The “Bikes at” moto event pitched its tents at ZLDR Luchtfabriek again this summer. I took my camera along to the final edition of this season, on August 6.
All kinds of bikes and riders filled the square, creating a warm and lively atmosphere. Hats off to organizer Mario Zambonini for pulling off this successful event year after year and building a true community around it.
Check out my photo series: Continue reading
Three years ago, I tested the Harley Street Bob and I have to say, I was pretty smitten with its cruiser vibe. At the same time, it left me itching to try a Harley with more long-distance DNA (read: fairing and saddlebags), without having to climb aboard one of their weighty Touring models.
Enter the Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST, the fairing-and-bagged version of the Low Rider S and a proud member of the Cruiser lineup. The ST doesn’t hide where it got its looks. It borrows a hefty scoop of design sauce from the iconic FXRT of the eighties. Retro vibes galore! In fact, with those red letters on gray paint, my test bike looked like it could cameo in Stranger Things.
One walkaround of the ST and I’m already nodding in approval. The fit and finish are solid (with a special mention for that classic yet beautifully designed taillight) and in this blacked-out trim, the bike just looks plain cool. Worth noting: the ST comes standard in chrome (starting at $24,199), and if you want it murdered out, that’ll cost you an extra $1,100. Most paint options also come with a surcharge.
Not exactly cheap, but the ST isn’t some bare-bones, tech-free entry model either. Harley-Davidson is (finally) rolling out Continue reading
The story of Harley-Davidson has been a soap opera in recent years. The fully electric Livewire that was revealed in 2014? Quite the plot twist for a brand that’s usually linked to classic choppers and rumbling exhausts. And if that wasn’t already hard enough to swallow for the average Harley rider, they had to stomach an adventure bike and a streetfighter a couple of years later. Or at least the announcement. Preproduction models of both bikes (the Pan America and the Bronx) were shown at the 2020 Brussels Motor Show. Shortly afterwards the storyline spiraled even further with a new CEO who immediately decided to ditch the Bronx. Just to quickly give you an idea of a few plot lines.
The announced adventure bike did appear in showrooms this year, so I took the Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special on a little trip to Germany to discover how it rides.
The Special version of the Pan America differs from the standard version with a range of extras: semi-active suspension, tire pressure monitoring, crashbars, handguards, heated grips, steering damper, centerstand, bash plate, radiator guard, cornering lights and a brake pedal that can be easily adjusted to two different heights. Starting prices: $17,319 for the standard Pan, $19,999 for the Special. My version also had the optional spoked wheels and the adaptive seat height.
If you don’t like the design of the Pan America: it looks a lot better in real life than it does in the pictures. The striking front will probably be the pitfall for this model even though owners will think of it as ‘different’ or ‘original’. After one week, Continue reading
Team Throttle 