Cycle Connections

When I had my stroke four years ago, it was questionable whether I would ever ride again. I learned to walk again, and then learned to drive the “cage” again. Many people told me I would have to get a trike to be able to ride again, but I said I was going to learn to ride on two wheels again first, and that is just what I did, even though it took me about three years after the stroke.

We bought this 2010 Rocket III Roadster new in 2009, and it has been used as an all-season commuter bike. While the Rocket is not a daily rider, we do use it regularly, even during the cold winter months.

This exotic racing motorcycle is the 2013 EBR 1190RS Carbon Edition. What makes this bike really special is its low weight of only 389 lbs., and to achieve this performance, it was built using lightweight materials such as carbon and magnesium components. There are also several high end parts from many top manufacturers.

The all-new Indian® Scout™ is a groundbreaking and visually stunning cruiser, which introduces the first-ever liquid-cooled Indian Motorcycle engine – an efficient and dependable 69 cubic inch V-twin – with impressive power on demand. This new model carries the legendary Indian® Scout™ name in authentic Indian® Motorcycle® styling, and at a very affordable price.

The Erik Buell Racing (EBR) 1190SX is a true high-performance motorcycle that features the power and technology of a superbike. With its unique acing heritage, this bike is designed to be a dominating street machine, which is equally at home on the open road or taking on the city streets.

More than thirty years of racing, engineering, and manufacturing experience goes into every Erik Buell Racing (EBR) motorcycle, and one of the company’s latest creations is the 2014 EBR 1190RX. This bike was built from the ground up with quality, pride, and a relentless passion to bring you yet another world-class sport bike from the heart of America.

I recently met Mike “Dawg” Bradley via mutual friends at our local hangout. He’s a junk man by pedigree as his father was before him. He described a project that he had been envisioning in his sleep, and that it was going to be a personal challenge for him to complete in “30 days.” Building bikes and cars has been a passion for him his entire life, but given the timeframe and the fact he was starting with “zero;” this was a daunting task. Mike disappeared for nearly a month, and when I started getting photos of his progress, I…

This eye-catching new addition to the Ducati superbike family is a true work of art. With its naked design, powerful 185 bhp engine, massive 50mm Marzocchi forks and protruding air intakes, this is a bike to be reckoned with, both on the street and at the track. On Friday, March 25, 2011, Steve Okenfuss, owner of Reno’s Powersports in Kansas City, Missouri invited Wally and I to his Ducati Diavel Launch Party. Unfortunately, I had a prior commitment, but Wally was able to attend and gather the following specs on this incredible new bike. Diavel Carbon - Technical Specification CHASSISFrame:…

This bike has 59,000 miles and is in excellent condition. $3,500.00 or best offerFor additional information, contact Wally at 816-679-5235.

Fremont Street Experience Commissions the First Ever Las Vegas-Themed MotorcycleLas Vegas (June 12, 2009) --Award-winning bike builder James Callahan announced today that Callahan Custom Cycles , has been commissioned by Fremont Street Experience to build the first ever Las Vegas-themed motorcycle as part of Fremont Street Experience’s 'Born To Be Wild' promotion.“It is an honor to have been chosen for this build,” Callahan said. “I take pride in knowing that the Callahan name will forever be a part of Las Vegas history. We want to thank Fremont Street Experience for putting their confidence in our shop.” .Fremont Street Experience is…

When I was approached by Steve Okenfuss of Reno's Yamaha in Kansas City, Missouri to come and see the 2008 Can-Am Spyder, I jumped at the chance. For those of you who are not familiar with the Spyder, it is a 3-wheeled roadster made by Bombardier Recreational Products that offers the performance of a traditional motorcycle with “much of the peace-of-mind of a convertible sports car.” It is powered by a Rotax) 990 V-Twin engine that produces 106 hp. The Spyder uses an ATV-like chassis with a single rear drive wheel, and two wheels in front for steering (similar in…

Sometimes, things just stand out in a crowd. There seems to always be that one motorcycle at a bike night or motorcycle run that just seems to have “it.” It could be a flashy paint job, a monster engine, flashy wheels, or a combination of any or all of the above. Rarely is it a stock motorcycle though, because that stand-out ride usually is a full-on custom or someone’s dream bike that they have built. Well, when I showed up to Rt. 66 Ridley in Carthage, Missouri for a test ride, I was very surprised at what exactly was waiting…

