The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider

This week something a little different. US 129 just may be the most famous motorcycle road in the world. We know it as the Tail of the Dragon. Three-hundred-something curves in 11 miles. Today we talk to Darryl Cannon, the photographer behind Killboy.com, the company who takes all those roadside photos that you can buy once you get back home, to prove that you rode the road. Darryl’s the first to admit it’s an odd business. But think of this, for 25 years thousands of motorcyclists have ridden by his lens. Is anyone better equipped to discuss everything from riding technique to the trends and fads we motorcyclists follow more than Darryl? And if you’re planning to ride the Dragon this season, we get his tips on when to go and how best to give ourselves a fighting chance of coming out the other end. This and more on the Lowdown Radio Show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us ride to get away from it all. Rare is it that a motorcycle is used to get straight into the middle of a mess. But that’s exactly what journalist, photographer and philanthropist Neale Bayly did. With a GS on loan from BMW in Munich, Neale rode straight to a Ukraine on the verge of war. And he’s been back multiple times in the years since. What does one find in a war zone? How do you navigate the day-to-day? It’s not what you might think. We wouldn’t have thought that soldiers, staying is a house abandoned by a family fleeing for its life, would insist on removing combat boots before walking on the carpet. This and much more with Neale Bayly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Michael Uhlarik talks about Motorcycle Global’s hot-off-the-press 50-page white paper on the state of motorcycle electrification. It’s important to note that this isn’t an up-with-people whitewashing. It’s a data-driven report on the industry—to the industry—on the ups—and there are many—and the downs—and there are many—of the electric motorcycle business. It’s a market that’s everything you could imagine. Huge growth in some areas and epic failures in others. And Michael gives us the best answer to why Harley-Davidson-owned Livewire, who predicted that by now they’d be selling 100,000 electric motorcycles a year, instead, in 2025, sold a lowly 653. Whether you’re an early adopter of technology or your last will and testament implores your offspring to bury your KLR alongside you, you’ll find this episode of interest. Original research report available from Motorcycle Global here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Episode 102 of the Lowdown Radio Show, presented by eBay Motors, Mel Gantly is our guest. Mel, as die-hard an enthusiast as was ever born, worked for decades (yes, decades) to land a full-time gig at a motorcycle publication after years of freelancing. He even moved from BC, on Canada’s west coast, to the UK to make it happen. And, wouldn’t you know, he pulled it off. He got the job of a lifetime. And then it went south. But the reasons why it didn’t work out are what’s interesting, and should send a chill down the spine of anyone who believes in independent, truth-seeking journalism. And once Mel shuffles off, Neil shares his hard-won wisdom on keeping track of all those steering-head bearing and oil and filter changes—and, in the process, learn uncomfortable truths about the inside of Neil’s head. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Lowdown Radio Show presented by eBay Motors we speak to Greg Bender from ThisOldTractor.com. Bender, a modern man thriving in a digital world, needs an antidote to modernity, which he finds in his vintage Moto Guzzis and on his Suzuki DR350. Bender also shares his love of mechanical things to the world through his website, which has a plethora of information about all things Guzzi, though he squeezes in a little Suzuki and a touch of Saab on the side. Quirky, you ask? Absolutely. In the best possible way. And should you survive to the end of the show, we'll review a viscous substance to help prevent you unscrewing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Episode 100 of the Lowdown Radio Show, frequent guest Michael Uhlarik joins us to share his backstory on how a kid born in a remote northern mining town ends up working as a designer for, among others, Yamaha and Aprilia. Michael is a favorite of Lowdown listeners and here’s your chance to learn more about the man who’s as tuned-into the pulse of the motorcycle biz as anyone. And, to kick off the next 100 episodes, ADVRider editor Zac Kurylyk pops by with info on how you can get even more out of ADVRider while supporting our editorial content at the same time. Win-win, as they say Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Motorcycle shows have been a staple of the cold-weather months for generations. Most of the old-school, new-product, OEM-supported shows have gone the way of non-ABS equipped new motorcycles—they're nowhere to be found. In the US, the slick show circuit disappeared in favor of custom and lifestyle events, like Born Free or The One Show. Or become industry-only shindigs, like AIM expo. But in the UK and in Canada, traditional shows have maintained a death-like-grip on an ever-shrinking clientele. ADVRider.com managing editor Zac Kurylyk pops in this week for a discussion with Neil Graham about what it looks like to view an event hanging by a thread. Or is that a noose? