Table of contents for September 2015 in Cycle World

Some combination of excellence, significance, and audacity gets a bike the highest honors of the year in CW. Being really close gets it an Honorable Mention. But there are other forms of greatness or, ahem, distinction, that land a motorcycle on this list called The Ten Rest. BEST WAY TO RIDE AS A FAMILY: ANY URAL SIDECAR Oh, obligatory, predictable, you say, and I agree. My two-year-old son Ian loves these, and there is nothing else like them. Wacky, useful, and smell-the-flowers slow. BEST WAY TO BECOME WORLD CHAMPION: KTM RC390 CUP BIKE Helmets off to Wayne Rainey, MotoAmerica, and KTM for planting the seeds for American roadracing stars. Oh, to be 14 to 22 years old again! BEST WAY TO BE YOUR OWN DRONE STRIKE: BMW R1200R Loving the…

1 Two words: round and smooth. Starting point for the Corsair-X is Arai’s customary egg-shaped shell. Company engineers call this “R75,” defined as a continuous, convex curve of a minimum radius of 75mm. Should the helmet glance of an object, energy-absorption capacity can be reserved for a second, third, or even fourth impact—what Arai calls the “realities” of a crash. 2 A fundamental difference: The Corsair-X has a new face shield system. This complicated yet elegant design uses Arai’s Variable Axis System (VAS) that lowers the operating mechanism, increasing the area above the side pods by an average of 24mm for a rounder, smoother surface along the critical Snell test line. 3 Let’s face it: Many Americans have pronounced facial features. Comedian Jay Leno, an Arai wearer, is one well-publicized…

F/A-18 SUPER HORNET acceleration force: 1.3G FORMULA 1 CAR acceleration force: 1.7G PRO STOCK DRAGBIKE acceleration force: 2.75G TOP FUELER acceleration force: 5 to 6G ANTI-BALLISTIC MISSILE acceleration force: 100G When I graduated from high school, 0 to 60 in 10 seconds was high performance. That was a little more than a quarter of a G (which is acceleration of 32 feet per second, every second). Commercial jets take about 26 seconds from brake release to rotation at 180 knots (something like 300 feet/second), which gives us about 0.36G. Then we get to street-operable highperformance rides. Aprilia’s RSV4 gets to 60 in 2.7 seconds, or just over 1G. This is a common number for supercars as well. We know that the thrust of any jet fighter that can climb straight…

KTM FREERIDE Why should kids have all the fun? For years, manufacturers have built youth-oriented and base-model dirt bikes that have been labeled “playbikes.” But what if you want a high-performance grown-up version, a collision of sorts between an enduro and a trials bike, a lightweight machine that makes an average rider feel like an EnduroCross hero who can conquer any trail? That is KTM’s Freeride. Well, that and pure fun. YAMAHA FZ-07 If there is one thing holding the FZ-07 back from snatching a Ten Best Bikes award, it is Big Brother. No, not the Orwellian version but literally its also-budget-minded and performance-oriented FZ-09 stablemate. The 07 packs a surprising amount of fun and performance into a value-priced, $6,990 package. Power delivery from its 689cc parallel-twin defies the displacement…

High-end sportbikes like Yamaha’s YZF-R1 and R1M, the Aprilia RSV4 RF, BMW S1000RR, and the Ducati 1299 Panigale S offer the capability to download riding data from the bike's ECU right to your computer, or even your smartphone for some. Then you can review your trackday performance, corner by corner, lap by lap, in the comfort of your home or at the coffee shop with friends. This is fabulous—it is a personal coach who observes and measures your performance. Be prepared for possible disappointment. When Eddie Lawson first worked with a data system on a GP bike, he reportedly said, “I hate that thing! Where I think I’ve got the throttle open 100 percent it’s telling me it’s only 25 percent.” Imagine the possibilities for self-improvement. Instead of spending a…

YEARS SOLD: 1981–present MSRP NEW: $439 (’81) to $1,440 (’15) BLUE BOOK RETAIL VALUE: $520 (’91*) to $995 (’14) *First year of available pricing in Kelley Blue Book BASIC SPECS: Simplicity is the name of the game. Nearly 35 years ago, Yamaha introduced the 1981 Y-Zinger, renaming it the PW50 in 1991. It’s been virtually unchanged (other than color) since. This nearly indestructible little dirt bike has an air-cooled 49cc two-stroke motor, a single-speed transmission with a centrifugal clutch, and maintenance-free shaft drive. An adjustable throttle stop gives parents the ability to manage power output. Handlebar levers operate front and rear brakes, and a seat height of only 19 inches makes the PW50 ideally suited for younger riders. With 10-inch wheels and a feathery weight of only 82 pounds, this little…

