Nine Bikes

People are always asking me questions about some model of motorcycle or another. There must be sign on my forehead. I have ridden quite a few over the past 4 ½ decades and I have to say that hopping on an unfamiliar bike and sampling its personality is on my short list of favorite things. A multi-day group ride with friends often affords the opportunity to try out some other bikes. Such was the case recently as I rode some of Washington’s best roads around Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens with three other guys on four disparate sporting machines.

Some of the people inquiring about bikes are fortunate enough to be shopping for something brand-new, so what about the latest thing on the market? Finding a dealer that will allow test rides on bikes of interest is always a happy occasion and is invaluable in sorting out the differences first-hand rather than relying on magazine articles as our only source of information on the current crop being offered by the manufactures. With Seattle weather in top form in late August I decided to turn a parts run to Ducati Seattle into a bike-testing excursion with a stop at Issaquah’s I-90 Motorsports but I’ll return to that little foray later.

First I need to explain that my Multistrada 1000 was out-of-commission waiting on parts as we prepared to set out on the aforementioned group ride. I could either ride my large, slightly ponderous Concours 1000 or my sweet little corner-loving SV650 on the 900-mile, exceptionally curvaceous route we had planned. Having the option to choose the best bike for any given ride provides a lesson in determining the kind of bikes we ought to own. In this case I felt confident in trading the quiet comfort of a large fairing and windscreen for the spritely maneuverability of a light, naked run-about. If these particular roads don’t warrant it, I can hardly think of any that do.

Highway 25 running through the Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of my favorite roads and the branching road to Windy Ridge, overlooking Mt. St. Helens is as good as it gets in my book. Straight sections are as scarce as hen’s teeth. The vertical undulations are punctuated by the occasional frost heave or pothole for added interest. Man, I love that kind of road! I eat it like candy – especially when I’m on the right bike. The little SV seemed pretty close to perfect.

My buddies were on a Kawi ZZR 1200, a late-model FZ1 and a Suzuki GSX650F - four-bangers all. Our route from Wenatchee began with Blewett Pass, Highway 821 along the Yakima River, Chinook Pass, Mt. Rainier National Park and on to I-5. Any bike will handle these excellent roads, but a fairly light-weight, somewhat zoomy bike will always appeal to me when the corners tighten up. It’s not necessary to take the corners at anywhere near maximum lean-angle to appreciate these qualities. A bike can transmit its “feel” even when ridden gently. My DR650 was made for blasting up Forest Service roads but the truth is that I always prefer to be on my EXC 450 in the dirt, no mater how well-graded the road. I guess it’s just the extra measure of control that I like. This translates to pavement for me and steers me toward bikes that allow me to feel the road and respond to it. I prefer not to have too much of a stability buffer smoothing out the road for me, but in talking to people I realize that not everyone feels this way.

On day-2 we rode to Mt. St. Helens on the west-side highway 504. This highway is well engineered with wonderful sweepers that are/would be great fun at high speed. After taking in the spectacle of the mountain I traded bikes with Bob to check out his 2009 FZ1. I hadn’t ridden an FZ for several years and was very impressed with its pleasing blend of comfort, sporting feel and massive power. I told Bob I felt like that motor was some kind of irresistible force in the universe. Some of this impression may have been influenced by a road that begged for power and got it. It seems odd that people don’t talk about the FZ1 much any more; too long on a market full of newcomers perhaps? If the world turned upside down and I was left with an FZ as my only road bike I could make do very well. It seems to offer the scintillating acceleration of Starship Concours 14 but leaves a couple hundred pounds of complexity at the door. The little windscreen is far forward and somewhat vertical but cuts a fair amount of wind blast without the buffeting I hate so much.

I will not ride a bike with a turbulent airstream clubbing my head to death. I never wanted to get off a bike so fast as when on a cruiser with a “classic” plexi windshield that threatened brain-damaging buffeting. Windscreens are an important factor in choosing a bike; too noisy and I would rather go without altogether – until the weather turns cold and nasty anyway.

Now I can say I’ve been to Cougar, Washington. After food and root beer floats we headed for 25 and the curves I had been craving. The SV is really in its element here and I was feeling like a kid turned loose at Disneyland without any supervision. This road runs like a rabbit trail though deep forest. Up, down, left, right, dodge that chuck hole, crest that frost ridge. It just goes on an on in glorious, random imperfection. It becomes the rider’s responsibility to find rhythm in the road and play it like a musical score. The handlebars, suspension and tires are my instrument. This road is jazz.