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is Motorcycle Global’s Michael Uhlarik. For his industry clients, Michael has exhaustively researched the marketplace, and he shares some of his findings with us. Most startlingly, perhaps, are his findings about the invisible 10 percent of sales that don’t show up on any official Motorcycle Industry Council ledger. Michael also shares some thoughts about the ADV market—hint—we may have passed the peak, and we end with a review of Harley-Davidson’s financials. And for once HD isn’t blaming “market headwinds” for its woes. That’s news right there. And stick around at the end of the show, where we'll review an online riding course that will give you a better chance of being around next year at this time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Parker of Rottweiler performance joins The Lowdown Radio Show this week. From his involvement in building pikes-peak winning cars, to his gig fabricating exhaust systems for Singer—the company that builds bespoke Porsche 911s for those with far too much money to burn—to his intake systems for KTMs that put his company on the map, Parker is a man with no shortage of drive. Or is that ride? And this, too—Parker credits ADVRider for Rottweiler’s first big break, specifically the one enthusiast who started a thread on the forum touting his work. We’ve all got to start somewhere, and Rottweiler started right here. And stick around to the end of the show, where host Neil Graham reviews a product that's improved motorcycling safety as significantly as antilock brakes. And it’s cheap. And you’ll never guess what it is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every traveler does it their own way. For Maria Schumacher, that means taking her time. Maria shares her story of how bumping into Sam Manicom (a former guest on this show) changed the course of her life, how recent travels in the US stack up against traveling in her favorite country, Venezuela, and how picking the best adventure bike is a very personal decision. She also shares ten common mistakes travellers habitually make. (Number four is overestimating daily distances.) She also shares one of the least discussed aspects of hitting the road—travel fatigue—and how, if you don’t know how to address it—it can cut you and your dreams off at the knees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From cheap shots to well-judged commentary, ADVRider’s commentary section is interesting. To say the least. In the first of what will become a month feature, podcast host Neil Graham reviews a selection of stories from the past month along with the best comments. From travel stories to bike stories to things so odd that all you can do is scratch your head. Only on ADVRider.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week our guest on The Lowdown Radio Show is Emily Roberts, who is just as wonderfully mad as her flaming red hair would lead you to believe. Emily’s story is compelling for a few reasons. Firstly, her family business is the last standing motorcycle print magazine in Canada, and Emily is a full-time motorcycle journalist for it. Secondly, she’s a hardcore off-road rider. How hardcore? Her recollection of racing in Baja is probably not a tale you want to listen to if you’re dining. Emily is also—from the age of 11—a riding instructor, and she gives us tips for trials and trail riding, and slips in cautionary tales of aggressive cacti and what to do if you’ve eaten iffy Mexican seafood and feel the urge to fart.    And stick around to the end of the show where the essential tool for customizing your motorcycle will be revealed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on the Lowdown Radio Show Motorcycle Global’s Michael Uhlarik joins us to talk about the global motorcycle trade. Much of which is far more unexpected than you might think. For instance, Michael hunted down the most searched motorcycles online in India, Italy, and the US. Two of those countries most often searched for aspirational bikes while one country chose a sensible, economical, middle-of-the-range motorcycle. The results will surprise you. And then we discuss what’s selling in each of those three countries and what’s not, and, as a bonus, we delve into America's Motorcycle Industry Council and how its secretive sales numbers are out of sync with reality. On the show this week we show some photographs, too, so if you’re unable to imagine the splendor of Hero’s 125 cc Splendor Plus, then check us out on YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you know where your parts come from? It’s