#v-twin

During the middle years of the start of the new millennium the Supermotard craze made a resurgence, and no company jumped on the craze more so than KTM. Ducati may have brought the Hypermotard to market, but KTM brought a whole host of SM models to the masses, including the outlandish 950 Supermoto. In 2006, Gabe Ets-Hokin  wanted to see what the mega-moto craze was all about. Here, he takes the 950 for a quick spin to see just how much trouble he can get himself into. He somehow manages not to land himself in jail, and all the while he extols the virtues of riding a big motard. The gist? They are insanely fun, but a big threat to your driver’s license. See what he has to say below, and be sure to look at the photo gallery for more 950 Supermoto images.

There likely won’t be any arguments if I said the 2002 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic won’t win any beauty contests. However, it’s also hard to deny that the little Vulcan is an agreeable, comfortable cruiser to ride. In this week’s Church feature, we take a look back at the ol Vulc 800, through the eyes of none other than our own John Burns. Here, he makes arguments about why the Vulc is a good motorcycle, if you can stomach the fact that riding one also means you have to be seen on it. 

Harley-Davidson’s V-Rod was supposed to be the answer to the nay-sayers who clamored that The Motor Company was stuck in the past and couldn’t produce a contemporary powerplant. Considering the engine is still around in H-D’s lineup today is a signal that, at the very least, Harley hasn’t given up on its first mass-produced liquid-cooled engine. In 2002 MO had the opportunity to throw a leg over the then-new VRSCA V-Rod, and in this week’s Church feature, we revisit that test to see what our editors thought of Harley’s rendition of a sportbike. 

If any category of motorcycling best represents the all-American “bigger is better” mentality, the cruiser segment is it. For 2002, Honda took this theme to heart with the introduction of the VTX1800, and for this week’s Church feature we travel back 13 years and revisit the 1800’s press intro in Santa Barbara, California. With a V-Twin engine so large, it was no surprise the central talking point revolved around it. That said, in typical Honda fashion, the rest of the machine received considerable thought as well. Read on to see just how the 2002 MO crew got on with Honda’s big, bad cruiser.

Before Henry Ford’s assembly line production of “affordable” cars displaced them, motorcycles were the prime means of motorized personal transportation.

The history of motorcycle engines powering other vehicles goes back a long way. Look at the original Morgan 3 Wheeler, for example. Almost a century ago, J.A.P. bike engines were plunked onto the front of a strange piece of machinery with two wheels in front and one in the back. It proved to be popular and a rather high-performing vehicle in its time. For this Top 10 list we take a look at other applications for motorcycle engines. As you can imagine with a list like this, there are a wide variety of vehicles. Some are production cars, while others are one-offs or boutique items. And yes, even though this is Motorcycle.com, I want to get behind the wheel of every single one of these! So, if you’re a rep from one of the below companies (or are simply a kind soul who owns one), give me a jingle and let’s make it happen!

This week, we once again visit with Yossef Schvetz. His adventures this time involve him on Moto Guzzi’s new 1100 Breva almost a decade ago. A former Guzzi owner himself, Schvetz shows some restraint when presented with the Big Breva, but turns out to be pleasantly surprised after learning more about it and spending some time in the saddle. So without further ado, here’s Yossef to tell you all about the 2005 Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. Also, don’t forget to visit the 3-page photo gallery for heaps more pictures.

The Ducati Multistrada has been getting a little buzz this week, as Ducati announced the Multi would be the first recipient of its new DVT engine with variable valve timing. The Multi has long been a favorite touring bike amongst the MO staff, so for this week’s Church feature, we travel back to 2003 and the original Multistrada. Remember the air-cooled engine? The upper fairing piece that swiveled when you turned the bars? It was a unique bike (this was also the era of the 999 Superbike, remember?), but we liked its quirks. Here, we get Yossef Schvetz’s take on the Multi. The bike, which, at the time, was difficult to place into any pre-existing category. Also, be sure to check out the photo gallery for more pictures.

In this week’s Church feature, we look at the Yamaha BT1100 Bulldog. Not familiar to some of our American readers? That’s because it never came to this side of the Atlantic, possibly a contestant for a future list about bikes we never got in this country. Sharing the same V-Twin engine from the Virago (aka V-Star 1100) we did get here, this naked standard has hints of Buell Lightning and Ducati Monster written all over it. Let’s travel back to 2002 and get Yossef Schvetz’s take on this Euro-only category buster.

In case you haven’t heard, we here at Motorcycle.com really like the KTM 1290 Super Duke R. I mean, we really like it. Its 1301cc V-Twin is beyond brutish, with a chassis more than capable of supporting that engine both in the canyons and the track. What’s more, its relatively upright ergos are plenty comfy for the daily commute to/from work, school, or a leisurely weekend cruise. So far, it has proved itself as king of the hill in the stacked Super Streetfighter category, as it beat out the BMW S1000R, Ducati Monster 1200S, Kawasaki Z1000 ABS and MV Agusta Brutale in part one of our Streetfighter Shootout. It backed its victory with another win, this time topping the S1000R (again) and nudging the Aprilia Tuono V4R APRC ABS off the top of the Streetfighter hill in part two of our Streetfighter Shootout. The bike’s so good, we named it our 2014 Motorcycle of the year.

While Ducati might get much of the glory for being the Italian brand with a mega naked-bike presence, one must not forget Cagiva. It’s easy to do, Cagiva being an obscure brand and all, but what it showed in the Raptor was a bike that was so close to hitting the mark. It was a looker, had the right components to make it a handler, and borrowed the Suzuki TL1000 V-Twin engine. Late in the year 2000, contributor Glenn Le Santo threw a leg over one, and now, 14 years later, we revisit it for this week’s Church of MO feature.

For this week’s CoM feature, we dig deep in the vaults for one of MO’s oldest stories. As Motorcycle Online (the former name of this very site, and where the MO reference comes from) was still relatively young, so too was the Buell Motor Company. When MO got to ride the Buell S2 Thunderbolt for the first time, we came back raving about its performance, but noted a few things we could improve on. Unfortunately, that original ride report has been lost to Father Time, but we do have editor Tom Fortune’s account of life with the T-Bolt and his attempt to add some pep to the S2’s step. In this, secondary review of the  1995 Buell S2 Thunderbolt, read on to see what Fortune thinks of the bike after 20,000 miles and a few upgrades.