First Drive: 2014 Ducati 1199 Panigale R

Basem Wasef — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, First Drives, Motorcycle

When 30 Grand For Two Wheels Isn't Too Much

Surviving long-term motorcycle riding requires a healthy dose of fear and the heightened awareness that accompanies it. Nothing suffers fools quite as ruthlessly as two-wheeled transport, an axiom that has been relentlessly reinforced by YouTube. The exposure of riding is bound to catch up with thrill-seekers hungry for speed, knee dragging, and all the potential disaster that comes with tapping into a sportbike's vast reserves of performance.

That said, few things trigger as many life-preserving neurochemicals for a red-blooded rider as a fleet of 2014 Ducati 1199 Panigale R motorcycles idling in pit lane at the newly minted Circuit of the Americas track in Austin, TX. Something about the blood-red bodywork, the guttural idle from two huge combustion chambers and electric tire-warmers (with their implicit suggestion to strike while the rubber is hot), warns the reptile brain to take it easy and not make today the day to chase imaginary trophies and champagne sprays.

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2014 Ducati 1199 Panigale R originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 03 May 2013 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2012 Honda NC700X

Basem Wasef — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:57:00 EST

Filed under: Honda, First Drives, Motorcycle

Honda Builds The Crossover Of Bikes

Here in the land of Harleys and highways that stretch to infinity, Americans don't care much for sensible motorcycles. Unlike the majority of global bike buyers, North Americans tend to choose escape over utility, performance over practicality - that's simply how it's been done in the land of the free, at least until a funny thing happened on the way to the global recession.

As bank balances thinned and fuel prices crept skyward, sales of puffed up sportbikes and cartoonishly endowed cruisers plummeted. Americans rediscovered that motorcycles could be used for tasks like workaday commutes and trips to the grocery store, not just for riding into a Marlboro Man-approved sunset, fringe in tow. As consumers matured, manufacturers slowly responded with bikes better suited for purposeful priorities.

The American Honda Motor Company rode the wave of frivolity while it lasted, experimenting with stunts like stuffing a mammoth 1,795cc v-twin into their VTX series of cruisers, until the humbler (but still hulking) 1,312cc mill took over. But Honda eventually got sensible and beefed up its scooter lineup, launched the beginner-friendly CBR250R, and - lo and behold - took a cue from the European market by introducing the NC700X stateside. But here's the rub: As much as the alphanumerically cumbersome model visually resembles a rugged BMW at a glance, the NC packs enough practical equipment to suggest there's a sea change in the way motorcycles are being marketed and sold in the US.

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2012 Honda NC700X originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 28 Dec 2012 11:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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