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Best Sport-Touring Motorcycle of 2021: Ducati Multistrada V4 S

With the Ducati Multistrada 1260 S Grand Tour taking top honors of our sport-touring MOBO in 2020, it should come as no surprise that the 2021 Multistrada V4 S further cements the Italian’s dominance of the category. The new Multi V4 is basically better in every way, from its stonking new V4 that can play the part of mild tourer or wild canyon ripper, to its more versatile 19-inch front wheel and world-class electronics package that includes adaptive cruise control and blindspot monitoring as well as electronic Ducati Skyhook suspension. The new Multi continues to impress in a way that is surprising for a bike of its size.

As mentioned in our recent heavyweight naked bike shootout, Ducati has managed to tune its V4s – the Granturismo variant in this case – in a way that provides a dual-purpose characteristic making the 1158 cc motor easy to use around town or for touring while simultaneously offering blistering performance when you pull its tail. This, combined with variable ride modes, TC, ABS, and electronic suspension allows the user to fine tune the ride however he or she sees fit. Where the Granturismo also delivers for touring riders is its 36,000-mile service intervals thanks to Ducati ditching the Desmo valve-train for a more conventional spring system.

2021 Ducati Multistrada V4 Review – First Ride

The addition of the 19-inch front wheel vastly helps the new Multi’s off-road chops, where the previous model’s 17-inch wheel never felt very confidence-inspiring in loose terrain. This does come at the expense of some on-road flickability, but not enough to cause much concern. If sport-touring exclusively is your cup o’ tea, the Pikes Peak model uses 17-inch wheels and will guarantee an exhilarating ride. The larger front wheel doesn’t detract from performance enough to pull it away from this category, rather, it further adds to the Multi’s bag of tricks.

When I was a kid I had a neighbor who, every weekend, would roll his dirt bike out from the garage and kick it to life. It usually took two or three kicks before that two-stroke would fire up. Then he’d just let it sit there for a few minutes, blipping the throttle as two-strokers tend to do. Ring-ding-ding. Ring-ding-ding. Ring-ding-ding. Eventually he would lift it up off the milk crate, throw a leg over it, and roar down the block. My neighbors probably hated him for it, but I remember I would stop whatever I was doing and watch that bike go flying by. 

Looking back, I don’t remember him ever taking it to a motocross track, but it didn’t matter. Subconsciously if nothing else, I couldn’t not notice another motorcycle. My parents wanted nothing to do with me getting a bike, so I had to wait until I was 19 and had money of my own to go and buy one behind their back. 

This isn’t a background Rennie Scaysbrook can relate to. The third generation of motorcyclist in his family, Rennie’s been around motorcycles – err, motorbikes as they’re called in his native Australia – from the womb. Both his parents and grandparents are former racers and Jim (Rennie’s dad) was famously Mike Hailwood’s Ducati teammate during the 1978 Isle of Man F1 race. Today, Rennie is not only an extremely fast racer, Pikes Peak Hill Climb champion, and Cycle News Road Test Editor, but he’s also a friend. Rennie has lived and breathed two wheels for as long as he can remember. Now, he wants to pass on that passion for bikes to the next generation of riders, including his own son. 

He’s done it by writing a book. Not just any book, but a children’s book. The Big Book of Motorbikes essentially condenses everything we know to be cool, true, and awesome about motorcycles and mixes in a little history to get kids excited about motorbikes. Bright and colorful artwork by Asim Hussain helps drive the point home. No matter the genre, there’s a little bit of everything to get motorcycle fans big and small excited about two wheels. 

Triumph has finally spilled the beans on its thoroughly redesigned Tiger 1200. A substantial reduction in weight and an emphasis on power and handling is the name of the game for 2022. Bringing its big ADV into line with the 900s, the Tiger 1200 will be offered in five trims: GT, GT Pro, GT Explorer, Rally Pro, and Rally Explorer which follow the same naming scheme with the GT trims being more road-focused while the Rally versions offer off-road accoutrement such as larger wheels and more suspension travel. The Explorer models also hold 7.9 gallons of petrol with the other trims utilizing a 5.2 gallon tank.

The T-plane crank has made its way to the 1160 cc Triple with Triumph claiming 147.9 horsepower and 95.8 lb-ft of torque from the big Tiger. Showa semi-active suspension is equipped with the rear shaft drive using what Triumph is calling its “tri-link” suspension set up. Electronics are now thoroughly modern with the 1200s now equipped with much of what we saw on the 900s with the addition of blind-spot monitoring on the Explorer trims.