2015 RED BULL HARE SCRAMBLES, ERZBERG, AUSTRIA Of 500 competitors, only five finished the world's toughest off-road race. Alfredo Gómez (pictured) co-won with Graham Jarvis, Andreas Lettenbichler, and Jonny Walker. The fifth finisher was Mario Roman, who completed the race just seconds before the four-hour deadline. READER INFORMATION Editorial/Production: Offices are located at 15215 Alton Pkwy., Ste. 100, Irvine, CA 92618; (760) 707-0100. Editorial contributions are welcomed but must be guaranteed exclusive to Cycle World. We are not responsible for the return of unsolicited material unless accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Letters: All letters cannot be answered, and neither can all Service inquiries be answered. We appreciate correspondence sent or emailed to the editorial offices and will use the most interesting and appropriate letters in the magazine. Slipstream: We’re…

I wanted to thank Nick Ienatsch for his “Avoid The Blind Spot” article in the June issue. While it is always great to hear tips for staying safe, it is refreshing to hear the tone of accountability in Nick’s piece. Motorcycling is something to be enjoyed, but throughout society today, people are not held accountable for their actions, decisions, or mistakes. Putting the onus on the rider to look after his or her safety is something on which the rest of the world should take notes! THOMAS KOBAYASHI CYCLEWORLD.COM R1 REVIEWS I enjoyed the review of the Yamaha YZF-R1. The chart on page 51 comparing the literbike competition was just what I like. However, I think that the quartermile times for the Yamaha, Ducati, and Honda should also be yellow.…

The coverline “Giant Killers” couldn’t have been more appropriate reflecting back to when I read this article for the first time all those years ago. The Japanese-market Honda CBR400RR and Yamaha FZR400RR SP sportbikes that were featured might as well have been Ferraris; even if I could have found a gray-market example, I never would have been able to afford one. The aforementioned bikes were definitely a sign of things to come, as the super-hot 400cc market in Japan dictated where American-market 600s were headed. Aluminum frames, carbon-fiber exhaust cans, advanced suspension— all of these were ahead of their time in 1990, at least on production bikes. Also featured were the Suzuki GSX-R400, Honda VFR400R, Kawasaki ZXR-400R, and a whole pile of street-legal, Japanese-market 250cc two-strokes. Triumph fans could also…

The fuel that most interests motorcyclists is gasoline because that’s what almost all motorcycles burn. But the fuel that drives our lives is diesel, powering farming, all medium and heavy trucking, all the railroads save for the Northeast corridor, and all coastal and international shipping. If we add the lighter fractions based on 9 to 13 carbons per molecule, we include the kerosene-like fuels (Jet-A, JP-4) that power aviation. In Europe, some 60 percent of new cars are delivered with diesel engines. This is why, when synthetic fuel production is considered, the product in mind is always diesel. I well remember being a small boy in my parents’ car, driving past the New Jersey refineries and seeing the ghostly wavering flames atop their flare stacks. Even today, petroleum gases are…

What if you threw a party and the Ninja of honor didn’t show? It seems to us that the very reason to build a supercharged, 300-plus-horsepower closedcircuit-only motorcycle is, at the very least, to crush any supposed competition in a straight-line test of acceleration and top speed. The Kawasaki Ninja H2R was the very reason we asked the United States Navy to shut down its beautiful, expansive 3-mile runway at NAS Lemoore and arranged for all these other hyper-performance vehicles to rip their way into the laws of physics. Unfortunately, Kawasaki decided to bring only the H2 streetbike. The official statement: “Kawasaki [USA] is currently in possession of a single H2R, therefore loans for media events are limited. The H2R is currently scheduled for highspeed testing by Kawasaki R&D. Once…

It has an eagle in its logo and a long history of making aircooled V-twins. Its newest cruiser was designed in Pasadena, California, at the Piaggio Group Advanced Design Center by Miguel Galluzzi and is dressed in glossy black with lots of chrome, plus pinstripes, floorboards, whitewall tires, and wire wheels. The company is the third oldest in the world to be continuously manufacturing motorcycles. But it’s not for riders who follow the pack while humming “Born to be Wild.” Would you, could you, own a Moto Guzzi Eldorado? The Eldorado sports a 1,380cc, air-and-oil-cooled, 90-degree V-twin that made its debut in the 2013 California 1400 models. This classic longitudinal-crank engine produces a claimed 96 crankshaft horsepower at 6,500 rpm and 89.2 pound-feet of wide-ass torque from 2,400 to 5,600…

