Hot Shots

HOT SHOTS

Supersport-touring

I really enjoy reading Kevin Cameron's writing. He says more in two paragraphs than other magazine guys say in their whole career. After reading KC's "A Very Ambitious Machine" in the August issue, I fell in love with the new BMW S1000RR—though certainly not with that Acid Green Metallic color. I couldn't help wondering how this bike would look with honkin' big-ass aluminum boxes out back, a 9-gallon gas tank, motocross bars, and a couple of HID lights strapped to the mirror posts. Gary Balduzzi Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

Now, I know every time you do a bike comparison, you're probably flooded with c-mails saying ". . .but what about my bike?" Well, at the risk of sound ing just like that, I am curious why you left the Yamaha FiR 1300 out of your BMW K1300GT vs. Kawasaki Concours 14 comparo (CW, August). I know it hasn't had any major revisions since 2006, but it received a few nota ble improvements in `08. I don't think anything is new with the `09 Connie, either. So how come no FiR in a sport tourer shootout? Dave Rittner Centerville, Ohio

Let's see, you test the only two sport tourers that matter (in your opin ion), the BMW Ki 300GT and the Kawasaki Concours 14. You comment that although the price of one is over $22,000, it vibrates at what should be its sweet spot and it's geared too low, even with a six-speed transmission.

You give the nod to the other one, even though it doesn't have ABS as standard equipment, but has all that sexy top-end power, though somewhat lame top-gear acceleration (and gruesome styling in my opinion). Not much of a choice. So, the ABS-standard FJR1300 doesn't even rate? The FJR handles well; it has a muscular, useful engine; it's lighter than either the Concours or the GT; and looks better with or with out bags than either of those. It costs far less than the BMW, but has excellent anti-lock brakes standard. And yet it was just not worth inclusion in the test? Mack Ames Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Careful, Mack, else we `11 include BMW~ new SJ000RR-GSAdventure in our next sport-tourer shootout!Actually, we like the Yamaha FfRjustfine; in fact, it was Best Sport-Tourer in 2004 and won 2005 "Speed Wagon "shootout. But-as stated in the test-we picked last year Best Sport-Tourer the Concours 14, to go up against the 2006-0 7 winner, the BMW G7 made more potent this year with the addition of an extra 136cc. Both bikes had already finished ahead of the FJR in recent Ten Best Bikes bal loting so for us it was a moot point.

Trouble at ohm

I read Kevin Cameron's "Electric Arrival" (Roundup, August), and there is an inherent problem with these "green" motorcycles. A retired engi neer from Chrysler told me the auto industry is looking to get seven years out of a hybrid-car battery pack before it needs replacing. Likely replacement cost is in the range of $5000. A motorcycle pack will be less, but who wants to buy a seven-year-old electric or hybrid motorcycle knowing that the battery is at the end of its life? Resale value will be poor, and not too "green" as, no doubt, there will be a government disposal fee. My nine-year-old Suzuki Intruder 1500 is on its second $100 battery and just had a minor tune-up. It keeps purr ing along at 40 mpg. Gord Wilson Windsor, Ontario, Canada

I've heard no one talk about the extreme toxicity of the batteries power ing electric vehicles. They are some of the most polluting things made by man. With most electricity generated by burning coal and environmentally disastrous batteries eventually littering landfills, nobody wins the zero-emis sions/hybrid game but the smug and self-righteous. Dayn Mansfield Atascadero, California

One can only imagine what a motorcy cle full of very expensive Li-ion power sources will cost to eventually replacehybrid cars contain hundreds of linked batteries/power cells! Even if technol ogy allows battery lifespans to double to, say, 2000 charges, that's less than 5 `/2 years of daily use before replace ment/overhaul/God-knows-what. If > Americans were told they'd have to pull their engines every five years or so and replace them (while no longer under warranty!), there'd be hell to pay. Early-model nickel-metal-hydride hybrids will soon be nearing their usable battery lifespans, and consum ers will probably find that their carbon footprints are larger than imagined when having to retrofit their five-year old vehicles. Our new "green awaken ing" may well come with an awful hangover. Karl Hague Jacksonville, Florida

CHATTER...

I What the Forums at cycleworld. com are saying about the Harley-Davidson XRI 200 I'm elated that Harley-Davidson is building a normal, non-cruiser-style motorcycle, but I just read that the Harley XR1 200 was voted Best Standard by Cycle World. Come on now! Is this bike really better than a Suzuki Bandit 1250S or Yamaha FZ1? I'm guessing the Bandito is more comfortable by a long shot, and the Fizzie will outhandle and run away from the XR. Both of these bikes cost at least $2500 less. Maybe the editors just liked it better. I can think of a number of bikes in that category I would prefer, but I don't have a magazine. I'll take issue with the Suzuki Bandit 1250S and Yamaha FZ1 being called "standards." More like sportbikes that have lost most but not enough of their plastic cladding. Fine bikes, but....

