Sep/Oct '08 - RoadRUNNER

RoadRUNNER

Sep/Oct '08

September/October 2008

Shamrock Tour® - Southern Illinois

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

Shamrock Tour® - Southern Illinois

Some nicknames make perfect sense. I often answer to Red, nothing out of the ordinary for a carrottop, and my college roommate, Fats, was usually one of the last to leave the pizza buffet. But every now and again, you run across a moniker that leaves you downright mystified, like

Key Largo to Key West

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

Key Largo to Key West

It's surprising how much island hopping one can do without booking a cabin on a cruise ship - and in southern Florida that's exactly what I might have had to do if it hadn't been for one wily oil tycoon. Instead, comfortably settled into

California: Along Hwy 49

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

California: Along Hwy 49

"In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mineDwelt a miner forty-niner, and his daughter Clementine.Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my darling, Clementine, You are lost and gone forever, dreadful sorry, Clementine." Rambling around the western shoreline of Lake Tahoe, I'm reminded

The Natchez Trace Parkway - From Mississippi to Tennessee

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

The Natchez Trace Parkway - From Mississippi to Tennessee

Many of the roads loved most by motorcyclists are timeworn remnants. Too often, when a forest or mountain stands in the way, it's been a simple matter of putting the big equipment to work indiscriminately slashing trees and moving tons of dirt to fashion the perfect point-A to

Reader Ride: Doing the Dempster

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

Reader Ride: Doing the Dempster

Stretching across the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada, the 720-kilometer Dempster Highway wanders for days through untamed wilderness to reach the frontier outpost of Inuvik. Backtracking its length is the only way off the tundra, but rest assured that not a single moment of this incredible adventure will fail

Newfoundland's T'railway Provincial Park

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

Newfoundland's T'railway Provincial Park

Located at the northernmost tip of North America, Newfoundland offers a vision of barren beauty that attracts half a million tourists each year. And after finding out the big island also has a 550-mile railway trail system that's open to motorcyclists, we couldn't possibly resist the

Sep/Oct '08 Premium Content

China

Delicate white lilac blooms and the rosy blush of peach tree blossoms herald the arrival of spring in Beijing. Some Chinese residents have helped me with the importation of my motorcycle into the country, and now my new friend Pai and I are strolling in the glorious garden of the

2008 Piaggio MP3 400 & 500

2008 Piaggio MP3 400 & 500

> It takes a lot to catch the jaded eye of a typical New Yorker. But here we are in the metropolis astride Piaggio's second wave of funky 3-wheeled MP3 scooters, drawing long stares everywhere we go. One urban hipster eyeing the passel of Piaggios exclaims, with just

2008 BMW R 1200 GS & R 1200 GS Adventure

2008 BMW R 1200 GS & R 1200 GS Adventure

> What is it that makes a motorcycle great? Is it all-around ability, or sharply focused functionality in a specific area? For the R 1200 GS series, a hot item for BMW aficionados with over 75,000 of them already sold worldwide, it may be both. While sales are a

2008 Victory Vision Touring

2008 Victory Vision Touring

> Before I laid eyes on it and spent four days touring with it, the Victory Vision wasn't on my short list of "must rides." But all of the preconceptions I had - that the bike's styling was too futuristic, it wouldn't

Two August Agustas

Two August Agustas

> Early morning light bathes the seductively shaped sculptures in warm radiance. Curvaceous bodywork, distinctively flared fuel tanks, brilliant red paint and the assertive thrust of those symmetric silencers denote great style and speed. The marque badges, with their iconic lettering, simply proclaim the obvious: MV Agusta. Near the end

2008 Kamp Kawasaki

2008 Kamp Kawasaki

Once a year Kawasaki hosts a get-together for its friends, the media, as well as past and present racers. The event is always scheduled to coincide with the AMA races at Infineon (formerly Sears Point) Raceway in Sonoma, California, and special guests at this year's gathering included Gary

New Kymco Models

New Kymco Models

> Now that gas prices have smashed through the roof, interest in alternative transportation is soaring sky-high too. For a company like Kymco, known for economical and reliable scooters, those circumstances have created the perfect opportunity to go all in and ride to the rescue. However, one of the first