Harley Davidson Dyna: the mechanic's choice.

USA - motorcycle - 103.1 cu in
Having recently unearthed some invaluable insights from a variety of expert sources, I feel compelled to confess a mistake of judgement on my part. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say I spoke from ignorance. Though I have 30 years in the saddle of a number of moto monikers, and countless hours in tinkering with my bikes (much like a kid with his lego sets), I do NOT have a mechanical training nor the hours repairing a broad variety of machines born from numerous manufacturers around the globe. Deciding I'd settle the debate once and for all, I went around (over the past few months) and asked a handful of motorcycle mechanics whom I know with a diversity of experience and at least 3 decades each in the trade: "If you could have only one machine, that you could just jump-on and ride, with zero maintenance, wake up each day and just go...what would it be?". I felt certain it would be a Japanese make, or German, but I did not expect to hear the answer I got. And I have to say I'm so surprised by the common response that I just have to share it even though it embarrasses me to do so."Harley Davidson Dyna Glide. Inexpensive. No valve adjustments, hydraulic lifters, strong as an ox, gas-up and go, ride it a 100,000 miles and throw it away (personally I'd try and sell it, but I need to be loyal to the quote)." There is one proviso however, that you buy it new and keep it absolutely stock. Change virtually anything other than the seat and mirrors and that'll half it's life expectancy each time...which is why most HD owners experience a mini-series of problems almost right from the showroom floor. Most buyers "personalize" their rides before they even turn the key, and apparently THAT'S the mistake. So there you have it. I apologize, I was wrong, I'm humbled, and admittedly I'm looking at our homespun heirloom brand with renewed fervor. Hmmm.

The nuts & BOLT's about bobbers..

USA/Japan - motorcycle - 942cc.

Beneath a Youtube video extolling the new Yamaha Bolt, someone had posted these words: "harley's are sluggish vribrating mess, and that's why they sell so much. Because it's a men's ride, a beast that needs to be controlled and learnt, like a crazy horse that you can never trust. And thats why my harley will never be a boring ride like a Bolt." Now I like backhanded compliments but there's a tipping point where it becomes an endorsement for the competition: this is one such case. The poor author of that prose has probably been stuck with making payments on his HD for the last few years and every time he's curbside wrenching on his "vribrating mess", or shells out several hundred dollars for service at the dealership, he shares similar monosyllabic grunts of approval with other owners to reset his waning enthusiasm. I really can't figure out how the fan-base of a product can turn it's ample flaws into such a virtue, and I'm not sure I can think of another example in modern history, but it is the Harley phenomena. Anyway, I too succumbed to the fantasy (or did), I was one of them. For 11 years I waxed lyrical about my beloved porkster until one long hot afternoon spent baking alone in the roadside sun with the mandatory sack of tools I had learned to carry strewn around me, keloid burn-brands milestoning my hands from previous tinkerings, sweat pouring off my brow, salt-stinging my eyes and impeding my vision....then when I spotted a turkey buzzard circling overhead awaiting my demise, I suddenly flipped! I just couldn't deceive myself anymore. I know any negative words against the Almighty HD is akin to blasphemy and I would never dare to be so vocal around all those real men who ride them, but gaddangit there's alot to be said for something that just works. Despite the accusations, the Bolt is absolutely not pretending to be an HD, if it was who in hell would buy it?! Its primary appeal is that engineering is all Japanese. Its styling is that of a custom bobber (albeit the term originally referred to homemade cut-downs, but from ALL makes of motorcycle) which the stock & standard HD Sportster is not. (However, HD are now releasing more aesthetically pleasing designs so even they seem to understand what hipsters are pining for.) But anyone who's built an actual bobber will know to sometimes spell it b-o-o-b-e-r: endless aftermarket modifications drastically compromise operability of anything mechanical. So when Yamaha stand up and say  "we have a new bike for you that really resembles a cool chop-job, however, you won't have any of the issues normally associated with WI cruisers and yet it has all the power of a bored-out custom..." Add air-cooled v-twin pots, belt drive and standard Japanese reliability and I can't see a reason NOT to buy it. 

