Starting a quarterly format here for older content, since monthly posts get thin once you go more than a year back. The format is otherwise the same — links to recent research into motorcycle culture, subcultures, clothing and identity, along with the biggest events in the motorcycling calendar. Three months of content in each post.
This quarter is anchored by the International Journal of Motorcycle Studies opening 2024 with a three-part roundtable on authenticity, posted in January.
Authenticity Roundtable — Authenticity Through Solo Motorcycle Travel
Jason Wragg in IJMS Vol 20, January 2024. Autoethnographic narrative on solo adventure travel, structured as a reflective rather than thesis-driven piece. Wragg leans on the philosophical literature on authenticity (Heidegger, Taylor) but the writing is grounded in actual journeys.
https://motorcyclestudies.org/volume-20-2024/authenticity-roundtable-authenticity-through-solo-motorcycle-traveljason-wragg/
Authenticity Roundtable — Two-wheeled Authenticity, or: Existentialism on a Motorcycle?
Mathew Humphrey in IJMS Vol 20, January 2024. Builds on his 2018 book with Maiken Umbach on authenticity as ideology, applying that frame to motorcycle subculture. Useful pair-read alongside Wragg and Alford in the same roundtable.
https://motorcyclestudies.org/volume-20-2024/authenticity-roundtable-two-wheeled-authenticity-or-existentialism-on-a-motorcyclemathew-humphrey/
Authenticity Roundtable — Authenticity in Motorcycling
Steven E. Alford in IJMS Vol 20, January 2024. The third of the roundtable, focused on how distinctions get drawn between authentic and inauthentic riders and how motorised transport becomes part of identity formation. Alford has been writing on motorcycle culture for two decades and this is a clean restatement of the recurring question.
https://motorcyclestudies.org/volume-20-2024/authenticity-roundtable-authenticity-in-motorcyclingsteven-e-alford/
Daytona Bike Week 2024
US East Coast season opener, 1-10 March, Daytona Beach. The 83rd annual rally; the DAYTONA 200 and Burning Bike were both back. Less polished than Bike Shed or Born Free, but it’s where the year’s rally calendar starts.
https://www.daytonabeach.com/
See also Wragg’s January 2026 IJMS book review and Daytona Bike Week 2026 in March.
That’s it for this quarter. If you’ve come across research I’ve missed, feel free to email me.