a serious question. One posed recently in a most unusual public confession by Nikola Maletic from Perun Moto, a manufacturer of high-end bits for your ADV motorcycle. Tired of having his parts copied by another manufacturer—even to the degree that they reused his catalogue photos and descriptions—he didn’t get mad, go online, and lose his mind. How old-fashioned of him. Instead, he solicited the views of the public on what has become an issue of increasing concern: where does the stuff we buy come from? Is it made in a manner that dovetails with my beliefs? Are employees paid living wages? And, specific to the Perun Moto case, do we, as purchasers, have an obligation to honor intellectual property right for those who’ve invested the time and money to make the bits we buy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week our guest is John Bentham, who just this year published Bike Week, a collection of photographs taken over more than a decade at Daytona’s notorious spring gathering. Bentham first went to Daytona in the mid-‘90s and would return another dozen times when his career as a New York City editorial and advertising photographer allowed. It just so happened that John’s attendance at Daytona began at the event’s peak and, in part, his chronicling charts Daytona’s decline as a very peculiar cultural phenomenon. How else could you explain an event that brought tens of thousands of people and millions of dollars to a town, and yet never garnered a notice on the city’s official website. Additionally, ADVRider managing editor Zac Kurylyk pops in for a quick review of the jacket that saved his ass.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Lowdown Show host Neil Graham and ADVrider editor Zac Kurylyk wrap up 2025 with a conversation that ranges across all segments of motorcycling. From Zac's recovery following his bad crash last fall, to Neil's successful return to the racetrack, to the future of Harley-Davidson and KTM, the difference between Dakar and the Africa Eco Race in the upcoming rally raid season—they take a look at every segment of the world of motorcycling in a conversation just like something you'd hear between friends at an off-season riders' meet-up, as they think about the year behind and the year ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Pufal is far more than just a man with a grey beard. He’s the grey-bearded mastermind behind the ADV Cannonball coast-to-coast GPS rally. It’s not like the old cannonball runs, those ones in which you’d rip through Ohio at 130 miles per hour at 3 am after having ingested a fistful of little white pills. No, this a rally you can do on your oversized adventure bike while following the law of the land. But you don’t even need a bike that’s more than you needed in the first place, because this is a cannonball you can do on your KLR, turning the event into a bowling ball. Just add an extra bungee-cord to your milk crate and off you go. And you can even opt out of the off-road sections and do it on your Electra Glide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ex-Confederate motorcycle designer JT Nesbitt—whose current project is re-imagining the American motorcycle with his audacious Magnolia 4—stepped into the fray recently and wrote an open letter to New York Times bestselling author Scott Galloway. Galloway’s book, titled “On being a man,” discusses the so-called “masculinity crisis” affecting young males—the very same young males that not so many generations ago were drawn to motorcycling. Nesbitt, who’s this week’s guest, took exception to Galloway’s language and suggested a cure that would give disaffected young men their mojo back. And, wouldn’t you know, it involves a motorcycle.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Uhlarik from Motorcycle Global joins Neil Graham to talk about—wait for it—motorcycle seats and mirrors from a designer’s perspective. And then Neil makes the case for an ADV motorcycle inspired by Kawasaki’s 400 cc four-cylinder ZX-4R screamer—a high-spec, small displacement bike with all the tech of a big bike but without the bulk of something like a 1290 Adventure. Like a 600 cc V-twin not built to a pauper’s budget. Wait until you hear Michael’s shockingly (predictable) response, you’ll be (un) surprised.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The late great Steve Thornton edited ADVRider.com's Photo Of The Week feature for years. I’m happy to report we’ve found a worthy successor to carry on Steve’s work. And I don’t say that casually. Katie Hunter is just about as singular a personality as was Steve. She rides an BMW airhead, she’d rather shiver at a campsite than have a warm shower, and she’s worked at a funeral home as an embalmer. And that pose that funeral home employees have? You know what I mean. The way in which they’re in a room but not really in the room, well, Katie says it’s all in way you cant your neck. That and much more in this week’s rambling chat.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices