Motos and Friends from Ultimate Motorcycle magazine

Hello and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends. 

This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.

This Podcast is also brought to you by Schuberth Helmets and the new Schuberth C5.

This week features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the new KTM RC 390. The entry-level KTM has always been an impressive motorcycle that has sold extremely well, however the factory has now taken the bike to another level, with top-spec features that are typically found on flagship machines. Clearly KTM has realized that even smaller engined machines should have high spec suspension, brakes and electronics packages. Nic tells us how well the new RC 390 is equipped, and what he thought of riding the smaller displacement rocket.   

In the second segment I chat with automotive and motorcycle industry icon, Gordon McCall. Gordon is the Director of Motorsports at the Quail Lodge & Golf Club in Carmel Valley, California.

This weekend of Saturday May 14th sees the annual Quail Motorcycle Gathering re-start after its Covid-forced hiatus, and having attended every one of the previous Motorcycle Gatherings, personally I’m very happy that the event is back on the schedule. Gordon chats about the event and a little of what’s happening this year. It’s a great event and if you feel like a trip to the gorgeous Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, you’ll get to meet Gordon, Roland Sands, and of course a large number of stunning motorcycles too.

From all of us at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!

2022 KTM RC 390 Review 

Riding to the The Quail Motorcycle Gathering

Hello and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.

We’ve been astonished by the audience our little show has garnered so far—in fact after a little over one year of doing this we’ve just crossed over 3 Million downloads. That’s amazing, and we’d like to thank each and every one of you for tuning in and listening to our drivel …er I mean carefully crafted entertainment.  We love hearing your feedback, so please feel free to leave comments on the Ultimate Motorcycling Facebook page, or of course you can email us at [email protected].

This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Yamaha is highlighting the YZF-R7 that launched a few months ago. It’s a great mid-level option sports machine that gives the perfect balance between rider comfort and true supersport performance.

The Podcast is also brought to you by Schuberth Helmets.

This week’s episode features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the new Harley-Davidson Nightster. This is one of the new generation of the iconic Sportster range and it features the Revolution Max 975T liquid-cooled twin cylinder engine. This new gen bike manages to bring the latest tech to the Sportster, without losing that retro-cool that is so much a part of every Harley-Davidson.  

In the second segment we chat with another motorcycle industry icon – Roland Sands. Roland is legendary for his custom designs and of course now for his racing exploits with his team in the Hooligan class. Roland’s resume is too long and varied to go into here, so please listen in and get a small inkling into what makes him such a legend. He’s actually going to be the guest of honor at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering on May 14th, so if you feel like a trip to the gorgeous Quail Hotel in Carmel Valley, you’ll get to meet Roland and see some stunning motorcycles too. The link for tickets is here in our show notes.

From all of us at Ultimate Motorcycling, thanks again for tuning in please enjoy this latest episode!

Read our 2022 Harley-Davidson Nightster Review

Read our review of The Ronin CE Jacket ~ Roland Sands Design Leather

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, a weekly podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling. 

In this week’s first segment Editor Don Williams brings us his thoughts on Suzuki’s eagerly awaited GSX-S 1000 GT… that’s the sport touring version of the company’s upright naked sport bike. Don has just returned from a successful two-day, 750-mile round trip on the GT and it seems that overall, he was quite impressed by the bike.

The second segment is the final one in our series from Brisbane, Australia. Associate Editor Teejay Adams and myself chatted with motorcycle adventurer Rusty Mac about his guided outback touring company Australian Backroads Motorcycle Touring. Rusty has been taking all-comers on day-trips for many years, and has now branched out into overnight trips as well. So if you’re perhaps interested in riding some of Australia’s roads less traveled, then Rusty is the guy to show you the best places to visit, and have the best experience.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Check out the Suzuki GSX-S1000GT+ here

Rusty Mac and Australia Backroads Motorcycle Touring company website

Australian Backroads Motorcycle Touring Facebook page

Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends—a weekly Podcast brought to you by the editorial team at Ultimate Motorcycling.

This week we go retro! We start off the first segment with Senior Editor Nic de Sena talking to us about the new Kawasaki Z650 RS. This retro-styled moto follows after the huge success of the Z900 RS, and it follows the same inspiration as its sibling. The KZ650 back I the seventies was a brilliant machine that combined relatively light weight and a motor that revved to the moon, so it quickly gained popularity and sold very very well. The new Z650 RS plays to the visual strengths of the original and certainly for me, the flawless emerald green, pinstriped paintwork, and the gold spoke-type wheels are very evocative of the original.

In the second segment, Neale Bayly continues his chat with Brian Slark—the man who helped bring Norton to the United States. Brian talks to Neale not just about his amazing career, but he also gives us some insight into the burgeoning motorcycle industry of the late sixties and early seventies in America. The rivalry between Triumph, Norton, and of course the other now extinct British brands such as BSA, AJS and Matchless was pretty fierce apparently, and Brian’s first hand witness account to the whole era is fascinating.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Check out our review and pictures of the Kawasaki Z650RS here

Hello friends—welcome once again to the Ultimate motorcycling podcast, Motos and er… Friends. 

In the first segment this week, Editor Don Williams talks with Associate Editor Freeman Wood, who recently returned from Portugal and riding both the GT and Rally Pro versions of the all new Triumph Tiger 1200. The Gt version is more street-oriented than the Rally Pro, and if you’re in a quandary about which one interests you the most, Freeman’s comments may help clarify things.

