Could This Be the Shape of Things To Come?
COULD THIS BE THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME?
RIDING IMPRESSION:
WINIECKI SAFERCYCLE
THE KID ON THE XL600 COULDN'T QUITE FIGURE IT out. He pulled alongside, did a double-take, cocked his head like the RCA dog, shrugged his shoulders, then rolled his eyes before speeding off, catching one last glance over his shoulder while peeling off for an exit. During the 85-mile test ride I took on Tad Winiecki's safercycle, that kind of reaction was typical.
My introduction to the bike came in Winiecki's driveway, where he showed me how to close and latch the roll-bar doors and lock the restraint harness into place. Winiecki can do it all in less than 15 seconds, but my unpracticed hands took considerably longer. As a final caution before setting off, Winiecki gave me the standard operating procedure in case I lost my balance at a stoplight. `~Just pull your legs in and let it roll," he said.
Ooookay.
`~J Ji~c~j. Getting underway on the safercycle can be a little tricky. With its wheelbase stretched to 65 inches and a relatively high center of gravity, the bike instantly makes it known that intricate parking-lot maneuvers are not its favorite kind of riding. Once up to speed on the freeway. however, I loosened up and actually started to enjoy the trip. The shoulder-belt/lap-corset restraint wasn't nearly so confining as I had imagined, although I'm not sure I wouldn't prefer an automo tive-type. inertia-reel seatbelt instead.
The most pleasant surprise was how comfortable the bike was. With its padded seat, taken from a dune buggy. and its effective, if all too ugly, fairing blocking the wind. Winiecki's safercycle gives off a jaunty. 1 960s sportscar feel that makes moving down the road a lot of fun. The smiles and waves of fellow travelers don't hurt, either. It's not too hard to imagine that a better-finished model would actually be more com fortable to tour on than the current Gold Wings, Cav alcades and Venture Royales.
When the roads got twisty, the bike started to feel out of its element. Even in much-refined form, this is never going to be a motorcycle that cuts-and-thrusts
with Ninjas and Interceptors. Not helping matters was the breakaway handlebar, which imparted an impre cise feel when used for heavy countersteering in the turns. At the speeds that a new-to-motorcycling rider would attempt. though, the bike was a capable enough handler, and would certainly be better if the basis for the project weren't a 10-year-old motorcycle that Winiecki had rescued from a junkyard.
But in the end, I suppose the most surprising thing about the safercycle is its viability. To be sure, the current model is crude: Winiecki may indeed be an excellent engineer, but as a fabricator he leaves a lot to be desired. And to me. the idea of a throw-youforward-then-reel-you-back seat seems a little ludi crous. But there are ideas here-the car-type seat and the all-around fairing. for example-that could be in tegrated into a motorcycle and work very well.
Whether that happens and Winiecki is hailed as one of motorcycling's forward-thinkers, or he just remains a hopeful backyard inventor with a funny-looking ma chine, remains to be seen. -David Edwards
