Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

Comparably equipped

Hello and good morning. I just wanted to comment on the Ducati Multistrada vs. Honda VFR1200F comparison (CW, August), which is a bit anticlimactic. Yes some punches were thrown, differences in seating position, fueling, top speed, cruising, etc...but who won? Was it, can’t we all just get along, shake hands and let’s forget our differences?

I want to see VERDICT or AND THE WINNER IS! I know that the two bikes are different in many ways and will appeal to different people based on those differences, and the winner will be the guy (or gal) who buys the bike he wants/loves.

Great magazine... keep up the good work. Roger Towle

Mesa, Arizona

What? Were we too subtle? Mosey over to cvcleworld. com sometime and you ’ll see we named the Multi 1200 S Sport Best Open Streetbike for 2010—along with nine other Ten Bests.

I, for one, would love it if you just devoted an entire issue to the new VFR, got it out

of the way and I wouldn’t have to see it anymore. It reminds me of the UJM days when mags compared the GS750 to the CB750, then the XS750 to the KZ750 and then, just to spice things up, the KZ750 to the CB750. Oh, and “breaking news! We compare the GS, CB, XS and KZ 750s all at once!

Okay, it’s a fancy new Honda and y’all seem to like it. Great. Next!

Peter Spinale

St. Paul, Minnesota

We may have gotten a little carried away, and as soon as we get the bagger version, we ’ll be able to carry away even more...

Bismarck battle continues...

I’m a Canadian, and the memory of the Hood sinking, on the radio and in our newspapers, remains with me. Our family kept abreast of the terrible happenings in those days, as brother Jack was a dispatch rider (350 Matchless) from 1939 until the war ended. The Peter Chronis letter (August HotShots) gets my humble salute, and Cycle World owes this gentleman a sincere apology for your over-the-top response.

Joe Bolger Barre, Massachusetts

Re: Editor’s note after my letter in the August edition: Of course I’ve got bats in my belfry ! Don’t you? Ask anybody who doesn’t ride and they’ll tell you all motorcyclists are crazy. My letter was meant as constructive criticism—sorry if it upset you, but that’s okay. Part of Cycle World's appeal is the lively stichomythia in the letters pages. {Nota bene\ The British fleet, using a combination of obsolescent fabric-and-wood Fairey Swordfish biplanes, torpedoes and naval gunfire, managed to sink the Bismarck. Seems the Brits understood projecting seapower better than that Chaplinesque loony, Adolf Hitler.)

To change the subject, your multiple comparisons of similar bikes are welldone and informative, and should be required reading for consumers shopping for a new motorcycle.

Peter Chronis Denver, Colorado

I see that some of your readership is upset with the Bismarck reference. At 93, my old man can still recite his Air Corps serial number faster than his phone number. Sixty-five years ago, he and two of his brothers were up in B17s dropping bombs on their aunts and uncles back in the old country, obliterating the house their father was born in. They managed to get over it and get on with their lives. Maybe there’s a lesson in that for all of us.

Mistah Bums might find it interesting to Google up Bismarck and see who was sitting in the captain’s chair back on May 27, 1941 (and whom, I might add, is still sitting there, having gone down with the ship along with 1994 other members of his crew). If Burns wants, he can drop by next May 27 and we’ll raise a glass of Beck’s to all of them, from both sides.

Mark Lindemann Carlsbad, California

Can’t we meet at (former Cycle magazine staffer) Lindemann ’s, hoist one in honor of all those who gave their lives (including Ernst Lindemann, Captain of the Bismarck), and then fire a smoky, 17-inch-tire-frying salute from the S1000RR—and all get along?

Happy-ish ending

Let me start by saying thank you for the last 41 years. That’s how long I’ve read Cycle World, and I still look forward to the next issue with excitement and anticipation. Peter Egan and I are on the same page so often it’s almost scary, and his August Leanings stmck a major chord with me in reference to Jeff Underwood’s house fire. I lost everything four years ago to a fire, which also took my private bike shop next to the house.

I am so glad Jeff got to keep his bikes, tools, parts, etc. Even four years later, it hurts so much not to be able to lay a hand on what took years to collect. While I am not rich by any means, years of careful gathering had yielded quite a capable shop full of machines, parts, materials, custom tools—you know the stuff. Imagine it all gone in the blink of an eye. I still don’t have a shop, a bad dream from which I can’t awake!

My wife had our bikes well-insured, though, so we were able to get back to riding without too much trouble: a 2009 H-D FXDC, a 2005 Yamaha WR250F (may be my favorite all-time bike!), a 1982 Honda 450 Rebel (for daughters) and a Honda CRF150R (Wow, holy gigglefest, Batman!) are helping us recover. As Boston said, “Don’t Look Back”!

Steve Moon Williston, Vermont

Thunderbird vs. H-D

I have to take issue with your H-D Dyna Wide Glide vs. Triumph Thunderbird comparison. Having owned five Harleys from 2000 to 2007, I have to say that none of them would come close to the T-bird in any category. You got the handling and riding part pretty well spot-on. The bike handles amazingly well and puts that big smile on my face on every ride.

Louis Clark Lakeland, Florida

I bought a Super Glide because it is all of the things a Triumph is not. It is a Harley-Davidson. I think Triumph

makes several very good motorcycles, but the T-Bird and that 2300cc elephant are not among their best efforts.

I expect you guys to have an opinion. I resent that this comparison had no real purpose except to validate your choice of the Thunderbird as one of the Ten Best. Bill Doty

West Branch, Iowa

Outstanding August issue, gang! The comparisons this month were irrefutably interesting, technically sound and clearly well done. Regarding the H-D Dyna vs. Triumph T-Bird comparo, when I see “.. .the Real Deal” listed as the first “Up” for purchasing a Harley Dyna Wide Glide, I realize how out

of step with reality I’ve become. In other words, my critical thinking must be flawed when I would allow the Triumph’s better handling, superior brakes, more effective suspension and better power to influence my decision to own The Real Deal over an obviously superior, non-Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Bob Maddocks

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Small Triumph

Just finished the comparison between the Triumph Bonneville, Honda Shadow RS and Harley 883, and I couldn’t agree more about the Triumph being the perfect bike.

I bought a new Bonneville a month ago, and it’s the most fun I’ve ever had riding motorcycles. I’ve had Hondas, Ducatis and BMWs, and none came close to the balls-to-the-wall fun the Bonneville provides. The reviewer’s comment, “You could actually live with this one, happily ever after,” is right on the money. I’m old enough to be on Medicare and especially appreciate the Bonneville’s light feel, perfect riding position and great performance; it’s the perfect blend of retro look and modem technology. Ke n S 01 i n

Mill Valley, California