Wishing to go Solo?

Japan - motorcycle - 50cc. NLP but revisiting nevertheless.

The dictionary definition of a motorcycle is a two-wheeled vehicle that is powered by a motor and has no pedals. According to my criteria I also add that the frame must be straddled as opposed to stepped-thru, the fuel tank is optimally located between the riders knees and a range of gears are controlled manually via a clutch and foot-shifter. Anything else (with minor allowances for placement of said components) would fall under the definition of car, scooter, moped or bicycle. But because I don't only review motorcycles I want to take a quick look over the Honda Solo. Designed by a team of hipsters at Honda R&D in Japan, it used the Cub engine with auto centrifugal clutch which therefore renders it a scooter, but oh what a beautiful scoot it was! Past tense. Only a few thousand were made between 2003 and 2004: the retro boardtracker ergo's were simply too radical for the conservative Japanese market and it was pulled from production. I adore it however, and believe one day Honda will see fit to reintroduce it to the American market which is fast awakening to the idea of cool, low cost metropolitan transport. Tweet this as much as possible and perhaps Honda will take notice.

Around the world on a W800 Special Edition?

I don't really know what to write about this machine, other than that she is sublimely exquisite. Perhaps the closest we can get in the modern era to the Brough Superior, I dare say T.E.Lawrence would be up for a spin (perhaps even make it his 9th bike) should he be allowed a quick revisit back amongst us mediocre mortals. Steel steed heathens offer daily prayers to the motorcycle Gods, to implore Kawasaki Corporate to bring this here to us in the US of A! 

If anyone reading this is a man of means and intrepid adventurer, and has dreamed of a round-the-world tour on these great motorcycles, and is up for funding the entire expedition, then I'm your wingman!! I've already mapped-out a route and cleared my schedule. Send me a message!

Building the primo cafe racer!

Motorcycle chez you!

With the current renewed fervor for the cafe racer genre, people have taken to butchering old standard bikes and bolting on aftermarket bits like adult lego sets. Japanese bikes from yesteryear are being pulled from their barn-graves around the country (dusted off, mouse-nests yanked from the mufflers, chicken guano scraped from the saddle) and resuscitated with varying degrees of aesthetic success. Albeit the lazarus treatment will make them ride blacktop once again, folks forget that old Japanese bikes weren't a heck of lot different in quality to modern Chinese bikes: it took the Japanese a couple of decades to get their engineering and metallurgy down pat. Then you have the likes of Ryca and Clevelend Cycle Works who are building cafe's from scratch using new Chinese parts or American-made kits adapted to existing Japanese motorcycles. But what if you like to stand out from the crowd, what if you're a black sheep who stands aside from the flock, a moto-maverick who still fawns over the cafe racer visage but wants a really unique ride that runs true and strong...what can YOU do to go about getting your one-of-a-kind cafe motorcycle? If cost is immaterial, try this: buy a rolling chassis from www.rickman-motorcycles.com (check out their exquisite aluminum tanks & other parts), then go to www.drumhillcycle.com and pick up an engine (the SV650 V-Twin is a gem). Or for one of the best thumper engines ever built buy a new CRF in 150cc or 250cc, sacrifice it on the alter of the motorcycle gods, lift out the stupendous motor and transplant it right into the Rickman frame. Then bolt on a pair of clip-ons and you're ready to roll. For less than 12k you'll be sitting astride the envy of everyone who ever looked sideways at a cafe racer, and, being formed from mechanically sound parts will enable you to enjoy it for years without wasted curb&wrench time. Send us pics! 

Rebel revisited.

