Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

Air Egan

Reading Peter Egan’s "Flying on the Ground" (Leanings, February), I flashed back to the spring of ’67, when I began my all-expenses-paid trip to sunny Southeast Asia as a 20-year-old helicopter pilot for the U. S. Army. I can agree with Winston Churchill that you

become very aware and exhilarated when bullet holes suddenly appear in your windscreen.

I began riding motorcycles shortly after returning to “The World” in late ’68. Now, at age 60, I ride to work almost every day on 1-30 in rush-hour

traffic. My wife thinks I am crazy but my response is, “It’s as close to flying as I will ever get again.” Dan Millians Fort Worth, Texas

Mr. Egan, nice Cessna 182RG, but if you’re looking for something more exciting, give helicopters a try. Requires more attention, but you get a whole new sense of freedom. David M. Cruise Jr.

High Springs, Florida

As long as nobody ’s shooting at you...

This past October, I, like Peter, began flying. I, too, felt the need to explore the limits of travel in the air, as I have explored the limits of travel in the dirt and on the road with my bikes. There are, however, some differences. As motorcyclists, we flirt with the edge of our skills and place faith in the machines we ride. As pilots, we place all our faith in the machines we fly and temper our impulse to explore the edge of our skills. Gravity reins. Falling is not an option. Keep riding, flying and writing, Pete.

Tom Kendall Plainwell, Michigan

Ural right with me

I just received my copy of Cycle World and immediately turned to the Peter Egan article on Urals (“Booking for Findbergh,” February). What a great read! My wife and I have been riding our Ural for two years now and have over 12,000 trouble-free kilometers on it. As the km pile up, the bike becomes stronger, faster, vibrates less, shifts better and gets better gas mileage. By the way, that transmission is no more clunky than an old Harley or Beemer tranny (damning with faint praise, I know).

I understand that many of the earlier Urals imported into the U.S. had reliability issues, as your article states. However, ours has been bullet-proof, and we would not hesitate to ride it across the country. I have loaded our Ural with gear and taken my wife and son camping on some of the Jeep roads here in Colorado. We have used it to transport building supplies for our house, and for commuting to work in blizzards. Although the owner’s manual suggests that a snow depth of 8 inches is about the maximum it can handle, we discovered during the recent blizzards here that it will just bulldoze its way through deeper snow-after more than a foot things get dicey, though.

The Russians know a thing or two about winter, and our Ural always starts, no matter how cold it gets. Not only are Urals wonderful fun for the whole family, but

they are remarkably utilitarian vehicles. Robert Dickerson

Arvada, Colorado

Another great story by Peter Egan. I know the advantages of touring by sidecar well, having ridden around the world in 2004-05 on my BMW R69S/ Velorex. I’ll be riding my rig once again this summer with other members of the Beijing Dragons Motorcycle Club when we go from Beijing to the Isle of Man for the TT races.

I’d like to invite Peter and any other member of CW to come along. We’ll be riding from Beijing to Ulan-Baatar in Mongolia, then across to Moscow and through Europe.

Jim Bryant Beijing, China

I see the signs. First Egan writes about his new interest in earlier BMWs, then he’s out riding around on a Ural.

Yes, once again, he is trying to get inside my head and inspire me to buy some thing I have no earthly business owning.

But for once, I have the

upper hand. Yes, Peter, that’s right, I finally beat you to it. Earlier this summer I found a 1974 R75/6, much like one I had several years ago. I flew to Indiana and rode it back home to Oregon, experiencing multiple valve adjustments in the finest Motel 6 parking lots (soft valve seats), a charging system failure (dealer fixed) and ultimately the satisfaction of nursing the old bike into my driveway under its own power some 2500 miles later.

I like to think it’s the sort of trip that Peter might relish. Joe Smith

Beaverton, Oregon >

Peter, steady man! I caught that quip in the Ural story about the escalating price of gas compared to caring for a horse. As a lifelong motorcyclist married to a lifelong horse woman, I feel obliged to comment. Your Ural will start to look pretty good when you consider that:

1 ) You don’t have to fill it with fuel twice a day whether you ride it or not.

2) It won’t bend a rear shock just sitting in the barn.

3) You don’t have to reinstall the seat and handlebar every time you want to ride it.

4) Most importantly, it won’t return your fuel in the form of stinky clumps on your garage floor. Chuck Foster

Napa Valley, California

The next time Peter Egan putts by my house on one of his bikes, like the green Ural with the sidecar, I sure hope he stops in for a BS session. My garage out back is fully stocked with beer, cars and bikes. What else does a man need?

Dave Foxworth Mahtomedi, Minnesota

Biking outside the box

Tell Paul Dean to cheer up! It was a brave and noble quest to build an origi-

nal custom and take it out into the real world of pavement, police and lawyers (“Bike in the Box II,” February). Not only did it survive, but the V Bike performed admirably. One of a kind. The essence of exclusivity! How many custom motorcycles are fun to ride-let alone to ride fast or to (gak!) carve a corner?

Mr. Dean’s article is unique and valuable, as it gets past the romance in the custom-bike scene and shows what most

of us could expect in similar situations. I’ll be glad when the masses worshipping custom bikes and builders on TV and in magazines and exhibit halls move on to a Next Big Thing. Hopefully, some of them will buy decent motorcycles and actually start riding. Mel Hall

Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania

I read both installments of “Bike in the Box.” I found the kit-bike concept in-

triguing when I first saw it in a Custom Chrome catalog. It sounds like the kit gives you a great bike with a few minor issues that could be tweaked, like changing the position of the footpegs, controls and levers.

What a shame there’s been a change in policy and no other kit bikes will be sold by Custom Chrome-or that you can’t just go to a dealer and purchase a bike of this kind, a neutral-seated, semi-sport standard made right here in the good old USA.

If you decide to unload the Box Bike, let me know. AI Ritch

Posted on www.cycleworld.com

V-Max news

Early last year, there was a lot of talk about the new concept V-Max, but as quickly as people started to talk about it, they stopped. I was just wondering if there was any more info on this bike? Is Yamaha going to make it? I am a fan of the old look, but 22 years without changes is long enough. Any info would be nice and any pictures of the completed concept bike would be nicer.

Adam Sarty

Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, Canada

There is finally movement on the V-Max front, Adam. Turn to this issue’s Roundup for the latest.

Crate expectations

I had to laugh after reading your evaluation of the JC Whitney Travel Trunk. (CW, February) Three years ago, I bought a (very) used Kawasaki KFR650 for commuting. In need of cargo capacity, I looked into the JC Whitney trunk but, cheapskate that I am, could not bring myself to spend the $60 (plus shipping and handling). My choice was a milk crate (free) tied down with bungee cords. So, the first comment in the “Ups” section of your evaluation was “More stylish than a milk crate.” Maybe it is, but let’s see you carry four gallons of milk home in that travel trunk! Paul Stevens

Greenback, Tennessee

Metrosexual motoring

My wife was really excited to see the “Urban Beat” scooter review in the February issue. She is certain you will soon be discussing fashion and low-carb diets.

John Cleveland Jasper, Alabama

Nope, we have seen the errors of our way. From now on, it’s beater KLR650s and milk crates for us... □