Track Days

October 19, 2026

Sport Touring CornerBy Norm Kern Motorcycle track days are organized events where riders take their bikes to a closed racetrack to ride in a controlled, traffic-free environment, typically divided into skill-level groups (novice, intermediate, advanced) with sessions lasting 15-20 minutes each throughout the day. They’re popular among those who want more than just street riding.…

About Quickshifters

October 14, 2026

Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern What is a Quickshifter? Quickshifters use a strain gauge sensor in the gearshift lever linkage that detects force on the gearshift lever when shifting. The signal is used to momentarily reduce engine power and unload the drive train to enable shifting to the next higher gear without having to use…

How to Store Your Motorcycle Over the Winter

October 9, 2026

A Simple Step-by-Step Guide to Protecting Your Bike During the Off-Season Storing your motorcycle properly during the winter months is essential to keep it in good condition and ensure a smooth ride when spring arrives. Cold temperatures, moisture, and long periods of inactivity can cause damage to your motorcycle if not addressed beforehand. This guide…

The Most Popular Concealed Carry Firearms

October 6, 2026

A Comprehensive Guide to Top Choices for Personal Defense In a world where personal safety and preparedness are rising concerns, the decision to carry a concealed firearm is an important one for many individuals. The choice of which firearm to carry is influenced by a range of factors including reliability, size, caliber, capacity, ergonomics, and…

Rider Hand Signals: Speak Up Without Saying a Word

October 5, 2026

Rider Hand Signals: Speak Up Without Saying a Word Long before Bluetooth headsets, phone mounts, and handlebar gadgets, riders had a simple way of keeping the pack together: hand signals. No batteries. No pairing. No dropped connection. Just a rider’s arm cutting through the wind, letting everyone behind them know what’s coming next. And truth…

CHASING THE LAST GOOD MILES

September 16, 2026

Fall can deliver the best riding of the year: crisp air, spectacular color and less traffic. It also quietly removes your margin for error. Shorter daylight, cold pavement, wet leaves, low sun, fogged shields and deer can turn a familiar road into a different ride. TREAT FALL AS ITS OWN RIDING SEASON The smart move…

Reasons to Ride Ride Stop Poker Cards!

September 15, 2026

Something to go with those custom poker chips you’ve been collecting! Yet another crazy idea from your friends at Reasons To Ride – Ride Stop Poker Cards! Every year, we hand out thousands of promotional cards featuring upcoming rides, motorcycle events, and recommended Ride Stops. This year, we decided to do something a little different—and…

Layering Your Motorcycle Gear

September 14, 2026

A few suggestions for Staying Safe and Comfortable on the Road This time of year – riding a motorcycle can expose you to changing weather conditions – including wind, temperatures, and rain (maybe even ice and snow!)  It’s important that you dress appropriately – and we usually recommend layering your riding gear.  Layering not only…

Downsizing My Dual Sport Bike

September 9, 2026

Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern As my regular readers know, I have been downsizing my bikes to postpone aging out. The process began in 2020 when I added a 650 Suzuki V Strom XT to my stable and learned I could live with a much lighter chain drive bike.  Last September I purchased a…

What is Moravec’s Paradox and What it has to do With Motorcycling?

September 3, 2026

Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern Moravec’s paradox is an observation by artificial intelligence and robotics researchers that reasoning requires very little computation while sensorimotor and perception skills require enormous computational resources. What does that have to do with riding motorcycles? For me, everything! When I read about Moravec’s paradox the other day, it took…

Reasons To Ride Blogs ///

Reasons to Ride is your one stop for all reasons to ride, from flat track racing to articles from industry leaders. Enjoy blogs from Reasons To Ride Contributors!

ARSENAL BIKE SHOW

Arsenal Harley-Davidson, Waterford Michigan – Saturday, August 26th Last year’s show had to be rescheduled due to the weather and challenging forecasts, so we are getting a jump on this one in ’23.  This show, presented by Michigan Biker Law, welcomes all makes and models and features over 40 trophies – including the chance for a BEST IN SHOW Championship…

RTR CHAMPIONSHIP BIKE SHOW SERIES

JANUARY 2023 REPORT We’ve always believed that the best thing about our bike show series is the people that both exhibit and attend.  This isn’t just about the bikes – but about the people building and riding them as well.  After doing these shows for more than 12 years, its great seeing how many connections and friendships that have developed…

Reasons To Ride – Volume 13 Issue 2

The February 2023 edition of Reasons to Ride is here to keep your passion for the open road alive, even in the colder months. Whether you’re planning a romantic Valentine’s Day ride or gearing up for the upcoming season, this issue is packed with inspiration, tips, and events to keep you connected to the riding community. What’s Inside This Month’s…

Reasons To Ride – Volume 13 Issue 1

The January 2023 edition of Reasons to Ride is here to inspire and prepare you for an exciting year ahead. Whether you’re making resolutions to ride more, exploring new destinations, or looking for ways to improve your bike, this issue is packed with everything you need to kick off 2023 on the right track. What’s Inside This Month’s Issue? Why…

What is Sport Touring?

Sport Touring Corner By Norm Kern Let’s kick off the new year at Reasons to Ride! I’m Norm Kern, long time Dayton Ohio Motorcycle Club member and friend of Derek Smith, who invited me to submit some articles in Thunder Roads Ohio about five years ago and this column was the result. This column is about sport touring- the riders,…

New Beginnings and Dead Ends…

Have you ever started out with no particular place in mind to go, you just wanted to get out of the house, get on the pony and go? Maybe discover something new you had never seen before, or a place you had never been before, you just wanted to get out and move and so you did. Cruising along you…

Norm’s Favorite Rides Near Dayton, Ohio
Sport Touring Corner
By Norm Kern

Home for the winter – the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association (MSTA) rally season ended in early November with the Texas Hill Country rally in Kerrville, Texas, so there are no more motorcycle trips for me until at least April, 2023. Still, I like to ride all year round, and will put on the heated gear and go out for a…

YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN THIS WORLD CLASS VINTAGE MOTORCYCLE!

Just for checking in at our Feature Ride n Win Ride Stops in 2023 Once again, Reasons To Ride will be offering riders the chance to win an incredible vintage motorcycle – restored by the Wheels Through Time Restoration Shop – simply for checking in at featured Ride Stops next year.  The first feature bike for our 2023 Ride &…

HOW TO ENTER YOUR EVENTS ONLINE

The cornerstone of everything we do is our motorcycle event listings.  While we spend a lot of time on the pretty pictures and the articles, it’s really all the events that bring people to ReasonsToRide!  When you boil it all down, motorcycles are a mode of transportation – and we are always looking for places to go… reasons to ride! …

Anticipation…

Seems our lives are spent with a lot of time periods of wanting and waiting. This time of year, especially! Long lines in stores as we hustle around looking for the ultimate gifts for our loved ones, even if we are not particularly shopping for the gifts, we still are found waiting in those lines with our regular shopping! Maybe…