| Feature Story
IS IT TIME TO SAY UNCLE?
2006 Honda CBR1000RR
Story by Tom Van Beveren
Photos Courtesy of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
How fast does man really need to go? Judging by today’s modern liter-class sportbikes, pretty darn! With the selection of modern sportbikes closing in on the one-horsepower-per-five-cc’s mark, manufacturers seem to be telling us we need to go as fast as possible, and every manufacturer sees the need to update its superbike offerings every year to make possible even faster.
Let’s be honest. Do we really need the ability to go almost 200 miles per hour on a motorcycle? Last time I looked, the Golden State’s speed limit was 65 mph, and although I’ll admit it’s hard to find anyone out on the open road who goes that slow, speeds in excess of 100 are overkill, and are sure to bring the long arm of Sergeant Brewer down on you. Fast.
So why, then, do we all have this need for speed?
Well, for one thing, the old adage “what wins on Sunday sells on Monday” still holds true, and because the factories try to outdo one another on racetracks all over the world, we,  the consumers, get race-proven motorcycles right off the showroom floor. Then there’s the fact that we all watch MotoGP, Superbike and Supersport racing on the tube any time we can. The need for speed just keeps pushing from all sides.
Okay, before you come down on me for stating the obvious, let me say that I do enjoy having the topography whizzing past me in a blur, and fast bikes are fun to ride--at almost any speed, that is. Like all of you, speed is an adrenaline rush, and I always enjoy getting a fix by throwing my leg over a fast bike and letting it all hang out. Judging from most track day events being sold out months in advance, I’m not alone.
But why should any level-headed, around-town-with-weekend-forays motorcycle rider want to ride one of these race-ready road burners?
For more on this story, pick up a February 2006 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Interview:
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!
Snterview by Anne Van Beveren
Photos Courtesy Myke Schwartz and The World’s Fastest Indian
Setting a world speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats sounds like a glamorous gig. And what could be better than having the whole thing documented in a movie that will put your record-setting ride up on the big screen for everyone to see?
 How about having all that fun and getting handed a paycheck at the end of it?
The movie is called The World’s Fastest Indian, and it opens all over Southern California on February 3. It’s the must-see, grit-brings-glory tale of Burt Munro, a humble man from New Zealand who bought a 1920 Indian and, over the course of 47 years of tinkering that included casting parts in old tin cans and redesigning and refabricating everything from flywheels to pistons, got it running well enough to set a world speed record that still stands today, 39 years after the fact.
The movie is about Burt Munro, so it’s a natural that he is in the spotlight. And it stars Sir Anthony Hopkins, who turns in a portrayal of Munro’s determination, creativity and eccentric charm that pitches him fair and square into the spotlight, too.
 But what about Myke Schwartz, one of the guys who made those spotlights possible? He’s the man who was actually mounted on the flying Indian as it went through its paces on the salt during the movie. You’ll have to stay late and wait until the credits have scrolled almost all the way through to catch his name. It will be listed down at the bottom, under the heading “Stuntmen.” But that’s exactly where Schwartz wants it to be, because, says Schwartz, that’s where the action really is.
“Picture this. You’re going down the salt and you know you’re going 120, maybe 130. You don’t have a speedometer or a tach, so it’s impossible to know what you’re really doing,” said Schwartz. “There is no sense of speed out on the Bonneville Salt Flats. It’s so wide open. You know you’re going fast but you don’t have the sense of speed because you’re not going past any fixed objects, so there’s no relativity. Your hands are so far in front of you that you can’t turn around to see what’s happening behind you and you can’t take your hand off the bars. You just have to hope for the best, and hope you’re not outrunning the vehicles behind that are supposed to be filming you.”
For more on this story, pick up a February 2006 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Ask the Sergeant:
Have you been keeping up with the controversy that’s swirling after California’s Governor was involved in an accident while piloting a Harley-Davidson coupled to a Motovation sidecar? The Governor was riding along an urban street when he collided with an SUV that was backing out of a driveway. The case was still being investigated and no one had been cited or found at fault when we went to press, but the incident raised eyebrows because the Governor has no motorcycle endorsement on his driver’s license. Did he avoid a citation because he’s the Governor or is it okay to pilot a sidecar without an M1 license? Law enforcement experts can’t seem to agree, and, when Free 2 Wheel consulted its experts--law-enforcement guru Mike Brewer and the Sidecar Industry Council in Van Nuys, they couldn’t agree either. Let’s start with our own Sarge:
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Project Bike :
ACQUIRED TASTE
Story and Photos by Reid Libby
Controversy. It upsets the apple cart, ripples the surface of a placid pond, and perhaps more appropriately in this case, ruffles a few feathers.
