Hotshots
HOTSHOTS
Ghost riders
Something’s missing! Where was the KLR650 in your adventure-touring comparison of Old West ghost towns (“Big Bikes, Big Adventure,” April)? The tiny-tanked Suzuki DR650SE got a fleeting mention, but there wasn’t even a whisper about the venerable Kawasaki KLR with its 6 gallons of gas, 50 mpg, hammer-like reliability, monster ground clearance and a list price of $4899-three grand less than your cheapest testbike! Instead, you show us a gray (market) whale like the Honda Varadero, which we can’t even buy. Get real about adventuretouring and hop on a KLR.
Arden Kysely Santa Barbara, California
I just read the comparison of adventure-touring bikes in the April issue. As usual, it was a good job; full of insights and humor, and for the most part I enjoyed it. The only problem was that you didn’t include the right bikes!
The Aprilia Pegaso? Are you kidding, or was this just an attempt at being politically correct (manufacturer-wise)? Okay, I admit it; I own a BMW F650ST, so I’m a bit preju-
diced. However, Brian Catterson incorrectly states that the Pegaso is “all but identical to the F650 BMW.” Even your own previous article from February states that the BMW put out 10-15 percent more horsepower and torque than its Italian cousin! This, in spite of a catalytic converter that allows the BMW to meet just about the strictest emissions standards required anywhere.
This is not an accident; Rotax builds a slightly different engine to meet BMW specifications. The key modification here, I believe, is that the Beemer has four valves and two sparkplugs instead of five valves and one plug. This, I would suggest, adds to the efficiency of power produced and fuel consumed. My ST consistently gets 50 mpg. I suspect those few extra bhp and mpg would have been quite useful out there in the wilderness. Plus the F650 has dial-up adjustable rear suspension and that wonderfully rare and amazingly useful item, a stock centerstand. At 421 pounds wet (427 with great, though expensive, optional hard bags), a mere 10 pounds over the Pegaso, the F650 outperforms it
on the street or trail in any evaluation I’ve seen since ’97!
The only place the Pegaso seems to come out on top is in the fashion points, as befits its Italian heritage. But is a fancy headlight and aluminum dashboard really so important?
David Jacquin Stamford, Connecticut
I just got my April Cycle World and what an issue! All those great articles and reviews, the new bikes, all the extra pages and extra pages! Anyway, the “Big Bikes, Big Adventure” comparison was really awesome! Any plans on doing one like it for all the enduros out there?
Todd Norris Bellefontaine, Ohio
We trust you enjoyed the seven-bike “Thumperfest” in the May issue?
I enjoyed the article, “Big Bikes, Big Adventure.” To include the Honda Varadero, available only overseas, was very cool. However, you really blew it by not including another awesome Europe-only bike, the Honda Africa Twin (XRV750). It’s been selling there for 10 years, and has a very devoted following. I presently ride a Triumph Tiger, but if the Varadero and Africa Twin were available here, I would buy them both in a heartbeat!
Your punishment for excluding the A.T. includes running a picture of this gorgeous machine, and telling us who to direct our
letters to at Honda to begin the campaign necessary to bring this beauty stateside. Thank you.
Ben Brown Wilmette, Illinois
Okay, there s' the photo, but save your stamps. Honda decided years ago that America is, sadly, not the land of adventure-touring.
Wake-up call
I now have Kevin Cameron’s March, 2000, column, “Bound to Burnout?” pasted onto the wall next to the desk at which I’ve been studying for the Washington bar examination-at least 10 hours a day for the last two months. When I first read that article
a couple of weeks ago, it woke me up; I had been in an exhaustion-induced blur, and was getting depressed as to why I was depressed. Despite the fact that the examination is just around the corner, I now take the time to read my favorite magazine, go stare at my bike (I won't ride it for fear of mashing my
precious fingers before the exam!), and most importantly, spend time with my wife in the evenings. My studies are actually going better.
Thank you, Mr. Cameron, for the eloquent wake-up call.
Taro Kusunose
Newcastle, Washington
Spencer, sideways
I thought that Fast Freddie was just getting more blimpy and resting on his laurels with that track school thing in “Lost Wages,” but then I caught that awesome photo of him on the Honda CBR929RR in the April issue.
I ripped it right out and plastered it to the wall, just like I did when I was 15! What a great shot, only made better with all of the other “darkies” on the track from previous attempts to highside the “Titanium Hammer.”
Heck, it’s raining outside; I think I’ll go
out and get the XR really sideways. I promise I’ll only go around the block once-honest. Simon Winer
Orinda, California
Forza Italia
Thanks for a really nice “Forza Italia” special section in April’s CW It arrived at just the right time to temper the gray weather I’m enduring here in New York. Mr. Catterson is one lucky guy to park his behind on those great Bimotas. The Corse SB8R jumps off the page! And it was nice to see the Spondon Laverda 1200 finally get some worldwide press; Ed Lutz and Lance Weil have helped me more than once with my own Laverda passions.
Frank Susca North Salem, New York
I’ve been meaning to drop you guys a note. The article on my Laverda looked great! I’ve received a few emails from people who found my website. Interesting how they seem to an expert. Guess being pubdoes that, eh? My wife got a out of it, too-seems she missed out on my “fortune” and is wondering where it went! Ed Lutz
Westminster, California
The Wiking Way
Your otherwise excellent March, 2000, issue contained an error about the new Indian Four.
“Project Viking,” as the bike was called, was built by Wheels, a Swedish custom-car magazine. The intention was to enable the average home mechanic to build a relatively inexpensive inline-Four in the classic American tradition. The prototype was powered by a two-liter Volvo car engine fitted with air-cooled VW cylinders and a homemade cylinder head. A BMW gearbox and driveshaft were used, as well as HarleyDavidson fenders, wheels, gas tank and fork.
The bike eventually evolved into the Viking (or “Wiking,” they’re not sure themselves). The engine still uses Volvo internals, but has a new and visually much imÍ proved engine block and cylinder-head design. It is this bike that Scotsman Alan Forbes bought from the Swedes and rebadged. And may he have all the luck in the world with bringing the project further.
Kim Scholer Kobenhavn, Denmark
Identity crisis
I recently attended the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show. All of the manufacturers were present with a stunning variety of new models.
I spotted a new Harley-Davidson among the gleaming bikes, but when I looked more closely, it said Yamaha on the tank. In the next booth, I thought I saw an Indian, but it was really a Kawasaki. Wandering along, I did in fact find an Indian, but it had a Harley-Davidson motor in it. It took me a while to find a genuine H-D among all of the Titans and Big Dogs. Scanning the bikes, I spotted a Triumph, but it was really a Kawasaki. I finally did find a Triumph, but alas, it looked like a Honda.
Could it be that the motorcycle industry is having an identity crisis?
Neil Donovan Chicago, Illinois
Hey, we ’re still coming to grips with an Indian Four that’s part Volvo, VW, Harlev and BMW... □
