Etc.
etc.
PLAYTIME!
The smallest of Suzuki’s 2008 additions is a new playbike: the $1499 DRZ70. Sizewise, the new DR-Z is in the class of 50cc machines with a seat height of 22 inches and tiny 10-inch wheels. But the air-cooled, four-stroke engine thinks bigger with a displacement of 67cc. An automatic clutch complements the three-speed transmission. Electric starting is standard but a kick lever is retained. Two colors are available-yellow or black.
DARK AND LOVELY
Retro is the rage, and Ducati is—in a very Harley-Davidson way-right there to capitalize on its own role in motorcycling history. And so comes the latest SportClassic iteration, the Sport 1000 SE. A black-and-gold paint scheme is applied to a dry-clutch, monoposto version of the Sport; other SportClassics are biposto and use wet clutches.
Texas Ducati dealer and former AMA championship roadracer Jeff Nash and his crew designed the paint scheme, and Ducati liked it so much it was made official. “It’s based a
?bit on a ’79 900SS,” says Nash, “but we intermingled some stripes like those used on the early ’70s Sports. Fonts for the decals came from the Darmah. i We íust wanted t° keeP within HLl that era.”
WÊÈr The good news is that the MSRP is $11,495, which is the — ihsame price as the standard Sports. Bad news is that , production will be limited BÉMBÉ to just 100 bikes for North America only.
BOOK CLUB
Satisfy your need to read this faD with three new motorcycle related books. Fast Company: A Memoir of Ufe,
Love and Motorcycles in Italy ($14; wwwfgsbooks.com) is the work of David Gross, New York corporate lawyer cum Ducati creative director, who for the past decade has been instrumental in the brand's growth. Professors Steven Alford and Suzanne Ferriss co-authored Motorcycle ($27; www.press.uchicago.edu), an exploration of the "fact, myth and legend of the motorcycle." Lastly, CW contributor Mark Gardiner relates his experiences as an everyman struggling to qualify for-and survivethe Isle of Man TI in Riding Man ($16; www. ridingman.com).
SURVEY SAYS...
A survey recently conducted by the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies claims that most motorcyclists don’t understand the nuances of their policies. Some highlights:
• More than half of the 1000 bikers surveyed did not know how much protection for custom accessories and parts is included in their physical damage coverage.
• Forty-five percent didn’t know which loss settlement type-actual cash value, agreed value or stated amount-their policies provide. Of those, 68 percent confused the benefits of agreed value and stated amount.
Bottom line, says Rick Stern, Progressive motorcycle product manager, “Know what’s on your bike-and on your policy. If the company you’re dealing with doesn’t offer the loss settlement type you need, check around with other companies.” Good advice.