In the second segment, I get to chat with ex-500cc Grand Prix racer, Paul Lewis. I met him once way back when—and he said to me “Arthur, you’ve got to understand, going fast on the racetrack is all about commitment.” No kidding.   

In the early 80s, towards the end of Barry Sheene’s remarkable career, Paul burst on to the World Championship road race scene and caused quite the stir, setting pole position in his very first race at Donington Park.

Paul later raced at Daytona for several years running—including one year riding the John Britten Pre-cursor machine. Nowadays, Paul is a principal at Salt Motorcycles—a gorgeously retro, hand-built in Australia, café racer based on the KTM 300cc 2-stroke dirt bike motors. Fast and very light Salt Motorcycles must be an absolute blast to ride.

Paul is a real character; he’s raced against many of the absolute best from the GP heyday, and I loved catching up with him and hearing about some of the craziness of the past 500cc Grand Prix era.

I know you’ll absolutely love this episode.   

Triumph Tiger 1200 Rally Pro Fast Facts Review

Salt Motorcycles, Brisbane, Australia

YouTube: Paul Lewis in 1983 Bathurst Western Underwriters 1000

This week brings you a V-twin extravaganza! Well… that’s a bit of an exaggeration of course, but suffice it to say that in the first segment Nic de Sena talks to us about Ducati’s new Streetfighter V2—the one based on the Panigale V-Twin, not the V4. The twin cylinder motor is to some people the very essence of Ducati, and the Streetfighter with the latest generation V-twin motor proves that Ducati is still very much committed to it.

I recorded the second segment on our recent trip to Queensland, Australia. As you may know, the original Brough Superior motorcycles were first manufactured in England in the 15 years or so before the outbreak of the second World War. At the time, the Brough was so exquisitely made that George Brough claimed them to be “the Rolls-Royce of motorcycles” and indeed, they really were. The Brough Superior name was purchased a few years ago, and a French design company developed a new version of the Brough based on the original ethos of innovation and spectacular quality. Serial production in very limited quantities started in 2016.

Fred Drake is the importer and distributor of Brough motorcycles in Australia, and I was fascinated to visit the Brisbane showroom and chat with him about the motorcycles that he has such passion for. I urge you to visit Fred’s website and take a look, you’ll find it at Brough Superior Australia. I promise you won’t be disappointed!  

Hello listeners and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, a weekly Podcast brought to you by Ultimate Motorcycling.

This week we bring you the newly updated Suzuki GSX-S1000. Suzuki has updated their naked liter-bike upright with several fairly significant upgrades, and Senior Editor Nic de Sena tells us all about it.

In the second segment, Editor at Large Neale Bayly sits down at the Barber Advanced Design Center at the Barber museum in Birmingham Alabama, and chats with Brian Slark, the gentleman who – among other things – brought Norton motorcycles to America. This is the first part of three, and gives and introduction to Brian and how he got started in motorcycling.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Suzuki GSX-S1000

This week, Associate Editor Teejay Adams and I get to ride a Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 for our travels around Brisbane, Australia, thanks to the team at Motorcycle Holdings who arranged it.

In Royal Enfield tradition, the Interceptor 650 features the larger twin-cylinder engine in a retro styled package with a ton of charisma. It turned out to be really fun ride—we were pleasantly surprised by how it performed.

In the second segment, I get to chat with one of my longest-standing industry buddies, Robert Pandya.

Robert was recently named COO of the Buffalo Chip Campground in Sturgis, South Dakota. The legendary Chip is the central part of the Sturgis rally every year, and with the redoubtable energy of Robert Pandya, I expect to see the attendance grow exponentially. We’ll see. Robert’s a fun guy to talk to; I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this episode!

Royal Enfield Australia

Cannon Coffee

It’s been quite a while since Harley-Davidson was involved in road racing, but thanks to the newly conceived King of the Baggers class, The Motor Company is back on paved circuits.

Last year the series had less than a handful of rounds, and to their credit, the Harley bagger, piloted by the very capable Kyle Wyman, took the Championship win.

Needless to say, turning a bagger into a real race machine wasn’t easy. The Harley-Davidson effort consisted of a group of volunteers at the factory who pooled a considerable amount of their time and knowledge in a combined effort to create, develop, and prepare a motorcycle that could race with real credibility.

The machine itself is amazing, as you might imagine. And for this week’s Podcast, Senior Editor Nic de Sena chats to us about some of the race bike secrets, and of course his ride on Wyman’s actual factory race bike at Inde Motorsports Ranch in Arizona.

This year, the Moto America King of the Baggers Championship has been extended to seven rounds. They’ve already raced at Daytona Speed Week for the first round, and it’s going to be REAL interesting to see how the remaining rounds shake out.   

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Check out Nic's story on our website!

We’ve got a high performance episode coming to you this week on Motos and Friends!

My name is Arthur Coldwells, and in the first segment Nic de Sena tells us about KTM’s new Super Duke Evo. There’s a big upgrade in the suspension and electronics departments, and Nic had a chance to ride the bike on the street and on track at Buttowillow Raceway in California.

In the second segment, I chat with tuner and drag racer Augustine Herrera of Herrera Racing. Suzuki has just launched the 3rd generation Hayabusa, and although Herrera hasn’t yet had a chance to work with the new bike, his results with the first two generations of the model are astonishing. His son currently has the fastest Hayabusa in the country. It puts out around 600 horsepower and ran a 6.6 seconds standing quarter at 210 MPH. Holy moly.

I hope you enjoy this episode!    

Check out Herrera Racing on Facebook