On December 21, 2023, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety announced the results of two new studies involving front crash prevention systems and how they detect vehicles that aren't other cars.

One study analyzed over 160,000 police-recorded crash reports from 18 states that met certain criteria, while the other study concentrated on how current New Car Assessment Programs (NCAPs) evaluate forward collision warning (FCW) and automatic emergency braking (AEB) features on new cars. 

The results of both studies pointed to a need for significant improvements in how front crash prevention systems detect both trucks and motorcycles. Here are the most interesting things we learned from these studies.

Things Learned From The Multi-State Police-Reported Crash Analysis Survey

This study's more formal title is Are front crash prevention systems less effective at preventing rear-end crashes where trucks and motorcycles are struck?, and it was authored by Jessica B. Cicchino and David G. Kidd. 

The authors analyzed data from over 160,000 two-vehicle rear-end crashes involving a passenger vehicle as the vehicle that rear-ended another vehicle. For simplicity's sake, we'll call this vehicle the Striker. In this study, Strikers could either have front crash prevention systems (such as FCW and/or AEB systems), or they could not.

It also looked at struck vehicle types in the crashes it analyzed, dividing them into three categories: Passenger vehicle, medium/heavy truck, and motorcycle.

In this analysis, the researchers used VIN decoder information to determine the correct category for the vehicles involved in these crashes when possible. This was helpful in correctly categorizing large pickup trucks, which were sometimes misclassified as "trucks" on police reports. (For categorization purposes, the researchers defined a medium/heavy truck as one having a gross vehicle weight rating over 10,000 pounds.)

Importantly, Cicchino and Kidd noted that front crash prevention systems were associated with a 53 percent reduction in rear-end crashes that involved the Strikers hitting other passenger vehicles. However, that percentage reduced significantly when it came to avoiding rear-end crashes with medium/heavy trucks and motorcycles.

The analysis, which included data from 18 states, found only a 41 percent reduction in rear-end crash rates where the struck vehicle was a motorcycle. With medium/heavy trucks, the number was worse; only a 38 percent reduction was observed.

By their estimates, the researchers wrote that around 5,500 additional crashes involving medium/heavy trucks and 500 crashes involving motorcycles could potentially be avoided if front crash protection systems were improved so that they recognized medium/heavy trucks and motorcycles as well as they currently recognize other passenger vehicles.

Furthermore, they observed that "nearly half of motorcycle crashes are two-vehicle crashes where the other vehicle was a passenger vehicle." 

Beyond that, though, came another chilling observation that didn't involve rear-end crashes of motorcycles at all.

Here, the researchers wrote "For example, Teoh (2023) reported that over a quarter of two-vehicle motorcycle crashes involved the other vehicle turning left in front of the motorcycle, which could be addressed by left-turn assist systems that detect motorcycles." In other words, left-turn assist systems doing the heavy lifting of seeing motorcycles when drivers, for whatever reason, simply do not.

Things Learned From The Surrogate Targets Survey

DRI Soft Motorcycle 360 Surrogate Vehicle Target

4active Systems 4activeMC Surrogate Vehicle Target

This study's formal title is The effectiveness of forward collision warning systems in detecting real-world passenger and nonpassenger vehicles relative to a surrogate vehicle target. It was written by David G. Kidd, Benoit Anctil, and Dominique Charlebois, and was the result of a cooperative effort between the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Transport Canada.

For this study, rather than analyzing data from real-world police reports of crashes, the analysis instead concentrated on front collision warning performance trials of the type used in NCAP testing. These trials typically involve the vehicles to be tested crashing into either other vehicles or what's known in the testing industry as 'surrogate vehicle targets.'

Why use surrogate vehicle targets? In many cases, they're constructed to show up on the radar, lidar, camera, and infrared systems typically used in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), a category which includes front crash prevention systems. At the same time, they're also soft and therefore less likely to damage the vehicles that are undergoing testing if they don't stop in time.

In this study, two purpose-built surrogate vehicle target motorcycles were included: the DRI Soft Motorcycle 360 and the 4active Systems 4active MC. Both of those vehicles are currently used in real-world testing by various NCAP programs around the world.

A 2006 Honda VFR800 was also included among the vehicles to hopefully be avoided by the passenger vehicle front crash prevention warning systems that underwent testing. Additionally, a Polaris Slingshot was among the other non-motorcycle vehicles included as a target to be avoided by the passenger vehicle FCW systems being tested.

In describing a 2016 study performed by John Lenkeit and T. Smith, the researchers observed that, "[The authors] evaluated FCW systems in eight vehicles when each was traveling 72 km/h (45 mph) and encountering a stationary motorcycle (2006 Honda VFR 800-cc sport touring) or midsize passenger car (2000 Honda Accord). Five of the eight FCW systems either did not consistently warn for the stationary motorcycle or provided a warning later than 2.1 seconds before collision in more than 2 trials; 2 of the vehicles never provided a warning. In contrast, every FCW system detected the stationary midsize car and provided a warning 2.1 seconds prior to collision or earlier."

That wasn't the case when the testing vehicles approached slower-moving motorcycles rather than motorcycles that were completely stationary. 

"Lenkeit and Smith also tested FCW performance in four of the eight vehicles when the vehicle was approaching the same motorcycle or passenger car moving slower (32 km/h [20 mph]) than the test vehicle (72 km/h [45 mph]). In contrast to the stationary vehicle results, all four vehicles detected the slower moving motorcycle and provided a warning 2.1 seconds before collision or earlier. These findings suggest that the sensors and algorithms supporting FCW struggle to identify stationary motorcycles but not stationary passenger cars."

Keep in mind, the quoted study was from 2016. It is now the end of 2023, and it's also very nearly 2024. Presumably, ADAS technologies have advanced at least somewhat since the time that this initial study was conducted. However, it's still safe to say that these observations identify areas where serious improvement is needed.

That test from 2016 relied on a real motorcycle that was 10 years old at the time of testing. More recent testing involving surrogate vehicle target motorcycles yielded the following note in this study.

"Consistent with past research, FCW systems struggled to detect and provide timely warnings when the vehicles approached a stationary motorcycle in the center of the lane. On average, the FCW systems presented a warning 0.18 and 0.15 seconds later for the 4activeMC and DRI soft motorcycle 360 than the DRI GVT, respectively. Motorcycles are smaller than passenger cars and have a smaller radar cross section that produces less radar signal return, which may delay or negate detection by radar sensors. Camera sensors also may struggle to detect motorcycles because their smaller size contributes to lower spatial resolution in the camera image, especially at further distances. Higher resolution cameras are important for reliably detecting smaller objects."

Two more interesting observations we noted in this study regarded the Slingshot, about which the researchers noted that,

"The Polaris Slingshot is an autocycle with a single rear wheel like a motorcycle and a cockpit and two front wheels like a passenger car. The Slingshot’s mixture of motorcycle and passenger car features appeared to confound the FCW systems that were tested. A warning was provided in only a little more than one-third of the trials. But when the Slingshot was detected, the timing of the FCW was statistically equivalent to the DRI GVT. Hence, the FCW systems appeared to treat the Polaris Slingshot as a passenger car when it was detected."

But overall, as was the case in the multi-state real-world crash survey, the researchers came to the conclusion that,

"Responses from FCW systems in modern vehicles to stationary nonpassenger vehicles like motorcycles and large trucks were not statistically equivalent to how the systems responded to a stationary passenger-car surrogate target. The findings emphasize a need for developers to train object detection algorithms underpinning FCW and AEB systems on a broader set of potential vehicle target classes and not only the most common vehicle types or those that are evaluated in vehicle testing programs."

Conclusion

While it's not realistic to expect testing bodies to take every single size and shape of motorcycle (or other non-passenger vehicle) into consideration, some variety of motorcycle sizes and shapes would probably be helpful. There's a world of difference between, say, a Honda Grom and an Indian Chieftain.

Meanwhile, the Honda VFR800 and the two surrogate vehicle target testing 'motorcycles' used in the second survey all have similar size and shape characteristics. The DRI Soft Motorcycle 360 has a wheelbase of 1,460mm, or 57.4 inches. That is, in fact, the same wheelbase as the VFR800, or to give you a modern wheelbase equivalent, a 2024 Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+. 

While that's certainly not an uncommon general size and shape for a motorcycle to have, it's far from the only one. As any rider can tell you, there's far more than one way to enjoy motorcycling, and many of them do involve sharing the road with other vehicles. The wheelbase on the 4activesystems model is slightly smaller, at 1,420mm, or about 55.9 inches, but there still needs to be greater variety in testing and detecting.

Advances in front collision warning systems on passenger vehicles are encouraging, but as the IIHS illustrates here, improvements are still necessary. Truck drivers and riders alike all want to get to wherever we're going safely, and if improved electronic driver aids can help make that happen, we're all for it.

More Moto Safety Issues:

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Dynamic Research Inc., 4active Systems, Honda

When it's nice weather out, all you want to do is go outside and play. 

You probably started doing this when you were a kid, and if you ride a motorcycle or like to do anything else outdoors, chances are excellent that you've continued that habit. It's completely relatable, and it's something that we all do. It's so engrained in us all that we probably don't even think about it.

The only problem is that it's all too easy to keep putting off those time-consuming (and possibly intimidating) tasks that you know should really be done. After all, if it's a gorgeous and sunny day out, why would you want to waste it indoors cleaning your carbs? (I imagine this is a particular problem in California, although I can't say for sure because I've never lived there. I do know and respect the fact that the state lives up to its nickname in the sunshine department, though.)

If it gets icy and snowy where you live, and it's not great weather for riding, now is the time to tackle those big jobs you've been putting off. Here are some tips to help make it easier on yourself and get the job done.

Be Gentle But Firm With Yourself About Actually Making Time

Whether you've been putting it off because you know it's going to be a gigantic pain, or you're simply intimidated because it feels like it's outside your comfort zone, don't let either of those things stop you. Be honest with yourself about why you've been putting it off. Own it, don't beat yourself up, but promise yourself that you'll move through it and get it done.

Get Your Preparations Done Ahead Of When You Plan To Work On Your Carbs

Removing the practical barriers to getting the job done will (surprise, surprise) make it easier to actually do the thing. It will also give you fewer excuses to stop any forward momentum on your project. "Oh no, I don't have the right gaskets. Guess I have to set this one aside for another six months," is not what anyone wants to find themselves saying.

So, do your homework. Get your consumables (O-rings, gaskets, cleaning chemicals, oil, and so on) together so that you're ready to go at the time you've designated as your Project Time. 

This includes tools, if you don't already have what you need. And please, I and every future owner of your bike are begging you, get yourself some JIS screwdrivers if you don't have them already. They'll come in handy for other stuff in your home (such as electronics) too.

Don't Rush Yourself

Mistakes tend to happen when you're in a hurry. It's not just you; it's everyone. Unless you're some kind of carb whisperer, chances are excellent that you're going to need more than an hour or two to completely disassemble and rebuild your carbs.

The greater the number of actual carburetors are involved, the longer it will likely take. After all, cleaning up a single carburetor is going to be quicker than cleaning up four of them, especially if you have to worry about linking them back together properly.

Give yourself not only time to work, but also time to take breaks, and time to make (and recover from) mistakes. 

This in-depth video from Brick House Builds dives into a bank of Honda CB750 carburetors, and contains some useful tips and tricks that could help you on your journey. While it will be most helpful to those working on CB750s, there are points here that should be helpful to anyone rebuilding their carbs in general.

For example, BJ from BHB talks about his preference to recondition the brass jets in his carbs rather than replacing them. Some people prefer to simply replace them when they get badly gunked up, and some people also don't like the idea of shoving wire inside them to clean them out.

Like many maintenance topics in motorcycling, you'll find a wide array of opinions on the subject. The most important thing is to figure out what works best for you. Rebuilding carbs already takes a lot of patience, so are you the type of person who has extra patience to spare for doing such fiddly, time-consuming work? That's a question you'll need to answer honestly before figuring out how you want to proceed.

Another less controversial topic that BHB addresses is float height measurement. BJ's advice here is to take a little piece of cardboard, use calipers to measure out whatever the shop manual for your bike specifies as the proper height, and then cut out a template. That will make your life much easier if you have multiple carbs for the same bike that you need to set float heights on. 

Decide How You're Going To Organize Your Parts Ahead Of Time

If you're just working on a single carb, it's a bit easier than if you're working on a bank of multiple carbs. However, if you're working on a bank of carbs, just make sure you have some way to keep all the parts of each carb together throughout the process. From disassembly to cleaning to reassembly, it's important not to mix parts up. You could use a handy bin system like BHB has in this video, or you could use old plastic takeout containers, or a muffin tin. Whatever works.

Depending On Your Carbs And Your Available Cleaning Tools, This Job Could Take A While

As BHB demonstrates in that video, there's more than one way to clean a carb. In BJ's case, he has an ultrasonic cleaner, a parts washer, and a good old five-gallon bucket of soapy water and a toothbrush for some hand scrubbing when it's needed. It's not a case of one method being better than another. Instead, it's about using all the methods you have at your disposal in a complementary fashion. 

