Episode 110, in which we race baggers with Rob Buydos

Close your eyes. No wait – read the rest of this paragraph first, THEN close your eyes. Picture a motorcycle race in your head – what it looks like, the sounds all around you, the smells of the bikes and even the spectators.

Were there baggers – those big, heavy, hard-case-laden motorcycles – in your mental picture of racing? Chances are the answer to that question is no, but just in case it wasn’t, you’re in luck. Rob Buydos and his team tried out racing baggers with MotoAmerica last year, and they’ve gone on to create their own separate series, the Bagger Racing League. Races debut this summer – check out the BRL website for more info and of course, listen to what Rob has to say about it! Follow them on Facebook or Instagram.

Royal Enfield is trying to make a splash in the USA with the Meteor 350 – it looks every bit as classic as a Triumph Bonneville, but only has one 349cc cylinder and costs half as much. Unfortunately, the Meteor 350 won’t help them in Vietnam, where they’ve become despondent enough about their market share there to abandon the country from a sales perspective.

You may not have heard of Mips, but there could be a time not too far in the future where Mips technology is in nearly every motorcycle helmet produced. If their annual report for 2020 is to be believed, it may not be as long as you think before that happens! Not doing quite as well in the PR department is Ducati, who issued a recall on some of their high-end adventure bikes, the Multistrada V4 Granturismo, due to faulty valve guides. “Wait!” I hear you cry. “Valve guides in a Ducati? Who ever heard of such a thing?” Well … that’s part of the story!

Electric news isn’t fully electric this time out – you’ll have to listen in to find out what I’m talking about. We could be seeing an electric Honda Grom – sort of – in the not-too-distant-future, and apparently Subaru is working on a flying (electric) motorcycle. What is really interesting is a prototype Segway hydrogen-electric hybrid motorcycle the company swears will be available in 2023. Yeah, I know! Subaru and Segway in a podcast about motorcycles? It’s possible the world has gone crazy!

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