Industry & Racing
Latest News & Race Reports
MotoAmerica at Laguna Seca 2026
MotoAmerica’s annual stop in Monterey marks the mid-season for teams and riders. The wear and tear of the season begins to take its toll. Losing sponsors, injuries, and mechanical breakdowns tax the resolve of everyone in the paddock. Somehow though, the riders are internally programed to lay it on the line and race as if nothing else matters. This provided the fans an exciting two days of wheel-to-wheel action at the famed Laguna Seca circuit.
Read More
Rain on the Ridge
There have been many anecdotes about rainy weather throughout history, but this past weekend at Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington brought to mind one that is parodied more often than others. Even Snoopy used Edward Bulwer-Lytton’s quote, “It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents-except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the” track. Friday, June 26th was a challenging day for everyone at the racetrack. Wind and rain, in sheets, rolled through off and on during the day, yet somehow MotoAmerica riders managed to brave it all and complete qualifying for Saturday. Teams, crews, riders, media and everyone it takes to run a race event hunkered down without complaining and got the job done!
Read More
Harley-Davidson To Bring the Revolution Max Back Home
Harley-Davidson announced that they were bringing production of the Revolution Max platform back to the United States, as part of their “Back to the Bricks” strategy. The move will bring machining, powertrain, assembly, painting, and final vehicle assembly back to H-D facilities in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The transition from Thailand back home is expected ahead of the 2028 model year, sometime in mid 2027. Given all the flak the motorcycle company has taken in recent years, this is welcome and encouraging news for fans of the brand, and for the thousands of workers who will be hired for preparation and production.
Read More
Kayla Yaakov: Race Like A Girl
I briefly spoke with motorcycle racer Kayla Yaakov last year, in the Rahal Ducati Racing paddock area at Road Atlanta. She was cheerful, chatty, smiling ear to ear, diminutive in stature, but 10 feet tall in passion and drive. If you didn’t know she was a professional motorcycle racer, and a very successful one at that, you would be forgiven for merely mistaking her for an enthusiastic teenager. Her wide-eyed wonder, combined with her laser-focused skills on a race bike, have propelled her to stardom in the MotoAmerica road racing series, and she deservedly has become the talk of the track.
Read More
Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials- Pin the Throttle
As a kid, I loved watching the coverage of the annual Bonneville Speed Trials, whenever one of the networks would feature it. The sight of all kinds of speed machines, from motorcycles to rocket cars, going flat out as fast as possible down the miles of flat salt, just captured my imagination. I dreamed of pinning the throttle on a long, low, two-wheeled, fire breathing beast, roaring through the speed traps, head down, tucked in behind a small fairing, the finish line faint in the distance ahead, breaking 200+ mph while hanging on for dear life.
Yeah, Bonneville captured my imagination.
The Road To AFT
This 2026 season, AFT has launched a new program to encourage and inspire young amateur flat trackers to look ahead to becoming professionals. The Road to AFT consists of seven races, the first of which was held on March 4th at Daytona Beach, FL. A partnership with CTR (Cory Texter Racing) showcases the seven events and young 450cc riders must qualify at a showcase event the day before the AFT race, to run the event, the next day. The young riders are given guidance on completing tech before and after races. Each rear wheel is taken off and weighed and must be 34 lbs. or less. Dismounting the wheel after a competitive race is exhausting. Tech photographs each bike and then riders are given permission to remove the wheel for inspection.
Read More
Suzuki’s Ken Roczen Claims 2026 Supercross Crown
After 13 seasons in the premier class, Roczen had accumulated 28 career 450SX victories, but the championship title had always eluded him. The 2026 season marked Roczen’s sixth year aboard the Suzuki RM-Z450 and his fourth season with Progressive Insurance Cycle Gear ECSTAR Suzuki. Against all odds and against one of the deepest fields in modern Supercross history, Roczen delivered one of the most memorable championship victories the sport has ever seen.
Read More
Through The Lens: Remembering Mert Lawwill
It began Wednesday night, after dinner here on the West Coast. The phone was ringing and both cell phones were pinging from texts and emails. “Did you hear that Mert Lawwill passed away?” were the messages. Stories from industry friends and old riders began to be shared about what a pleasure it was to have known Mert. As we have been reconnecting and reminiscing with our motorcycle family these past few days, our memories of Mert are pleasant ones. We thought we would share some of these through our photography of him over the decades.
Read More
Bagger Pit Crew Life
You hear them before you see them.
I am down by the wall on the front straight at Road Atlanta, as the King of the Baggers riders approach the hill and bridge after turn 10B. The bikes haven’t come into view yet, but their growl is already wafting through the paddock and down pit lane. Suddenly they are visible, one by one diving under the bridge then plunging down the hill and throttling hard right onto the front straight. I set the pit board over the fence, displaying Harley-Davidson Factory Racing team rider Bradley Smith’s position, gap to the rider behind him, and laps left. He’s holding off Indian’s Troy Herfoss for 3rd, as the whole field of bikes roar past at over 160 mph, then lean right up the hill at turn 1.
I feel them in my chest, as they blast past me at speeds these bikes shouldn’t be capable of.
Get Rob’s Latest Book
Law Tigers
National Cycle
MotoAmerica at Mid-Ohio
Kingdom Adventure Tours- Guatemala
Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge
RevZilla Products
Cycle Gear Products
J&P Cycles Products
The Crew
Recent Articles
Recent Videos
The Road Dirt Podcast
Recent Comments