Cycle World - Cycle World Staff Blog, 2009

How's this for a fringe benefit? I was at the brand-new, $250-million, 2.9-mile, 14-turn Autodromo Algarve in Portimão, Portugal, to take a guest-ride on the #21 Ducati, Troy Bayliss' World Championship-winning 1098 F08. But I also got seat time aboard World Supersport Champion Andrew Pitt's TenKate Hannspree Honda CBR600RR. Cool deal, eh?

After riding the 200-hp Ducati that "did the double" the day before in the WSB finale, I hopped on the #88 Honda. TenKate sure knows how to build a World Supersport bike, amassing a total of seven championships, including in 2008...not to mention James Toseland's World Superbike title in 2007. After I rode the Bayliss Ducati, the CBR600RR did feel like a "Pitt bike." It was so much fun!

Super-controllable power, light steering effort and great braking capability; every facet of this motorcycle has gone through micro-refinement. It has one of the best characteristics of a great bike: perfect balance. This CBR600RR made the difficult-to-learn circuit, even with its slippery surface and blind entries, the best rollercoaster I've ever ridden on Pirelli Diablo Super Corsa rails.

I think I need one...

—Mark Cernicky

Nicky Hayden

Photos: Ducati welcomes Nicky Hayden >>

California racing enthusiasts recently had a chance to welcome Ducati's newly signed MotoGP rider Nicky Hayden at the freshly redesigned Southern California Ducati dealership in Brea, California. The party was hosted by Ducati North America CEO Michael Lock, who said, "We are thrilled to have an American rider on the Ducati Marlboro MotoGP Team and look forward to giving him a proper U.S. welcome to the Ducati family."

After a press introduction, doors opened and Hayden fans lined up—in light rain—for autographs. Everyone was very appreciative and wished Nicky the best of luck regaining the coveted Grand Prix title. "Nicky is a real hero! I haven't seen a GP rider so close to his fans since Freddie Spencer," said shop owner Tom Hicks, ecstatic when Hayden put in some OT, working longer then obligated.

"I get a lot support from the fans stateside, so it was nice to see so many people, especially Ducati riders, come out. Maybe it was for the open bar, but it was still nice. Now it's time to just go get on it and gas it up, so I make sure we can do it again next year!" said Hayden.

The night's activities included a silent charity auction of a custom artpiece painted by Roland Sands, a Ducati helmet from Troy Lee, Oakley sunglasses, a Casey Stoner-signed replica helmet, a Lavazza espresso machine, plus a limited-edition Hayden Tissot watch. All proceeds went to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

When we left SoCal Ducati, the music was pumping, fueling a high-energy Ducati fashion show. The shindig was quite a success. Go get 'em, Nicky!!!

—Mark Cernicky

Photos: Ducati welcomes Nicky Hayden >>

Passion in life is a great thing. In the vintage-bike world, passion usually runs pretty deep, but one of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable old-bike lovers I know is Paul d'Orleans. He's a globe-trotting, bike-researching, book-reading and vintage-bike trading maniac with an awesome blog page (www.thevintagent.blogspot.com).

Paul (shown on a Velocette KTT) was a multiple offender on our Infineon Raceway (nee Sears Point) Rolling Concours event, always "rolling" out something racy and exotic and, best of all, really old, like his 1928 Sunbeam TT90 racer that won Best Vintage. But he shows up just about anywhere there is motorcycle stuff going on, from auctions to the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours to the annual Velocette Club rally.

The fundamental motto in all his vintage-bike dealings is "Ride them as the maker intended," which is noble, indeed. It is easy to get lost on his blog site, with entries that range from the clothes old-time riders wore to racing histories to tire technology to modern electric "motor" cycles. Totally worth checking out, but don't forget to come back to cycleworld.com!

—Mark Hoyer

Former Cycle magazine Editor/Superbike racer Cook Neilson was the Grand Marshal for this year's Daytona Bike Week. Hearing his name took me back—oh, a couple of years—reminding me of the day I met up with Cook and the NCR Ducati crew at Barber Motorsports Park. Cook and I were each treated to several laps aboard an NCR-crafted replica of Old Blue, the fabled California Hot-Rod Ducati that Neilson rode to a Daytona Superbike win 30 years earlier.

While that story can be found in the June, 2007, issue of Cycle World, here's another from that day, better suited to bloggage.

After returning my rental car and proceeding to the airline ticket counter, I learned that my return flight out Birmingham had been postponed to the following afternoon. A need for a hotel offering free shuttle service put me at the downtown Sheraton located adjacent to the convention center. When I arrived, the place looked like a NASCAR paddock with decaled-up dually trucks, vans and fifth-wheel rigs filling the parking lot.

Further evidence of some form of motorsport activity greeted me inside, as several folks in the lobby were dressed in team shirts covered with sponsor logos. While dining alone at the hotel bar that evening, the fella on the neighboring stool inquired if I was going to the weigh-in? The weigh-what? Turns out, this particular hotel was headquarters not for racers but for a Bass Masters National Championship event. A big deal, it seems, with ESPN coverage and all. Each angler brings his day's catch up to the scales; the heaviest haul wins.

While I passed on attending the weigh-in, I can appreciate the anticipation of fishing fans. Here at Cycle World we have our own weigh-in ritual. It involves rolling the latest two-wheeled lunker onto a length of aluminum channel straddling an Intercomp weigh pad connected to a digital control box. From time to time, I hop on the scales as well, just to be certain that all those press luncheons are not adding up. With a watchful diet and a bit of luck, I hope to reach Cook's slender age of 65 and, like him, still fit into 30-year-old race leathers worn in my youth.

—Don Canet

Hard to believe it was a decade ago when I was in Italy at the famed Monza circuit watching World Superbike newbie Troy Bayliss (shown above on his "retirement ride," the 2008 championship-winning Ducati 1098R Superbike) suddenly run with the big dogs. The Australian had been signed up to ride for the Vance & Hines Ducati team in the AMA series that year, but WSB Ducati factory rider Carl Fogarty had crashed and injured his arm severely earlier in the season, so Bayliss was brought up.

The Australian had a go at Sugo, Japan, but was twice taken out on the start, by the same rider! Bad luck, for sure. In Italy, nobody really expected him to contend, what with being on a differently tuned bike and running on Michelin tires that he'd never really raced with before (V&H was running Dunlop). But there he was, a revelation, consistently amazing on the brakes while running with the leaders in qualifying and both races.

In fact, he even took the lead in race two with serious style, passing four of the best factory riders in the world while braking for one of the chicanes. It was amazing to see, the kind of riding that seems divinely inspired and surely the work of a two-wheeled god who is utterly unapproachable.

Turns out Troy's just a regular guy, one of the most down-to-earth dudes ever to cruise the paddock. I asked what he owed his braking advantage to and he simply said, "I reckon I just squeeze a bit harder, mate!" and sort of downplayed his performance, despite an impressive pair of fourth-place finishes that earned him a full-time spot on the factory squad for 2000.

The rest, as they say, is history. Farewell, Troy, it was a pleasure watching you work. Especially that day at Monza.

—Mark Hoyer

Tissot's latest Nicky Hayden Limited Edition model, based on the quartz-movement steel T-Race, retails for $775. Only 4999 examples will be produced for sale worldwide.

"Two minutes, Matt. Then we need to get going." I nodded, acknowledging the request made by Phil Baker, manager for 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden. I then turned my attention back to Hayden, who was wrapping up a photo shoot in Newport Beach, California, for personal sponsor Tissot, a Swiss watchmaker. A few days later, the factory Ducati rider would join his new teammate, 2007 MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner, and the rest of the MotoGP regulars in Malaysia for the first preseason test of the year.

"Looks like we have time for one more question," I said.

Hayden smiled. "Shoot," he replied.

"I would like short responses—a couple words at most, whatever comes to mind—to a few names. Okay?"

Hayden nodded affirmatively.

Dani Pedrosa? "Do I have to keep it 'PG?' I'm just kidding. When he's on, he's very dangerous."

Jorge Lorenzo? "A contender."

Casey Stoner? "Fast."

Sete Gibernau? "I was going to say 'old.' Ask me after that question after the first race."

Kenny Roberts Jr.? "He's good. Underestimated."

Valentino Rossi? "The guy to beat."

Thanks, Nicky. "No problem."

For the complete interview with Nicky Hayden, "Destination Ducati," pick up the May, 2009, issue of Cycle World magazine, on newsstands April 7.

—Matthew Miles

I don't count myself as an expert but I have learned a few things by attending car/bike auctions of the past few years. The first is to know your limits, then stick to them.

At the Steve McQueen auction in 2006, prices were crazy but I was able to walk away with the least expensive thing (of any real value), a 1920s wooden curio case in which the actor kept his toy motorcycles. Cost $600, a bit pricey for an otherwise inconsequential piece of furniture, but downright cheap compared to the fool who ponied up $60,000 for a pair of sunglasses allegedly worn in The Thomas Crown Affair.

Another trick: Always look for the item that is out of place. At the Bonhams auction held in conjunction with the Legend of the Motorcycle Concours last year, I spied a modern Spondon aluminum frame amongst the vintage lots. Closer inspection showed it to be in pristine shape, never used, tailored for a mid-1990s Triumph Triple. Included were Marvic wheels, a WP fork, Works Performance shock, black-anodized rearsets, Brembo rear caliper, and Spondon aluminum tank, clip-ons and tubular single-sided swingarm.

In essence, a streetfighter chassis kit just waiting for a motor, tailsection, twin headlights and front brakes. It's so light, it practically needs a tether to keep it from floating away. The British company was one of the major players in the 'fighter movement, though lately things have been tough and apparently Spondon is now owned by the same fireworks magnate who purchased the rights to Dreer Norton.

Anyway, only myself and one other person even bid on the chassis, and he dropped out pretty quickly. I won the lot for $1600 plus fees. For that kind of money I may just hang it on my office wall and admire the scrumptious welds!

Turns out the frame was owned by Mike Corbin, of seat fame, who was cleaning out his impressive collection of motorcycles and memorabilia. I told him I was the new owner of the Spondon. "Good for you," he said. "Do you know I paid $9000 for that, dealer cost, back in the '90s."

Complete the bike, Mike offered, and he'd treat it to one of his custom seats. Such a deal!

—David Edwards

Video: Jesse James is a Dead Man — Super Tease >>

Video: Jesse James is a Dead Man — Exclusive Interview >>

I have to check the laws in regard to aiding and abetting. See, I've helped procure machines for a new Spike TV show, "Jesse James is a Dead Man," and if James does succeed in offing himself—seems likely given the video clips—I want to have my legal ducks in a row. I'm not going down like Dr. Jack Kevorkian here.

The phone conversations with Jesse go something like this: "Hey, man, I'm going to the Arctic Circle. Who do I call about getting a BMW R1200GS Adventure—and what do you know about spiked tires?" Or, "Do you have a contact at KTM; I'm entering the U.S. Hare Scrambles Championships at Laughlin."

The show puts James, 39, in a variety of life-snuffing situations—45-below bike rides, fully engulfed fire walks, figure-8 races, minefield slaloms, pickup truck flip-overs, 200-mph nitro Harley runs, etc. Ten 1-hour episodes are planned...if he makes it that long. "I checked 'Organ Donor' on my driver's license," Jesse says, "but I don't think there's gonna be anything left."

"Jesse James is a Dead Man" will air Sundays at 10 p.m. EST starting May 31. I'm laying low after that. If anything bad happens, talk to my lawyer.

—David Edwards

Jesse James is a Dead Man: Super Tease

Jesse James is a Dead Man: Exclusive Interview

Thankfully, the lump discovered in one of Joan Mernick's breasts turned out not to be cancer. But that scare 18 months ago put into motion a series of events that led to the blatantly pink Buell Blast you see here.

First, Joan got her motorcycle license, then husband John surprised her with a very used 2002 Buell—"Beaten, battered and abused," says Joan, "but I thought, 'Let's see what we can do with her.'"

Like almost every other family in America, she and John have lost friends and loved ones to breast cancer, so the direction for the Blast's re-do soon took shape. "I decided I wanted to do a breast cancer awareness theme, especially with more and more women riding every year," says Joan. "I know there's not a lot you can do with a Blast, but I tried to make her as sexy as I could."

With help from friend Eric Schroeder, owner of Tribal Iron Choppers in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, the Mernicks began work. Wheels, hand levers and foot controls were powdercoated a shade of pink that would do a Pepto-Bismol bottle proud, matching the paint on the gas tank and fenders. Airbrushed ribbons highlight the paintwork: Three on the tank read "Faith," "Love" and "Fight." On the tailsection there's "Imagine Life Without Breast Cancer" and the front fender's ribbon simply reads "Courage."

"Words of inspiration for all women," says Joan. The bike's vanity license plate is ONEN8 because one in eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer. "I have several runs planned for the bike this year, and if all goes well I should put about 3200 miles on her and hope to do more next year," she adds.

"The bike has received a lot of attention in the few short weeks it's been on the road," Joan says. "If one woman sees this bike and thinks to get checked, maybe it will save her life, and that's the best reward I can hope for. This bike is dedicated to all those who have lost the fight, and to all those who will not quit the fight. I named the bike 'The Awareness' and I hope it does just that, makes everyone aware."

Amen to that, Joan.

—David Edwards

For more information about breast cancer, visit www.komen.org.

Video: Helix Streamlining, 1 Year Progress Update >>

Our good friend Craig Vetter is at an impasse on his Freedom Machine project. What's a Freedom Machine, you ask? Well, it has to do with weaning ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, among other things, but, well, here's Craig...

"You are looking at a year of my work and it still isn't finished. The goal is ultimate fuel economy and rider comfort. I am trying for 100 mpg at 70 mph into a 20-mph headwind with four bags of groceries. Is it possible? I don't know yet. So far, I can get 64 mpg in these admittedly very tough conditions. Oh yes...in a garage full of vehicles, I want this to be so convenient, so easy to ride, so much fun and so comfortable that it is my first choice."

As it stands, with Honda Helix 250 scooter underpinnings, plastic school-notebook body cladding, $78 eBay Dodge Caravan headlights and Durante-esque nose cone, this is about as far as Vetter can go with the current iteration. View his 27 (and counting) website chapters on the build to follow the yellow streamliner's progress. Problem is, despite all the work, 100 mpg is still a ways off; heck, a stock Helix beater in the same conditions is returning 52 mpg, just 12 mpg less. What Craig wants now in a new base vehicle, one with bigger wheels and a standard (non-CVT) transmission so final-drive gearing can be altered. A motorcycle, in other words.

"I am at the end of road with my Helix. It is time to begin again. Do you have any productive suggestions?" he wrote me in a recent e-mail.

Ignoring the implication than any of my advice might be counter-productive, I suggested the 2009 Honda CRF230M, street-motard version of the 230 dual-purpose bike that in stock trim returned 93 mpg in our "Frugal Fuelers" article, albeit without four bags of suds-n-spuds in tow.

Whatever model he chooses next, I'm betting that the man who gave us modern touring bikes with his Windjammer line of fairings will wrap the thing in slippery bodywork that allows it to meet his lofty 100-mpg/70-mph goal.

"This would surely make it the Last Vetter Fairing," he says. "What else would there be to do?"

—David Edwards

Helix Streamlining, 1 Year Progress Update

Photos: Cobra Breathe Easy Road Star 1700 >>

No good deed goes unrewarded, they say, and my ride home a couple of Sundays ago was all the proof I need.

Earlier in the day, I'd ridden my Yamaha Warrior out to Temecula, California, to take part in the Breathe Easy Ride put on by former motocross great Broc Glover, whose 7-year-old son Dayne suffers from cystic fibrosis. I was in the company of several Yamaha employees putting their products to good use, including big-wig Bob Starr, plus Ken Boyko of Cobra USA fame and son Dustin, and CW Publisher Larry Little with wife Stephanie aboard our BMW K1300GT testbike.

The trip to the staring point in Temecula's Old Town was worth it just for the star-gazing. Glover's old buddies from the MX circuit were out in force, including Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Johnson, Mike Bell, Danny LaPorte, Ricky Johnson, David Bailey, Jeff Ward, Micky Dymond and Ron Lechien. Roadracing was well represented by Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Steve Rapp and (a mending) Neil Hodgson. Even likeable NASCAR mophead Boris Said was sitting at the table of legends signing autographs. Larry "Supermouth" Huffman handled the MC duties and presided over a charity auction of signed riding gear and memorabilia.

In all, some $77,000 was raised for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. My $50 standard-level entry fee put me on one of three self-guided rides—cruiser, sportbike or dual-sport. We took several hours to complete the 80-mile cruiser loop, stopping for a great lunch at the newly renovated Lake Henshaw Cafe.

When it was time to split for home, the rest of the group headed toward the coast and eventually the 5 Freeway. Not interested in that final drone, I broke off and headed for twisty Ortega Highway. I hadn't ridden the full length of Ortega in a couple of years due to a $40 million improvement project that had sections of the road closed down, causing lengthy delays. The road, widened and resurfaced, is now open, and I just have to say thank you, CalTrans! This was a very sympathetic renovation—all the curves remain, but sightlines around corners have been increased by moving the mountainside back in places and building overhangs in others.

By happy circumstance, I had the road almost to myself. The three cars I came upon pulled over at their first opportunity, using the new, easy-access turnouts. A glorious ride in the setting sun. Next year, Broc, I'm donating $100!

—David Edwards

Photos: Cobra Breathe Easy Road Star 1700 >>

Missed the Breathe Easy Ride? You can still donate to the cause and give yourself a chance at owning the cool custom Star cruiser seen in the lead photo. Click here for more info on the bike and how to win it.

I guess it had to happen. Most of the moto "relationships" that take place here at CW are wonderful yet fleeting. Bikes come in, we get to hop on, ride for 1000 miles, maybe, then whatever it is goes away. It's an awesome opportunity and the variety is highly educational and a fantastic reference, but the tastes are so often extremely short. So when we get the opportunity for a fun and exotic long-termer like our 2007 Ducati 1098, we just don't want to give it up. We've customized and accessorized, become familiar on long rides and at trackdays to the point that it feels like one of the family. But the 10,000 miles are up and Ducati keeps calling to get its bike back. We've tried some minor prevarication: "Oh, it's not quite to 10K, so if we could just keep it another month..." Or, "Well, we don't have current studio photography and our shooters are pretty busy right now. Two weeks okay?" But they are getting pretty serious and even gave us a hard deadline. We've switched to "Out riding" on our voice mail; hey, as long as we're moving, they may never catch us! Unless they send somebody on an 1198...

—Mark Hoyer

Arai's Dual-Pane extreme conditions faceshield

Rain sets off alarm bells among street- and track-day riders, with reduced vision often topping the list of concerns. No surprise, really. After all, it's easy to make a mistake when you can't see where you're going. Case in point: This past May, I participated in a two-day Schwantz School (www.schwantzschool.com) at picturesque Barber Motorsports Park near Birmingham, Alabama. The weather was horrible during most of the weekend leading up to the Monday/Tuesday school, with thunderstorms threatening to cause postponement or even cancellation of BMP's annual Honda Superbike Classic. Incredibly, AMA Pro Racing somehow managed to get in all three of Sunday's scheduled races without any riders or spectators getting struck by lightning or swept away by a tornado.

Rain continued to fall throughout the night, stretching into Monday. When I arrived at the media center, which had been converted that morning into a classroom for the school, the first thing I did was remove the half-tint faceshield from my Arai Corsair-V and install a new Dual-Pane shield that I had brought along in the event of rain. Because the new-for-2009 Corsair-V has a 10mm-wider eyeport than do Arai's Profile, Quantum-2 or Vector full-face helmets, shields are model-specific. The Dual-Pane version is available in clear or half-tint, but not full-smoke. It does not have eyebrow vents.

Before taking to the track, I sought the advice of Arai's Bruce Porter, a 25-year employee of the Japanese helmet-maker (www.araiamericas.com). Developed in Formula One and MotoGP, this particular shield requires special care, he told me. The inner pane does not have an anti-scratch coating and is therefore more prone to damage than other Arai shields. As such, it can't be washed under a faucet with the same soap-and-rinse ease. "Use a clean, damp soft cloth to clean the shield," Porter said. "Don't submerge it. No aerosols or harsh cleaners, either."

Sounds fragile, I know, but in the streaming rain, the shield worked perfectly. Not only was fogging a non-issue, thanks to the insulating properties of the Dual-Pane concept and the rubber top-of-shield gasket, wind noise was dramatically reduced, enhancing my ability to concentrate. Also, unlike with some shield inserts, I didn't encounter any reflections when the sun finally poked through the clouds late in the afternoon.

Now the bad news: These tear-off-ready shields retail for $120 each. That's a lot of money, even in a bull economy. In fact, some people aren't willing to pay that much for a complete helmet! Based on my experience, though, I'd argue this shield is worth every penny. After all, what price can you put on clear vision?

—Matthew Miles

Product: Arai Corsair V Helmet >>

There are not many twin-cylinder motorcycles whose entire assembled crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons could fit in the palm of your hand. But as you can see in this photo, the crank assembly from the 1965 Honda RC115 roadracer is an easy fit—with room to spare.

The air-cooled, four-stroke, dohc, eight-valve engine had a 34mm bore and a 27.4mm stroke for a total of 49.8cc, and it produced 15 horsepower at 20,000 rpm, with a redline allegedly up near 22,500 rpm. Power was delivered via a nine-speed gearbox, and the bike, without rider, weighed just a tick more than 110 pounds.

In the very capable hands of Irishman Ralph Bryans, the RC115 won the 50cc world championship in 1965. Despite the Honda team choosing not to compete in the opening round at Daytona, Bryans was victorious in three of the season's seven remaining events and won the title by four points over Swiss rider and Honda teammate Luigi Taveri.

This photo was sent to me by an old friend, Alan Jackson (no, not the country singer), who preceded me more than 40 years ago as national service manager for Yankee Motor Company in Schenectady, New York. Alan now lives in his home state of Texas, where he still plays with motorcycles on a daily basis.

—Paul Dean

Photos: Blake Conner Guest Speaks >>

I remember when I was in high school I hadn't a clue what I was going to do with my life until I was forced to make some sort of decision in my senior year. So I can fully appreciate what kids are going through at that age. But one thing that no one ever told me was how many "cool" jobs were out there in the real world.

When in high school, I worked as a dishwasher, prep cook, short-order cook and roofer, and even for Jefferson County, Colorado's trail-maintenance division. You know what? Not one of those jobs could ever be called "cool."

It wasn't until I moved to California that my streak of desirable jobs ensued. My first was working at Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard, which was about as fun as retail could get, with a never-ending stream of celebs. Then I worked as a graphic artist (what I went to college for), studio photographer, freelanced as a racing photographer (shooting both motorcycles and cars), and then was an art director at American Roadracing Magazine, an editor at Cycle News and finally Associate Editor here at CW. I would have to say that I've enjoyed every one of those career choices.

So when my neighbor Tim Chambers invited me to be a guest speaker at his Laguna Hills High School Auto Technology class, I knew what my agenda would be. I just wanted his students to realize that there are a lot of jobs in the world that their auto shop curriculum could contribute to—and that didn't involve changing oil at a lube shop.

I explained what I did for a living, talking up all the amazing places I've traveled, racetracks I've tested at and motorcycles I've ridden. I definitely had their attention. I explained that you can't write about motorcycles, cars, boats, planes or trains and not have a grasp on how engines work. At the end of each class I took the students out to the shop and fired up the Bimota DB7 that we are testing for an upcoming issue. To say that the $40,000 exotic bike got their attention would be an understatement. I have a feeling there may be a run on college journalism majors coming out of Laguna Hills...

—Blake Conner

Photos: Blake Conner Guest Speaks >>

We knew it had to happen. Jay Gleason, lean, mean, holeshot machine that he is, just got the new Star VMax into the 9s.

The man who quite literally launched the original 1985 VMax, Jay guest road-tested the new bike for us in the December '08 issue, but didn't get any track time before he had to jet back to Florida. With regular CW tester Don Canet in the saddle, the 2009 Max went 10.26 seconds @ 135.80 mph in the quarter-mile.

Wanting more, we contacted Holeshot Performance drag maven Dale Walker, who showed up at Sacramento Raceway on Grudge Night, meaning the track was ready for action, prepped with sticky VHT compound. But the 9s remained elusive; Dale got down to a 10.13 @ 138 but that was all Mr. Max had that day.

Not enough for Tim Nash, a.k.a. www.vmaxguru.com. He treated his new Max to a pipe, an ignition module, a modded airbox and a drag slick, all nicely detailed on the website. The result was 190 hp at the rear wheel — up from 174 stock — and, with Gleason recruited to work the controls, a 9.513-second pass at 143.70 mph.

Way to go, Jay! Twenty-five years later, the fastest man on the old VMax is now the fastest man on the new one.

—David Edwards

Great all-around bike, the Triumph Speed Triple. I was reminded of this fact when the news broke about the 15th Anniversary model. I wondered how it's possible that it's been that long since the model first hit the road in 1994.

The new bike also brought back the memory of the Marseilles, France, press introduction for the 2005 model. It was a pretty big re-do for the naked Trip' that year, and they wanted us to have some fun on the great roads on the south of France, so away I jetted to hook up with the rest of the oil-stained wretches of the motor press in that early March four years ago.

The PR lady had warned us it was going to be a bit chilly, so I packed a lined Alpinestars jacket and a Kanetsu electric vest from Aerostich. But who knew I should have brought a snowboard, too...

