Motos and Friends from Ultimate Motorcycle magazine

This week, Senior Editor Nic de Sena has just returned from the sunny South Africa launch of the new Husqvarna Norden 901 Expedition . There are a host of upgrades from the standard Norden 901 , and Nic gives us his thoughts on those, and how they affect the bike’s overall performance off-road and on.     You must be familiar with the iconic Suzuki Hayabusa , one of the most exciting sportbikes ev...

This week, Editor Don Williams somewhat reluctantly rides the Beta Xtrainer 300 off-road bike. The Beta is a bit of an odd beast. It’s a not-quite-full-sized 2-stroke dirt bike, designed to be a little less intimidating than a full-sized machine. Previous years’ versions were hampered by less-than-stellar suspension. So a highly skeptical Don rode the 2023 model to see if any of the issues have be...

This week, Associate Editor Gary Ilminen gleefully ventured forth from his snow-swamped home in Wisconsin to Austin, Texas, where he had the opportunity to take the all-new Indian Sport Chief for a long ride. The new Sport Chief is a slimmer, cruiser, and as its name implies, it has a definite sporting side to it. =============== Have you looked at the 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa yet? One of the most ico...

In our first segment, Senior Editor Nic De Sena has just returned from Jerez, Spain, where he was riding the new Triumph Street Triple 765 R and RS models . These bikes have had significant upgrades and Nic got to ride them both on the track and on the surrounding roads. Have you looked at the 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa yet? One of the most iconic sportbikes ever, it’s faster and the most technologicall...

In our first segment, Editor Don Williams has just returned from Sardinia, Italy, where he was riding the Suzuki V-Strom 800DE . This is the all new, upper-middleweight ADV machine that features—among many other things—the new Suzuki 775cc parallel-twin motor. This highly anticipated motorcycle from the big S has a lot of depth to talk about, and Don reviews the bike completely, giving us his impr...

Associate Editor Kelly Callan has been commuting recently on the new Triumph Speed Twin 900 . It’s probably not anyone’s first choice for a commuter bike, nor is it really a canyon sportbike either. So what’s the point, and where does it fit?  Kelly gives us her thoughts and impressions of riding this retro-styled machine. Have you looked at the 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa yet? One of the most iconic spo...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, a weekly podcast brought to you by the editors of Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. I’m not sure if it’s his first love on two wheels, but it is safe to say that Editor Don Williams is a dirt-bike nut. He rode competitive Trials for over 30 years, and he and his wife ride every weekend—and sometimes more on every type of...

Associate Editor Teejay Adams recently attended the Yamaha Champions Riding School in Las Vegas, and she took with her the Yamaha XSR900 that she’s been riding for a while. This is the retro-style version of the MT-09, and Teejay gives us her impressions of the bike, including her thoughts versus the XSR700 that she rode previously. The guest segment of Motos and Friends is brought to you by the f...

Our first segment introduces you to the new Arch 1s . This latest, slightly more sporting American V-twin, adds to the original KRGT1 coming from the boutique manufacturer based in Hawthorne, Southern California. Senior Editor Nic de Sena rode through Malibu with Gard Hollinger, who co-founded Arch Motorcycle with his friend, Keanu Reeves. The 1s is a unique ride for sure, and Nic explains what ma...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly podcast—Motos and Friends.  My name is Arthur Coldwells. Our first segment features the new Aprilia Tuono 660 Factory . Senior Editor Nic de Sena brings us his report on the flagship version of Aprilia’s upright middleweight machine. He gives us insight into whether it’s worth spending the extra money on the Factory version, a...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, the weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. Motos and Friends is brought to you by the 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa. Head into your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more. The new 120th Anniversary Harleys have been announced today, and in this week’s fir...

Motos and Friends is brought to you by the 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa . This legendary Sportbike is the quickest, most technologically advanced, and the most aerodynamic Hayabusa ever. Head into your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more. In this week’s first segment, Associate Editor Teejay Adams and I discuss the new Yamaha XSR700 .  That’s the retro-styled version of the MT...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast -- Motos and Friends.  My name is Arthur Coldwells. Motos and Friends is brought to you by the 2023 Suzuki Hayabusa . This legendary Sportbike is the quickest, most technologically advanced and aerodynamic Hayabusa ever. Head into your local Suzuki dealer now, or visit suzukicycles.com to learn more. In this week’s fir...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast… My name is Arthur Coldwells. In this week’s first segment, Associate Editor Kelly Callan tells about her take on BMW’s upper middleweight ADV-style bike, the BMW F 900 XR with Premium package . The smaller, much less expensive sibling to the awesome 1000 XR could easily be overlooked on the showroom...

In this week’s first segment, Senior Editor Nic de Sena take a look at the Ducati DesertX ADV bike . Powered by the same liquid-cooled V-twin motor as several other models in the Ducati range, the DesertX is another entry into the upper-middleweight class of ADV machines. The big question of course, is can the DesertX make its mark and differentiate itself from a growing field of competitors? The...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—the weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. In this week’s first segment, Editor Don Williams rides KTM’s new 1290 Super Adventure R . This hardcore ADV bike is big, powerful, and a true expert-level machine. Interestingly, it has multiple points of adjustment within its hi...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—the weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. In this week’s first segment, Senior Editor Nic de Sena rides the much anticipated Yamaha MT-10 SP . That’s the model with the Ohlins semi-active suspension. It’s only been available in Europe for the last couple of years, but fin...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—the weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. This week’s we only have the one segment… But if you’re interested in a tasting of what’s to come in 2023, then you’ll want to listen to Don Williams’ roundup from the very recent EICMA show in Milan, Italy. Don tells us about new machines coming from some of...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—the weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. This week’s two show segments highlight two very cool engines. There’s much more to a vehicle than just the engine of course, but for motorcycles, the engine is of course, the heart of the machine. The first of the two motors is e...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—the weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. Vespa is possibly the storied name among scooters. The Italian marque produces premium quality machines that excel in urban environments. And what better urban environment to test a Vespa than in the heart of Italy—Rome? Senior Ed...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to the Ultimate Motorcycling weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends. My name is Arthur Coldwells. Moto Guzzi just launched the new V100 Mandello S and Senior Editor Nic de Sena went to the event in Italy. The hallowed Italian marque has radically redesigned its flagship motor—while managing to keep its iconic v-twin look. There are some big changes though, and not j...

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, brought to you by Ultimate Motorcycling.  The Kawasaki Z900 is really good motorcycle—personally, I’m a fan. The Z900 with its inline-4 screamer engine and excellent handling rides extremely well, especially on the street. However, it does have a few shortcomings, especially if you have a penchant to take it to a track day occasionally. T...

Royal Enfield have been doing rather well in the last few years. Their retro-styled bikes are cool looking, work well, and as it happens, they’re priced right. Associate Editor Gary Ilminen went to the launch of the new Royal Enfield Scram 411 , and gives us his impression of the bike. It’s a modestly powered, single cylinder machine, with urban-cool styling and a slight ADV leaning. So is the Scr...

Hello everyone and welcome to Motos and Friends, a weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. Yamaha’s Ténéré 700 is an excellent foray into the middleweight ADV world. Associate Editor Neil Wyenn owns a 2021 model, and has spent the last year adding and improving various aspects of his bike. Some add-ons are more vital others, and he...

Hello everyone and welcome to Motos and Friends, a weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells. Electric mobility is everywhere nowadays. Whether it’s a car, a truck, an assisted bicycle, a scooter, or any number of new innovations, the electric revolution is certainly here.  In this week’s first segment, Nic de Sena took a ride on Zero...