As if all this were not enough to saturate my brain with endorphins and excite moto-bliss, we finally came to National Forest Road 99. This road exists only to take you out to a spectacular viewpoint above Spirit Lake on the north-east side of St. Helens. Thirty miles of luscious curves, most of them in the blast zone of the eruption - the thick forest knocked to the ground leaving an open landscape with expansive views.

My SV is 11 years old and other bikes have surely eclipsed its bang-for-the-buck athleticism, even with its Race Tech guts in the forks. I have ridden the Hypermotard and I know it would be an absolute hoot on 99. Another bike that comes to mind for roads like this is Triumph’s Street Triple. There’s no need for more power here. I need to ride that bike.

After 99 it was on to Carson in the Columbia Gorge via the Wind River Rd. Young Jason trades with me and I am sampling the GSX with its friendly ergonomics and its controls all falling comfortably into hand and foot. I feel the added weight but also the stability and smoothness that make this a perfect ride for a newcomer with the verve to keep up with the veterans on such demanding roads. Now that the roads have straightened out a bit I’m thinking that I would be quite happy to ride this comfy sporter the rest of the way home. The full fairing and bubble screen are welcome after two days on the bare naked twin.

After running up the Klickitat and lunch in Goldendale I switch off with Doug for the ride up Satus Pass. I’ve ridden the ZZR before but not for a while. Affectionately known as Jestson, this silver bullet is the model of high-speed civility; muscular but never brutish. Bar risers and AirHawk seat cushion make for a very nice place to enjoy the scenery and the effortless, no-drama rush of acceleration when passing cars. Doug thinks he would like a shiny new Concours but I see most of what he really needs right here. The Connie has that big electric windshield and hard bags but there is something to be said for a bike that is paid for and never even murmurs when whipped.

Back in Wenatchee, only a few days pass before thoughts of warm, clear days on the west side of the mountains beg the question of possible test rides on bikes not sold ‘round here. A stop at the Issaquah Triumph shop yields a chance to sample the Sprint GT. This bike has done very well in sport-touring shootouts. With a wheelbase 3 inches longer than the old ST, it seems they now have less of a GT and more of an ST, but what do I know about marketing. Ergonomics are moderately sporty, with only a little forward lean. Not much more than what Peter Egan once called the “Alert Airedale” riding position. Steering is light enough but the dominate impression is one of stability. I don’t have opportunity to really rail in corners but they say it does so very accurately. The famed 1050 triple fails to make a big impression after riding the FZ and ZZR but it would easily do any job that needs doing out on the road.

Next up is the Speed Triple as the Street Triple 675 is sold out at this shop. I’m not complaining. I’ve always wanted to ride this naked bruiser. Now the same 1050 motor comes into its own in this 53lb-lighter chassis. This bike is exciting and wants to stand up on its back wheel. Where the GT is not a slicer and dicer, this one is. The stock muffler is noticeably more vociferous here and I get that gritty, three-banger growl under hard throttle that we read about so much. There’s not much bike in front of the handlebars and there is a feeling of being shot out of a cannon headfirst when the three butterflies open all the way. A fun bike for sure.

After rounding up my parts at the Ducati shop, I ask if I could demo the new Multistrada 1200. The bike they give me is the S model with computer-controlled everything, including Ohlins’ magic, electronically-variable suspension. The seat seems slightly lower than my tall Multi, which is welcome. The instrument panel is amazing. I feel like I’ve climbed into the latest “glass-cockpit” biz jet. The salesman orients me on the menu of settings and sends me out in “urban” mode – only 100HP to play with while I get acclimated in traffic. Keeping one eye on Aurora Avenue traffic I toggle the handlebar switch and after a few fumbles get into “sport” mode. Now we’re talkin’ 150 bright red ponies on tap. Being unable to get the revs into the upper registers where they live, the real difference with sport mode on this ride is in the instant, snap-olla throttle response. This thing this is seriously powerful and it wants to jump forward like it was hit from behind by a Camry. I knew it would have big midrange but the bottom end is tearing my grey matter to shreds. How can it have so much torque everywhere and still have the top-end that I know must be waiting there on the right side of the glass tach? The bike feels light and the front wheel lighter. As I blast through traffic that Big Ducati Sound is my companion. This is MOTOR. It now seems that none of the other bikes I’ve been riding had MOTOR. What a strange mixture of ferociousness and comfort. Comfort? Yes. I’m pretty sure that is comfort I feel underneath all the rage. I say to myself, “A hooligan bike you can tour on.” I’ve always said my Multi, with its Corbin horse saddle, is the most comfortable bike I have ridden. The 1200’s stock seat might not be quite as good but these bars are a bit higher and feel perfect in my hands. In the traffic I cant’ get up much speed but the smallish windscreen is quiet so far. It is closer to the rider’s head than normal and I suspect the air has little time to tumble and turbulate. I realize this bike could do it all. I want this bike.

