Sep/Oct '05 - RoadRUNNER

RoadRUNNER

Sep/Oct '05

September/October 2005

Yamaha Majesty

> Webster's definition of 'majesty' begins many sage enumerations with "sovereign power, authority, or dignity." Lofty implications, those. But Yamaha appears not at all concerned. Appropriated, these terms laud a lithe arrival in the Court of Maxi-Scooters. And even though it's ceding

Honda VTX1800R

> All right, all of you cruiser guys can line up to give me a moto-wedgie for what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyway. Seven-hundred-and-fifty pounds of dry mass on a two-wheeled chassis is heavy. Yeah, yeah, sure...I can hear all you

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R vs. Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R

Kawasaki Ninja ZX-12R vs. Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R

> I felt an adrenaline rush simply from reading Christian's e-mail message, "Eric, could you do a test ride for us as soon as you return from Thailand? Hayabusa vs. ZX-12R. Please let me know." Talk about an offer I couldn't refuse! In my

The World of the Triumph Thruxton 900

The World of the Triumph Thruxton 900

The Thruxton 900 is a tribute to the days when a motorcycle was about rebellion and freedom, instead of a fat wallet. Welcome to an England of a bygone era. Thruxton Race Circuit The first race was held at a former air base in Hampshire in 1952. In 1968, it

2006 Harley-Davidson VRSCR

2006 Harley-Davidson VRSCR

The whispers began almost immediately. No sooner had the motojournalists finished wiping their lips after their first taste of the V-Rod at its introduction in 2001, than they began licking their chops at the prospect of a Revolution-powered, pure performance bike. Oh sure, the V-Rod was one heck of a

Australia: An Outback Excursion

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Australia: An Outback Excursion

I don't know what came over me. What on earth was I thinking? After one year spent traveling across Africa and its numerous border crossings, I had become an utterly cynical creature of habit, all too used to victimization at the hands of frontier officials. Those hands, I

Northwest Washington

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Northwest Washington

Shelly Harper, owner of the "destination shop" Scooter Stuff, tells me "Business is great." I've stopped by her solitary store on a quiet country road close to Whatcom Lake in Northwest Washington to see what it's all about. Oddly, though, there are

Portugal: Curves, Culture, Cuisine

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Portugal: Curves, Culture, Cuisine

Either the flight to Portugal took more out of me than I thought or my normally nutty dream pattern has been kicked up a notch. Somewhere within the jet-lagged haze of a nap, a distant cuckoo clock chimed fifteen, paused, and began another rhythmic announcement of an hour well past

Scranton, Pennsylvania

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Scranton, Pennsylvania

What is it about riding the back roads that creates such an intimacy with the surroundings? Maybe it's the heightened sense of awareness that's required for this type of riding. The mind is wide open, processing not only the sights, but the rhythms and even the

Carving Canyons in Utah

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Carving Canyons in Utah

Torrey would be an unremarkable small town in Utah but for two things: the soaring crimson cliffs of the Capitol Reef National Monument that overlook it, and Highway 12, which ends there. Arguably the most exciting motorcycling road in the state, it's a 100-mile continuum of fast, open

Shamrock Tour® - Eugene, Oregon

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Eugene, Oregon

"Skinner's Mud Hole" is hardly a name civic boosters would use to attract settlers to a new city. But in 1852 that's what everyone called the township Eugene Franklin Skinner established on the banks of the Willamette. Following his first spring there, when the

Central Alabama

Sep/Oct '05 Premium Content

Central Alabama

Where is it? I know it's around here somewhere. After all the pictures and movies, it shouldn't be that hard to spot, yet for some reason it seems to be eluding me in the early stages of the tour. Oh well, they say patience is a