As we often do, we cover a wide spectrum of motorcycles in Canadian Biker #358 – all the way from cruisers to ADVs to electric motorcycle to a classic.
Let’s get special and start with a few cruisers. We celebrate the arrival of the 2022 Harley-Davidson CVO bikes. The high-end offerings from Milwaukee were announced later than the initial 2022 bikes. A bigger new motor makes the wheels go faster for both the new CVOs and a new sub-family of “ST” machines including the Low Rider ST.
LIMITED EDITION
We also run down other limited edition or “special” offerings from various manufacturers for the upcoming year. There are always opportunities to spend just a little more for the extra bling. Some of those opportunities may surprise you – one-off seats, accessories and watches for example. We did however find one limited bike that is actually less than the “special” version meaning that not everything is going to cost more.
Elsewhere, we take a trip to California to ride the Pikes Peak edition of Ducati’s Multistrada as the Italian company blurs the lines between the ADV and sport segments proving the two can co-exist in the same motorcycle. We also ride BMW’s surprisingly futuristic CE-04 electric scooter. The point is made that for electric two wheeled vehicles to be successful they must be as good, if not better, than the ICE equivalents. Does the CE 04 achieve that goal?
CLASSIC BIKE
On an island between Victoria and Vancouver we run across a Honda CT70 mounted to the front of a Ford F250. As a result, the sight sent us down memory lane for a look back at the Honda icon. We also spend muddy hours enjoying the Harley-Davidson Pan America and, in doing so, attempt to explain why the ADV segment might be the most fun of all. We drool over an electric motorcycle that went straight from the factory floor to the museum floor (although you will be able to buy one). There is a Dakar recap, a story on the most successful electric platform for two wheels and, gasp!, two pictures of cars (but they both relate to motorcycles!).
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Canadian Biker #357 has left the building bound for subscribers and newsstands across Canada.
The lead feature is the Harley-Davidson Sportster S which we were fortunate enough to grab seat time upon before the weather hinted that riding motorcycles, even here on the West coast, was going to get challenging. The Sportster S is extraordinarily important to Harley-Davidson’s future and its introduction needed to showcase the possibilities of the new platform. The company could have taken a conservative approach to the start of this new era of Sportsters and by that we mean sensible, universal and safe. But they didn’t an it was a good approach. The Sportster S is uncompromising in pursuing the style and flare that made the brand famous. If a Sportster S is going to hit the streets with purpose, it had to make a statement. Consider the result mission accomplished.
Lately, everyone has been heading into the dirt. If there is a trend heading into 2022, it’s manufacturers across the board looking at adventure and dual-sport bikes as a. key to future growth. Some of the new dirt names are surprising. In this issue we run down specs of new bikes with a dirt edge from Husqvarna, Aprilia and MV Agusta. The latter two are more dual sport that ADV and the Husky is somewhere in the middle. Triumph has a brand new Tiger 1200 that they claim outperforms the competition in just about every sense. And there is Yamaha already making suggestions that the Tenere 700 could get a more hardcore. And that dirty news is before talking further about Triumph foray into motocross.
Not the intended use is the theme behind two new custom bikes. One is a naked street-fighter making a racing appearance and the other is a sport touring behemoth that looks like ….well… ummm, a whale. Both bikes started life as large displacement cruisers.
The headlines today are aimed at electric bikes but, as impressive as the performance may be from these machines, many feel there is something inherently missing from an electric motorcycle. An electric motor can provide seamless, instant torque and but the character of the motor itself is muted. That is why, in the pursuit of a clean future, several of the world’s largest motorcycle manufacturers in combination with several auto makers are pursuing hydrogen as a fuel not just to produce electricity via a fuel cell but to fuel an internal combustion engine. We look at the reasons why it might be the right solution for motorcycles of the future.
