Hokkaido Motorcycle Tour - part one

Every Summer many riders in Japan head north to cooler and dryer weather in Hokkaido. Ever since first visiting Japan in the 90’s I have been told Hokkaido was the best riding so I decided it was about time I went for a look. Turned out different to what I imagined and if you have some time then I’d like to tell you about it.   Hokkaido Motorcycle Tour - part one first appeared on Motorcycle

Alpinestars Transition DS Gloves review

I purchased the Alpinestars Transition gloves when I was riding in Spain a couple of months ago. I arrived in an unseasonal cool week and after one day of riding with summer mesh gloves I realised I needed better protection from the elements to continue. Alpinestars Transition DS Gloves review appeared first on Motorcycle Paradise July 2016 I already possessed what I considered a suite of

Polaroid Cube Action Cam review

I have been testing an action cam on my last few motorcycle tours and it is about time I posted a review. Polaroid is a name I associate with polarized sunglasses and instant cameras. In film days their cameras were very popular and remained so right up to the early digital days being able to produce a ‘print’ of the photo within a short amount of time using self developing film. My friends

5 small items to help you enjoy your ride

Most riders spend a fair bit of money on a good helmet and jacket and gloves. Some build on this with boots and riding pants and rain gear. However sometimes it is the little things that make a big difference. Here are five things that I cannot ride without now that I never thought of when first riding. 1. Buff or other brand of neck tube/scarf. These are great. In winter they seal the wind out

Japan Summer Motorcycle Tour

I wasn’t planning any riding when out of the blue a week of sunny weather was being predicted prior to the arrival of Japans rainy season. I set off one day later with part of a ride worked out on a bike that was not running the best but a week of fine weather is as rare as hens teeth in Japan so the moment had to be seized. I started by going west along the coast past Enoshima to Hakone. I

Sicily Motorcycle Ride

I have had an interest in Sicily for since childhood thanks in part of to some of my family having grown up in with the Italian community in Innisfail North Queensland which had a strong connection to Etna region Sicily. An opportunity presented itself recently to make a small visit. First order of business was some lunch before leaving the airport. This is a great start     I can still

Yamaha FZ8 review

Got to spend four days riding a low km Yamaha FZ8 in Spain so I want to talk a little about this motorbike. As usual with my motorcycle reviews I am not going to be talking about the specifications or history and the other press release type stocking filler that is the content you will find on commercial motorcycling web site reviews. What I am going to do is chat about how the bike actually

Andalucía Motorcycle Ride

Whilst I more or less decided not to do any more riding in Europe circumstances changed and I unexpectedly found myself flying to Spain for a couple of weeks. I dusted off my plans I once had for riding Andalucía. Spain had been one of the places on my bucket (ride) list so I was happy about the opportunity to ride there.   I arrived in Madrid and immediately was pleased to find the feel of the

Reaching Peak Travel

I do not often write a post to recommend an item but recently I enjoyed reading this book.  Motorcycle Messengers was a nice read of short stories or excerpts like a sample pack from the contributing authors. Very easy to access or read a few stories then put away while boarding a plane on my recent travels. The stories are quite varied, one made me chuckle out loud while one almost had me in

Everything about motorcycle riding in Japan

Few people know how beautiful Japan is. The vision people have is neon illuminated cities and bullet trains which is one aspect but beyond that lies one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my travels around the world. Tourist figures are growing but most come to ski or visit the major tourist cities and never get to see what is at times for me truly jaw dropping scenery. Riding a

Japan Inland Sea Tour

I just completed a motorcycle ride visiting some of the best view points around what is referred to as the Seto Inland sea of Japan. I then went island hopping across these waters to visit some of the islands in the middle where few people travel. If you have a little time then perhaps you might enjoy to see some photos from the tour. I had this ride planned for April, in Spring. But I have

Europe alps remastered

Six years since I did the ride in the Europe alps. I just revisited the post and saw how crappy the photos had been all limited to low resolution. Fortunately I still have all the photos from that ride archived and so just updated them to high resolution versions as well as adding quite a few more never posted originally. Added a little extra text too so now it actually looks how it should have -

Yamaha MT-09 Tracer review

I had the pleasure of being able to ride a near new 2015 Yamaha MT-09 Tracer around New Zealand for 9 days so it seems fitting I put a few words to paper metaphorically.   Ergonomics seemed to work well for me (I am 6’ tall) Seat to peg distance was excellent, I never experienced any cramps in my knees such as I can get with bikes that have higher or rearward pegs. The bars sit a little

New Zealand North Island Motorcycle Tour

It was so nice to revisit one of the best places to ride a motorcycle, New Zealand. Last year I had been thinking I should try return to New Zealand and ride the lower north and upper south islands. I then forgot all about it while yet again thinking what to do about my plan to ride in Europe with the Versys 650 I have in Ireland. The Aussie dollar remains so weak and everything is already so

Sport touring tyre comparison

A brief and unscientific comparison of four popular sport touring tires fitted to a Yamaha FJR1300. I have tried four different sport touring type tyres on my Yamaha FJR1300. Metzeler Z8 which (somewhat oddly) came on the bike when new. Bridgestone BT023, the non GT variation of what is usually fitted to this bike new. Pirelli Angel GT which was suggested by others and Michelin Pilot Road 4 GT.

Deux roues déplacent l'âme

I wonder why I am so drawn to travel by two wheels. I am pondering this as pack my motorcycle touring kit into my suitcase leaving about two shoeboxes of space for actual clothes and regular items. Yes it is the freedom of the open road but also something more. Not easy to summarize or describe. I could rent a car for 1/4 of the cost of renting a motorcycle and do much more travel but I don’t. I