Hotshots
HOTSHOTS
Honda's year?
The CB1000R shown in David Edwards' Up Front column ("Bike of the Year," April) really grabbed my attention. Why does Honda not sell this bike to Americans? Instead of bringing us the coolest streetfighter in their lineup, they decide we'd prefer a chopper called the Fury. Furious? I sure am! Honda, I beg you to reconsider.
nsider. Brian Haas Northbridge, Massachusetts
Honda builds great bikes. As we have seen a lot in the last couple years, however, they are not available here. The CB1000R is simply off the charts! I have a $5000 cash deposit ready for a blue or black CB, but Honda won't comment.
Kevin Chenoweth Atlanta, Georgia
The cool factor: How much is it worth On page 24 of the April `09 issue, there is a photo of a Big Dog Wolf chopper. On page 26 of the March `09 issue, there is a photo of the Honda Fury chopper. The motorcycles are very similar and at 100 yards, it would be difficult for most people to tell the difference between the two. Big Dog Wolf, MSRP $35,900; Honda Fury, MSRP $12,999.
Subtract the Honda's sticker from the Big Dog's, and the price of cool is $22,901. That's two new sportbikes, or one Gold Wing, worth of cool.
Michael Dunn Riverwoods, Illinois Last year's spike in gas prices added so many new riders to the sport, dealers simply ran out of scooters and beginner bikes. I'm sure some of those riders would love to get involved in serious sport-touring on a bike 4 with shaft drive, integrated hard luggage, excellent wind protection and ABS, but they aren't experienced enough to handle the weight or size of bikes like the Honda ST 1300 or Kawasaki Concours 14. Even with 40-plus years of riding experience, I can foresee a day when my ST1 100 is
going to be too heavy for an old man hooked on shaft drive (and who isn't Paul Dean). Then I learned that a mid-sized sport-tourer with all those features has been available in Europe for years. If you were to do a feature story on the Honda Deauville, I won der if there would be enough positive reader response to convince Honda to make it available here?
Dennis Turco Grants Pass, Oregon
Three-wheelin'
Very disappointed with the "Quick Ride" article on the Piaggio MP3 500 (Roundup, March). I was looking for ward to an informative summary, but instead Edwards gets infatuated with the steering mechanism and how much attention the MP3 brings on the street. I was really looking for some validation of the rumors that the MP3 absolutely cannot be bested in a downhill rac~
Scott Poley Posted on www.cycleworld.com
`Bird men
While I personally wouldn't have a cruiser (a Ducati is my idea of a V Twin, thank you), were I so inclined, I'd buy that sharp, new Triumph Thunderbird ("Thunder Road," April) in a chicken's heartbeat. As opposed to all of those Harley-clones, this cruiser really does distinguish itself. Good job~ Triumph.
Terry Zen Bellingham, Washington
It's a bleedin' shame. Triumph could have built the next Great British Motorcycle around that big paral lel-Twin. Instead, we're looking at yet another American-style cruiser. And somewhere in L.A., a `64 Chevy Impala low rider is missing its tailpipes...
Joe Nagy Derry, Pennsylvania
Jump for joy
I enjoyed Kevin Cameron's "No Limits" (Roundup, April) so much that I checked out YouTube clips of free styler Robbie Maddison's New Year's Eve jump to the top of the 10-story Las Vegas Arc de Triomphe and subsequent descent down the ramp. Great stunt, great article.
Andrew Klein Richmond, Virginia
More Kevin Cameron, please. He knows stuff.
Tim Stammers Brooklyn, New York
Long haul
Enjoyed the Long-Term Wrap-Up on your Kawasaki ZX-14 (CW, April). See, I just had to replace the headlight bulb on my 1997 ZX-11 with 131,000 documented miles. It has never skipped a beat in the 11 years that I've owned it. I do all of the maintenance work, and there are still five intake valves that have the original shims. I see no reason why the ZX-14 will not do the same or better. These bikes amaze me. If ya'll need a long-term tester, let me know. -
William Drake Aberdeen, Mississippi
I was disappointed when Yamaha went to the heavy, fat-fendered Star line and got rid of the old 1100 Virago, one of the funnest bikes I've ever owned. If I wanted a Harley-esque bike, I'da bought a Harley. So I showed Yamaha and bought a used FZ1, gen 1. Now that's fun. It's a great touring bike, too. We have now logged almost 75,000 miles together and we're still going strong. I can load it up for a week's trip (yeah, I pack like a girl) and it still runs Lob Pass (Idaho-Montana) like a champ! My usual vacation is nine days, about 5000 miles give or take, twice a year. I've had this bike since `04, and I'm still in love.
Carolyne Shephard Sequim, Washington
Welcome back
I haven't been on a motorcycle for more than 35 years; my last ride was a Honda CL77 Scrambler with straight pipes and Snuff-R-Nots, heady stuff back in the day. Also, the last Cycle magazine I picked up still had Floyd Clymer's name on it!
That far and that long removed from motorcycling, I happened to be brows ing the newsstand, and the March edition of Cycle World caught my eye, particularly the small picture of the Royal Enfield Bullet Classic on the cover. I must say I enjoyed the whole magazine, with extra emphasis on the articles about the Enfield.
Please give Mr. Peter Egan a "Bravo Zulu." I found his editorial and sidebar on the Military-model Enfield quite interesting, and I can definitely relate to his Bridgestone 50 days.
