Everybody has a list, usually mental but sometimes physical which details everything they would buy should they come into a position where they have a significant amount of money. It’ll be holidays, cars, boats, houses, investments, businesses, clothes, watches, a piece of memorabilia. and on and on and on. It’s kept as a source of inspiration, as a reminder to keep working, or as a fun exercise. Anything and everything can be on a list. For those reading this, there will no doubt be motorbikes on it.  

Two bikes that could make that list.

Curtiss Motorcycle the One

This is a radical motorcycle. The company who designed and produced it are the same company who made the Confederate FA-13 Combat Bomber – they’ve just had a name-change. The Combat Bomber was an unconventional and uncompromising bike. It’s pride was its cruising brute force, booming and to-the-point. With the new name came a new approach. The One is electric. It’s battery-powered. Notably, it streamlines the riding experience with no shifting and no clutch, reacting to less stimulation. There is no compromising on power, though, as it gets moving quickly. Weighing in at 139kg, it’s on the lighter end of the cruiser class. Handling and manoeuvring are made easier by its lower centre of gravity.

The One’s engine has tuning potential. Curtiss seem to be keeping it reigned in, currently. However, performance upgrades can be made via cloud-based software, meaning that it can be adjusted without having to be brought into a dealership. It’s the future.

This future-ness extends to its design. This is where the bulk of the talk will be focused. It is thin, bare, and has the sleek design of a Tron bike. It’s a £60,000 bike which makes currency and the road it's coasting on look archaic.

Harley-Davidson CVO Limited

This satisfies a retro need. The Harley-Davidson CVO Limited is based on the classic dresser tourer bikes of the 1960s. This design is a staple of luxury. The Limited version is worth £35,000 and comes with a bigger engine than the standard. Riders could have road trips on this bike, those longer rides on motorways and dual carriageways, but it looks like a bike better suited for cruising between villages, the rural and open roads going steady until the rider wants to turn on the power. Maybe it’s the image of this Harley next to Cotswold stone that feels right and any Harley in general next to Cotswold stone which feels wrong that makes this prospect so exciting. 

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The impressive speed demonstrated in the first part of the race, as the second best race fast lap will testify, is the umpteenth positive sign for Aleix and Aprilia. During a race which was, on average, faster than the one last week, the RS-GP confirmed its potential and, in Aleix’s able hands, crossed the finish line with an even narrower gap behind the leader (5.382 seconds). Only some difficulties with top speed which prevented the possibility of overtaking forced Espargaró to what was, in any case, a brilliant top-10 finish. This is a result that lets him leave Qatar in eighth place for the riders championship, whereas Aprilia is fourth in the manufacturer championship.

Lorenzo Savadori, although still far from his teammate’s performance, demonstrated a decidedly more competitive pace than last week. The reference gap behind the winner drops to around 10 seconds, whereas the Italian rider’s experience increases with the demanding MotoGP bike.

ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I cannot be happy with my position because I believe we deserved better. The new RS-GP works well. Acceleration is spectacular and I'm able to push in braking. The only place we suffered today was on the straight. When I was behind the Ducatis, I had more grip than they did, but I am unable to overtake them. It’s a pity, but from what I could see in these two races, when we get to the European circuits, I'm sure we’ll be able to have some fun."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"I am looking at the positive sides of this race. My shoulder, although not perfect, is improving constantly, and I should be able to forget about that problem when we arrive in Portimão. I was about 10 seconds faster than last Sunday, even with the fact that I had to do a little fuel saving on the last 5 laps. There is still a lot of work to do, but I can’t wait to race in Portimão, a track that I know well, and with the experience I’ve gained from this season start."

THE SECOND ROW SLIPS THROUGH HIS FINGERS BY 51 THOUSANDTHS BUT QUALIFIERS ARE GOOD FOR ALEIX IN QATAR

As always in MotoGP, the numbers are the only objective value on which to base any analysis. And in the case of Aleix and his Aprilia, the results are positive all around. Despite a slower track than last week, with slightly unfavourable grip conditions, Aleix maintained good consistency in terms of pace which, thanks to the times he did yesterday, meant he could afford to concentrate his work on tomorrow’s 22 laps. Things got off on the right track straight away in qualifying, with Aleix putting an outstanding time on the boards on his first try. With the second new tyre, a few small mistakes kept him from taking home a spot on the second row which seemed well within his potential, slipping through his fingers under the chequered flag by just 51 thousandths. The Spanish rider will start from the seventh spot on the grid tomorrow.

Lorenzo Savadori is still struggling, especially on his time attacks. Penalised by his unfamiliarity with the new bike and the category, Lorenzo still demonstrated progress. Especially in terms of pace, as shown by his best time in FP4 (1'56.421), more than three tenths faster than his times here a week ago.


ALEIX ESPARGARO'
"I am generally pleased with the way we worked this weekend. In spite of a rather different track from last week, with less grip, I feel, if it’s possible, even more comfortable astride the RS-GP. I don’t know what to expect from the race, but we’ll be in the mix. Our pace has been consistently in line with the leading group. The only slightly disappointing thing is not having done better in qualifying. I exploited the first tyre well, but with the second, I made a few mistakes and it wasn’t the lap I wanted."

LORENZO SAVADORI
"The thing that caused me the most problems, especially today, was the wind. The track was in very complicated conditions and in qualifying, for example, I was on a good time until the third sector but then I lost half a second in the last few fast corners. I still don't have full confidence with the bike and tyres and having a variable like the wind doesn't help. Tomorrow in the race I hope the shoulder will respond better than last week and allow me to maintain my pace".

We have included since the launch of the website in 2009, Biker Friendly Cafes, Places and meets, where the list is mainly put together from visitor recommendations, with the owners confirming the details are correct.

We want our visitors to know we have looked at every place included, to see if we would ride there, park up and go inside. This is based on experience of travelling a distance to visit a so-called Biker Friendly cafe as part of a group. The cafe did not have parking at the venue and was actually in a paid for car park out of sight of the cafe. Half of group would not leave their beloved Motorcycles - even for a much needed cuppa!

We are aware that while a place MAY be Biker Friendly, they may not want to promote themselves as being this way, so we ask owners to clarify before they are included. IF we feel a place does not have sufficient parking on-site and/or nearby, we may choose to not include a place.

Attention Owners - Due to the large amount of places we include on THE BIKER GUIDE and as inclusion is predominately free, we need the owners of places to confirm the information we have is correct, by simply sending their information (name, address and bike related) via the form for inclusion, where you can confirm you are the owner. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic we will continue to publish the website and all information previously included for Biker Friendly Cafes and Meets. Due to the large amount of cafes closed and/or with limted opening hours and constrictions, we ask you to check with the cafe before travel.