Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2017 i Cycle World

1 BOXER HEAD GEAR Outfit your R-Series BMW with protection for the valve cover and its vulnerable front attachment bolt. The Wunderlich Extreme Valve Cover Guard Set($369.95)is made of anodized, aircraftgrade aluminum alloy and employs force distribution through shaped rubber bumpers between the protector and cover. The slide pad is replaceable following an impact or fall. (831) 761-1070 wunderlichamerica.com 2 BRAKE TIME Spongy feel at the brake lever or pedal can be problematic for twin- and triple-disc brake systems. Amsoil Dominator DOT 4 Synthetic Racing Brake Fluid ($15.50) is formulated to increase boiling points beyond DOT standards, even when contaminated with up to 3.7 percent water. The 12-ounce bottle is nitrogen charged when factory sealed to purge moisture. (800) 956-5695 amsoil.com 3 HOG-TIED Losing a load on the road is…

For most people, reality TV is little more than vicarious entertainment. But for transplanted Irishman Paul Crozier, the Cafe Racer program on Velocity five years ago became pure inspiration. After seeing one particular episode, Crozier decided to craft a vintage custom of his own—and then impressively followed through. In his first effort at bike building, all Crozier wanted initially was to upgrade a classic Japanese bike with contemporary parts that would allow enthusiastic trackday use. This vision later evolved to imbue the bike with a full LCR Honda racing theme, since Crozier had gotten to know team owner Lucio Cecchinello personally. The bike started life as a 1976 Honda CB550 Four, to which Crozier added a 2009 Suzuki GSX-R600 front end fitted with RhinoMoto crash sliders. Curt Winter at BTR…

It's funny how your tastes can change with time. For instance, when I first tried a sip of homemade corn liquor as a youth I thought it tasted like paint remover. But I tried some again recently and decided just the opposite is true. Also, when the first Norton Commando was introduced in September of 1967 at the Earl’s Court show in London, I examined the photos of the new Fastback and immediately decided it was not for me. Too swoopy and radical, not traditionally British enough. “Repelled” is probably too strong a word, but the look of that bike drove me firmly back into the Triumph camp, where I normally resided, at least in my dreams. I owned a secondhand Honda CB160 at the time, which was all I…

MOTOAMERICA SUPERSTOCK 1000 • AFT SINGLES • LIFE IN A VAN • WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST? MAN IN A VAN WITH A PLAN RACE WATCH “You know, 100 percent doesn’t make the grid.” It’s a saying offered by Technical Editor Kevin Cameron, who’s spent his share of time as a tuner and crew chief riding in a van with a motorcycle, tools, and all needed possessions going from race to race in search of victory on the national roadracing circuit. It’s a good thing to remember—that perfection can be strived for, but the reality is nothing is ever perfect and you’ve got to show up and race, no matter what. And so it was with our Man in a Van with a Plan, Hayden Gillim, and his crew on the Cycle…

SLIPSTREAM 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 looking for stunning photos that capture the essence of our sport and remind us why we love motorcycling so much. Send your best shot to intake@cycleworld.com, being sure to include the word “Slipstream” in the subject line. Subscription/customer service: One year: US & Possessions = $15,…

The helmet as the motorcyclist’s “hat” perhaps hasn’t ever been as important as it is now. No doubt, a full-face helmet is your best defense against head injury, but as a style-conscious generation steps into riding, many are choosing a helmet as much for how it looks as for the protection it may provide. More subdued colors and designs are proving more attractive to many than the Technicolor explosions popular on the racer side. And everybody is attracted to a lower price. It also seems that everybody who’s seen this Basalt Gray Shoei RF-SR has commented that it’s a cool color, and offsetting it with the Spectra Gold Shield ($99.99) adds a lot of zing. From a material standpoint, this wallet-friendly Shoei starts with a handlaid fiberglass/organic-fiber composite multi-ply shell…

