Hotshots
HOTSHOTS
Challenging the ZX-10R
In your “Great ZX-10R Challenge,” (CW, September) most of the journalists giving comments in the “Quick Picks” section say they might have been quicker on the ZX-10R, but had more fun or a better quality ride on other bikes. To me, the fun factor, along with reliability and comfort, are more important than lap times. I’ll never race my bike, so if there are other bikes out there a second quicker, it doesn’t matter to me. Also, please push the 750s. That Gixxer 750 is hot.
James vom Lehn Mesa, Arizona
I find it curious that you would name the ZX-IOR the best sportbike of 2004. I bought one prior to my yearly sabbatical to Laguna Seca. After venturing over the double-yellow more times in 300 miles than I have in 22 years of riding motorcycles, I promptly marched to the Ohlins truck in the pits and dropped whatever it took to get rid of that ridiculously oversprung shock. I haven’t let my Visa loose on the forks yet.
The ZX-1 OR is an awesome bike, after you throw $2000 at its suspension-and don’t forget the steering damper. Oh, you’ll need an appointment with your dealer for the recalled front wheel, too.
Paul Singleton Harbor City, California
So, 13 “Master Bikes” whose fastest laps varied by just 3.5 percent? I guess it really comes down to which one feels best under your butt. I prefer the feel of my Buell, and I am curious why the XB12R Firebolt did not participate. The ads and the magazine reviews claim it is a bonafide contender in the sportbike category. Was an invitation extended? If not, is it because the Motociclismo editors felt the Buell could not hold its own?
Regardless of the outcome, I’d like to see how “the American sportbike” stacks up against the best of the Japanese and Italian rides.
Cory Bartholomew Wheatland, California
Great article, “The Great ZX-IOR Challenge,” but I was very disappointed that you left out the Triumph Daytona 955i and 600. I am a proud owner of an ’02 955i, and it is my opinion that the Daytonas would have made short work of most of the other bikes in the competition. Unseat the ZXIOR? No, but it would have been nice to see how they fared against their Japanese and Euro counterparts.
Daniel Botelho Fall River, Massachusetts
Master Bike organizers Motociclismo determined the participating bikes, and were right in not including the Daytona 955i and Buell XB12R for this track-only test. Both are heavily streetbiased, as their makers intended. We agree the Daytona 600 would have been a worthwhile addition, but no way is it a threat to the Kawasaki 636, the third quickest bike in the comparison.
Having the R l beaten by not only the ZX-IOR but also by the ZX636 has to be a bitter pill for the Yamaha faithful to swallow. I own a 10R, so it was naturally gratifying to see it win overall. Kawasaki is finally back at the forefront of sportbiking! Ron Haugen Mobile, Alabama
One little mistake...
After looking at the Master Bike motojournalist photos on page 46 of the September issue, I can only assume that in addition to the excitement of the shootout, the reunion of separated-at-birth identical twins Michael Neeves and Rafael Paschoalin must have been especially heartwarming. Apparently, Mr. Paschoalin got the better deal when his adoptive parents took him home to Brazil, having found the Fountain of Youth and aging 14 fewer years! Otherwise, a great issue, as always. David N. Anderson
Corning, New York
Does Michael Neeves of England have a twin brother in Brazil by the name of Rafael Paschoalin who really loved the YZF-Rl, too? Simply amazing!
Aside from this tiny error in picture placement, excellent review. Keith Stevens Portage, Michigan
You’ve either already gotten a nasty email from Michael Neeves or Rafael Paschoalin, or one of these guys used his OJ disguise kit to get two test rides. Nice trick! Walt Knodle Corvallis, Oregon
Sportbike development has gone too far! Apparently, riding the ZX-IOR produces so much speed that you run
the risk of having your DNA spliced with the DNA of the previous rider. I’ll bet poor Rafael Paschoalin never knew what hit him as he was morphed into the exact same physical form as Michael Neeves. Evidently, Kawasaki needs to put a warning label on those things! Jason Turner Orange, California
All right, that settles it, the next time you do a big superbike comparison, you need to invite me for the following three reasons: 1 ) I would have a helluva good time. 2) In the “Quick Picks” section, where you print test riders’ opinions along with their credentials, it would be funny to see my clueless comments above, “Tom: Riding to work since March; age 30.” 3) You obviously need more test riders since (judging by the photographs) you found it necessary to clone Michael Neeves of England to produce Rafael
Paschoalin of Brazil! Or was it the other way around?
Tom Ford Bella Vista, Arizona
Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the real Michael Neeves, who is neither Brazilian nor 20 years old, though sometimes wishes he were...
Super 90 Chronicles
Peter Egan’s “Adventures in Fuel Mileage” column in the September issue brought back a flood of memories. In the summer of 1966, I too bought a blackand-silver Honda S-90-if memory serves, it was $432 out the door.
My favorite pastime was getting lost, then found again, on the backroads outside of town. The S-90 did indeed get fantastic gas mileage. I filled the tank once a week whether it needed it or not. My cavalier attitude toward checking the fuel supply got me in trouble once. I ran out of gas on one of my beloved backroads near Hoover Reservoir. A kindly fisherman gave me a lift to the nearest gas station, some five or six miles away. I filled the only empty container I could find-a discarded beer can-with 4 cents worth of premium. It was more than enough to get me back to the station to fill the tank. Although have owned many other motorcycles in the 38 years since that Super 90-including my current ride, a BMW K1200LT-I
never had as much pure fun on any of them as I did on that first little Honda. I would dearly love to find one that has been sitting under a tarp in someone’s garage for the past 35 years. For nostalgia’s sake, I would ly pay $432 for it. B
West Covina, Cal Peter forgot to mention that in 1967, when he bought 23 cents worth of gas, he also walked over to the drinking fountain and got a refreshing free drink of water. In 2004, when he put $62 worth of gas in his van, he also bought a $1.29 bottle of water ($10.32 per gallon). David Dew St. Louis, Missouri
I, too, grew up as a chedderhead with an S-90.1 once asked a gas attendant to put in 50 cents’ worth, but 30 cents filled it. “Where should I put the other 20 cents?” he wanted to know. I felt so bad I didn’t even ask for my Green Stamp. T.J. Burdsall Jackson, Tennessee
Two little mistakes...