What else to we having kicking around this last issue of 2021? How about a ridiculously cheap Hondathat is about to hit the streets of Canada – meet the Navi. Yes, it is really a scooter but it looks kind of like a motorcycle. Honda gave the diminutive machine to a couple of custom shops in an attempt to add some cool. We have a rundown of winners in yet another big custom bike shoot-out. We pay subtle tribute to a disco tune while talking about chop saw and lumber carrying electric motorcycles. And we wonder why Honda hasn’t announced its most interesting new motorcycle of 2022 will be coming to Canada. All that and several other interesting tidbits about Bimota, Royal Enfield, Norton and Verge.
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Canadian Biker #356 (2021: Vol 5) is now available through the mail to subscribers and will soon be seen on select newsstands across Canada.
On the cover is the tail end of the new Triumph Speed Triple RR. The original Speed Triple, the RS, with its unique styling characteristics is interesting but maybe not all that attractive. However with the new RR Triumph seems to have the goal of transforming the Speed Triple into an object of beauty – and we think they may have succeeded. In fact, could this be the best looking Triumph of the modern era? We have reasons for thinking so. And before Bonneville owners shout thier disapproval of that possibility, we have a few reasons for our decision. What we don’t discuss is whether that taillight looks a little too much like the Wonder Woman logo.
We have been following the introduction of the BMW new fully dressed, and partially dressed, editions of the R18, the Transcontinental and the R18B. Building the big cruiser was a gamble for the German company but the two new offerings further narrow the bike’s niche to a very fine point. Our intrepid contributor Bertrand heads off to a press launch to ride the two new bikes and to report back on the outcome. Where do the Big Boxers fit within this very small club and will they succeed against the longstanding competition?
Sparked by a story in the last issue, we come to the defence of the Suzuki Savage, aka the S40. While the little-bike-that-could has been relegated to history it has left a small but unique hole in the motorcycle landscape. Some called it goofy, some called it odd but many also called it a good place to start. We celebrate the bike that was and the creations it has spawned from chopper to cafe racer to an electric engineering marvel.
Speaking of engineering marvels, we check in with Paul Brodie regarding the merging of electric and combustion, bicycles and motorcycles, teaching enthusiasts to build thier own motorcycles and the Excelsiors he built from scratch. He really knows his stuff.
What else do we have? How about a liquid cooled offering from Moto Guzzi, a really sporty sport-tourer from Suzuki, another retro offering from Kawasaki, an electric custom from the Netherlands, a selection of beautiful custom bikes that grabbed the ribbons on the Mediterranean shore and a wrap of the Canadian motorcycle racing season.
All that and more. Enjoy.
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Canadian Biker #355 : On the cover is the 2021 Yamaha SR400, the long-lived, and perhaps you could call it ageless, air-cooled single. The accompanying story is a touch celebration as well as a goodbye as 2021 marks the end of a 43 year production run for the iconic bike sold around the world. While Canada and North America may not have been hotspots for the SR400, we did get the original Yamaha SR500 back in 1978. For this issue we were lucky enough to discover an almost stock – though given a few subtle upgrades – ’78 Yamaha SR500 to bookend both the beginning and the end of the line for the SR series.
In other news, there is a monster within the all-new 2021 Ducati Monster. We discover that fact while riding the feisty red machine. Once upon a time the basic Monster was an accessible, inexpensive standard with Italian flair and a grunty v-twin motor. In many ways that hasn’t changed with the new bike – although it might be tough to consider a liquid-cooled 937cc twin powering a lightweight 166kg bike accessible to less experienced riders. What keeps the “base” Monster somewhat friendly is the suite of electronic aids that tame the bike’s more energetic impulses. But, should you switch off the electronics, the monster within can literally rear its head and bite you in the keister. Gone is the trellis frame in favour of an almost frameless design – maybe that is what incited the Monster’s new kick in the pants character.
