold Wings await us at Montana Honda & Marine. The next morning we start with breakfast at Stella’s for strong coffee and

Nov/Dec '18 Premium Content

Patagonia: Return of the Guanaco

We started at the southern tip of the continent and have seen many wondrous things. After a day off the bikes, the adventure of a lifetime continues … As much as I might have enjoyed a second day lounging on the shores of Lago Gral Carrera, it feels good being back

Sep/Oct '18 Premium Content

Kentucky to Idaho: Totally Eclipsed

I look for excuses to ride. Are we out of milk? I’ll be right back! Have you heard about the new breakfast joint that serves real maple syrup? Let’s check it out this weekend! Did you know a total solar eclipse is crossing the entire country? Let’s

Sep/Oct '18 Premium Content

Patagonia: Cry of the Guanaco

Write it down, write it all down before you forget! Write about the bikes, the people, the roads, the plains, the mountains, the lakes, the rivers, the glaciers, and the guanaco. Don’t forget the guanaco … Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina We gather in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in

May/Jun '18 Premium Content

Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York: In the Tire Tracks of a Pioneer, Pt 5

The home stretch. With the mountains and deserts and most of the country at his back, riding from Chicago to New York City should have been the easiest part of the trip for Wyman. It wasn’t. Against all odds, George A Wyman had crossed the Sierra Nevada, the Great

Mar/Apr '18 Premium Content

Nebraska to Illinois: In the Tire Tracks of a Pioneer Part 4

Surely the Midwest will be easier to cross than the Sierra Nevada, the Great Basin Desert, and the Rocky Mountains, right? For modern interstate travelers, it’s a yawn fest of endless, unchanging miles tempered only by sagging eyelids and bladders about to burst. But when George Wyman came this

Mar/Apr '18

2018 Kawasaki H2SX/SE and Z900RS

> You’ve gotta hand it to Kawasaki. In the midst of a lot of industry handwringing over declining sales and questions about how to draw new riders to the fold, Kawasaki used the IMS show in NYC to double down on their bread and butter: fast bikes. They had

Jan/Feb '18 Premium Content

Lonesome Wyoming: In the Tire Tracks of a Pioneer, Part 3

In May 1903, George A. Wyman left San Francisco with the then crazy idea of riding his motorcycle all the way to New York City. Into the Rockies East of Ogden, the sharp, rocky 9,000-foot peaks of the Wasatch Range look impenetrable, but the Weber River has patiently carved

Nov/Dec '17 Premium Content

Utah and Nevada: Tire Tracks of a Pioneer, Part 2

In May 1903, George A. Wyman left San Francisco with the then-crazy idea of riding his motorcycle all the way to New York City. More than 100 years later, I’m retracing his steps on an electric motorcycle. After riding from San Francisco to Reno, the journey continues. The 40-Mile

Sep/Oct '17 Premium Content

California and Nevada: In the Tire Tracks of a Pioneer

In May 1903, George A. Wyman left San Francisco with the then-crazy idea of riding his motorcycle all the way to New York City. In the Beginning I stand at the intersection of Market and Kearny Streets in San Francisco. Tall buildings block the sun and reflect the noise of

Jul/Aug '17 Premium Content

Western New York: Exploring History on a Scrambler

Peel back the thin veneer of modern life and you will find layers and layersof history, stories of struggle and conquest, innovation and revolution. Turn your motorcycle into a time machine and immerse yourself in the past. Fun fact: there are more museums, historic sites, and historical societies in the

Mar/Apr '17

2016 Zero DSR: Riding Toward the Future

> In the hills above Santa Cruz, the yellow diamond sign with the thick, curved black arrow pointing left says “20 MPH.” I roll off the throttle and the 2016 Zero DSR washes off speed like it’s a big V-twin, but instead of the bark of an engine under

Jul/Aug '16 Premium Content

Bristol, Vermont Shamrock Tour®: Base Heart of the Green Mountains

Northern Vermont offers a variety of riding, from twisty mountain passes and remote winding roads to scenic farmland. New York’s Adirondacks are nearby, offering even more to explore. Bristol It’s early September and the morning fog clings to the still, lush trees in Bristol, VT, a blink-and-you’ve-missed-it

Nov/Dec '15 Premium Content

Catskills, New York: A Man Out of Time

A short ride turns into a big adventure and poses a big question, “Can a Royal Enfield take you back in time?” The midday sun pokes through the canopy of leaves and warms my face. I hear a distant voice. “Wake up.” I’m in a deep slumber, swimming in

Nov/Dec '15

Review: 2014 Royal Enfield Continental GT

> The 2014 Royal Enfield Continental is slow, terrible on the highway, and completely and utterly impractical. Not only that, but it vibrates excessively at any speed above 10 mph, doesn’t have ABS or traction control, and lacks engine mapping modes and other technological advances. And I love it.

May/Jun '15 Premium Content

Boston, Massachusetts to Baltimore, Maryland: Life of Pie

Pizza is the United Nations of food, the one dining option that a group of hungry riders can readily agree upon. Burger joints are for carnivores; salad bars are for rabbits. But pizza, ubiquitous pizza, can be customized for nearly everyone. Chew on this for a second—on any given

Jul/Aug '14 Premium Content

Kentucky: Doughnut Hunting Going Around in Circles

We came here seeking doughnuts. No, not the dunkin’ kind; calling those toroids doughnuts is like calling Chef Boyardee Italian food. No, we’re here for the real deal. And we’re willing to ride to find them. Thoroughbred From the rolling waves of Kentucky Blue Grass come some of

May/Jun '14 Premium Content

Ontario, Canada: O Canada? Fugghedaboutit!

“What?!” It’s Canada Day weekend, and it seems like everyone and their grandmother is getting out of Toronto and hauling all sorts of pop-up campers, canoes, motorboats, and bored teenagers with them. Back home in Jersey, there would be tailgating, passing in the right lane, and cussing as well

Jan/Feb '14 Premium Content

Vermont: One if by Land. Two if by Sea. Three if by KLR.

Water is entering the top of my Alpinestars Alpha Touring boot as the entire left side of my body is being introduced to the cool refreshing waters of Pond Brook. The trusty Kawasaki KLR is getting a much needed (yet unexpected) rinse—the victim of an underwater obstacle and an

Sep/Oct '13 Premium Content

Maine: Moby Lobster

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago I was haunted—by a lobster. Not just any crustacean, mind you, but “Moby Lobster,” a Maine variety so tasty and succulent that it lives on in my dreams. Every other dinner decapod since then has been doomed to mediocrity. Can you imagine how

Jul/Aug '13

Comparison: 2012 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S Touring vs. 2012 Moto Guzzi Stelvio NTX

> What we have here are birds of a feather, V-twins from the land of Chianti and chiaroscuro that represent two very different interpretations of the fastest growing segment in our little playground—adventure touring. Both marques have a strong touring heritage, so it’s no surprise that they’ve

Jul/Aug '13 Premium Content

Las Vegas, NV, to Sturgis, SD: Off the Cloud in the Wild West

Modern life is grand—always on the go, always connected to the “Cloud,” always tweeting, pinning, liking, sharing, and then recharging so that we can do it all again. It is, admittedly, overwhelming sometimes—even for The Digital Rider. In the midst of these thoughts, an email arrives. It’s