Neale Bayly

Scotland on Two Wheels

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jan 27, 2026 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads |

Back in the saddle of a motorcycle on Scottish roads for the first time in 25 years, my good friend Dennis Gage and his son Sam were joining me for the ride. Car buffs will know the flat-cap wearing, mustachioed Dennis from his hit television show, “My Classic Car.” As motorcyclists we enjoy a similar natural rhythm on the road, so riding together is always a pleasure. And, with two brand new Triumph Sprint STs, four days and a map of Scotland in front of us, it was with great spirits that we headed away from base camp, my sister’s house just outside Glasgow, to go exploring that summer.

Trippin’ On Two Wheels, Part 1

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jan 2, 2026 | Ride Life |

It all started in a seaside resort in Italy. Well, to be a bit more accurate it started at the Misano Circuit Sic 58 in the summer of 2002. June 14th to be precise. It was the first World Ducati Week and the festivities ran through to the weekend that the circuit hosted its round of the World Superbikes series. At that time American Ben Bostrom was flying high and Troy Baylis was the reigning world champion, both on Ducati 998s, while Colin Edwards was attempting to break the Ducati dominance on his Honda. Heady times. Well not as heady as ending up with a bedroom next to Ben Bostrom’s heartthrob girlfriend. But I digress.

Dennis Gage On Two Wheels

Posted by Neale Bayly | Dec 16, 2025 | Ride Life |

Seeing television’s most famous car guy sitting on a BMW R60 in period gear must seem a little confusing to some of our readers. But after years of bringing the best of the classic four-wheeled world to the small screen, it is time to let the secret out: Dennis Gage is a motorcycle nut with a small collection of interesting European motorcycles: A collection that has just seen the addition of a Moto Guzzi Breva that he purchased on eBay from my hometown of Charlotte, NC.

Resurrecting a Laverda, Part 3

Posted by Neale Bayly | Apr 2, 2025 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

The air feels heavy from the recent rain, as if there is nowhere left for all the moisture to go. The saturated path is soft and spongy underfoot, and tree limbs hang heavy from the weight of the water drops. Overhead, black threatening clouds hang oppressively low, matching the darkness in my soul. It’s cool, not cold, but I shiver as I climb up into the dark, silent woods, alone with my thoughts. Just two weeks out of riding through the war in Ukraine for the last five weeks, yet I haven’t made it back yet.
Suddenly, a young dog comes racing around the corner, the first sign of life I’ve seen as even the birds seem to have stayed home today. Clearly inquisitive, but wary, he circles me as his owner comes into view. The quintessential Scottish dog walker- wax cotton rain jacket and rubber boots, the practical choice for these conditions. He has a shock of dark hair, a thick goatee beard covering his face and after calling his dog, we exchange pleasantries. Actually, we enter into a bizarre conversation that just seems to get stranger. At first, I think we must have met the year before, the way he greets me, so I ask how his dog has been doing. He tells me he only just got him, hence his untrained behavior. These disconnected exchanges continue as I conclude that we haven’t met before. Then he asks me a question that leaves me as stunned as I am bewildered.
“How’s the Mirage doing?”

Neale Bayly’s Moto Flashbacks: Connecting The Dots

Posted by Neale Bayly | Mar 4, 2025 | Ride Life |

“Of course when the Russians kidnapped me, they held me at gun point for 36 hours, but I’ve got to go…” As the phone line went silent my mind drifted back to the day I crossed the Carpathian Mountains on my old Kawasaki KLR650 motorbike and down into the city of Bucharest in search of my old friend, Simon.

Resurrecting A Laverda, Part 2

Posted by Neale Bayly | Feb 11, 2025 | Legendary Bikes |

Then one fateful day my enthusiasm got ahead of my abilities, both mechanically and financially, and I decided to do a complete restoration from the ground up. The frame got shot blasted and painted and I started pulling the engine to bits. Unfortunately, travels came, children came, careers came and the parts just ended up moving from location to location in boxes. With all the growing responsibilities of family life, spending money on an old box of bits grew further and further from the front burner.

Cardo Comms in Peru

Posted by Neale Bayly | Feb 3, 2025 | Bikes & Gear |

Arriving in Arequipa a week earlier, we were greeted with a plethora of “to do” items as we got ready to take seven riders on their first motorcycle tour in Peru. With Chip having had a job launching the Space Shuttle in his previous life, I asked if he would install the Cardo PACKTALK EDGE Duo units into our helmets. I was more than a little consumed with minutia as well as being a mechanical and electrical Muppet. I have a Klim adventure helmet and Chip wears a Bell Qualifier with built-in comms pocket.

Resurrecting A Laverda, Part 1

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jan 13, 2025 | Legendary Bikes, Ride Life |

In early 1981 I rolled into the town of Colchester on a well-worn Yamaha XT 500, flat broke wearing a leather jacket, a pair of thread bare jeans, and just a bag of clothes on my back. As I pulled over in the high street to get my bearings, it happened. A bright orange Laverda Jota fired up a few hundred yards away, filling the high street with the most blood-curdling roar as the owner blipped the throttle to warm the engine. Watching transfixed as he then climbed on, clicked the snarling beast into gear, before dropping the clutch, and taking off with the most intoxicating cacophony of sound I had ever heard. Winding the big triple up close to red line in first gear before letting off to slow for the traffic light, the noise the big Laverda made on the overrun was as equally stunning as it snorted and backfired in the quiet English afternoon.

Neale Bayly’s Moto Flashbacks: Back to Sunny Florida

Posted by Neale Bayly | Jan 2, 2025 | Ride Life |

As the minor character in this horrendous drama, the fact that my bones were mending and my dependence on narcotics was waning, apart from when Wibbly came to visit, and I was beginning to get my strength back was all positive. Walks around the garden were extending to the end of the drive, the end of the road and even down to the local chippie (fish and chip shop in English). My thoughts began now to focus on Florida, specifically the sun, beaches and girls in bikinis. Not that there’s anything wrong with living with your mother in freezing, cold, damp weather with seven hours of murky daylight.