For a thorough overview of the new models, we’ve included Triumph’s press release below. To say we’re excited to test the Tiger 1200 line would be an understatement. If our time on the Tiger 900s is telling at all of the improvements to the new 1200s, the big adventure bike segment is showing no signs of cooling down any time soon. We’re told Spring 2022 for arrival in dealers, but we hope to get our grubby mitts on one as soon as possibly to bring a thorough ride review to MO’s digital pages.

Begin Press Release: 

THE NEW TIGER 1200: THE BEST OF ALL WORLDS

Significantly lighter and much more powerful, with class leading handling and specification, plus all of Triumph’s new T-plane triple performance advantage, the all-new Tiger 1200 has been designed to be the world’s most capable, agile and manoeuvrable large capacity adventure motorcycle.

Best Naked Motorcycle of 2021: Ducati Streetfighter V4S

Here goes the broken record again: The Ducati Streetfighter is So. Damn. Good. We rode it a lot this year; first it was the First Ride review, then we rode a $50,000 modified version, then threw the stock one back into the mix for some street and track testing during our seven-bike Heavyweight Naked Bike test. Over and over, we walked away thinking, “Damn. That was good.” It came out on top of the street portion of our naked bike test, and it came one spaghetti strand away from taking top honors in the track portion as well.

What’s in this magic sauce from Ducati that makes it so sweet? The obvious ingredient is that 1103cc V4 engine and its split personality. Traditionally, you’d have to choose whether you wanted a gentle puppy of an engine or a howling screamer of a fire-breather. With the Streetfighter, somehow you get both. It’s shockingly fast when you open’er up, but is also just fine plodding around when you feel like being lazy.

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, you’ve got world-class electronics that are easy to navigate, a seating position one could conceivably ride all day on, and stellar good looks, including wings! What else is there to want, really? John Burns would cry foul over the lack of cruise control, which really is an odd oversight by Ducati, but considering the rest of the package, we’re willing to let that one go.

You might have noticed that our MOBOs this year include a Naked and a Standard category. On the surface bikes in both categories are similar in that they’re naked (or shall we say minimally clothed) with handlebars, but to put the Triumph Trident 660 or Honda NC750X – the top two in our Standard MOBO category this year – up against the Streetfighter simply wouldn’t make sense.

Best Adventure Motorcycle of 2021: Harley-Davidson Pan America

This one may or may not come as much of a surprise to those paying attention. If Harley-Davidson entering the adventure bike segment made waves, then doing so with such a solid offering from the get go was a tsunami that stirred up emotions all across the interwebs. Promising a machine that would compete with motorcycles the likes of BMW’s well-established and venerable GS line while having never operated in the segment previously was bold. The Pan America had detractors from the moment the plan was sussed out by our own Dennis Chung in 2017, where he surmised the moniker’s eventual product category: “… Even wilder, how about a full-fledged American-made ADV?” Wild, indeed. Mr. Chung. 

2021 Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250 Special Review – First Ride

From the first few minutes of straddling H-D’s ADV, it was clear that the Pan America was headed in the right direction, “I knew from the moment I twisted my right wrist on the frontage road just outside the Rawhyde Zakar complex that I was in for a good time. ‘Damn,’ I thought to myself as a big ol’ smile stretched across my face, ‘this is going to be fun.’”

Spanning America On The Pan America

Today’s Church of MO intro has nothing to do with the Honda Fury or Star Stryker, but some might like to know that in searching through the archives, I came across some entries by The Highwayman in the old MO Forums, this one in reference to a story about Keith Code’s California Superbike School:

Teaching the Rules of the Road
Pumping brakes over a daunting mountain pass and pumping fists in a clear-the-house brawl. Grappling big chrome bars through a treacherous canyon and grappling atrociteurs to the death of their game. Defying the laws of physics by masterful roadcraft and defying those who pledge allegiance to the far-eastern feudalism of godforsaken lands.

This is how motorcycling is taught on the American highway.

The rules of the road here are set by stout and hearty men who enforce justice the old fashioned way. These rules are unspoken by words, but readily stated otherwise. Those fortunate quick learners need no more than a slight scowl, steely glare or arched eyebrow to figure it out. Others are richly deserving of a more painstaking education borne of boots, fists and fury. And then there are those who are given no more chances at getting it straight.

