1993 Harley-davidson Fxdwg Dyna Wide Glide on 2040-motos

Moto blog

Vespa goes back to the future

IT'S been a while coming, but the gorgeous Vespa 946 - EICMA 2012's Best of Show - has finally introduced something to the two-wheeled world that our four-wheeled counterparts have had for a while.  I call this 'reverse retro-futurism' - the art of borrowing lines from models past and imbuing them with a sleek sense of future direction (as opposed to retro-futurism, the pre-1960s design trend of depicting the technology of the future. The term 'decopunk' may come close, but feel free to tell me if there's a more exact term.) It's what the New Mini and the New Beetle (both 1997 and 2012 versions) have done so well, and so successfully: building an all-new model as a tribute to a classic, something that's modern yet already timeless, with a widely-appreciated, inclusive aesthetic (and here we eliminate the Plymouth PT Cruiser from the conversation). The biking world is great at retro, indeed thrives on it, but not so good at adding in a taste of the 21st century.

AMA Honors Zero and Scot Harden with Bessie Stringfield Award

The American Motorcyclist Association has bestowed a special recognition award to Zero Motorcycles and its Vice President of Marketing, Hall-of-Famer Scot Harden, for their work in attracting new riders and the positive impact they’ve delivered to mainstream media. Harden (pictured above from our recent Zero FX dirt riding review) and Zero were awarded the AMA Bessie Stringfield Award which recognizes individuals who have been instrumental in bringing emerging markets to motorcycling. The award is named after 2002 AMA Hall of Fame inductee Bessie Stringfield, the first African-American woman to ride solo across the United States and a civilian motorcycle dispatch rider for the army in World War II.

Top 5 Motorcycle Helmets From J.D. Power

J.D. Power and Associates who do independent and unbiased surveys and polls have gathered information on customer satisfaction of motorcycle helmets. The study measures the overall satisfaction of motorcyclists with their new helmet in three key factors: ventilation, face shield, and design and styling; which consist of 11 attributes: quietness; ventilation/air flow; de-fogging; face shield ability to keep wind out; face shield ability to resist scratching; ease of replacing face shield; scratch resistance of shell; color/graphic design; weight; ease of fastening the strap; and fit and comfort.