Ups & Downs

Ups & Downs

UP: To Revvin’ Kevin Schwantz, for giving U.K. race fans their money’s worth. The 1993 500cc World Champion headlined the inaugural Suzuki GSXR Festival held at Brands Hatch this past August. No surprise, Schwantz got all gooey over hot laps on a workedover GSX-R1000. The big-braked, slick-tired, Superbike-suspensioned inline-Four wasn’t treated to a full-house engine, but had “an overabundance of power.” Slides? “That’s pretty much all it wanted to do,” Schwantz said. "It wasn’t turning like I wanted, so I had to finish the corners with the throttle.” Just like the old days, eh?

DOWN: To the “stars” of All Twisted and Pucked Up, for their foolhardy approach to sportbiking. X-Factor’s latest hand-cam video depicts the adolescent antics of Jason Britton, Scott Tedro, Dave Sanders, Eric Monroe and Christian Smith as they drag their magnesiumpucked knees up and down SoCal’s commuter-clogged Ortega Highway. Hey, we’re all for spirited riding, but these squids give biking a bad name.

UP: To New York’s “Drive Right, Watch for Motorcycles” safety campaign, for increasing motorist awareness of bike riders in the Empire State. The program uses television and radio spots, plus giveaway bumper stickers, key fobs and posters to get its message out. “Motorcycle licenses and registrations continue to grow at a steady rate in New York State," notes DMV Commissioner Raymond Martinez. “Motorcycles now account for nearly 2 percent of the total 10.6 million registered vehicles.”