Hotshots
HOTSHOTS
Ben’s big fall
I would like to sound off on the recent Ben Roethlisberger accident and the media hype that followed. Don’t get me wrong, Ben is not completely innocent in this matter. He wasn’t using common sense by not wearing a helmet; he wasn’t riding with a valid motorcycle endorsement on his license. But what seems to be missed in this whole episode is the fact that a 62-year-old woman failed to yield the right of way when making a left turn, pulled in front of him and caused the collision.
According to witness reports, Ben was not speeding, was in his own lane and had a green light permitting him to travel through the intersection. In all likelihood Ben’s injuries would have been significantly reduced had he been wearing a full-face helmet, but wearing that helmet would not have prevented the crash from occurring. Ben is the victim in this incident but is being made out to be the cause.
The media is having a field day with the fact that Ben was riding a Suzuki Hayabusa, “the fastest production motorcycle ever made.” But the achievable top speed of a motorcycle is a nonfactor in a crash where the rider is traveling within the posted legal limit. Had he been on a Vespa scooter or pedal bike at that speed his injuries would have likely been the same.
The sports media is turning against motorcycles in general, saying that professional athletes should not be allowed to ride as long as they are under contract. The flap has also brought out the list of other athletes who’ve been injured in motorcycle accidents. But how does this number compare to those who were injured in automobile accidents? Are teams going to prohibit players from driving cars? Or maybe they should just ban high-speed cars. After all, given the large salaries players make, they are more likely to own a Ferrari than a Ford 500. And how many athletes have been cited for, arrested for or injured in crashes while driving under the influence? Does that mean that the teams are going to ban the consumption of alcohol?
Ben has been chastised for being a “risk-taker” and riding a motorcycle while not wearing a helmet. But on the football field, when Ben takes a risk and stands in the pocket that extra second or two and makes a spectacular play, he is praised for being tough and brave. What people don’t seem to understand is that risk-taking factor, that feeling of invincibility, that confidence, is not who he is as a player, it s who he is as a person! You can’t turn that on and off just because you’re on a particular patch of grass. These guys live their lives not thinking about the fact that they could get hurt, paralyzed or killed. If they did, they would never step foot on the field in the first place.
Nothing in life is guaranteed safe. I had a friend who was a workaholic. He finally gave in to the demands of his friends and family and decided to take a vacation. The night before he was supposed to leave, he went to the basement to get his suitcase, tripped and fell down the stairs, suffered a broken neck and died. Is pro sports prepared to ban vacations, basements and stairs, too?
Let’s make sure that we don’t lose sight of the real issue here. As many of us know, what makes motorcycling dangerous isn’t motorcycling itself, it’s non-motorcyclists who drive so badly. Someone else other than Ben Roethlisberger caused this accident and his injuries. That person should receive the blame, and should be held accountable. If you take her mistake out of the equation, Ben continues through that intersection and on his way without incident.
Marty Peacock Marysville, Washington
Best busts?
As a cruiser and sportbike rider, as well as a dedicated reader of CW, I roared with laughter the last two years when I received the annual Ten Best Bikes issues. Why? Because in 2004 you cough, cough named tee-hee the Honda Rune arf, arf arfas Best hwaaahaaa Cruiser! Never can you be taken seriously in this area again!
John Brubaker St. Louis, Missouri
Get the Ten Best categories straight! Best Touring Bike should be renamed “Best Big, Heavy Bike That’s Fun to Ride Even If It Can't Hold Your Luggage.”
Every day, I take my old Honda GL 11 OOi to work with my laptop briefcase in the left bag, my gym bag with size-12 sneakers in the right and my lunch in the top case. Just try to get an average-size laptop in the saddlebag of your Ten Best-winning Honda GL1800 (or K1200LT BMW). Not going to happen.
Best Cruiser should be renamed “Best Tribute to Harley-Davidson Styling.” Yamaha will be very pleased when I, and countless others, think the Star Roadliner is a beautiful Harley. Not having a big Yamaha sticker across the gas tank only helps.
Looking forward to reading how many hair dryers and laptops you can carry in your next touring-bike review.
Doron Avizov Chandler, Arizona
Beemer us up
No, no, no, this cannot happen again! BMW cannot build the F800 (“German Renaissance,” July) and not bring it to the States. After years of lusting for a Transalp that Honda refuses to sell me, after watching one fabulous bike after another be deemed unfit for stateside consumption, I must give the F800ST a home in my garage. Good lord, gentleman, I’ll buy two if it helps to make the numbers work for you. Paul Cooper
University Park, Maryland
Relax, Paul, BMW's new inclined-Twin will be here, probably in early 2007.
Guzzi-a-go-go
Nice job on the Moto Guzzi coverage in the July issue, and thanks for not bringing up the old tractor heritage reference yet again. But answer me this: How does m .J^âdÊÊU the new 850 ÆÊgJk JÉÈméËÈffî Griso have 6 more horsepower than the 1100 Breva?
