Jul/Aug '09 - RoadRUNNER

RoadRUNNER

Jul/Aug '09

July/August 2009

Triumph Modern Classics

Triumph Modern Classics

> In 1959, Triumph's legendary 650cc Bonneville began rolling from showroom floors. Named after the Bonneville Salt Flats, where speedster Johnny Allen had piloted a Triumph-powered streamliner to record velocities three years before, this model would go on to become one of the iconic machines in the

Piaggio Presents...

Piaggio Presents...

Piaggio - parent company of Aprilia and Moto Guzzi motorcycles and Vespa and Piaggio motorscooters - wants to be your motorcycle and scooter supplier. To demonstrate its commitment to the U.S. market, the company recently opened the new Piaggio Group Americas (PGA) technical center in Costa Mesa, California. The 12,000

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Range

Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 Range

> In his best-selling book, Blink: the Power of Thinking without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell describes the usefulness of rapid cognition, the two-second critical judgment we all make when meeting someone new, walking into a building for the first time - or when riding a new motorcycle. I thought it

2009 Kawasaki Versys & Suzuki Gladius

2009 Kawasaki Versys & Suzuki Gladius

Up until the latest bubble burst, nearly everyone was extolling the virtues of behemoth motorcycles, often to the near exclusion of smaller machines. Back then, with some form of "size matters" splattered on nearly every bike magazine cover, it seemed like everybody was taking out equity loans on

2009 BMW F 800 GS

2009 BMW F 800 GS

> The moral of the age-old tale is: Sometimes you have to taste a lot of porridge before you find the bowl that's "just right." Though I admire its go-anywhere capability, I've always found BMW's R 1200 GS Adventure rather

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Vancouver Island, British Columbia

The sign is up for "Free Beer: Tomorrow" in the pub where Steve, Jim and I sit planning our Vancouver Island tour. And it seems that the gratification of good old West Coast sunshine will be delayed another day, too. The forecast promises the weekend will be fine,

Shamrock Tour® - Savannah, Georgia

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Savannah, Georgia

Kathy and I have heard many tales about Savannah, Georgia's great food, fun pubs, and its arts atmosphere for years. And though many Southern sojourns have taken us tantalizingly close, the quick going-elsewhere spell of the super-slab has always prevailed. Until now our glimpses of the

Reader Ride: Sweet Virginia

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Sweet Virginia

Between the Blue Ridge and the Alleghenies lies a mystical land that has attracted pioneer farmers, statesmen, soldiers and settlers. It brims with scenic beauty and inviting roads of escape, all interwoven among the valleys and hills of this lush region. It's more than enough to make any

Eastern California

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Eastern California

When I first learned to ride a motorcycle over a year ago, there were two places I wanted to go: Alaska and Saline Valley, a long, remote desert basin on the west side of Death Valley. Within the first year of learning how to ride, I did both. The California

Baltimore to St. Clairsville, OH

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Baltimore to St. Clairsville, OH

Road building in eighteenth-century America had always been a local responsibility, but an Act of Congress in 1806 called for a federally constructed road that would connect the waters of the Atlantic Ocean to those of the Ohio River. Baltimore, Maryland, an important shipping port, is where the National

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Into Africa

Clinging precariously to the northern tip of Africa, Ceuta is the last Spanish enclave in this vast continent and the point from which our Moroccan adventure begins. At the border, it's late November and 100 degrees. We park in the shade, and Lisa has to remain behind, guarding

Southeastern Arizona

Jul/Aug '09 Premium Content

Southeastern Arizona

As we are finishing a preview of a typical Frank Lloyd Wright museum tour, our gracious guide, Kimberly Higgenbotham, tells us that when asked which of his projects was his favorite, Wright would invariably reply "the next one." It occurs to me that this might be my own