Chris Cope
Latest
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Rethinking the Sportster
You know what would be really clever? If Harley-Davidson dealerships could issue false invoices that you could show to your wife. So, you could come home with, say, a $15,000 motorcycle but produce for your life partner a receipt claiming you had paid only $9,000. “Yeah, babe,” you could say. “I talked ’em down.” In…
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Ride by wire
Mission RS – Is this the mainstream future? I tend to get pretty excited by the prospect of electric motorcycles. First of all, there is the fact they sound like a TIE fighter. How could you not want that? Sure, there is something cool about the low-rev grumble of a cruiser, but, dude: a TIE…
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Dear Indian: Please make a smaller bike
The Chieftain’s fairing is inspired by Streamliner trains.It is also quite train-like in size! I got a chance to see the new Indian motorcycles in the flesh today –– both the Chief Classic and the Chieftain. They are incredibly beautiful machines, but great googly-moogly are they massive. It is comically huge. I mean, this thing…
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The motorcycling heart of America
People in cold places love motorcycles. The other day I read an interesting article on Asphalt and Rubber that highlighted where America’s motorcyclists are to be found — both by volume and per capita. By volume, there is nothing surprising: California, Texas and Florida take the top spots. Shocker. California, Texas and Florida are also…
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A bonny adventure awaits
Lake District National Park When I first applied for my current job, the phrase that stood out to me most in the job description was: “Occasional travel required.” My mind looped and soared on the implications of such a statement, because I have always wanted a job that demanded I not stay in just one…
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2014 Triumph America – First ride
The Triumph America offers a lovely aesthetic but disappoints
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2014 Triumph Bonneville – First Ride
No-frills modern classic offers all the thrills
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Daydreaming my next bike: A real motorcycle
The goal… Not too long ago, my wife and I were talking about setting goals. In trying to inspire my imagination on the subject, she asked me what bike I’d like to have. I danced around in my head for a few seconds and because I had recently written that post about sport tourers I…