One bike I had hoped to ride was the new Ninja 1000, this year’s recipient of Motorcyclist Magazine’s Motorcycle of the Year award. Doug and I later made a trip out to Legend to check it out. It’s always nice to take out a couple of bikes with a friend so you can switch off and compare notes out on the road. Sitting next to the Ninja was a new Suzuki GSX1250FA, which replaces the Bandit 1250 and offers a full fairing. Having ridden the Bandit we thought we knew what to expect from the new Suzuki but it seemed like a good pairing for a test ride. I rode out on the 1250 and Doug on the Ninja. The Suzi's handling was much the same as I remembered the Bandit, utterly composed and confident. Not a particularly “acrobatic” sport bike but more of a gentleman’s high-speed express. Just a bit heavy but exuding reassuring stability and a fair amount of comfort – what I would call a classic GT (Gran Turismo) motorcycle.

Swapping with Doug for the trip back to town, my first impression of the Ninja was that it lacked the arm-stretching thrust of the 1250. Being a smaller, lighter, sporting tool, I thought I would prefer the Ninja and I did. Comparing notes with Doug after the ride we found that both of us had felt a heaviness in the steering at low speed when we first set off on the Ninja, but that the feeling had quickly faded. This is odd because Doug’s overall impression was that of a “twitchy” bike, not quite to his liking, while I found it nimble, responsive and fun to ride. Our strongly differing experience goes to show how important a test ride can be before purchasing a motorcycle.

The Kawi's small, oddly-shaped windscreen tilts to 3 positions; I liked the middle one. Motorcycle windshields are tricky. Building one that will deflect the full force of wind at highway speed is no problem but making one that does not produce annoying roar and buffeting turbulence is a challenge. Sometimes a small screen that mainly takes pressure of the torso is better than a big, poorly designed shield. The best allow the rider to look just over the top edge while cutting the noise to a minimum and turbulence to nil. Screens this big just don’t fit well, aesthetically or aerodynamically, with super-high-speed sportbikes. The Ninja’s small screen, mounted close to rider’s head, produces only a little more roar than a clean air stream while allowing an upright seating position sans undue pressure on the chest.

I’ve had the pleasure of sampling many motorcycles, including numerous Ducatis, Aprilias, Beemers and a souped-up Busa. Of all the bikes I have ever ridden there is one here that stands out in my mind as most desirable. It is the new Multistrada 1200. It’s not the styling that pulls me in but the combination of sound, feel, responsiveness, comfort, versatility and mind-bending, usable power. My test ride was short and not on the kind of roads I would hope for, but it is surprising how much you can learn about a bike in only a few minutes. The mysteries that remain might require a few long road trips to uncover. For now, I know enough to nurture a hope that a Multi 1200 could be in my future.

What is the VFR?

The new Honda VFR 1200 has presented some journalists with a problem they encounter occasionally; what category does this bike fall into? Is it a sportbike, a sport-tourer, or something that defies categorization? There is no universally recognized guide for naming motorcycle categories. There may be some consensus among the journalists but it is a shifting sand. The world of sporting motorcycles is so broad that the term sportbike is not very helpful. Do you then call a Yamaha R1 a super sport, a super bike or a hyper sport?

There is a name that has been used in many publications for bikes that fall between pure sport and sport-tour. It is a name long used in the world of sporting automobiles and that name is Grand Touring. A Ferrari that makes significant sacrifices in performance in favor of comfort and luxury is a prime example of a GT automobile. It may have two seats and a stomping 12-cylinder engine but it was never aimed at the race track and does not qualify as a true sports car. GT cars tend to be a little larger and a little heavier. There are many motorcycles that follow that same formula.