Not everyone has all of these cleaning tools at their disposal, in which case you might just be sitting with some carb cleaner, a toothbrush, a box of nitrile gloves, and a stack of old newspapers to cover your work surface. Even if you did have an ultrasonic cleaner, though, you'd almost certainly need to still do some of the job by hand. 

Audio Motivation Is A Powerful Thing

Playlists, podcasts, audiobooks, or whatever you like to listen to that helps you concentrate will be some of your best friends here. You know yourself best, so choose whatever works for you. Listen to something cool, and prepare to be amazed at what you can accomplish.

You Can Do This:

Harley-Davidson is many things to many people, whether they're riders or not. As one of the most famous brands in the world, there's a certain image of motorcycling that it projects.

While you might think of Electra Glides, CVOs, Sportsters, and perhaps even V-Rods if you feel like being controversial, one thing that probably doesn't immediately come to mind is motocross bikes.

Yet for a blink-and-you'd-miss-it amount of time in the 1970s, Harley-Davidson momentarily caught motocross fever and dove into development headfirst. It took place during the AMF Harley-Davidson years, while the company still owned Italian firm Aermacchi. If you've already guessed that Aermacchi built the bike in question, please get yourself a little bar and shield cookie as a treat.

To be completely accurate, Harley actually built two motocross machines, but only 65 of the first version were reportedly ever built by hand in Milwaukee. That first bike never actually made it into production.

The one MX bike that did find its way to dealerships was the 1978 Harley-Davidson MX250. It was sold in dealerships for about one entire year before disappearing. Since then, it's only occasionally been brought up by motocross historians and international collectors as something of an historic curiosity. 

Here at RideApart, strange stories like this are kind of like our catnip, so let's dive right in.

Weird Moto History Is Best Moto History:

Setting The Stage

In 1960, Harley-Davidson purchased 50 percent of Aermacchi, an Italian motorcycle company that originally got its start making seaplanes before eventually moving on to other aircraft and finally, to motorbikes. The name is short for "Aeronautica Macchi," or "Air Machine." Its founder in 1912, incidentally, was a man by the name of Giulio Macchi.

In 1965, Harley had gone public. But by 1968, it was hurting financially as it fought to stave off new competition from the rise of Japan's Big Four. Facing serious market pressure, a massive conglomerate of the time called Bangor Punta Corporation attempted to take over the Motor Company at the beginning of October 1968. 

But Harley president William H. Davidson wasn't having it, and said that the company was not for sale. Instead, company executives worked behind the scenes to find their own solution. By Halloween 1968, the Motor Company officially announced a deal to be acquired by American Machine and Foundry, more commonly known as AMF. It, too, was a conglomerate. As the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel noted, "Harley didn't comment on why it had chosen AMF as its white knight."

By 1973, AMF Harley-Davidson took control of the remaining 50 percent of Aermacchi, taking complete ownership of the Italian motorcycle manufacturer but maintaining its factory in Varese, Italy.

Since Aermacchi mainly made small-displacement bikes for its home market, AMF Harley-Davidson saw the opportunity to rebadge several of these bikes as Harleys, in an attempt to compete with the wide array of smaller-displacement Japanese bikes now on the market. This approach didn't go over terribly well at the time, though you will still find some Harley Aermacchis at classic bike meets in the 21st century.

Why Make A Motocross Bike In The First Place?

To put it simply, motocross was cool AF in the 1970s. Seemingly everyone was doing it, from dominant forces like Maico to comparative upstarts like Suzuki.

In that context, AMF Harley wanted what motorcycle manufacturers have been chasing for decades: Love from the ever-elusive youth market. Supporting the riders of tomorrow today. You get the idea. It was also a time when "race on Sunday, sell on Monday" still had some meaning, and hadn't yet been relegated to cliché status.

Seeking both development help and a leg up in establishing its legitimacy as a force to be reckoned with, Harley hired Southern California legendary pro MX racer Rex Staten. Also called Rocket Rex (possibly one of the coolest nicknames ever), AMF Harley and Aermacchi got to work developing what would eventually become the MX250.

The 1978 Harley-Davidson MX250

Sourcing components for this bike was seemingly its own Motocross of Nations-level international effort. The Aermacchi factory made the bike in Varese, and it also constructed the 242.6cc two-stroke single-cylinder engine that powered it.

The carburetor came from Dell'Orto. The ignition came from the Italian (not Japanese, as it's sometimes mislabeled) firm Dansi. The forged levers came from Tommaselli. The shoulderless rims came from the Spanish firm Akront. The bodywork came from Harley, and the Kayaba suspension came from Japan. 

Here are the specs, in case you're curious:

How Was It To Ride?

Few journalists of the time were reportedly invited to ride the bike. Those that did reported that the engine had a very narrow power band, coupled with extremely sluggish torque down low down in the rev range. The mid-range was slightly better, but still not great. For best results, they said, you had to keep it pinned or face disappointment.

The Kayaba suspension, seemingly chosen after looking over Suzuki's shoulder and copying its homework on the RM250, got high marks. However, the comparatively hefty weight of the MX250 was at least 25 pounds heavier than its competition.

As you can probably work out, a suspension that worked well on a lighter bike might not work as well on a heavier one, and that's reportedly what happened here. Pulp MX wrote, "with the Harley [MX250], you had the suspension of a trail bike, mated to a motor only a MX pro could make work. Not a great combination."

What About Sales?

When all was said and done, fewer than 1,000 of these bikes were ever made. AMF-Harley required dealerships to carry them in their inventory, which in hindsight seems like an obvious misstep. 

From the point of view of Harley dealers, they were there to sell Harley's road bikes, not this strange dirt bike. Different kinds of riders like what they like, and may like multiple disciplines, but road riding and MX riding are worlds apart. Would existing Harley riders be interested in the new MX bike? Maybe some of them would, but probably not enough to make it worthwhile.

Similarly, people interested in dirt bikes probably wouldn't have a Harley dealership on their list of places to find their next bike. For multiple reasons, this positioning resulted in the opposite of sales success.

As for racing, Rocket Rex and fellow Harley Factory MX racers Marty Tripes and Rich Eierstedt did pretty well for being a brand new team, as 999Lazer illustrates in this video. Given time and support to develop the bike further, they might have done even better.

Unfortunately, though, they weren't racking up the wins right out of the gate. This lack of instant blockbuster success on both the professional racing circuit and at the dealerships ultimately sealed the MX250's fate. It was unceremoniously dumped as a failed experiment after just one year.

As for Aermacchi, AMF sold the firm to Gianfranco and Claudio Castiglioni shortly after this failed MX experiment. The two brothers proceeded to turn Aermacchi into Cagiva (short for Castiglioni Giovanni Varese, named for their father).

The paths of Aermacchi, Cagiva, MV Agusta (which currently exists in the same spot where Cagiva and Aermacchi once stood in Schiranna, Varese, Italy) and Harley-Davidson would converge once more in the 2000s, but that's another story for another day.

In 2023, it's not clear how many MX250s still survive. That's why it's extra cool that you get to see and hear the one in this video start up, so be sure to give it a watch if you enjoy weird motorcycle history as much as we do.

Source: Pulp MX, Motocross Action Mag, Iconic Motorbike Auctions, Harley-Davidson 250 MX Owners Club, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, US Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Inflation Calculator

When you're riding your bike, it's like nothing else. No matter whether you're going fast or slow, or even stopped in traffic, you're having a different experience than other road users. It's exciting and exhilarating, for sure, but it's also inherently more dangerous. 

Even if you're the best rider in the world, you can't control what other road users do. Unfortunately, none of us can control how someone else drives, or even whether they're paying full attention to what they're doing. All it takes is one bad moment where a driver doesn't see a rider in front of them for something terrible to happen. 

What Can You Do?

While we may not be able to control how other people drive, we can take certain measures to mitigate our risk. Wearing helmets and highly rated motorcycle PPE (including CE-rated armor) is a good start if the worst happens. But since we want to avoid the worst happening as much as possible, it's also a good idea to make it as hard as possible for drivers to not see you, or even to forget you (as one 2019 study found occurs in some cases).

With that in mind, here are several ways to help you get seen by other road users. None of these things guarantees that other road users will see you, but they should give you a better chance than completely blacking out your bike and wearing only dark, nonreflective motorcycle gear at night.

Wear Bright And/Or Reflective Motorcycle Gear

All those brightly-colored race replica motorcycle helmets you see do more than merely represent sponsorship deals between your favorite professional riders and helmet giants like Arai, Shoei, and AGV. They also get your attention, whether you personally like a design or not. 

Keep that in mind next time you're helmet shopping. A stealth look can be cool, but if your goal is to get seen out on the road, you may want to go for a more attention-getting graphics scheme. Some motorcycle helmet graphics have reflectivity baked in, so keep a lookout for those designs, as well.

The same holds true for your jacket, pants, boots, and gloves. Since most people prefer a subtler design scheme on things that aren't their helmet, the thing you want to look for here is reflective piping, logos, and other details that gear makers have worked into their designs. 

Think about layering pieces with reflectivity together, too. Just because you have a reflective stripe down the arms of your jacket, and a big reflective logo on the back of the jacket doesn't mean that you can't also have a reflective stripe down your pant legs or on your boots.

Remember, drivers are going to see you from all different angles on the road. The more reflectivity you have, the more opportunities there are for the light to hit just right so a driver sees you. 

Throw A Bright Reflective Vest Over Your Super-Stealth Moto Gear

If you love your super-stealth, all-black jacket and pants most of the time, consider a night-riding compromise. Get yourself a neon reflective vest (like utilities and construction workers often wear), and keep it where it's easy to grab for night riding. Throw it on over your usual dark bike gear, and voilà. You'll instantly be visible to almost everyone else on the road.

It may not project the super-cool look you had in your head, but better reflective than seriously injured, right?

Try A Helmet Light

Slowing down on your bike often involves using the front, rear, or both brakes to varying degrees. This has the added benefit of illuminating your brake lights, so that (theoretically, at least) other traffic can see that you're slowing down and take appropriate action. 

Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, not everyone always sees your bike's brake light. By using either an aftermarket helmet light or something like the lids in the Shark Skwal line (the new Shark Skwal I3 has an integrated brake light, but previous Skwals have long used LEDs for added visibility), you increase the chances that drivers will see you when you stop.

Aftermarket helmet brake lights usually make use of strong double-sided tape to mount in place, much like Bluetooth communicator base plates and action camera mounts. Things to consider here include weight, balance, and also whether you're comfortable sticking double-sided tape on your favorite helmet.

If you're feeling especially precious about not wanting to ruin a particular graphic (honestly, relatable content), you may want to consider getting a plainer helmet that you don't mind putting tape on for your night rides, then installing an aftermarket brake light.

Brighten Up Your Bike

Now, we're not telling you to go out and buy a whole new bike just so you can choose one with super-bright paint. (If you want to do that, it's up to you. We won't stop you.)

You can get reflective and/or retroreflective tape (they reflect light differently; retroreflective tape is commonly seen on safety vests) and stick it wherever you choose. Carefully cut a strip and use it as rim tape, cut some shapes out and tuck them up under the tail of your sportbike, or find other creative ways to make your bike stand out in the dark.

Auxiliary lights can be helpful for both seeing and being seen at night, but their visibility is usually limited to road users that can see the front of your bike. If they're seeing you from the side or the rear, they probably won't notice your extra (and extra bright) lights. 

Don't have extra money to spend? There's another way to potentially draw attention from other road users when you're riding at night, and it requires zero extra dollars spent on your part.

Instead of simply activating your brakes and coming to a stop, try flashing your brake lights by grabbing and then releasing the front brake lever quickly. You don't even have to pull it all the way in; just tap it enough to engage the light. The flashing lights should draw more attention from other road users than a solidly illuminated light, just because it keeps changing.

You could also consider accent lighting to increase visibility, but be sure to check your local laws and regulations before making lighting modifications to your bike. Some jurisdictions may frown upon (or even completely outlaw) these types of modifications. 

Make An Effort To Stay Out Of Driver Blind Spots

If you can see yourself in a driver's rearview mirror, they should be able to see you. As a general rule, stay out of blind spots around other road traffic as much as possible. That way, if they have to make any sudden maneuvers (such as avoiding potholes or road objects), your risk is minimized.

That's not always possible when you're passing, lane splitting, or lane filtering. However, as much as possible, you should give other vehicles space and avoid crowding them. The more space a vehicle has, the easier it is to avoid a collision if something happens and they suddenly have to change course. If you're too close, they could already be moving around in the lane and accidentally taking you out in the process. Easing up off their bumper makes that much less likely.

You might think that your bike has a pretty loud and distinctive sound, but especially on a busy road, it might not stand out from all the other road noise around you. Plus, anyone hearing your exhaust will hear it best when you're in front of them, not behind them. Staying out of driver blind spots is your safest bet, no matter what kind of bike you ride.

