Moto Guzzi Reveals New Adventure Tourer

Sales in "Adventure Touring" motorcycles are inspiring manufacturers to not only redesign models such as the KLR and Triumph Tiger, but also to develop entirely new beauties to compete for an ever-growing market share. Seems like we are living in the proverbial golden age for dualsport motorcycling: recent years have witnessed the drool-inducing release of rough-and-ready bikes like BMW's HP2 and Buell's Ulysses; more and more offroad motorcycles are spinning off street-legal versions such as KTM's EXC models and Husky's TEs; rumors have a new F800GS just around the corner; and it looks as if some of those ultra sexy new supermotards just need knobbies to make them the ultimate pavement-to-trail machines. What a great time to be on two wheels!

Enter Moto Guzzi's latest salvo into the fray -- the Stelvio. Granted, the exhaust looks like a 200 pound trolling lure for a sperm whale, but the rest of the bike sure looks to be aimed at taking a bite out of BMW and KTM sales. Spoked wheels, a very large luggage rack, GPS, single-sided swingarm, upside-down forks, adjustable windshield, a twin cyclinder power plant expected to be available in 850 and 1200 cc options, and NO CHAIN.


I can't wait to see what comes next!

Tubeless Spoked Wheels -- At Last!

Do you hate changing tires and fixing flats on tube-type wheels as much as I do? I've lost count of how many tubes I've pinched with my tire irons, requiring that I tear everything down again and patch what was, just a moment ago, a perfectly good tube. Of course, we need those spoked wheels for our dualsport bikes, because cast wheels that don't require tubes just wouldn't stand up to the beating that we give them offroad. Perhaps you've seen the spoked wheels that BMW puts on its big GS bikes: the spokes terminate at the very outer edge of the rim where they don't invade the air pocket between the wheel and tire, allowing the GS to run tubeless tires. Very cleaver, but BMW's wheels are very expensive.

Finally, a company has come up with a rather simple solution, allowing tubeless tires to be run on spoked wheels. The spokes are threaded into the rim and terminate with a sealing gasket to prevent air from escaping. These new wheels are already being tested in AMA Supercross. Assuming they preform well in Supercross, it's just a matter of time before the major manufacturers pick up on it and start marketing their bikes with tubeless tires. Hallelujah!

For more in depth information, read this article at Motorcycle Daily.

The Ultimate "Dual Sport" motorcycle

Now this looks like the ultimate dual sport motorcycle. If I could marry one of these with some knobbies and White Brothers suspension then we might have something going!

5th Annual Hillbilly Dualsport Tour, Eureka Springs, March 30-31 2007

I don't know about you guys, but my anticipation is mounting for this annual event in Eureka Springs. I can't wait! I've attended it the last two years in a row. Second only to our own annual rally at Clayton, this is one gathering of dualsporters that I have no intention of missing. The scenery is gorgeous, the trails sublime, and most of my Okie friends will be there. For the ongoing discussion here at Ride Oklahoma, visit this topic in the Ride Oklahoma Dualsport Upcoming Rides forum. Make your reservations, change the oil on your scooter, mount some fresh knobbies, and let's go riding!