Touring / Travel

Motorcycle Gear

Lamenting for a place to store your lunch, a second layer, or maybe even an overnight change of clothes? Some sport bikes offer a mini-trunk with enough space for at least your sunglasses, wallet and maybe your hat if you crush it down. But in general, most are lacking.

Sport Dexterity, Touring Ability.

I've never why sport-touring motorcycles have not caught on big in the United States. Perhaps it is a problem of marketing. Sport riders think the bikes are too much "tour" and, therefore, boring and stodgy.  Touring riders see them as overly "sporty", conjuring images of bent over riders nursing back spasms at the end of a long day in the saddle.  If you fit into either of these templates, you probably haven't ridden the Yamaha FJR1300A.

Motorcycle Rentals

Select one of 280 destinations in over 12 countries.  Then begin your road trip on a Harley of your choice, to the sights of your dreams. Thanks to Harley-Davidson Authorized Rental Operators it is easy to plan a quick get-a-way with a variety of recent-model hogs, including the Sportster, Dyna Glide, Softail, VRSC, and Touring models.

It was a dark and stormy night. No, seriously, it was a dark and stormy night. My lady and I had arrived at the end of a month-long motorcycle sojourn through Spain, and were doing our best to prolong the experience. We had detoured up into the Pyrenees for one final flirtation with the beautiful, remote mountain passes.

Going Noticed and Unnoticed.

If you like going noticed at times and unnoticed at others, read on.

DUCATI ST3 (Unnoticed)

This sport tourer may be quite visible in the photo, but high-tech trickery behind the ErmaxUK windscreen makes it stealth to revenue-collectingspeed detection devices.

Paolo Bari's 7-day tours of northern Italy are ultimate motorcycle experiences. Located in Vicenza, the hotelier and restaurateur's exclusive motorcycle touring company indulges your every sense. Each day ends with excellent accommodations and gourmet meals served with the finest wines. I found it to be a mouthwatering vacation in Italy, where life is comfortable and familiar—and yet charmingly and addictively different.

Ducati Tours

I could have sworn I saw Heidi skipping down one of the many long grassy slopes with her grandfather slowly walking behind her. But, despite the magical views, I had to concentrate on the road ahead as we wound our way through some of the most breathtaking scenery on the planet: the Dolomites mountain range in north-eastern Italy.

Freedom. It is the spirit that drives us to ride motorcycles, and we attain that feeling in ways as diverse as our choice of machines. Of course, freedom in highly organized societies can become a relative thing. Unless we are riding entirely on private property (and sometimes even then), we are restricted by laws governing our sport. Those on custom cruisers are limited by equipment regulations, sport riders by speed limits and off-roaders by land use restrictions.

We sat on our motorcycles, overlooking Monument Valley from the north, feeling this Navajo chant resonating deeply inside, absorbing the awesome beauty and majesty of the vista that lay before us. I was mesmerized, appreciating the moment-to-moment shifting of light and shadow and color, taking it all in with every breath, with every sense.

For many of us, the traditional two-week summer vacation, like our first minibike, is a fond and distant memory. Reluctance to get away from the office, escalating highway traffic, and increasingly nightmarish air travel are among the numerous reasons we find ourselves living in post-vacation America. As a result, busy couples face the vexing issue of how to spend their ever dwindling down time.

At play we were, making a nimble game of the myriad turns of Highway 1, snaking up the coast of California, the Pacific Ocean our loyal accomplice, steadily reeling in our destination: Big Sur. We were aided and abetted in our escape from the city by two very capable sport touring motorcycles, the Honda Interceptor and Triumph Sprint ST.

Legendary British Marque Triumph has always marched to the beat of its own drum. The manufacturer—in both pre- and post-resurrection years—has consistently produced impressive, iconic motorcycles imbued with unpretentious souls that deliver as much in performance as they do on character. The company's eclectic offering for the touring class continues a tradition of stirring the human viscera.

Potato-potato-potato. That repetitive onomatopoeia was once used in a courtroom to describe Harley-Davidson's distinctive V-twin idle, a rumble of such specific timbre and cadence that the manufacturer sought to trademark its sound. Victory Motorcycles, keenly aware of the lure and lore of air-cooled V-twins as popularized by Harley, has literally built its new Vision—not to mention their entire brand—around that storied powerplant configuration as well.

Offering a trio of motorcycles representing distinctly different ways to enjoy touring, Honda is a leader in long-distance motorcycling. The Gold Wing serves as ambassador for the luxury category, the ST1300 represents the more sport-oriented contingent and the VTX1800T is a great machine for the bagger clan. The only similarities among the three machines—other than Honda logos—are shaft drive, windshield, five-speed transmission, and liquid cooling.

The timeless styling of the Ultra Classic Electra Glide requires apparel of appropriate distinction. River Road's Mesa leather jacket is, of course, at home when you are in the saddle, yet does not feel out of place when stopping for refreshments at establishments a few stars higher than a rough-and-tumble roadhouse. The