A few we’d love to sample

We neglected to share these earlier, but when editor-in-chief Rob Brooks asked me for my dream list for motorcycles I wanted to ride in 2023, I dreamt big. Emphasis on dreamt.  He did ask for a wish list after all.  I leave it up to him to fulfill it.

Defending MotoAmerica champ Jake Gagne’s Yamaha R1 – Like those of you who follow the North American road race championship, I wonder what it is like to ride one of those beasts.  But if Jake and the Attack Performance Yamaha crew won’t oblige, any MotoAmerica Superbike ride will do.  Maybe I can twist Max Flinder’s arm…

MV Agusta Superveloce Ago – Rob tested the MV a while ago and it pegged my jealousy meter.  Possibly the most beautiful motorcycle in current production, the Ago Edition with its red and silver racing livery is a show stopper.  I think I could park it at the local cafe and stare at it all day, then flog the daylights out of it.  It would look spectacular at the track.

2023 Honda Transalp – Those of us who grew up in a certain decade remember the first Transalp, a ADV bike before there was such a category.  Playing connect the dots with my local volcanoes on Honda’s all new Transalp would be proof of the new bike’s dirt chops, and just maybe an opportunity to relive my childhood dreams of riding around the local mountains all day.

Honda RC45 – It is a dream bike list, right?  With a pair of Honda V-fours in the garage, this would be the pinnacle of my gear driven cam dreams.  I know you are never supposed to meet your heroes, but in the case of the RC45, I would be willing to try.  Surely someone out there reading this has one.

Long Term Wish List:

2023 Ural Adventure – Might be a better ski touring mount than my 1998 Honda VFR800, and the 3 wheel drive means plowing through the snow to places I can tour from with room for my chocolate lab.

Arch Motorcycle 1S – Ridiculously well crafted with a loud, fast V-twin.  And just look at it.

2024 Triumph Street Triple Moto2 Edition – Triples are addicting, and the Moto2 Edition of Triumph’s hooligan bike begs to be ridden hard.

2023 Indian Challenger RR – Who wants to ride a King Of The Baggers replica?  Oh, please pick me.  Only 29 will be made.

Our resident racer, Ryan Nolan, dropped a couple he’d love to ride this year as well-

Triumph Street Triple R/RS – Triumph always has a special place in my heart and the new Street Triple just speaks to me. The blend of styling really catches my eye and riding the base platform for one of the next generation supersport bikes has me needing to know how that 765 powerplant feels.

Kawasaki ZX-4RR – Having previously ridden the Ninja 400, I am very intrigued by this new version of Kawasaki’s small displacement inline four. I have never ridden anything like it before and the balance of size makes me wonder how this new version would feel. Bikes of this displacement category are usually reserved for the European and Asian markets so having the opportunity to give one a try, puts this on my list!

And fellow Editor-at-Large Joshua Placa‘s outrageous pick-

When Editor Brooks asked the seemingly innocuous question of which new bike we’d like to get on in 2023, he may not have considered some of us may be taking a brief holiday from our happy pills. And by us I mean me.

Since the Amazonas is out of production (look that one up), my close second choice was something with a colossal motor shoehorned into a motorcycle frame and topped with a wee solo seat, presumably to eliminate the temptation to add a passenger and their wind-dragging, power-reducing bulk and weight. The Boss Hoss Super Sport 496 came to mind. I’d go with the 454 cubic-inch (7439cc) small block engine option, making 563 hp. I need that to get to work. The Boss Hoss starts at $68,900.

So there’s a few of our Bucket List bikes for the year we are already rolling deep into. What bikes do you have the itch to sample this year? Let us know in the comments below!

Ted