It is best to set upon being a quick learner.

We know that this won’t come as a surprise to you, but there are bad people out in the world, people who think that they should have your motorcycle. While we probably all agree that these dirtbags should be strung up by their thumbs with their toes ever-so-lightly touching a fire ant hill, we’re not here to think about retribution. Instead, let’s try to keep our motorcycles in our own possession. Here at MO, we’ve written about the importance of locks when it comes to keeping your bike safe. However, you can go even further in to protect your ride by using a motorcycle alarm.

Best Motorcycle Locks

Bike alarms typically are one of two varieties. The less-expensive option is to combine the lock and alarm into one noise-making security device. While these are not as secure as the category of hidden alarm systems, which can optionally kill the ignition, they do allow your bike to scream for help when someone tampers with it. Within this more secure group, a wide array of options becomes available, including GPS tracking or remote notification.

The current problem with motorcycle alarms is that the market has been inundated with extremely cheap alarms of questionable quality. Would you really want to trust your motorcycle to an $18 bicycle alarm that is zip-tied to a frame member. This is the type of stuff that we’re trying to avoid. Unfortunately, the signal-to-noise ratio is on the low side, requiring a little research on your part. This buyer’s guide is an attempt to turn up the squelch so that you can find the level of protection that meets your budget.

So, if you have a bike that you love, and you’d like to keep it, perhaps, you should look at the alarm systems below to see what steps you can take to prevent motorcycle theft.

In Triumph’s modern classic line it has the Thruxton, a contemporary interpretation of the classic cafe racer that mimics styling from the golden era of when those machines were quite literally raced from cafe to cafe in search of “the ton.” For 2020, the British manufacturer took that machine a step further with the Thruxton RS, sprinkling on top-shelf components to give the “modern classic” modern performance.

2022 Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RS Review – First Ride

Now, for 2022, Triumph has proposed an entirely different view of what a modern “cafe racer” can be. Heavily based on the all-new Speed Triple 1200 RS, the RR delivers performance in a more sport-focused package that Triumph says it built to be the “ultimate sports bike for the road.”

Editor Score: 91.25%

We touched down in sunny Malaga, Spain, only to then be welcomed into the mountains by gusty wind and ominous clouds that made for dramatic scenery as we climbed in elevation. With rain in the forecast and temps dropping below freezing at the low end, our street ride around Ronda and the track sessions to follow at the Ascari circuit looked to be in jeopardy, but you don’t fly halfway around the world to not ride a new motorcycle. Our ride day started wet but the precip held off, even giving way to sun as we crested the mountain headed toward San Pedro de Alcántara. The track, given the humidity and cloud cover, never quite dried, but was safe enough to spin a few sessions to try to tap into the Speed Triple RR’s performance. 

Best Value Motorcycle of 2021: Triumph Trident 660

Being the penny pinchers that we are, we like a good value when we see one, and the Triumph Trident 660 is certainly a wise choice for those looking to get a lot of bang for their buck. Let’s take the $8,095 price tag out of the equation for a second. The Trident 660 is a nice bike we’d expect to pay a few grand more for. Starting with that sweet three-cylinder engine, we were initially bummed (and a little confused) to hear it went down in displacement to 660cc from the 675cc it started life as in the Street Triple and Daytona, but once you ride it, everything starts to make sense.

It might be a little smaller in size, but it still delivers nearly as much fun as its bigger siblings. Then, of course, there’s the sound. The awesome Triple wail is as cool as ever on the Trident 660. It’s also surprising how well it turns, handles, and stops, too. Add to that a basic electronics package that seems well suited for its purpose, and it’s no wonder John liked it after his First Ride. It also is a little surprising to think back to its top placing in our Middleweight Naked Bike test too, but factor in how good of an overall package it is – then bring back its sub $8,100 price tag – and yeah, kudos to Triumph for knocking out a banger in the Value department.

Best Value Motorcycle of 2021 Runner-Up: KTM 890 Duke

KTM was really hocking the 890 Duke R when it was first released and paid little attention to the non-R version when it came out a year later and replaced the 790. We get it – you want to put your best foot forward. But do you really need the better fork and Brembo brakes? The 890 Duke – with no R – says no. And we agree.

