| Features:
Feature-1 :
KWAK BE NIMBLE
Story by Reid Libby
Photos courtesy Kawasaki Motors Corp., USA
Let’s not kid ourselves. As much as we might like them, sportbikes are not the ideal form of daily transportation. They’re not supposed to be. They are optimized for the track, a fast canyon excursion, or preening at the weekly bike night.
 In the splintered and compartmentalized world of motorcycling, specialization is often the order of the day. One size rarely, if ever, fits all.
While the search for a universal panacea to any given problem is ultimately futile, Kawasaki accepted the challenge of producing a “do-all” motorcycle with innovative design and expansive thinking. Its vision was to create a sporting machine that would put the rider first, rather than have him be little more than a protoplasmic guidance system, wedged into a two-wheeled missile.
As long as the designers were dreaming, they thought they might really broadstroke the concept and create a machine that could appeal to a weekend canyon carver as well as be user friendly to the neophyte who was just developing his or her riding skills. Why not make it commuter capable and easy to operate by those of shorter stature? Keeping the rider and the job at hand was the primary focus, but the machine would still have to look like, and have the performance capabilities of, a sportbike. A tall order, to be sure, but Kawasaki pulled it off.
For more on this story, pick up an October 2005 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Feature-2 :
ALL DRESSED UP
Story by Tom Van Beveren
Photos Courtesy of Star Motorcycles
If you thought that our November 2005 feature motorcycle, the Star Roadliner, was a super cruiser but wished it had a windshield, bags and a backrest, your wish has come true.
Star Motorcycles, the off-shoot of Yamaha Motor Corporation, knew you’d feel like that and it was already hard at work producing  the Stratoliner--a Roadliner with a windscreen, saddlebags and a backrest already attached and ready to hit the road in a big way.
Cruisers, especially big, heavy ones, have been used for years now as touring bikes. You can see that in the sales figures. Check out the way that large cruising tourers account for almost 60 percent of all heavy cruiser sales. So, Star was thinking, a boulevard cruiser that can perform double duty should be a big hit with anyone who might get the urge to attend a rally in Florida or South Dakota, or overnight in the mountains some weekend.
Once the corporation was thinking along those lines, it didn’t have far to look. No further, in fact, that its brand new  Roadliner--the art-deco cruiser recently introduced and now making its way into dealer showrooms. Attaching a windshield and bags is a natural of course, but Star wanted something special. There was to be no quick-fix. What it came up with is a stylish windscreen, saddlebags and a backrest that are quickly detachable, and we do mean quickly. A simple pull of a latch or two and each item comes off quickly, cleanly and without annoying mounting hardware left behind. Quite ingenious, really!
For more on this story, pick up an October 2005 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Feature-3 :
SHOW STOPPERS
Story by Reid Libby
Photos Courtesy Ducati USA
The Southern California edition of the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show hit the Long Beach Convention Center in early December and it provided Ducati fans with plenty of opportunity to soak up a little of the Red Tide.
The boys from Bologna were out in full force, showing a wide selection of their offerings for 2006, and heads were turning. While all manner of 999s, 749s, Monsters and Multistrada were there for the public to get up close and personal with, the real stars of the show were the first releases of Ducati’s Sport Classics series.
After having been shown in Long Beach as concept models two years ago, the bikes elicited such an overwhelmingly positive response that Ducati was convinced to start production on three dream machines. All of the three were inspired by the first L-twins designed by the maestro himself, Ing. Fabio Taglioni.
These were the bikes that made Bologna famous. The Paul Smart 1000 Limited Edition commemorates Ducati’s first win in 1972 with its then-new twin, piloted by Paul Smart. The silver and green color scheme pays tribute to arguably the most desirable street racer ever, the Desmo 750 cc Super Sport. With just 2,000 copies slated for pro-duction, the Paul Smart is sure to become a classic in its own right.
For more on this story, pick up an October 2005 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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Scuttle Putt:
How likely is your bike to be crashed or stolen? According to The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, which insures more motorcycles than any other insurance group in the country, the answer may surprise you.
If you think you are more likely to have your motorcycle stolen if you live in big, bustling Los Angeles versus Wichita, Kansas, who could blame you? After all, L.A. is a much bigger city. The same goes for crashes. No one could fault you for assuming that the bigger the city, the more the traffic congestion and, therefore, the greater the odds of having an accident.
