John Sumser

1 month ago | bikeexif.com | John Sumser

Montana: Big Sky Country We pulled into Billings, MT with a collective sigh of relief after the full-throttle cross-country press. Lovers of open spaces, big peaks, and rugged landscapes, we started to feel the love for “Big Sky Country” creep into our cold Yankee hearts. We had made it west. From the headwaters of the Yellowstone River nestled in Rosebud Canyon to the butterfly-inducing stretch of road known as the Beartooth Highway, Montana quickly fills you up.

2 months ago | bikeexif.com | John Sumser

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 15 years since the first One Motorcycle Show was held back in 2010, and 2025 holds a special significance. This year, One combined forces with the AIMExpo to hold an additional event in Las Vegas alongside AIM, providing a unique opportunity to see two completely different sides of the industry.

2 months ago | bikeexif.com | John Sumser

The American International Motorcycle Expo might not be the first place you’d expect to find us, as the event has a whole lot more to do with what’s on dealer floors than the custom scene. That’s not the whole story though, because besides rubbing elbows with industry partners and parts manufacturers, we also had a host of factory concept bikes and customs to hunt down.

Dec 29, 2024 | bikeexif.com | John Sumser

The R27 showed up in the stable courtesy of our good friend and artist Christopher Myott. It’s a DeLorean, an underpowered time machine that couldn’t hit 88 mph if my life depended on it. And though the records may show a top speed of 81 mph, I managed to hit 70 and it was reaching. Given that it’s 54 years old and 250 cc, expecting it to do much more than maintain 55 mph is asking a lot, and it did that without complaint. Ultimately, my experience of the bike is more reverence than critique.

Dec 12, 2024 | bikeexif.com | John Sumser

You’re sure to face opposition calling something the first of its kind, but the consensus is that the BMW R80G/S invented the large-displacement dual-sport scene—a segment that flourishes today. The R80 and its successor the R100GS combined the best of BMW’s road-going features with increased suspension travel and the new ‘monolever’ swingarm in a form that excelled on any terrain, setting the stage for hundreds of thousands of dual-sport BMWs since.