A Global Customizing Trend

  We’d seen bikes on global websites and in images from custom motorcycles shows of modified Royal Enfields but had no real idea as to the scope and popularity of these adaptable machines. Not until we launched the Royal Enfield Custom Contest, that is. In case you haven’t hear, cafe Racer magazine has teamed up…

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There’s Imitation and Then There’s The 1200 Custom

  It was bound to happen. Harley-Davidson ended their 60-plus year run of producing their beloved XL series Sportsters in late 2021, leaving the newfangled, water-cooled and very rapid 1250s and its 975cc stablemate the Nightster as their sole Sportster models. There’s been a decent response to the new 1250s and for good reason- it…

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A Retro-Flavored Future

While building, riding and maintaining classic cafe racers holds charms and rewards you just don’t experience with a modern ride, plenty of custom bike enthusiasts have taken the altogether different route: they modify new school motorcycles to look like classics. Some purists- folks with muscular kickstart legs and grease permanently embedded beneath their fingernails- would…

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Elvis’ Bikes Have Left The Building!

  Many are the urban legends surrounding motorcycles owned and ridden by Elvis Presley. The so-called King of Rock and Roll was an avid motorcyclist during most of his career, appearing on the cover of Harley-Davidson’s house publication “The Enthusiast” in 1956 aboard a new Sportster. Unsubstantiated tales have surfaced over the years about various…

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Big Happenings At Barber

    If you’re into vintage bikes, roadracing or just checking out the world’s best motorcycle museum, Barber Motorsports Park is THE place to be this weekend. The annual Barber Vintage Festival kicks off today, and the event has quickly become the country’s biggest and most multifaceted vintage biking celebration. Emerging as a sort of…

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Win A VIP Tour of Mecum Las Vegas Hosted By Us

    Fastlane News Win A VIP Tour At Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycles 2024 Hosted By Editor Mike Seate Story By Paul D. Stanstead Photos CRM Archive/Mecum Come the week of January 24-27, the massive Mecum Motorcycle Auction returns to the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa in Las Vegas. One of the most widely…

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You Can’t Get That Here

During our global travels, we’ve often taken notice of some extraordinary motorcycles that aren’t for sale here in the US. The marketing of streetbikes is a complex business endeavor made by boardrooms full of well-trained sales researchers who (claim to) know what motorcycles would or would not sell to certain populations. We were fairly awestruck…

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A Cool View of Japanese Cafe Culture

  On summer days when the mercury creeps over the 90 degree mark, I often find riding motorcycles to be a bit uncomfortable. Being an all riding gear all the time guy, when the humidity makes even riding in perforated, lightweight gear a hassle, I’ll retreat into the garage or office to re-direct my energies….

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Here’s To Spending Small and Winning Big

  It’s my honest opinion that a large part of what eventually sunk the custom chopper movement from the early 200s was the extravagant costs. Never mind that the original, 1960s choppers were stripped-down, very basic machines that emphasized speed and style over practicality, the later versions of these rigid-framed motorcycles had ballooned into grotesque…

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