Speaking of all-new, Harley-Davidson briefly teased and then released a new bike at the end of the 2021 cycle. It is the astounding Harley-Davidson Sportster S and if you though the Ducati Monster was all-new, you’ve seen nothing yet. The only thing that remains is the familiar name as everything else is new including the slightly modified liquid-cooled mill that began life in the Pan America. We run down what the arrival of the Sportster S might mean to the rest of the line-up. And don’t worry, shortly after we went to press we got to ride it. That story will be upcoming.
Speaking of Harley-Davidson, there has been substantial hand-wringing going on about the direction things are going. We decided to dig a little deeper and despite how things appear for much of the motorcycle industry, the mood at the Bar and Shield boardroom might just be looking up. We explain why.
We love bobbers. But hey, what’s not to love? Nothing left on a bike but the good bits. And boy-oh-boy, did we ever find a solution to building a bobber for less money than you would ever have guessed! And, as those guys with the food dehydrators use to say at 2am on cable – that’s not all folks! The resulting bobber will likely be stone-cold reliable with very low klicks and performance enough to make you smile. Too good to be true one might think – but it is not. Turns out that the build is so simple we might even have a go at one ourselves. The company says it should only take a couple of days to go from ho-hum to oh yeah! We tell you where to find this jaw-dropping solution to your bobber dreams.
What else do we have in this issue? Triumph to build enduro and motocross bikes! That’s,….ummm, not what we expected to hear but we went ahead and found a precedent for it anyway. We feature a classic Panhead chopper simply to remember the good’ ol days. And, because of that Panhead, we reminisce on that classic condition that is no longer a common affliction – “sportster knee”. To round it all off, we join a summer Maritime tour aboard a new 2021 Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Revival. If you are going to travel, do it in style.
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Canadian Biker Vol. #354 : Gone are the days when new models arrived at about the same time each year. Today 2021 releases overlap 2022 releases as the manufacturers jostle to gain the slimmest of advantages. There is no new model season. On the cover is the MV Agusta Rush, yet another bespoke creation from a small brand with some of the best styling chops around. If you can fork over the price, the Rush comes with a wooden crate filled with racing bits and pieces to make your Rush that much meaner. But it isn’t all glitz and glamour and high prices – check that, the new Harley-Davidson Revival doesn’t come cheap either but like the Rush, there won’t be many copies around the neighbourhood. For a bike that is new and a little more attainable, try the 2022 Yamaha R7 as the company attempts to fill the hole left by the R6 with a re-clad MT-07.
We feature two Canadian custom builds. One based on a Honda SL350, the other on a Can-Am. Sometimes the back story is just as interesting as the bikes that roll out of Canadian garages with both these bikes be prime examples.
We also take a look back at Honda offerings from the earliest days of metric cruisers until today. Your opinion on the pinnacle of Honda cruisers will depend much upon on your age and era – the Magna, the CX500 Custom, the early Shadows, the VTX, the Rune – there are many to choose from. Is the new Rebel 1100 as good as it is has ever been? It is doubtful that even the Honda faithful would rank the Rebel 1100 the best cruiser Honda ever gave us – but it does get bonus points just for being a new metric cruiser. There is that.
Elsewhere we go over the why of fluorescent yellow-green hi-visibility riding gear, we finally get a quick ride on a real live Pan America, we ponder styling of odd electric bikes, learn why Eric Buell doesn’t want to be associated with the new Buell motorcycles and marvel at Toni Bou riding Trials on an Africa Twin.
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Canadian Biker Vol. #353 : If you can’t put the airplane engine that’s been cluttering the garage in your plane, the alternative is build a motorcycle around it. The cover features an incredible machine from JRL Choppers which was available at the recent Mecum Auction in Las Vegas. It would be a great bike for the new collection. We scrolled through the over one thousand bikes sent across the floor and selected some of the most intriguing for a hypothetical collection and it wasn’t just the big dollar bikes that made the cut.
