Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

Naked, nasty

The Yamaha Fazer 1000 on the October cover? Is that not one of the sweetest-looking bikes?! I absolutely love the half-fairing look. Just my luck, it may not even come stateside for ’01.

RockimtnRider posted on www.cycleworld.com

Actually, you ’re in luck. Renamed FZ1, the Yamaha super-standard is coming to America. See the news item in this issue ’s Roundup.

I recently subscribed to your magazine after a long absence from motorcycling, probably 10 years or more. The world is now alive with bikes, most of them Japanese cruisers or Harleys. And as your “Naked & Nasty” issue showed, standards, a type I thought long dead, are now fashionable!

Good to see centerstands making a comeback, too. I was in a dealership recently and asked the salesman how to adjust the drive chain on a Honda Shadow 750. He told me to prop a milk crate underneath the bike. I asked him what if I’m 500 miles from home? No answer. At another dealership, I asked the same question about a Kawasaki ZRX1100. The salesman replied, “No one has ever asked me that question before.” Phillip Meier Jamesburg, New Jersey

I don’t get why Yamaha uglied the Fazer up with that half-faring. It’s uglier even than a full-fairing, but doesn’t give the aerodynamics of a full. If yer gonna get nekkid, get nekkid-don’t just run around with

socks and shirt on. SuperWolfeman posted on www.cycleworld.com

I like the small fairing. It gives you some wind protection and you can still change the oil without taking half your bike apart. dj-Six

posted on www.cycleworld.com

September’s “Naked & Nasty” issue was just great! I recently sold my Ninja to buy something that’s a little more comfortable, and I’d narrowed it down to Suzuki’s 2001 Bandit. Thanks to your article, I think I’ll wait and see what the ’01 Kawasaki ZRX1200 and Yamaha 1000 offer.

Something seems out of whack with your performance specs on the Bandit, though. Compared to the Moto Guzzi tested in the same issue, the Bandit’s top-gear roll-on times absolutely murder the big Twin. As you might expect from a bike that weighs about the same, but has roughly a 10-ft.-lb. and 25-bhp advantage. How come the Guzzi ekes out a quarter-mile advantage-11.95 to 11.97? Motorcyclist (shhhh!) clocked a corrected 11.1 sec./121 mph on their 2001 Bandit. With the 123-mph trap speed on your test, is it possible the ET was actually 10.97? Is the 60-bhp SV650 Twin really just as quick through the quarter as the big Banditol What’s up? Inquiring minds want to know!

Michael Yount

Knoxville, Tennessee

Bonus points, Michael. In fact, we did flub the performance figures for the 2001 Bandit 1200. As you guessed, the actual quarter-mile time was 10.97 seconds. Apologies to our readers and to Suzuki.

Ducking the issue

Please allow some comments to the Hotshots regarding Peter Egan selling his Ducati 996. I am 48 and consider myself a motorcycle enthusiast. To back this up, we (my wife and I) own 13 motorcycles—five Hondas, four Harleys, two Kawasakis, one BMW and a Ducati 916. This said, I don’t understand the “nitpicking” of the 748/916/ 996 series. This bike was designed for a purpose, and that was to race. Yes, the sidestand is impractical. Yes, the bike is uncomfortable. But who cares? Excuse me for being so blunt, but if you bought this bike for touring, you are an idiot! And motorcycling has always required specific skills, so if you can’t get used to the kickstand, maybe you shouldn’t ride a bike, anyway.

Why did Peter Egan sell his? Maybe he didn’t have much use for it. Then again, this bike is not made to be “used”-it is intended to be enjoyed. Everybody who has one and hangs on to it, and will not trade it for an RC51, YZF-R1 or Gold Wing, knows what I mean. E.M. Simon

North Royaftoa

The $4000 footpeg fix?

I just finished your comparison test of the RC51, Aprilia Mille and 99F> Ducati (“3x3,” CW, July, 2000). You

knocked the Honda because it’s hard to find (is this that scarce Japanese trait called “exclusivity?”), and the footpeg feelers dragged prematurely. Perhaps the Honda would have outclassed the winning Aprilia if you took the extra $4000 it costs and paid a mechanic to unscrew the 3-inch-long footpeg feelers. I guess I’m just smarter than you are, which is why I bought the Honda. Rene LaPrevotte Novato, California

So, genius, what do you do now that the kickstand drags?

Big Ben strikes

How very nice to read about talented World Superbike rider Ben Bostrom in Kevin Cameron’s Race Watch article (CW, October, 2000) and discover that he is a well-adjusted, cheerful chappie with a great attitude-which, as we know, is not the case with all the fast boys. Sam Jowett Vancouver, British Colombia

Triple play

W

Now that Jim Feuling has figured out how to build a Harley-based -3 motor (CW, October, 2000), at’s the problem in putting it Take the cylinthe Blast Singles-I wonthey were doing with nyway-and bolt them to the Then there’ll be enough of tnimals for everyone. James Moore Evanston, Illinois

What an interesting article on the Feuling W-3. In the early ’80s, there apparently was a New York-based atto build a W-Three to be called the Buffalo, available in 1250, 1500 and 1800cc forms. I have no idea whether the concept ever went beyond the initial stock offering or whether any bikes were built. It could well have been another scam, or maybe a good plan that ran out of money. Do you suppose anyone ever invested? Paul Watts Clovis, California

Joey Dunlop

I interviewed Joey Dunlop at the Isle of Man TT in 1980. He expressed doubt about how much longer he would race. But he had great success that year, and the rest, as they say, is history. I found Joey to be quiet and very likeable. His name will live in racing history among the likes of Duke, Hailwood, Read, etc. Mark Alfassa Torrance, California

One Russian reader

I am Ayupov Ilyas, your magazine’s reader from Russia. I would like to correspond with the English-speaking motorcyclists who are fond of journey. If it is possible, please place my announcement in your magazine. I also would like to study English by means of corresponding. I can give shelter, food and garage to those motorcyclists traveling through Russia. I hope to get an answer.

Ayupov Ilyas 450105 M Ryl’skogo, 19, 142, UFA Bashkortostan, Russia (e-mail: nursilya@ufanet.ru)

Earth to Fred

Fred Jermyn here. I won the 1967 Nobel Prize for Literature, using a Japanese pseudonym (something like What’s-a-Knobby-Watsanabe) for Trihaiku, a new genre. The same work won Honorable Mention in a West Virginia poetry contest. When asked to comment on the disparity, I said those hillbillies wouldn’t know poetry from doggerel. I was sued for slander. I countersued for defamation and was awarded $20K, taxes paid (punitive damages). The $20K went into an escrow account at my local Norton dealer, and bought me 17 of them—1968-74 models. I rode one to Woodstock, a Sykes-Fairborn Commando, which was later painted by Kandinsky and engraved by Eschen The others each had 600 miles put on by the dealer followed by the initial service and then parked. They’ve not moved since. I’m selling the Commandos for $8995, the Dunstalls for $9995, title, 600 miles, serviced, stored, no warranty. I’ve never ridden them.

Most motorcycles, but Nortons especially, complement the human biorhythm. A Combat Commando makes you homicidal, a ’71 Dunstall enhances confidence, a ’72 Dunstall induces hilarity, a ’74 Dunstall imbues bliss, a ’68 Sykes-Fairborn makes you want to go hunting. (H-D Pans make you horny, Knucks belligerent.)

Know anybody who wants to buy a new Norton? Fred Jermyn Waynesburg, Pennsylvania

Soon as we pay off that swampland in Florida, Fred, we ’re givin ’you a call.