High Sierra Adventure Weekend
Greg Drevenstedt
May 3, 2013
“I want to come back here after the thaw.” Thus I remarked to my brother as we stared at the expanse of snow spreading out before us on Sherman Pass Road (Forest Route 22S05), the southern-most paved road over the crest of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. We were there in March of last... Read more »
BMW F 800 GS Adventure – First Look
Greg Drevenstedt
May 2, 2013
Adventure touring’s rapidly expanding universe can be traced back to a Big Bang moment: BMW’s introduction of the R80G/S in 1980. Gelände/Strasse—Off-road/Road in German, or GS for short—has become much more than just a model designation. Among the BMW faithful, it has become an expansive identity,... Read more »
2013 Honda CBR600RR—First Ride
Greg Drevenstedt
March 29, 2013
Ten years. More than 100,000 units sold. Multiple AMA Supersport and Formula Xtreme championships. Seven FIM World Supersport titles. Genesis for the official spec engine in Moto2 racing. New MotoGP-inspired bodywork has 6.5% less aerodynamic drag. Those are serious bona fides for a serious sportbike.... Read more »
Alpinestars Long Range Drystar Jacket and Pants Review
Greg Drevenstedt
March 29, 2013
Just as nothing beats the right tool for the job, nothing beats the ride gear for the ride. Based in Asolo, Italy, apparel manufacturer Alpinestars is known around the world for its suits and boots worn by on- and off-road racers, on two wheels as well as four. Lately the company has branched out into... Read more »
Joe Rocket Big Bang 2.0 Boots Review
Greg Drevenstedt
March 29, 2013
Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, was infamous for having 3,000 pairs of shoes. I don’t have that many, but I’ll admit it: I have a problem. And not just shoes, but boots. Like a lot of guys, I can’t seem to throw anything out. Even if a pair of boots has been buried in the... Read more »
The Joys of Not Roughing It
Greg Drevenstedt
March 12, 2013
As much as I like camping, as much as I enjoy the back-to-basics delight of cooking over an open fire and the novelty of stumbling out of my tent in the wee hours to relieve myself, really and truthfully, I’m a sucker for a hot shower and a soft bed. Particularly after a long day on a motorcycle. In... Read more »
Motorcycle: The Definitive Visual History (Book Review)
Greg Drevenstedt
October 2, 2012
When the ground-breaking “Art of the Motorcycle” exhibit opened at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City, in 1998, I had the good fortune of attending—twice. At the time, I was living in Philadelphia, a two-hour ride to the south via the mind-numbing New Jersey Turnpike, and a diehard enthusiast... Read more »
2013 Ducati Multistrada 1200 – First Look
Greg Drevenstedt
October 1, 2012
Three years after the radical remake of Ducati’s Multistrada adventure tourer, the now-Audi-owned Italian company has given the versatile platform a significant upgrade. The grunty Testastretta 11° engine gets a claimed 5-percent boost in torque and now runs more smoothly and efficiently thanks to... Read more »
Butler Motorcycle Maps Review
Greg Drevenstedt
August 14, 2012
The first music video ever played on MTV, at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981, was for a song by the Buggles called “Video Killed the Radio Star.” Despite the dire prediction of an oddball British New Wave duo, radio stations and pop/country/rap/rock/etc. stars survived. Eight-track players went the... Read more »
Silver Eagle Outfitters Kula-XD Cooling Vest Review
Greg Drevenstedt
August 9, 2012
Vests aren’t cool, at least not in a sartorial sense. They haven’t been since the days of Saturday Night Fever. (Recall that soon after the disco craze, John Travolta’s career slipped into a coma, only to be revived 15 years later with Pulp Fiction, and Vincent Vega wouldn’t be caught dead in... Read more »