Source: NHTSA

Design plays an inextricable role in all of our everyday lives, whether you ride or not. Form and function come together to tell a story, to enhance or detract from our everyday experiences of moving through the world.

If you're a person who feels like things haven't been made for you in an area that you love, it's tough. For those who are resourceful, you might find a way to make what is available work for you, even if it's not perfect. Not everyone can make it work, though, for a variety of reasons.

Every once in a while, someone rises to meet the occasion and create the things that were missing. Women's motorcycle gear and apparel brand Atwyld is one of those instances. Founded by three badass women riders who knew from experience what was missing, the company is making gear that fits both the wants and the needs of many women who ride.

Atwyld has collaborated with Bell Helmets more than once, and their most recent offering is the Atwyld x Bell Helmets Moto-10 Spherical helmet. It's an understated graphic design, letting the helmet shape and the details placed on a gloss white background do the talking. 

We recently had the chance to sit down with Atwyld co-founder and designer Anya Violet, who was kind enough to take the time to answer our questions. Here's our conversation, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

So tell me a little bit about your process in designing. I have no idea how that works, so I'm curious to learn.

Yeah. Well, when it came to a helmet, it was such a different canvas than we've ever worked on before, so the three-dimensional aspect of it was really interesting. And just thinking about when you see someone riding by, what is really graphically interesting. So we wanted the whole series to be very bold and to stand out, even if someone was riding really fast by you, it was like this really bold design.

So graphically, we kept really kind of bold contrasting shapes. And we always want it to feel modern, but with a little bit of a nod to retro style graphics from the '70s and '80s. That's kind of our whole thing. Even our apparel is very kind of nostalgic in feel, but it also has this modern look to it.

Definitely noticed that.

Yeah, So carrying that through into the helmet, and also what would look good with Atwyld's gear. So that was at the forefront of when we were approaching the design, just making sure that it was really bold and had some nostalgia to it, even though it felt really modern.

When you're actually sitting down and doing a design, are you a pen and paper kind of person, or pencil and paper? Are you more a computer person, or do you use like a Wacom pad or... I don't know how you like to work.

Yeah, when I'm designing apparel, I usually start with a quick hand sketch, and then I have all my fabrics and pieces scattered around and I sort of piece it together. It's all really tactile. But then when it comes to really working out the engineering of the piece, it does happen in Illustrator, and I do use a Wacom pen. Because it just is a good way to kind of go between more rigid lines and more organic pen strokes. So for me, that's a process.

But when it came to the helmet, kind of same, we were able to sort of block it out in paper, cut out the pieces, and kind lay it on just to kind of mock things up.

That makes sense.

What's so cool about helmet design that we had never really done before, is that you can kind of mask the design onto the helmet, and it shows up as three-dimensional, whereas we're so used to sketching in 2D. So to see it actually mask in in a three-dimensional shape was so cool. So that was something, as apparel designers, was new for us, and really interesting.

Okay. Do you see yourself doing more helmet designs in the future?

I would love to. We would love to if Bell wanted to. I feel like there is definitely, I think, that vibe. That kind of modern retro bold graphic is really timeless. And you could easily do many iterations of it. It wasn't ultra feminine or ultra masculine. It was very neutral.

So that felt really fun to explore. We, as a company, are very inspired by sci-fi, so we also sprinkle a little bit of that into all of our designs. So you can see it kind of looks like a spaceship helmet, too, like a space helmet.

That's kind of what I thought, actually, the first time I saw the Bullitt. I was like, this looks like a sixties sci-fi type of helmet, with that big bubble shield.

A hundred percent. I mean, the cool thing is that the helmet's shell, like the actual design of the helmet, already has that look to it. So to apply graphics was really natural.

Very cool. Could you tell me a little bit more about yourself and your history with motorcycling?

Sure. I started riding when I was seven years old, so I was just a little kid on like an old Honda Z50, just putting around, cracking the trails. And then I rode off-road dirt bikes until I was like late teens. And then when I went off to college and stuff like that, I was in the city, so I didn't really have a motorcycle or the means to have a motorcycle, but got back into in my mid-twenties, and have been riding nonstop ever since. Off-Road and on the street.

And when I went away to college, I went to fashion design school. So I learned apparel design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. And then as I started my career, I also got back into riding motorcycles. And through that started an event series called Babes Ride Out, which is women's motorcycle camp out events.

So through that, with my business partner Ashmore, we started seeing the whole women's moto community all in one place. It was thousands of them all in one place, and it was really easy to see where the white space in the market was, in terms of women's focused riding gear.

Understandably, it was always an afterthought, obviously a much smaller piece of the market. But our theory in forming Atwyld was, if you build it, they will come. And same with Babes Ride Out. And we've actually seen, I mean you've seen the numbers. I think the Motorcycle Industry Council report was like 20% of motorcyclists in the US are female, and that's just growing. Visually, you can see it out in the market. But yeah, so I was able to kind of marry my two passions, which is fashion design and riding motorcycles into a brand called Atwyld.

That's awesome.

It's been fun.

Sometimes the pieces just kind of fall into place.

Yeah, it's wild. I knew I always wanted to start a brand, but I didn't want to just... The world doesn't need another clothing company. I felt like I wanted it to mean something and have an impact.

Purpose.

Yeah. And it has. It's been so amazing to see how many women who maybe didn't wear gear before, whether it be because it was ill-fitting or uncomfortable or whatever, now making sure to incorporate that protection into their everyday riding, because they feel good in the product. So yeah, it's been very rewarding.

And because if people did make a gear for women, it was either designed on men's gear, or else it's like it's all either pink, or just these weird... If someone likes pink, that's cool, but not everybody likes pink. And even people who like pink probably don't like it all the time. 

Yeah, it's something, it's funny, just having worked in the apparel business for so long, it's something that's so common. They have this really robust men's business, and women's is always an afterthought. Typically, it's not women designing it. So they do their best, and it ends up being just off the mark for so long. So that was why three of us founders, Jaime Dempsey, Corinne Mayer, and myself, we were like, "Okay, we're qualified. We can do this." Because Jamie has development and production background. Corinne's a creative. I'm a designer.

Okay. That's awesome.

The three of us have been riding motorcycles our whole lives. And we realized there weren't apparel businesses that made what we were looking for. Why don't we do this? And so we did.

That's so cool.

Thank you. It's like the Power Rangers of women's motorcycle gear. We do that a lot, like with our powers combined. Yeah, it's a thing. It feels good.

That's so cool. Where did the name come from? The Atwyld name?

Yeah, it's a made up word. It's meant to represent that single moment between fear and thrill, when you're on the edge of your comfort zone, and your adrenaline's banging, it's that wild feeling. So arriving at that feeling is what I think draws a lot of people to riding motorcycles, or whatever you're doing. Rock climbing, or whatever adventure you're doing. That feeling that you get when you're just like adrenaline is pumping. It's a wild feeling. So Atwyld.

Okay, makes sense.

Yeah.

Is there anything else that you'd like to tell us about your process? Any other insights you'd like to share?

I mean, I think in general, I think that the only other thing I'd say is that we are super stoked that Bell wanted to collaborate with us. I think it's really exciting to see big brands like Bell wanting to represent women riders and partner with women brands.

For sure.

And yeah, it's all moving the needle. So yeah, it was an honor to be a part of it.

I was just going to ask, so they reached out to you, then?

Yeah, I think we know some people that work there, which is cool. So I think the brand showed up on their radar for that reason. But I think that a lot of the industry is trying to make more of an effort to market to women, and have a female story that they can tell through motorcycling.

And Atwyld is a women's motorcycle brand. It's the first women's motorcycle apparel brand. So yeah, I think it just made sense for that reason. It's cool, because Bell has such a history. I grew up riding dirt bikes, and my first helmet was a Bell Moto-3. So to then be able to design, I have the helmet right here next to me, to then be able to design onto a Bell Moto-3 with my brand was super cool. So I have photos of myself as a little kid on my 50, I think it was on my 50, with my old Bell Moto-3 helmet. I thought I was the coolest.

That's totally fair.

Yeah.

I'm a little bit jealous, because I did not grow up riding. I didn't learn to ride until I was older, but I wish I grew up riding.

That's so commendable, though. I think that's so amazing. I think about, I'm so grateful I have my off-road background, and dirt bike riding background, that I had all of those tools going into taking the MSF course, and riding on the street.

But for people like yourself to just like, hey, cool, I never rode a motorcycle before. I'm an adult. I'm going to learn. That is so cool. I have a lot of friends that that's their path too, and I'm just like, that takes so much courage and just that's different. It's just so different. Yeah. I don't know. I think I would've been nervous, maybe.

Definitely nervous. And I mean, probably the same, I would imagine, like every time you fall off you're just like, okay, this kind of sucks. But the more time you spend off the bike, you're just like, okay, when can I get back on? When am I going to be healed enough?

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So yeah.

Once it gets into you.

Yeah, it's true. It becomes part of you. You kind of crave it, that feeling again and again.

Do you guys have any future collaborations that you can tell us about that are coming up, or any other future collections even?

Not that we can tell you about.

Okay, sure. That's fair. That's fair.

Secrets.

There's always something cooking in the back, and I get it.

Exactly.

More Interviews:

There are a couple of different kinds of excitement that I tend to have about new bikes. In a lot of cases, of course, I'm excited because I want to ride them. However, because not all bikes are available in all places, sometimes I simply have to content myself with being happy just knowing that they exist.

In those cases, the idea that someone else is able to ride them, even if it's not me, just has to suffice. Really, deep down, I just want everyone to find as much joy in riding as I do, you know? The world would be a better place; I am totally convinced. 

In any case, here are the five bikes that I'm most looking forward to in 2024.

Italjet Dragster 559 Twin

Without question, this is the two-wheeled creation that gave me the single most visceral reaction of the year. At first, I filed it under the category of "I'm just happy this exists, and that Italjet made it happen, even if it only ever stays a concept." That's what I thought upon seeing it show up at EICMA 2023.

Then Italjet explained that no, it isn't a concept, and that it does intend to put it into production as a limited-edition bike first with a less fancy mass market version to follow. Presumably, it might be the difference between carbon fiber and not-carbon-fiber bodywork. You get the idea.

While I've certainly used the phrase "[blank] is out of its mind in the best way," never have I meant it with a greater sense of both awe and respect than with Italjet and the Dragster 559 Twin. More of this, please.

Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE

I love it more than I can say when motorcycle manufacturers don't just play it safe all the time, and the Hypermotard 698 Mono RVE certainly has that feel about it. I also have a soft spot in my heart for a big single, and am unreasonably intrigued by the extremely beautiful new Superquadro Mono engine. Give me an intriguing new engine to contemplate and I will more than likely be interested in whatever bike an OEM chooses to put it in. 

Yamaha XSR900 GP

This might be my personal 'most beautiful bike of the year.' Even though I was far too young to ride bikes of the vintage this design seeks to bring into the modern era when they were new, something about them speaks to me. 

Even though I'm surely among the many whose hearts broke a little when we found out that Yamaha wasn't bringing this bike to the US for 2024, I'm still happy that it exists. I'm happy that other riders will get to ride it, and I can always hope that Yamaha might change its mind in the future. I mean, just look at this thing. It is simply glorious, and the version with the belly pan is even better.

Yamaha PG-1

Going completely in the opposite direction of everything I've listed so far, we have the Yamaha PG-1. Released first in Thailand, then in Vietnam, there probably won't ever be a time that I don't have a soft spot in my heart for a stylish little trail bike like this. 

As I've related here in the past, I didn't grow up riding. But still, I like to imagine an alternate-history version of myself riding a bike like this when I was going to high school and/or college.

I think that alternate-universe Janaki would have loved it for sure, and a bike like this (especially with all the cargo-related practical OEM accessories that Yamaha is pushing for it in Southeast Asia) would be absolutely perfect. I'd probably feel differently if I didn't grow up in a major city, but this seems like it'd be an excellent city runabout.

Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X

I was intrigued by these when Triumph announced them, and I was even more intrigued when I got to see (and sit on, but sadly not ride) them in person a couple of weeks ago. The fit and finish seems pretty nice for a bike in this class, with nice tires, braided stainless steel brake lines, and a general feeling of quality on what's clearly meant to be a budget bike.

I'm also the kind of person who will never not be a massive fan of motorcycles that make riding more accessible to more people. Removing physical, financial, and psychological barriers to riding is always a major win in my book.

Now that you've heard from all of us at RideApart about what we're looking forward to in 2024, what bikes are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!

Five By Five:

It goes without saying that we motorcyclists are an extremely passionate bunch. In fact, you could go as far as saying that some of us treat motorcycling, as well as all of its accouterments, as sort of a religion. While a lot of us have varying tastes when it comes to the kind of riding we do, we’re all united by the love and passion for two wheels, and most of the time, affirm this with a biker wave or nod when we cross paths with another two-wheeler enjoyer on the road.

However, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows in the two-wheeled world. As is the case with all communities, there’ll be purists – and I mean this in a negative connotation – who have a high and mighty outlook on their craft, and look down on anyone who attempts to take part in their sacred practices.

Take, for example, adventure riding. There exists a stigma around what “real adventure” is, and “real adventurers” tend to make fun of ADV riders who take their fully decked out adventure bikes for a quick spin to their local Starbucks. Of course, this has turned into something of a lighthearted joke. So yes, feel free to take your Touratech-equipped BMW R 1300 GS Adventure to your local Starbucks.

The same can be said when it comes to moto-camping, or heck, even camping in general. This outdoor activity has grown in popularity particularly during the pandemic, where a lot of people discovered the joy of the great outdoors. We’re seeing it all over the world, really, as overlanding and moto-camping trails and sites spring up left and right. So, what exactly is “real camping” anyway? Well, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, camping is defined as “a place usually away from urban areas where tents or simple buildings (such as cabins) are erected for shelter or for temporary residence.”

Dork In The Road, a popular YouTube channel with a laidback and very inclusive approach to exploring the world on two wheels had quite a lot to say about the issue of “real camping,” and quite frankly, I couldn’t agree more. At the start of the video, Ben said that he got some flack from a commenter who was pretty upset about him camping in a campsite. Well, first of all, what’s a campsite for if not for camping? These facilities are put up precisely for us to use them and enjoy the great outdoors in a safe and regulated area.

You Asked, We Answered:

Ben says that there’s no wrong way to go camping, and yes, this is 100-percent true, if you’re looking at camping from an inclusive perspective. I can see you diehard adventurers rolling your eyes, and clearly, this story isn’t for you. We all start somewhere, regardless of what our hobbies are, and just like riding a motorcycle, getting the hang of camping is a learning process.

Not everyone wants to spend the night in uncharted territory surrounded by bears, snakes, and other wild animals. Sometimes folks just want to sit back and relax under the stars in a simple tent or sleeping bag without having to worry about things like safety, security, and not getting bitten by a smorgasbord of insects and reptiles.

So if you’re feeling put off to explore the great outdoors by gatekeeping douchebags, just ignore them and do your thing. We’re lucky to be able to enjoy the great outdoors on two, three, four, or however many wheels your vehicle of choice may have, so let’s make the most of it and try our best to have a welcoming and inclusive outlook on things. Trust me, it’ll make everything more fun for everyone involved.

Source: Dork In The Road - YouTube, Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Have you heard any of these myths? Bret Tkacs backs up his myth-busting stint with hard data and research from brands, experts, and governing bodies. 

The first question tackled was “How long do helmets last?” Tkacs digs through the internet and cites Shoei and Snell. Shoei recommends five years as the lifespan of a lid, however, there is no definite replacement date according to Dr. George Snively’s tests with the helmets used by the California Highway Patrol which is posted on the Snell Memorial Foundation’s website. Instead of saying that a helmet is “dead” when it reaches the five-year mark, Snively states that “replacing helmets every five years is a judgment call.” Previous to this statement, however, it depends on the use as quoted: “Unused helmets stored in good condition do not automatically expire after five years.” 

In other words, store your helmets properly so they can make it to the five-year mark, however, the date of manufacture isn’t a true countdown timer, but you do have to inspect the lid as far as its condition is concerned. 

The next myth is that helmet certifications are what you need to look out for. ECE 22.06 is one of my top recommendations. Look for standards that are up-to-date or fit for the country that you ride in. A helmet might be more expensive than the other, but it should be as safe if not safer than other lids depending on the helmet standard that it adheres to. In whatever case, if safety is the main priority (and it should be) when it comes to your helmet purchase, then you need to take note of the rating. 

More Stuff About Helmets:

“I can’t see when I wear a helmet!” Well, there are quite several riders out there who feel like a helmet limits their vision. In truth, it depends on the fit of the lid on your head. Any good helmet will have a wide enough aperture, but that hinges on whether a helmet fits your head properly. If you’ve ever worn a helmet with a loose set of pads it might sag and impede your vision. This is only one of the elements that speak towards how important fit is for motorcycle helmets. 

Have you dropped a helmet? You don’t need to replace it right away unless you fall in the helmet and hit your head. You don’t want the EPS liner to compress because that’s the main impact-absorbing layer that will save your noggin in a crash. Inspect the helmet just in case, but if there was weight inside when it fell, it may be toast. 

Apart from that, Tkacs goes on about the sensory stuff like hearing. Yes, helmets do deaden the sounds of the outside world, but they still allow for the more important sounds to come in like a car horn or a siren. In this case, even riding with plugs can be better considering that it also protects you from hearing loss, unneeded wind noise, and a few other sounds that you don’t need to hear. 

I can continue to cover the video, but at 18 minutes long, it's probably best that you watch the whole thing. Tkacs is an experienced ADV instructor who regularly makes content for his YouTube channel. Whether it’s debunking myths or giving tips and tricks, his channel is worth a view or even a sub if you’re privy to his style of content. 

Source: YouTube - Bret Tkacs

The year 2023 was filled with a number of interesting and intriguing bikes that piqued my interest a lot. There were a ton of tempting motorcycles unveiled this year that are all slated for 2024. In a perfect world, I would be able to afford all five of these models, but alas, money does not grow on trees and I only have so much garage space. 

Still, this year was filled with bikes that not only looked good but I’d actually consider owning in the future. For now, I’m fine with my Honda and KTM, but we all know that’s a lie. If you asked me what bike I’d actually consider getting or eagerly falling in line for a test ride, these would be it. Some of these models were covered in my last “five bikes” list covering the stuff at EICMA, but now let’s look at the models that caught my eye in 2023. 

2024 KTM 390 Duke 

I used to be a 390 Duke owner before I got my CB650R and my KTM 790 Duke. The 390 was just such a fun little platform to play with that I kept it way longer than I should have. The biggest little Duke in the lineup spoiled me in terms of how sorted the suspension was paired with the characterful engine and upright ergonomics and now that KTM gave it a total overhaul top to bottom, I’ll definitely be falling in line for a test ride. 

The volks at Austria bored its thumper up to 398ccs, the frame, suspension, and braking bits (among a host of other things) were lightened up, and the fairings were revised to give it a totally new look. I like the look of the headlight as well, way more than the array on the new 990 and 1390 Dukes. Again, I have to apologize to KTM, but I was a big fan of how the 1290, 890, and 790 Dukes looked, and the new biggies in the lineup haven’t grown on me yet. However, the 390 Duke has. Sign me up for a test ride, no promises about buying it yet though! I’m really on the fence on this one but it will be an interesting nostalgic trip for me if I do end up getting a 2024 390 Duke. 

2024 CFMoto 450 MT 

Now, while the 390 Duke will be a more nostalgic purchase on my end, I think that the CFMoto 450MT would actually be a more “reasonable” addition to my garage. Again, I have two naked bikes, and I really “need” an adventure bike to add a dose of different to my collection. I’m not really into big and heavy ADVs, nor do I have the unlimited budget to get set up for the life of adventure riding. 

With all that being said, CFMoto dropped the bomb on me this year because the 450MT is pretty much exactly what I want from an adventure bike: A lightweight adventure tourer with a torquey engine and an affordable price tag. I’ve already experienced the engine on the CFMoto 450NK and I think it’ll be perfect for a small adventure bike. I can’t wait until CFMoto announces local availability for this model. It will definitely be on my wishlist and perhaps the only bike that I will be able to afford next year if I do decide to make the purchase. However, I feel that the bike will be a bit slow on the highway especially if I’m lumped together with bigger and more powerful bikes during a tour. Still, the engine should be just enough for the road but really good on the dirt paired with its lightweight frame. While it won’t fly on the highway, it’ll be a fun and capable machine to trail. 

2024 Yamaha XSR900 GP 

There is no doubt in my mind that the Yamaha XSR GP is going to be one of the “it” bikes next year. The prospect of a triple-cylinder engine wrapped in retro fairings appeals to me and it is something different for my garage. I think that it would also make a nice addition because with it I will have a twin, a triple, and a four to choose from. Thinking about it hard, however, I don’t think this bike will expand my horizons in terms of the type of rides that I can do. 

I’m still leaning more toward getting a small adventure bike next year, but man is the XSR900 GP a looker with a bit of a bite. It’s just that it overlaps a lot with my other bikes. I think that I’d need a lot of convincing to buy this model, either that or a deal that I cannot refuse. 

2024 BMW R 1300 GS 

For the first time ever, the GS appeals to me. Now, I don’t think that the R 1250 GS is horrible, but I do feel that its styling looked really dated. I’m in the same court as Enrico based on his list. I wholeheartedly agree with his sentiments about the R 1250 GS. 

This time around, I really like what BMW did to its top-shelf offering. The R 1300 GS has a more athletic look about it, and it looks way better than the R 1250 GS in my opinion. I’m excited to try this bike out. I feel that BMW’s decision to sharpen up the lines on the bike was a good one and something that I feel would look more at home on the trail compared to the outgoing GS. I know I cannot afford a GS. Ask me again in like 10 years, but if I won the lottery tomorrow, this would be one bike that I’d love to buy and try out in the long term. 

Ducati Multistrada V4 RS 

A number of Ducatisti have asked me about this bike and what I thought of it. Some were extremely elated about its announcement while others were kind of annoyed. The Pikes Peak Multistrada made the rounds already, and the wait list is a bit on the long side of things, at least where I am from. Ducati Philippines was able to deliver on a number of Pikes Peak units and the owners were quite happy until the V4 RS was announced at EICMA 2023. 

Basically, the guys who were still waiting on a Pikes Peak were given the option to opt for the RS instead, while some of the guys who already had their Pikes Peak Multis saw the RS and thought that maybe they should have gotten that instead. The Multistrada V4 RS is said to be a comfy Panigale V4 and given that a lot of the Ducati riders in my locale want the best from Borgo, this could be something special to test if it’s ever available for a demo ride. The thing is, however, I cannot afford this bike. Unless Ducati accepts kidneys as payment, the best I can do is get a test ride and dream. 

More Lists:

If you're a fan of adventure bikes, there's a lot to choose from in 2024. While BMW Motorrad grabbed all the headlines with its introduction of the R 1300 GS earlier in the year, not everyone wants or needs a big adventure bike. And, you know, the cool thing about bikes is that you can have more than just one.

While we're firm believers in the idea that any bike that you take adventures on can be an adventure bike, for our purposes, we're sticking to bikes that manufacturers file in the 'adventure' and 'dual sport' categories.

Typically, this means that they should have at least some characteristics that lend themselves well to both off-road and on-road exploration, like appropriate suspension and tires. Your mileage will vary, of course. As with all bike categories, you'll find something to appreciate about some bikes more than others. 

While these bikes are sold in multiple markets around the world, the MSRPs reflected in this list are accurate in the US as of December 2023. Any exceptions to this rule are noted as they occur in the list. If you live elsewhere in the world, contact your local motorcycle dealer to find the most accurate pricing in your area. 

As a final note, we've included bikes in this list that are specifically noted as 2024 models by their manufacturers. There are other bikes that could easily fit this category, but that aren't on this list because the 2024 version hasn't been announced (at least, so far).

With that said, let's get into it. We've organized this list in order of displacement, from smallest to largest. In the case of electric bikes, we'll slot them into the list with combustion bikes that offer similar power.

Kawasaki Versys-X 300

Engine: 296cc dual overhead cam parallel twin

Curb Weight: 385.9 pounds

Seat Height: 32.1 inches

Fuel Capacity: 4.5 gallons

MSRP: $6,199

The 2024 Kawasaki Versys-X 300 ABS comes with a six-speed gearbox, an assist and slipper clutch, a 19-inch front and a 17-inch rear wheel, a telescopic front fork with 5.1 inches of travel and a Uni-Track swingarm and rear shock setup offering five-way preload adjustability. Rear travel is 5.8 inches. ABS is present at both ends, and the braking system consists of a single 290mm disc up front and a 220mm disc in the rear. 

2024 BMW G 310 GS

Engine: 313cc dual overhead cam water-cooled single making a claimed 34 horsepower at 9,250 rpm and 20 pound-feet of torque at 7,500 rpm

Curb Weight: 386 pounds

Seat Height: 32.8 inches standard; the OEM low seat lowers it to 32.3 inches and the OEM high seat raises it to 33.4 inches

Fuel Capacity: 3 gallons

MSRP: $5,890

The 2024 BMW G 310 GS comes with adjustable levers, has a ride-by-wire throttle, a six-speed gearbox, an inverted 41mm front fork, a swingarm and rear shock setup with preload adjustability, cast aluminum 19-inch front and 17-inch rear wheels, and suspension travel of 7.1 inches both front and rear. 