As you can see from the self-portrait I took, this wasn't just a light dusting, but a genuine snowy day in the coastal mountain range. It wasn't exactly Donner Party material, because after a couple of crashes we didn't need to eat anybody's liver to survive, we just got in the rental cars and headed back to the hotel near the sea, where it also was snowing but the bar was warm. We were lucky enough to get a Speed Triple back in the States to ride and the launch turned out not to be a waste, either. I got a great Christmas card photo that year...

—Mark Hoyer

Our favorite long-hauler stopped by the CW offices last week bearing gifts. Actually, John van Dam, who shepherds collectible cars and bikes around the country in his 18-wheeler, only had one gift for me—but to get to it, he opened his trailer to reveal a Jag XK-E, a Ferrari and a baby-blue Muntz Jet, the oddball 1950s American sporty car sold by Earl "Madman" Muntz, which had to be started up and moved out of the truck before my cargo could be accessed. It was like a mini car show right there in our parking lot!

Van Dam Trucking is my go-to bike-shipping outfit. Not only is John a motorcycle and car nut, but his rig is always fun to look at. Back when Kenny Dreer was trying to resurrect Norton, van Dam was his official trucker and so the trailer was wrapped with big Commando 961 graphics.

When Norton America ceased operations in 2006 and was sold back to the Brits last year, off came the signage. But van Dam like the attention his rolling billboard generated, so keeping with the Norton theme he contacted Colorado Norton Works about the opportunity. Vanson Leathers also liked the idea, so now John's rig rolls along America's highways with a new Norton Girl, in Vanson jacket, astride one of CNW's café Commandos.

Oh, yeah, the reason for John's stop in Newport Beach? Well, when a CW reader saw my June "Bargain Boutique" column and found out I needed a Triumph Triple for my auction-bought Spondon streetfighter frame, he kindly offered up a 1996 Trophy 900 that had been cannibalized to make his similarly styled Trophy 1200 whole.

A very nice offer (blog to follow) made that much nicer when I enquired about the price. Yours for the asking, he said, you'll just need to have it shipped from Georgia. Which, of course, is where John van Dam comes in.

—David Edwards

Iconic bikes of our youth carve a special spot in the heart that sticks for life. I know I regret having not hung onto a bike or two that I once owned and enjoyed many miles aboard. Whenever we run a story on one of these machines that tickled my fancy years ago, it only fuels the fire and desire to find a salvageable example stowed away in a woodshed somewhere. To be honest, though, I don't have it in me to resurrect a rusted-out basketcase, although I certainly admire anyone who has. The following is a letter from a reader prompted by a pair of feature stories in the May, 2009, issue celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Kawasaki Ninja 900.

Thanks to John Burns and John Ulrich for the great memories of the 1984 Ninja 900. I still remember vividly the first time I hit the powerband on my original. It's too bad more of these haven't been saved. Fortunately, I found a 1984 model a few years ago in pretty good shape and just finished the restoration. Here are a few pictures. The paint job looks a little different. I took it from the final 2003 model that was only sold in Japan. Many riders don't know, but this was one of the best-selling bikes of all time with a production run from 1984 through 2003. Although it only sold in North America from 1984–1986, it sold around the world long after that.

Happy Birthday Mr. Ninja,
Jeff Kane
Edmonds, WA

That's a very sweet ride you have there, Jeff, and it appears to be a first-rate restoration. I vividly remember lusting over the original Ninja the year it was introduced, but short of funds, I purchased a much less expensive new-for-'84 model, the Honda 500 Interceptor. Just as well, I suppose, as a few months into ownership, I was bitten by the club roadracing bug. No regrets, mind you, but I promptly chucked my life-savings in the apex of Turn 9 at Willow Springs Raceway. While I escaped with just a broken bank account, my shiny little 500 suffered severe damage while performing a horrific cartwheel.

Seems hard to fathom, considering the vast variety of motorcycles I've ridden in my 19-year stint here at Cycle World, but the 900 Ninja remains a bike I've never personally experienced. Actually I'm good with that, as to me the original Ninja's timeless styling still evokes those emotions of preconceived performance expectation I felt while seated on one in a dealership a quarter-century ago.

—Don Canet

Smokin' deal? Jeff�s minimalist Bonneville custom started as a fire-sale special�quite literally!

Was cleaning up my old e-mail files the other day and came across this little beauty. It's a 1976 Triumph rebuilt on a budget by CW reader Jeff Burnett in Iowa.

"I love your magazine; I've read it cover-to-cover for years," Jeff's message began, in the time-honored, butter-up-the-editor salutation. "I enjoy all the articles but am especially fond of 'American Flyers,' readers' rides and the occasional budget-bike feature you've done. Keep up the great work!"

Now, I'm a big fan of mid-Seventies oil-in-frame Triumphs, evidenced by my Bonneville T140 "Tribute Triumph," and I love anything built on a budget, having just buttoned up our "Web Surfer Special" project — print and online stories out soon.

"The attached photos are before and after pictures of my '76 Triumph Bonneville street custom," Jeff continued. "I bought the bike as a fire-and-smoke damaged basketcase. I stripped the bike to the frame and rebuilt it as a mild street custom. I've got just under $4000 in the project, including all of the horse-trading I did on eBay."

Nice one, Jeff. Keep up the great work your ownself!

—David Edwards

Mass communicating was the name of the game this past Ride to Work Day. L.A. newswoman Gayle Anderson (far left) even did a few laps around the MIC on a Hayabusa!

So when this year's annual Ride to Work Day rolled around on the third Monday of June, how stoked where we that the Motorcycle Industry Council's Discover Today's Motorcycling program invited us to ride to their Irvine, California, HQ for a big pancake breakfast and good old-fashion mainstream media public relations?

Very stoked. Though it meant taking to the streets a bit earlier than normal to make the local morning TV news segments, it was well worth the effort. Not only to spread the good word of motorcycling, but also as a great excuse to catch-up with industry colleagues from all corners of the motorcycle business. The turnout was great.

From Cycle World, Publisher Larry Little (who also serves as the Chairman of the Board for the MIC) was on hand to talk about the dramatic increase in motorcycle ownership and use (+19% over the past six years nationwide), as well as the rise of motorcycles being used for general transportation. Plus a little promoting of Cycle World's Two-Wheel Inspired Secondary Transportation (TWIST) Initiative, a new addition to cycleworld.com designed for those interested in motorcycles as a clean, green and fun transportation alternative.

Larry (KTM Adventure 990R) did the heavy lifting, but Editor-in-Chief David Edwards (Yamaha Warrior) and I (BMW K1300GT) were also on hand to provide background ambiance and sample the fine culinary offerings. In all, a great day for motorcycling! Hope you make a motorcycle part of your commute more then once a year — we do.

—Corey Eastman

The first Gixxer: Even a fuzzy photo can keep old memories sharp.

I find it interesting to learn what compels a reader to submit a letter to the editor. We get the predictable assortment of Egan and Cameron fan mail, of course, but a personal favorite is the polarized feedback generated by the edgy wit of a John Burns piece. How anyone could seriously get angry at a guy that pokes fun at himself as cleverly as JB does escapes me.

Best, however, is when a reader's letter stirs my own faded motorcycling memories. Although I didn't author the feature story referenced by this particular reader, having purchased a showroom-fresh Suzuki GSX-R750 back in 1986, I can relate to Fast Capt 0686, who submitted his letter via cycleworld.com. The only street miles my blue/white 750 saw was an initial break-in before I set off chasing Suzuki GSX-R Cup glory in the inaugural season of the now-legendary roadrace series. Fast Capt's recap of mods got me thinking of what my own bike's race prep had consisted of. The strict production-based rules of the early Cup series allowed very few mods. I equipped my bike with a Fox Twin Clicker shock, K&N air filter, home-brew carb jetting, Ferodo brake pads and spent beaucoup bucks on Michelin Hi Sport bias-ply race rubber. If memory serves there may have also been a fork spring swap along the way, although I certainly recall a fair share of crash repair during my successful season-long qualifying bid for the Cup Final at Road Atlanta. Scrapes, bruises and busted bank account, such privateer memories are priceless.

Oh, almost forgot...here's the Capt's letter of recollection referral:

"Was looking through the June issue and came across the article, 'A GSX-R Timeline: Checkered Past.' I was lucky enough to be the owner of the '86 GSX-R750, and 20 years later an '06 Gixxer 750. The '86 was indeed the first race-replica for the street; when the blinkers and mirrors came off, it was race-ready. If the bike went down or there was a mechanical problem—and back then, there was no eBay or www.gixxer.com—getting replacement parts from the dealer for such an exotic roadracer was very costly and the wait was months, not days, in south Texas.

"We parted ways and I did not ride for 20 years. Then into my life stepped the 2006 GSX-R750. Stunning! First time I whacked the throttle, I realized what 20 years of development had produced; the first trip down a twisty road produced a smile that was visible thru my iridium faceshield. As I type this, the bike is 30 months old and shows 39,850 miles on the odo. We ride. It also made the pilgrimage to Indy for MotoGP last year. Priceless.

"Had to dig up an old pic to share. Upgrades to the '86: drilled stock exhaust, (only Yosh offered a pipe, for a pretty penny, and that was it) carbs jetted, race grips. There was not much aftermarket available at first. Upgrades to the '06: Hot Bodies megaphone, KR fuel management, K&N filter, NGK sparkplugs, Vortex frame and axle sliders, KR bar-end sliders, Hot Bodies flush blinkers, Harris grips, Harris tank protector/gas cap protector, Home Depot fender eliminator (small L brackets), ceramic brake pads fore and aft, EK #525 "Old Yeller" chain, Driven sprockets. It gets pampered and it pampers back. Thanks for takin' me back."

Right back at ya, Capt.

—Don Canet

Von Dutch on one of his Scotts. The legendary pinstriper liked the Brit two-strokes.

Ho-ho, here we go again! Fresh from last month's Quail Resort auction that saw a beat-up ex-Steve McQueen Triumph desert racer sell for $85K, we now have another McQueen machine, a 1929 Scott Super Squirrel, about to go under the gavel. The auction, primarily for watches, will take place at Antiquorum's U.S. headquarters in New York City on June 11. Pre-sale estimate for the 596cc British two-stroke is $80,000–$120,000.

Why so high? Well, the bike is in great running shape, and was owned by another famous person before it became McQueen's. From the Antiquorum auction catalog: "It was restored, painted and pinstriped in the 1970s by the legendary Kenny 'Von Dutch' Howard. The bike features the infamous Von Dutch 'flying eyeball' logo affixed in cloisonné to the toolbox, while the Scott logos are all hand-painted and finished in gold leaf. A unique feature of the bike is that Von Dutch mistakenly lettered the date on the front numberplate 1926 instead of the correct 1929."

Following his 1980 death, McQueen willed the Scott back to his friend Von Dutch. It's traded hands several times since, most recently at a 2007 Los Angeles auction where it was hammered down at $44,460, so somebody is looking to turn a nice little profit here.

If the Scott is a budget buster, two of McQueen's wristwatches, each valued at $10,000–$20,000, are also on the block. Step up, big spender!

—David Edwards

If Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, think how p.o.'d a female Ducati rider can be, especially when we've just dissed her pride-and-joy in the current issue. In our 2x2 comparo pitting the downsized Ducati 848 V-Twin against Triumph's 675 Daytona inline-Triple, we picked the Britbike as winner.

Not that we didn't point out the Duc's many good points, but in an e-mail, 848 owner Crystal let is have it (though with a smiley face, so we know she still loves us): "How much did Triumph pay you guys for that write-up? The dry weight on the 848 at '414 pounds' is about 45 pounds overweight. It also comes in two colors, not the 'one snowball paint scheme' mentioned as a Down. I love my little pearlescent Snowball 848 just fine. It's a girl color, anyways!"

Okay, Crystal, we blew it on the color. The 848 also comes in traditional red—as the Ducati PR guy also let us know shortly after the issue hit mailboxes. Sorry 'bout that. But we stand by our conclusion, and by our weight figure. Ducati's claim of 370 pounds excludes not only petrol but also the battery, lubricants and cooling liquid. Cycle World measures dry weight (on our certified scales) with an empty gas tank but all other fluids in place, plus the battery and any tools, hence the discrepancy.

Hope that clears things up...and brings some measure of forgiveness.

—David Edwards

The Old Huckster himself, Floyd Clymer, first of the (many) Indian revivalists.

Funny how when you own an odd-duck bike like my 1970 Clymer Indian Enfield 750, you become an expert in the marque—if only because not too many other people care!

I've blogged about the Italian/English/American concoctions before, when reader Don Biltz sent in photos of his Clymer Velocette Indian. I opined that, "Maybe 50 of the Enfield versions were produced, while Indian Velos number perhaps 200. Rarest of the latter has to be Don Biltz's. Don sent an e-mail and snapshots of the bike: 'I purchased what I believe is the only Clymer Thruxton prototype. I believe there was also a Venom-powered one'," he wrote.