Anticipation has mounted since The Motor Company announced its newly designed family of 2018 Milwaukee-Eight-powered Softail models. Technical Editor Kevin Cameron whetted our appetite with an in-depth analysis of what has been touted as “the largest product development project in company history.” In that very same October 2017 Cycle World issue, Editor- At-Large Peter Egan provided his take following a brief ride aboard each of the eight new Softails. Much like a year ago when I joined a select handful of motojournalists at Blackhawk Farms Raceway near Beloit, Illinois, to be the first to sample the then-new eightvalve V-twins, Egan’s seat time at Blackhawk amounted to the same rapid-fire two-lap stints on the 2018 Softails and their respective 2017 predecessor. That’s a whole lot to digest in a single day—an…

DAILY LIFE ON A NORTON COMMANDO Is it weird that the vintage-bike owner’s proudest moments come when impressing others who own the same kind of bike? Well, call me a weirdo for being so satisfied that a Norton guy at the Quail Motorcycle Gathering in Carmel, California, this past May said, “Damn, that thing sounds great.” All it was doing was idling, but it was a beautiful sound and a great moment. We just want our bikes to be loved and our mastery of the fickle machine to be known. I have found myself loving my 1974 Norton 850 Commando more than a lot of other vintage bikes, especially when I’d like to get there without, ahem, stopping. Nortons combined the traditional qualities people love about British parallel twins (beautiful…

SEEKING 250cc ADV • NINJAS SHOULD BE STEALTHY • CARBING A BUELL • FINDING YOUR BEARINGS ADV LITE PROJECT Q: I recently purchased a 2017 CRF250L Rally. I’m truly in love with this bike. However, the 250 engine isn’t quite enough. I was wondering if you could recommend a custom shop that could bore out the engine to a 350, add some much-needed suspension performance, and turn this bike into the lightweight adventure bike it’s pretending to be. My intentions are twofold. First, I’ve always wanted a custom bike that could grace the pages of Cycle World (like the Yamaha DT-07 Street Tracker). Second, I’d like to show the Big Four what they should be building: a lightweight dirt-bike-based adventure-touring bike. ART SERNA CYCLEWORLD.COM A: The $4,999 Honda CRF250 Rally…

Bikes are not cars, thankfully. Instead of sitting in them, naturally we sit on them. In lieu of smooth power steering, we manually operate a vibrating handlebar connected to the front wheel. Rather than swigging a caramel macchiato at the stoplight, we spend our idle time balancing a top-heavy machine weighing 300 to 900 pounds. And if you’re a dirt rider or vintage geek, you may have to first kickstart an engine, old-school style. Yes, riding is a physical task—and like with any sport, you’ll get better if you prepare for it. “Mobility is the main thing,” says Peter Park, whose company Platinum Fitness trains SX/MX racers Ken Roczen, Blake Baggett, Christian Craig, Adam Cianciarulo, and Chase Sexton. “Even people who used to be athletic lose mobility from sitting and…

Among the letters that came in following the October 2017 “Softail Supreme” issue, there were those essentially saying, “Yay, Harley!” and, “Boo! Harley,” in roughly equal measure. Some folks were comparing the new Softail frame with single shock to that of the first Yamaha Virago and saying, “Welcome to 1982.” Others were very interested in what sounded like the best-performing Harley-Davidson cruisers ever. But a few were confused. “What’s a Dyna? Why do I care? Why does Harley put so many letters and stuff in their model names?” Yep, it’s been somewhat impenetrable, all the nomenclature and two different cruiser lines, Dyna (FX) and Softail (FLS), alongside Sportsters (XL), Touring (FLH), Street (XG), and V-Rod (VRSC). Honestly, I’m not even sure I have it right. What I do know is…

YEARS SOLD: 2000–2006 MSRP NEW: Sport $11,900 (’00) to $14,490 (’06) BLUE BOOK RETAIL VALUE: Sport $3,855 (’00) to $5,345 (’06) BASIC SPECS: Sporting the iconic longitudingally mounted air-cooled 90-degree, pushrod 1,064cc V-twin, the V11 was Moto Guzzi’s shot at a factory café racer-styled sportbike. This was evident in the equipment that the bikes had over the many years it was made. The two-valve-percylinder engine produced a very streetable 91 hp with 69 pound-feet of torque. Most models came with two 320mm front discs with four-piston Brembo calipers along with a 282mm disc two-piston caliper in the rear. Some models also came with factory Öhlins suspension, while most others had a Marzocchi fork and Sachs shock. A 5.0-gallon tank gave it a range of about 200 miles, ensuring you can…