For brakes, the 2024 G 310 GS gets a radially mounted four-piston fixed caliper up front with a 300mm brake disc, as well as a single-piston floating caliper in the rear with a 241mm brake disc.

2024 KTM 390 Adventure

Engine: 373.2cc liquid-cooled single that makes a claimed 44 horsepower and 37 newton-meters (about 27.2 pound-feet) of torque

Curb Weight: Not available, but the 2024 390 Duke now weighs 363 pounds.

Seat Height: 855mm (or 33.6 inches)

Fuel Capacity: 3.8 gallons

MSRP: Not available

The 2024 KTM 390 Adventure comes with a 19-inch front and a 17-inch cast wheel with tubed tires, WP Apex suspension with rebound and compression adjustability, ride modes (including Offroad Mode), a bolt-on steel subframe, two-channel ABS, and a 320mm brake disc up front and a 280mm brake disc in the rear.

Kove 450 Rally

Engine: 449cc dual overhead cam liquid cooled single with external oil cooler

Curb Weight: Not listed, but the dry weight is 319.7 pounds. Fuel capacity is 8 gallons. If each gallon of gasoline weighs approximately six pounds, a fully-fueled Kove 450 Rally carries 48 pounds of fuel. So, with fuel, the Kove 450 Rally weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 367.7 pounds. Please note that this weight does not include oil, coolant, or brake fluid and is not a full curb weight.

Seat Height: 36 inches on the Low version; 37.8 inches on the Standard version

Fuel Capacity: 8 gallons (three-part tank)

MSRP: $8,999

The Kove 450 Rally is built with competition in mind, as should probably be evident from the massive 8-gallon, three-part fuel tank. It has a 49mm fully adjustable Yu-An front fork and monoshock setup, which the company says offers a full 12 inches of suspension travel on the Standard model. Switchable ABS and LED lighting come standard.

CFMoto 450 MT

Engine: 450cc liquid-cooled parallel twin making approximately 47 horsepower

Curb Weight: Not yet available

Seat Height: Not yet available

Fuel Capacity: Not yet available

MSRP: Not yet available

The 2024 CFMoto 450 MT is one of the more mysterious bikes on our list at the time of writing. Promotional photos of it were leaked shortly before EICMA 2023, and the bike was then formally introduced to the world at EICMA 2023. Since it's now the beginning of December and EICMA was about a month ago, full details haven't yet been made available. We look forward to learning more once they are.

Royal Enfield Himalayan 452

Engine: 452cc liquid-cooled single cylinder that makes a claimed 40 horsepower at 8,00 0 rpm and 29.52 pound-feet of torque at 5,500 rpm

Curb Weight: 196 kilograms, or about 432 pounds

Seat Height: 825mm to 845mm (or 32.48 to 33.26 inches) standard, or 805mm to 825mm (31.6 to 32.48 inches) low

Fuel Capacity: 4.5 gallons

MSRP: Pricing not yet announced for the US, but it's 5,900 Euros (about $6,367) in Italy and France.

The 2024 Royal Enfield Himalayan is a completely new bike, redesigned from the ground up. New engine, new chassis, new everything. The Sherpa 450 engine is liquid-cooled, and this is the first ride-by-wire bike in Enfield's lineup. Four rider modes, switchable ABS, a new TFT Tripper navigation pod with a clean, bright screen, and Bluetooth connectivity are just the start.

It comes with 21-inch front and 17-inch spoked rear wheels and a 43mm upside-down cartridge-type front fork and rear monoshock offering 200 millimeters (about 7.9 inches) of travel. Brakes consist of a two-piston ByBre caliper and a 320mm brake disc up front, and a single-piston caliper and a 270mm disc in the rear. 

Honda NX500

Engine: 471cc liquid-cooled parallel twin that makes a claimed 47 horsepower at 8,600 rpm and 31.8 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm

Curb Weight: 196 kilograms (or 432 pounds)

Seat Height: 32.7 inches

Fuel Capacity: 4.6 gallons

MSRP: Not yet available in the US, but it's £6,799 in the UK, which is about $8,563

The 2024 Honda NX500 is a renamed, restyled CB500X, resurrecting the NX badge in honor of the NX650 Dominator. It has a six-speed gearbox, assist and slipper clutch, 41mm upside-down Showa SFF-BP front fork, ProLink monoshock with five-way adjustability in the rear, and 19-inch front and 17-inch rear cast aluminum wheels. 

For brakes, it gets two Nissin axial-mount front two-piston calipers and a pair of 296mm brake discs, along with a single Nissin one-piston caliper and a 240mm disc in the rear. A five-inch TFT display comes standard, along with Honda RoadSync smartphone connectivity. 

Benelli TRK 502 X

Engine: 500cc liquid-cooled dual overhead cam parallel twin

Curb Weight: 235 kg (or about 518 pounds)

Seat Height: 860mm (or about 33.8 inches)

Fuel Capacity: 20 liters (or about 5.2 gallons)

MSRP: US price not yet listed, but it's £6299 in the UK, which is about $7,932. Promotions may be available.

The 2024 Benelli TRK 502 X includes a 50mm upside-down front fork and a rear swingarm and shock setup offering preload, rebound, and compression adjustability. Front suspension travel is 140mm (about 5.5 inches) and rear travel is 65mm (about 2.5 inches). It rolls on a 19-inch front and a 17-inch rear set of spoked wheels. 

Brakes consist of a pair of two-piston floating front calipers with 320mm brake discs up front, and a single one-piston floating caliper in the rear with a 260mm disc. ABS is present at both ends. Backlit switchgear comes standard, which is nice to have when it gets dark out.

Suzuki V-Strom 650

Engine: 645cc liquid-cooled dual overhead cam 90-degree V-twin

Curb Weight: 213 kg (or 470 lbs)

Seat Height: 32.9 inches

Fuel Capacity: 5.3 gallons

MSRP: $9,199 to $10,899 (if you go for the V-Strom 650 XT Adventure)

The 2024 Suzuki V-Strom 650 comes with a telescopic front fork and a link-type rear shock. It rides on a 19-inch front and a 17-inch rear cast wheel if you choose the base model, or you can pay a little more for the V-Strom 650 XT or XT Adventure if you want spoked wheels and/or hard side cases already installed.

For brakes, you'll find a pair of Tokico two-piston calipers and discs up front, and a single Nissin one-piston caliper and disc in the rear. ABS comes standard at both ends. The V-Strom 650 lineup also comes with traction control, Suzuki Easy Start, low RPM assist, and a multifunction display with adjustable brightness as standard. 

Moto Morini X-Cape 650

Engine: 649cc liquid-cooled parallel twin making a claimed 60 horsepower at 8,250 rpm and 42.5 pound-feet of torque at 7,000 rpm

Curb Weight:  514 pounds

Seat Height: 33.26 inches

Fuel Capacity: 4.8 gallons

MSRP: $8,299, but promotions may be available

The 2024 Moto Morini X-Cape 650 gets LED lighting all around, two USB ports, adjustable hand levers, Bluetooth connectivity, backlit switchgear, and a 7-inch TFT dash with day and night modes. Suspension-wise, you'll find a 50mm Marzocchi upside-down front fork and a rear KYB shock, both with adjustability. Suspension travel is 6.9 inches up front and 6.5 inches in the rear.

Wheels are 19-inch front and a 17-inch rear Akront tubeless spoked units wrapped in Pirelli rubber. Brakes are by Brembo, with a dual-caliper setup up front and a single-caliper setup in the rear. Bosch ABS is also standard. It also comes with a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty in the US (warranties may vary by market internationally).

Kawasaki Versys 650 LT ABS

Engine: 649cc liquid-cooled dual overhead cam parallel twin

Curb Weight:  482.9 pounds (not including saddlebags and hand guards, which add about 20 pounds)

Seat Height: 33.3 inches

Fuel Capacity:  5.5 gallons

MSRP: $10,099

The 2024 Kawasaki Versys 650 LT ABS has a 41mm telescopic front fork with preload and rebound adjustability, along with a single rear laydown shock with preload adjustability. Suspension travel is 5.9 inches up front and 5.7 inches in the rear. It rolls on a pair of 17-inch alloy wheels. 

Brakes consist of a dual two-piston front caliper setup with 300mm petal-style rotors up front, and a single one-piston caliper and a 250mm petal-style disc in the rear. ABS and traction control come standard, as does smartphone connectivity. The bike also comes with a pair of color-matched hard saddlebags that use the Kawasaki Quick Release mounting system for ease of use. Did we mention the handguards? You get those, too.

Kawasaki KLR 650 Adventure ABS

Engine: 652cc dual overhead cam single

Curb Weight:  487.1 pounds

Seat Height: 34.3 inches

Fuel Capacity:  6.1 gallons

MSRP: $8,199

The 2024 Kawasaki KLR 650 Adventure ABS has a 41mm telescopic front fork and a Uni-Trak rear shock with preload and rebound adjustability. Suspension travel is 7.9 inches up front and 8.0 inches in the rear. It rolls on a 21-inch front and a 17-inch rear spoked wheel. 

Brakes consist of a single two-piston caliper and a 300mm disc up front and a single one-piston caliper and a 240mm disc in the rear. ABS is present at both ends, as you'd probably guess from the model designation. It comes with a set of hard cases and factory-installed fog lamps. If you're the kind of person who appreciates that the only thing listed under Technology on the official spec sheet is ABS, then the KLR 650 might just be the bike for you.

Aprilia Tuareg 660

Engine: 659cc liquid-cooled dual overhead cam parallel twin making a claimed 80 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and 51.6 pound-feet of torque at 6,500 rpm

Curb Weight:  Aprilia gives a dry weight of 412 pounds. The fuel capacity is 4.8 gallons. Assuming that a gallon of gasoline weighs about six pounds, that's 28.8 pounds of fuel. Added together, that's 440.8 pounds with fuel. That still doesn't account for the weight of oil, coolant, fork oil, and brake fluid, but it's at least somewhat closer to a curb weight.

Seat Height: 33.9 inches

Fuel Capacity:  4.8 gallons

MSRP: $12,299

The 2024 Aprilia Tuareg 660 has a fully adjustable Kayaba suspension consisting of a 43mm inverted front fork offering 9.4 inches of travel, and a piggyback shock also offering 9.4 inches of travel. It rolls on a pair of spoked wheels and tubeless tires, with a 21-inch unit up front and an 18-inch unit in the rear. A set of Pirelli Scorpion Rally STR tires comes stock on the Tuareg 660. 

Brakes are by Brembo, with a pair of four-piston calipers up front with 300mm discs and a single one-piston caliper in the rear with a 260mm disc. ABS is standard at both ends, and you also get braided stainless steel brake lines. It's Aprilia, so it also comes with the APRC electronics suite with four riding modes, traction control, cruise control, and more. 

Triumph Tiger Sport 660

Engine: 660cc liquid-cooled dual overhead cam triple making a claimed 81 horsepower and 47 pound-feet of torque

Curb Weight:  455 pounds

Seat Height: 32.87 inches

Fuel Capacity:  4.5 gallons

MSRP: $9,695

The 2024 Triumph Tiger Sport 660 has a Showa suspension with 41mm upside down separate function front fork and a monoshock in the rear. Suspension travel is 150mm (or 5.9 inches) at both ends. It rolls on a pair of 17-inch cast aluminum wheels wrapped in Michelin Road 5 tires. If you're planning to do much off-road exploration, you may want to fit a more dual-sport-oriented tire.

Brakes are by Nissin, and consist of a pair of two-piston sliding calipers up front with 310mm discs and a single one-piston sliding caliper and a 255mm disc in the rear. ABS is standard at both ends. 

It has ride-by-wire throttle, switchable traction control, two ride modes, a configurable TFT display, and LED lighting as standard. It's also the only triple on this list. 

To More Adventure In 2024:

Over the course of the past few months, several new and exciting motorcycles for the 2024 model-year have been unveiled. If we take EICMA 2023 as a springboard for what the 2024 model-year has to offer, it’s clear to see that the motorcycle industry is bustling with technology and innovation. That being said, next year’s bikes aren’t confined merely to EICMA, as there are quite a few that were unveiled outside of the iconic expo.

Whatever the case may be, it’s clear that 2024 will be a stellar year for us two-wheeler aficionados. On the one hand, technological advancements are making bikes safer, faster, and more high-tech. On the other hand, these same technological advancements found on top-tier machines are now making their way to more affordable models catering to newer, younger riders. Indeed, a lot of the new bikes that have been launched recently could set new standards in their respective categories. With all that being said, let’s dive into my top five picks for bikes I’m most excited for in 2024.

Triumph Scrambler 400X

I’m a big fan of small-displacement bikes. At the same time, I’m also a big Triumph fan. As such, it’s natural that a bike like the new Triumph Scrambler 400X would capture my attention. This rugged, retro-inspired scrambler is among the smallest displacement motorcycles in Triumph’s modern-day lineup, alongside its sibling, the Speed 400. The new Triumph Scrambler 400X marks a first, not only for Triumph, but for the entry-level segment as a whole. It’s the first fruit of the partnership between the Hinckley company and Indian brand Bajaj, while at the same time being the most accessible model in Triumph’s model range.

