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Intake

101-HP MOTOGP REPLICA? BONNIE LUST ANALOG GPS

HÊEHSTHHT THE EOfíVEHSHTÈOn

Regarding your December cover story on the Honda RC213V-S: $184,000 US spec at 101 hp?! Are you sure this cover story wasn’t meant as an April 1 issue?

JOSEPH VASCONCELOS ATTLEBORO, MA

Pretty sure a Honda MotoGP bike for the street is no joke. You did read about the 212-hp kitted version, right?

V-4 REAL?

Great write-up on the Honda RC213V-S. One big question: If there were only one company that could get an engine to pass emissions with performance, it would be Honda. But 101 hp? This is not an emissions problem. Aprilia squeezed 154 hp out of the same engine format in the same issue. Is Honda being over responsible with this neutering, or is this just a platform to get you to spend money making it fast? I hope that $184,000 price tag included the $i2-grand speed kit.

MARCCRAESSLE ROHNERT PARK, CA

As stated in the technical preview by Kevin Cameron (February 2015), this is the MotoGP racebike made street legal. No design consideration for noise and tailpipe emissions were made, therefore fitting adequate intake and exhaust volume for the engine’s full power potential on the street is not possible. Hence, the $12,000 track-only kit parts.

MISSION EXTRAORDINARILY ACCOMPLISHED

Finally, finally, /inaify! Triumph has fully embraced the grace, beauty, and charm of the original Bonneville (December 2015)! As much as I admired Triumph’s efforts to capture the visual excitement of the late ’60s bikes, one element always left me cold: the powerplant. Whereas the original engines were lithe and simple with acres of space surrounding them, the “legacy” engines truly deserved the “lump” designation. With the new engines, though, Triumph has truly achieved its stated design goals of a motorcycle that is “more powerful, more capable, and more beautiful.” Mission extraordinarily accomplished, Triumph! For the first time in decades, I’ve regained my lust for the Bonneville.

CARRY D. MOORE CYCLEWORLD.COM

LOSTAND FOUND

I agree with Peter Jones (December 2015), but I finally broke down and bought a GPS. I bought it mostly to avoid being totally lost in a place I had never been before or if I had a tight schedule. If I know the area, I usually leave the GPS at home. Over 50 years ago, when I first started riding, I learned to navigate with

the sun, and sometimes I still do that.

That way you only need to know the general direction you want to go and if it is morning or afternoon. Keep it simple and just enjoy riding the bike.

A couple side benefits of GPS are finding that lonely gas station near a remote road when I am getting really low on fuel and having the little red indicator pop up to remind me that the speed limit just changed.

CHARLES O’NEAL

CYCLEWORLD.COM

It is now confirmed, in my mind at least, that Peter Jones is a mind reader. He had to be because his article in the December issue came straight out of my head. After touring 46 states, Canada, and Mexico, with a folded piece of paper covered with marker tracks, I know he got into my head. I don’t even own a GPS and have no intention of ever owning one. My touring, as he mentioned, was not the destination but the trip. The route I take while touring can change depending on time, weather, or just an interestinglooking road. I have been lost many times even with a road map, and have had to ask a local, “Where am I?” I love the way I travel and the experience of seeing new places and meeting new people off the beaten path.

BEN W. WRICHT CYCLEWORLD.COM

LIKES STOPPING FOR GAS

Yo, Mark, whining about the gas mileage for the 2015 Tuono? Really? If that’s your priority, Aprilia’s parent company, Piaggio, makes a great scooter with awesome mileage. Geez...

NEAL STEIK

LYNNWOOD, WA

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