I've always wanted another motor cycle, but a career in the Submarine Service, and a wife and family derailed that idea. Now that I've started another career and the family is grown, maybe it's time to get back on one. I really like the Enfield idea. ---. -
Thanks for the great magazine and articles. Keep up the good work; I'll probably be subscribing real soon.
Edward Nielsen Kingsland, Georgia
You're welcome
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for all that you do as an organi zation. I am a medic in the United States Cavalry stationed on the east ern border of Iraq, and as I near the end of my third year of service, one thing has stayed constant: My wife sends my issues of Cycle World so I have a few moments each month to escape into a world of simple plea sure, to revel in Egan's adventures and feel woefully uneducated by Kevin Cameron. I truly enjoy your magazine, and I cannot wait until I get back home to Texas, where my trusty 2007 Honda 25thAnniversary Interceptor waits.
`v SFC Mark 1. Schenk FOB Hunter, Iraq
Grass clippings
Al! of cycle r44r1d's articles are good but I especially like Peter Egan's writ ings. Perhaps because we are about the same age and have somewhat similar backgrounds.
His recent "Bridgestone summers" column (Leanings, April) brought some of those similarities to mind. My brother and I purchased our first bike back in 1964 for $200. It was a used Harley-Davidson Pacer, a one-cylin der two-stroke, but we felt we were in the big time. We lived across from the Willowdell Cemetery, which my parents took care of, and like Peter we mowed the grass ($.75 an hour). The bike served us well until we traded it in on a Triumph 650 Thunderbird. The dealer gave us back our $200 for the Harley!
Jim Scheer Celina, Ohio
Off the list
The DOWN you gave to the outgo ing Bush administration in the March issue should no longer be in effect. On January 15, the United States Trade Representative decided not to include motorcycles on the list of European products that will face increased tariffs. Perhaps an UP to the USTR is -. ---~ now in order? It"
Steven Aucella Marshfield, Massachusetts
CHATTER...
What the Forums at cycleworld.com are saying about the International Bike ot the Year
So, Honda's new CBR100RR took International Bike o' the Year honors. I wonder why the CBR is not known as the Fireblade in the U.S. like it is in the rest of the world? I guess we Americans are a super-serious bunch. Just the numbers, ma'am...
One size does not fit all. The Honda looks like you could spend all of 2 minutes on it without going full-body charlie horse. Kawlippin
The CBR is definitely a more attractive motorcycle than the new Yamaha Ri. I'd still rather have a Gixxer.
The lineage, history and mojo of the Gixxer line is hard to ignore. Probably go to the Ri second, Kaw 10 third-they simply have more funk and attitude than the Honda.
Spies won with the new Yama-hauler at Phillip Island, first round of WSB 2009, and he had never even raced there before! That says a lot for the new bike/engine. I think it sounds rad. Case closed.
I subscribe to Honda's philosophy: A set of buttertlys, some fuel-injectors and a big honking air pump driving a tire. Simple and effective.
I'm a happy owner of a 2008 CBR1000RR; it's an amazing piece of hardware. Light weight + gobs of midrange = big fun. IMHO the best looking of the 2008/09 crowd. It will most likely be eclipsed by the GSX-R or the Ri for 2009.. .but this is a 2008 award.
OP/ED
I just got the news that the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours d'Elegance is being postponed this year because its sponsors have been hit hard by the economy. This is sad news not just for the thousands of people like me who have attended every year, but for the whole of motorcycling.
As I thought more about this trav esty, it occurred to me that almost none of Legend's Sponsors are motorcycJema~ ers, with the exception of Triumph, BMW and MV Agusta. However, if you look at the corporate partners (read "sponsors") listed on the Pebble Beach Concours website, they have the support of just about every important car-maker you care to list-and their industry has been hit harder by the recession than the bike industry
This begs the question: Why is it that every major car manufacturer in the world sees the importance of Pebble Beach but most motorcycle manufacturers can't see the light in sponsoring (this year or any of the previous three years) the Legend of the Motorcycle, the only comparable event in their industry? Is the bike industry so far behind and so resistant to step outside their narrow-minded box? Are the market-
ing directors and guys at the top so clue less? I would really love an explanation.
If bike-makers can't support the best thing to happen in their collective indus try since the Guggenheim's "Art of the Motorcycle" (remember how, even then, only BMW supported that?), then they deserve their problems and the folks at Legend should not look back.
Reatly, can anyone give a satisfactory answer? Anyone? Lots of people would love to hear your rationale, Honda, Harley, Suzuki, Buell, Kawasaki, Aprilia, Yamaha, Ducati and KTM. Go ahead, we're waiting.
Mike Lucas Houston, Texas
Some good news, Mike. The Legend's early May time slot has been filled by a new concours put on by the Quail Lodge in Monterey, California, in partnership with the Bonhams & Butterfields auc lion house. It's called the Motorcycle Gathering (www.quaillodgeevents.com), May 8-9, patterned about the Quail's annual classic car show. Meanwhile, Legend Concours organizers work toward a 2010 restart in San Diego.
Norton for sale, poem free
I have no title The brakes are shot The tires are rot The tank has bondo The seat looks like it was munched on by Blazing Saddle's "Mongo" The pipes are incorrect But, hey, what do you expect? The gauges are mixed-n-matched The wiring should be patched The rims are rusty, the Amals crusty It's mostly there and doesn't run But the motor kicks over The rest, one can say It's a Norton, not a Triumph, Vincent, Greeves or BSA! Dan DwineHs Posted on www.cycleworld.com
Thanks but no, we `ii take a pass Nortons are grandiose, it s' true But yours sounds half-vast.