I really wish I could blame Covid inactivity or a medication that has weight gain as a side-effect (though both are true), but the responsibility for my physical state rests firmly on me. As a kid, I could eat anything and everything at any time and not gain a pound. For most of my life, I wanted to gain weight, and until my late 40s, I never had to think about my diet. Oh, and I have a relentless sweet tooth. So, as I celebrated my 59th birthday, my bulk had grown by almost 60 pounds during my tenure at Motorcycle.com. Stepping on the scale in mid-May and seeing it register 218 lbs was the last straw. 

I reached out to a personal trainer friend who I’d worked out with regularly before I started at MO, telling her that I could only fit in one pair of my pants – and just barely. As expected, I got no sympathy. Instead, she challenged me to step up and do something for myself. I waffled briefly and then committed. 

Simple Math

The prescription for weight loss is easy. You’ve got to burn more calories than you take in. Basic addition and subtraction, actually. The reality is much harder. And slower. For me, the biggest stumbling block (aside from my close relationship with the employees of the Donut Hut) was time and accountability. My responsibilities at MO and working at home mean that there is always something else that needs to be done. Skipping exercise is too easy, and coupled with the fact that a recurring knee injury has me worried that my running days may be nearing their end, I’m having to adjust to the fact that my fat-burning primary exercise might not be able to work its magic anymore.

In the past, I found that I needed to be both financially and publicly responsible for seeking out my goals. A simple gym membership isn’t enough for me. 

Best Standard Motorcycle of 2021: Triumph Trident 660

Best Standard is a crazy class that can and has vectored all over the map. But strangely enough, the last few years have been an all-Triumph affair. Last year we picked the Scrambler XC (and Kawasaki Z900 as runner-up). In 2019, it was the Street Twin eking out the win over the Husqvarna Svartpilen 701. The year before that, it was Triumph’s Street Triple 765 RS doing the deed. Before that is ancient history.

Nobody expected that much from the new Trident 660, for which Triumph itself sort of set low expectations, rolling it out as a middleweight standard of low price, pedestrian specifications, and a triple-cylinder engine tuned for torque – code words many times for bland beginner bike. 

In the actual event, the Trident immediately established itself as one of those special machines that  is – to use another stock phrase that gets over-used in the MOBO awards – more than the sum of its parts. In last June’s Naked Middleweight Shootout, the new Trident destroyed the field in powering to the win, beating out long-time favorites and the new Aprilia Tuono 660 with a combination of power, suspension, comfort, and price none of the others could match – and trouncing the competition with a 92.5% Grin Factor on the official MO scorecard. 

Forty-two-point-eight pound-feet of torque isn’t the most, neither is 72.3 horsepower, but combined with perfect fueling and a wet weight of just 427 pounds riding on Showa suspension well dialed-in by Triumph, as always, the Trident just happily gets the job done, any job, commuting or playing. 

Modern full-size pickup trucks are more capable, efficient, comfortable and technologically advanced than ever before. They really have become the jack-of-all-trades choice amongst the automotive world. So when an all-new pick-up debuts, it’s a big deal.



Toyota has just revealed the brand’s all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra – and a lot has changed. To dive a bit deeper into what is new, we take a look at the Top 5 Reasons we look forward to the new 2022 Toyota Tundra.

1. Bold Design

Built in San Antonio, the new Tundra was styled by Calty, Toyota’s North American Design Studio. A true homegrown American truck, the Tundra’s exterior is sculpted to exude power and capability. It features angular lines, accented flared fenders and an imposing front grille, to emphasize the notion of toughness.

The “Technical muscle” design theme of the Tundra continues throughout the interior, highlighted by a massive 14-inch touchscreen that’s integrated into the dash. There is also an available 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, that features a National Parks display during startup.

Best Cruiser/Bagger Motorcycle of 2021: Harley-Davidson Sportster S

How’s this for a no-pressure assignment? Completely redesign the Harley-Davidson Sportster, the best-selling Harley that’s been around since 1957. Start with a clean sheet. Make a motorcycle that appeals to people who’ve never considered a Sportster. Whatever you do, don’t offend the Base. On the other hand, it’s okay and even preferable that it offends some people – the ones who’d never consider a Harley under any circumstances.

From where I sit, maybe a little too close to the ground, which slightly triggers me, it seems like lead designer Brad Richards and crew succeeded on all fronts. The main source of their success is the new Revolution Max engine that powers the bike, which debuted earlier in H-D’s Pan America adventure bike.