Needless to say, both the Speed 400 and Scrambler 400X will open doors to Triumph ownership to a wider audience, as prior to the launch of these two models, the Triumph Trident 660 was the most affordable model from the British icon. With the Speed and Scrambler commanding half the price of the Trident in some markets, these two models could serve as a major cash cow for Triumph too.

BMW R 1300 GS

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I was never really a fan of the BMW R 1250 GS. Sure, it’s an excellent bike, and having ridden it extensively across all of its iterations, I have nothing but praises for its performance, capability, and versatility. The reason why I’m not attracted to the bike is a personal one, and it’s because of its styling which, in my opinion, seemed pretty lackluster and dated.

Now, assuming you haven’t clicked away from this article because of my previous statements, I must say that the R 1300 GS has me excited specifically because of its styling. A lot of GS “purists” criticize the 1300 because of its styling, and the way BMW’s designers have departed from the 1250’s now-iconic aesthetic. However, I really like the sharper, more athletic stance of the new GS, not to mention its new LED headlight that really gives the bike a new character. Now that the GS has a sportier, more athletic, and dare I say, more youthful aesthetic, I can say that I’m excited to get to ride this bike once it’s available in my market.

Ducati Hypermotard 698 Mono

Ducati has had a long-standing tradition with its Desmodromic 90-degree V-twin (and more recently, V4) engines. Found on all of their models from its entry-level Scrambler to the top-range Panigale and Multistrada, it came as a surprise to me and many other enthusiasts that Ducati was in fact venturing into the realm of thumpers. The Hypermotard 698 Mono is the embodiment of this, and marks the brand’s sole single-cylinder model in its current range.

Personally, I’m a fan of big thumpers, having owned multiple KTMs in the past. As such, I’m curious to see how Ducati’s engineers have adapted the company’s technology to work with a high-performance single-cylinder engine. Given its displacement of 698 cubes, it’s one of the bigger thumpers on the market, so expect a riot of a ride with a lot of accompanying good vibrations.

Yamaha MT-09 SP

As some of you are probably aware, I’m a big Yamaha MT simp. I’ve owned two MT-07s and an MT-10, and consider the MT-07 to be one my forever bikes. As such, when Yamaha pulled the covers off the 2024 MT-09, in particular the MT-09 SP, you jaw naturally dropped to the floor. Yamaha’s SP range has always been the souped up, high-tech bunch of bikes, and the new MT-09 SP is the true embodiment of this.

For the 2024 model-year, the MT-09 gets a bunch of styling and tech refinements, but retains its tried and true CP3 triple. The SP dials things up a notch with Brembo Stylema brakes and fully adjustable KYB forks up front and a fancy shmancy Öhlins rear shock with a remote preload adjuster. On paper, at least, the 2024 MT-09 SP is the most performance-oriented MT-09 ever made, so I definitely can’t wait to try it out.

Aprilia RS 457

The last bike on my list comes from Italian manufacturer Aprilia, and is the new RS 457 sportbike. I’ve ridden all of Aprilia’s parallel-twin-powered bikes fairly recently, and I must say that the Noale company has a thing for making ultra smooth and linear engines. The RS 457 is said to be a smaller iteration of the RS 660, a bike which I particularly enjoyed.

Small-displacement parallel-twin sportbikes have become quite a thing recently, with the likes of the CFMoto 450SS, and of course, the Ninja 400 and Yamaha YZF-R3 being popular among both beginner riders and track enthusiasts. The RS 457 gets a 270-degree crank similar to that of the CFMoto, so it’ll certainly be interesting to see how the two bikes stack up against each other.

More From The Team:

While it may be getting cold in many parts of the northern hemisphere, some of you may still be looking to go on a long year-ender ride. Of course, there are also a lot of you folks, myself included, who don’t live in the northern hemisphere, and still have many months of good riding weather left in the tank. Whatever the case may be, going on long rides is surely an adventure, and for some riders like myself, one of the biggest highlights of the two-wheeled lifestyle.

With that being said, the idea of packing up and going on a long ride can seem daunting and intimidating. Indeed, making sure you’re 100-percent ready seems like a big task, but all it takes is being detailed, thorough, and paying close attention to the details. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started.

Make a list of the things you need to bring

Just like whenever you go on a trip out of town, packing up for your next long ride starts with you making a list of things to bring. As you ride more often and rack up the miles, the essentials will come to you like second nature. However, if you’re just getting started, it’s always a good idea to take note of the stuff you need to bring.

Of course, you have your essentials like your clothes, medicines, toiletries, and other personal items. However, being on two wheels necessitates that you bring a little extra. As the saying goes, it’s always better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. As such, add items like a portable tire pump and tire repair kit to your list. A handy set of tools is also an excellent addition. On your journey, you may be met with unpredictable weather, so throw in some rain gear, too.

Make sure your bike is in tip-top shape

Whether or not you’re embarking on a long ride, your bike should always be in good condition. However, getting stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere is worlds apart from breaking down outside of Walmart or your local gas station. It’s precisely because of this high-stakes scenario that being on top of maintenance is crucial.

Personally, I start preparing my bike for long trips several days before the actual trip. I start by making sure that anything that’s close to the end of its service life has been replaced. Tires, brake pads, fluids and oil, and bearings all get a thorough check up. Additionally, I make sure the bike’s electrical system is in good health (my bikes are usually always kept on a battery tender, so that may be a worthy investment for you, too).

Make sure you’re in tip-top shape

Your bike is only half of the equation. The other half is the one piloting the machine to your destination. Riding a motorcycle can be tiring, especially when rides are long and go through unfamiliar roads with unpredictable weather. Getting ready for a long ride means building your stamina and keeping tabs on your physical wellbeing.

Of course, your mental health is equally important, as well. Making sure you have the proper mindset when embarking on a journey is essential. A lot of us ride motorcycles for the thrill they give us. However, when covering long distances, it may be a good idea to take on a slower, more leisurely pace, especially when covering unfamiliar routes. Take in the scenery – the sights and sounds of the places you’re visiting.

Bring only the essentials

When packing for any trip, it can be tempting to overpack and bring much more stuff than you actually need. When I started riding, I felt the need to pack way too many things with me, especially when it came to clothes. After my trips, I’d have two or three sets of unused clothes in my bag – space that otherwise would have been used for other more useful stuff, or better yet, reduced weight.

Packing light comes with many benefits. For starters, a lighter bike is much easier to ride, especially on twisty roads and uneven terrain. Although a couple of pounds may not seem like much, when multiplied by hundreds, if not thousands of miles, this small weight can make quite a difference when it comes to reducing rider fatigue, and not to mention, improving fuel economy.

Getting Ready For The Long Haul:

There you have it! I hope these tips will be able to help those of you who are just starting to ride longer distances get ready for your next adventure.

All the options out in the market today will make your head spin. Motorcycle helmets will come in many different shapes, sizes, and styles, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The general advice is to buy the best that you can afford in most cases, but if you are looking to splurge or if you are looking to make the most out of your helmet-buying dollar, then read this first. 

Aside from the brand, there are also several aspects right now that you need to take note of before you pull the trigger. There are questions that you need to ask yourself first because helmets are important, and helmets don’t come cheap! 

Do you need a new helmet? 

If you are a beginner without a helmet, then by all means skip this question because the answer is “yes!” If you already have a helmet or two or several that are still road-worthy, then really ask yourself this question to prevent an impulse purchase. 

I’m not gatekeeping here because there is no shame in wanting a new helmet when your current one is (or current ones are) still good to ride. In my book, it’s good to have two helmets in your rotation so you don’t wear one out prematurely and you’ll always have one ready to go if the other’s pads are in the wash. Also, having two helmets keeps things fresh! 

The question of need will depend on whether you’re replacing a crashed, expired, or worn-out helmet. Usually, the pads will be worn out and buying replacements will save you a bit of money and make a lid feel new again. However, if you are convinced that you “want” or “need” a new helmet, then continue on. 

What is its safety rating? 

As far as the current state of the industry is concerned, there are two ratings that come out on top, ECE 22.06 and FIM. Other standards like Sharp, Snell, and DOT are widespread but are a bit behind compared to the latest and greatest standards in the market.

ECE 22.05 lids could still be available on shelves, though it’s best that you prioritize an ECE 22.06 helmet over a 22.05-rated lid. FIM helmets are few and far between, but it’s a nice-to-have at this point. Most riders will be well-protected by an ECE 22.06-homologated lid and an FIM lid will be worth it if you do find yourself on track and participating in sanctioned racing events. Many consider the ECE’s latest safety rating to be the “standard” moving forward, so it’s what you should be on the lookout for if you’re shopping for a new helmet. If you are looking at a helmet for track use, do consider the tracks you will be racing on and the managing body’s policies on helmet safety standards. 

Does it fit your ride? 

Match the helmet to your ride. If you’re a road rider, get a road helmet. If you are a dirt rider, get a dirt helmet. After that, what kind of bike do you have? Is it a retro scrambler, or a modern sportbike, adventure-tourer, sport-tourer, cruiser, or scooter? Some helmets are well-suited to the type of bike that you ride or the style that you want to go for. 

While matching the bike and looking good on it is good, you have to consider that each kind of helmet is tailored to a specific kind of riding. For example, a sport/track helmet usually favors a tucked riding position. Other helmets will favor a more upright riding stance as is the case with most road, adventure, retro, and dirt helmets.

Also, aerodynamics and noise isolation are key considerations depending on what kind of ride the helmet was designed for. Helmets without visors will be noisier than helmets with visors on the open highway, and peaks will catch the wind at speed. You should get a helmet that is designed to match the way you ride and where you ride, plus the bike that you do all of your stuff on.

Again, if you’re going for a certain look, you do you. Style is also a considerable factor in a helmet purchase, but if you’re riding a modern sportbike with a retro-style helmet, it may look a bit off. If you’re riding on the road with a dirt helmet, it could look out of place, and if you’re on a hyper naked with an open face, that’s quite an imperfect pairing. 

Does it fit? 

Take note that all helmets are different. Even with certain brands, the internal helmet shape can vary wildly between models. One brand's idea of an intermediate oval head shape may not be the same as another's.

You can do your research and ascertain if you will fit a certain lid, but the best way to determine whether or not a helmet is meant to be is to try it on for yourself. Sizing up or sizing down is something that you can do, as is switching to a different cheek pad size in some helmets, but having space inside will result in a poor fit that may compromise both safety and noise isolation.

Measure your head and get the size that matches up to that. If it doesn’t fit at all, then going up a size may work but it’s not ideal. If your head’s diameter is matched to the correct size, but you’re still feeling pinching and hot spots on your head, then perhaps it would be best to try on another model or a different brand altogether. Those are indicators that your head shape and the internal shape of that helmet aren't a good match.

Other things to consider

Can you afford it?

Please do not go hungry for the next few months by buying an expensive helmet. You don’t have to get the top-of-the-line stuff all the time to be protected. Going for more expensive lids may get you something quieter, safer, or more feature-packed, but by going for those things you’re stepping into the realm of want more than need.

Do consider your financial capacity with purchasing and also the cost-per-wear. If you like nice stuff and you can afford nice stuff, then go ahead and splurge! If you can’t, being a little more conscientious will leave room for other necessities like oil changes, some accessories, and other pieces of essential riding gear. 

Does it come from a reputable brand?

Brand recognition is one thing, but brand reputation is another. A brand may be able to market itself well and get the word out, but you need to consider whether it knows what it is doing. Not to gatekeep against any of the new and up-and-coming players in the market, but do consider that many of the established makers in the industry cement their reputation and product quality through motorsports and millions of dollars in research and development tied to their products. It’s safest to go with an established helmet manufacturer in a majority of cases.

Does it have enough features?

Nowadays, most established brands in the industry have all the modern basics covered like removable cheek pads, a replaceable visor, and accommodations for a communications system. These modern standards indicate that a helmet will last you a while.

If there are features that matter to you like a dual visor, a Pinlock, or even accommodation for goggles (or eyeglasses), keep a checklist of features in mind while shopping so you don’t regret a purchase. 

Do you like it?

There is no point in buying a motorcycle helmet that is safe, affordable, fits well, is appropriate for your ride, and from a reputable brand if you don’t like it. It’s not uncommon for a helmet to tick all or most of the boxes without making your heart flutter. As important as fit, safety, performance, and features are, you should buy what you like at the end of the day as long as all the fundamentals are covered. 

More On Helmets:

Are you the kind of person who just can't get enough 'making of' videos? If getting a good look at the inside of factories is your bag, and you love it even more when they're important parts of motorcycle history, then we've got a very sweet treat for you today.

