Raine Devries | 15 September 2026
The two-wheel world never sits still. One week we are talking about factory racing heat in Texas, the next we are looking at Italian boardrooms, a firefighter’s Harley-Davidson that became an American icon, and a Dakar champion trying to circle the planet in under 19 days. Saddle up for the stories grabbing the attention this week…
Sam Sunderland Aims to Circumnavigate the World Faster Than Ever on a Triumph Tiger 1200
Two-time Dakar Rally champion Sam Sunderland is chasing the fastest motorcycle circumnavigation of the globe. Target: under 19 days. The record he is hunting has stood more than two decades at 19 days, 8 hours, and 25 minutes of riding time.
The bike is Triumph’s Tiger 1200 Rally Explorer. The route is more than 18,000 miles across five continents: London to Istanbul, Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, Perth to Sydney, the length of New Zealand, Vancouver to Montreal, then Casablanca back to London. Rules require one motorcycle, one direction, two antipodal points, and the same machine start to finish. Ocean crossings pause the clock. Everything else is on Sam and the Tiger.
Some days that means up to 17 hours in the saddle, close to 1,000 miles, heat, cold, outback, salt flats, borders, jet lag, and the slow grind of fatigue. Sunderland has said the accumulation of those hours is the part that worries him most.
This is adventure riding at its most unforgiving. Follow it if you can. It is a reminder of what a well-built adventure bike and a stubborn rider can still attempt.
Isle of Man TT Sidecar Class Gets a New Formula for 2027
The Sidecar TT is coming back in 2027—with a different engine recipe, tighter aero rules, and higher fitness and experience standards.
The class sat out 2026 after serious qualifying crashes. Organizers ran a sustainability review and heard a clear message: keep sidecars on the Mountain Course, but do not pretend the old 600cc four-cylinder formula was still the right answer.
From 2027 through 2029 there will be two sidecar races each year. Engines move to a production-based, British Sportbike-aligned package—think Yamaha R7, Aprilia RS660, Kawasaki Ninja 650 territory—with a common Mectronik ECU and Balance of Performance. Existing chassis can stay, with stricter construction, repair, and inspection rules. Separate wings, aerofoils, fins, and spoilers are out. Bodywork around floors, undertrays, and arches gets tighter limits.
2027 races will be two laps, not three. Entry will lean harder on recent competitive activity and medical fitness. Head of Motorsport Paul Phillips and Clerk of the Course Gary Thompson both stressed certainty for teams and constructors who have to invest in the change.
Sidecar racing at the TT is theater, courage, and teamwork in a way few other classes match. This reset is about keeping it on the calendar without pretending the last chapter was sustainable.
The Harley-Davidson From the Iconic 9/11 Photo Heads to Milwaukee
Some machines carry more than miles. Firefighter Tim Duffy’s red Harley-Davidson is one of them.
On September 11, 2001, Duffy was off duty, working on the bike, when he heard the first impact. He shoved the spark plug back in, rode to his station in full turnout gear, and then headed toward Ground Zero when the call came. Photojournalist Allan Tannenbaum caught one frame of Duffy rolling down Broadway through the smoke. That image became part of how a nation remembers the day.
Read my recent article on Tim Duffy: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally 2026 Grand Marshal Tim Duffy: A Lifetime of Service, Brotherhood, and Wind Therapy
Duffy kept the motorcycle all these years. It is now going to the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. Duffy and Tannenbaum were both there for the unveiling. Museum leadership put it simply: people do not just ride motorcycles—they are part of them. This one is a piece of history.
If you find yourself in Milwaukee, go see it. Stand there a minute. Then ride home a little more grateful for the people who answered the call.
Marc Márquez’s Right Arm: Surgeon Says It Is Operating at About 50 Percent
Nine-time world champion Marc Márquez has always been better at hiding pain than most of us are at admitting we skipped stretching. His surgeon, Dr. Samuel Antuña, just made the picture clearer.
After years of operations in the same area, the muscles and mechanics on Márquez’s right side do not work like the left. Strength, especially in the biceps, is limited. The doctor’s phrase: he is racing with one and a half arms.
A recent photo of Márquez hanging from a pull-up bar showed how different the right side looks—leaner, with a visible deficit around the lat. Function matters more than looks. Compensation is Márquez’s superpower. He still struggles with something as ordinary as padel. On a MotoGP bike, he keeps showing up.
That is not a feel-good slogan. It is the current reality of one of the greatest riders we have ever seen. Respect the results. Respect the cost.
MV Agusta Confirms Restructuring and Seeks an Investor
MV Agusta has spoken. After months of rumor, the company confirmed it is in a structured financial reset following its split from KTM and the return of full ownership to Art of Mobility and the Sardarov family.
Management says it has spent months rebuilding operations, processes, and independence. Partnership talks have happened; some did not meet the bar. Others are still on the table. The brand will only talk when there is a signed plan.
Italy’s Composizione Negoziata della Crisi process is now part of that path—a legal framework for companies facing temporary imbalance, with independent professionals helping negotiate with creditors and map a recovery. MV Agusta frames it as one tool among several, not the whole story.
Retail registrations in the first half of 2026 were 2,166 units, up 3.4 percent on a like-for-like basis versus 2025. Italy grew 28.8 percent. France and the United States also posted gains. The company is clear those numbers do not erase the current operational and financial strain. Demand is there. The work now is continuity, dealer support, and a future worthy of one of Italy’s most recognized motorcycle names.
If you own an MV, ride one, or simply love the badge, this is the moment to watch—not panic, watch.
Bradley Smith Wins King of the Baggers at Circuit of the Americas
Harley-Davidson x Dynojet Factory Race Team rider Bradley Smith took a King of the Baggers win and a second at Circuit of the Americas, plus the three-lap Mission Foods Challenge sprint. The Sunday victory was his second of the season and moved him to second in points.
COTA was brutal: air in the mid-90s, track over 120 degrees. Smith qualified second. Saturday he finished second after a messy race that included Kyle Wyman going off and Troy Herfoss running wide. Sunday he pressured Hayden Gillim, made the pass at Turn 13, and stretched the gap to more than four and a half seconds.
Gillim has already locked the 2026 championship with 251 points after 12 of 14 rounds. Smith sits on 197, Herfoss 194. The finale is September 25–27 at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
These baggers still look like baggers and still go like factory race bikes. If you have never watched King of the Baggers live or on a stream, COTA was a good argument for starting.
~Keep the shiny side up!