Welcome to Episode 104 of Chasing the Horizon, or as I like to call it, just plain old welcome back. It’s nice not feeling like crap every day from having COVID. This was the first interview I did after my symptoms abated, so pardon the sickly sound of my voice. I promise I’m much better now!
The conversation with Scott Brady ranges wide, from his work as CEO of Overland International – both an online presence called the Expedition Portal and a fantastic magazine called the Overland Journal – to his rides (and drives) all over the world. Scott has ridden/driven on all seven continents! Overland Journal also has a podcast dedicated to the topic of overlanding and all its variations, concerns and quirks. (Check out Episode 27 (photography), Episode 20 (basic overlanding gear), Episode 13 (“The Real Indiana Jones”) and Episode 6 with Lois Pryce.) I obviously didn’t do enough research before talking to Scott, as I didn’t know OJ had a podcast! Now I’m hooked.)
Visit Overland Journal on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube (as Expedition Portal) and Facebook.
In the news, well of course we talk about Harley-Davidson, but before that, make note of Americade (a big eastern US motorcycle rally) being preemptively postponed six months before it was supposed to happen, and let’s take some time to celebrate good sales numbers for Ducati (best 2nd half ever) and BMW (2nd best year ever). KTM is making inroads in Bangladesh, and Moto Guzzi is celebrating its 100th birthday with a special graphics package on three of its motorcycles.
There’s a lot going on with Harley-Davidson, hardly surprising given their reorg and revamp over the last couple of years. After dropping a bunch of bikes from their European lineup, the other shoe dropped as it were and we found out which bikes won’t be sold in the USA any more. Those of us in the industry who pay attention to manufacturers will be attending Harley’s public webcast on 2 Feb 21 to find out the nitty-gritty details and maybe ask some questions about what looks like it could be the beginning of the end for the LiveWire – let’s hope it’s not true! Rounding things out is a short piece about what could be Honda’s first production electric motorcycle, a variation of the CB125R.
For a bit of fun, check out this page taking an in-depth look at the flying magical sidecar rig seen in some of the Harry Potter movies. Telling me there were motorcycles in the HP movies is how my kid got me to watch one of them.
Please take the time to visit the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America and consider joining to help keep Chasing the Horizon going. Another option: If you’re a BMW rider (or BMW curious) and have never been an MOA member before, drop me an email to [email protected] and I’ll enter you into a drawing for a free one-year membership (US residents only – sorry). I’m giving away two memberships in February and you could be a lucky winner!
