The Lowdown Show - By ADVrider

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.

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.

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.

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.

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