Since the beginning of the year I was eager to see what the motorcycle manufactures were producing in 2007 in order to remain in the top ten. I was also interested in finding out what bike would receive the bragging rights as Cycle World's 2007 Bike of the Year, which was awarded to the 2007 Suzuki Boulevard M109R. When Bart Shifflett and Chris Thacker of Donnell’s Suzuki in Independence, Missouri called and asked me to stop by the shop and take a look at the latest Limited Edition (LE) model they had just received, I was soon on my way…

Location: Cycle Connection Harley-Davidson/Buell, Joplin Missouri Weather: Clear, temps in the mid 80s, mid levels of humidity, winds S 5-10Rider: Jim Austin6’0 220 Lbs30 Years riding experienceCurrent ride: 2003 HD FLHTCIPassenger: Karey Austin5’7 107 lbs3 years riding experienceBuell: innovative, cutting edge, ahead of it’s time design wise. These are just some of the things people say about Buell motorcycles. I have one other word for them, which I will get to shortly. Stopping in at Cycle Connection Harley-Davidson in Joplin, Missouri one day to buy some “bling” for my scoot, I was approached by Chris, the head of the performance…

When it comes down to sport bike technology, I wanted to take a closer look at the sport bike that keeps winning races and dominating the European race tracks; the Aprilia RSV 1000R. Steve Okenfuss, owner of Reno's Yamaha Aprilia KC jumped at the chance to bring this bike into the limelight. We set up a time to ride this new monster, and fellow Cycle Connections team member Phil Peeler gladly took the camera, while Marsha Ore drove the truck and attempted to keep up with me. Two features I first noticed were the clean instruments and digital readout gauges,…

Recently BMW invited sales managers from their dealer body to participate in a new model introduction that was held in Ormond Beach, Florida. Don’t get too excited; it wasn’t 70 and sunny, it was 47 and cloudy, but it beat the 10 degrees back home. The intro was two days of classroom and one day riding the two new F800 and three new G650X models. A quick word about our mounts; the F800s are all-new motorcycles, vertical parallel twins, liquid cooled, injected, belt drives. This is a new engine from BMW. The G650 series are based on an existing engine…

Ever since their introduction, I had been hoping for an opportunity ride one of the 2007 Harley-Davidson motorcycles. When Ken Stone, Sales Manager at Blue Springs Harley-Davidson , offered to make one available for a test ride article, my acceptance was immediate and enthusiastic. I was eager to experience the performance improvement resulting from the new Twin Cam 96 engine coupled with the 6-speed transmission introduced on the Dyna models last year and standard on all of Harley’s big twin bikes for 2007. I selected a Dyna Wide-Glide to facilitate some side-by-side comparisons with my Twin Cam 88 equipped 2000…

The 21st century motorcycle market offers many choices. Options range anywhere from sport bike to cruisers to power cruisers—metric and American made. We have seen motorcycles evolve over the past few years where displacement is matched with style and grace as well as cost. The newer models on the market today excite me! Norman Jones, owner of Engle Motors, Inc. showed me the newest Triumph flagship and the first thing I noticed was the massive radiator and gas tank. My first thought was “How many miles can I go on that before I look for gas?” The other thing that…

When we discussed the next bike to review I already had my eye on Ducati’s new S2R 1000 LeMonster, so I contacted none other than Leigh Letellier at Letko Cycles to see if he would be interested in having us do a review on one of his incredible Italian-made bikes. Ducati offers the S2R 1000 for an affordable MSRP of only $10,995 and comes equipped with some of the highest quality components available on the market today. From the frame to the chain they do not cut corners and prior to this test ride I spent some time looking at…

I recently stopped by Donnell’s Motorcycles in Independence, Missouri to check out the new 2006 Suzuki Boulevard M109R. This awesome looking motorcycle is Suzuki’s largest motorcycle to date, and I’m convinced it will be one of the top 10 motorcycles of the year. The M109 not only looks good, it performs like a serious mid-weight sport bike, from the inverted front suspension to the 240 mm rear tire setup. The Boulevard M109R's performance begins with its all new 109-cubic-inch, fuel injected V-Twin engine, which provides massive torque all the way from idle to redline, which gives it better acceleration than…