We also review what did and didn’t happen in Daytona this year, get wistful about the Honda Monkey situation, look at the most expensive roads to ride your motorcycle on, ponder ten motorcycle related oddities, get besotted by motorcycle body kits, wonder about Triumph’s new concept electric bike that may or may not make it to production, get caught up on wearable airbags and feature yet a few more new models for 2021 and 2022. That covers most of the big things … oh right, there is a truck in the magazine but the piece is short, the truck is awesome and it does all relate back to motorcycles.
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Canadian Biker Vol. #352 : On the cover of the new Canadian Biker is the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250. That the ADV machine will be available as both a base model and a “Special” is one of the things we learned when Harley-Davidson released all the details about the new bike in late February. There are many factors that will determine whether the bike is a success in the showroom and out in the world and in the story we discuss many of them but the one that Harley-Davidson got right out of the gate is the price. It would have been easy to get it wrong.
We also look back on the machines that preceded the Pan America into the dirt after rolling out of the Harley-Davidson factory. A very strong argument can, and has been, made that the first ADV machine was in fact a Harley-Davidson and a bike crucial to history. It wasn’t an ADV in the modern sense but in spirit it most definitely served above and beyond the purpose. Following that motorcycle there are a surprising number of attempts – both professional and amateur – to take more recent Harley-Davidson bikes and drivetrains into the rough stuff. We take a look through the ranks.
It was going to be just a brief look at a new self-published book but once we started reading The Victoria Motorcycle Club : The First 100 Years it became a page turner and worthy of a longer look. The VMC spans all but a few years of the history of motorcycling in Canada and tells a universal tale of motorcycle enthusiasts in a grassroots organization. And then there are the hundreds of pictures that cover more than a century of riding. They alone are worth the price of admission.
Beyond those stories we have more new models including the 2022 Suzuki Hayabusa (Is it the all-new motorcycle that many had been calling for? The answer might be sort of…), another return of Buell Motorcycles, a couple of very interesting electrics (one of which comes in at a reasonable price!), 100 years of Moto Guzzis, 100 years of the Indian Chief, a motorcycle road in Austria with a disaster on its hands, a summary of the 2021 Dakar, a very different BMW custom and more…
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CANADIAN BIKER Vol. #351 : Since the introduction in the mid 1980s the flamboyant bike defied classification – cruiser, street-fighter, muscle bike? But whatever the Yamaha VMax was through the years, it remained true to that original purpose through three-plus decades – coaxing as much power from a V-4 as possible while leaving smoke, rubber and jaws slack with wonder in its wake. The formula worked so well the bike saw only one major overhaul morphing from the V-Max to the VMax in the late 2000s. We look fondly back on the VMax and reflect on what the bike meant to riders and a legion of customizers.
Also in Canadian Biker #351 we ride the Harley-Davidson Road King Special. Still the quintessential Harley-Davidson, King hit the road in 2020 with more power and a suite of electronics that move the classic definitively into the modern era. The weather might not have always been cooperative throughout our time on the bike but, in part, that is exactly why the bike gets the new RDRS safety protocols.
The lead feature is racing like you have never seen it. The King of the Baggers saw Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycles battle it out on California’s infamous Laguna Seca racetrack. Diving into corners, dragging knees and plunging through the Corkscrew are leather-clad riders aboard admittedly heavily modified baggers complete with fairings and the requisite bags. These bikes weren’t meant for this venue but length some went to make it competitive was astounding. Now that is what we call racing!
Canadian company DMZ Motorcycles founded by James Leigh builds World War 2 themed bobbers based on a Triumph platform but featuring researched era correct paint and graphics, authentic historical references and period appropriate accessories – and they look great.
What else do we have have in the issue? Rokon vs Volcon is all about fat tire go anywhere bikes built to escape the Zombie apocalypse – the only difference is one is the very old school original while the other is an upstart electric bike. Since we talk about what is going with 2020, we also talk about a handful of bikes that are new or heavily revised for 2021. We congratulate Suzuki on 100 years and a big triumph in 2020. There is an electric bike speed record … and we have a Lamborghini in the issue but don’t worry it relates.
