Indice dei contenuti per November 2016 in Cycle World

Riding is like life. Keep your balance, stop for a nice meal once in a while, stand up, sit down, lean in, keep your eyes up but be aware of what’s behind you and what might come from either side, check your blind spot, don’t carry too much baggage, and keep a decent tool kit around. And a helmet never hurt anybody… Riding is also perfectly emblematic of the human condition: We ultimately are alone but find reference, meaning, support, and growth through traveling together. I suppose if you make your entire life in, I don’t know, gardening, perhaps you might write the same kind of sentence and say that gardening has brought the greatest, most creative people into your life and that you married your spouse and met your…

While most motorcycle ridingtechnique pieces focus on the neverending puzzle of maximizing the enjoyment on canyon roads, the reality is that not everyone has the benefit of riding tight, twisting roads day in and day out. Such a case was recently presented to me by an Army Safety Division officer, who surprised me with his numberone motorcycle safety problem: freeway on- and off-ramps. “We’re in Florida and the best corners are freeway on- and off-ramps,” he related. “That’s where all our accidents occur… well, other than intersections. I could really use a plan to help my riders with on- and off-ramps.” INCREASING SPEED OPENS THE BIKE’S CORNERING RADIUS AND FORCES IT TO RUN WIDER WHILE DECREASING SPEED TIGHTENS THE RADIUS. Here are some tips for those riders: 1) Understand the…

Yes, I know most people believe the Norton Commando is a fourstroke motorcycle, but this is not always the case. Let me explain. Several months ago, I awoke on a warm and sunny morning—perhaps the first really nice day of spring—and decided to take a motor cycle ride. Pondering the many options in my vast four-bike collection, I decided it was time to get my 1974 Com mando out of its winter mothballs and fire it up. I unhooked the battery tender, topped up the oil, adjusted and oiled the chain, checked the tires, and put on my leather jacket. I turned on the fuel taps, tickled the Amals until they wept, flicked on the key, and kicked. Nothing. So I kicked it again. And again. Finally it started, but…

YEARS SOLD: 2012–present MSRP NEW: $13,900 (’12) to $15,090 (’16) BLUE BOOK RETAIL VALUE: $8,250 (’12) to $13,485 (’16) BASIC SPECS: A liquid-cooled 1,199cc DOHC parallel twin featuring tractionenhancing 270-degree firing interval and YCC-T ride-by-wire fuel injection with adjust able traction control provides intuitive torque-rich delivery. A lowmaintenance shaft drive feeds power to the standard, street-oriented 17-inch rear radial quite well, while fitment of more off-road-capable rubber is a viable modification due to its 19-inch front wheel size. These, along with 7.5-inch suspension travel, under-engine skid plate, and a wide tubular handlebar with hand guards, all offer the form and function of a modern ADV machine. WHY IT’S DESIRABLE: As Yamaha’s answer to a fast-growing adventure segment, the Super Ténéré makes an ideal workday commuter while proving very comfortable for…

The new Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC is not where you’d expect to find two icons of chopper culture, but then again, they’re currently exhibiting photographer Danny Lyon’s career retrospective, Message To The Future. Lyon is best known among motorcyclists for his 1967 book The Bikeriders, documenting his membership in the Chicago Outlaws Motorcycle Club, and his images from that period fill a room at the Whitney. Lyon discovered motorcycles in 1962 and spent 1965 photographing and interviewing his friends from the Outlaws M/C. At the exhibit, you can don headphones and listen to his tapes from “Cockroach” and “Kathy,” which were later transcribed for The Bikeriders. The book is both documentary and art, and art-school photographers have copied images like “Crossing the Ohio” for 50 years now.…

Organizing four riders and a photographer on a multiday adventure—in which you’re riding in new places and stopping to do multiple photo passes—is a feat all its own. And, truth be told, bozos like us could have made it impossible for photographer Jeff Allen to get any work done. Fortunately, we all had Sena headsets (sena.com). If I wasn’t yelling at Kamrad (who had just blown past a turn), Jeff was telling us to ride in a tighter formation. At one point, when we had lost a bolt, we had to call an auto shop. And during the many waits, we had some tunes to keep us entertained. In short, these headsets are a must for any tour. The other guys all decided to move their Sena 20S ($270) headsets…