Hey, Peter, where exactly did you locate the starter button on your 1965 Super 90? I don’t recall an electric starter being one of the options on my ’66 S-90. dn fact, I don’t recall that there were any options at all! Charles Bou wens Kent City, Michigan
It makes no difference to anybody except those of us who obsess over whether a 1960 C71 had a Yazaki or an AutoMeter speedo, but regarding Mr. Egan’s memory of starting his S-90 with a button: Is he sure? Troyce Walls Titusville, Florida
Egan should have kept that aper 90. With its only-one-of-North-America electric start, it a valuable collector’s item today. David Chinn Issaquah, Washington Egan says, "Hey, it was the Sixties; if you remember every little detail, you probably weren’t there."
Smoke tires, not crack
Just a note to let you know that not everyone in the Midwest has had his sense of humor surgically removed like reader Jerry Palma {Hotshots, September). I thought the “Smoke Crack and Worship Satan” bumper sticker on the back of that Beemer was one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a while! Slipstream is where they put the jokes and/or humorous pictures, Mr. Palma, and usually that means that they are not meant to be taken seriously. Apparently, you missed that part in your fit of sanctimonious selfrighteousness. Jon Lichfield Avon, Indiana
I am a narcotics officer who lives in the Midwest, and I found the ironic humor in that BMW bumper sticker. I have seen crack-smoking Satan worshipers. They don’t ride BMWs. R. Parker Kansas City, Kansas
Too bad Mr. Palma has let his brand of religion get in the way of his sense of humor. I am reminded of the verse, “...straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel...” Dave Mutschall Church Point, Louisiana
Some Christians just do not understand tongue-in-cheek humor or any humor at all. Great mag! Send me Palma’s unsubscribed issues. Jim Sargent Bradford, Ohio
Some people deserve to be offended. I appreciate your help in offending them. Anything worthwhile will offend someone. I will be renewing my subscription. Nelson Petrey Carlsbad, California
I’m a 40-year-young, SV650-ridin’, longboard-surfin’ Southern California girl, proud mother of a beautiful 14-year-old daughter, both of us with all our morals intact. We had a good laugh over the June Slipstream, and amazingly have not started smoking crack, nor do we have the desire to worship Satan.
Jerry, do yourself and your kids a favor, and get a bleepin’ sense of humor, fast! Stephanie Reeves Escondido, California
This guy is way too serious. He needs to quit listening to Rush Limbaugh. Slipstream is like Andy Rooney at the end of “60 Minutes” It’s very funny. Thank you, Cycle World, for having a sense of humor. Stan Mitchell Highlands, Texas
Bleepfest 2004
Bleep the Bleeper! I resent the comments made by the “Unknown Bleeper” (Hotshots, September). British bikes ruled for years before the Big Four existed. Thank you, Editor Edwards for sharing your BSA A10 with us and please continue to do so. It and the Vetter Triumph X-75 are among the sexiest bikes ever. Gil Moreno Dana Point, California
Mr. Unknown Bleeper has a serious problem. If you don’t like what you are reading, don’t read it! People like you are just out to cause problems when the simple solution is to close the book, turn the channel or change the station. You are a bleep-head, to put it into language you understand. Dustin Marshall Mishawaka, Indiana
So, the Bleeper has some issues? Like Edwards’ fondness for English iron? Hey, Britbikes are as much a part of motorcycling history as anything can be. I still lust after the Limey two-lungers, beautiful basic machinery. And Egan? Come on, give me a break! This guy writes to the essence of riding, a real talent who puts into words what true riders are all about. Wordsmith extraordinaire. Kevin Cameron? What can we say? How many of us can explain piston speeds, harmonics and tire adhesion the way he does from obvious years of motorcycle experience? Mandatory monthly third read, after Egan and Edwards. Tom Hilsendeger Puyallup, Washington
I was thinking about letting my subscription lapse-nothing to do with the quality of CW and everything to do with personal finances. Then I received the September, 2004, issue and changed my mind. It was the “Smoke Crack” and “Unknown Bleeper” letters in Hotshots,that helped me realize how much I enjoy every Up Front, Leanings and TDC. Thanks, Messrs. Palma and Bleeper, for reminding me. David Anders Tucson, Arizona I love everything about motorcycles. Yes, it is important to talk about Britbikes, Italian bikes, all kinds of bikes from everywhere. Yes, it is important to revisit the history of motorcycling. Yes, it is important to discuss motorcycle engineering intelligently, using scientific knowledge, not just macho tough talk “from experience.” These are the things that make Cycle World, and why I subscribe to it. Wolfie Gainesville, Florida
Brats like the Bleeper give good kids (wish there were more of ’em) a bad name. With his obviously limited vocabulary and narrow scope of interest, it appears he is 16 or younger-or maybe older but with arrested brain development.
Best he should concentrate on his work (flipping burgers), as nearly everything about motorcycles from history to technology is over his head. In fact, the whole letter is so outrageously ignorant that I suspect this was a joke item, written to get a bunch of people stirred up. Robert H. Baucom Arlington, Texas
We suspect it was that ticked-off Michael Neeves character...