As the spectrum of motorcycles became more diverse and specialized during the 70's and 80's, the high-performance end of the spectrum divided into those bikes that were destined to be used as a platform for production-bike road racers and those that were somewhat performance compromised to make them more comfortable and practical as a street bike. One of the early examples that comes to mind is the BMW R90 RS. The RS was one of the first bikes to come standard with an aerodynamic fairing and windscreen. It was built for speed on the Autobahn but not on the race track. The original Honda Interceptor saw action at the top levels of racing but the descendant VFR took a divergent path as Honda went racing with more focused machines like the RC30. Joining bikes like the Yamaha FJ and Ducati Paso, the VFR became a classic GT. Fast, but not the fastest. Light, but not the lightest. Sporty, but not the ultimate weapon for carving up a set of curves. What you got in return was blend of comfort and speed, practicality and excitement.

The GT motorcycle genre includes far too many bikes to list but came into full maturity in the 1990's with bikes like the Kawasaki ZX11, Suzuki Hayabusa and Honda Blackbird. Still, the VFR remained in the lineup squarely under the GT tent. That the new VFR should cause some confusion as to how to classify it would seem to deny the historical validity of the GT category. If the VFR is not obviously a sportbike and not obviously a sport-touring bike, then it should very naturally fall into the GT camp. So what if is has a shaft drive? So did the RS. So what if it weighs more than some other 1200s? It has moderately low bars and a narrow waistline. It's not a race bike. It doesn't come with saddle bags. Although it could certainly be used for sport touring, (so could a CBR1000RR) it is not a sport-touring bike in the classic sense. If it came standard with hard bags (as the Triumph Sprint now does) we might be tempted. Some might also be tempted to borrow the non-specific term of "crossover." The new Multistrada crosses over so many categories that it merits much more confusion than the relatively straightforward VFR. What it is should be fairly obvious. It's fast, nimble, practical and comfortable. It's a GT.

Ice Racing Comes to Wenatchee

My wife and I went to the ice races last night. It was a pretty good show. The course is very small so they spend most of their time in the corners. Two racers ran straight into the wall early on and one guy was doubled over in pain for a long time but finally got up and walked off. The announcer had some bogus information and kept saying the bikes had 4-cylinder engines. Once he said they were "trials bikes with crotch rocket motors." They looked like typical speedway bikes to me with single-cylinder motors. Probably Westlakes or Jawas or whatever they use now. The quad races were fun too. My favorite were the 2 little kids ages 3 and 4 on tiny little quads! The new event center is pretty cool (literally - we should have taken warmer jackets). Almost any seat would give a decent view of the ice and the sound system is quite good so you can actually understand what the announcer is saying. An evening well spent.

Tardy Spring

According to the official Breezebike Definition of Spring, we in the Wenatchee area were finally blessed with Spring on March 18 this year. This is 4 days later than normal, a deviation we can obviously attribute to Global Cooling. When we are waiting for warmer riding weather the passage from one season to another is such a creeping thing.

I did manage to ride a motorcycle at least once in every month during the winter. To date I have ridden out of town several times and done some dirt riding at Saddle Mountain near Mattiwa on 3 occasions. Anything above freezing works fine in the dirt where one is burning calories at a higher rate. It is hard to work up enthusiasm for road riding below 40 degrees. Even with the electric jacket cranked up there is only so much you can do to protect the extremities without also having electric socks and gloves. Helmets leak a tremendous amount of cold air even with my home-made neck fairing wrapped around. So far I am willing to wait for warmer weather. At the end of winter 40 degrees can seem pretty warm.

John Britten Documentary Video

I hold as my considered opinion that John Britten is as close as we have come to a Leonardo DaVinci in modern times. He could have gone down in history as an innovator in almost any field but fortunately for us he chose to build a motorcycle. John has become one of my lifetime heroes. He was an artist, a visionary, a mechanical genius, a god among backyard mechanics, and perhaps delightfully, just a bit of an insane lunatic.