THE RIDE STARTS HERE BY THE NUMBERS 29 STORAGE ROOM: The capacity, in liters, for each of the MGX-21’s side bags 2014 LONG-AWAITED: The year Moto Guzzi first unveiled the MGX-21 prototype at EICMA 15 ATTENTION GRABBER: The number of people we saw point at the MGX-21 from the side of the road during our ride “That’s a cool-looking motorcycle,” said the man dressed in a Harley-Davidson T-shirt and hat, his eyes locked on the carbon-fiber covers and bright-red cylinder heads protruding from either side of the bike’s chassis. He stood back to take it in and then, as I began to step away from it, asked the question I already knew was coming: “What is it?” “It,” in this case, is the Moto Guzzi MGX-21 Flying Fortress, the latest—and…

Anytime the thermometer starts edging up to triple digits, a common tempta tion is to ride in a T-shirt with no jacket. Bad idea. Even a minor get-off can leave you with mementos you’ll never forget. The smart move: Wear a jacket that provides as much crash protection as a conventional riding jacket but will keep you from being fricasseed in scorching weather. Slatin MotoGear’s solution is its EZ-1 SuperFabric Mesh Jacket. It combines 600-denier outer shell construction with high-airflow ballistic mesh paneling on the front, back, and sleeves. Impact protection at the shoulders, elbows, and forearms is via toughas-nails, abrasion-resistant SuperFabric over CE-approved Level 1 removable armor, all complemented by a Level 2 back protector. A gossamerthin, zip-out Reissa liner is claimed to be both windproof and waterproof. I…

MotoGP photographer Neil Spalding recently explained that a hat-section round object on the lower left side of Honda RC213V fuel tanks is a means of adjusting fuel tank capacity to allow the mandated maximum of 22 liters to be carried. The “round objects” are made in various heights to allow capacity adjustment. In 1972, this capacity adjustment was made by placing in the tank various “displacers,” which took the form of 4-ounce and 9-ounce baby bottles. At the time, I chuckled inwardly at the imaginary slogan: “Evenflo—the Baby Bottle of Champions.” We are accustomed to reading that one of the MotoGP constructors will evaluate a new chassis at a post-race Monday test. Presumably the chassis incorporates the latest improvements in specific flexibility, so necessary to corner grip on circuits not…

• 32-bit dual processor ECM • Motion Track TCS (Traction Control System) has 10 intervention levels, or modes. • Inertial Measuring Unit (IMU)—measures pitch, roll, and yaw. • Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (S-DMS)— adapts throttle response to special conditions via three modes A, B, and C (B and C modes require more throttle grip rotation for a given torque). • Bi-directional quick-shift system (on GSXR1000R)— employs ignition retard to unload the gearbox during upshifts and blips the throttle during downshifts. • Launch Control system (on GSX-R1000R)— rider can concentrate on clutch operation, reduces chance of wheelie, more consistent start. • Suzuki Easy Start System—as in latemodel cars, once you push the start button, the start cycle cranks the engine until it fires. • Low RPM Assist (LRA)—once you have throttle…

TPM, TPM, TPM Q: I just bought a repo’d 2014 BMW R1200RT. The bike has everything except TPM (tire pressure monitor), shift assist, keyless ignition, and locking bags. I have TPM in my cars and love it. I would love it on my BMW too. I need to know if I buy the BMW TPMs for my bike, will it be recognized by its computer? Or do I have to have the dealer load the TPMs into my bike’s computer? Guess what, I don’t trust the dealer. I am very mechanically inclined and do my own work. It is therapy… WILLIAM BARROSO CYCLEWORLD.COM A:Most likely not gonna happen. If you are very lucky and you happen to have one of the few bikes that TPM can be fitted to, it…