USA - motorcycle - 250cc

The Honda Rebel debuted it's petite proportions in 1985 as a bantamweight intro-cruiser for the MTV generation (fact). Training courses adopted it for it's usability, lightweight and seat height. Motorcycle manufacturers are like high school drug pushers, hooking kids on easy offerings in the hope they'll graduate to harder stuff of their brand name: by introducing wannabe bikers to the pastime, Honda hoped Rebel buyers would swap out their training wheels for a higher ticket item down the road. Good thing is that after almost 3 decades it's mechanically the same machine which proves it was sound & serviceable from blueprint. Another nice thing about these diminutive cruisers is there are thousands of them out there, in mint condition, un-abused, low-miles, barely ridden and cheap as dirt. Now ask the Google to show you pics of "Honda Rebel Bobber" and a whole new world of possibility opens up. Via a few cool aftermarket items (try Licks cycles) you can turn a harmless little getaround into a nasty street bob for growling around town and frequenting cafes/bars in style. In the world of mods and rockers (pick a team, nothing is worse than a fence-sitter) such scoots offered ideal foundation for standing out of the crowd & starting your own rebellion. Do that and you'll be true to the original spirit of bobber culture and have a set of wheels to envy.

Heralding the Honda GROM (August release)

USA - motorcycle - 125cc
A 21st century monkey bike for the urban guerrilla!

Ok, I've been wrong in the past and it seems that today I have been proven wrong again. Wrong for assuming Honda was NOT planning to bring the MSX125 to the US marketplace. Perhaps I am also partially mistaken for underestimating the evolution of America's motorcycling needs toward the "smart": after all we have the smart bomb, the smart phone, smart car etc so does it not make sense we would also desire a smart bike? The MSX - or the GROM as it will be know here - is indeed a very smart bike from every angle and not least because it's pocket sized yet capable of much. It's arrival in August also exemplifies the smarts of Honda corporate to make this educated decision rapidly. The success of the Kawasaki KSR110 in Asia was certainly an influencing factor in Honda's judgement call but doubtless so were their keen observations of US motorcycling trends over the past decade. Fuel prices and a deluge of media on all things moto have helped increase people's awareness and interest in motorcycling as a pastime and cost-effective method of commutation, and with that comes a need to satisfy all abilities and every demographic. After all God made horses for every size and type of rider, steel-steed manufacturers should take note. Big bikes have dominated the market here in the US and kept new buyers fearful of ownership. On one hand this has maintained bikers as dangerous characters oozing with adrenalized sex-appeal (on which we have capitalized, shamelessly, I'm as guilty as the next), on the other hand it's left their parents' cautionary tales ringing in their ears long into adulthood and kept them away from membership. Either way they're deterred and lacking a plus-side. I also blame the editorials whose reviewers are invariably prejudice toward more powerful bikes and often flog the smaller ones for being "underpowered" or "lacking" in various departments. Just as we do not condemn a person for their height, modest achievements or skin color so we should not demonstrate bias toward the beloved cycle (bikes should be reviewed for themselves and compared only when a comparison is the subject of the article). Disparaging the wee ones most certainly contributed to manufacturer reluctance to bring them here to the US (NOT the case for the rest of the world who enjoy the full range of sizes). Anyway, it's easy to forget as a seasoned jockey that motorcycles must be terrifying for those with the desire but without the knowhow to ride them. For us who've grown up on them we see a machine bursting with possibilities and excitement, newbies see an uncontrollable rocket that'll propel them speedily to a wheelchair or death (if they're lucky). Herein lies a stagecall for the GROM. It looks wicked cool and fast as a fart on a greased lightning rod...but in actual fact its a pint-sized street-fighter with equally petite capabilities: and that's all it should be, let not the critics fault it! It's a midget motard, a traffic-busting urban micro-assaulter for the uber-chic, a lane-splitting roided-out pygmy in a cape and mask, and at just a few horsepower it's little more than a scooter...but in a classic manual motorcycle configuration that'll give thousands of newcomers their motorcycle stripes sans fear and trepidation. It's also my dream city cycle and I'll be first in line at Honda's door come August. I commuted on the KSR for 7 years in Bangkok where traffic is fast & furious, and I almost cried when I left it behind to return stateside. It was in my top-3 bike list. My only dislike was the lack of manual clutch, which the GROM has. Also the GROM is styled badder, and is a 125, and etc which makes it an all round preferable bike for me and one that'll shunt the KSR to 4th place on my list. If we think of the unveiling of particular bikes in terms of historical events I predict right now that Honda has just started the Gold Rush.