When the Guggenheim Museum moved its Art of the Motorcycle Exhibit from New York to Las Vegas, I was able to attend and experience one of the truly great motorcycle collections ever assembled. For me, the highlight was to finally see a Britten motorcycle in the flesh. There has never been anything like it and possibly never will be. The cutting-edge technical innovations that permeate that bike from one end to the other would be impressive enough without the shoestring budget and isolation under which it was wrought. If that wasn't enough, the artistic genius in John gave us a truly stunning work of art. This is the spirit of Form Follows Function at its highest level. Not enough yet? The bike actually worked, and worked so well it beat the best on the racetrack.

I have a large framed print of the Britten hanging on the wall in my office. I have the memory of tracing its sensuous curves with my eyes in three dimensions. Sadly, that is all that is left of the enchanted Britten workshop. When I heard in 1995 that John was dead from cancer I went into a minor state of depression. He was born in 1950, same as me. My hero was gone, leaving us to wonder what he might have accomplished in time. I mourn his death to this day.

I have just found a documentary film that can be viewed on the Internet. It is given in five short segments that chronicle John's amazing life and motorcycling triumph. It only briefly touches on some of the ground-breaking techniques John used to solve his engineering problems. The deeper you delve into this fantastic machine the more impressive it becomes. Watch these videos and it may inspire you to learn more about John and his bike. Do some web searches or buy a book. He may become your hero too.

to link to the videos click here

Duke vs. Shiver

Yesterday I found myself wandering aimlessly around the metro area west of the Cascades. Quite by accident I just happen to pass by bike shops in both Lynnwood and Seattle. Blinded by the intense sun and parched to near delirium, I mistook the parking lot of Lynnwood Motoplex for highway 99 and lurched to a stop just before ramming the curb. Lost and confused I walked inside and blurted out: "Could I take the KTM 690 Duke out for a test ride?" Well, I had to say something. O.K. Test riding motorcycles is one of favorite things to do. It was just a knee-jerk reaction.

Dagnab it if that little black & white Duke didn't catch my eye at last winter's bike show. The original Duke has always been on my hot list but this new one really looks cool. Highway 99 and the adjacent residential streets aren't the best place to put a hooligan bike through its paces but a short loop around the neighborhood and a buzz through an empty school parking lot gave me a feel for what the Duke might be like to live with, if not really discovering it's ultimate capabilities. I'm sure they are dangerously fantastic. The Duke ride is not altogether different from what I get on my DR650, at least ergonomically. The seat is wider/better and it has a more substantial, flex-free chassis and vastly better suspenders. The Duke feels expensive and is, at about $9000. KTM is proud of the power output of this little single and it plainly has more beans than my piped and jetted DR. In fact, in darting around at speeds below 60, I thought that its power fell somewhere in the middle between the DR and my Multistrada 1000. Being a single, this sensation would surely change if I had more open spaces to explore the upper range of it's speed where the bigger bike should walk off and leave it. But the Duke is not made to spend much time at high speed. It seeks the tight corner where it can be tossed to and fro, zipping in and out like a pesky gnat. It would be sacrilege to own a Duke and not develop some skill for wheelies and stopees. Maybe I'm getting too old for such antics but I know I could have fun on a Duke even if I didn't manage to leave a trail of black scallop marks on the road. The little Duke sounds throaty and good if you have any affinity for singles, and the Robo-bike styling would attract attention wherever it goes. But then, there are some types of attention I don't need. This thing could get me into trouble.

How I ended up on Aurora Avenue I'm not sure but I managed to swoop into the Aprilia / Moto Guzzi dealer for directions. Not sure of how else to help, they sent me out on a Aprilia Shiver to get my bearings. This bike looks fantastic as an Italian bike truly should. The 90-degree V-twin could sound like a Ducati but instead has a different tone; more staccato and not at all subdued for a stock exhaust. The first thing I noticed was the clutch engagement very close to the hand grip. The next thing was... Whooa! This thing wants to jump out of the gate. You want immediate action? Just crack the throttle and the crankshaft is making the leap to torque mode like it's already happened. I've never experienced such instantaneous throttle response. As the bike's speed builds, the Shiver provides a nice linear surge of power like you would expect from a modern 4-valve 750 twin. Nothing spectacular like the initial pop, but good and peppy. Like all bikes these days, the fueling is lean and could probably be made smoother in on/off throttle transitions with some remapping, but the experience is definitely sporty good fun with not much to complain about. When I returned, the salesman reminded me that this bike has "fly-by-wire" throttle and comes with 3 switch settings - sport, touring, and rain. I had only sampled sport. Momma mia! Bring it on. This bike can pop small power wheelies easier than the Duke and that is saying something.

