Free Wheelin'

Harley-Davidson

Dealer News

Daylight Saving Time

In the last 24 years, bikes have advanced exponentially in every aspect and category. Here are our updated picks for most important production models of the period. 
There’s been some amazing motorcycles churned out by the world’s leading manufacturers since the year 2000. In just over two decades, bikes have gone from almost totally analog to rolling computers, and there’s been a level of innovation the likes of which has never been experienced before within the industry.

Out of this field, there are a few standouts that deserved to be called out. We’ve cobbled together our picks for the best models since the millennium, only including production machines. The focus is also on those bikes you can ride on the street or dirt road. Hang on, we’re going for a ride.

Top 25

       

‘Iron Man’ pilots race in jet suits against a backdrop of Dubai skyscrapers
Pilots lined up on a runway in Dubai on Wednesday and fired up their seven jet engines with an ear-splitting roar. But they weren’t preparing to fly an airplane — they were the aircraft.

This city-state in the United Arab Emirates, known for being home to the world’s tallest building and other wonders, hosted what it called its first-ever jet suit race. Racers zipped along a route with the skyscrapers of Dubai Marina looming behind them, controlling the jet engines on their hands and their backs.

And if it sounds like Iron Man, the Marvel comic book character made internationally known by actor Robert Downey Jr., the pilots say it is exactly like that. 

Iron Man

       
Save the Date!

The Second Annual Cars & Guitars

July 20, 2024

120 County Road 521

Hampton Township, NJ

Right in Backroads' Neighborhood... 

(If they had "neighborhoods" up here?)

Last year's inaugural event was a winner on every front and this years it'll be even better.

This is a classic old-school event - the way towns used to do things.

Bring your car, truck or motorcycle and be part of it.

Food.

Rock & Roll.

Fun for everybody!

Cars & Guitars

     Got Braking Vibration? 

                         Maybe it is Time for New Rotors  
The Wave brake rotor design was invented by Galfer in the early 90s as a solution to water and mud on brake rotor surfaces of trial competition motorcycles. As they developed the design, they discovered an added benefit: the brake system was running cooler. When they combined their new design with the premium materials they had already developed for their round rotors, the resulting breakthrough began the new generation of brake rotor technology – led by Galfer...

Galfer

Backroads Magazine Current Edition

How Special Effects Have Changed in 60 Years

A few weeks back we had a  list of the best Start Trek episode from The Original Series, or TOS to the faithful.
We lamented (rightly so) that the episode Tomorrow is Yesterday was omitted on this list.
This episode opens up with NORAD scrambling a jet (a U.S. Air Force F-104 Straighter in particular FG-914) to take a look at a possible Flying Saucer. The Enterprise turns its tractor beams on the F-104, and then has to beam the pilot to the Starship to save him.
How they could do things back in the 1960s, and how CGI has brought the episode up to date is amazing in so many ways - well worth the watch.

Perhaps Tomorrow really was Yesterday?
 

Tomorrow is Yesterday

Nope....

Have you ever wanted to see the cosmos, but not too keen on buckling-up for a rocket's high-g, explosively-controlled ascent into space? You're in luck: Space Perspective will bring you there in a balloon.

The Titusville, Florida-based company just completed assembly of their first pressure vessel, a test capsule of their Spaceship Neptune that Space Perspective will use as they begin a series of test flights of their trademarked "SpaceBalloon" ascent system. If everything goes smoothly during the vehicle's shakedown flights, the company hopes to begin flying people to the edge of space as early as the end of this year.

Space Balloon

What? Did You Rally Think We Were Done...

A friend asked for a carrot to get her through the winter...

Well here it is, the Backroads' Spring Break 2024!

This long weekend will start on a Thursday, along the upper Delaware River in Hancock, New York and then meander west to Williamsport, Pennsylvania. This region of the Endless Mountains is a pure joy to ride and explore.

This SB will be a bit different, and we want to see how good you are at navigating and route planning. Any Road Whisperers out there?

The # 1 rule is Nulla Praecepta - have at it!

So, you got the basics... now it's up to you. Create your best route for any given day, and send your GPX files to [email protected].

These routes will be judged by Mr. Notso Happy, Pepe & Spenser T. Cat, and the top journeys will be posted for all.

Have fun and good luck!
 

Spring Break 2024

Appalachian Backroads began as a collaborative effort between Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky more than a dozen years ago. Known as the coalfields, the economy here was built upon the rich natural resources buried underground. However, they reimagined the way the mountains could provide for their communities. With roads that navigate their way around the heart of the Appalachian Mountain range, they envisioned sharing those twists and turns, those elevation jumps and falls, with others across the globe. 

Appalachian Backroads

                                     And it’s Not Top Gear!

FX’s Archer, a show that’s about a spy in the same way that Seinfeld was about a comedian, is finally back for its seventh season and, for car geeks, that’s cause for celebration. The show has always had a thing for esoteric references, whether to Greek philosophers or Prince’s girl group. But some of the best references are the cars, which range from the absurdly fitting (Cyril’s Dacia, Archer’s Challenger) to the absurdly obscure (just look at the South American dictator’s garage above). We don’t know much about season seven (though the perfectly reproduced Ferrari 308 GTS in the Magnum P.I.-themed teaser is a good sign), but just in case you need to do some catching up, we’ve assembled the greatest cars from all 75 episodes.

Archer

Ramapo 500

Progressive

Bluebird of Bitterness

Bookshop Bungalow

South Charleston, West Virginia

Have you ever dreamed of stepping into the world of books and immersing yourself in the enchanting atmosphere of an independent bookshop? Look no further than the Bookshop Bungalow at Plot Twist Books in South Charleston, West Virginia, which lets you spend the night in a bookstore! This unique Airbnb accommodation offers not only a cozy studio apartment but also an exclusive opportunity to experience the life of a bookseller behind the scenes.

 

Bookshop Bungalow

Motor Bikin'

Chris Spedding

Movin' on the queens' highway
                                    Lookin' like a streak of lightnin'
                                    If you gotta  go, go, gotta  go motorbike  ridin'

In the April issue of Guitar Player Chris Spedding has an article on his career in Five Song. One of them was Motor Bikin'.
Chris talked about going into the studio, and playing it for producer Mickie Most on an acoustic guitar.
Most started laughing and simply said 'This is going to be a huge hit!"
And, it was -  and it certainly fits The Backroads Report!
 

Motor Bikin'