   

I'm back!

As you prepare for spring and consider purchasing ONE ultimate cycle, these are my recommendations from the Japon quatro!

Top 3 Suzuki cycles: GSX-R600, Boulevard S40 and the awesome TU250.
Top 3 Honda Cycles: CB1100, Shadow Phantom and the brilliant Rebel 250cc. (Dear God, please tell Honda management to bring the MSX125 to the USA. Thanks.)
Top 3 Kawasaki cycles: W800, W800 and the D-Tracker 125 (neither available in the US).
Top 3 Yamaha cycles: V-Max wow wow wow, Bolt and V-Star 250.

Alternatively, buy them all.

More reviews coming soon.

Small bikes are awesome, there’s just no getting away from it. Their size means the ride is wholly engaging. Gears must be changed frequently to adjust for every incline or decline, twist and turn; the road must be carefully navigated to make sure your front tire isn’t swallowed by a crack in the blacktop; large vehicles from the opposite direction must be given wide berth to prevent their draft from reducing your hard-earned momentum, and on and on we propel. It’s a perpetual challenge that allows not a moment for concern about the stresses that lie in wait for us at work or home. It is what motorcycling should be all about and now more than ever. After acquiring this Honda CT110 Trail (mint condition, 1982, 600 original miles, I couldn’t resist) from a fellow Vermonter I rode it home via a twisty mountain rode and smiled like the Cheshire Cat from ear to there the whole time. Okay, some of that was nervous grinning at hurtling along frost-heaved surfaces on what are little more than bicycle tires, but overall it was brilliant fun! And what fantastic gears this bike has, long and strong, clean shifts, plenty of roll on. (There’s also a whole other set of low-range gears that can be engaged for hill climbing!) I had filled up with gas for $3 and change, driven 50 miles home, then ran some errands the next day. The day after I decided I had better fill up again only to find at the pump that the tank was almost as full as when I’d filled it 60 miles previously. I apologized to the attendant and rode off like a proud father…“sorry, I forget I only have to fill up once a month”. He gazed after me in dismay with the nozzle in hand. This is the Honda CT. I’m not quite sure how Honda did it, evidently it was sired from the same stable as the Cubs 50, 70 and 90 but this is a 110 and the difference is profound. I’m awed by the little red bike that could - it keeps with most byway traffic and feels solid on the road. Almost daily I get accosted by passers-by who want to know where the hell I got such an immaculate vintage steed. I just lucked out I guess. 

Review Suzuki TU250

As I was nudging my new wee Suzi up a Vermont hill, in the “slow traffic” lane, barely hitting 36mph in 4th, I got to wondering why everyone was hurtling by in such a feverish rush! Where was everyone going on a gorgeous lazy Sunday afternoon, in August, in one of the most beautiful States in the union? Was there a BBQ I was missing? Was there a tsunami rushing up behind us? What was I oblivious to? It is funny how modern communication technologies with their lightning speed transmissions have not removed the haste with which we like to get places physically. For me, an incorrigible nomad, the phone and internet have removed all urgency from my peregrinations and have enabled me to take my sweet time (much to the chagrin of other travelers) when I perambulate somewhere. I now enjoy every moment of every journey. I just sold my V-Max, and my HD bobber, they were too fast. I would race around noisily and find, upon getting home, that I only had an adrenaline buzz and memories of the blacktop in front of me…when you top 60mph you cannot afford to admire the views, or notice the birds overhead, or see the trees, or smell the smells of the mountains and forests you navigate through, it’s just too dangerous to gaze off left and right at the beauty around you. So I sold these gas guzzling behemoths and bought the TU. This truly is a reliable "vintage" bike for the modern age. And I adore it.

