Hotshots
HOTSHOTS
Two up?
Just finished the September issue; another great product, thank you. I was impressed by the NCR Leggera 1200 Special, but I do have a suggestion on how to shave another couple pounds: Drop the passenger pegs and supports. I can’t imagine why these were included; it is beyond me why anyone riding this fantastic bike would even consider hauling a passenger. Two average-sized individuals together would weigh as much as (or more than) the whole bike! Keep up the great writing and reporting.
Bruce Phillips Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hmmm, we ’re going to go out on a limb and guess that the kind of cake that buys an NCR might also attract the sort of svelte-ish passengers you wouldn’t mind taking for a quick spin around the grounds, no?
Too SuperLow?
What flavor Kool-Aid did H-D serve Mr. Burns and CW to buy into the Sportster SuperLow, a “Beginner’s Bike” that scrapes the pavement following a dually around a curve? H-D justifies this by admitting that their primary interest is “making people comfortable on the showroom floor?” This is synonymous with Toyota stating its gas pedal looks really cool in the showroom, but the driver must learn to deal with its sticking behavior out on the Interstate! I believe your desire to support H-D has crossed the line of responsible reporting. Putting an intro-type motorcycle on the market that has no more cornering ability than the SuperLow is irresponsible and bordering on
criminal. Otherwise, I truly enjoy your magazine and will continue to be a loyal subscriber. Bob Fillers
Little Rock, Arkansas
Barley-ßavored Kool-Aid, of course. But we responsibly reported that the SuperLow does indeed have seriously limited cornering clearance, and we have tested other bikes that offer less.
Dudek dis, general disgruntlement, etc...
So, we get a handful of pictures, captions and 35 column inches telling us that Hardly-Ableson changed the tires on its Sportster SuperSlow and less than one-fourth that telling us about a completely new 350cc motorcycle from KTM? From a guy who nobody ever heard of before he started at your magazine? Why again do I subscribe to Custom-ChopperCruiser & Harley-Davidson World? Oh, yeah, Peter Egan and Kevin Cameron.
Dave Petrizze Phelan, California
Are you guys aware that there is another motorcycle company in the known as “Suzuki”? Not one mention of that company in the last three issues, except for your racebike. No advertising, no tests, no news of new models. Are you having a tong war with them or what?
Articles about bikes no one can afford are not going to make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Brian O’Sullivan
Taunton, Massachusetts
Brian, Suzuki did not import 2010 models aside from four dirtbikes and the entrylevel GZ250 cruiser. Earlier in the year, we reported on the RM-Z450 and 250, the RMX450Z and skipped the RM85 and GZ, which means we covered 60 percent of the ’10 lineup. As for advertising, that ’s not our department. The good news is that Suzuki is back in 2011 with a new GSX-R600/750, and much of the line has been updated.
EBoz Love
Just wanted to drop you a note and say thanks for Kevin Cameron’s great article on the Cycle World Attack Suzuki. Em so glad to see Eric Bostrom racing again; his lap times and top 10 finishes prove he should have never left.
Mark McQueen Rocklin, California
I had the pleasure of flagging at Laguna Seca last weekend and saw your boy EBoz do a bang-up job on the Cycle World GSX-R! He was really flying on that thing and would have done even better had he not gotten pushed around in Turn 2! I admire your publication getting involved in racing, especially in these tough economic times. I will be rooting Eric and Cycle World on in the races to come! Michael RUSSO
Redding, California
Weighty matter
Hey, I just read your Sprint GT test and I’m confused with the math. The article says: “All this adds up to a sport-tourer that is slightly heavier than the ST (‘about 11 pounds more,’ says Barton).” But the
Triumph website says the Sprint ST weighs 530 pounds wet and that the Sprint GT weighs 590. So, 590 minus 530 equals 11? Maybe Barton is talking about British pounds? Mike Paulick
Littleton, Colorado
We haven ’tyet had a 2011 Sprint GT available to weigh on the CWscales. The Sprint ST we tested in November, 2005, weighed 511 pounds with an empty gas tank, which should equate to about 543 all gassed up. As soon as we get a GT, we ’ll let you know which pounds they used in England.
