Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Cycle World Podcast

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Every superbike and MotoGP bike Ducati has made in the last 50-plus years owes it all to the company's first successful V-twin racer: The 1972 Imola 750. The Imola 200-mile race was the coming out party for Ducati's 750 Imola racebike, designed and led by the great engineer Fabio Taglioni. It was the motorcycle Ducati needed to stay in business, and the win showed it was exactly the right bike at precisely the right time, all the way down to its bevel-driven overhead-cam desmodromic valve system. It's a story of financial woes, drama, and an unlikely success that set Ducati on a path it maintains today. Join Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer as they talk about the Imola 750 and Hoyer's chance to see one of the original eight bikes in person with Mecum Auctions as that example gets prepared for the Monterey Car Week Auction August 13-15.

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Yamaha democratized racing in the 1960s with affordable two-stroke production racers that were essentially ready for the track. How TDs, TZs and more made racing affordable and changed the paddock over two decades.

Photo: Mecum Auctions

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We go back to the original Superbike engines of the 1970s to see where they began and how they have evolved into the powerhouses we have now. Join us!

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The US motorcycle market is a market of love. Performance stats, spec sheets, MPG, or other more practical concerns have a role, but it's usually to support and justify buying THE MOTORCYCLE WE LOVE. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer talk about motorcycle styling, car styling, "covers" on appliances, and more. They also consider that motorcycles at the very least have to be more honest than cars in what they represent underneath their skin. Find out if you agree and we'll see you in the comments!

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Oil seems to be endlessly fascinating to gearheads, so Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer get back into the advantages of synthetic and conventional oils, how engines are lubricated and cooled, and a whole lot more. Learn about "the wedge" and maybe that modern vehicles are "liars"?

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At its core, Honda tries things. Honda superbikes were established as V-4s in the early 1980s, but when Honda Motor Co. saw Ducati winning with a V-twin in World Superbike, it build a new V-twin engine for the 2000 season. And won. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer talk about the origins of the RC51, also known as the VTR1000 SP1/SP2, and its World Superbike championships in 2000 and 2002.

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MotoGP for the 2027 season will feature 850cc engines, down from the current 1000cc. Aerodynamic aids will be dialed back, and ride-height mechanisms will not be not allowed. There are more rules going into effect than this, so take a ride with us to hear what we might expect in 2027.

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How have we gotten in wrong with rear-suspension designs? In so many ways! Kevin and Mark take a tour through rear suspension systems that didn't work and never beat the simplicity of the conventional swingarm, plus they get into all kinds of other elements of the chassis.

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"Dang, them long-stroke engines are just torquier." While this is often true, it's not for the reasons many of us think. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer talk about Bore and Stroke Ratio and how it influences engine horsepower and torque.

What is a beautiful motorcycle? You know it when you see it? Kevin and Mark talk about beauty of motorcycles both inside and out. We have a lot of the hits--Vincent Black Shadow, Harley-Davidson XR-750, Norton Manx, and more--but they sneak in some unusual stuff, too, all the way to the 1967 Suzuki RK67 50cc roadracer with 17-speed transmission!

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Purpose-built production racebikes were available and pretty affordable in the early-to-mid 1970s, but humans will race just about anything. So as streetbikes started to improve and the term "superbike" was born, it didn't take long for people to start racing production bikes at local tracks. One of the most famous was Cook Neilson and Phil Shilling's Cycle magazine Ducati was born as the California Hot Rod, while Butler & Smith BMW's Udo Gietl turn the R 90 S into a race- and championship-winning bike. Kawasakis and more hit the race track, too. At first, modifications were limited, but once the first AMA Superbike Championship was launched in 1976--an idea and its class rules born on an empty California apartment floor in 1975 between John Ulrich and Steve McLaughlin--the motorcycles evolved quickly. Join Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Cheif Mark Hoyer for a discussion about the birth of the Superbike.