Once, when I was in my 20’s, I stood at the basecamp of Everest and gazed in awe at the summit. Next to me stood a weary climber who had twice failed to reach the peak. I tried to empathize with what I imagined he felt and when I expressed my condolences he said very simply “it’s not the point, it’s the journey that matters”. I have owned every manner of cycle in the past 34 years in the saddle and have developed mean skills, ridden in far-flung places, seen extraordinary things. But my fondest road memories are from rides on smaller, slower bikes. Admittedly riding across the Mekong delta on a 250cc with barely a molehill to ascend is very different from the Green Mountains, but 50mph is the golden mean wherever you are. Above 50 and you're on a slalom course and only absolute vigilance will keep you alive (except on freeway riding which I loathe). That can be exhilarating in itself but in a country of arbitrary geriatric speed restrictions it’s just not a good longterm motorcycling lifestyle choice. The TU is also a lifestyle choice and of a very different sort. It’s a choice to give a firm bird to all those hasty drivers in their $60k cars, to slow down and smell the roses, to take your time and a deep breath and get somewhere at a beautiful speed. I have never had so much fun being the thorn in every car-owners side. I hate cars, I hate what they have done to this planet, killing a billion birds and mammals annually (and that’s just American roads), hate their noise and their smell and the aggressive folks inside. Cars kill twice as many people in this country as guns yet no one talks of banning them. If I had one wish I would ask for their instant disappearance from the face of the earth – what a sight to behold them suddenly propelled (yes, perhaps with their occupants) into outerspace! Wow. How wonderful that would be. Anyway. Back to reality.

For the first 800 miles I babied my TU, coaxing it through the gears, keeping the throttle at a quarter turn or less just to get all her little parts oiled and correctly seated, annoying the hell out of everyone else on the road. Heaven. I know a lot of people talk about the amazing gas mileage (it genuinely is extraordinary), the seat comfort (very good even for a tall person), the classic ergonomics (winner all the way)…but I love this bike because it is the perfect ride for all respectable human scenarios. You want to commute? Buy the TU. You want to tour? Don’t even consider another steed! You want to while away a lazy August Sunday for $5 in gas? You feel rightfully obliged to minimize you're environmental impact? You’re a beginner needing a gentle ride to break you in? You’re a pro seeking the antidote to big CC adrenaline insanity and police custody? The TU. Brilliant engine, beautiful fit and finish, comfy seat, cute as a button, great icebreaker, perfect speed and …damn, I should be getting paid by Suzuki, but this is the best bike (or in the top 5) on the American market today, hands down. Buy it, ride it, adore it. Never sell. Give it to your grandchild as an heirloom. America doesn’t know what its missing (I haven’t seen another one on the road) but like the Kawa W650 it will probably be dropped from the US lineup and then become hugely collectible, so I say buy a dozen and make some cash, it will appreciate.

Dear Suzuki, please bring us the SW-1 and the Grasstracker Bigboy too (with cool kickstart) and a mountain of aftermarket accessories like seats and pipes and other cool stuff for all us adulators and fans, we’ll love you for it! I also personally guarantee you will create a whole new following of buyers who would not normally purchase large cc bikes or diminutive scooters....it is a unique opportunity and window that is currently unfilled. Arigatou gozaimasu.

Kawasaki W800

Japan – motorcycle – 800cc

Perfection epitomized...except, um...that it's not available in the US and there's no kickstart. Kawasaki Corporate please fix asap.

For two short years, about a decade ago, Kawasaki sold the little 650cc sister of this bike in the US. Not many people bought it and it was pulled off the shelf. Now they are so collectible you pay the same price (and often more) that they were sold for new in 1999. The W800 is not sold in the USA and no one can understand why. It has to be a conspiracy of some sort though I'll be damned if I know what it is. The W’s boast the most gorgeous set of lungs ever implanted in a motorcycle (my opinion only folks, no hate mail please), the most comfortable riding position, the maximum possible vintage panache on any retro-modern scoot and, last but not least, pure thoroughbred Kawasaki reliability. The only mistake Kawa made was excluding the kickstart: I’m a fan of kickers not simply because they complete the old-school visage, but having taken some seriously longhaul rides in far flung places there have been times when my life has (probably quite literally) been saved by being able to get the motor running even with a flat battery. I hope they put it on next years model. And import that improved model here. Other than that, this is the new love of my life (or week) and I would fly to the UK to buy one and ride it around the world to the US if necessary, just to own her.

