Erik Schelzig
Jalopnik
Nashville, TN, United States
Contact Erik
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Past articles by Erik:
Why Now Is a Great Time to Get Into Supercross
The frenetic dirtbike races taking over baseball and football stadiums known as Supercross are a blast to watch on their own, but this year the sport promises to be particularly hot. The two riders who claimed all eight titles between 2010 and 2017 have retired, leaving a highly competitive field to put their mark on the championship. → Read More
Here's Why You Need To Be Following MotoGP, Which Kicks Off This Weekend
Frustrated up with dearth of passing, confusing rules or just a general lack of excitement in your motorsports series of choice? Then it’s time to check out MotoGP. The new season kicks off this weekend, and all signs point to it being another amazing one. → Read More
The New Flagship Ducati Panigale V4 Enjoys Twice The Cylinders
The newest top-of-the-line Ducati Panigale V4 sportbike unveiled at the the 2017 EICMA Motorcycle Show has some familiar features: it oozes with Italian style. It looks fast even when it’s standing still. And it’s red. The sea-change lies beneath the bodywork: The bike is designed around a new V4 engine, a massive break with Ducati’s twin-cylinder tradition. → Read More
The Freakish 3-Wheel Yamaha Niken Sportbike Looks Unbelievable
Yamaha brought something interesting for the Tokyo Motor Show, and it’s a bizarro three-wheeler sportbike. Surely it’s too early for it to be some sort of elaborate April Fool’s joke, right? → Read More
The 2018 Honda Gold Wing Is Lighter And Is So High Tech It Has Apple CarPlay
The Honda Gold Wing and I are both headed into our 43rd year. Unlike me, the Gold Wing keeps getting lighter, sportier and more efficient. → Read More
The Maker Of The AK-47 Is Now Making Electric Motorcycles
Kalashnikov, the Russian conglomerate best known for the AK-47 assault rifle, is getting into the electric motorcycle game. The details are sparse, but it’s my sad duty to report that it doesn’t look like the bikes will come with banana-clip range extender batteries. → Read More
Amazingly, A MotoAmerica Racer Saved Himself From This 'Death Wobble'
While crashes in motorcycle racing can be spectacular, we love crazy saves the most. Watch Kawasaki rider Anthony West come off his Kawasaki in last weekend’s MotoAmerica race in Pittsburgh and then cling to side the bike while bringing the machine to a halt. → Read More
The 2018 Kymco Spade Is The Cheap New $2,999 Motorcycle Of Your Dreams
No need to swing a leg over the new Kymco Spade—just go ahead and walk up from behind and plop down on the 28-inch seat. Crank up the engine, twist the throttle wide open and let the engine fly through the gears. In your mind you’ll be burning up a race track. In reality, you’ll barely be in danger of breaking the speed limit. What’s not to love? → Read More
Check Out The Action From America's Toughest Enduro
The Tennessee Knockout is billed as the toughest extreme enduro race in America. For good reason. Riders manhandle their bikes up impossibly steep hills, through creeks and over logs and mossy boulders. All at breathtaking speeds. I was exhausted just watching. → Read More
What I Learned Riding A $135,000 Motorcycle
There’s nothing inherently difficult about riding the Confederate P51 Combat Fighter. But the $135,000 price tag that is never too far from your mind as you rev the colossal 2,163 cc V-twin engine. It’s hard to concentrate on much else when you’re repeating a mantra of “Do not drop this bike!” into your helmet. → Read More
Why Nicky Hayden Mattered To Motorcycle Racing
Until Nicky Hayden showed up in MotoGP, there was little anybody could do about Italian legend Valentino Rossi’s dominance on motorcycle racing’s biggest stage. But the kid from Kentucky with the aggressive riding style honed on the dirt tracks of middle America managed to halt Rossi’s five-year winning streak in 2006. → Read More
Racing Is Better When The Competitors Hate Each Other
The 1980s and ’90s rivalry between Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz was one of the greatest in the history of motorcycle racing. Now that Rainey has retired from hot lapping and instead runs the MotoAmerica series, he wants to see the same fierce competitive energy in up-and-coming riders. And it’s starting to look like he’ll get his wish. → Read More
Get Your Hands On An Early Suzuki GSX-R While You Still Can
The GSX-R 750 was a revolutionary motorcycle when Suzuki introduced Japan’s first race replica in 1985. It was lightweight, air-oil cooled and fast as hell. And unlike Italian counterparts of the era, it was reliable. The conservative, upright Universal Japanese Motorcycle’s era was ending and this full-fairing sportbike looked like the future. → Read More
Why You Should Ignore Your Parents When They Tell You Not To Race
Former world champion Kevin Schwantz’s parents owned a Yamaha dealership, so his mom was cool with riding motorcycles as a kid. But she only had one rule: Don’t ever race them. → Read More
MotoGP's Márquez Not Interested In Sharing Austin
Honda’s Marc Márquez isn’t interested in letting anyone else in on his MotoGP dominance at the Circuit of The Americas. After a morning that featured the Spaniard dumping the bike twice in practice, Márquez grabbed his fifth consecutive pole position for the fifth-ever running of the race. → Read More
The 2017 MotoGP Season So Far And Why You Should Watch The Austin Race This Weekend
The word’s top motorcycle riders are descending on Austin, Texas, this weekend for MotoGP’s fifth annual Grand Prix of the Americas. Even if you don’t normally follow motorcycle racing, here’s why you should make some last-minute arrangements to hit the road for Texas—or at least watch it on TV. → Read More
How To Make Motorcycling In The Cold Not Suck
Yes, March is nearly over, but believe it or not there’s plenty of places that are still very cold right now. That shouldn’t keep you off your bike. There’s something ultra-satisfying about the incredulous looks you get from people when you’re out riding your motorcycle in sub-freezing temperatures. They clearly think you’re nuts, and you are. But with the right gear you really can ride almost… → Read More
This Motorcycle Sold Me On Electric Dirt Bikes
The 2017 Alta Redshift MX may be a high-end, high-tech electric dirt bike, but it’s not afraid to get down and dirty. I know this because I crashed a brand new one on a Florida motocross track, and it didn’t even flinch. Actually, it didn’t even stall. I could get used to this “electric dirt bike” thing. → Read More