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Motorcycles are just not good when it comes to aerodynamics. They punch a great big dirty hole in the air and do almost nothing to close it behind them. Kevin and Mark talk about moto aero, some historic solutions, and later in the podcast transition to MotoGP aero and related performance enhancing solutions. Tuck in and let's ride!

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.

Honda made a big impression with its close-firing-order "big bang" NSR500 and became dominant in two-stroke 500cc Grand Prix racing through the 1990s, replacing the "screamer" engine. Other factories followed suit. But firing order on four-strokes also plays a huge role in how an engine works and how it relates to the rider and to traction. How? Join Cycle World Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor Mark Hoyer as they talk about Big Bang, Yamaha Crossplane, "Twingles," and the all-important "MORE"!

There have been many engine valve designs since the dawn of the internal combustion engine. What made poppet valves stick? (See what we did?) There were many other designs and some, like the sleeve valve in the Bristol Centaurus WWII radial aircraft engine, that worked very well. Classic Kevin Cameron stuff here as he and Mark Hoyer discuss the relative merits of engine valve types.

The inline-four has many qualities that made it the performance engine format of choice for decades. Ride with Kevin and Mark as they talk about the origins of the inline-four and how we have explored many other engine formats and firing orders/timings, and possibly a few side stories about other things!

We just want to light the fire, that's it! Kevin and Mark dive into all the different ways internal combustion engine builders have found to light the combustible air/fuel mixture. There has been spark, open flames(!), a thing called "hot tube" and more. Even compression can light off the charge, and we'll talk about that too. From magnetos to coil and points to fully electronic coil-on-plug ignitions with upward of 60,000 volts, we try to cover it all. Join us for the latest Cycle World podcast!

In the early days of internal combustion engines, pistons were typically made of steel, but it wasn't long before aluminum took over (thanks, W.O. Bentley). But steel pistons and even cylinder heads are coming back in special applications. Kevin and Mark dive in to 3D printed steel pistons, turbo housings, and steel cylinder heads in F1 and other racing. The guys take a deep dive into boost, piston temperature, lean burn, diesel, additive manufacturing and so much more.

"Don't want it to come loose!" This is true, but how many mangled fasteners and engine cases have you encountered? More than you'd like. So Kevin and Mark decided to talk torque, torque wrenches, lock nuts, fastener elasticity, sealing, and so much more. And what if you don't have a torque reference sheet for your bike? Learn fastener basics to help you have guidelines for fastener type and material, too. Lot's to talk about here. Grab your torque wrench and join us for the Cycle World podcast!

Kevin will start with atmospheric intake valves and someone from the 1800s, but for real we are talking about Overhead Cams here. Why has OHC become the standard for four-stroke-engine valve operation and what are its advantages. Also, you won't believe how old the technology is. Join Kevin and Mark for the bumpy world of cams above the head.

Early attempts at sealing pistons in cylinders included hemp and other natural fibers. Today's piston rings are made of amazing metallic materials that allow motorcycle engines to last longer than ever. Kevin and Mark dive into piston rings from the early days to now and talk about cylinder finish, ring gap, "flutter," and so much more. Join them on the Cycle World podcast!

In this week's episode, Cycle World Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer talk about racers and crew chiefs and how their seeming supernatural powers relate to their humanity. Also, we have learned so much from these talented, intelligent people and share many stories about some of the greatest road racing riders and tuners of all time, how they win and how they progress. Join us!

Hey, there are more than 2000 bikes, and Kevin and Mark picked so many bikes for the first episode of the 2026 Mecum Las Vegas motorcycle auction that they wanted to keep going! Honda NSR400 to Vincents to one sweet Yamaha TR-2 350cc roadracer, it's another good time with some amazing bikes.

Hybrid power can bring the best of electric and combustion power together, but does it make sense for motorcycles? Benda recently showed a hybrid prototype and Kawasaki has already taken the plunge. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer discuss hybrid power, including diesel electric trains and a Canadian company doing similar work on semi-trucks and a diesel hybrid pickup truck to retrofit your full-size bike hauler. Hop on and ride with us!

