Washington State 2

Bridgestone’s new for 2025 T33 Battlax is here to take on Dunlop’s Roadsmart IV for bragging rights as King of Sport Touring Tires. It is a big task. Nothing so far has been able to unseat the Dunlop as the best all around sport touring tire on the market.

GREAT ROADS: North Cascades Pass

by Ted Edwards | May 22, 2025 | Rides & Roads | 3 |

North Cascades Pass Highway 20 opens in early May if we are lucky, when the snowplow coming from the east meets the snowplow coming from the west. For a few brief months during the summer the gates to heaven open. It is seventy miles between dots of civilization so if something goes wrong, you are on your own. This is the Pacific Northwest, remember.

Dunlop Q5S Long Term Track & Street Test

by Ted Edwards | May 30, 2024 | Bikes & Gear | 0 |

I wondered how the stellar Dunlops would perform long term as both a street tire and trackday weapon. The Q5S tires have a harder center compound for street mileage so I kept them on my Honda Superhawk for the duration of the 2023 riding season for commuting, touring and canyon sprint miles, using them as most riders would for a whole year. Then, last week, after a full year with the tires on the bike, I returned to MotoAmerica’s early summer race venue, The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington for a second thrashing to see how they would fare after a full season of use.

Music and Motorcycling

by Rob Brooks | Feb 12, 2024 | Ride Life, Rides & Roads | 2 |

Music and motorcycling just fit together, “like peas and carrots” as Forrest Gump once uttered. It seems like I’ve accumulated memory banks full of songs that hearken back to a certain ride, and vice versa. I’m not sure what dynamic is taking place, but nearly every road trip I’ve taken, sometimes even while local or regional riding, a song becomes the soundtrack that takes me back to that place, that bike, that traveling companion, that experience, every time I hear it. Here’s a few more of my favorites from the road.

Dunlop Q5 Motorcycle Tire Test

by Ted Edwards | Jun 30, 2023 | Bikes & Gear | 2 |

Last fall, Dunlop introduced it’s newest releases in hypersport rubber, the Q5 and Q5S, replacing the track focused Q4 and grippy but street oriented Q3+ in Dunlop’s lineup. Being curious, I purchased a set of Q5S out of my ridiculously abundant Road Dirt paycheck, spooned them on my Honda Superhawk and headed to The Ridge Motorsports Park in Shelton, Washington.