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Canadian Biker Vol. #350 : On the cover of the issue we feature a new custom from Vancouver-based builder Robert Lund, a bike that goes by the name of Soul Asylum. Lund, who’s unique work we first featured back in 2011, built the bike as an exercise in self-healing as he restoratively channeled his energy on the project after going though some tough times. Soul Asylum, like his previous featured bike, utilized a wide variety of unusual sources to fashion intricate details, unique finishes and a truly show stopping ride from an old 1968 BSA. It is without doubt a beautiful machine.
COVID has put a heavy damper on the release of new bikes. When the time came for an official launch of the R18, BMW chose a virtual event to showcase new cruiser. The ZOOM atmosphere didn’t do much in terms of seat time on the bike but it certainly opened a window into the “why” of the cruiser as BMW executives talked about joining, or depending on the perspective, rejoining the cruiser world and the company’s take on the existing competition. Some of the rationale is based on solid facts and some seems a little like a leap of faith.
You know those questions that nobody asked? I am new to cruisers, should I get a Rocket 3? Why isn’t the Panigale more comfortable for touring? Is the Grom a real bike? In this issue we answer 13 questions that nobody asked but just might just prove useful to a few.
We also go a little Hollywood in #350. The first bit of news is that the Evel Knievel family is suing Disney over the fictional character of Duke Caboom who just happens to be Canada’s greatest ever stunt rider – or at least fictional stunt rider. Believe it or not, there is a LOT of money in play. And then we look at motorcycles and famous riders in Hollywood. We are in no way saying the memory of Steve McQueen be forgotten but we have to believe that somewhere along the way a new celebrity has to replace the great McQueen as the cultural icon of motorcycling. We have a few options from which to choose and one is, in fact, a Canadian.
On top of all that we have a careful resto-mod of a 1977 Suzuki PE250 bought for $500 online, two beloved Hondas getting re-introduced from the past (nostalgia is still the ruling trend of the millennium), we help Polaris remember that they did buy an electric motorcycle company long before their current new agreement with Zero Motorcycles and, in Road Signs, a look back at the very first road racing world championships – spoiler alert, it was wise to carry your tools with you during the race. And there is still more…
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Canadian Biker Vol. #349 : On the cover we have an example of a rare piece of early 1980s motorcycle technology when, for a brief moment, the future of the motorcycle was destined to involve forced air induction via a turbocharger. But quickly some-one remembered that there was really no replacement for displacement and the expensive option of turbocharging disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki all built a turbocharged machine but invariably the production numbers were small – even getting the bikes off the showroom floor became a challenge. It is exceedingly rare to see any of these motorcycles today so we were excited to come across this low kilometre, unmodified Honda CX500T still under the care of its original owner – a genuine survivor. A story as much about the dedication of a man to his machine as it is about a brief but interesting period in motorcycle history. And on top of all that, the CX500T still looks good after almost forty years.
We couldn’t stay out of the ‘80s for this issue as we also feature a bike from a British Columbia man with a laser-like focus on building a Kawasaki KZ1000 as very close to the bike the legendary Eddie Lawson rode in the early 1980s. Like any man seeking perfection, he thought he had it close a few years ago but a little voice kept telling him he could get even closer. Whether the bike in this issue makes the cut, we will likely find out in a couple of years.
Electric bicycles seem to be the latest attempt by motorcycle manufacturers to grow their product line and entice those not converted to the two-wheeled mode of transportation to perhaps give it a try. Many of the big names have joined this trend with Yamaha being the most significant but Triumph, Ducati, Harley-Davidson and two-wheel-drive pioneers, Christini have also joined the campaign. We look at their efforts and have to acknowledge that some of these new machines have blurred the line between motorcycle and bicycle – of the electric variety at least.
Speaking of blurring the lines. We ride the BMW F850GS. There was a time that making the choice between the F-adventure bikes and the R-adventure bikes from BMW was straight forward. But with the F850GS BMW brings the middleweight capabilities and options much closer to those of the R1250GS. Yes the purposes of the two bikes may be slightly different depending upon what you want to accomplish on your ADV journey but the question is at two thirds the price, is the middleweight only two thirds the bike of its larger stablemate? We have our doubts.