Now another reader, John McCoy, brings news of that very Venom-motored prototype: "The prototype Clymer Indian Velocette Venom bike ridden by Floyd Clymer in the attached photo passed to Sammy Pierce after the death of Clymer. Piece (a longtime Southern California Indian expert, now dead) sold the bike to the youngest person ever to be employed at the Springfield Indian factory, Tom Rose, who was a friend of our family. The bike eventually was sold to me. I rode it very little and then finally traded it to famous Velo collector Don Holton in Florida in the late 1980s."

The lead photo shows the Indian Velo at a time when McCoy had it up for sale. Gone are the braced MX bars that Clymer favored, replaced by more appropriate clip-ons. A good-looking scooter, no? Probably add one more zero to that $2500 asking price today.

"The bike was not finished as well as production bikes, with one chronometric and one magnetic gauge, seat bracket floating in the horsehair seat, and an odd mix of 6- and 12-volt electrics," continues McCoy. "Later bikes were less colorful than the prototypes."

Maybe someone should start a Clymer Indian registry?

—David Edwards

The first piece of classic two-wheeled British hardware I ever bought was a low-mileage 1974 Norton 850 Commando Roadster. It had plenty wrong with it after its early years of being ridden hard and then put away slimy for more than a decade, but the first time I rattled down the street on it for a test ride near the seller's home, I knew I was hooked.

After learning what makes a Norton tick and fixing just about everything on the bike, I rode that black beauty for several years and thousands of trouble-free miles. Although I had to sell it quite a while back now, I've never been able to get the idea of owning another Commando out of my head. They have just the right combination of classic quirks and character, allied with great power, a nice-shifting gearbox, good handing (as long as the rubber-engine-mount "Isolastics" are in good shape) and day-long, smooth-running comfort. They sound fantastic, too. A most practical classic.

Well, a friend of mine recently lent to me a nice Commando (in red with silver pinstripes; check out a pic on our Classic Forum) that needs a little work, and I have it bad again. But after a conversation with Matt Rambo at Colorado Norton Works, the idea of a custom café version like the one pictured above has been driving me especially nuts! Luckily I am way too broke at the moment to consider a full build like he provides, but maybe an alloy tank might be a good place to start. And maybe a few other bits...

—Mark Hoyer

Keep your fingers clear. Now that's a chopper!

Despite an uncharacteristic cool month of June delaying the onset of summer, the Dog Days (of sorts) were soon upon us, putting heat to our resourcefulness here at CW. We currently have a Big Dog bagger in our possession that is undergoing the full battery of performance tests. When it came time to roll the stretched, slammed and raked cruiser onto our dyno, however, the bike's 73-inch wheelbase proved a wee bit long.

Having recently dealt with a similar issue when dyno testing Honda's new Fury, I applied my MacGyver 101 technique of fully compressing the fork with a ratchet tie-down, thus shortening wheelbase. While that was a move in the right direction, the Dog's 250-series hind paw still wasn't resting fully on the dyno drum. I initiating Plan B and did what many CW readers have done over the years, soliciting input from Senior Editor Paul Dean, who authors our Service section.

Putting our collective noggins together, we came up with a solution. Temporarily removing the sheetmetal shroud covering the dyno room's cooling fan won a few extra inches of clearance so that the dyno's wheel chock could be cranked to its full forward position. While this Big Dog Bulldog model is the longest bike we've ever strapped on the CW dyno, the Wichita, Kansas-based manufacture builds some choppers with nearly 10 additional inches between the axles. Yikes!

—Don Canet

Photos: Dainese Fashion Show >>

Let's face it, you've probably watched or have seen clips of runway fashion shows and wondered, who in the hell wears that crap. Many feature models strutting their stuff in over-the-top outfits that will never see the light of day, thank god! But when my wife Kathleen got wind of the fact that Dainese (the classy and classic Italian motorcycle apparel maker) was having a fashion show at a club in Newport Beach, California, I was committed, interested or not. Call it payback for making her sit through countless hours of MotoGP, World Superbike and Formula One on television.

But suffering wasn't in the cards, as watching a fashion show involving apparel that I'm actually interested in, modeled by easy-on-the-eyes models, all-the-while drinking beer, isn't too bad! Dainese was showing off its latest line of motorcycle apparel including its Tattoo leather racing suit ($3499) which has laser-cut Samurai and Maori patterns stitched on to create a three-dimensional effect like nothing you've see on leathers before. Also shown was the Tattoo Ykz jacket ($849) featuring the same layered construction.

As should be the case at any fashion show, there were plenty of ladies to gawk at, with models showing off the latest in female Dainese garb. The Dominia Professional suit ($1199) is a full-featured leather racing suit for the fairer sex, while the Bonn textile jacket ($279) and Trophy 08 jacket ($899) were also shown. As was lots of skin, which kept even those not so interested in cowhide smiling. For more information on Dainese's complete line of apparel visit, www.daineseusa.com.

—Blake Conner

Photos: Dainese Fashion Show >>

The Iron Mountain at Erzberg. Luckily, the hill we were trying to conquer was much smaller!

It had been two years since I did any real off-road riding. A couple of knee surgeries (and the caution brought about by such) kept me out of the saddle, but on my recent trip to the Erzberg Rodeo in Austria to see one of the world's toughest off-road races, it was time to get dirty again!

KTM hosted an off-road tour of the 1000-year-old iron strip mine in Eisenerz, naturally aboard the Austrian company's own serious dirt machines. Better than providing the bikes, though, was providing former Dakar Rally winner and current KTM factory racer Cyril Despres — fresh of a win at the Sardinia Rally — as a guide and impromptu riding instructor.

On our first gnarly switchback climb through trees and roots — made more complicated by a days of rain — he was the first guy to climb back down the hill to assist in extracting the inevitably crashed riders in our group of about 20, pointing to the good line and shouting technique tips. Then, later, on a large and steep hillclimb, the affable Frenchman helped again with technique tips in getting to the top. "If you lose speed at the bottom of the hill, it is an exponential loss at the top," he said. "One meter less of acceleration at the bottom might be 5 lost near the top, and 5 lost at the bottom would be more like 20 at the top." He also talked about gear selection and body position for the best attack, always with a big smile and genuine desire for the rider's success.

Unfortunately, I never made that particular hill because I was still tentative about my knees and rusty from being tarmac-bound, but I don't think I could have had more fun trying than with Monsieur Despres as a coach, and also as the prime helper in righting my bike mid-slope. Merci! I promise to be a better student next year and thanks for the thumbs-up anyway...

—Mark Hoyer

Jumper! Steve Plater flies at the IoM.

Are you kidding me? A 130.49 mile-an-hour average lap speed around the infamous 37.73-mile Isle of Man TT circuit?! Now that's incredible! In fact, the best ever, as Steve "PlaTTer" topped the IoM record set by teammate John McGuinness just last year.

Besides winning the Senior TT and recording that fastest lap 'round the 200-turn road circuit on his Dunlop-shod HM Plant Honda CBR1000RR, Plater also placed second in Superbike and finished fourth in the Superstock class. For his efforts, he received the inaugural Joey Dunlop Trophy for posting the best overall results at the event—this in just his third year of racing on the unforgiving public-roads course.

And how's this for good news—well, if you have a high-def TV, that is. This summer, HD Theater Channel is broadcasting nine one-hour segments on the 2009 TT races, Monday nights starting July 6. And better news is that HD Theater will be relaunched next year as a motor-themed channel called Velocity. No better excuse to buy that big-screen!

Tentative schedule:
7/06		TT Preview
7/13		Superbike
7/20		Sidecar 1
7/27		Superstock
8/03		600 1
8/10		600 2
8/17		Sidecar 2
8/24		Senior TT
8/31		2009 Highlights

—Mark Cernicky

If one of the goals of an advertising campaign is to be talked about, Buell's latest has to be considered a home run. In announcing the discontinuation of the Buell Blast, the two-page spread shows one of the bikes crushed into a cube. We're told that it now makes, "...a killer ottoman. Or end table. Or art piece."

The ad has generated outrage, like this letter from reader Brian Hass of Northbridge, Massachusetts: "Has Erik Buell gone mad? His new 'ruthless engineering' advertising campaign shows him crushing a Buell Blast into a block of wrangled steel and rubber because it wasn't 'innovative' and didn't represent the type of performance machine that Buell wants to be known for. Don't current Blast owners find this just slightly offensive? So, what constitutes a Buell performance machine? I own an XB9S Lightning, a bike I thoroughly enjoy, and although I'm certain that it could outrun a conventional cruiser, a CBR or Gixxer would leave me in the dust. How long before Erik Buell tosses my Lightning in the crusher? I wonder what the resale value will be?"

The ad has also received the thumbs-up. CW Forum poster Quagmire wrote, "I laughed my fool butt off when I saw that ad. Maybe Buell has been inspired by their recent racetrack performance and are going to be serious about future models competing with the Asian brands."

Fellow poster Buelligan was a little more succinct: "Buell finally found a way to improve the looks..."

So what of Buell's beginner bike, introduced in 2000? Says Paul James, Harley-Davidson PR chief, "A limited number of 2010 model year units will continue to be available through H-D/Buell dealers either as new-vehicle sales from dealer inventory or as unregistered new-unit sales coming off the Rider's Edge (training) Program. These 2010 motorcycles will be branded Blast, with primary Buell badges removed."

It looks like we've seen the last of the Blast.

—David Edwards

The story behind the 2010 Buell Blast Motorcycle

For the record, this makes about the 50th kid-on-potty-reading-magazine shot we've received over the years. We joke that we should run a montage of the photos on the magazine's "Slipstream" humor page with the caption, "Please, no more!" Same goes for dogs on bikes, btw.

And yet, they do bring smiles. And in this case, a cute story. So congrats, young Grant Goldan, you're a star. And, later in life, don't blame me when this blog is passed around at family gatherings. Your mom Heather sent in the report:

"My 3-year-old son likes his privacy in the bathroom, and always requests a book. I left him in the bathroom with his kid's book, but soon started hearing vrooming noises coming from the bathroom. I snuck in and found he had grabbed your magazine from our bathroom rack. He was saying, 'Go, motorcycles, GO!' and then told me he was going to ride bikes 'fast' like his daddy. Thanks for a great magazine!"

Thank you for sharing, Heather, sounds like you'll soon be minibike shopping...

—David Edwards

Moto Guzzi's famed 1957 V8 Grand Prix bike

Final 1957 version of the V8 on display in the Moto Guzzi museum. Is it time for the concept to be revisited?

With technology changing as fast as it does, it's tempting to imagine that if a gadget or idea wasn't created in the last five years, it is of no possible interest to anyone but antiquarians.

A case in point is Moto Guzzi's famed V8 Grand Prix bike of 1955–57, a beautiful creation. Yet its complexity was so ambitious that its creators couldn't keep up with its appetite for development. Why did designer Giulio Carcano waste time with half-measures that caused big-end failures? What the engine needed was strong one-piece rods with caged roller big-ends, assembled onto a multi-piece crank built with Hirth face splines. Well, the postwar motorcycle boom was already fading when the V8 was born, and that Hirth crank can't have been a cheap solution. Gilera, after all, ran practice with cheaper, simpler cranks, then put in Hirth cranks for the race itself.

Another problem was ignition—the Eight needed 800 sparks a second at 12,000 rpm. Enough magnetos for that job would've weighed as much as the whole engine! So coil-and-battery seemed the solution. But to run off and hide from the four-cylinder opposition...only to have a battery wire break? Or to lose all the coolant through a burst hose? These are the nickel-and-dime failures that testing should have nailed. But you know what they say, "No bucks? No Buck Rogers!"

But let's have another look. Isn't that a swingarm pivot, cast right into the back of the gearcase? And didn't Honda hail that in 2001 as "Pivotless Suspension?" Isn't it a feature of present-day Ducati racers? It appears it's not new.

Here's another detail: To avoid the extra weight of forests of head bolts to keep gaskets in place, present-day F-1 engines adopt liners that screw into the head—no gaskets. Here on the drawing it looks like the Guzzi V8 has this very feature. Hmmm, maybe this Carcano fellow had more than one good idea.

And by golly, it looks like this compact little V8 has vertically stacked transmission shafts—a length-saving feature found on just about every up-to-the-minute sportbike from Japan's Big Four. Yessir, here it is, right on the drawing. But in our era, we reckon this concept is from Yamaha's adoption of it on the YZR500 GP bike at the end of the 1983 season. Carcano had the idea 28 years before that.

So the bottom line is, good ideas are everywhere and we should keep our eyes open—without historical prejudice.

—Kevin Cameron

Viewed from the mound, this customized Big League bobber looks every bit a grand slam. The one-of-a-kind, Yankees-themed Johnny Pag Barhog model is powered by a liquid-cooled, 300cc, four-stroke parallel-Twin; once completed, the bike will feature some highly collectible bits, including a team-autographed baseball embedded in the gas tank and a seat covered in genuine catcher's-mitt leather.