Brad Kopp Minneapolis,
Minnesota
Something got
lost in translation? Actually, the
850’s rating was Guzzi s claimed horsepower, taken at the crank. The Breva 1100’s number seen in our data panel was actual horsepower at the rear wheel as measured on our Dvnojet 150.
Your article on the Guzzi Breva 1100 sparked an idea. I was born in 1950 and bought my first motorcycle right out of high school. For years I’ve been struggling with resentment at the industry’s obsession with sportbikes targeted to pimple-faced kids and near total neglect for a generation of street riders who grew up with the likes of the Harley Sportster, Triumph Bonneville and Norton Commando. I’d resigned myself to cruiser motorcycles. Until now. The industry seems to be coming back around-which brings me to my point.
Forget “naked,” “sport-touring,” “cruiser” or “retro.” I want a “Boomer Bike,” or maybe two-motorcycles designed for the tastes of the Baby Boomer generation! This isn’t about some cheaped-down starter bike. What I’ve longed for is a high-finish, well-engineered, upright-sitting sporting motorcycle that will dodge traffic, carry two in comfort, account well for itself on backroads, have real-world power (screw the track) and show for itself parked at Starbucks!
Motorcycles like the Breva, Ducati S2R 1000 and Triumph Speed Triple are starting to get close. I’ve got the money, show me the bike! Hector S. DesMoine Summit, New Jersey
Showtime, Hector! As your own letter suggests, those bikes are already here, including, by the way, the Harley Sportster and Triumph Bonneville. Might we also recommend a Honda 919, Yamaha FZ1, BMW R1200R, Buell Ulysses, etc.
Packmen
Peter Egan’s July Leanings column, “The Fine Art of Riding Your Own Bike,” should be required reading for anyone who has ever thrown a leg over a sporting motorcycle. This short summary defined the risks of “pack mentality” more than any other text I have ever read.
Ron Franks
Fort Worth, Texas
Kudos to Peter Egan for yet another insightful column. I’ve always shied away from riding groups larger than I could count on one hand, and I admit to being particular about who I join for my twowheel jaunts. A couple years ago, 1 had a similar experience: One rider of our group just kept pushing the limit and always had to snag the lead. The rest of us finally gave up the chase and lost sight of him entirely. The joke was on him, however, as he was not familiar with the area and didn’t bother to pay attention when we discussed the intended route. When I ran into him again a few days later, he had the nerve to ask, “Where did you guys go?” Mike Vachon
Rochester, New Hampshire
Drama McQueen
I would like to clarify a point made by David Edwards in his July “Best of the Rest” column regarding Steve McQueen and smoking. Steve McQueen died of Mesothelioma and not of traditional lung cancer as Edwards suggested. Mesothelioma is almost exclusively brought on by exposure to asbestos and not smoking. McQueen was exposed to asbestos in his early life while working odd jobs, when he was in the military and, yes, in connection with his racing.
The insensitive and inaccurate comment made by Edwards added nothing to his article or to the magazine as a whole. The loss of Steve McQueen at such a young age is a tragedy, not a joke. Mike Gerdes Glenview, Illinois)
Buy Yuppie scum
I started reading your magazine after I got my first bike in 1970. While most of your articles have been interesting, even when not relevant to my tastes, I don’t believe I’ve seen a really awful article until the Wilzig tripe, “Garage Majal” in the July issue. This Yuppie schmuck is not a motorcyclist, but a spoiled rich brat whose daddy did all the work and who buys bikes (it could just as easily be horses or cars or paintings) to show off his money and compensate for deep-seated inadequacies.
And the ass-kissing style of the writer was almost enough to cause me to mulch the issue! If you intend to have more articles in this vein, please change your name to People (Who Just Happen to Own Motorcycles) so you can comply with the FTC truth-in-print regulations.
L.J. Kess
Posted on www.cycleworld.com
Mark Jenkinson’s “Garaj Mahal” trumps the current widespread plague of celebrity worship with a decidedly more pathetic (and in this case blatant) rich-guy worship. Wilzig earns a write-up in Cycle World for nothing more than having enough money to buy a few bikes? He’s clearly not being featured for his love of riding as his 2001 Ducati MH900e Hailwood “still has zero miles on it” and his Ducati/MV combo bike, “the best of all things Tamburini,” has been ridden less than the exercise bicycle in Dick Cheney’s basement. This Ducati/MV mishmash also rules out the possibility of Wilzig being featured on his mechanical merit; he outsourced the entire job!
Wilzig deserves a place in these pages as much as Paris Hilton. Cycle World would benefit from focusing less on prosper, more on passion. Martin J. Lander
Cincinnati, Ohio
Er, Marty, do you have Paris’ phone number? Everyone else seems to.
