This is a master index of everything I’ve written about motorcycles.
Announcing Motofomo
Since so many of my visitors were interested in motorcycles, I (re-)launched a website dedicated to buyers guides, reviews, and other motorcycle-specific stuff.
Join me over at Motofomo. Head over there for the latest!
The rest of Hooshmand.net will remain what it is — a personal blog.
Motorcycle Buyers guides
When buying any motorcycle (or sometimes afterwards…) I get obsessive about learning EVERYTHING about a motorcycle. I then put down what I learn into a buyers guide, describing the generations and differences between them, common problems/what to look out for, and roughly how much to pay (where that makes sense).
These are articles about buying a motorcycle, comparisons between generations, or comparisons between a range of alternatives. They’re not specifically reviews, though they might contain some review elements.
Here are all my buyer’s guides.
- Guide to buying a Ducati Monster (this was my first article!)
- Kawasaki “Eddy Lawson Replica” Motorcycles (Z1, ZRX1200R, Z900RS)
- Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa
- BMW S1000R — Everyday Awesome
- Buying a Classic Ducati Superbike — the 916 to the 999
- Why and how to buy a Yamaha R1
- Suzuki M109R buyers guide
- Guide to buying a CBR600F, CBR650F and CBR650R
- Suzuki SV650 buyer’s guide
- Triumph Scrambler buyer’s guide
- Honda FireBlade History and Buyer’s Guide
- The Ultimate Yamaha R6 Buyer’s Guide
- Honda CBR600RR
- Kawasaki Ninja H2 range
- Key Changes in the 2021 Yamaha MT-09 SP
- 2021 Triumph Trident vs History
- The BMW F900R in Australia
- Which big Thumper for Australia Travel?
- Motorcycles to Ride in an Apocalypse
- Affordable classic motorcycles under US$5,000
- Motorcycles you can Get in Australia (but not the US)
- Four Cylinder Screamers
Motorcycle Technology Guides
Sometimes I get a little obsessive about motorcycle technology, like cornering ABS and start wondering “Wait, what are all the bikes with this technology?”
These articles take a while to write, as I often have to learn a few things while doing the research, but people seem to love them!
- Motorcycles with Cruise Control — Especially a lot of unusually cheap ones…
- Understanding Fuel Injection Open and Closed Loop — What causes “jerkiness”?
- Cornering ABS or lean-angle-sensitive ABS — A complete list of motorcycles with cornering ABS
- Ducati Desmodromic Valves — Everything you need to know
- BMW Race ABS vs ABS Pro — explaining the differences between the terms
- Metric/Imperial Quick Hacks — things I do to convert between units (for motorcycles or cars)
Gear and Stuff
I thought I had written more posts on gear but I hadn’t. I’ll have to do more of that!
- The best books for becoming a better motorcycle rider — Books I read that really helped me improve
- Using Airpods Pro on a motorcycle (to reduce wind or engine noise)
- A review of my Shoei RF1200 helmet — Basically the only good helmet I’ve ever owned
Motorcycle Reviews and Articles about Specific Motorcycles
These are all the reviews I’ve done of motorcycles. I’ve ridden all of these at least 250 km in a variety of conditions… but mostly 1,000 km or more, with them in my possession.
In no particular order…
- Honda CB900F Bol D’or (my first big bike!)
- Honda CBR650R — The perfect middleweight, mid-market sports bike. If only available in Australia.
- Surprising Features I found in the BMW S1000R Manual (also for the S1000XR, and S1000RR
- Zero SR/F Meta Review — Totally amazing.
- Honda Hawk GT NT650 — Cool but frankly a bit slow
- Ducati SuperSport 900 i.e. — Not as fast as I was hoping…
- Harley-Davidson LiveWire — An Ordinary Rider’s Review
- Ducati 1098S as a Daily Rider — The Dogs of War
- Yamaha Tracer 900 GT (on Motofomo) — Two days in France
- Ducati 999 Superbike — That New, Old Bike
- Ducati Hyperstrada 821 — Fun, but expensive to own
- Honda FireBlade CBR954RR — The best FireBlade of all time.
- Ducati Monster 1100 Evo — The best Ducati Monster of all time.
Guides to Buying and Selling Motorcycles
I churn through quite a few motorcycles. I tend to buy them and keep them for just a few months… the longest has been a year or so, in recent times.
Here’s everything I do to buy and sell motorcycles.
- The Ultimate Checklist — What to check when buying a used motorcycle (I use this checklist myself)
- Buying a Great Used Motorcycle — Five ways to know a bike will be great
- Reading Motorcycle (or car) Tyre Codes — and what they mean.
- What to Check when Buying a Used Ducati
- Simple ways to negotiate motorcycle prices (without lowballing). Tip one — call them!
- Advanced tests to negotiate motorcycle prices (and uncover hidden gremlins)
Motorcycle Repair and Modifications guides
These are repair guides. Generally for the older, more problematic motorcycles I’ve had.
- Replacing Ducati Clutch Springs — I’ve had to do this a couple of times
- Essential modifications to the Ducati Hyperstrada 821 — it was unrideable otherwise…
- How to upgrade the clutch on a Hyperstrada (or Hypermotard) 821
- How to Test and Replace a Crankshaft Position Sensor (on a Ducati, again)
- Changing a BMW R1200 (R1200RS, R1200GS, R1200S, R1200ST) alternator belt without special tools
- How to test your motorcycle’s charging system with simple tools — a few motorbikes
- How to plastic weld motorcycle fairings — for a Ninja 650 I bought that needed work
- How to re-upholster a motorcycle seat — Also on the Ninja 650
- Guide to building a Naked Multistrada 1000DS (a “Multimonster” or “Monsterstrada”)
Motorcycle commentary and analysis
Finally, sometimes I write about the market and give my generally unsolicited opinion.
- The Australian Motorcycle Market in 2020
- Is Riding a Motorcycle Exercise?
- Lessons from “A Twist of the Wrist” by Keith Code
- The Best Looking Motorcycles of 2021
- The Best Looking Motorcycles of 2020
- The Best Looking Motorcycles of 2019
- Why not ride motorcycles during a pandemic (if you’re in lockdown)
- The Motorcycle Regret Minimisation Framework — how to avoid loss
- An Archive of Song of the Sausage Creature (on Motofomo)
- Racing motorcycles on a budget — How to do it
- Boring Honda Motorcycles (relax, it’s tongue-in-cheek)
- My favourite motorcycle businesses in the Sunshine Coast, Australia
- Reflections on Crashing a Motorcycle — My beautiful Ducati 1098S, down
- Rent to Buy — A better way to sell privately
- A Chat with Guillermo Cornejo of Riders Share
- Riders Share Review — Passive Income through Motorcycles
- Interview with Michael Masouras of MotoHunt — a marketplace browser