There's only a few situations in life where carrying your motorcycle helmet around with you when you're not riding is cool. For example, it's an excellent calling card at the bar—or perhaps when you're in college, where it's the ultimate accessory for introducing yourself to new prospects. Though, sometimes, constantly saying "Hey, I have a motorcycle, talk to me " gets really, really old. Sure, you could leave the helmet on your bike and risk it getting stolen, rained on, or having a milkshake poured inside of it, or you could just get Touratech's latest adventure motorcycle accessory, the 38L Zega Pro Top Case, and put the helmet inside of it. 

Considering that the underside of the Suzuki V-Strom has less protection off-road than a Harley Davidson does...so needless to say, we knew it would be our first upgrade to the motorcycle. The 650cc engine that is used on the V-Strom initially came from the SV650 street bike, and while it's a great performer, there's some things that need to be taken care of before you start venturing off the pavement like we intend. Luckily, Touratech has a full line of accessories for this bike, so getting a skid plate to protect the exhaust and oil filter was as easy as pie. 

Last week I had the chance to ride the new 2012 Suzuki V-Strom ABS 650. This wasn't just a jaunt around the block but rather a 400-mile only-stop-for-fuel-and-ice-cream ride across the flat desert highways and mountain twisties of California and Arizona. After picking up the bike from Suzuki and a short spin around the parking lot for familiarization I was off and running.

48 hours, a Triumph Bonneville, a map, and a bag. Here's a weekend motorcycle adventure at it's best.

 If you're looking for a solid and reliable street bike, yet for some reason you don't want a Harley-Davidson, we might have found just the thing you're looking for. There's currently a 2000 BMW R1100R for sale right here in our own backyard on the Expedition Portal classifieds section. The R1100R shares several components with the well known GS motorcycles, except where the GS is meant to excel when the pavement gets rough (or non existent) the R is meant to accel when it just happens to get twisty. The BMW has nearly 42,000 miles, but has been serviced it's entire life, and comes with a variety of aftermarket accessories. It's a great deal at $5,000 or best offer, and the seller is looking to even trade it for a Land Cruiser, Range Rover, or Discovery.

Hello and welcome to part three of my BMW GS Sidecar conversion. You can read part one of the build here, and part two of the build here.

My name is Murph and I am a full-time motorcycle photojournalist, and have been on the road now for the last 2 1/2 years and roughly 60,000 miles, traveling all over the U.S.A., Western Canada and south only as far as Baja California.

Central and South America I have not yet travelled to, but intend to on the final leg of my 7 yr RTW that I am currently on.

My travels and this journey all started by accident in December of 2009 when two things happened in my life that would significantly shape and channel me to where I am today.

The first event related to my house that was in foreclosure, the looming hammer of the banks closing in and taking it back was becoming more and more of a reality. This played heavily on my mind, as the thought of trying to get out from under all of the debt I incurred after losing my business due to my battle with alcoholism seemed like an insurmountable task at the time, made even more difficult and depressing with the hemorrhaging economy that we are still in today.

You're actually not looking at the motorcycle Pat McCarthy is riding from Ushuaia to Alaska, I know it's cruel to mess around with people in the United States when it comes to Yamaha's middle-weight dual sport, the Tenere XT660, but you'll have to wait for that. First I'm going to tell you a little bit about what Pat is doing, we've already established that he's riding from Ushuaia to Alaska, but why is he doing it? Along the route of his trip, Pat is attempting to raise money for UNICEF, through donations on the blog he maintains on his trip (which you can also read on Expedition Portal.) The Welshman is also doing it to have fun, naturally. 

This build report is about the conversion of my 2004 BMW R1150 GS Adventure motorcycle into a 2 Wheel Drive overland sidecar. I initially dreamt up this project while snowed in up in Steamboat Colorado in January of 2010 and honestly never thought I would see it materialize. But many life experiences along the way has taught me that you have one shot at this, may as well do it now, so what started out as a budget build sidecar has now turned into a full on Mobec Duo-Drive Suzuki Vitara Sidecar Locking Wheel Hub outfit that even Scott Brady would happily go on an expedition in.

In this installment, part two, we are putting together the separate components of the drive train, most of which are sourced from other vehicles, replacing the OEM BMW parts.

Don't forget to check out part one here. [link]

It's been a big year for BMW Motorrad, and it appears, they're beginning to embrace the dual-sport culture even more. Starting with the launch of Dakar-esque Sertao earlier this year, they've began to re-affirm the common thought that BMW is the go-to company for a round-the-world capable motorcycle. As of today, riders have an even broader choice within the already impressive line-up, with the launch of the re-designed F 800 GS, and F 700 GS. Keeping with BMW Motorrad's "Safety 360" initiative, both models will come standard with 2-channel "BMW Motorrad ABS," and offer other safety features such as ESA (Electronic Suspension Adjustment) as well as ASC (Automatic Stability Control)

It's the classic European motorcycle battle: England vs. Italy. In this video Scott Brady compares two new motorcycles, the Ducati Multistrada, and the Triumph Tiger 800XC. Which one would you choose?