The Pag custom cruiser is to be auctioned off at the Jorge Posada Foundation's 8th-annual Heroes 4 Hope Gala being held September 10, 2009, at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in Manhattan. Founded by Yankees All-Star catcher Posada and his wife Laura, the foundation provides important funding for programs and grants that help families affected by the congenital medical condition of craniosynostosis, abnormal development of the skull, which can also affect brain development. Open to the public, this year's event will honor the 20 greatest living New York Yankees catchers.

"As someone with a close friend whose child has craniosynostosis, I've seen first-hand how families can be affected," said JR Pagnini, CEO of Johnny Pag Motorcycles. "I'm grateful to be able to support Jorge and Laura Posada and the foundation's amazing work — and I'd like to challenge every rider, New York Yankee fan and Johnny Pag enthusiast to bid on that bike!"

Online bidders can get in on the action at www.charitybuzz.com/jorgeposada.

—Don Canet

Photos: Life In The Slow Lane >>

A huge contingent of motorcycle racers use cycling as a training activity, whether you are talking about MotoGP, World Superbike, AMA Superbike or AMA Motocross/Supercross. Guys like Nicky Hayden (that's him in the lead photo with his custom-painted Specialized Tarmac Pro), Casey Stoner, Ben Spies, James Stewart, Josh Hayes, Ben and Eric Bostrom, Jamie Hacking and countless others spend serious time aboard bicycles. Most of these riders have bicycle sponsors; Ben Bostrom not only is sponsored but has been very successfully racing mountain bikes in his spare time for Team Sho-Air.

So when a few of us bicycle-loving jouno-types got wind that there was going to be, as we were told, a bicycle race on the Thursday prior to MotoGP at Laguna Seca, we signed up with no delay. Specialized Bicycles, who sponsors a bunch of the aforementioned riders, and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca together host a Twilight Bike Ride in the summer, so it was only natural that they would host a pre-GP bike event.

My buddy Mike Monticello from our sister publication Road & Track and our friend Josh Jacquot from Edmunds.com set out onto the track for the "big race" only to discover that not only was there no racing going on outside of our threesome, but most of the professional riders were taking it easy as they had real racing of the motorcycle kind to worry about all weekend. This was probably a good thing in this case as just looking at Ben Bostom, I can tell you that he'd kick my ass on anything with two wheels! But I did take the opportunity to pass as many of the AMA and MotoGP regulars as I could in my nine laps around the 2.238-mile course—whether they were trying or not. Hey, it's never going to happen on a motorcycle! Race or no race, it was fun blasting down the Corkscrew on a road bike, but it will never compare to the thrill of doing the same thing on a motorcycle.

—Blake Conner

Photos: Life In The Slow Lane >>

Yamaha Motor Italia Team Manager Massimo Meregalli is elated with the performances Ben Spies has delivered in his debut World Superbike season.

When did Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Motor Italia team manager and an ex-racer himself, know Ben Spies could win races and possibly the World Superbike title in his rookie season?

"At the end of last year, I was not expecting a good result," Meregalli admitted. "But when Ben came to Portugal and tested our bike, after the first day, I immediately understood that everything was possible. What he is doing is really great, for sure."

Spies' results are even more impressive when one considers that the three-time AMA Superbike champion is racing an all-new motorcycle—the crossplane-crankshaft YZF-R1—at racetracks that for the large part he had never seen, on tires with which he was likewise unfamiliar.

"I think this bike is really good," Meregalli offered. "Last year, we were fighting a lot with tire traction. This year, we solved this big problem. We didn't solve it 100 percent—maybe 75 or 80 percent. Also, this bike, we have a good crew to develop it. They are quite happy with it. They say the best points are traction, stability, drivability and also braking."

I also asked Meregalli how Tom Houseworth, Spies' former Yoshimura Suzuki crew chief, has fit in with the Yamaha Motor Italia new team. "Tom is learning the Italian way," Meregalli joked. "At the beginning, it was, okay, a little bit strange. For him, I think it was not so easy to work. Now, he is working well."

Meregalli is also pleasantly surprised by Spies' newfound celebrity status, particularly in Italy. "I was not expecting this," he said. "It is unbelievable."

Get used to it.

—Matthew Miles

Tech. Ed. Cameron went from tuning privateer Yamaha TD-1s to working on Boston Cycles' TZ750 shop racers. That's Jim Evans in the saddle.

Boston Cycles became a center of life for me in the mid-1960s. I rebuilt crankshafts there. I bought parts there. I collected there the rumors that fed my two-wheeled imagination.

Proprietor John Jacobson had inspired despair in his businessman father when he'd operated a scooter-rental service in Harvard Square, and when John opened his Yamaha agency, his dad insisted he include a line of men's ready-to-wear suits, available for inspection to the right of the door upon entering.

I got $10 to rebuild a Twin crank and $5 for a Single. Retail is about 25 times more than that now—for the few crankshafts still assembled by press-fitting. The work paid for my racing parts. John would issue me a chit that I would take to Rose, the company's accountant. Disbursing funds troubled her—I could see it on her face when I went to collect my $10–$20. But she would brighten when I handed through the same window cash I owed for parts. Three dollars for a piston for my Yamaha TD1-B; $3 for the single ring, and a bit more for the wristpin, small-end needle bearing and wristpin clips. We felt privileged to pay cost-plus-10. These pistons, the late Gordon Jennings was telling us, embodied the latest hypereutectic aluminum-silicon alloy technology. Three dollars, please.

Having parts made us feel good. Parts were wealth. They were life on two wheels. Before leaving for the races at 11 p.m. on a Friday, we had carefully packed the parts box, a cheap steamer trunk. There were the pistons and rings in their cheerful, promising little white boxes in the top tray. Fresh pistons. There was also a spare crankshaft, should anyone need it. Clip-ons, right and left. A sensible person carried all crash-damage parts—footpegs, handlebar levers, cables, fairing brackets. In compartment boxes were all the small items—the carefully hoarded eccentric adjusters for the magneto points (not sold separately!), needle bearings, nuts, bolts, washers. Spare magneto coils, too, should one begin to die by sparking through its linen-and-varnish insulation to the oh-so-close rotor magnet.

Those bikes are museum pieces now. A breathtakingly beautiful TD1-B restoration can be seen in Yamaha's Media Center in Hamamatsu. All its colors, surface textures, and metal finishes correspond exactly to the feelings of elation that still reside in me from those times, from first seeing those wonderful, able locomotives.

In absolute terms the bikes were unreliable, steps along the way, but we loved what they did for us. As Ing. Todero of Moto Guzzi once said to John Wittner, "A racebike must always be ready, but it is never finished."

—Kevin Cameron

Photos: Chopper for the Long Run >>

As the staff long-bike aficionado in the midst of bringing a Von Dutch Triumph back to life, I shouldn't be too surprised that any chopper letters (snail or electronic) eventually get routed to my desk.

Paul Hope's example is a little out of the ordinary. A 650 Bonneville, it was customized in 1971 and he's owned it ever since. Tasteful job, too. Bolt-on hardtail, trident sisssybar, hexagon oil bag, sprung saddle (and pity the poor passenger), Bates headlight, good use of chrome and lots of fire-engine-red paint with ghost flames on the tank.

Somehow, Paul resisted the usual urge to cut the frame and extend the fork tubes; he even runs the stock 2LS brake, albeit dipped in the shiny stuff. All of which means that unlike most over-the-top choppers, Paul's remained rideable, so it didn't get parked or crashed or forgotten. It now has more than 500,000 miles on the clock, which has to be some kind of chopper record!

—David Edwards

Photos: Chopper for the Long Run >>

Valentino Rossi with limited-edition helmet

A real headcase: Rossi beside himself. You, too, can put yourself atop an AGV.

Last year at the Mugello MotoGP race in Italy, Valentino Rossi's helmet graphic was his bug-eyed face clearly printed on top. A limited-edition consumer version of the AGV sold out in just a few days.

Now AGV is offering everyone the chance to show their own face—or any other photo—on their own helmet. Just go to www.italianlegendaryprotection.com and follow the directions to complete your work of art. Like Rossi's, your GP-Tech AGV helmet will be produced in the Italian province of Padova, and your $999 online purchase will be at your door 10 weeks after you've placed your order.

Then, wearing a virtual version of your own personalized helmet, you (and other participants) can challenge Valentino's lap time around Mugello—an arcade videogame of the circuit will be set up and circulated on Facebook. You'll have a chance to win prizes offered by AGV.

—Mark Cernicky

Photos: Skeletor's Ride >>

Here's something you're not likely to see every day: a motorcycle designed to emulate a human skeleton. I'm no expert on the anatomy of our species, but this creation looks to have all the correct major bones, including those of the fingers, the feet, the rib cage and even the spine.

Supposedly, this bizarre machine was built by an orthopedic surgeon, which explains the authenticity of the structure but still leaves unanswered one important question: Why?

These photos were e-mailed to me by a friend who knows absolutely nothing about the bike except for the alleged occupation of its builder, so I can't tell you much that you can't see for yourself. The engine looks to be an automotive inline-Four, complete with bell housing, alternator and large radiator, but just about everything else appears custom-made.

Considering the absence of some all-important equipment—chain, handlebar and foot controls, as well as no apparent gas tank and tires that appear to be entirely unused—I assume this machine is non-functional. Maybe it is yet to be completed, maybe it never will be. But it sure is an attention-grabber, and I thought you might enjoy seeing it.

If anyone out there knows more about this far-fetched fabrication, including its location and the name of its owner, please let us know. Not only would I like to learn all about the bike, I've been having some problems with my left knee...

—Paul Dean

Photos: Skeletor's Ride >>

I spent the last week in July commuting each day aboard a 2009 Honda CBR1000RR between my home and the Home Depot Center, the site of Summer X Games 15 located in Torrance, California. Over the past four years I've burned vacation time moonlighting for ESPN, undertaking the role of race director for the Supermoto and Super X events. The work is enjoyable, although the days can be long and, in my case, culminated by a 50-mile trek south on the 405 Freeway.

Following the Thursday-evening Super X Adaptive (handicapped) practice session I hit the highway with my thoughts occupied by the day's activities and still-to-do-list for the following morning's Supermoto practice/seeding sessions. No sooner had I settled into the carpool lane when the CBR's reserve light illuminated. Dang it! Suppose I should have gassed up before hitting the on ramp. The Honda's informative dash displays fuel-mileage info and also begins counting the amount of fuel consumed in tenth-of-a-gallon increments once the reserve light comes on. I did a quick mental calculation, like a naval aviator returning to the boat in a "bingo" fuel state, only I didn't know exactly what the CBR's reserve capacity was...one of those details an actual owner would know.

Have to say it was pretty nerve-racking as the digital readout clicked from 0.8 to 0.9 gallon consumed. I was within a mile of my target destination, a Shell station just beyond the I-405/I-5 merger when 1.0 gal. displayed on the dash. Seconds later the engine sputtered and died. Fortunately, I was able to dead-stick 'er in, tapping the dregs of the tank with just enough slosh to get one last brief burst of power at the base of the off ramp and silently glide up to the pump.

Honda's specifications for the CBR1000RR list a 4.7-gallon capacity, including 1.06-gallon reserve. The pump meter read 4.697 gallons in topping her up while the 185.4 miles displayed on bike's trip meter equates to 39.47 mpg for that sortie. Needless to say, I plan to keep fuel-range testing a bit more, er, reserved in the future.

—Don Canet

All hunkered down and ready to haul ass. Joe Bishop poses with the Absaroka Racing Warrior.

What's that old saying? There are those who race, and those who just talk about racing? CW reader Joe Bishop does more than just talk.

Not that he has a beaucoup-bucks, tricked-to-the-gills racebike. In fact, Bishop hit the salt at Bonneville in 2008 just to see what his stock (right down to the much-maligned "water heater" exhaust canister) Star Warrior streetbike would do.

"Last year, we ran the Warrior stone-cold stock in the Stock class on the salt flats and could only pull 115 mph," Bishops says. "We could not get enough air through the stock airbox, and the rear tire started spinning at 110."

Now he and his Absaroka Racing team are headed back to Bonneville with a little more serious effort, this time in the Special Construction class by virtue of the Warrior's new rearset footpegs and laydown riding position.

"We have lowered the bike 3 inches front and back, added a Pingel air-shifter, a Baron's Big Air kit and tach, a Barnett clutch pressure plate and Warrior flat bars from Yamaha," he says. "We also have been experimenting with an array of Harley-Davison rear pulleys. Harley and Star use the same bolt pattern, which has given us more gearing options.

"We have also added ballast and have been testing it out at Rocky Mountain Raceway near Salt Lake City, as well as Firebird Raceway in Boise, Idaho. The 1670cc Twin still has stock pistons and cams for now; we wanted data from a mostly stock motor before we cam it. We figure this package is going to be the best shot a stock motor is going to have to go fast on the 3-mile course at Bonneville—amateur full-throttle racing at its best! We're trying to prove to Warrior owners that there really is a lot of power to be found in their stock motors with just a few changes," Bishop says.