More pillion problems...
In the latest issue, Mark Cemicky writes about spending more than $600 to add a back seat and pillion pegs to his RC8R.
I think someone must have dropped the ball or box when he got his bike. I have RC8s, RC8Rs and RC8R LEs in stock, and all came with a backseat pad and pegs. His write-up makes it sound like customers don’t receive these items when they purchase a bike. I am surprised that his local dealer didn’t know this!
Tony Kutz
Louisville, Kentucky
Right you are, Tony. KTM tells us all new KTM RC8 and RC8R models come with a passenger seat and pegs. Our testbike wasn’t delivered with those pieces, so Cemicky took matters into his own hands.
(Ouch, that) Burns
About 17 years ago, you published my letter in which I ranted about John Burns dissing some H-D product. Don’t remember what he said, but my diatribe included a line about “put his hairless butt on the unemployment line.” I now officially retract my earlier statement and offer my humble apology to the aforesaid owner of supposedly bald buttocks. He has a masterful command of the language, in-depth knowledge of his subject and a sense of humor that reminds me of P. J. O’Rourke. Mea culpa, John! Mike Riley
Monroe, Louisiana
John Burns may have skipped a little of his homework when he wrote in the September, 2010, issue that the GL1800 has “air-adjustable suspension (with its own onboard compressor).” To the best of my knowledge, my 2002 GL1800 and all other stock GL1800s have an
Electric Hydraulic Preload unit on the rear suspension. Of course, it comes with no kitchen sink, either. For the purpose of informing the reader about various motorcycle models, this is not the quality of writing I expect from a premium motorcycle magazine. Greg Zalucha
Champaign, Illinois
Stick around; it takes like 17 years for the Burns quality of writing to grow on you.
Blasphemy
I wonder how many others out there besides me wonder these same things about Peter Egan? I always look forward to his writings and ramblings, and I’ve purchased both his books over the years. But, how many times have we read about him buying a bike, fixing it up, looking at it in the garage while consuming a well-known dark beer sold in a black can, raving on and on about the bike, selling the bike, wishing he hadn’t sold the bike, trying to buy the bike back from the new owner who doesn’t want to sell it, telling wife Barbara he’s buying another bike just like the one he sold because he misses it so much, loading up van with said new purchase (usually in winter), bringing it home, wondering why he sold the last one because this one is obviously the best bike in the whole wide world, ordering new parts for the new bike, then riding it around and somehow the world doesn’t seem quite so bad after all, then vowing to never sell THIS one?
Hey, Peter! Ride some different bikes, already! Try something new, something you haven’t owned yet, something totally different! Buy a supermotard bike or a Gold Wing or something. . .anything but what you’ve already written about twice or three times!
Roger Anderson Submitted via www.cycleworld.com
The DR is in
Regarding Egan’s mighty DR650:1 bought mine for a 60-mile roundtrip commute that included some dirt options. Only three months after I got it, I began working from home. No more commute. So I did what any former MX racer/dirt lover would do: turn it into an off-road dirt tank. With some judicious modifications, my big DR has taken me into some of the craziest places and most amazing epic rides. I can’t think of another bike with the ver
satility of the DR.
Sure, the knobs buzz my junk numb on longer road rides, but the squirming and sliding through comers is worth it. Where I live, I can string a 200-mile ride together with half of it dirt. With the right mods, the DR650 is truly a do-it-all ride. Other than requiring a bit more muscle in extreme off-road conditions (lessened by the motor’s ability to chug), I give up nothing to my 450-riding friends. On the road, it’s better than the rest. By the way, you don’t need two bikes, just two sets of wheels (get an 18-inch rear off a DR350 for the dirt). All in all, my Suzuki has brought great versatility and joy to my ever-moreEgan-esque existence. Dayn Mansfield Templeton, California