2021 Harley-Davidson Sportster S Review – First Ride

For the Sportster, which is more urban runabout than off-road-capable adventure bike, that engine’s tuned to make 121 horsepower instead of 150, but it packs all that power into the low- and midrange. Suddenly, instead of being an antique, the Sportster is ready to duke it out with any road-going thing it encounters. Variable valve timing makes it even more vicious out of the hole; Harley claims 94 lb-ft of torque at 6000 rpm, which feels entirely believable. Ride modes other than Sport let you tame it down on days when you’re not in the mood to bite the heads off of bats. The Rev Max is a fantastic V-twin engine and a complete departure for the Motor Company. Not only is it great to ride, it’s also probably going to be great to own, since its hydraulic valve lifters require zero adjustments. A 60-degree V angle and 30-degree offset crankpins even give it a 90-degree sound we never expected to hear from a Harley.

Best Lightweight / Entry Level Motorcycle of 2021: KTM 390 Duke

If you’re tired of hearing us gush over KTM’s second-smallest Duke, imagine how tired we are of gushing. The 390 Duke took its first Best Lightweight title following its 2015 introduction, and it’s won the class every year since except 2018, when we gave the award to Kawasaki’s new Ninja 400. And okay, last year the award went to the KTM 390 Adventure, which is almost just a longer-legged Duke. That 373 cc counterbalanced single-cylinder just keeps shining through. The Duke’s engine is light, compact, torquey, powerful – and most importantly, it’s smooth-running enough that you’d never know it’s only got one cylinder. We used to call them “thumpers” for good reason; that descriptor really doesn’t fit the 390 Duke, or the 690 either.

Twenty-five years ago, the exotic Ducati Supermono required an entire dummy cylinder and connecting rod to control vibration enough to spin its lone 550 cc piston to 10,000 rpm and around 60 horsepower. Now, the 390 Duke single can perform the same trick all day long with its ingenious counterbalancer, even if its 373 cc displacement only makes around 42 rear-wheel horses. It feels like more.

KTM updated the Duke in 2017, refreshing it with edgier styling, a swell TFT display, better suspension, bigger brakes, and a revised exhaust for a smidge more power. That equipment is still enough to keep it on top of the class – especially the edgier styling part. If you didn’t know the Duke was a $5,699 motorcycle, its fit/finish and overall demeanor would have you thinking it costs a lot more.

Though you can’t help but think of it as a small bike, the 390 is in fact almost a full-size motorcycle that accommodates even large-ish adults pretty comfortably, even two of them at a time, but only weighs 363 pounds full of fuel. On tight backroads, that means the Duke can hang with almost any sportbike and leave many in the dust. The rest of the time, when you’re just using it for transportation, it makes light work of gnarly traffic and cruises happily at freeway speeds too – all to the tune of 50+ mpg.

Best Technology of 2021 Harley-Davidson’s Adaptive Ride Height

One of the biggest barriers to entry that adventure bikes face is seat height. Most folks, unless they’re well over six feet tall or simply have experience dealing with them, will have an issue with tall seat heights. At the peak of skyrocketing saddles, the Honda Africa Twin Adventure Sports was topping out at 36.2 inches. Adventure motorcycles face the challenge of balancing reasonable seat heights while still delivering enough ground clearance and suspension travel to make them worthy of the nomenclature. While dirt bike benches regularly top 37 inches, they also weigh under 250 pounds and are narrow. Adventure bikes, on the other hand, can tip the scales at more than double that. 

The Adaptive Ride Height feature available on the Harley-Davidson Pan America is the most innovative solution to this issue that motorcycling has yet to see. Previously, you would have to pay to lower the suspension, purchase a “low” seat option or would otherwise just be SOL. The Pan America’s semi-active Showa suspension components, when fitted with ARH, lower the motorcycle as it comes to a stop by one to two inches. In the Auto setting, the adjustment goes unnoticed and speeds up or slows down its descent based on a number of factors such as speed, deceleration rate, and lever state. The system won’t start lowering until speed is reduced to approximately 15.5 mph. There are also Short Delay and Long Delay modes which lower the motorcycle 0.5 seconds and 2 seconds after the machine is stopped. The suspension can also be locked out for off-road riding scenarios where maximum ground clearance is necessary.

This new feature truly opens the door to riders who may have been interested in adventure machines in the past, but came up, uh, short. As many people have said in comments throughout the internet, we’re not sure why it took this long to attempt an innovative solution for ever-rising seat heights, but we’re thankful that Harley-Davidson took the challenge. 

Best Technology of 2021 Runner-Up: Adaptive Cruise Control