All the way back in 1962, Honda had the insight and/or foresight to create a fascinating documentary film (which, we reflect, must have been shot on actual film stock), taking everyone who watches it inside some of its motorcycle factories. At the time, it already operated multiple plants to produce the Cub 50, the original Benly, the Dream 250, and more.

To be totally clear, the narration is in Japanese. However, since it's 2023, you can easily turn on the closed captions and select translations in English or any other language you like as you watch. It's auto-translated, so it won't be perfect, but you'll at least be able to get the general idea. 

Past Is Prologue:

It's a beautiful time capsule, showcasing not only some of the processes involved in making and assembling motorcycles in the factory, but also general life at Honda.

At one point, we get a visual visit to the very early days of what's now known as Honda Mobilityland, including a brief glimpse of the extremely early days of the beloved Honda Monkey in action as an amusement park ride. In another scene, we get to see a young Soichiro and fellow engineers and workers in the lunchroom, on break during a busy day.

There's also insight into motorcycle testing, from employees taking bikes out for weekend leisure activities like hunting and fishing, to putting some of the new machines through their paces at the motocross and hillclimb facility on Honda's grounds. We even get to see 1960s dyno testing and aerodynamics testing (complete with pieces of colored string)!

It's difficult to pick a favorite thing about this video, because there's so much to choose from. The editing and creative choices made are absolutely fantastic, and extremely of their era (and I mean that in the best way possible). The score (yes, it has a score!) is excellent, the sound effects are very fun, and even sometimes integrate some of the factory machinery sounds to help tell the story.

I dare you not to crack a smile at the proud marching band at the end as the transporters convey loads upon loads of Cubs out to be crated up and shipped around the world. The font choices are also extremely good.

It's a half-hour film that's well worth your time. If you can't stop what you're doing now, add it to your Watch Later queue and give it a go when you can. You won't regret it.

As riders, we choose our bikes and our gear for any number of reasons. If money was no object, would you make different choices about what you wear and what you ride? Maybe. But also, maybe not.

The interesting thing I've found about people with the strongest senses of personal style is that they tend to know what they want. On top of that, they find ways to make their aesthetic work with what's available.

As an example, a long time ago, my sister had this amazing friend who was brilliant at sewing and went thrift shopping regularly. She had the skills to make just about anything she liked fit both her frame and her aesthetic perfectly, all for comparatively little money. Materials can cost money, but style, vision, and execution are priceless.

We've all heard (or if we're lucky, maybe even lived) stories about how "I got this bike for $500/$200/Free.99 because someone just wanted it gone." Both motorcycles and gear can cost a whole lot of money, but if you keep your ear to the ground, they don't always have to. As we get deeper into the holiday season, several motorcycle gear retailers have Black Friday and pre-Black Friday sales going. 

Whether you're looking for yourself or someone else, here are 12 sales in 2023 to help get your holiday shopping all wrapped up.

Aerostich

Aerostich is offering early deals from 10 to 40 percent off through November 21, 2023, on a variety of items. From gloves to belts to a tire repair kit and a pocket sundial, there are quite a few items in this early-bird sale that seem like good stocking stuffer-type items.

Atwyld

Atwyld is a brand founded by women who ride, for women who ride. They offer a variety of motorcycle gear and apparel, and they're offering 20 percent off everything on the site with the code "CYBER20" during their 2023 Black Friday sale.

If you're a woman or you have women in your life who ride, you should probably check it out.

Cycle Gear

From gear to helmets to parts and accessories (including exhausts), Cycle Gear is offering Black Friday 2023 sales up to 60 percent off. As an online retailer, of course CG is happy to ship directly to your doorstep. However, if you happen to live or work near a Cycle Gear brick and mortar location, it also offers the option of free in-store pickup. Orders over $49.99 also ship for free in the U.S. and its territories.

FastHouse

If you like riding dirt and/or mountain biking, then you'll be pleased to know that FastHouse is offering 25 percent off everything in its store for Black Friday 2023. All you have to do is enter the code "Friday25" at checkout.

From jerseys to goggles to helmets, socks, pants, and casual apparel, there's a whole lot to choose from for men, women, kids, and anyone who likes to get outside.

Harley-Davidson

For the holidays, Harley-Davidson is offering up to 40 percent off on select items in its Pre-Black Friday sale, which is already going on as of the time of publication. From apparel to motorcycle gear to home decor and motorcycle covers, there are plenty of Motor Company gifts for yourself, your friends, and even the kids in your life. 

There are even special Harley 120th Anniversary items like a ball ornament, travel mug, and gas tank bank (as in piggy) available, if you celebrate.

J&P Cycles

While J&P Cycles, Cycle Gear, and RevZilla all share the same parent company in 2023, and each online retailer is advertising up to 60 percent discounts on its Black Friday inventory, each one also focuses on a slightly different angle. 

For example, on J&P Cycles' Black Friday sales page, the headline items are a slew of rarely-discounted Harley exhausts and additional parts from Vance & Hines and Rinehart. You'll also find additional gear deals on brands like Biltwell, Roland Sands, and Shoei.

Mosko Moto

Mosko Moto makes serious luggage and apparel geared toward adventure riders. I think we can probably all agree that it wins at naming its sales event, which it's calling Braap Friday. (Very nice, Mosko Moto.)

What's even nicer if this is your type of gear is that the stuff on sale is up to 30 percent off. It makes serious luggage, which is certainly not cheap, so 30 percent off is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. (Save your sneezing for the dust you kick up when you get out of town.)

Moto Camp Nerd

If you're into motorcycle camping, chances are good that you're familiar with MCN already. If you aren't, you probably should be. Right now, it's offering sales on a whole bunch of useful items for motorcycle campers (and probably other types of campers too, to be honest).

Front page deals include 25 percent off the Garmin InReach Mini 2, 25 percent off several items from Big Agnes and Sea to Summit, 20 percent off Wacaco (if camping plus coffee is your life), and more. 

MotoSport

MotoSport sells motorcycle gear for multiple disciplines, from dirt to street to cruising. It also stocks e-bike, ATV, and UTV gear, and there's a whole bunch of stuff here to sift through for everybody. Brands like Shoei, Thor, Alpinestars, Fly, Fox, O'Neal, Alpinestars, Leatt, and more have serious discounts. Orders over $49 get free shipping within the continental US.

QuadLock

QuadLock specializes in mounts for multiple types of vehicles, including motorcycles. For the holiday 2023 season, it started offering Black Friday deals at the start of November. To keep things super simple, they've just made everything 30 percent off.

From handlebar mounts and phone cases to vibration dampers and more, you can get something useful for your both your motorcycle and your bicycle, all in one place.

SpeedAddicts

You'll find a wide selection of motorcycle gear at Speed Addicts, mostly for street and MX riders. Don't tell Earl, but the HJC RPHA 1N Red Bull Austin MC-21SF helmet is a full 48 percent off (or about $500). Plenty of other discounts aren't quite so deep, but you'll see sale prices on everything from Sena communicators to Leatt enduro boots.

SW-Motech

SW-Motech offers aftermarket luggage and accessories for a wide range of motorcycle models. It's running its Black Friday 2023 sale from November 20 through 27, 2023, so you have an entire week to browse and see if anything strikes your fancy. From luggage to luggage racks, mounts, and other bolt-on accessories, there's a lot to take in.

Touratech

Touratech is a well-known name in quality adventure touring motorcycle accessories, and it has two brick-and-mortar locations in the US. If you live close by or are traveling through, you'll find stores in Seattle, Washington and Brookfield, Connecticut. 

In the run-up to Black Friday 2023, Touratech is currently offering some Garmin Zumo XT deals, as well as up to 40 percent off Peak Design phone mounts. It promises additional deals to start on Friday, November 24, 2023, so you may want to keep an eye on the Touratech site if you're so inclined. Free shipping on orders over $150.

Twisted Throttle

Twisted Throttle offers a variety of parts and accessories to fit many bikes. From luggage to crash bars to windshields and more, there's lots of stuff to sift through here. From Denali lights to Dryspec bags, Innov cameras, and more, discounts range from 10 to 50 percent off.

Wind and Throttle

If you like to shop independent, and you're looking for gear to fit all kinds of women who ride, look no further than Wind & Throttle. It's not a brand, but a woman-owned business dedicated to finding gear (and apparel) that's both safe and stylish. Most importantly of all, it's made to fit a variety of women (and not just flat measurements on paper). 

As the image states, Wind & Throttle is offering 40 percent off select gear, with free shipping over $250, through Monday, November 27, 2023. Also, Wind & Throttle is the exclusive US distributor of the UK brand MotoGirl, so if you've been eying any of their stuff and you're located in the US, you should probably take a look.

Gear Up for the New Year:

Most of the time, EICMA is where motorcycle manufacturers show off their most captivating models of the year. While new paint and graphics can certainly ignite the passions of riders on their own (looking at you, Kawasaki 40th Anniversary Ninja liveries), at EICMA, the focus is most often on entirely new bikes.

2023, in many ways, felt like a return to form. During the pandemic years, things were necessarily muted (or even canceled), and 2022 was a year when the industry was still regaining its footing. Did it even make sense to go when manufacturers like BMW and KTM were finding plenty of purchase debuting their bikes before a world audience via online events?

If the 560,000-plus attendees at EICMA 2023 prove anything to the industry, it's that people are still very interested in experiencing both new motorcycles and this event in person. Art demands an audience, and motorcycling remains as much a multi-sensory experience in 2023 as it's ever been. 

Here are the bikes I was most excited about at EICMA 2023.

Italjet Dragster 559 Twin

In an era where so many people play it safe, Italjet's designers seem to just giggle, drink some more espresso, and then throw the rule book out the window. Is it a motorcycle? Is it a scooter? Does it even matter? Why can't you just have fun on two wheels and call it a day?

This design is completely out of its mind in the best way possible, and it's beyond thrilling to me that it's going into production pretty much as you see it here. One day, I hope to be lucky enough to ride one. Rest assured, if and when that day comes, I will probably not be able to shut up about it.

Lambretta Elettra

Setting aside for a moment the fact that I'm absolutely the person who grumbles when most electric scooters suddenly don't have any storage space anymore, it's difficult to deny the appeal of this design. It's so clean and elegant, and the hydraulic mechanism that lifts the rear body shell up off the motor and battery for access is extremely cool. Add one of those little bag hooks at the front of the footwell and I'm on board.

Moto Morini Corsaro

Some people don't love insect-like motorcycle designs, and that's cool. I, on the other hand, love them. I can't stop staring at this headlight cluster. The rest of the bike looks nice, too, but it's this headlight cluster that instantly drew me in. I'm also curious about the new 750cc twin that's in this bike, which was on display by itself elsewhere at the Moto Morini stand.

Bimota Tera

Did Bimota's designers see the phrase "go big or go home" as an expression of intent? Because that's seemingly what the Tera appears to be. You thought the Tesi and its hub-center steering were wild? What do you think about its potential adventure capabilities?

The styling is fantastic, but you do have to wonder who's going to feel confident enough in their ability to not either scream or cry if they drop their Tera off-road (or bin it down a steep hill). 

Kawasaki Z7 Hybrid

Motorcyclists are not a monolith, and as is probably evident if you regularly read my work, you'll know that I'm far from being an electric motorcycle naysayer. There are challenges and hurdles to be overcome in the category, sure, but electric motorbikes can be both useful and fun. 

That said, I'm really hoping that Kawasaki brings its strong hybrids to the US market (which, at the time of writing in mid-November 2023, it has so far not announced). Both the Z7 HEV and the previously-introduced Ninja 7 HEV seem like potentially intriguing options, particularly as the American market is concerned.

Depending on how the HEVs are priced, they also seem like more practical options for our market than the Ninja e-1 and Z e-1, which seem most likely to appeal to urban riders with short commutes. Both the styling and the technology are intriguing on the HEVs, and I'm generally of the opinion that it's always cool to see someone doing something differently from everyone else.

More EICMA 2023:

It goes without saying that EICMA 2023 was a blast. Despite not being able to make the trip to Italy this year, I was lucky to have lots of friends over there who continuously sent me pictures of the bikes on display. On top of that, our friends from the various manufacturers sent in their press info way ahead of the show, so we knew what was going to be unveiled long before the expo opened its doors.

Now, those of you who read my stuff or follow my social media would know that I’m a huge fan of sporty, lightweight, naked bikes. I’ve owned several naked sportbikes over the past few years, and I always get super excited when a new model hits the scene – no matter what manufacturer it’s from. As such, when browsing through the wide selection of new bikes on display at EICMA, I couldn’t help but gravitate towards these types of bikes. Nevertheless, I’ve tried to broaden my tastes when it comes to two-wheelers, so I’ve added a couple of non-naked bikes to my top-five favorite bikes of EICMA 2023. Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Ducati Hypermotard 698

The Ducati Hypermotard 698 isn’t exactly a naked bike, but you could also say that it kinda is. It’s a true, blue, supermoto machine – even more so than the previous generation Hypermotard. Rocking a brand new single-cylinder engine, it’s sure to provide maximum brap factor, while hopefully retaining the razor-sharp performance associated with machinery from the House of Borgo Panigale. I’ve had quite a lot of experience with the Ducati Hypermotard 821 and 950, as well as true supermotos like the KTM 690 SMC-R, so my expectations are high for the 698.

