Intake

Intake

PRAISES COMPLAINTS ETHANOL STICKER SHOCK PART 2

KICK START THE CONVERSATION

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE NEW CYCLE WORLD. THIS IS THE MAGAZINE THAT MOTORCYCLISTS IN THE U.S. HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. YOU HAVE DEFINITELY HIT THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK. THANKS FOR ALL THE HARD WORK AND FOR KEEPING TED ON THE BACK PAGE, TOO. THE NEW CYCLE WORLD ROCKS! “CRANKY” FRANKIE PALMER OUILDERLAND, NEW YORK

OUR REMODEL

Man, I don’t know where to begin. You’ve always been the best bike mag on the shelf, but the new look (July) is atrocious.

The clash of fonts is beyond distracting, it’s visually cacophonous. The line drawings of Hoyer, Egan and Cameron look like they were drawn by a drunken badger. The layout of the articles takes every bad aspect of web pages and brings them to print. Your eye skids off onto the ads, constantly distracted by bull’s eyes of this color and that, and open quote marks that never close. The whole thing is like bad jazz on paper. The only good thing in this incredible wreckage is the fact that the mag is still about bikes. DANHAINEY LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

I just wanted to give everyone concerned two thumbs up to the new format. I’ve been riding for over 40 years and reading your magazine longer than that. Congratulations on a job well done. GARY WILLIAMS TYLER, TEXAS

I can't tell if I like the “new look” or not. The print is too small to read. RAYBANISTER PRESCOTT, ARIZONA

Been a subscriber for decades. Love the new layout, but I wondered what the real reason for the change was. So I looked at the masthead and bingo! The font of Editor-in-Chief Mark Hoyer is now much larger than that of his staff. I truly enjoy the cynicism of my advanced age. GREGBARBRE IDLEYLD PARK, OREGON

Greg, why so cynical? -Mark Hoyer, Editor-in-chief

Send us a photo. Upon reading the title of Peter Egan's July column, “Downward Spiral,” I thought he had written about the new layout, which makes it difficult to distinguish the content from the advertisements. I was even more saddened to realize that the blurry distinction between the two was probably intentional. PETEMIGLI SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA

At first glance, I wasn’t sure that it was really Cycle World but inside is the same great stuff but with a sharper look. Good work, great modern look and more readable with most of the print on a white background and not some scenic picture. Only one criticism: Who posed for Egan’s likeness? We are about the same age. I hope I don’t look that old. TJ SCHAFF SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

BACK DOOR MAN

Go ahead if you must, be edgy and fresh and energetic and postmodern everywhere else. Just take a cue from Playboy and leave the pictures alone.

Pictures are so you can see what something looks like: If you let graphic design compromise that prime function, then you have lost your way and you should go get a Harley. N.D. ELY NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA

NO ONE TOLD US THERE WOULD BE MATH

Now I’m staring at page 19 of your July issue (beautiful new design, by the way), where the “increase in valve-check interval” from 7500 to 18,000 miles on the new Hypermotard is referred to as a 240-percent increase. Forgive my OCD on this, but I have long had more faith in the guys with wrenches than the guys with word processors. Guess we’re all in the same boat. ERICLEWALD CLENDALE, CALIFORNIA

Mr. Leuuald, you are correct. Increasing the valve-check interval from 7500 to 18,000 miles represents an increase 0/140 percent. Our mistake.

ETHANOLIC

I want to thank Mr. Cameron and Cycle World for touching on the ethanol topic.

In the last five years or so, nearly every bike I have worked on that sat unused for any longer than a few months has come in with a fuel tank that is badly rusted inside from this silent killer. Gummed-up carburetors and fuel pumps have always been an issue on bikes that sit, but now the damage occurs in months, not years. My advice to anyone who has a bike that does not see regular use (or any machine for that matter) is to seek out a gas station that sells real gas, top off your seldom-used machines with the good stuff and add fuel stabilizer. It is not quick, easy or cheap to get a bike that’s been attacked by ethanol back on the road. Thank your politicians for making all this BS happen. PETE MITCHELL SHELBY, NORTH CAROLINA

BOOMERS ARE NEVER HAPPY

Older motorcycles have a sense of style and a look sadly lacking in most modern motorcycles. I love the new Honda CB1100, but it would have been perfect if they had given it four exhaust pipes reminiscent of the 1969 CB750. Better yet, how about a retro CBX? LOUIS KRANYAK CONCORD, CALIFORNIA

I like the magazine’s new look! The CB1100,1 love it! I’d order one tomorrow, but only 3.9 gallons of gas? Give me a 5-plus-gallon tank to travel on and I’ll be at my friendly local Honda dealer in the morning! MICHAEL HERBERT DELAWARE, OHIO

I just love it when you validate my choice of motorcycle (“Magnum Foursome,” July)! I’m on my second GSX-R750, a 2011. The first was an ’06, and this new model is even better. The 750 seems to have just the right weight-to-horsepower/torque balance. Power is more than adequate, but not so much that I can’t let it rip once in a while. More importantly, the 750 makes it possible for my wife and I to enjoy twisty mountain roads and amazing scenery two-up! NATHAN RICHER SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA

In response to the July letter about CVO sticker shock, it’s true, you can buy a wellequipped car, truck or SUV for the price of an H-D CVO. It’s also true, for the price of a top-line bicycle (easily $iok), you can buy a really nice new motorcycle. The new CB1100 comes to mind, priced around the same as a high-end carbon-fiber road bike from Trek or Specialized. In the end, these manufacturers sell all the high-end, overpriced products they can make to satisfied customers worldwide. It comes down to what people want and are willing to pay. Nobody feels like they have paid too much for a thing they will use and enjoy for many years. Quality, dependability and satisfaction rarely come cheap. ¡0HN DOUGLAS BELLEVIEW, FLORIDA

Comments? Suggestions? Criticisms? Write us at intake@cycleworld.com or 15215 Alton Parkway, 5te. 100, Irvine, CA 92G18. Post comments on cycleworld.com, like us on Facebook; follow us on Instagram and Twitter!