Kevin and Mark pick their favorite bikes from the MASSIVE Mecum Las Vegas Motorcycle Auction. Of course, Kevin picked technically interesting and historically significant bikes, and Mark picked "stuff he liked"! There are great bikes here and plenty of stories to go with them. Harleys, Hondas, a Buell and stuff you may not have heard of. Join us on the ride!

Harley-Davidson debuted the Knucklehead in 1936 and millions of subsequent Big Twins built in its image continue to "potato-potato" down the road! Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer talk about the origins of Harley-Davidson's EL and journey through the Panhead, Shovelhead, and up to the modern era. Think of it as the engine that grew with the American highway system! Join us on the ride!

As Technical Editor Kevin Cameron likes to say about aircraft, they have to be light enough to fly and heavy enough to make it to the destination reliably. This drove innovation in design and metallurgy in aircraft that made it all the way to motorcycles, of course! Roller tappets for camshafts? Check! And so much more. Kevin and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer talk about the flow of technology and design from aircraft to motorcycles.

The new Norton debuted a full line of new bikes recently as parent company TVS finally pulled back the curtain after 5 years of work. Cycle World's Kevin Cameron and Mark Hoyer start about 125 years earlier, at the beginning of the company and its reputation for remarkable singles and following racing success. Isle of Man TT! Norton Manx! Up through Commando and the demise of the company in the 1970s. Join us for the ride and then visit cycleworld.com to see the new Nortons on cycleworld.com/eicma landing page.

Kevin and Mark take a look at new motorcycles from EICMA, the huge annual show in Milan, Italy. The guys talk about Chinese motorcycles, the Indian-made Nortons, and, of course, Honda's electric-supercharged V3R and, as always, "more." Visit cycleworld.com/eicma so see all the bikes and read about these interesting new models.

Long before the Ducati Panigale V4 the American Ducati importer convinced Ducati and legendary engine designer Dr. Taglioni to build a 1200cc V-4 that made 100 hp in 1962. It was designed to chase after sales in the lucrative police bike market in America. It was a 90-degree V-4 with four carburetors and very American styling. Join Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer as they explore the origins of this engine and motorcycle. The Ducati V-4 you never heard of!

American racing hero Dan Gurney's exploits in auto racing and car construction are legendary, but Dan was also mad for motorcycles. So much so he built his own feet-forward machine (the Alligator) with a few different production engines modified to his specs. But he also got his company All American Racers to design a compact 1800cc Twin that was projected to make 280 hp with perfect smoothness. Oh, the glory! Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief made many trips to All American Racers to interview Dan and see what was going on over the years, all shared here in this special Cycle World podcast.

Soichiro Honda visited into Isle of Man TT in 1954 and was shocked to see how high Italian and German racing machines revved. The company got to work! By 1958 when the Honda Cub and its 50cc four-stroke debuted, its engine made peak power at 9000 rpm with great reliability. Honda went on in racing to develop Grand Prix engines revving beyond 20,000 rpm. This expertise led to street bike 350 twins such as the CB350 that made all the power and more than the prevailing British 650cc parallel-twins of the 1960s. Kevin and Mark discuss Honda's origin and the path the company took to deliver exceptional performance at competitive cost.

How does your motorcycle exhaust system help your engine make more power, be more efficient, and sound amazing? Like many parts of the motorcycle, there are near-infinite variations. For exhaust systems Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer discuss: length and diameter of the tubing, collector size and shape, how long each element of the system is, overall length, silencer type, cam design, port length and shape, cylinder grouping, and so much more. We get into four-into-one vs. four-two-one, the "power bulge," what is reversion, stepped headers and, well, like we said, so much more. Join us!

Sounds crazy but early engines ran on "city gas," generated by roasting coal. Liquid fuels like gasoline improved our lot in Combustion Life, but there have been many experiments to get the most out of it. How close are we to perfect combustion? How do we get liquid fuel--which will not burn--to turn to vapor that will burn? So many questions that Kevin and Mark set out to answer. Let's get into the molecules, shall we?

