Canadian Biker - Oct/Nov 2016 | Canadian Biker Magazine

The October / November 2016 issues of Canadian Biker has been mailed to our subscribers and will be available on newsstands and through single copy sales.

The Milwaukee-Eight. It’s big news on the cover. There have only been a handful of new motors over the past one hundred years for Harley-Davidson’s big v-twins. The names have become iconic – panhead, shovelhead, knucklehead. The all new engine – the Milwaukee-Eight doesn’t have a nickname yet but we are sure the motor company is betting big that it joins that legendary list. The new mill will be arriving in a couple of displacements and be housed in the 2017 touring bikes. We attended the international launch which took place just across the water from our offices in the Olympic Peninsula region of Washington state to experience the future of air-cooled power delivery. As it is a challenge to change something so integral to the very character of Harley-Davidson motorcycles you might just be surprised at both the stated goals of the Milwaukee-Eight and what the new motor does to the experience of riding one of these bikes.

Elsewhere in the issue we ride the Yamaha FJ-09. Having recently ridden the XSR900 and attended the launch of the FZ-09 we felt it prudent to go back and take a look at the missing link between those two machines in the triple based line-up. Does the FJ-09 represent an extension of a great riding experience on a lauded platform or did the FJ-09 stretch the parametres just a little too far? The answer to that is going to depend a lot on want you want the bike to do.

Also ridden in the October/November issue is the Suzuki GSX-S1000F. Remember when sportbikes were fun on the street? Not so intent on track potential as to make real world riding an afterthought? The GSX-S1000 takes us back a little over a decade to find an origin story – in this case the motor is a direct descendant of the 2005 GSX-R1000 mill. It was potent back in the day and it is still potent today but with more readily available torque and the awareness that all those sport bike riders who fueled the original sport bike boom are now looking for something with the excitement but also a nod toward comfort. They all can’t jump on the ADV bandwagon which makes the toned downed GSX-S a great alternative.

Our travel story this issue is about travelers as our contributor Trevor Marc Hughes heads to Nakusp, BC to attend the Horizons Unlimited Travelers Meeting 2016. This is the meet and greet you want to attend if you plan on a jaunt down to the tip of South America. The long way down, the long way around and the long way over – these are the folks that have done it just about every way. Marc both shares his experiences on the road and learns from other with different experiences.

It may not be common knowledge but the world’s longest motorcycle relay takes place in Canada and involves members of Canada’s military police. In an effort to raise money for charity the relay is a long and challenging journey across our country. We visit with riders as they make their way from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland.

What else? A Triumph chopper based on a 1971 T120R looks exactly like a classic chopper should. A beautiful cafe racer custom originating from a SR400 proves – much like the aforementioned Triumph – that to get it right it is good to start with the basics. Vintage Hall is an Ariel Cyclone and we hear from the technical director of BMW Motorrad on why you can expect to see a lot of BMW riders at the top of the podium.

Enjoy.

Subsequent Issue: December 2016 Previous Issue: September 2016

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Canadian Biker – Oct/Nov 2016

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