Cycle World Podcast

Find us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/cw/CycleWorldPodcastThe Daytona 200 has been the national motorcyclist's rite of spring, but it's more than just the 200--for much of the country it's the first sign that riding weather returns! Kevin and Mark talk about Daytona from early days at the beach, moving to the Speedway, and with lots of anecdotes thrown in. Mark was there for the race weekend this year, celebrating 50 years of AMA Superbike racing with BMW, which won the first superbike race at Daytona in 1976 and won the first championship that year, with its R 90 S, built by Butler & Smith. History was also made in the 200, as Kayla Yaakov became the first woman to finish on the podium, and she rode an absolutely excellent race to do it.

Ducati dropped a carbon-fiber bomb in the form of the 2027 Superleggera Centenario, the most exotic V-4 superbike from Borgo Panigale ever. Perhaps even more far out than the Ducati Desmosedici RR just because there were no "rule" limitations for the new Superleggera. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer dig into all the details of this beautiful and exotic limited-production Ducati, all the way down to the ceramic brakes and the special oil that helps the bike produce a claimed 248 hp. Thank you for watching!

Listening to our listeners (and viewers), this topic came from you guys: Kevin and Mark take a look at motorcycle rear suspension starting with "all arm and no swing" rigid frames of the early days to the many variation on the swingarm as we know it today. A sprung saddle is "rear" suspension, no?

How many ways have motorcycle designers gotten it wrong? So many! One of these was chasing an ultra-low center of gravity on motorcycles, only to find it made handling worse! How have we settled on 20-22 inches off the ground for center of gravity? Because it works, and transfers weight on the front wheel during braking and to the rear wheel when accelerating. The right C of G also assists us when tipping into a corner. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer discuss motorcycle weight transfer and motorcycling handling. Our favorite moments of weight transfer? Wheelies and stoppies, of course!

The motorcycle gearbox can be a great mystery but Kevin Cameron is here to help us all understand how it works. Why do we have six-speeds and constant mesh (mostly)? Kevin and Mark Hoyer also divert into DCT, helical gears vs. spur, and how to make your dogs happy. Join them for another Cycle World Podcast.