Motorcycles

Gas prices are high at the pump and rising higher, and prospective motorcycle buyers -- especially first-time buyers -- often cite fuel efficiency as their No. 1 reason for wanting to swap four wheels for two. It's always a good swap, as far as mileage goes. Even the thirstiest gas-guzzling motorcycles get more miles per gallon than the most economical cars. Honda's road racing CBR1000RR gets a reported 41 mpg, for example, while a big beast like BMW's R1200GS gets close to 50 mpg. A powerful road bike like KTM's 1190 RC8 gets close to 40 mpg, as does a mid-range cruiser like the Moto Guzzi V7. But some motorcycles are really fuel efficient.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- A police chief who had stood up repeatedly to the Taliban was shot and killed in a drive-by attack by four insurgents on motorcycles, officials said Saturday. The police chief, Abdul Ghani, was leaving his driveway in his car around 8 p.m. Friday when the attackers rode up on two motorcycles and opened fire, officials said. He was badly wounded in the shooting and died on the way to the hospital, said Abdul Rahman Zhowandai, a spokesman for the governor of Farah province.

As a hobby, motorcycling isn't as expensive as, say, yachting, flying or dating supermodels. But you can still spend plenty if you want to. Special-edition bikes, exotic foreign bikes and carbon-fiber-laden race bikes for the street can set you back $35,000 or more. PHOTO GALLERY: Top 10 most expensive motorcycles Not counting handcrafted, made-to-order machines such as the Confederate X132 Hellcat or the customized beauties handcrafted by Westside designers at Deus, these appear to be the most expensive production motorcycles available in the United States.

A Huntington Park man riding a motorcycle through Central California this weekend died after he lost control around a curve and crashed into a mountainside, authorities said. The 39-year-old victim was riding a 2003 Honda 600 on Saturday night, traveling about 55 to 60 miles per hour eastbound on State Route 178 in Kern County, when he lost control, according to the California Highway Patrol. He "allowed the motorcycle to drift to the right off the roadway where it collided into the mountainside," according to the CHP. The crash occurred about 7 p.m. and the man was thrown from his bike, which burst into flames, the CHP said.

With few exceptions in modern motorbiking, the two-wheeled world has broken down something like this: Manual transmission equals motorcycle (and macho). Automatic transmission equals scooter (and sissy). But in the last year, the most caveman of two-wheeled categorizations has begun to evolve: Motorcycles are beginning to incorporate automatic transmissions. The Honda DN-01, which is rolling into U.S.

A helmeted motorcycle rider on a powerful red-and-black racing bike weaved skillfully between cars on the congested Harbor Freeway, alert for any sign that a driver might change lanes and wipe him out. "Motorcycle riding is dangerous," Jack Worrall agreed on a recent sunny day, before starting the 28-mile commute home from his university job. "It scares me constantly, but I'm willing to trade that (fear) for the feel of riding."

I am standing in front of John King's tidy brick rancher in Parkville, Md., when he rolls up on his 2000 Harley-Davidson twin-cam Classic, and the sight just about takes my breath away. It is a muggy, late-summer evening and the last golden rays of the sun dance off the flawless black paint job and light up the polished chrome as King revs the engine lightly, then lets it idle with that distinctive, throbbing blob-blob-blob sound.

Reading J.P. Cunningham's letter on motorcycles (July 5) left me thinking I had just watched "The Wild One" with Marlon Brando. I have to ask, where are these flame-throwing motorcycles with open exhausts? Any off-road motorcycle operating on state land in California is required to have a spark arrester fitted to the muffler or silencer to prevent any sparks or flames from escaping. The majority of street motorcycles have mufflers but don't have spark arresters. Riders can also be issued a noise citation if they are riding without a muffler.

Progressive International Motorcycle Show Where: Long Beach Convention Center, 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach When: 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday Tickets: Adults $15, children 6 and older $6, children 5 and younger free; $10 for car parking, free for motorcycles Info: (562) 628-8200; http://www.motorcycleshows.com/LongBeach

Sales of on-road motorcycles, which took a beating during the economic downturn, are finally revving up. According to the Motorcycle Industry Council, sales of new motorcycles meant for road use and scooters were up 8.8% for the first quarter of 2012 compared with the same period last year in part because of unseasonably warm weather and higher gas prices. Scooters alone got an especially big boost - 16.9% over last year. Sales of dual-purpose motorcycles, meant for on- and off-road riding, were up 12.7%.

