Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

ILLUSTRATION BY HECTOR CADEMARTORI

Beginner’s Luck

David Edwards “Beginner’s Luck” editorial (Up Front, December, 2002) was succinct and to the point. If more parents would get their kids riding in the dirt and learn the physics behind this wonder we call motorcycling, then maybe there would be fewer accidents such as he describes. Mike Skinner Big Pine Key, Florida

The suggestion to start small and work your way up is absolutely the best way to learn how to ride. I also think a Motorcycle Safety Foundation course (www.msf-usa.org) should be required or highly recommended for new riders.

Bob Bixler Pittsfield, Massachusetts

I know it seems like our riding freedoms are being chipped away by legislation, but maybe if we went to a tiered licensing system-say, a 250cc permit for a year, then a Stifter exam before moving on to bigger bikes? Young people would hate it, but at least they would be around to be pissed. My first bike only went 30 mph, so don’t look for sympathy here. Of course, we could all start using more common sense, but that’s not likely...

Pat Bandy

Elgin, Texas

Unfortunately, there are not many realistic alternatives for those who wish to exercise power restraint. I wanted a reasonably priced, mid-cc, naked sports/standard. My choices: Suzuki SV650, Ducati Monster 620, Suzuki GS500E and the Buell Blast. The first two are priced at or above $6000. The last is a minibike. 1 bought the GS by default (a 2001 model with 800 miles for only $2000). Not surprisingly, the light, nimble, easy-to-handle GS has just been dropped by Suzuki.

Sadly, market forces command that many newer riders take a first aggressive step into too much bike. Why buy a 50-bhp machine for $5K, when you can get 100 horsepower for $8K? Weren’t we all taught to get the most bang for our buck?

Christopher Galiardo

New York, New York

I certainly have sympathy for the father, but David’s conclusions were absolutely correct. Would that father have let his son operate an airplane or a tractor-trailer with that same level of inexperience? Rick Lavallee

Remsen, New York

It was the death of my son Joshua that inspired the December Up Front column. Until there are mandatory regulations limiting horsepower, speed and displacement of motorcycles, young men will continue to die on these “rocket bikes.” All motorcycles should have speed governors set at 65 mph. No bike licenses until age 26. Mandatory ABS. And no bikes with more than 70 horsepower. You want to go 100 mph? Buy an airplane. You want to race? Go to a track and get a racing license. Jeffrey Zekas

Susanville, California

All due respect to Mr. Zekas, but his vision of future motorcycle mandates just isn't realistic. What the motorcycle community can do, individually and collectively, is bang the drum of increased rider education loudly and often. Inspired by the response to Joshua’s incident in “Beginner’s Luck," Cycle World has initiated a series of instructional articles titled “RideCraft,” the first of which appears in this issue. We sincerely hope the Zekas family will take some solace in that.

Cheap Thrills

Hey guys, loved the “Cheap Thrills” and “Cheap S.O.B.s” articles (CW, December, 2002). Would like to see more “real world” stories. I like the new-bike reviews, but live on a social worker’s salary with a mortgage and two kids. My last four rides have been a leftover 1985 FJ600 ($2500), a 1986 FJ1200 ($2000), a 1986 GSX-R750 ($2500) and a 1987 Kawasaki Concours ($2300). Each bike needed little more than TLC and a good home. When time came, each was sold for approximately $2000, financing the next purchase. I have been rotating this same chunk of change for 16-plus years of sport-touring, weekend rides and commuting.

John Szatkowski Beverly, Massachusetts

As the owner of a 1991 Suzuki GS500E and an avid motorcyclist for 27 years, I can only say that your December “Cheap Thrills” story came to a very reasonable conclusion-the GS is definitely a winner. I found mine with literally 136 miles on it for $2000. It makes me smile every time I ride it, and it is cheap and easy to own. I’ve installed a set of Dunlop Elites, Progressive fork springs, 15weight fork oil, a quarter-fairing and LOUD dual Fiamm electric horns, and to me it is the perfect streetbike.

I do need to correct something you said about the bike, though: No need to fix the lean carburation with a costly jet kit. Instead, pull the slides and switch the positions of the two small washers on the top and bottom of the slide needle. This simple, no-cost fix gets rid of the lean spot, cuts warm-up time and instantly gives you increased rideability.

Todd R. Weiss

East Petersburg, Pennsylvania

Enjoyed your “Cheap Thrills/S.O.B.s” section. Hope you plan more such stories, as not all of us out here have the means or desires to own superbikes. Of the Cheap Thrillers, I’d gravitate to the Royal Enfield, definitely a “proper motorcycle.” However, the performance is quite pathetic. Was it running right? My ’64 Rambler American is 1.8 seconds and 10 mph faster in the quarter-mile!

Steve Parsons

Washington, Illinois

Is that all? Sure your Rambler was running right?

