Numbers are down at the traditional motorcycle rallies. Way down, depending on who you talk to. And who hasn't had more than enough of fat old men on Harleys blatting about at 25 mph making enough noise to wake the dead? Perhaps it's time to stage a revolution. (Peacefully, of course!) The backbone of the cruiser movement--the baby boomers--are doing their part by dying off, but what are the rest of us doing to resurrect rallies from a slow death? Texan Robert Pandya has an idea. Why not turn Sturgis into an ADV rally? The riding is spectacular, the scenery is stunning and, once all the classic rock bands are put out to pasture, maybe even the music will be tolerable. (Daytona, however, remains hopeless. Can't think of a less interesting place to ride a motorcycle. No offence, north Floridians, but geography has not favored you.) Give the Lowdown Radio Show a listen and let us know if you'd go to an ADV-based Sturgis rally.

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A motorcycle designer and a plastic surgeon walked into a bar in New Orleans. What happened next? A plan to set a world speed record on the salt flats at Bonneville. Ex-Confederate designer JT Nesbitt and LSU-based surgeon Praz Patcha fell into a fast friendship and decided to take a shot at speed record immortality. But nothing comes easy on the salt, as Nesbitt knows. For Patcha, who’d be doing the riding, this was his first go-round. How did they do? When the pair finally made it back to New Orleans after the attempt, Patcha broke into tears. But were they tears of joy or tears of sorrow? All will be revealed within.

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On the Lowdown 123, Harrison Withers gives us the skinny on the aftermath of Indian Motorcycle’s Harley attack ads from a few months ago that split the punters into two camps. One side praised Indian’s guns-loaded, America-first agenda while everyone else gagged on the whole affair. According to Withers, both camps missed the story. Did Indian motorcycle lose its mind or is a plan executing on schedule? Here’s a hint. The product isn’t an Indian motorcycle. It’s the company itself. 

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On episode 121 of The Lowdown Radio Show Oregonian Brian Price joins Neil to talk all-things riding gear. Price, easily the biggest riding gear nerd we've ever met, has elevated choosing gear for motorcycling to far more than just grabbing a jacket from the closest on the way out the door. At least it should be more than that, according to Price, who has spent much of his professional life—he’s also an online gear retailer—musing about the helmets on our heads and the gloves on our hands. If you’ve ever wondered about neck braces or airbags or the boots on our feet—boots, incidentally, are Price’s obsession—it's a conversation that will, hopefully, prompt you to think far more critically about what’s saving your skin.  

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Wonder where all the young riders have gone? Well, the ones in California that aren’t riding electric Surrons and the like are riding ratty old choppers and Triumph Desert Sleds. Episode 120 of The Lowdown Radio Show features Nathanial Ramirez, a young Mexican-American enthusiast whose tasteful films document the west coast scene. Ramirez tells us about his influences—Spaghetti Westerns among them—and why any motorcycle over 10 grand is, to many his age, irrelevant. We’re going to be featuring video clips from his Motorcycle Archives project so, if you can, head over to YouTube.

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Word leaked out this month that the parent company for Cycle World—formerly the magazine and latterly the website—has pulled the plug on the publication. Not so many years ago this would have been unimaginable. At its height, Cycle World had 300,000 subscribers and was the main conduit for OEMs to reach enthusiasts in the most lucrative motorcycle market in the world. And now, seemingly, it’s all come to an end. Joining Neil to talk magazines and shifting markets are Motorcycle Global’s Michael Uhlarik and ADVRider.com managing editor Zac Kurylyk.

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Some brands of motorcycle--we know who you are--can't stop going on (and on) about their past. Kind of like the neighbor who can't believe a gallon of gas isn't 35 cents anymore. But is clinging to the mythology of past successes healthy for the future of a brand, as marketers would lead you to believe? Or is a backward view unhealthy for both the manufacturer and its true believers. Think of it this way: the brand with the greatest legacy of all, be it Grand Prix wins or iconic models or the way it revolutionized motorcycling itself is a brand we don’t think of as having any legacy at all: Honda. Manufacturers who can’t seem to address modernity lean on legacy like it’s a walker to keep them from falling over. Motorcycle Global’s Michael Uhlarik weighs in on the perils of clinging too tightly to what once was.

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On The Lowdown Radio Show episode 117 managing editor Zac Kurylyk joins Neil Graham to talk about the ins and outs of motorcycle reviewing. We want to know what matters to you. Do reviews influence your decisions? If so, how and why? What’s important to you? Range? Seat height? Tread depth? And what is it that reviewers always miss? Vibration? Buffeting? Engine sound quality? Or do you just think that we constantly suck up to manufacturers for the chance to ride the latest and greatest? Let us know what you want to know

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