Letters

LETTERS

Ten Best Bitches

Hello...is anybody home? The Kawasaki ZX-6 as Best 600cc Streetbike over the Honda CBR600F2? Are you people crazy or what? Where do you guys get your information, from Beavis and Butt-Head?

Fred L. Mannering Seattle, Washington

Your choice as 1993’s Best 600 was the Kawasaki ZX-6? Surely this must be a printing error. In the “Ten Best Bikes Worldwide” sidebar, nine out of the 10 international magazines polled picked the Honda CBR600F2. I think your team of reviewers needs to clean its collective goggles. C.L.Valentine Los Alamitos, California

Regarding October’s “Ten Best Motorcycles of 1993,” excuse me, but I thought the category was “Best Open Streetbike,” not “Best Category to Give to the BMW RI 100RS.” Granted, the Beemer is one hell of a bike, but give the title to a motorcycle that truly deserves it: the Kawasaki ZX-11.

Sam Flaxman Clymer, New York

The Best Standard Bike of 1993 is a Ducati M900 Monster? Come on, who are you kidding? The Monster is no more a standard than my Sportster is basic transportation. I wish I had my BSA 441 Victor back. That was a heck of a standard.

Noyes B. Livingston III Houston, Texas

No, that was a pretty bad dual-purpose bike. They didn’t call ’em “Victims ’’for nothing.

You blew it big time, picking Honda’s ST 1100 over the Gold Wing

as 1993’s Best Touring Bike, so I feel it is my duty to explain what a touring bike is.

Touring bikes are built to carry two people and luggage-lots of luggagefrom Point A to Point B smoothly and comfortably. Maybe even pull a trailer. Touring bikes have features like stereos, intercoms, cruise controls and backrests to keep your wife from tumbling off the back when she falls asleep.

I hope this has helped eliminate your confusion. If I can be of further assistance, don’t hesitate to ask.

Doug Leithauser Ashley, Michigan

Your pick of the ST 1100 as Best Touring Bike over the GL1500 Gold Wing is not only unbelievable but unacceptable. This is plain stupid! Cancel my subscription immediately.

Jack Hemken Crystal, Minnesota

Cool down, Hemken, and give the ST a try. You might like it. Get the

wife some No-Doze first, though; we wouldn’t want her falling off the back.

Erik and the Buells

The Buell Thunderbolt made a great-looking cover (see “Bolt from the Blue,” CW, October, 1993). If HD and Buell can keep their act together with the T-Bolt, they may usher in a whole new era of American motorcycle production. It’s Buell-tiful.

Jay Blackburn Seattle, Washington

The Buell Thunderbolt is one of the best-looking bikes I’ve ever seen, period! Hats off to Erik Buell and the folks in Mukwonago. Mark Caswell

Bolivar, Ohio

Harleys are Harleys, sportbikes are sportbikes. A fairing does make make a mule a quarterhorse. Let’s not even talk about that VW Beetle exhaust system.

Ed Dwiggins Oakland Park, Florida

Buell’s “Bolt from the Blue” is an absolute stretch of credulity: $12,500 for a bike that will get its ass waxed by a snot-nosed kid on a CBR600 who paid $6300 less for 8 more horsepower?

Tom Edmonds Falls Church, Virginia

I applaud Mr. Buell and his staff for building an exceptional platform for the Harley engine. Unfortunately, that engine is the limiting factor, in need of some serious development work.

Thousands of motorcyclists, myself included, would stand in line for a red-hot Harley that would sit on the same grid with the likes of an RI 100RS BMW or a Ducati 888. The loyal H-D rider could still buy and ride traditional iron, while Harley >

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would gain market share from the Europeans and the Japanese by supplying the machine the rest of us want: an American Superbike contender.

Mitchell Rhine Long Beach, New York

Where've you been, Rhine? Harley is hard at work on a Superbike, the much-rumored VR1 ()()(). The company is hush-hush on future streetbike applications, if any, but a VR-engined Buell would be a pretty tasty combination, wouldn't it?

No noise is good noise

Peter Egan’s column on loud pipes (“Do loud pipes save lives?” CW, September, 1993) only touched on the downside of noise offenders. As a 25year veteran of Capitol Hill battles, I can tell you that if it were not for the adverse image of motorcycling created by offensive noise, we would not have the current proliferation of helmet laws. In addition, the AMA would not be having anywhere near as tough a time fighting insurance-company discrimination against motorcyclists.

In case you don’t get it, loud pipes are the biggest threat to motorcycling freedom. When you hear that numbnut with straight pipes, you’re hearing someone who’s generating political power for the safety fascists and Joan Claybrooks of this nation who want to eliminate motorcycling altogether.

Howard Segermark Washington, D.C.

Long-distance PC800

I noticed a mistake in your October test of Honda’s reintroduced PC800 Pacific Coast. The warranty on the PC800 is for 36 months/unlimited mileage, not 12 months/unlimited miles as stated in CWs data panel. Other than that, I enjoyed the article-so much that I’m now enjoying the new PC I bought last week.

Douglas Fields Newport News, Virginia

What is art?

I read with glee the Letters section in the September issue, which included letters from a ticked-off feminist, a knuckle-dragging male chauvinist pig, a rabid non-smoker, a “normal” Harley rider and several delighted Yamaha RD fans.

Good art evokes strong emotion— and not necessarily the happy, lovey-

dovey kind. You seem to be doing quite well! Jim Snow

Ajax, Ontario, Canada

Monster story

I just finished “Monster Story” about the Ducati M900 in the October, 1993, issue. A great article, but are you guys going to get some mail when the feminists get ahold of this one!

Vic Dragony Sacramento, California

Regarding October’s “Monster Story,” prudence would dictate detoxification of feature editors before conceiving, writing, submitting or publishing such flights of fancy. I understand Betty Ford has an appropriate facility in your vicinity that might be of some assistance.

David M. Rogers

Sandy, Utah

“Monster Story” was the worst piece of motojournalism I have ever read. It does not belong in a class magazine like Cycle World.

Jim Revelli

Milwaukie, Oregon

As an admirer of Philip Marlowe and a lover of red Italian motorcycles,

1 found “Monster Story” very refreshing. Somehow, 1 just don’t think the story would have been as much fun if it were written about my GSX-R.

Rick Cappucci Medford, Massachussets

“Monster Story” was hilarious. Forget the cretins who won’t appreciate it.

Charles M. Lederer

Kansas City, Missouri

Man man

I spent a week in Merry Olde England after participating in the CW GP Euro-Tour of the Alps (see “A Highly Moveable Feast,” September, 1993) finding many reasons for the secondannual tour to visit the Isle of Man TT races: 1) No apparent speed limits; 2) The English are bike mad, they don’t care if you ride on the wrong side of the road all day; 3) Mad Sunday rides on the race course; 4) great beer, much wisdom; and 5) the first pint’s on me.

I spent most of my money on bikes, women and booze—the rest I wasted\

Rich Burns Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania □