Articles by Sean Smith
News 
Photo: a massive breach of brand trust and honesty
To say the least, Ducati's Diavel is controversial. JT Nesbitt called it a massive breach of brand trust and honesty and later penned the McQueen/Hasselhoff conundrum. Back in December Wes wrote a story entitled Who's buying the Diavel. The underlying idea behind these stories is that regardless of how good of a motorcycle the Diavel is, it was designed to attract a new type of customer, one that ... Rider: Rogelio Ramos
I know Ducati owners have a reputation of being a bunch of rich assholes who ride their over-priced Italian bikes to a coffee shop on Sundays so they can hang out with other Ducati owners who are also wearing Puma track suits and talk about how cool they all are, but let me introduce you to a guy who defies the stereotype. This story is about a motorcyclist with damn good taste who ditched the vin... Custom: Boyko Racing Husqvonda
I'd heard of Boyko Racing's mythical beast for weeks before actually seeing or riding it. Wes told me "it's the fastest bike he's ever ridden and Uncle Ted's an ex-racer." Ted himself told me that it's got a 2mm overbore, gigantic pipe, killer tune and special blend of gas in the tank. Now, neither he nor Wes are all that familiar with my dirty past, but suffice it to say that when someone says th... Retro: 2001 Honda Caixa
Want a tiny fold up electric scooter for running around town that costs almost nothing, weighs nothing and fits anywhere? The now decade-old 2001 Honda Caixa concept would have been that, had it gone into production. Feeling a little deja vu? This isn't a new idea. Anyone who considers themselves a Gran Turismo nerd will likely be familiar with the 1983 Honda City Turbo and its matching Motocompo ... News
Ion Horse: '120 miles within legal speed limits'
With performance claims like a 0-60 time of 3 seconds, 140mph top speed and a projected 120-mile street range, the Ion Horse from Kingston University and Ecotricity looks to be a promising addition to the electric motorcycle racing world. With power coming from Ecotricity windmills, the only CO2 emissions coming from the Ion Horse will be from its tires and the riders breath. Photos: Amadeus Phot... How the Moto Guzzi Norge won me over
When I picked up the 2011 Moto Guzzi Norge 8V from Piaggio a few weeks ago, I was initially somewhat sad to part with the R1 I had been cruising around on. The R1 felt like it weighed nothing, accelerated the way only a liter-bike does, wheelied on command and had great brakes to boot. The Norge is a touring bike, which basically means it's slower, heavier and a lot more comfortable than most othe... News
Shit Kenny Roberts Says: hole in one
It seems ridiculous to compare riding a motorcycle through a corner to hitting a golf ball, right? Kenny Roberts doesn't think so. I've become fairly used to people who don't understand sport riding calling me an adrenaline junkie, but to me, riding a motorcycle fast is much more than just a cheap thrill. Still, even after explaining in detail what it's really like to drag a knee, most people ... News
Motor cop injured at memorial for motor cop killed in head on collision with motor cop
Take a second to wrap your head around that headline. What it means is that a motor cop crashed and broke his wrist while working traffic at the funeral that was held for the motor cop that was killed when he collided head on, at high speed on a public road with another motor cop less than two weeks ago. At the end of that story, I made a quip about motor cops wearing little-to-no safety gear an... News
See See Motorcycles grand opening
It's no secret that we're fans of Thor Drake and See See. We featured the SR 500 he built and I shot his shop the last time I was in Portland. See See is also responsible for The One Motorcycle Show and a good deal of drunken burnouts, party photos and general hooliganism. If you're within a few hours of the dream of the 90's, you should make your best effort to attend See See's grand opening part... Bust mirrors, not bark: sportsbike hand guards
Remember this year's Daytona 200? Or the famous Biaggi/Rossi elbow match from Suzuka in 2001? At the time, there was a lot of drama about how Biaggi did it to force Rossi wide, but Daytona is a good example of why a rider might think it's necessary to stick an elbow out. Why am I pointing out these two racing incidents? Well, somewhere along the evolution of the motorcycle, dirtbikes sprouted hand... Ride: Highway 39, Glendora Mountain Road and Glendora Ridge Road