Good luck, Joe, let us know how it goes.

—David Edwards

Photos: Dave Rudolph and his bikes >>

Recently got an e-mail from Dave Rudolph, an old friend and co-worker I had not heard from in close to 40 years. Dave and I worked at Washington-Pittsburgh Cycle in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, in the late 1960s, and we raced together in a local TT scrambles series for several years back then.

Aside from being an exceptionally talented racer who won quite a few championships, Dave was a superb mechanic and a resourceful fabricator. He often would envision owning some kind of vehicle that either did not exist or he could not afford, and then build it himself using only the tools and materials readily available to him. A perfect example is the first stretched vehicle I had ever seen, which Dave built by grafting together two Dodge vans—one that he already owned and another with a crashed front end. The result was so long that when you opened the back doors, it looked like you were staring down a bowling alley. Dave also built a Triumph TT scrambles sidecar rig with a homemade hinged "flexi-car" that allowed both the bike and the car to lean through the corners like a solo machine. It was fun to ride—except off of jumps. You never knew which way it would dart when it landed.

I lost touch with Dave after I moved to upstate New York in 1970 to work for Yankee Motor Company. I do know that he later embarked on a career as a motorcycle jumper, which gave rise to the "Super Dave" moniker, but that endeavor came to an abrupt halt—literally— after an encounter with an electrical wire along the jump site that apparently was not as high as Dave had anticipated.

Dave currently owns and operates Super Dave's Motorcycle and ATV shop in Carmichaels, Pennsylvania, where he has become "Mr. V-Max." He owns four of those beloved V-Four power-cruisers, including a first-year 1985 that he bought new. "It's almost all chrome," says Dave, "and I put a nitrous system on it in 1993. I call it the 'Chromax.'"

More interesting is a 1993 V-Max that Dave has outfitted with a Magnuson supercharger and tuned-port fuel-injection using Ford Mustang injector nozzles and a 75mm BBK throttle body. "I've been riding it on the street for five years," says Dave, "and it's not a bottle rocket; it's very reliable and fast. It's called 'Climax.'" Except for the supercharger itself, virtually all the parts and pieces were either fabricated or extensively modified to fit by Dave at his shop.

Rudolph also has a 2009 VMax equipped with a nitrous system. "It needed a little more," he says. He really didn't have to tell me that; it's encoded in his DNA.

If you want to learn more about Dave, his shop and his bikes, log onto www.superdaves.com.

—Paul Dean

Photos: Dave Rudolph and his bikes >>

Highland Rider: Peter Macintyre leads guided tours throughout Scotland.

When Colin Bell needed a tour guide this past July to lead the world's moto-press around Scotland for the launch of Lockout, W.L. Gore's new waterproof polymer alternative to conventional coil zippers, he turned to fellow countryman and good friend Peter Macintyre.

Macintyre, 59, owns and operates Highland Rider (www.highlandrider.com), Scotland's only full-service motorcycle touring company. He also strongly resembles the late Marion Morrison, better known to movie fans as John Wayne. In fact, Macintyre won a Wayne-lookalike contest in 2002.

Macintyre, whose name means "son of carpenter," can trace his family roots back 1000 years, when his ancestors built ships for the Vikings. His father died when Macintyre was just 10 years old, and he dropped out of school at 15. Shortly thereafter, he and his twin brother, John, started a business selling fresh fish. John eventually moved on to hotel ownership, while Macintyre continued to expand the fish business, eventually supplying 500 commercial customers with the catch of the day.

Gore Lockout is a new, waterproof closure intended to replace conventional coil zippers.

In 1998, after suddenly deciding to sell his business (the deal was done on a pub napkin), Macintyre started Highland Rider. The premise, as his brochure says, is "Motorcycle guided tours through Scotland's beautiful and dramatic scenery with traditional Highland hospitality." Prices are high, but the all-inclusive tours—four, five, six, seven or eight days in length, from April through September—are always fully booked, and Macintyre boasts many return customers. BMW, Suzuki and Triumph motorcycles are available for hire, or you can bring your own machine.

Macintyre made me promise to join him for a whiskey on the final evening of our trip. But with another tour beginning just two days later, he packed up and left for home before I could take him up on his offer. Guess I'll just have to make another trip to Scotland...

—Matthew Miles

We've had a long-term 2008 Kawasaki Concours 14 for just about two years now. I got to go on the press introduction on the Sonoma Coast in northern California, and since that first ride, the C-14 has been a favorite for touring and commuting.

I was wandering through the photo archives and found this picture from my first go on the bike, and it reminded me of the glory of the road and how much nicer it is to be riding—almost anywhere—rather than sitting at a desk. So as I sit here and type this, I can't help but wish I were arcing my way out of a long sweeper on Highway 1 in the late afternoon with the Conc 14's 1352cc inline-Four cranking out enough torque to leave a black line on the tarmac. But apparently everybody else wishes the same thing because, as a credit to the bike, it is never available when I want to go ride it. Somebody else is always doing the right thing and burning up the miles.

I just wish it were me!

—Mark Hoyer

Photos: Ducati Pumas >>

After a lot of, er, sole searching, I finally ended up getting me some new Ducatis. Desmosedici? Not quite! Limited Edition Troy Bayliss 1098R? I wish. Supermono? In my dreams! 888? All super-bitchin' bikes that happen to ride around in the back of my mind. But no!

I'll give you a hint: These Ducatis can haul butt at race pace or comfortably cruise around town. Keep the treads clean and you can moto inside the house, or for that matter, around the office—they handle the tightest terrain without getting tied in knots.

Since MasterBike 2006, I've been trying to get a pair of the orange Puma Ducati running shoes the team wears. I worked the Duc boys over at the 848 launch in Almeria, then the 1098R press proceedings at Jerez. No dice!

I'd all but given up on getting a set of fine Italian footwear to call my own. Then came the international introduction of the new Ducati Streetfighter, held at Ascari race resort in Spain. Thanks to my high-handlebar hacking skills—earned riding lots of Supermoto— I managed to chase down Ducati MotoGP test rider Igor Gerresi for some close-riding tire-tucking fun. During the dinner that followed, Ducati tribesmen where looking at me more strangely than usual...something on my shirt?

Soon after returning home from that trip, a nondescript box showed up at the door, and there they were, finally! A pair of the unobtainable orange Ducati Pumas. After a short break-in period, you can bet these high-performance size 9's will be tearing up the road and running paths near my home. Vi ringraziamo vivamente i miei amici!

—Mark Cernicky

Photos: Ducati Pumas >>

Mike Traynor's funeral was held Friday, September 18, at the Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Atlanta. Spectacular church. I'd say upward of 200 people attending, beautiful piano music playing before the service. Four eulogists spoke. Joe Kelly recalled a lifetime friendship with Mike going back to Traynor's newspaper days before the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. He talked glowing and appropriately about Mike's character. Very well done. Next was Kyle Clack, who spoke of Mike as a mentor and motorcyclist. I wish that I had recorded what he said, because Kyle gave a most incredible vision of what Mike's riding might be like in Heaven, and I was just stunned at his very detailed descriptions—all of which came to him the day before when he was riding down from Asheville in the monsoon-like weather Atlanta had been having at that time.

Next spoke Dr. Darell Bigner, MD, PhD at Duke University, where the PBTF established its first research foundation. Dr. Bigner is a wonderful gentleman, nearly retired at 71, who detailed the difference that Mike and wife Dianne's commitment to finding the cause of and cure for brain tumors in children is making. Finally, Chris Kernion, a fellow board member of the PBTF, spoke about the loss of his child to a brain tumor, and what coming to know Mike meant to him in their efforts to help others with children fighting the disease.

There was more celebration than sadness, and much marvel for this man who had quit a successful career in newspaper publishing to find a cure for a disease that took the life of a child of a friend of his. At the end of the eulogies, the pastor spoke briefly again, followed by the hauntingly beautiful sound of a bagpiper at the back of the church playing 'Amazing Grace.' The bagpiper led the procession of the casket out of the church and into the hearse for the trip to the cemetery.

Internment at the cemetery was brief with a few last comments by the pastor. Everyone said their goodbyes to Mike and we were on our way with a wonderful warmth for the man who had meant so much to so many over the years. While many may choose to quantify his life by the fact that the foundation he started has to date raised more than $50 million dollars for research into a terrible disease, most will remember him for his intense passion to find a cure, and for the special touch he had with the kids.

I was lucky to know him and observe that passion a bit closer thanks to the many years of the Ride for Kids raffle bike that Cycle World has coordinated over the past nine years. When he and Dianne asked me to join their board a few years back, it allowed me to see Mike a bit more closely and to truly gain the measure of the man. I will miss him for the single focus he brought to the mission, but also for his desire to always seek a better way, which we chatted about occasionally. When CW's founding publisher Joe Parkhurst passed away, with Mike's help we created the Joseph C. Parkhurst Education Fund to benefit the foundation's scholarship program for brain-tumor survivors.

I celebrate Mike Traynor's life most because he was a class act, he cared, and in his fundraising efforts through the Ride for Kids program, he presented motorcycling in a very positive light. It is hard to imagine a man who touched as many lives as Mike has in the past 25 years.

—Larry Little

Those wishing to make a donation in Mike Traynor's name can contact the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation at www.pbtfus.org.

There's no joy quite like that of giving to others. When you give, you get back, and when you give to the California Superbike School by volunteering as a corner worker, you get back one 20-minute riding session per hour. Say, that's the same amount of time as most track days, isn't it? Yes, but the catch is you don't get to sit in the pits with the other kids between sessions. You must man a lonely outpost with nothing but a radio and some flags—Turn 7 at the Streets of Willow Springs, in my case. None but the brave need apply.

Every time I come to the desert, the same song kicks in on an endless loop: "O give me land, lots of land, under starry skies above, don't feeeeence me iinnnnn..." The Mojave can be a harsh environment, but when you hit it on a good day, it is sweet indeed; nothing but distant horizons, scattered clouds and balmy, dry air that cleans your lungs with every breath. Hot and sweaty after your track session? Take off your shirt and hang it on the canopy in the light breeze. It and you will be dry and crisp in about 10 minutes.

What about the psychological trauma of dealing with the constant carnage of crashed bikes and mangled bodies? Listen, kid, I'm a highly trained U.S. Army medic. So it's a good thing nobody came close to falling off while I was on duty. I don't know if a track day would be different, but the people who come to a track school seem to be pretty careful riders. Throw in the fact that the CSS runs stock exhaust systems, and after my PB&J-and-milk lunch, it was tough not to doze off out there. Between sessions, my plastic lawn chair was a veritable sensory-deprivation chamber except for the pain coming from my decrepit knees. Instead of hobnobbing in the pits, I was actually contemplating how to go faster next time. Strange.

In the morning sessions, you need to be careful not to startle the flock of beginners if you're a bit more experienced. After lunch, the pace picks up considerably. And by the end of the day, the instructors are raring to go. After learning how all day, it's good for the students to see how fast more advanced riders can get around the track. Corner workers don't get the benefit of Keith Code's classroom instruction, but if you can latch onto the back of the man himself for a lap or two, well, that's about as hands-on as it gets. I like underemployment more every day.

—John Burns

Kenny Dreer continues to enjoy his post-Norton "retirement." When U.S. operations of the restart we put on hold in 2007, Dreer rediscovered his drag-racing roots, first on a dealer-sponsored Harley V-Rod Destroyer, then on his own big-block Kawasaki. Now he's got Suzuki power.

And Kenny's golden years, it seems, are faster than ever: "I just turned 62 and signed up for Social Security (before it's entirely empty), and this weekend I did a 7.955 @ 168.8 mph!"

Pretty good for a test session working out baseline parameters for the bike's nitrous-injection system.

"This drag racing stuff is seriously addictive, and I do have that 'addictive' gene," Kenny says. "Going with nitrous is a huge rush! This is a different motor than last year's Kawasaki. I upped the program this season with a Larry Cook Racing 1425cc Suzuki GS-based powerplant. Its roots go back to 1980, but it makes 220 hp—before the 'hair spray'!"

"Drag racing is like any other sport. If you want to go really fast, you need concentration and focus. It's a discipline and trust me when I say it's demanding. If you want those braggin' rights, you're going to work for them. We have a terrific organization up here in the Pacific Northwest, North West Drag Bike. I'd encourage Cycle World readers, if they ever had any fantasy of doin' the quarter-mile, to just get out to a track and do it. I will guarantee that you can't do just one run. You can't get remotely close to the same exhilaration—or acceleration—on the street (nor should you try). Did I mention we have killer Saturday night parties after racing; we make it a full day."

Oh, yeah, Dreer's 7.95 run? Made on the smallest nitrous jets. Seems like sponsorship from AARP is in order, Kenny, or maybe Depends...