How "Ninja" came to define Kawasaki and what it means to the company. The bikes that built this brand within the brand started in the early 1970s and Ninja just put a name on it. What's "it"? Listen as Kevin and Mark of Cycle World talk about where the Ninja ethic began and where it's taken Kawasaki, from screaming two-stroke triples to supercharged 1000cc sportbikes.

This week Kevin and Mark are getting MORE MOLECULAR than usual! We know, it's awesome, right? The motorcycle mostly started with iron, then steel and some bronze, and then we got aluminum, titanium, beryllium and more, plus all kinds of composites. Despite getting molecular, it's a big topic, so join us on our epic journey.

Yamaha is a passionate racing company but recent success has eluded the tuning fork folks. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer dig into Yamaha's new V4 MotoGP racer that debuted at Misano and is under continued testing. Will the V4 solve all the company's problems? Will rides love the new engine and bike? What are the advantages and disadvantages of V4s and inline-4s. Listen to find out!

Kevin and Mark dive into what's holding back the ULTIMATE PERFORMANCE of your motorcycle. What could be changed in the engine or with aerodynamics that could help us hit 250 mph? What are the tragic shortcomings and amazing strengths of motorcycles today? Jump in the slipstream and take the ride with us on the Cycle World Podcast.

Engine vibration...does it eat horsepower? How do we control it? Where does it come from? What's secondary vibration vs. primary? Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer discuss the many types of vibration in engines and the various schemes used to control it or let those vibes we love come through.

The little step-through that changed transportation around the globe and helped Honda achieve Grand Prix Racing success, technical dominance, and massive wins in automobiles, the 1958 Super Cub hit a target for buyers no one had yet considered. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer discuss how Soichiro Honda and Takeo Fujisawa helped conceive of this little motorcycle to function easily in broad conditions and the unique features that helped it fly off the showroom floor from the very beginning.

All we've ever wanted is complete control of combustion in our motorcycle engines and we are closer than ever. Find out how cleaning up emissions has enhanced power, running quality, engine life and more as Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer discuss the combustion process and all the tricks used to move ever closer to stoichiometric. What's that? Listen and find out. Also, there's a chance someone might say "Velocette" or "TZ750," so don't miss it!

Barn finds, garage finds, yard finds and alley finds, that abandoned old motorcycle isn't going to start itself! Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer run through the steps and tricks to get an old carbureted or fuel-injected motorcycle running. Two-stroke oil in a four-stroke? Yes! De-rust a gas tank--we have a way! Listen as discuss the smell of old gas and getting a motorcycle out of the barn and back on the road.

Concept bikes can be crazy weird looks at a possible future or be hints about new models to come. Some are even intended as near-production but never make it. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer run down a list of 10 concept bikes that might have been and one that actually made it to the streets of America. Hybrids, superchargers, inline-sixes, alternative front suspensions, and one called "Biplane"?! And if it has four wheels but leans, is it still a "motorcycle"?

If every combustion event in your motorcycle engine was the best it could be, power and efficiency could rise by as much as 20 percent! Find out how engineers and designers work toward this optimal goal and how chaos just keeps getting in the way. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Mark Hoyer talk about all the things that influence how the charge lights off in the cylinder of your motorcycle engine.

Leave it to Technical Editor Kevin Cameron to start in 1862 with the first guy who conceived the four-stroke combustion cycle. KC proceeds with Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer on the journey to the combustion chamber we have today and why it's shaped how it is, flatheads to hemis, two valve, four valves and more valves! There's so much to cover in such a small space. Join us!

Motorcycle manufacturers made some strange experiments as they looked for new customers or that novel idea that would create a new type of machine. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron and Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer go down a list of odd and wonderful machines that made it to the market--sometimes not for very long. Did you know about the two-wheel-drive dirtbike? The cruiser with the fabulously expensive front suspension? What's a Monotracer? Watch now and join us on this oddball journey.