Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

Shock to the system

Will someone just say it out loud? Okay I will. The electric vehicle thing is a bust on all counts (“Electric Chair,” Up Front, February).

Does anyone ever ask how much pollution is created producing the electricity to run these vehicles? Most electricity in the U.S. comes from coal-burning facilities. What do you do with the super-toxic battery when its life is over? What about the out-of-proportion financial cost and functional limitations? Further, vehicle emissions account for only about 1-2 percent of global pollution. So why waste all the emotional and engineering energy solving a nonproblem while creating greater problems? It makes no sense whatsoever. If pollution is the concern, then reducing emissions of the biggest offender, manufacturing, must be the focus. Electric vehicles don’t make environmental, economical or practical sense and are the emptiest status symbols of our time.

M.D. Mansfield Atascadero, California

Excellent editorial on the Vectrix electric scooter. While we in the motorcycling community have longer to wait before the AÍ Gores arrive with their torches and pitchforks looking for our “monsters,” it is good to see some engineers thinking ahead or at least looking to fill the tiny niche that is the green, electric-minded motorcyclist.

I thought your comparison of the Vectrix and the Kawasaki KLR650 was fair, but one factor you failed to mention in the KLR’s favor was the disposal of the scooter’s nickel-metal hydride battery. A large amount of the KLR is recyclable while spent batteries as used in the current electric and hybrid vehicles are an eco-nightmare.

Peter Spinale St. Paul, Minnesota

Electric vehicles do not necessarily reduce pollution; instead, they merely transfer it. The electricity used for recharging is generated somewhere, most likely by means which do generate a goodly amount of pollution. Just because you can’t see the smokestacks doesn’t mean it isn’t taking place. So much for saving the planet, but it does stroke egos and fill pocketbooks, as you so ably pointed out in the cost comparison between gas and electric.

Dan Buerkle Plevna, Montana

There is no such thing as a ZEV, or zero emission electric vehicle. They are at best remote emission vehicles (REVs), unless your electric power comes entirely from solar or wind. Timm Recknagel Toledo, Ohio

As NiMH and lithium-ion battery prices drop, we’ll see many more conversions to electric that will help us get “off the gas,” so to speak, but still be able to light up the tires. We might have to record motor noise and pipe it through loud speakers, though. Imagine one day having the soulful beat of a Big Twin and the next day changing it to a screaming Four! Alan L Thompson Renton, Washington

The King B

The technical specs are great on the Suzuki B-King (CW, February) but, my goodness, that thing looks like “The Transformers meet Battlestar Galáctica.”

Joe Silverio Colorado Springs, Colorado

I love my V-Max! I put 75,000 miles on the first one (’85) and have 3OK on the current one (’92). I have been waiting for Yamaha to come out with a new V-Max with, say, 200 horsepower and decent handling. But it looks as if Suzuki has stolen the show by fielding the B-King. Now what do I do? I can’t wait much longer. Terry Zaccone Saratoga, California

I give Suzuki a great deal of credit for producing a new-age UJM with the ’Busa engine and not “retuning” it. Finally, a manufacturer wise enough to leave all the power in the motor.

I am also impressed with the handling, braking and superbike performance that Suzuki has built into the King. However, the styling of the thing? Egad! Paul Dean is correct in his Editor’s Note: The only way the B-King would be in my garage is covered, out of sight! Terry Meyer Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

Suzuki should remember that some adults are looking for a bike in the B-King’s class and may have just decided to wait and see what Yamaha does with the VMax. Still, I’ll bet there are a lot of posers out there lined up to buy the fastest standard bike, even if they never approach the B-King’s capabilities.

Jim Gagnier Anaheim, California

Thank Paul Dean for his spot-on “The King B-4 the B-King” sidebar on the Suzuki GS 1100. It brought a tear to my eye, followed by a flood of fond memories. My very first out-of-the-showroom bike was a bright-red ’83 1100ED.

I rode it for about a decade. It was kept mostly stock, save for Dunlop Sport Elites, a Telefix fork brace and Russell stainless lines (there was a lot of plumbing with that anti-dive unit). An incredibly versatile bike, it would run effortlessly up any mountain road with a simple roll on/roll off of the throttle, and cruise all day, two-up, without any rider fatigue. I wish Suzuki had resurrected this standard in a modern package. I would be the first in line. They sure did it right back then. Peter Ford McKinney, Texas

I had an ’83 GSI 100E and really miss that bike-but I am glad to have my license back! Charlie Current Pembroke Pines, Florida

I had an ’83 GS that I used for racing, touring and even did a two-up tour from Chicago to Glacier Park towing a trailer that I built myself! The ergos were perfect for my 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame. I put 26,000 miles on it in three years and never had a problem. The BKing? Sorry, I’m 56 years young now and having owned 45 motorcycles, I don’t need to do the quarter-mile in 9, or even 11, seconds. Besides, it looks weird. Donald Southwell Mt. Prospect, Illinois

A reminder that when the Hayabusa appeared in 1999, its looks were controversial. Now, its shape is synonymous with speed.

Hello, Velo?

I thoroughly enjoyed Mark Hoyer’s “Never Give Up” article about his (mis)adventures on the Velocette Owner’s Club rally in Montana (CW, February). The soft spot for vintage iron shown by Cycle World's editors has been a major issue in my long-term subscription.

I’m slightly concerned, though, that prospective vintage-bike owners will be turned off by Mark’s numerous breakdowns. Please note the many members on the ride with extended carefree miles. I’m sure Mark will be the first to admit that roadside repairs are part of the adventure and that most of us have learned that patience in obtaining a dialog with a particular old bike will eventually turn into a great, long-lasting and relatively trouble-free relationship. Donn Tanner Corvallis, Oregon

Mr. Hoyer’s need for conquest through mechanical misery is to be saluted, though not embraced by most, I suspect. I contrast his Glacier National Park experiences with mine. Same majestic scenes, only it is 2007, not 1954, and the bike is a GL 1800 Gold Wing. The wife and I were able to savor three “laps” through Glacier and all of Montana and all of Colorado, with speed and grace, and the single biggest mechanical “concern” was fuel range. No romantic vision of desperation riding could ever reproduce it, especially riding a rusty screen door of a bike like the Velocette.

I appreciate the groundwork you were laying in an attempt to bleach out the jaded hue in our culture, but most of your readers have grown up with Kevin Cameron and, as I, are just a tad more sophisticated than that.

May I suggest a Cushman next time?

Chuck Furrer Chicago, Illinois

Scoot City

Another great issue, as usual, but still a little too much macho, full-throttle, wheelie-riding, scraping-the-helmet-in-curves sort of attitude. It’s probably a character flaw on my part, but I don’t ride like that. I still use my bike as transportation rather than a fashion statement.

I’m hoping for more articles on scooters. With excellent weather protection, easy handling and high gas mileage, they make perfect commuters. The last bikes built for serious use. You could run a small scooter sidebar here and there without Armageddon striking, then after a token mention of bikes as actual transport, go back to macho he-man roadslayers with engines bigger then my first car. Claude L. Medearis El Cajon, California

Us? Were waiting for the restyled electric-powered B-King...or maybe a reliable Velocette.