Mark Richardson, Author at Canada Moto Guide

Opinion: All the new bikes

Mark Richardson — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 18:43:42 +0000

The biggest motorcycle show of the year opened to the world’s press yesterday, and I stifled a yawn. EICMA in Milan used to be the place where some of the hottest bikes and the coolest equipment and gear made their debuts, but I just couldn’t get interested. A new Honda Hornet? That will be nice. An MT-10 and MT-10 SP from Yamaha? Just what we need – more big naked bikes…

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Opinion: Ride to France!

Mark Richardson — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:29:31 +0000

Now’s the time to plan next year’s road trips, and for the first time ever, that can include a ride to France. Yes, France. From Canada. It’s not so far away. I’ve just made the drive, in a pickup truck I admit, but there’s now a working car ferry between the south coast of Newfoundland and the tiny French territory of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon. It’s a 90-minute ride over on the ferry from the…

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Opinion: Staying warm

Mark Richardson — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 17:01:11 +0000

It was a hot summer across all of Canada this year – sometimes too hot. The fall is comparatively warm too, and here in Southern Ontario, the leaves are late to change colour. But the clocks will change soon and the temperatures are already dropping. There’s been a frost out in the countryside and, well, it’s getting to that time. Not time to put the bike away of course, though some will. No, it’…

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Opinion: The magic of motorcycles in the movies

Mark Richardson — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 22:16:23 +0000

I went to the James Bond film No Time To Die this weekend – of course I did – and like everyone else, I was totally wowed at the beginning of the movie when Bond makes his escape from the bad guys on a Triumph Tiger. It’s in the ancient Italian town of Matera. After riding at speed, helmet-free, through the narrow cobblestone roads and up and down stone stairways, Bond comes up against a group…

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2021 Can-Am Ryker Review

Mark Richardson — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 18:16:12 +0000

You might remember my column from back in August, when I rode a three-wheeled Can-Am Ryker and was astonished at how much fun it was. I’d gone into the whole test-ride thing with a dark heart, sullied by memories of riding a three-wheeled Spyder years before. That Spyder was – still is – an expensive and heavy machine that seemed to serve a single purpose: provide stability for a rider unsure…

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Opinion: The best time of the year

Mark Richardson — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 22:19:14 +0000

Canadian motorcyclists have a huge advantage over riders in the rest of the world and it’s called “the weather.” This is that glorious time of the year when the weather changes for the better. I used to think spring was the best time. In four months from now, I might go back to that opinion when’s there’s the promise of six or more months of comfortable riding ahead. But no, this is the best…

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Opinion: Riding with Costa

Mark Richardson — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 18:33:33 +0000

The left-hand corner ahead is far tighter than I expected, and I’m riding into it much more quickly than I’d like. It’s covered in gravel, and the KLR’s chunky tires dig into the loose stones but still skim over too many of them. This is a dirt road somewhere north of Montreal, my first trip out of Ontario in 18 months, and it’s not somewhere I want to lose control. My guide up ahead is…

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Opinion: Reducing the risk

Mark Richardson — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 18:13:22 +0000

Regular readers of this column know that I also write about motorcycles for The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. Last week, it published my review of the Honda Rebel 1100, and it didn’t take long for reader OldBanister to add two cents in the comments. “1/4 of all people who ever ride a motorcycle will be involved in an accident on one,” he/she wrote. “1/40 of all people who ever…

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