CFMoto 800NK GP

I’m not exactly a fan of made-in-China motorcycles, as they usually came across to me as copycat machines devoid of any originality. However, CFMoto surely flipped the script with its respectable componentry and styling by Kiska Design, so much so that I ended up adding one to my personal collection. While my old CFMoto 650NK couldn’t hold a candle to the brand’s current selection, I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it for the one-and-a-half year that it was in my possession.

Now, for the 2024 model-year, CFMoto unveiled the 800NK GP, the most high-performance model in its stable to date. The bike, based on the already impressive 800NK, doesn’t keep it a secret that it makes use of KTM-derived technology, specifically in the form of the tried and tested LC8c parallel-twin engine. The 800NK GP adds an array of track-ready gizmos to the mix, such as an SC-Project exhaust, CNC milled components, and a livery inspired by the brand’s Moto3 endeavors.

KTM 990 Duke

Speaking of KTM, Team Orange’s display at EICMA 2023 may be considered underwhelming for some, especially when compared to the sheer number of new model launches by other brands. However, the 990 Duke is a model that I’ve personally been very excited about, as it’s sort of a nod to the first-generation 990 Super Duke. I remember that bike very well when it first came out in 2005. Back then I was just 11 years old – way too young to have any business anywhere near a motorcycle – but I remember being drawn to the bike’s futuristic, insectoid styling.

In fact, the 990 Super Duke inspired me to start my motorcycling journey aboard a KTM. My first “real” motorcycle was a 200 Duke, and I later upgraded to a 390 Duke. Now, the all-new 990 Duke has very little in common with its almost two-decade old ancestor. However, it represents a step forward, not just for the brand, but for the middleweight naked bike segment as a whole. Of course, expect nothing less than the best electronics package when it comes to this razor-sharp naked streetfighter. Needless to say, I can’t wait to take this new model for a spin when it becomes available.

Yamaha XSR900 GP

I’m a big fan of Yamaha, so much so that it’s my favorite among the Japanese big four. I’m a huge fan of the MT series in particular, having owned two MT-07s (the reason for this I’ll discuss in a future story), as well as an MT-10. There’s just something about the instantaneous torque of these bikes that’s so addicting. As such, the retro version of the MT series, the XSR, is also a model range that I find very attractive.

At EICMA 2023, Yamaha unveiled the XSR900 GP, a nod to the brand’s rich legacy in the world of racing. We’ve seen this bike before at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, back then it was called the XSR900 DB40, and now unveiled in all its glory, it looks thoroughly eye-catching with its classic white and red livery. While Yamaha continues to leave us waiting for the highly anticipated YZF-R9, the XSR900 GP is certainly a very sporty option for retro enthusiasts.

Vespa Sprint S Elettrica

Putting a scooter in my list of favorites at EICMA may come as a surprise to some of you, as scooters are probably the farthest thing from a performance-oriented machine out there. However, I’m something of a scooterista myself, having owned a Vespa LXV125 in the past, as well as a tiny little Yamaha Fazzio at present. Electric scooters are particularly exciting for me, as I see them as the future of urban mobility.

When Vespa showcased its 2024 range of scooters at EICMA, I couldn’t help but be drawn to the Elettrica range. Offered in two flavors – Primavera and Sprint S – it was the latter that really captured my attention. The Sprint has always been the sportier model in Vespa’s lineup, and I can’t help but imagine how zippy this charming little city slicker would be in electric form.

What were your favorite bikes at EICMA 2023? Let me know in the comments below!

More From EICMA 2023:

Motorcycle gear can be expensive, and I mean really expensive. The cost of gear is something a lot of new riders forget to take into account, especially when they’re balling on a budget. It can be all too easy to spend all your money on your first motorcycle – after all, that’s the fun part, right? However, when you finally have that bike sitting in your driveway, you may realize that you’re a couple hundred bucks short for a decent set of gear.

Indeed, the used market is a great place to go when it comes to gear. Great deals can be had on lightly used jackets, and maybe even gloves, boots, and pants, if you’re willing to put in the elbow grease to give them a deep clean. However, when it comes to helmets, you may want to look elsewhere. Sure, that shiny Arai helmet listed for $150 on Facebook Marketplace may seem like a steal, but just because it’s an authentic piece from one of the most reputable helmet brands in the world, doesn’t mean it’s still in good enough shape to protect your noggin’ in the event of a crash.

A couple of reasons why you’re better off buying a new helmet

There are quite a few reasons why you’re going to want to opt for a brand new helmet instead of a used one, even if it means that you’ll have to get a more entry-level option devoid of the fancy accouterments of its premium counterparts. For starters, helmets tend to have a shelf life. It’s generally agreed that a helmet works best before it hits five years of age, so anything older than five years has a big red flag on it.

Furthermore, there’s no way for you to know if a used helmet has been in an accident before. Sure, the shell may look pristine, but plastic, fiberglass, or even carbon fiber can be repaired and repainted – the inner workings consisting of the multi-density EPS liner, not so much.

So, when is it safe to buy a used helmet?

Only under a few, very specific circumstances would I say that it’s safe to buy or acquire a used helmet. First off, if you personally know the person you’re buying the helmet from – say they’re your relative, close friend, or colleague – and you can guarantee that the helmet never took a hit before, then sure, you’re probably safe buying that used helmet. Secondly, if you’re buying an old helmet simply as a collection piece, and have no intention of wearing the helmet at all, then by all means, snap up as many vintage helmets as you can find.

There are lots of affordable brand new helmets out there

At the end of the day, cutting corners when it comes to safety, especially helmets, is a recipe for disaster. As I mentioned earlier, buying used gear such as jackets and boots is not an issue. In fact, I have quite a number of used jackets in my collection, all of which I still regularly wear whenever I hit the road. When it comes to helmets, however, it’s always good to have the backing of a reputable gear shop, as well as the factory warranty of the manufacturer.

Lots of manufacturers make very affordable helmets that also conform to the latest industry standard when it comes to safety. My personal picks would be those from HJC, Shark, and Bell, brands which we’ve covered extensively and even written a bunch of reviews on here at RideApart. That said, if you’re shopping for a new helmet, it might help you out if you check some of those reviews out below.

Helmet Reviews By Yours Truly:

Source: AGV Sport, MotoSport

If you’re curious about motorcycling, or if you’re just starting to get into it, first of all: Welcome! We’re glad that you’re here, and we hope you’ll stay a while!  

Second of all, you might be wondering what EICMA is. The fact that it’s written in all caps seems to indicate that it’s an acronym, but it’s the kind of moto world jargon that’s tossed around so freely, you may not be familiar with what it’s all about.

Don’t worry; we’re here to help. Here are answers to a few of the most common questions. If you have any other questions about EICMA, feel free to ask us in the comments.

Come Anticipate With Us:

What does EICMA stand for? 

It’s short for ‘Esposizione Internazionale del Ciclo, Motociclo, Accessori S.p.A.,’ or ‘EICMA S.p.A.’ That’s Italian for ‘International Exhibition of Cycles, Motorcycles, Accessories S.p.A.,’ with the ‘S.p.A.’ being a ‘Società per azioni,’ which is a legal designation for a type of Italian corporation. If you’re a fan of Italian motorcycles or motorcycling brands, then you’ve probably seen that S.p.A. at the ends of company names before. 

That’s cool, but what is EICMA? 

EICMA is a massive trade show for the entire international motorcycle industry. It’s an annual event that’s held each year in Milan, Italy, and it’s taken place almost every year without fail since 1914. There have been exceptions, of course—most recently in 2020, when EICMA was among the many international events that were canceled due to the global pandemic. 

What’s so exciting about a trade show, even if it’s motorcycles? 

Much of the time, motorcycle manufacturers from all over choose EICMA as the place to reveal their most impressive, exciting machines ahead of the coming model year. In some cases, there are concepts—but if they’re at this show, they’re often at least somewhat close to production.  

One recent example is Kawasaki choosing EICMA 2022 as the place to first announce its electric and hybrid motorcycle plans, back when they were still pre-production prototypes.

Fast-forward to just before EICMA 2023, and Kawasaki recently made the official production announcements of all three of those vehicles and will be bringing the production versions of all three machines to this year’s show.  

Isn’t the back half of the year the usual time for all the new model announcements for next year? 

It absolutely is. However, as you may or may not have noticed, motorcycle releases from the major manufacturers tend to follow a certain pattern. The first announcements for next year are usually simple, small things, like paint and graphics changes to existing models (but no technical changes).  

From there, the changes get bigger and/or occur on more popular models. Finally, you start to see completely new models arise—like the 2024 BMW R 1300 GS, or Ducati showing off the Superquadro Mono big single that it’s kept impressively quiet about while it’s been hard at work for the past couple of years.  

Right now, as I write this, it’s about a week and a half before EICMA 2023—so the caliber of announcements we’re getting for 2024 is only getting bigger. 

Aren’t there other big motorcycle shows that are closer to home? 

Depending on where you call home, yes. However, a lot of important debuts tend to take place at and around EICMA each year. The new bikes might go on to make the rounds of other shows, but in a modern world where high-resolution photos and videos are instantly available online, it’s not quite as exciting as it once was. 

While EICMA is of course important to people in the industry, another cool thing about it is that it also gladly welcomes the moto-enthusiast public to attend.  

In 2022, EICMA saw participants attend from at least 45 countries. That’s just counting the ones who officially registered with the show as exhibitors, press, or other official visitors. There may be other motorcycle shows, but how many of them can say that? 

Chicago is a great place to ride—that is, depending on the time of day. In that way, I would imagine that it’s probably a lot like most major cities. When traffic is light, you can get where you need to go with minimal interruption. Since you’re not expending all your mental and physical energy concentrating on stop-and-go traffic, you have more capacity to enjoy every sensory delight that your city has to offer. Super early in the morning or extremely late at night are absolute dreams for low-stress riding. 

Of course, very few of us can consistently choose what time we need to go out and do things. Most of us have jobs, errands, appointments, family obligations, meetups with friends—you know, the stuff of everyday life. If you live or work in a city like Chicago, chances are good that you’ve been stuck in some gnarly traffic snarls more than once (and that’s not even touching on construction). 

Enter Google’s Project Green Light. The company’s Google Research arm announced the initiative in October 2023, with a stated goal of improving traffic flow at busy urban intersections. The goal is emissions reduction, because all those idling vehicles at stops can produce significantly higher amounts of pollution than when the vehicles are in motion.  

That’s a problem for people (and animals) in the area, most of whom generally enjoy breathing fresh air. Also, being stuck at red lights is annoying. There has to be a better way, right? 

Also Easing Congestion:

That’s exactly what Project Green Light is meant to address, says Google. Using a combination of all that delicious Google Maps driving data that it’s been collecting from navigation-hungry travelers over the years, Google is using AI analysis of traffic patterns to help guide city officials to optimize their traffic lights. 

At the time of writing, Google says that Green Light is currently live at 70 intersections across 12 cities around the world: Abu Dhabi, Bali, Bangalore, Budapest, Haifa, Hamburg, Hyderabad, Jakarta, Kolkata, Manchester, Rio de Janeiro, and Seattle.  

According to Google’s early results from PGL, it’s seen up to a 30 percent reduction in stopped vehicles, on top of an estimated 10 percent reduction in emissions at intersections. If those numbers are accurate, that’s good news for everyone involved—riders, drivers, and people who enjoy breathing.  

What Sets Project Green Light Apart 

Depending on what flavor of nerd you are, you may or may not have encountered the idea of traffic light optimization well before this point. If traffic lights are timed, then why isn’t it possible for whatever governing body is in control of those lights to alter the timing to better fit the needs of the local population?  

Sometimes, it’s a simple matter of being understaffed. However, as with so many other things in life, other factors including prohibitive costs and/or steep learning curves on new equipment can put a damper on much-needed change.  

Google’s Project Green Light is different, the company says, because it’s free of charge (at least, at the moment). City officials can currently sign up for a waiting list if they want to see how Google can help their area, but the analysis uses Google Maps traffic data to analyze intersections and make recommendations.

The resulting advice involves adjusting the timing of traffic lights to better match the flow of traffic, as well as to minimize bottlenecks. While no one has done a survey of city officials yet, I’m reasonably sure that 100 percent of city officials like it when you use the word “free.” 

If it works as advertised, I’m cautiously optimistic about this kind of use of all the data that Google Maps collects every time we use it. After all, if that data is being collected anyway, why shouldn’t it be put to use for the potential benefit of everyone? (If anyone needs me, I'll be over here hanging up my “I Want to Believe” poster.)

What do you think about Project Green Light? Would you like to see officials in your area give it a try? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Google, Google Research, Wired