1 CAPTURE IT ALL Those wanting to take POV filming to a new level might consider the 360fly ($399, available in August) single-lens camera that captures video in a 360-degree format. During playback, you can drag the cursor on screen to view all the diff erent angles captured. This 2.4-inch water-resistant sphere can be mounted just about anywhere. (412) 922-6002 360fly.com 2 PACK MENTALITY Staying connected on group rides has been revolutionized. Packtalk ($329.95 single/$579.95 pair) from scala rider features Dynamic Meshwork Communication (DMC), allowing up to 10 riders to talk within a 3-mile range. Settings can be changed via SmartSet app. Packtalk can communicate with any other brand or model of intercom. (800) 488-0363 cardosystems.com 3 ADV PHONE HOME If you like your adventures way off the beaten path…

We had guests for dinner, Suzie Heartbreak and I, and brother Scott spun tales of his rafting expeditions in the Grand Canyon’s geologic depths. The canyon’s many-hued strata are a time line of compressed ages, but Scott threw a wrench in my reckoning. “Near Lava rapids you pass the Great Unconformity.” I wait-waited the conversation; how apt a label for a century of custom-motorcycle building. Change requires unconformity, and that’s where custom builders work, wobbling between established genres and new ideas. They’re outside the mainstream yet impact an entire industry, at times steering the boat from the rear. In the early days, burning questions of the “ideal” machine bred a lot of talk, sketches, and customized bikes. Harold “Oily” Karslake might have been patient zero, building his “Dreadnought” in 1903,…

Big picture, it’s easy to see that the McLaren P1 smoked everybody in the blast to 180. But there are other points worth noting: All the bikes, for instance, were quicker to the quarter-mile and 150, with the supercharged Kawasaki H2 leading the way. Where the P1 really starts to shine is from 150 to 180, when its better aero comes into play and the car slices through that performance window nearly three-quarters of a second more quickly than the fastest bike, the BMW S1000RR. Incidentally, the Corvette Z06 hit 150 mph in 21.56 seconds, but it took it another 35.08 to reach 180, compared to only 5.35 for the P1. Yes, the P1 is lighter and more powerful, but it’s important to note that the Z06 topped out at…

BEST SUPERBIKE KAWASAKI NINJA H2R It was a bitter disappointment that Kawasaki didn’t bring the track-only H2R to the Party of Speed we threw for it at NAS Lemoore (see page 28), but we must nonetheless honor this force-fed 326-claimed-hp monster for the sheer audacity it represents and the very real performance we experienced at the bike’s introduction in Qatar (June). This is “Superbike” with a capital “S” and the most intense motorcycle we’ve ever ridden. And while this blown batbike might not come with a cape, it does have wings. If it doesn’t blow your socks off, your boots are too damn tight. BEST STANDARD YAMAHA FZ-09 This was last year’s Best Middleweight, but after hammering our long-termer for a year and trying the 2015 with its refinements, we…

BLIP DOWNSHIFTS? Q: When I learned to ride dirt bikes in the mid-1970s, an experienced buddy taught me that the correct technique for downshifting was to blip the throttle before releasing the clutch during downshifts, which he called "double clutching." I have been using this technique for 40 years now on all my motorcycles, and I notice quite a few other riders do it as well. I reason that this makes downshifting smoother, but lately I've started to question the possible consequences, such as increased wear on gear dogs. My 1987 Honda Magna has begun slipping out of second gear, and I've read online that rounded off gear dogs is the likely cause. This is apparently a fairly common transmission problem with that era of Honda street bikes. Do you…

AN EARLES FORK? NOT! Q: Please let Technical Editor Kevin Cameron do more technical editing. I’m sure he would have corrected the erroneous labeling of the Greeves leading-link fork in “Motocross Memories” (July) as an “Earles” fork. The Earles patent of 1953 specifies a link pivot behind the wheel, which clearly is not the case with the Greeves. BMW and MV Agusta licensed the Earles design, but Greeves did not. MICHAEL MOORE SAN FRANCISCO, CA A: People have gotten into the habit of calling any leadinglink motorcycle fork an Earles fork. It is clear, as our correspondent points out, that in section 35 of his patent Earles specified a link pivot behind the wheel. Best therefore to use the generic “leading-link fork.” Many leading-link forks have been used. Among them,…

THE VIEW FROM INSIDE THE PADDOCK After being on the ropes for 30 years, the most American of motorcycle sports is making an unlikely comeback thanks to a high-profile list of international heavyweight allies. Now dirt track is blinking in the spotlight, unaccustomed to anyone giving a gosh darn about it. Valentino Rossi has his ranch and a Harley-Davidson XR750 in his private garage; Marquez brothers Marc and Alex as well as Tito Rabat (that’s all three current Grand Prix champions, by the way) let it hang out at the Superprestigio extravaganza in Spain; and, most recently, Troy Bayliss is taking on the Grand National Championship’s miles mounted on a tire-shredding Ducati twin. Social media static of a spotless doctor roosting rural Italy with a steel shoe on his left…