Royal Enfield is no stranger to adventure, and as a brand, has always been up for a challenge. Cases in point: their “Build. Train. Race.” program in flat track and road racing, and their factory entrance and surprising success in AMA American Flat Track racing. Now they take aim, not higher, but lower- as in leading an expedition to ride motorcycles to the geographic South Pole.
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Another reason I’ll be hitting the theater for this Bond movie is the unique partnership the production company forged with Triumph Motorcycles to feature the brand’s bikes in the film. Apparently, EON Productions inked a deal with Triumph back in 2019 to feature the Brit brand’s machines in the next Bond film, and the partnership could not be more perfect. The ultimate British superspy, astride the ultimate British motorcycle. What’s not to love?
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So described the rider for MV Agusta, who thrashed the all new Brutale 1000 Nurburgring around the extended portion of the legendary German race track. The world-famous “Nürburg-Ring” is a 150K person capacity motorsports complex, with a complex history. The track features a Grand Prix section built in 1984, the “GP-Strecke”, with 15 turns and 3.199 miles in length. The larger and much older “Nordschleife” or “North Loop” dates back to the 1920s, and holds a daunting 154 turns across 12.944 miles of tarmac. The Nordschleife loops around the village and Medieval castle complex of Nürburg in the Eifel Mountains. With those numbers, and over 1000 ft. of elevation change across the entire course, It’s little wonder the Nürburgring has beckoned and challenged racers for nearly 100 years. Famed Formula One driver Jackie Stewart once dubbed the North Loop the “Green Hell” following a win he took there in 1968, amidst driving rain and thick fog. The course is indeed legendary, and to some notorious.
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Its no secret at Road Dirt- we love classic motorcycles. Sure, sport bikes are thrilling, ADVs are fun in the dirt, and cruisers/tourers are the way to travel. But there’s something nostalgic about old motorcycles that still rev our hearts, and we always gravitate toward “modern classics” when brands design and offer them. Heck, I love my 2017 Triumph Bonneville 900 Street Cup, and when our friend Steven Kent of Law Tigers bought a 2018 Z900RS, we had to spend a day chasing each other around Georgia Lake Country on our retro-cool, slightly-larger-than middleweights.
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Buell Motorcycle Co. pulled the wraps off their debut entrant back into the motorcycle scene with the sleek and powerful Hammerhead 1190, and are set to take reservations beginning November 1, 2021. The revived moto brand first teased the Hammerhead as well as a few other upcoming models back early in the year, and now appears ready to make good on their production promises. They’ve coined a marketing phrase, “Buell is Back” to call attention to the return of the legendary American racing marquee, and now seem set to deliver.
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For the past couple of years, several of the Road Dirt crew have periodically nudged me, saying, “We should review a Polaris Slingshot.” I’ve resisted, declaring, “We are Road Dirt MOTORCYCLE Media. The Slingshot is not a motorcycle.” I was bound to eat my words eventually.
A couple of months back, Polaris reached out to us via Kelly with The Brand Amp (their marketing partners), asking if we’d be interested in sampling a 2021 Slingshot SL for a couple of weeks. To the guffaws and “I told you so” ribbings of my compatriots, I of course agreed, and subsequently dined on my words.
As we would say down here in the Deep South, “That thing is a hoot to drive.”
Some years back on a cross-country excursion with my old riding pal Mike, while crossing Oklahoma and north Texas westbound on I-40, we found ourselves struggling against 30-40 mph winds blowing north, pushing on us from our left. At highway speed (doing about 75-80), passing or being passed by semis and the crazy turbulence they generate, Mike and I literally had our hands full keeping our luggage-laden touring bikes in our lane. The winds howled two days against us, determined to toss us into the ditch or under some truck’s tires. But we prevailed, albeit completely exhausted. Quite the nerve-wracking stint in the saddle, to say the least.
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Toni Elias just fired a shot across the bow of every racer and team in the MotoAmerica paddock at PittRace this past weekend.
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We all knew it was impending, even though we secretly wished it would never end. After 26 seasons and nine world championships, seven of which in the Premier class, motorcycle racing legend Valentino Rossi has announced he will call it quits at the end of this 2021 MotoGP season. Nothing lasts forever in this life, and Rossi’s ride had to pit in eventually.
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