RideLust

Motorcycle reviews are something fairly new to The Smoking Tire, but our pal Matt has a lengthy history on two wheels. Like the esteemed Mr. Farah, I once relied on motorcycles as primary transportation, and I can echo his sentiments; living in Colorado, where it can and will snow from September through April, bikes are a poor choice as a daily driver. If you’re lucky enough to have the budget for a bike as a weekend toy, the tough decision becomes which style, then which model, to pick. Read More…

Image: Victory Motorcycles

In biker speak, a “bobber” is a bike that’s had everything you don’t absolutely need removed to save weight. The front fender is usually the first to go, followed by the rear fender being cut short or “bobbed”, hence the name. Bobbers use a stock frame, as opposed to choppers, which generally have their frames modified to increase fork rake. Forks on bobbers are generally stock, while forks on choppers are usually stretched to provide a custom look (at the expense of handling). On the evolutionary scale of the motorcycle, bobbers represent the first climb out of the primordial stock bike-only-ooze, and they’ve still got a loyal following of riders. Read More…

A few months ago when I was at the LA Auto Show I got a chance to check out Ducati’s new Diavel motorcycle in person. First off let me just say that it is a sexy bitch, so sexy in fact that I am absolutely thinking about purchasing one. You see the Diavel is like the Italian version of Yamaha’s V-Max muscle bike, a machine that, for years went completely unchallenged in the segment. When the Diavel was first released it was clad in Ducati’s traditional red and black paint scheme, but now thanks to loads of consumer feedback Ducati has decided to hit us with what they call, “Diamond Black”.
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