But that is not always the case, says Progressive, which reviewed claims data on more than two million motorcycles insured over the past three years to determine the likelihood of a motorcyclist getting into an accident or having his or her bike stolen. The analysis, which focused on the 89 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 and higher, came up with some interesting findings.
January's Story
ADVERTISING IS THE MOTHER OF COMMERCE
Observations by Nick Voge
Did you ever wonder who made you want that motorcycle your heart cries out for? Who created the yearning? Commissioned the photo spread that caught your eye? Penned the description that made you drool? Perhaps it was an advertising mogul in Japan. And perhaps, along with that great impression, he also gave you a little piece of his soul.
One of the first big projects I worked on for Yamaha was the FZ750, which debuted in 1984. The first true super-sport machine of the modern era, the FZ750 featured a revolutionary five-valve, DOHC, four-cylinder engine slotted into a lightweight, double-cradle frame.
This was the first of Yamaha’s Genesis machines. The catchword implied a synergistic relationship between engine and chassis, in which the design of each complemented the other. The signature feature of this model was the five-valve cylinder head. Using three intake valves instead of the conventional two, this design exposes more valve area and results in more flow at small and medium valve openings than two larger intake valves. The outcome is a wide spread of satisfying power at low and medium rpm. And, because three small intake valves have less individual weight than two valves offering the same total area, lighter valve springs and a higher rev ceiling can be used.
For more on this story, pick up an October 2005 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Way2go
CHEATING DEATH VALLEY
Story and Photos by Mike “Kiwi” Tomas
The road continues down hill, still rough as guts, and John Parker decides to dump his bike. But he’s not totally committed to doing so just yet. I’m a little way behind. He’s wobbling, but he seems to gain control. Next thing he loses it and, by now, I’m getting way too close, heading straight for him, albeit at low speed.
 We’re still in the soft and silty stuff, so I can’t use the front brake much and the back brake took a hike miles back. I end up stuck in the embankment of rocks and loose gravel, but it beats running over your friend or his motorcycle. At least until it’s time to haul the bike down from the embankment. Everyone gets off with just a laugh.
Perhaps one shouldn’t tackle the way-out-there dirt roads of Death Valley on an antique motorcycle. Well, perhaps not until next year’s ride, anyway.
 To many people, antique motorcycles seem like old contraptions and the guys who own them seem like a bunch of fuddy duddies. Sure that might hold true for some, but others of us like to run ‘em out. Way out.
Each year during the first week of October, the Antique Motorcycle Club of America’s So. Cal. Chapter holds a road run in Death Valley. The ride was originated by Max Bubeck 19 years ago and, about once every three years, it gets national road run status, complete with official endorsement from the AMCA’s national headquarters.
For more on this story, pick up an October 2005 issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Ask the Sergeant:
Dear Sarge:
Could you please settle a debate I have been having with some of my friends.
We all know that motorcycles are allowed to use the car pool lanes in California. Some car pool lanes have a single set of double yellow lines (two lines) and some have two sets of double yellow lines (four lines). Some of my friends believe that you can cross over the single set of double lines to enter or exit the car pool lane and that the double–double yellows mean that you cannot cross over them. I don’t think that you can ever cross solid yellow lines regardless of how many there are. What are the rules?
John Keenan,
Indian Wells
The California Vehicle Code (CVC) officially refers to car pool lanes as “High Occupancy Vehicle” (HOV) lanes and we all know (or should know by now) that motorcycles are considered high occupancy vehicles when it comes to determining who can travel in the HOV lane.
The entering or exiting of an HOV lane is regulated by CVC Section 21655.8(a), which clearly states that the only place you may enter or exit an HOV lane, regardless of how many lines there are, is where there is a sign designating such movement or where there is a broken white line.
CVC Section 21655.8(b) lists two exceptions--one is when yielding to an emergency vehicle’s red light, and the other is when it is necessary in some other emergency situation. In response to your question, you are correct. Unless you’re in an emergency situation, you can only enter or exit an HOV lane in a designated entry/exit area, and you can-not cross the double yellow lines, whether there is one set or two.
So, now let’s answer the next question that comes to mind--the question you didn’t ask: Why do some HOV lanes have a single set of double yellow lines and some have two sets of double yellow lines?
For more on this story, pick up an October 2005 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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