Southern California is a motorcycle paradise, but as a result, many of the best roads get clogged up with Harleys and cops. Sometimes even cops on Harleys. You think you’re doing well, then a squid on an R6 lowsides into your lane, spreading blood and oil across the pavement. But get away from The Snake and Angeles Crest and there’s still some amazing riding to be had, free from all the hassle... Reach out and touch...your iPhone with gloves on
I mention Aerostich one freakin time, then they go and come out with the ultimate hipster motorcycle gloves. These gloves combine old-school CHiPs or cafe racer looks, depending on who you ask, with new-school touch screen capability. Don't tell the hipsters, but other people like iPhones too, old white guys that read ADVrider, cops and, well, most anyone who can appreciate modern technology. No... News
Gear: triple-clamp saving keychain
This is actually a serious review of a keychain. No, it's not that slow of a day for content, I just really like this thing. I got it as a Christmas gift last year and I've been living jingle free for months now. The concept is about as simple as it gets: let your house keys hang down below your triple clamp by the wiring harness. No more scratched-to-hell top clamp, no more jingling of keys all t... 2012 Kawasaki KX250 dual fuel injectors explained
While the KX450 might be a little retarded, the 2012 Kawasaki KX250F has gotten a serious engine management upgrade. Until just a few years ago, MX bikes all used carburetors. The Keihin FCR is a complicated piece of highly refined technology that works extremely well and represents the ultimate evolution of carburetor technology. The first MX fuel injection systems were a little bit clunky. They ... News
Retarded: 2012 Kawasaki KX450 Launch Control
Launch control is a pretty awesome thing. The idea behind it is that at the start of a race, you whack the throttle wide open, dump the clutch, and the computer makes all the hard calls for you. This tech is the reason MotoGP and F1 starts are so drama free and smooth. All the guy behind the controls has to do is keep it pinned wide open and it'll go as fast as the tires will allow. Kawasaki's lau... Gear: Icon Airframe Construct
When I crashed my GSX-R a month ago, I banged up my Arai Vector and I was in need of a new helmet. Icon tossed an Icon Airframe Construct my way. There's a stereotype about guys that ride gixxers and wear Icon helmets. While this helmet might move me one step closer to that stereotype, I'm impressed by its performance. Especially for the $295 retail price. Photos: Ashlee Goodwin It's flashy, ... News
2011 Roehr eSuperSport
Roehr has announced an updated eSuperSport for 2011. The outgoing model rode on a Hyosung GT250R chassis, made 48hp with it's 5.8kWh of battery capacity, weighed in at 395lbs and was priced at $16,995. The new bike makes 67hp from 7.7kWh, weighs 470 and costs $17,995. In case you weren't counting, that's 19 more hp and 1.9kWh more for your extra $1000. Along with the extra muscle comes 75lbs wort... News
Video: S1000RR vs M3
Place your bets now. Here we have yet another take on the classic Car vs. Bike race. Fans of Top Gear have undoubtedly seen these types of comparisons before, and when you stop to think about it, you can figure out pretty quickly that the outcome is much more likely to be determined by the track and pilots than it is by the actual machines. Sport Rider actually ran a M3 vs S1000RR race at Streets... Bridgestone Battlax R10: the next big thing in tires?
You probably haven’t heard of Bridgestone’s new R10 DOT-approved track tire yet, but if you race or do a lot of trackdays, you’re about to. This could be the next step in tire technology, with Bridgestone going so far as to suggest you should alter the current best-practice riding style in order to wring the most from it. Luckily, one of our racer buddies just got to try them out for the fir... Custom: CR500AF Supermoto
Confused? It's a Honda CRF450 frame, with a CR500 motor, a swingarm from an Aprilia RXV, and pipes that belong on an R1. Taffymoto on supermotojunkie has been working on this project since December of last year. He has taken a powerful CR500 motor, put it in a modern and stiff CRF450 frame, added state of the art supermoto suspension, and finished it off with high end components everywhere else... News