What's up with all the negativity about alternative-energy vehicles? At this point in the development of non-inter nal, combustion-based transportation systems, we all need to realize that the power-production tecimology and vehi cle technology will need some time to come into "perfect" alignment. This is a chicken-and-egg conversation; which comes first, the great electric vehicle or the clean electric power? Likely within the next 25 years, we will wean ourselves from burning things to make power and actually have power sources that don't pollute our atmosphere (I choose to ignore the nuclear waste conversation, as I think we can figure it out). So lighten up a little on the "is it really green" rhetoric, and let's cheer these innovators on as we embark into new modes of transportation without fire. Don't be a hater... Michael Anderson Seattle, Washington

I really enjoyed Kevin Cameron's first article on electric motorcycles~ Kevin has been one of my heroes ever since his Arlington Motor Sports H2 roadra cer had Big K on the defensive in the early 1970s. I built an electric motorcycle that tops out around 100 mph, has a 40-mile range in combined highway and city riding, and rides like a true motorcycle in the sense that it takes some willpower to stay out of trouble with the law! The combination of lithium batteries and a three-phase, ACmotor drive has to be experienced to be believed. And yes, I'm working on a bigger, better, faster one. It's true that electric vehicles are not the complete solution to longterm non-polluting transportation. They are a big enabling step as we add renewable energy generation to the electrical grid. A few of us are exploring this connection by combining a photovoltaic electric generating system at our homes with electric vehicles for our local travel (see photo). A small residential PV system will harvest more than enough power necessary for an electric motor cycle; now, finally, we're generating our own power and using it for trans portation. Self-sufficiency used to be part of the American tradition-it could come back! More immediately, for those of us who don't want to send any more of our dedicated young people to the Middle East, we have plenty of coal, uranium, sun and wind right here in the U.S. to become self-sufficient for local travel. As Kevin notes, the real reason for riding electric motorcycles will be sim ply the fun of it. To smoke down the highway at illegal speeds with just the wind and the urgent RRRR of an elec tric motor in your ears, it's like magic. Jim Corning Flagstaff, Arizona

Thanks for the info on electric bikes, but you left out one very important electric motorcycle on the market, the OSET mini-trials motorcycle (www. osetbikes.com). I have two, a 16.0 and a 12.5, and they have been mar velous for getting my kids on two wheels. More and more trials families are getting children started on these bikes because of the ease of operation, low maintenance and silent running. OSETs are great bikes, and company founder Ian Smith has done the trials community and motorcycling in gener al a great service by providing the per fect starter platform for young riders. Chris Johnson Albuquerque, New Mexico

Bad news/good news for fans of alter nate-fuel scooters. As we went to press came news that Rhode Island-based Vectrix Corporation, makers of the all electric Vx-J, had laid-off all but essen tial personnel and was facing bank ruptcy. Better news is that Piaggio `s hybrid gas/electric MP3 goes on sale in Europe this summer and could be in the US. by 2011.

BUB bikes

Thanks for featuring the Honda Nighthawk 750 in your new "Best Used Bikes" feature (Service, August). I have a 1992 model with 53,000 miles on it, and before that I had a 1985 700S that I put 95K on. Maintenance-free, for sure. Just change oil/filter and ride. These are great bikes! Brian Tin kler Westminster, California

Congratulations for recognizing the 1991-2003 Honda Nighthawk. I own one of these do-it-all-well classics, and 83,000 miles tells me the bike is every thing you said. It goes to the supermar ket, it crosses the state, it gets 40-50 mpg, it could cruise all day at 90-plus mph (not that I would), it fits me like a king on a throne. The only needed repairs have been to the starter, the tach and the valve-cover gasket. All that for $2 grand. What a bike! Jay Schleiter Boca Raton, Florida

Friend of Fah

A quick note to praise the superb reporting and supple writing style of Road Test Editor Don Canet. Been reading and admiring him for years, and he's done it once again in "Supersport Days" (CW, September). As always, his competence as a rider remains unobtrusive; he is not a man who is full of himself He is balanced and willing to change his mind with subsequent experience-no conclusions from first impressions here-and yet he is not afraid to state a strong judgment. There's a sense of humor and a sense of wonder in his writing. Congratulations, Don, and please be encouraged to keep cranking out great laps and great paragraphs. Bob Klitgaard Claremont, California

Bad Gas Blues

Just a line to reaffirm the mess we're in with fiberglass gas tanks here in California ("Folklore vs. Fact," August). I run Underground Colors, a small motorcycle restoration shop in San Francisco. In the last six months or so, we have seen eight incidences of fuel degrading fiberglass, some worse than others-seems to depend on how fast the owner catches it and gets the gas out. Looks like the greenies have mixed a member of the chloride family

with the benzene family. Good work calling it out. Pete Misthos San Francisco, California

Professor Kevin

You obviously don't need me to tell you that Kevin Cameron is an absolute ly indispensable asset to anyone who cares about motorcyles, so let's take that as a given. His ability to "unpeel the onion" of such a wide range of complex technical subjects in such a literate and digestible fashion is an extraordinary gift to us all. It's always a privilege when a really smart guy is willing to share his thoughts. It's even better when you can actually understand what he's saying. Kevin invariably accomplishes this dif ficult feat. Now, as it happens, I'm having just the teensiest spot of difficulty latch ing onto some rather ticklish bits of Superstring Theory-like, what the deuce are all those extra dimensions doing in there? Do you suppose Kevin could take a crack at that? Vince Allen Soquel, California Soon as he reformulates our fuel to be fiberglass-friendly, KC will get right on that...