In celebration of our forty year of publishing, and our 1980s fixation in this issue, we look back at two interesting bikes and reviews. The first is the 1987 Harley-Davidson Low Rider which that year was itself notching up ten years of setting a new styling direction. The second was a bike not sold in Canada but one that followed the early 80’s trend of bringing two-stroke Moto GP tech to the street. We did get the Yamaha RZ350 and the Honda NSR400 in Canada but the bike that reportedly stuck as close to its Gand Prix counterpart as possible was the Suzuki RG250 – an entertaining bike that was as difficult to ride on the street as it was on the track.
And then there is more. We look at the development of solid state batteries – a technology that may bring the range and recharging time of electric motorcycles closer to their combustion powered brethren, we feature a new machine from the ubiquitous and multi-talented Roland Sands – the R18 Dragster, we fondly remember some of our travel features, we marvel at 10 years of dual clutches, we welcome back Charlie and Ewan after the two old and wiser fellows complete another long, long ride – this one Up rather than Down or Around, and a few other things of interest.
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Canadian Biker Vol. #348 : The lead story in this issue is our week riding the Harley-Davidson LiveWire. Many stories have been written, including our own, about the bike and its capabilities. What we set out to learn in this story was what it was like to live with an electric bike as a daily rider – what we could do and what we couldn’t do and what it meant to rely on a battery as a power source. Would the learning curve be steep or the LiveWire by its nature simply be plug and play?
We also celebrate 35 years of the Suzuki GSX-R750. There are only a few motorcycles that you remember specifically seeing for the first time. For me one of those bikes was the GSX-R1100 which turned up shortly after the 750. It was the mid-eighties and and this new machine was parked on the street of our neighbourhood. I don’t know where it came from as I don’t remember a Suzuki dealership within 150km of our town – it might as well have been a rare exotic. Nothing had looked like it before and, in some ways, nothing has looked like it since. That first machine forever defined what a sport bike could be and should be. The GSX-R was revolutionary and the technology race the bike spawned has benefited all motorcyclist regardless of what we ride – sport bike, cruiser or ADV.
We couldn’t resist an electric motorcycle clad in oak paneling – or birch if that is your preference. And that set us off on an excursion into European exotic motorcycles that for the most part are pretty hard to come by – Aston Martin / Brough Superior and CCM among others. We did include James Bond’s limited edition Triumph Scrambler because they only sent a handful to Canada and they were a snapped up before landing on our shores making the answer to getting one (Dr.) No.
Did we mention we have hit 40 years of publishing Canadian Biker? What better time to look at some of our many favourite custom bikes from years gone by. Birthdays always get you reminiscing…
What else do we have in the issue? We crunch the numbers of the price and variety of motorcycle models available in Canada, we look at unusual cafe racer put together with a Norton-inspired frame and a modern Indian Motorcycles engine, and we investigate Kawasaki decision to build new parts for a legend from its past.
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Canadian Biker Vol. #347 : One of our intrepid contributors is invited to Daytona only to find when he arrives that maybe he shouldn’t be there right at the outset of a pandemic. Did it make much of a difference to the participants? It didn’t seem so. If there is a plus side to that unease, he did get to ride around checking it all out on the new Rocket 3.
Check out the contents page for a full list of the stories in the new issue.
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Related Stories and Pages:
Motorcycles Available in Canada 2021 – The Long List
MOTORCYCLE REVIEWS
CANADIAN CUSTOM MOTORCYCLES
VINTAGE BIKES & MOTORCYCLE HISTORY
Becoming A Harley-Davidson Dealer
ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE NEWS
10 Electric Motorcycles To Charge You Up 2020
Harley-Davidson LiveWire – Day to Day Rider (2020) Motorcycle Review