New Vincent

Holy crap! My heart is still beating fast. I’ve found my new ultimate dreambike. The air-cooled Vincent prototypethe one deemed unworthy of production-is the best-looking bike I’ve ever seen. It epitomizes everything I love about motorcycles. But that RC51 -engined, fiigly split-radiator Black Lightning monstrosity (“Vincent Reborn,” CW, December, 2002) is a travesty to all that is good in the world. If they could build reliable, production versions of that air-cooled prototype, they’d outsell Triumph within a year. I’d sell a kidney to

get one (my brother’s kidney, not mine).

Jeff Davis

Orem, Utah

The new Vincent is close. It certainly is high-tech, powerful and good-looking. It evokes memories of older British roadburners, and yet the frame, suspension, brakes and carbon-fiber bodywork all say new and modem. Only time will tell if it’s a true classic, but I give it my vote.

Now, if we can only get someone to strip down to his skivvies and ride it prone across the Bonneville Salt Flats...

Roger Fernandez-Rojo Grants, New Mexico

I can’t wait to spit on the first one I see in a parking lot.

Joe Bloggs

Santa Barbaras California

I was truly excited to see that Bernard Li is bringing the Vincent back to life. I loved the article and would like to find out how to get in line for one of these beautiful pieces of machinery.

Raimud Zyvatkauskas Ontario, Canada

I realize now why Old Man Honda didn’t sell engines. What a mess! I’ll bet the “Li” is a wonderful machine, full of power and grace, but to pass it off as The New Vincent just doesn’t work. The tilted radiators say Scott Flying Squirrel (and now I understand why Harley went to all the trouble to style the VRod’s rad). The frame says Honda CBR-F2. The engine says, “Miguel, Nicky, where are you guys?”

Randall Leonard Watsonville, California

The first time I saw a Honda 650 Hawk GT, I thought to myself, “If Vincent were still in business, this is the motorcycle they would be making.” How appropriate that the 650 V-Twin’s descendant is the motor for the new Vincent project. It looks lovely and I wish them luck. Wrenn Nelson

Chicago, Illinois

The new Vincent is a nice bike, maybe the best Honda ever.

Keith “Hacksaw” Robinson

Hamden, Connecticut

I think they nailed it pretty good as far as the styling goes, and I’m sure there will be buyers who love it because of its engine. Vasilios Angelopoulos

South Lyon, Michigan

A 62.5-inch wheelbase? It appears that Li is reversing Erik Buell’s achievements, using a leading-edge motor and dated frame dimensions. Steve Kransky Miles City, Montana

Great stuff! An end-game for all those gray-haired Vincent lovers who can finally move on. Perhaps Mr. Li can arrange a hinge in the middle to ease the transition?

Jim Robb Cottage Grove, Oregon

Old crock English motorcycles should remain as they are, restoration projects best left to skilled mechanics, not expensive toys for RUBs. Richard B. Post

Boise, Idaho

What a wonderful exercise in possibilities and the art of motorcycle design! Hey, retro is in-bellbottoms in high school, PT Cruisers on the street, and Harley-Davidson sells all the old tech it can churn out. In a two-wheeled world of generic, rocket-powered sportbikes, the new Vincent will stand out at any gathering. RC51 motor, new-tech frame, true café styling and the cachet of exclusivity-it turns my crank. An objet de lust, right up there with a Britten.

Two minor quibbles: 1) The radiator ruins the lines and 2) it needs gold pinstriping. Now, where did I leave my pudding-bowl helmet? Tom Adams

Apopka, Florida

I am strongly opposed to people trying to cash-in on a respected surname. This is not a Vincent; it is a Li(e)! Dav Pauli Long Beach, California

Good luck to Mr. Li. The revival of the Vincent name is a nice compliment to the family. Robin Vincent-Day

London, England

Mr. Vincent-Day is Phil Vincent’s sonin-law. He and wife Dee have a 9-yearold son, Philip, and attend many Vincent rallies on their 1950 Rapide. Founder Phil Vincent passed away in 1979.

Coleslaw Connection

Regarding reader Dick Watson’s animosity toward 35-year-old dentists calling themselves “bikers” (Hotshots, November, 2002): I am a 33-year-old architect who rides a Harley Low Rider, and considering that I’m not fat, don’t have tattoos, don’t have a ponytail, don’t like Foghat and my idea of a good time is not guzzling beer and smoking a cigar while watching fat chicks wrestle in a giant vat of coleslaw, it’s safe to assume that I am also not worthy of the title “biker.”

Chuck Lembo Bethpage, New York

Watson had better hope he isn’t ever in my chair; I might insist a real tough-guy “biker” doesn’t need novocaine.

Carl Anderson, DDS Newington, Connecticut

You would at least crank up Foghat on the office intercom, no? Œ