Although sometimes unpleasant and inconvenient, it does help keep everyone honest by presenting unconventional ideas and differing perspectives, and, probably more to the point, it gives us all something to gawk at and talk about. Most important of all, however, controversy keeps us from getting too comfortable in our ways and stagnant in our viewpoints.
As far as Bill Cormalis is concerned, that’s just  fine. His ride, a 1971 MotoGuzzi Ambassador, has served him well in two wildly different guises-- first as a vintage tourer and, more recently, as sort of a way-back street fighter. Its severely truncated lines are certainly not what you would expect from a MotoGuzzi, custom or otherwise, and Cormalis reports that there are no fence sitters when it comes time to critique his ride. It’s either a love or hate proposition, and that suits Cormalis just fine. He loves what he has created, and there isn’t another one like it.
Oddly enough, Cormalis’ Italian fling was far from love at first sight.
After taking the hefty, 750 cc twin out for a test ride, he came back less than impressed and decided to let this one go. A few months later, however, he was rifling through some old classifieds and ran across the same ad. There was something compelling about the Guzzi, which, as it turned out, was still hankering for a new home. Negotiations with the owner were renewed, a deal was struck, and soon Cormalis found himself flying the old Goose up the freeway to its new nest.
The Guzzi spent the next nine years doing what Ambassadors do best, shuttling its rider on his travels hither and yon with a minimum of fuss and aggravation. Hardly surprising seeing as MotoGuzzi’s range of big V-twins were the choice for the motorcyclist who liked to pile on the miles and wanted to do it in comfort. And, if touring on a BMW seemed a bit too regimented, the MotoGuzzi was the ideal alternative for the non-conforming enthusiast. It worked for Cormalis and he was content with his long-legged Italian.
For more on this story, pick up a February 2006 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Way2go
GRAPE ESCAPE
Story by Anne Van Beveren
Photos by Michael Van Beveren
Are the cool temperatures and dreary skies of February getting you down? Uncork some fun with a three-hour tour that’s guaranteed to spice up your life, put a golden gleam in your eye, and make you see the word “pour” in a whole new light.
Keeping it local is the name of the game when the weather is iffy, so pick a patch of sunlight and head north out of Los Angeles on Interstate 5. Peel off to take the 14 freeway north towards Palmdale when it branches off at the north end of the San Fernando Valley, but don’t get too settled into the rhythm of the road because you’re going to get off the freeway at the Sand Canyon Road exit, just 8.5 miles from where you parted company with Interstate 5.
At the end of the Sand Canyon exit ramp, turn left at the traffic signal, which will take you  over the top of the freeway. A right turn at the light on the other side of the freeway will put you on Soledad Canyon Road. Zero your odometer, then relax. You’ll be on Soledad Canyon Road for the next 17 miles, so take it easy and enjoy the journey.
The first section of Soledad parallels the 14 freeway—a kinder, gentler way to go than fighting 18-wheelers on the super slab beside you, especially if you’re heading out at a busy commuting time, but then the canyon road breaks free. The ribbon of blacktop winds back and forth along the edge of the Santa Clara River which, despite appearances at this time of the year, is considered Southern California’s last major “wild river.” That’s because it has few levees and only one diversion dam, so the river channel retains its dynamic nature. For most of its length, from headwaters high in the Angeles National Forest to the ocean in Ventura, the Santa Clara River flows through natural and agricultural landscapes, which sets it apart from the Southland’s other major rivers—the Los Angeles River and the Santa Ana River, which were long ago sentenced to run in concrete channels.
Unless there’s been a big rain just before your ride, don’t expect much of anything to be flowing in the river, but the leafless trees and winter-brown grass of February will still leave no doubt that it’s winter, albeit in a California-winter kind of way. It’s not the kind of landscape that inspires the urge to take a recreational vehicle vacation on the side of the river, which might explain the out-of-business look of the River’s End holiday and RV park on your right at the four-mile mark. But don’t give up if hopes of a riverside sojourn in the more picturesque spring warm your heart. Less defunct parks await further up the road.
For more on this story, pick up a February 2006 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
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