—David Edwards

Serendipity is a wonderful thing—you just can't count on it. When former CW staffer Camron Bussard (now with Cobra USA) mentioned he was thinking of going vintage roadracing, I casually replied that there was a race-prepped Honda CB350 in the Cycle World garage that could be had for a good price.

Like candy to a baby...

The bike was on loan to the magazine from good friend Chuck Davis, who had slyly hoped that we would finish up the last 20 percent of the build and send Cernicky out on it to torment the AHRMA regulars. Never happened and now it was collecting dust, rust and weevils in the garage.

A deal was done, and soon the bike was in the hands of Cobra's master fabricator Denny Berg for its final prep. Last weekend, Camron took the CB to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah (where Cam lives) for its—and his—shakedown run. His report:

"Guys, here's a photo from the first official outing of the CB350. The bike would not pull on top until radical jetting and unkinking some vent tubes. A smaller countershaft sprocket brought it all together just in time for the first race. The fast guys were running 2:00 flat on the 2.2-mile East Course at Miller; my first practice session was about 2:35 but by Saturday's race my times were 2:12. I removed Denny's awesome fork brace for Sunday and the times dropped to 2:08! Not bad for the bike or me.

"I had to wear the orange T-shirt to let others know I was a Novice in my class. Sunday, I finished 10th out of 18 racers, and without a slipping clutch, most likely would have gotten up to eighth. What a fun start!"

Billowy attire notwithstanding, looking good, Camron! Sounds to me like Daytona next March is in the CB's future...

—David Edwards

Oh, the glory of England! A nice example of the breed, this '74 Commando is getting the once-over twice in Hoyer's Garage.

It's got to be one of my favorite bikes of all time. The Norton Commando combines the nicest qualities of a traditional English parallel-Twin with a level of practicality, speed, smoothness and reliability that made it a true long-distance superbike in its day. A drop-dead gorgeous engine and lean, muscular lines for tank and sidepanels give just enough visual tension to suggest speed, even at a standstill.

Which is where my borrowed red '74 850 Roadster is at the moment, a standstill. It was a victim of long-term neglect but my friend and British parts magnate Bill Getty bought it a few years ago and has given it new life with a fresh top end (to rectify the rust-seized previous state) and new paint. I am currently throwing some jets at the JRC modern single carburetor conversion (see your local British parts dealer...) to find a good, clean-running setup, then will rehab a pair of Amals for more traditional duty.

Currently, though, I thought a trip into the primary to get some of the goo out was a good thing. Having sold my black '74 Roadster a few years ago (can it really be 2003?!), I'd forgotten what a pleasure Nortons of this era are to work on. It's not that earlier stuff like my '54 Velocette is irrational, but there was definitely a new rationale at work on this bike, even as the English motorbike business staggered its way into the mid-'70s. And way fewer oil leaks. If only the industry had been strong enough to survive the mistakes and evolve a bit more.

Anyway, I am reliving the past and hoping for the freedom of the road soon, but in the meantime I am enjoying my time contemplating the mechanical bits and restoring cleanliness and order.

—Mark Hoyer

To the winner, the spoils. With Pedrosa and Rossi down, Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo ran away with the 2009 Indy MotoGP.

After leader Dani Pedrosa's fall on lap four, Valentino Rossi led the Indianapolis MotoGP until lap eight, when Jorge Lorenzo pulled even with him on the straight and then passed into Turn 1. On the next lap, Rossi went wide into T1, then fell suddenly on the approach to Turn 2, before he had leaned his bike over.

The accepted chain of events is that, off-line because of the T1 error, he hit the same bump in 2 that had unseated Tech3 Yamaha rider James Toseland in the first practice on Friday. This bump, in the braking area for 2, lifted the back wheel, precipitating a crash.

This seems unlikely to me, as a motorcycle that is almost straight up and down is quite stable and cannot fall as quickly as one at full lean. Even so, Pedrosa's earlier crash seemed to take forever, the bike's angle of lean increasing by small degrees until its tires were lifted off the pavement by hard parts. How, then, could an upright bike fall so fast?

A first thought might be a seizure of front or rear wheel—but this seems ruled out by the fact that Rossi picked the fallen bike up and was able to ride three more laps before retiring with what we were told was a damaged throttle.

There are other circumstantial details, seen by observers earlier. First, Rossi approached the starting line for the green light looking down, as if checking something. This is nothing in itself—many riders have small concerns before the start and look to reassure themselves.

Second, his wide entry into Turn 1 on the falling lap was bigger than a small error would seem to indicate. It is Rossi's way to be lucky when others are unlucky, but to be so far off-line is a big difference.

Third, something happened to the back of Rossi's bike an instant before the fall, as though the rear wheel had momentarily been checked. One rational explanation might be that this was the rear tire of the now off-line bike, hitting "Toseland's Bump" and nearly stopping in mid-air as it was tossed upward off the pavement. But why a fall at all, with the machine upright? Why should this provoke any more than a late and poor entry into Turn 2, costing time but not costing 25 hard-earned points by earning a DNF?

Fourth, Rossi is said to have gone straight to his suspension specialist in his garage following his retirement from the race. As a professional, he wanted to understand the incident.

Something happened to a nearly upright motorcycle, unfolding too fast for Rossi to gather up and correct. I don't know what happened, but I won't be surprised if there is more information to come.

—Kevin Cameron

Video: 2010 YZ450F Rumor Machine >>

We received this funny teaser video about the soon-to-be announced YZ450F and had to share it. Yamaha always likes to have some fun introducing its products, as has been evident over the years at its annual dealer shows, where, for example, former cast members of Saturday Night Live have helped add a lot of humor and entertainment to the proceedings. Yamaha has of late been quick also to incorporate its professional racers into skits, and now there is this video, featuring James Stewart, Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Colin Edwards, Ben Spies and more, all commenting about the latest YZ, scheduled to be announced September 8.

—Blake Conner

2010 YZ450F Rumor Machine

Off-Road Editor Ryan Dudek is not putting soap in the fuel tank of his Husky TE310 dual-sport bike. But it does look that way...

How high is too high? Something on the order of 10,000 feet is getting close, at least on one of the tougher off-road trails in the Sierra Nevada Forest near Yosemite.

It's called the Dusy-Ershim OHV Route, and the trail works its way from about 8000 feet to a little over 10,000. Four-wheelers—serious ones with huge tires, short-wheelbases, winches, hand-tools, etc.—take 2-3 days to cover the 30 miles. We did it on dual-sport bikes at a leisurely pace in less than 6 hours, with a nice lunch stop to refuel our bodies. And in the case of Off-Road Editor Ryan Dudek, he also topped off his small-fuel-tank Husqvarna TE310, using gasoline he carried along in gallon jug formerly used for dishwashing soap! At the end of the ride, after so long rock-bashing in first and second gears that my clutch hand felt near death, the last scenic bit was an easy ride up "Chicken Rock," a gorgeous granite dome overlooking Courtright Reservoir.

It was there that Dudek found this incredible ledge, off which he proceeded to fly his Husky a few times! Our riding buddy, Yamaha's Derek Brooks, decided to cruise to an excellent viewpoint and add to the stunt show. My borrowed 1997 Honda XR440 (Al Baker's XR's Only big-bore kit) probably wouldn't have survived, and I am pretty sure I wouldn't have, either. The 10,000 feet we saw on the trail was pretty high, but that extra 10 feet Dudek was using to get back down, well, that high was too high!

—Mark Hoyer

I have discovered tidbits of the life of Charles Bradley King (1869-1957). He was the first to build and operate a car in Detroit and a mentor of Henry Ford. He later manufactured a car called the "Northern" and was for some time involved in automotive matters. He was a mechanical engineer from Cornell, among other things, and in 1908, he went to Europe for two years to study its auto industry.

King is chiefly remembered in engineering circles for the redesign he made of the Bugatti U-16 (twin straight-Eights) aircraft engine, rights to which the U.S. had bought late in World War I. In particular, he eliminated Bugatti's favored oil system, which used flanged rings to collect oil thrown off the main bearings, then channeled this oil to the crankpins.

In the 1920s, Rolls-Royce research showed that when everything was right, a pressure of approximately 30 psi could be achieved at the crankpin by these means. In the Bugatti U-16, it was not satisfactory, so King redesigned the engine with a system that tapped into main bearing oil, delivering it through drillings in the crank cheeks to the crankpins. This system was entirely successful.

As Duesenberg was the company chosen to build these U-16 engines (by war's end, 40 had been built and extensively tested, but none was ever flown), they adopted this system for their production auto engines, as did many others. It remains the usual form of crankpin oiling to this day. Bugatti himself persisted with his flanged rings until the classic Type 35 Grand Prix car, roller rods for which were oiled in "Kingly" fashion.

King had many interests in history and the arts, and he eventually gave up auto engineering for the most part.

—Kevin Cameron

Photos: Gallery of Cool Bikes >>

Like you don't already waste enough of your time�or more likely your company's�surfing the web in search of moto-related sites...well, here's another one for ya.

But, and work with me on this, www.bikeexif.com is actually a time-saver. See, webmaster Chris Hunter scans the Internet for, his words, "a daily dose of the coolest motorcycles." That way, you don't have to. Ergo, efficiency!

Hunter is an expat Brit living in Sydney, Australia, where he runs a new Moto Guzzi V7 Classic. He works as creative director of an ad agency during the week, and tends to his site evenings and weekends. "I'm passionate about design, photography and classic motorcycles," he says, "and BikeEXIF is a way to combine all three�and connect with other people who share the same interests."

Hunter's tastes run toward café-racers and street-trackers, but the site has a healthy smattering of racebikes, classics and customs�see the gallery�including some CW "American Flyers" alums and even a certain Von Dutch Triumph chopper undergoing restoration.

Rather than the usual rudimentary online photo album, there's well-written info about each machine with links to owners/builders, and photo bug Hunter even includes image information when possible. That's where the EXIF comes from. It stands for Exchangeable Image File Format, the particulars captured by a digital camera when a photo is taken.

Anyway, a nicely done site, updated regularly, worth your while. Just keep an eye out for the boss...

—David Edwards

Photos: Rockasilly in Tokyo >>

Video: Tokyo Rockabilly Club >>

Only in Japan will you find people trying so hard to rebel but at the same time doing it in a very organized manner. On my recent trip to Japan to ride the VFR1200F, I had a free day that I spent sightseeing in Tokyo. First up on the agenda was visiting the Harajuku area, where Japanese teens packed a square near the train station dressed up like their favorite Anime characters or decked out in over-the-top goth and punk outfits. Nearby Takeshita Street is a favorite shopping district for everything punk, rockabilly and goth for Tokyo teens. It was funny that most of the kids in the square were camera shy. Hey, don't dye your hair pink and wear 8-inch platform shoes if you don't want me taking your photo!

As we wandered beyond the station, we stumbled into Yoyogi Park and a motley crew of rockabilly wannabes.

Four groups of leather-clad Japanese guys and gals were set up at the entrance to Yoyogi, clubs like Tokyo Rockabilly Club and the Strangers were ready to rumble (on the asphalt dance floor, that is). But strangely there were no motorcycles to be found anywhere, despite all of the rockin' clubbers being dressed ideally for riding.

The culture of the clubs (no pun intended) is very funny to watch. They show up to the park and primp and prepare their quaffs and outfits. We even saw guys busting out blow dryers and Aquanet to do their buddies' hair in giant pompadours... Funny stuff. Of course, a key to the performance is the music, pumped out via boomboxes wired to P.A. speakers or guitar amps and overdriven to 10. Usually it's vintage American rock 'n' roll like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc.

An interesting observation is that there must be some sort of credibility gained by wearing the most hammered dancing shoes. All of the performers wear shoes/boots heavily taped with black duct tape and have to stop frequently to fix them. Beer, boom boxes and dancing: Another fun day in the park.

Tokyo Rockabilly Club

—Blake Conner

Photos: Rockasilly in Tokyo >>

Video: Tokyo Rockabilly Club >>

First Ride: 2010 Honda VFR1200F >>

Photos: Wisdom of the Elder >>

At the finish of a recent Hansen Dam ride, the organizer of this Southern California event told me he was surprised to see me there. Why was that, I wondered? I mean, I've missed maybe one ride since the beginning. When you wrote about the ride, he said, you gave the wrong date and the wrong route. I thought you'd be here next week. Guilty as charged. I blew it, and I still don't know what I was thinking. No excuse, sir.

I mention this, because all reporters make mistakes. No criminal intent; just human frailty. The unforgiveable crime is when we deny the mistake or cover it up, because that's a violation of trust.

There I was at the bookstore, where you can read three or four magazines for the price of a cup of tea, leafing through a niche magazine when, Whump! Stopped in my tracks. The story was about an English drag racer who, quoting here, "was the only man in history" to cross the finish line minus his motorcycle, trap speed 136 mph.

As the country and western song says, Wayet jest wun minnit.