Honda has produced, again, a terrific motorcycle. No, two terrific motorcycles. The 2013 CRF250X and CRF450X are tremendous pieces of two-wheeled engineering. As an old dirt bike guy, I fell in love with both of them. But even after repeated outings and several hours on each bike, it's almost impossible to say which of them is the better machine. For a start, they're very similar. They use almost the same frames, suspension, brakes, gearbox, carburetion, electric start systems and other essential elements -- down to the liquid-cooled, dual-radiator Unicam engines that power them.

NEW YORK - If someone told you of a barnstorming TV host who interviewed people around the country about a given subject, you'd say it sounds like a lot of the road-trip reality series that have proliferated on cable TV. But what if that host had NPR credentials? And what if the show's theme wasn't burger stands or pawn brokers but the most important document in the history of self-governance? Then it might sound a little more like "Constitution USA," a four-part nonfiction series that debuts Tuesday on PBS (KOCE locally)

As a hobby, motorcycling isn't as expensive as, say, yachting, flying or dating supermodels. But you can still spend plenty if you want to. Special-edition bikes, exotic foreign bikes and carbon-fiber-laden race bikes for the street can set you back $35,000 or more. PHOTO GALLERY: Top 10 most expensive motorcycles Not counting handcrafted, made-to-order machines such as the Confederate X132 Hellcat or the customized beauties handcrafted by Westside designers at Deus, these appear to be the most expensive production motorcycles available in the United States.

Moviegoers and movie critics have come away from "Oblivion" raving about the vavoom vehicles in the box-office hit starring Tom Cruise -- especially lead character Jack's futuristic folding motocross bike. Known on the set as "Jack's moto bike," the wispy ghost-white bike wheelies its way across a landscape of desert salt flats -- actually, volcanic sand in Iceland -- and transports the hero into and out of trouble throughout director Joseph Kosinski's dystopian film. The "moto bike," though, was a Honda CRF450X before local motorcycle-fabricator-to-the-stars Justin Kell started transforming it. Kell, whose Glory Motor Works has built or restored bikes for "The Master," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "G.I.

Motorcycle deaths rose dramatically in 2012, according to a study just released by the Governors Highway Safety Assn. Why? A better economy and higher gas prices mean more riders, the study said, and fewer states with helmet laws means more fatalities. Motorcycle deaths in 2012 increased in 34 states and were up 9% nationwide over 2011, rising to more than 5,000 deaths. In some states, the increase was higher. Oregon saw a rise of 32%, and Indiana 29%, the study said. In California, fatalities dropped slightly, from 321 deaths in 2011 to 318 in 2012 -- but the report cautioned that the 2012 numbers represented only the first nine months of the year, and that the 2012 total might actually be higher.

Gas prices are high at the pump and rising higher, and prospective motorcycle buyers -- especially first-time buyers -- often cite fuel efficiency as their No. 1 reason for wanting to swap four wheels for two. It's always a good swap, as far as mileage goes. Even the thirstiest gas-guzzling motorcycles get more miles per gallon than the most economical cars. Honda's road racing CBR1000RR gets a reported 41 mpg, for example, while a big beast like BMW's R1200GS gets close to 50 mpg. A powerful road bike like KTM's 1190 RC8 gets close to 40 mpg, as does a mid-range cruiser like the Moto Guzzi V7. But some motorcycles are really fuel efficient.

LA MESA, Calif. -- And there he was: the Easter Bunny riding a shiny red motorcycle westbound on Interstate 8 along this San Diego suburb. California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Griffiths spotted the bunny on Saturday. White furry suit: good. Pink ears: good. Floppy white feet: good. White gloves: good. No helmet: not good. Griffiths flicked on his red light and ordered the motorcyle rider to pull over. The bunny had an explanation: I'm on my way to an Easter charitable event and this is my costume, he said.

Two separate crashes between big rigs and motorcycles Tuesday morning left three people dead and snarled traffic on two major freeways. The first crash occurred about 10:50 a.m. on the westbound 60 Freeway in Hacienda Heights when a large truck and a motorcycle collided, said California Highway Patrol Officer Tatiana Sauquillo. The motorcyclist, who has not been identified other than he was in his 30s, was killed. The second crash occurred less than 20 minutes later on the northbound 710 Freeway connector to the westbound 10 Freeway.