Bikes & Gear
Evaluations & Recommendations
Triumph Tiger Sport 800: A Tall Order
As a 6’2” rider with a 34-inch inseam, finding a motorcycle that balances sporty performance with long-distance comfort is a tall order- pun intended. The 2025 Triumph Tiger Sport 800, a middleweight sport-tourer with adventure-inspired ergonomics, promised to deliver on both fronts. After a week of riding and testing across small town streets and winding country roads, I’ve put this bike through its paces to evaluate the rider triangle, comfort, and powerplant performance.
Here’s my take.
Suzuki Goes Retro Cool
From the old-school round headlights and bar-end mirrors, the tuck/roll seat stitching of the 8T, to the sweet 1980s style square headlight cowling and under-cowl below the pipe headers on the 8TT, not to mention the gorgeous paint jobs, both bikes drip 1970s-early 80s inspiration. These bikes are long overdue from Suzuki, and we’re sure they’ll be popular with North American buyers if the price point is right (no price yet as of the time of this writing).
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Brake Free- Helmet Brake Light Review
A couple of years ago, I was at a local motorcycle event and came upon a little booth and met the folks from Brake Free, demonstrating their new product, and boy was I ever impressed. The Brake Free Smart Brake Light is a stand-alone, helmet mounted device with 100 extra bright LED lights which makes it almost impossible for anyone behind you not to see you. It’s totally self contained, and requires no wiring to the motorcycle.
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The Mighty Mini: Honda’s Dax 125
With the rapidly growing popularity of small bore motorbikes these days, something we have documented frequently here at Road Dirt, Honda reached out and asked if we’d like to ride and review the 2025 Dax 125, otherwise known as the Trail 125. One look at the bike, it’s old school “t-bone” frame and design, and I had to ride one. It so recalled my cousin‘s old Trail 70, it made me think back and wish I had not been so easily deterred by that small pipe burn as a youngster.
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Summer Tire Test 2025- Dunlop Roadsmart IV vs Bridgestone Battlax T33
However, while some of these claims are true, some are not. Our years of testing has shown that even in this age of technological advancement you can go wrong with your tire choice. Over the past three years and tens of thousands of miles of testing we have found differences both subtle and massive among the sport touring tires. Fellow tester and tire geek Dave Wensveen and I have seen it all from brilliant handling and amazing wet grip to tires that degrade after only 2,000 miles. There are brilliant tires out there, really good tires and absolutely bad tires. Road Dirt is here to help you make an informed choice.
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Small Bore Mania 2025
I had the opportunity to attend this year’s Smoky Mountain Small Bore Rally again, and the weekend was truly bigger and better than ever. I am amazed every year at how much time, imagination, and of course money these folks devote to their passion for these small size and displacement motorcycles.
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Helmet Review: HJC i31 Tevis
The new version is called the HJC i31 Tevis. I’ve always had a solid color helmet rather than one with wildly colored graphics, but this time I decided to go with some colors, which match those of my newly repainted Triumph America. I loved the way it looked, but the trouble began with the first time I put it on. Or more accurately, the first time I attempted to put it on.
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Riding Honda’s 750 and 1000 Hornet
I’m riding a 2025 Honda CB750 Hornet on this our first of a two-day press demo of the new Hornet 750 and 1000 models, and the roar of this 755cc twin as I’m galloping through the swift traffic is fueling my thirst to pin the throttle. This engine is howling, daring me to pour more coal to the fire. I’m obliging, at least as much as I’m able in the fast, dense traffic. Soon, we catch the front group, traffic thins as we roll northeast past Roseville, and we settle into a nice 75 mph cadence heading for the hill country before us.
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Motorcycle Gear: CoverSeal Weighted Cover
We recently were contacted by CoverSeal, a company that manufactures heavy-duty weighted covers for automobiles, tractors, and outdoor appliances like large grills and patio furniture. They have now developed a weighted motorcycle cover, and asked if we’d be interested in receiving one for review. We obliged, and within a week had a large, heavy box delivered to our doorstep at Road Dirt HQ.
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