Hotshots
HOTSHOTS
Need for speed
I just finished reading June’s ZX-12 test and want Kawasaki to know how disappointed I am. Ever since I heard about the impending release of this machine-and the surrounding rhetoric regarding its top-speed ability—I have been gathering my meager finances in hopes of procuring one of these supposedly faster-than-fast motorcycles. Saving my nickels, returning bottles, getting ready to cash in my 401(K), even selling a motorcycle I very much enjoy riding.
I wanted to ride my shiny new ZX12 down to Muroc Dry Lake, watch that speedometer roll past 200 mph, get my time slip and ride home. But it was not to be. Instead, Kawasaki caved in to the pressure, and I’m not going to buy their bike. I’ll wait until some company builds a bike to make a point rather than placate a politician. It’s not the missing 13 mph. It’s having the courage to make it happen. Bill Roberson Posted on America Online
Sayonara, ZX-12! Long live the King of Speed-past, present and future-the Suzuki GSXR1300R Hayabusa. Caye Dizon Macon, Georgia Regarding the ZX-12 fiasco: It’s not that they haven’t given us something; it’s that they’ve taken something away from us. The freedom to choose! Even our sainted mommies know that, sooner or later, they have to let us make our own decisions when we grow up-and accept the consequences of our actions. So, 187 mph or 200, what’s the diflf? Thirteen mph won’t save your butt if you’re stupid! Richard F. DiLorenzo Deltona, Florida
First of all, why are we limiting the top speed of anything to 187 mph? For safety? Oh, I see. If I were running 197 mph and wrecked, I would be seriously injured. In the same situation, if I were limited to only 186, I would be able to walk away. Right...
Come on guys, it isn’t about how fast I can run down the interstate, it’s about bragging rights. Now, every time I pull into the local gas station, it will be on the world’s second-fastest motorcycle. Sort of like the second-best team at the Superbowl. We all remember who they were, don’t we?
Scratch one Kawasaki fan, the Hayabusa is looking better every day. Derek Kennedy Beulaville, North Carolina I want to commend you for the journalistic candor shown in your June report on the Kawasaki ZX-12R. I’m certain that the reporting did not make you new friends at Kawasaki, but it provided valuable information to your readers.
Last fall, I sold my ’98 Yamaha YZF-R1 anticipating a wonderbike from Kawasaki in the spring. I had previously owned a new Z-l and a ZX-11, so I trusted Kawasaki to do it again.
The day after I read your coverage of the ZX-12R, I canceled my Kawasaki order and placed my name on the waiting list for a 2000 Yamaha Rl. I hope Kawasaki’s senior management gets the message. There is no reason for North America to get a ZX-12 with restricted potential. Give the designers and engineers freedom to do their best work, and we will buy it. Prof. John Locke Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada
U.S. Kawasaki officials were as perplexed as the press and bike-buying public at the ZX-12’s underwhelming performance. “A disaster,” is how one higher-up described the bike’s launch. We now know a little more about the ZX’s “speed bleed.” While early indications let us believe electronics had been doctored to bring the bike in compliance with a new voluntary European speed limit of 185 mph, it now appears the reduction was accomplished simply with final gearing. Taller gearing prevented the 12 from pulling to redline in top gear, and also explains the (relatively) soft dragstrip numbers. Also, according to Kawasaki, the bike is finicky about break-in, requiring double the usual mileage. On top of this, correct oil level is critical. Apparently, it’s easy to overfill the crankcase—the oil-sight glass is suspect-resulting in a significant power loss.
Rebel yell
After reading your test of the Confederate GT (CW, June), I thought you did a very good job of reporting on the design and performance. I also thought you were within your rights as reviewers to venture opinions on Confederate’s choice of model names for the bikes. All in all, I felt a fair balance was achieved in the review.
The Hotshots letters that were published the next month, though, didn’t really address the bike’s attributes; they essentially showed the hang-ups of the writers. I know Matt Chambers, Confederate’s founder and president. He is a motorcycle visionary. He is “way out there” when it comes to bike design. He is a serious student of the South and the Civil War. But he is not a bigot, a white supremacist or someone who seeks to glorify the worst of the Old South.
I was born and raised in the Midwest, currently live in the Chicago area and, yes, I own two Confederate motorcycles. I ride them all over the Great Lakes area and am frequently stopped by people who want to learn more about the unique monster I’m riding. I have never once had anyone comment negatively about the name “Confederate” or the use of Southern generals as model names. Apparently, people up here have fewer hang-ups than some of your readers. R.Scott Zion Lake Forest, Illinois
Chop shop
If two-wheeled motorcycles have a purpose, what is the purpose of “Prodigy,” the Harley custom in the June issue? I’m afraid the question may be answered by looking at the gastank paint scheme on page 68. Sigmund Freud would have loved it! E.M. Simon North Royalton, Ohio
Hey, I just read the article about “Prodigy” and checked out the pictures, and I’ve seriously gotta say that bike is gorgeous. Hats off to the creator, Paul Yaffe. I ride crotch rockets, so I don’t pay much attention to the world of Softails and such, but this time was entirely a different story. The bike was simply beautiful. MaxdVelocity Posted on America Online
About the $90,000 spent on that “potato machine,” give me a break! Hell, that’s three Bimotas, a turbo Bandit 1200 and a new V-Max! Don “Old Man” Smith Posted on America Online
Remember in Pulp Fiction, when Bruce Willis steals a customized Harley for his getaway, and Maria de Madeiros refers to it as a motorcycle? Willis instructs her, and repeats at least once, “It’s not a motorcycle, baby, it’s a chopper.” Words of wisdom. Try to remember, Cycle World is supposed to be a motorcycle magazine. Ben English Albany, New York
Cool Hand Duke
Self, I says, as long as Japan keeps dropping the ball, my retirement gift to this 58-year-old hooligan will have “Duke III” scrawled on the side. I would still like to see Japan outdo KTM, but I’m not going to wait much longer. Robert Gagnon Racine, Wisconsin
A little on the side
As an able-bodied young motorcyclist of 23, I naively attached a sidecar to my BMW. I was fascinated by this hybrid of open-roadster and motorcycle that proved to serve many logistical needs while charming onlookers. Today, nearly 30 years on, and after owning an array of sportbikes and tourers, my fascination with sidecars is undiminished.
to Peter Egan for his venture into the world of sidecaring and his objective appraisal of this delightfully eccentric form of motoring. Pete Larsen Sidecar Industry Council Seattle, Washington
Very much enjoyed Peter Egan’s contributions to the magazine for June, 2000. Hey, what did they decide to call the (about-to-be-offed) puppy he and Beau Pacheco smuggled across the border? “Baja?” John C.R Morgan Los Angeles, California
“Bella,” now a happy, healthy 30 pounds, lives with Beau’s son Travis in northern California, where she reportedly rules the household.
Sex World
Due to the sexually provocative content of your advertisements and articles, I am beginning my subscription to Cycle World. In my 32 years of riding, I have noticed that most riders are at least as interested in sex as in motorcycles. This often results in families, and there’s value in that. Let the bluehairs get over it. Ray Hutchison Bakersfield, California
How do I get copies of the issues full of sex that you’ve been sending to reader Mark Tidwell? There isn’t any in the ones you send me! Kevin Molyneux Reseda, California
Where are the babes!? Gary Coats Plano, Texas
Get a dog and a sidecar, Coats, and they will come. □
