the last word Archives - Motorcycle Mojo

OCD to the Rescue

You don’t find many true motorcycle artisans anymore. Oh, Alan Millyard can seemingly craft a V12 superbike out of some junkyard 50-cc minibike engines and there are countless East Indian YouTube...

What’s Next?

If you’ve read The Last Word at all lately, you’re probably aware that electric motorcycles have been an unmitigated failure so far. Unlike the auto industry, where the EVs have established...

Motorcycle Subscription Model

Whether we like it or not, modernity is coming for motorcycles. You can curse Gen Z’s addiction to all things cellular and deride anyone who needs an iPhone while riding as less than a...

Energy Density Fail

I’ve made much of late of the fact that electric motorcycles don’t work very well for serious motorcyclists. Oh, electric scooters are most assuredly a good idea, especially if they’re built...

Clutch Evolution

We motorcyclists seem to be on a quest for the perfect clutch. At least that’s the lesson I’m gleaning from the spate of (semi) automatic gearboxes that have been unleashed these last few years....

What’s Become of MotoGP?

MotoGP has become as boring as snot. An even worse insult: it’s become as boring as Formula 1. The recent Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi — a hard-braking track normally noted for exciting passing...

Increase Your Riding Time

I think I’ve hit the trifecta. No, not the horses. Nor have I surreptitiously won the MotoGP championship, the WSBK title and Daytona 200. I’m a never-was when it comes to racing and I’d sooner...

Embrace Safety Technology

We motorcyclists are a hoary old lot. Oh, we revel in the latest outrageous designs and, my God, some of the graphics on helmets these days are worthy of George Clinton, funk impresario...

Superbike History

It is almost axiomatic that the heyday of any technology dependent sport, particularly any form of motorsport that involves internal combustion, is its very beginning. No one, not even the most...

Morality Play

So sorry to do this to you, but this month’s column will be a morality play. Like so much of today’s politics, sports are being divided by conflicting calls for equality and equity. Now, one...

Ego and Strife in MotoGP

It’s hard not to notice how badly Japanese manufacturers are doing in MotoGP of late. Suzuki, of course, has already abandoned ship, Honda has a motorcycle no one but Marc Marquez — and he, only...

Jump Control

Honda’s most recent technological announcement no doubt stirred up some serious controversy. Or, if you haven’t yet heard about Honda’s latest electronic safety nanny, it may be about to stir...