In 1982, John Ulrich, now the editor of Roadracing World and Motorcycle Technology, but then on the CW staff, did a track test of a fearsome Harley drag bike. If it wobbles, he was told, power through it. It did wobble, he held the power on...next thing he knew he'd been hurled from the bike and was sliding down the track—through the lights at 139 mph, E.T. 10.20 seconds. He still carries the scars, the only consolation being that his account of the crash was, in my opinion, the best reporting he's ever done.

Okay, I could have shrugged it off, but I called the editor of the magazine, in a collegial spirit, one journo to another, thinking he might wish to know he or his crew had made a mistake. He shouted at me, called me names, used words I learned in the Navy, made me glad I'm hearing impaired.

Why this? Not because he'd done John Ulrich a disservice or made a claim easily disproved. No. What triggered the diatribe was that in 2001—yes, eight years ago—I reviewed a book he wrote and I was mean, cruel, vindictive, an insufferable know-it-all and unfair to boot.

Then he played his trump card: "How old are you?"

"Seventy-two. Why?"

"I'm 39."

The phone went dead; perhaps he or I was out of range.

Which gave me time to dig up that review. Seems I said the author was clever, one laugh per page, provided source lists and made some factual errors. More pertinent to the present, before the phone went dead, he said he'd read the CW article Ulrich wrote, as reprinted in our anniversary year of 2002. Oh, yes, he knew, or at least had been exposed to, the facts of the matter and now chooses to ignore or deny.

As for age, one of the errors in the book was this guy's claim that when Kenny Roberts went to compete in Grands Prix, he was "an untested rookie rider." Oh pshaw, I said in my review; Roberts had won two AMA national titles and 12 national roadraces.

When that was going on, this author was riding his Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle around the neighborhood.

When Roberts, untested rookie or not, clinched his first world title, in that rookie year mind, I was there, at Silverstone, if memory serves, and before that race I told Roberts, who'd expressed concern that no one at home cared, that Cycle World was on the job, that he would take Barry Sheene to school and that we would trumpet his win worldwide. Which he did, and we did.

So?

So first, my bet is that Mike Seate of Café Racer will not set the record straight. Second, sometimes being the old guy means knowing firsthand what the kids don't understand secondhand. Most important, though, John Ulrich holds the record, fastest dismounted drag racer in history.

—Allan Girdler

Photos: Wisdom of the Elder >>

Set fast time, get a watch: Top qualifiers in 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP classes win the "Tissot Pole Position Award," stainless-steel automatic chronographs with the name of the circuit engraved on the backs of the cases.

Tissot is the "official timekeeper" of MotoGP. Why Tissot? When I clicked on the Tissot logo on the MotoGP homepage (www.motogp.com), I was transported to the Swiss watchmaker's website, www.tissot.ch. No answer there, either. But I did learn a few things.

Since 1853, Tissot has been based in Le Locle in the Jura Mountains, a small, heavily forested mountain range located north of the Alps between the Rhine and Rhone rivers. Part of The Swatch Group, it also is the official timekeeper of NASCAR, Chinese Basketball Association, International Basketball Association, Australian Football League and world championships of cycling, fencing and ice hockey.

Last May, Tissot created waves when it became the first brand to sponsor an athlete—Indycar driver Danica Patrick—on Twitter (www.twitter.com/DanicaPatrick). In August, NASCAR heavies Brian France and Mike Helton, joined by three-time series champion Jimmie Johnson, among others, presented President Barack Obama with a T-Touch Expert.

On two wheels, Tissot continues to sponsor 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden and 2005 250cc World Champion Thomas Luthi. Both riders have their own limited-edition T-Race models. Sharon Buntain, U.S. brand president of The Swatch Group, believes MotoGP is an ideal fit for Tissot. "Tissot is affiliated with motorsports of all kinds, and MotoGP is arguably where we are the strongest," she told me last August at the Indianapolis GP. "The international reach of this sport is perfect for our brand. Awareness is very strong."

Actual timing, I have since discovered, is carried out by Corgémont-based Swiss Timing. Founded in 1972, it, too, is part of The Swatch Group, which is why, at Laguna Seca, Sepang, Valencia and other MotoGP tracks around the globe, the billboards say "Tissot." But when the going gets tight, as it did a couple weeks ago at Australia's Phillip Island circuit, where 125cc race-winner Julián Simón and runner-up Bradley Smith were separated at the checkers by just .313 of a second, it's the name behind the name that counts.

—Matthew Miles

Video: The Yamaha TZ750 & King Kenny Roberts' Return to the Indy Mile >>

I can watch vintage racing videos all day long but nothing out there is cooler than seeing Kenny Roberts in his prime. As has been the case for years, Yamaha really understands the importance of its history and the value of its contracted riders, so the company has produced a few excellent and more-often-than-not funny videos using the likes of Valentino Rossi, Colin Edwards, Jorge Lorenzo and company for performances in them.

So it was cool to get a Christmas greeting from Yamaha, with the link to this awesome video of Roberts riding his TZ750 at the Indy Mile in 1975, and again in 2009 during the MotoGP weekend. Enjoy!

—Blake Conner

The Yamaha TZ750 & King Kenny Roberts' Return to the Indy Mile

No matter where we go to test bikes, we have to have a photographer with us. On a street ride, that's usually no problem because our staff shooters can take the photo van, CW pickup or even a nice sport-touring rig with hard bags. But when we did the "Euro Enduro" dual-sport Nevada adventure for the October, 2009, issue, our very own Jeff Allen had to come along on one of the testbikes. Further, he had to ride every nasty, knobby-shredding trail that we did.

Most of the time, we take this for granted. But on the third night after a long day swapping saddles among the BMW G450X, Beta RS 525, Aprilia RXV 4.5, Husqvarna TE450 and KTM 450 EXC, I sat and stared at the fire and went through a mental rundown of the day's events while scribbling a few notes. Our unsung hero's role and burden of the day dawned on me when I went to move my chair and I picked Jeff's 45-pound camera backpack and 20-pound tool-laden fannypack.

Jeff had been ascending the same tiring sandy hillclimbs, traversing the same rocky, rutted trails as we all had been, but he'd had to do it wearing 65 pounds of gear. Never more than right then did I appreciate the work he puts in to get the killer photos we used for that feature and all the others he shoots for us. Like in the photo, he can even wheelie with it all. I thought about offering to carry his bag the next day but...nah!

So, that night I was more than happy to help him change the tires on his bike instead of watching him and his plumber's crack struggle. The next morning I looked forward to the long riding day even more, knowing that I wouldn't be wearing that backpack and fannypack! And I knew our unsung hero would return with photos worth way more than a thousand words.

—Mark Cernicky

A lot of junk clutters up everybody's inbox these days, but when I got the message from a buddy about a video showing Suzuki GSX-R that "built itself," I had to take a break and take a look. It starts off rather quietly in an empty garage, but then the music starts and the action happens. A shock inches itself across the garage floor, a twin-spar frame slides into place, a swing-arm is next... And so it goes. I sure wish my Yamaha RD350 project would do that. Anyway, best just to sit back and watch the show. Your boss won't mind. Mine didn't!

—Mark Hoyer

Self Assembling GSXR!

Damaged plug-hole threads in a cylinder head can be difficult and expensive to repair, often requiring removal of the affected head. But if the threads are only slightly boogered, they usually can be cleaned up with one of the many plug-hole rethreading tools, called thread chasers, available at auto-parts stores. Only problem is that as those rethreaders trim small amounts of material from the plug hole, the resultant shavings fall down into the cylinder.

But not if you use Mac Tools' (www.mactools.com) Back-Tap Reverse Rethreader, which repairs the threads from the inside out. The cutting end of this clever tool is expandable so that when fully contracted, it can be slipped all the way through the plug hole without any meaningful contact with the hole's threads. Before insertion, put a small amount of grease around the last couple of threads at the bottom of the tool. Once the Rethreader is fully inserted, turn the thumbscrew atop the tool, which draws a tapered shaft up through the expandable cutting flutes, spreading them out until they are a comfortable fit in the first few threads at the bottom of the hole. Using a box wrench, an open-end wrench or a socket on the hex at the upper end of the Rethreader, you then turn the tool counterclockwise until it threads itself all the way out of the hole. On its way out, it refreshes the threads from the bottom upward, with the grease on the very tip collecting any shavings that result.

Back-Tap Reverse Rethreaders are available in a $90 3-pack that includes 10mm, 12mm and 14mm sizes; for some unexplained reason, only the 10mm ($34) and 12mm ($37) Rethreaders are sold separately. Yeah, a little pricey, but a lot cheaper than a top-end repair.

—Paul Dean

Sometimes in the process of evaluating one aftermarket performance product we find ourselves necessarily testing a second piece of bolt-on gear to complete the tuning recipe, even though that "other" piece isn't the focus of our published product evaluation. This was the case for the Graves Motorsports (www.gravesport.com) full exhaust system we installed on a 2009 Suzuki GSX-R1000 for the explicit purpose of conducting a hands-on review of Dynojet's Power Commander V Auto Tune wideband oxygen-sensor controller module. (Look for more on the PC-V in an upcoming issue of Cycle World.)

Unfortunately, the stock Suzuki O2 sensor's thread pitch and diameter don't match those of the Dynojet's Bosch unit. Like many other aftermarket performance exhaust systems, however, the O2 bung on the Graves pipe is compatible with the Auto Tune sensor, allowing us to evaluate the Dynojet unit.

To my eyes the GSX-R's swoopy twin muffler stock exhaust is no thing of beauty. Further, while lightweight for an OEM setup, it still weighs 29.4 pounds on our scale. The Graves Motorsports system features stainless-steel header and carbon-fiber canister and tips the scale at just 9.6 pounds. Most will find the weight savings and much cleaner, low-mount MotoGP styling well worth the $1443 price tag. We found the Graves product offered quality construction and a proper fit that made installation straightforward. As with any aftermarket full system, the stock servo-controlled exhaust valve is no longer present, which caused an FI error light on the dash and didn't allow the odometer or trip meter to be displayed. We worked around the problem by affixing a strip of plumbers strap onto the servo motor to limit its rotation range so that the unit would properly index when the ignition key is turned on, therefore preventing the error, even in the absence of the actual exhaust valve.

If you enjoy a throaty growl at idle and crackling wail at high revs, then you're in for a treat. But it wasn't just all sound, there was fury, too: As the accompanying dyno chart indicates, performance gains are realized on the very upper end of the rev range and primarily where the stock system rolls off after peak output. While there is a loss of lower-rpm power, I didn't find this torque dip centered at 5000 rpm to cause any problematic issue with the bike's ridability.

All in a day's work!

—Don Canet

No EFI here: Classic Norton Manx featured a downdraft Amal carburetor with a remote float bowl.

Now that fuel injection has saved us from the shortcomings of carburetors, we can wonder why it all took so long.

Look at a photo of the classic Manx Norton's right side and you will see that its downdraft Amal carburetor has a remote float bowl. Why?

To understand why not, look at the 1965 Yamaha TD1-B roadracer I had back in 1967. Here are its 27mm carburetors, bolted to the backs of the two air-cooled cylinders. And way back here, 7 inches behind the carburetor's main jet, are the two float bowls. That's "remote" with a vengeance! With the manual open, the owner carefully adjusts the fuel level by raising or lowering the bowls in their clamp. But on the track, as the bike accelerates in first gear, what is the fuel level? Not horizontal, that's for sure–it's more like a 30-degree slope away from the carburetors. And when braking, the fuel level sloshes the other way, threatening to drown the engine while the throttles are closed.

The 1967 model had an improved float-bowl mount. Was it right next to the carburetors? No, the bowls stayed where they were but their mount now hung from the frame above—no longer bolting to the wriggling, vibrating engine as it attempted (sometimes with at least partial success!) to tear free of its mounts.

Back in 1955 and '56, Moto Guzzi tried to feed the eight 20mm carbs of its 500cc V-Eight from two float bowls mounted at the left side of the engine. It never worked. It could not work. Only when each carburetor had its own tiny float bowl did the carburetion become manageable.

At the Belgian GP in 1963, international success was at last within Yamaha's reach. Their 250 two-stroke RD-56 Twins were finally much faster than the Honda Fours and reliable, too, but there was a small problem: The engine was cutting on the long straight. This engine had its float bowls right next to its side-mounted carbs. When no other performance problem could be found, the team in desperation fitted each carb with two float bowls, and the race was won. Was the float valve too small? Were the floats affected by vibration in some mysterious, fuel-starving way?

It was about that time that Mikuni and other carburetor makers made the leap to the obvious—that the main jet should be in the center of the float bowl, which should itself become an integral part of the carburetor. Tip it this way or that, accelerate or brake as hard as you like, and the fuel would always stand at the same height above the jet, because it was in the center of the pond. And to stop high-frequency engine vibes that whipped fuel into foam, those new center-float carbs mounted on rubber intake sleeves.

I love digital fuel injection.

—Kevin Cameron

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