The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider

Why Design Details Matter

Michael Uhlarik from Motorcycle Global joins Neil Graham to talk about—wait for it—motorcycle seats and mirrors from a designer’s perspective. And then Neil makes the case for an ADV motorcycle inspired by Kawasaki’s 400 cc four-cylinder ZX-4R screamer—a high-spec, small displacement bike with all the tech of a big bike but without the bulk of something like a 1290 Adventure. Like a 600 cc V-twin not built to a pauper’s budget. Wait until you hear Michael’s shockingly (predictable) response, you’ll be (un) surprised.

A Wide-Angle Lens On The Moto World

The late great Steve Thornton edited ADVRider.com [http://advrider.com/]'s Photo Of The Week feature for years. I’m happy to report we’ve found a worthy successor to carry on Steve’s work. And I don’t say that casually. Katie Hunter is just about as singular a personality as was Steve. She rides an BMW airhead, she’d rather shiver at a campsite than have a warm shower, and she’s worked at a funeral home as an embalmer. And that pose that funeral home employees have? You know what I mean. The way in which they’re in a room but not really in the room, well, Katie says it’s all in way you cant your neck. That and much more in this week’s rambling chat.

Challenging Dakar (And The Aftermarket Industry)

Mirrors on motorcycles are almost universally wretched. They either present you with a movie of your elbows or they whimper and fold at merely the thought of a twig brushing against them. Most of us just complain about them. A wonderful motorcycle with bad mirrors is dead to us. (Unless it’s Italian.) But one man with a similarly vexed history with the mirror put his foot down, drew a line in the sand and said "I will make a mirror that will change the way we look back on where we've just been.” (He didn’t actually say that.) His name is Ned Suesse, and his Doubletake mirrors never cease to amaze. Oh, and he’s a Dakar finisher, too!

How You Can Get The ADV Skills You Need

Dallas Shannon from Traction ERag Adventures joins Neil to outline their upcoming schools and to debunk some of the myths that surround off-road riding. We’re in a peculiar moment in that the ADV-style motorcycle is the de-facto standard of our age, and yet taking a significantly-sized motorcycle into the dirt is beyond the skillset of many a purchaser. Dallas & company hope to change that. Have a listen and then check them out at tractionerag.com [http://tractionerag.com/].

The World's Biggest Motorcycle Show

It’s the most important motorcycle show in the world and regular contributor and Motorcycle Global main-man Michael Uhlarik is here to give The Lowdown the lowdown. We’ll address the rise of the Chinese, the resurgence of Honda, the absence of KTM and ponder a scooter with two cupholders. And lots more, including ADV bikes-a-plenty. Because of the liberal use of video and photographs, you may wish to sashay on over to YouTube to watch this episode.