In comparing the two bikes, I noticed they are about the same price. Hmm. The Shiver is a real motorcycle and would be a lot more versatile than the Duke, but then I sure wouldn't buy a Duke for versatility. It's a sharp and pointy fun-stick. Not that I wouldn't want to use it for short commutes and errand-running, but no ride to town on a Duke could be mundane. Yank those handlebars and poke that corner in the eye! Still, the Shiver is tempting. It is everything my cherished old Suzuki SV was and a whole lot more. Not insignificantly, it sounds much better than the Duke. The Shiver's fatal flaw for me might be that it is too much like the Multistrada that I plan to keep. A gorgeous and rambunctious Italian but with less torque, comfort and wind protection than the Multi. Fortunately, I'm not in a hurry to choose my next bike cuz it won't be easy.

DR Hop Up

I am generally happy with the power characteristics of my bikes, but the Suzuki DR 650 is so mildly tuned and docile that I began to think it might be worth the expense to liven up the motor a bit. The big DR is much heavier than the smaller DRs and is somewhat hampered in the dirt by this weight. Mounting semi-knobby tires helps but it remains more impressive on pavement than in the dirt. While it has gobs of torque for off-road use, you can never have too much power on the street.

I ordered an FMF slip-on muffler from Jessie, the DR guru at kientech.com. His web site shows pictures of how to open up the air box for better breathing on the intake side. I simplified the procedure by using a hole saw to make a couple of large round holes in the box. I then rode down to Mike Kirkpatrick's Pro Tec Dyno to get the carburetion dialed in. This was my first experience with a motorcycle dyno and it is pretty impressive. Since all bikes come from the factory with lean jetting these days, opening up the breathing at both ends only makes things much worse and the carb must be re-jetted for maximum power and longevity of the motor.

What I didn't realize about modern dyno machines is that they have a sniffer that goes down the exhaust pipe to read the actual fuel-air ratio all the way up through the RPM range. The initial dyno run revealed lean burn that was off the chart. Mike's been tuning bikes as a hobby for decades and has such a feel for it that he picked the correct jet the first time on my bike. He says he got lucky but he obviously knows what he's doing. A couple of other tweaks to the carb and it was back on the dyno to check the result. Both he and I knew right away that this run was much different. Now the docile DR was really making power and spinning the dyno drum at a ferocious clip. The printout revealed a 7 HP increase and a truck-load of additional torque - especially in the mid RPM range - and my fuel-air mixture was now right where it should be.

I found it hard to explore all this new power in the city, as opening the throttle half way quickly puts the speed into the bad-ticket zone. Once on some twisty country roads it was plain that the old DR was now a bit of a beast. Whacking open the throttle makes a lot more noise with the aftermarket can, but there is also some serious muscle to go with it. It feels like it wants to tear the knobs off the tires. At first I was tempted to say that the 650 now felt like an 800 but that is not quite right. Before, it was a 650 with a pillow jammed into both ends. Now it feels like a hot 650 - at least by comparison. It really feels like a 650 version of my KTM 450 - still torquey and tractable but much more athletic than the dumbed-down stocker. I would say that an increase in power in the same bike pays out dividends in fun by a factor of two. A 20% increase in power yields a 40% increase in fun - and fun is what it's all about. I now have what amounts to a new bike for only a few hundred dollars. Money well spent.

There is another reason I went for the aftermarket pipe - weight, or lack thereof. My bike lost 7.8 pounds. I had my doubts that I would really notice the weight reduction while riding but I do. While roosting up the dirt road that links Cashmere's sewage treatment plant with Monitor's orchards, I felt the bike was handling better. It's not just the weight but where the weight is located on the bike that can make a difference. Sport bike designers are all aflutter over mass centralization these days. On the DR, those extra pounds were hanging high and to the rear - far from the center of mass - like an eight pound pan handle. When the bike wanted to twitch to the left, that old muffler wasn't done swinging to the right. The loss of weight can only benefit acceleration, deceleration and every other kind of motion. Money even better spent.