Ryca Café Racer/Streettracker

USA – motorcycle – 650cc

What is it? It’s a beautiful and ingenious café racer expertly crafted by a rocket scientist in California! Actually Casey Stevenson is a visionary in many regards. Firstly he recognized the wonderful Suzuki engine for what it was -- namely a single cylinder, twin combustion chambered, air cooled, 4-stroke engine with a single 40mm Mikuni carb belting out ladles of mid range torque for the kind of riding that gives hardened bikers a shit-eating grin. It is the only engine of its exact type and displacement in any current day street-legal production motorcycle and probably the simplest engine setup anytime, anywhere (equal in engineering brilliance to my favorite thumpers, the Honda 99cc engine used in the current CRF and the Suzuki 250cc used in the current TU250). Good find #1. Secondly, the full cradle frame this engine normally resides in is the simplest frame geometry and the most adaptable for customizing. Because many modern production bikes use the engine as a stressed component then full cradle frames are rare, and custom flattracker frames can cost a small fortune so this is good find #2. Belt drive is good find #3 – sweet, clean, quiet power delivery that is very kind to the engine it stems from and promotes all round mechanical longevity. Then with some artistically styled components Casey has found the perfect balance of function and cool. With all these good finds “chance” suddenly becomes a non sequitur as it is displaced by genius -- and the CS-1 is the butterfly to the S40 caterpillar as it metamorphoses a non-descript little cruiser into a seriously sexy ride dripping with thump and style. Though we must tip our hats to Suzuki for assembling so many wonderful parts in a single perambulator, it is the necromancer Mr Stevenson who gets final praise for sighting the potential secreted therein. I shall watch from the sidelines with bated breath to see what this man’ll conjure up next!

Genuine Stella

USA – scooter - 148cc

I recently bumped into this little cutie on the street and immediately fell head-over-heels! This is the quintessential marriage of retro and modern wrapped in an ergonomic wet dream. If you are an environmentalist then this mode of transport is an obligation (recorded 90-120mpg). If you are a poseur then this is the one accessory (bar underwear) you cannot live without. If you are allergic to plastic bodywork then this stamped-steel steed will steal your heart. If you enjoy sunny jaunts along country lanes with your buddy then these are your wheels. If you are on a date with a picnic hamper and a paramour on the back (and mischief on your mind) then this is the sweet spot that’ll get you to home base. If you are tired of the rat race and accelerated modernity, then this is the antidote. There is no way of looking at Stella without falling in love because nothing oozes romance like this pretty lady whether she’s nimbly lane splitting inner city gridlocks or waltzing through the rural curves -- it’s the little scooter that could and the one you shouldn’t let get away. Hasten to genuinescooters.com and get 'em while they're hot!

Yamaha V-Star Custom

Japan/USA - motorcycle - 650cc

I'm very partial to air-cooled engines: generally tougher than nails and leaner in looks they just suit my aesthetic sensibilities better. My current favorite in the Yamaha line up is a very curvy number called the V-Star Custom which comes in all black and has the bare minimum in bells & whistles, and all for under $7k. Admittedly it's only a 650cc but if you're not size-ist and when it's delivered by a refined Japanese powerplant it's very often all you need for most applications. It has nice hardtail looks with softail comfort, a decent saddle for two-up and a neuvo-retro headlamp that I kinda like. I would probably stick a pair of 16" apes on it (or a drag bar) and pop out the muffler end cones before I rolled it off the factory floor but that done I reckon you'd have a mean dependable chop that'd garner envious looks and get you around in style. Having ironbutted this fair land of ours and visited almost every state in the saddle, I can tell you that rock-solid dependability is my mantra. This bike delivers that and enough cool factor to earn you street cred too.