The Merlin Renegade AAA is a CE AAA-rated riding shirt built for riders who want protection in something that looks like regular clothing. It sits at a premium price point for riding apparel.
The AAA certification puts it at the top of the CE protection scale for garments, which is worth understanding before writing off a riding shirt as a compromise. Here’s the full breakdown.
Continue reading “Merlin Renegade AAA Riding Shirt Review – Everything You Need to Know”There’s a moment most riders know. You’re moving through a stretch of open road, conditions are right, the bike is doing exactly what it should. And the song playing in your helmet lines up perfectly with what’s happening around you. It’s one of those small things that’s impossible to forget.
Motorcycles and music have been tied together for a long time. Not in a forced, marketing-campaign way, but in a real, culturally embedded way that shows up in the songs themselves, in the events built around both, and in the way riders talk about what the road actually feels like.
Continue reading “Motorcycle Riders and Music: Why the Connection Runs Deep”The RST Moto Tractech Evo D3O race suit is built for track day riders who want a single piece suit, CE AAA certification, and D3O armor without spending on a flagship suit.
It occupies the mid-range of the race suit market. This RST suit is serious protection at a price that doesn’t require a sponsor. Here’s the full breakdown.
Continue reading “RST Moto Tractech Evo D3O Race Suit Review – Everything You Need to Know”Few people buy a motorcycle and think carefully about what it’s actually going to cost them per year. They think about the purchase price, maybe the insurance, and that’s usually it.
The rest, things like maintenance, tires, registration, gear replacement, depreciation, show up later, one expense at a time, in a way that never quite adds up to a number you anticipated.
The cost of owning a motorcycle in 2026 is real, manageable, and significantly lower than owning a car, but it’s also higher than most new riders budget for when they’re standing in a dealership parking lot trying to justify the purchase.
Continue reading “The Real Cost of Owning a Motorcycle”The fine folks at Motorcycle.com traveled to Modena, Italy, to test the 2026 Ducati Hypermotard V2 SP. The below video review focuses on the high-performance “SP” variant of the newly redesigned Hypermotard.
It’s a special bike, and in the post below I’ll outline what Sylvia says in the video as well as provide my own take on this unique Ducati.
Continue reading “Video Analysis: 2026 Ducati Hypermotard V2 Review”The TYPE 110 by Bangkok-based Crafton Atelier is a sophisticated reinterpretation of the classic Triumph Street Twin, designed to channel the spirit and athletic stance of the early 1960s Triumph Tiger 110.
Rather than a traditional “chopped” custom, the build utilizes a high-end, plug-and-play kit that corrects the Street Twin’s stock, rear-heavy silhouette without any permanent modifications to the frame.
Continue reading “Custom Triumph Street Twin by Crafton Atelier”The Skid Lids Original Lucky Lady helmet is a classic half helmet designed for cruiser and custom bike riders who want minimal coverage with old-school styling. It’s one of the more accessible DOT-certified helmets on the market.
The Lucky Lady keeps it simple: a low-profile shell, D-ring retention, and DOT certification at a price that’s hard to argue with. Here’s what you get.
Continue reading “Skid Lids Original Lucky Lady Helmet Review – Everything You Need to Know”Pull into any small-town diner on a Saturday morning and odds are good you’ll see a few motorcycles out front.
Maybe a couple of touring rigs, a naked standard, possibly some guy on a vintage Honda who looks like he’s been riding since before the interstate system existed. It’s a pattern that shows up everywhere, and it’s not an accident.
Riders and roadside diners have been doing this dance for decades. The relationship makes total sense once you think about it.
Continue reading “Why Motorcycle Riders Have Always Had a Thing for Roadside Diners”The LS2 Rapid III Crypt helmet is a full-face street helmet that punches well above its budget price tag.
DOT and ECE 22.06 certified, it checks both safety standards at a budget price point. Here’s what you’re actually getting for the money.
Continue reading “LS2 Rapid III Crypt Helmet Review – Everything You Need to Know”For twenty years, my left hand has had a singular job: pull, click, release. It’s a dance so deeply ingrained in my subconscious that I don’t think about it anymore. That changes with some of Honda’s new bikes.
Honda’s new E-Clutch is brilliant. It’s lighter than a DCT and more versatile than a standard quickshifter. But for those of us with a few hundred thousand miles in our “manual” memory banks, it creates a strange psychological friction. If you’ve found yourself “ghost-pulling” the lever or feeling like the bike is stalled when it isn’t, you aren’t alone.
Here is the truth about the E-Clutch transition and how to master it without losing your mind.
Continue reading “The E-Clutch Transition: Why Experienced Riders Are Struggling With Honda’s New Tech (And How to Fix Your Muscle Memory)”
