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!

ROAD TALES

As we head into July we find ourselves hitting the heart of the summer riding season.  People are hitting the road on their bikes, the lakes with their boats, and the trails with their ATV’s and SxS’s.  And for us, we are hitting the road with our event trailers for our first hosted events of the season in Michigan. While…

KUDOS to SHIELDED SOULS: Making a difference in the WAR on Trafficking

Shielded Souls LE/MC is a non-profit riding organization that looks to provide support to veterans and local law enforcement.  With chapters across Michigan, they have looked for ways to make a difference as an organization.  In looking into how to fight child abuse and trafficking as effectively as possible, Craig Bogart, Shielded Souls President, said they quickly realized that funding…

CHECK OUT THE PICS FROM THE 2022 PISTON POWER SHOW

Click here to view pics: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.5167026930002014&type=3

33rd Annual Ferrari Night June 2022

Click here to check out pics!: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.5381815588523146&type=3

20th Annual Ride for Freedom – Wolverine Harley-Davidson

Wolverine Harley-Davidson hosted the 20th Annual Ride for Freedom on what turned out to be a perfect riding day! With Chinook helicopters flying over head, hundreds of riders gathered to celebrate FREEDOM and say thanks for the men and women that served to protect it for us all. Special thanks to the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association and many other veterans…

Ohio Bike Week 2022 Island Party at Jimmy Bukkett’s w/ TRO

Thunder Roads Ohio hosted the First Annual Official Ohio Bike Week ISLAND PARTY at Jimmy Bukkett’s! This was a new location for the re-incarnation of the OBW Pool Party – and some tweaking will be done to fine tune things… but folks had a great time with the traditional FROZEN T-SHIRT CONTEST, Limbo Contests, and the SOON TO BE WORLD…

OHIO BIKE WEEK

WOW!  The North Coast Thunder Rally ROARS back with a new layout. As previously mentioned, above, we will be saving our more comprehensive review of this years Ohio Bike Week for this Fall – when we have the space to really cover it in the magazine. We have, however, already started to share thousands of photos online – through Facebook…

TRO CHAMPIONSHIP BIKE SHOW SERIES  JULY 2022 UPDATE!

ALL ARE WELCOME!  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 10 years, its great seeing how many connections and friendships that have developed…

OHIO’S NEW PERMITLESS CARRY LAW GOES INTO EFFECT

Key points and common questions regarding the new laws and how they effect you. By Dean Rieck, Buckeye Firearms Association Generally referred to as “permitless carry” or “constitutional carry,” Senate Bill 215, which is now in effect, makes several key changes to Ohio’s concealed carry laws: Ohio’s concealed handgun license (CHL) will become optional. If you are currently qualified by law to…

Independence….

Something we have always had in us yet has always been something we have felt the need to fight to keep. From the time we were tiny infants we started doing things that required no help from anyone once we got the hang of it…rolling over, holding our own bottle, pulling ourselves up, standing on our own and eventually walking.…