Road Dirt

2025 Sport Touring Tire Test Wrap-Up

Posted by Ted Edwards | Oct 31, 2025 | Bikes & Gear, Nuts & Bolts |

We ask everything of motorcycle sport touring tires. Unlike narrow focus tires dedicated to track-only performance or mud-slinging off-road roost chuckers, we expect sport touring tires to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of everything. They need to stick like sap, munch massive miles, conquer Colorado heavy rain showers and handle like MotoAmerica track refugees. Oh, and they need to last forever. Tire manufacturers attempt to work miracles with modern tires by engineering ways to expand a tire’s envelope in all these directions at once. A rare few sport touring tires do this, succeeding in all areas at once. Others fall short. Some fall way, way short.

Drew Perlmutter- An Old Moto Soul

Posted by Rob Brooks | Oct 29, 2025 | Ride Life |

Drew Perlmutter is a fascinating anachronism.
A younger Millennial born into the digital age of the internet and social media, Drew is nonetheless an outlier, a young man who doesn’t follow the crowd, doesn’t live or die by post clicks. He’d rather tinker on an old Honda Dream 305, his 1982 Gold Wing, or ride across the country on a motorcycle, tent camping along the way.
The first time I met Drew, after an hour of conversation I told him, “You have an old soul, and I mean that as a high compliment.” Though in his early 30s, Drew reminds me of the free spirit and heart for adventure that existed among my generation that came of age in the 1960s-70s. We grew up riding beater motorcycles, could tinker enough to keep them running or fix them, and we loved to see the world without windows and ceilings, riding and camping out in the elements.
Drew is cut from our cloth.

Chasing Curves and Carolina Sky: Part 1

Posted by Phil Gauthier | Oct 27, 2025 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads |

There’s something about rolling north for me, on a crisp fall morning that feels like a promise — that blend of fuel, freedom, and just enough chill in the air to remind you the mountains are calling. Weeks earlier Nate had called to set up a three day ride which included his son Adam and cousin Greg – the four of us were ready. The sun was just burning off the early morning fog when the bikes fired up, that familiar rumble echoing off the quiet Main Street. We had all been itching to carve some high country asphalt, and the route ahead would deliver in spades: Heads down takes us up Hwy. 441 at speed up to Clayton, Georgia. Quick fuel check and we are off: Warwoman Road, Highway 28, Sapphire Valley, Lake Toxaway, Waynesville, Lake Junaluska, and the legendary NC 209 — better known as The Rattler – Day one.

Lusso Leather- Premium Custom Leather Jackets

Posted by Rob Brooks | Oct 16, 2025 | Bikes & Gear |

So when Lusso Leather reached out earlier this summer, offering me a custom tailored, fitted motorcycle jacket to ride with and review, I jumped at the chance. Lusso is a Canada-based leather apparel and accessories company, with a New York State distribution facility in Niagara Falls, that has begun offering motorcycling-specific jackets to the North American market. Their jackets and leather accessories are handcrafted in Turkey, then shipped to Canada and/or the upstate New York warehouse for distribution. Per their contact with me, “Our garments are manufactured in Turkey, where we work closely with skilled artisans to ensure high-quality craftsmanship and materials, especially for our motorcycle jacket line.”

Indian Motorcycle Breaks With Polaris

Posted by Phil Gauthier | Oct 13, 2025 | Industry & Racing |

When the news broke that Polaris Industries would be selling a majority stake in Indian Motorcycle to private-equity firm Carolwood LP, the sound that followed wasn’t just the click of a press release hitting inboxes. It was a collective double-take across the motorcycle world.
For over a decade, Polaris has been the guiding hand behind Indian’s comeback story — resurrecting the century-old American brand from dormancy and turning it into Harley-Davidson’s most credible rival in modern times. But with this new deal, expected to close in early 2026, Indian Motorcycle is about to chart its own course as a standalone company.

Honda Unveils A CB1000F Retro

Posted by Road Dirt Crew | Oct 10, 2025 | Bikes & Gear |

We recently caught a glimpse of a new model that Honda has been developing for production this coming year. This retro styled CB1000F arrested our attention, so we dug a little deeper. Unveiled back in the spring as a concept, it seems clear now the motorcycle will definitely be built and sold. Whether or not it will come stateside is anyone’s guess right now, however.

Gems Among Junk: Motorcycle Swap Meets

Posted by Rob Brooks | Oct 8, 2025 | Nuts & Bolts, Ride Life |

Roaming the seemingly endless aisles at the swap meet during this year’s 20th annual Barber Vintage Fest, I wasn’t looking for anything in particular. Some decorative old part or tool for my garage, maybe a pair of plastic turn signal covers to replace a couple of old glazing ones on my 1978 KZ650, or some vintage sign to hang in my basement man cave. Each booth was either a feast or a famine- dusty, discarded old parts, or beautiful classic motorcycles in need of a new home. Stacks of old motorcycle magazines no longer in print, dog-eared owner’s manuals for antique bikes, even some black & white signed photos of once famous racers and riders, the swap meet is the place to slow down, take your time, and browse until you find something that strikes your fancy.

2025 Middleweight Matchup: Honda CB750 vs Yamaha MT-07

Posted by Rob Brooks | Oct 1, 2025 | Bikes & Gear |

Over the summer, we had the opportunity to sample the new Honda CB750 Hornet, and earlier the 2025 Yamaha MT-07. Both of these are fantastic, affordable middleweight naked sportbikes, and we loved them both. We got the bright idea of riding them together, side-by-side and nose-to-tail, since they are comparable in size, displacement and rider triangle. After pitching the idea to Honda, who wholeheartedly jumped at it, Yamaha must have read our twisted minds, and preempted us by calling and offering one once they saw we had the Hornet.
Thus we began the bout.