Feature Story
1st Feature
FEELING ADVENTUROUS
Story by Tom Van Beveren
Photos by Kevin Wing
Big adventure tourers aren’t for everyone but if you’re long in the leg, and you love discovering what’s at the other end of that dirt road or dream about riding to the other side of a dusty Peruvian mountain pass, the new BMW R 1200 GS Adventure is the bike to have under you while you discover the unknown.
The term “big adventure tourer” is very true with this bike. In terms of physical size, the Adventure is  massive. Just how massive? Well, take a look at the seat height. The seat’s front section has a two-position adjustment and, in the low setting, the bike has a seat height of nearly 36 inches. If you are afraid of heights, I’d suggest you set your sights a little lower and look elsewhere for a more suitable mount; one that doesn’t take quite so much mounting, if you know what I mean.
Based on the very popular R 1200 GS, the Adventure takes a potent package and builds on it, adding what every globetrotter desires in a lifeline between civilization sightings.
Updated a scant two years ago, the R 1200 GS has the sweetest boxer motor I’ve ever thrown a leg over, with 100 horsepower on tap and a very meaty 85 foot/pounds of torque. That engine now resides in the new Adventure, and I can report that BMW has found the perfect balance of power to thrill a new owner for an eternity. And with the balance shaft that is now included, power pulses are quelled enough to let you enjoy the ride without enduring numb hands and feet.
2nd Feature
SEE OUR SHOWBIKES
15th Annual Queen Mary Bike Show Sets Sail
Story and photos by Paul Garson
It was hot enough to fire up the long-dormant boilers of the famous Queen Mary cruise ship. The action was right alongside the Long Beach pier that has been the Queen Mary’s California home since the Cunard cruise line decommissioned her after more than 30 years of service in 1967.
If you were aboard the luxury liner, now a floating hotel and museum, you could’ve poked your head out of one of her 2,000 portholes and seen a sea of gleaming chrome and scintillating paint bathing the shore. And it would have been enough to make you jump ship.
Yes, once again, like the great migration of the whales, the steel leviathans had gathered for the 15th Annual L.A. Calendar Motorcycle Show. The two-day event, which is always held on the toasty third weekend in July, attracts entrants and visitors from around the world, including as many as 20,000 bike fans and nearly 200 vendors.
Buying a show ticket this year got you all that fun, plus two days of on-stage music and complimentary admission to the Queen Mary and the Saturday Night Calendar Bike Builder’s Party. Talk about your ship finally coming in!
For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Project Motorcycle:
GOING OVERBOARD
Story and photos by Reid Libby
There is no denying that sidecar devotees travel a very different road than your typical two-wheel enthusiast.
The obvious third wheel aside, many motorcyclists are quick to point out the differences and perceived shortcomings that must be endured when a chair is bolted up to a perfectly good motorcycle. Parking is almost as challenging as it would be with a car, and handling characteristics are unique to say the least Proponents, however, are quick to point out that a side-hack will carry a prodigious amount of cargo and/or passengers, tackles slippery pavement with ease, and creates more smiles per mile with the general public than a standard motorcycle could ever hope to. Add to that the all-encompassing family atmosphere that forms when hackers congregate, and you will discover a sport that has a powerful attraction to those with an open mind and sensibilities skewed to the right of center, or to the left, depending on which side of the road you normally drive.
But simply being different enough to pilot a sidecar isn’t enough for some. In the sea of sidecar nonconformists, you can bet that there will be someone who is looking for a ride that’s just a little bit more different from those owned by his fellow three wheelers. That different person would be Les Gunnarson, a retired electrical engineer with a passion for classic motorcycles, especially those that hail from the 1930’s.
Gunnarson, who contracted classic fever some 25 years ago, has amassed a collection of some 60 European machines and has enough boxes of bits and pieces to assemble a few more.
For more on this story, pick up a current 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:
Heads up motocross riders; two-stroke Honda motocrossers are about to become a thing of the past.
American Honda just advised dealers that its current line of two-stroke motocross machines will be discontinued after the 2007 model year.
“This decision reflects Honda’s commitment to environmental leadership in the markets in which we compete,” said Honda Motorcycle Division Senior Vice President, Ray Blank. “U.S. market trends and the success of Honda’s revolutionary Unicam four stroke motocross and off-road machines, bolstered by the 2007 CRF150R, make this a logical evolution of our product line.”
On the subject of news from manufacturers, Ducati just announced a brand new version of the Monster--the S4R Testastretta, which is powered by the same Testastretta deep-sump L-twin engine that can be found as standard equipment in the 999 Superbike and winning Superbike races around the world.
When it was first introduced in 2002, the Ducati S4R set the highest performance standard for a modern naked bike. The success of that model led to the birth of an entire Ducati Monster SR range, including the unprecedented new S4Rs, which was highly anticipated and introduced to the public last year.
The 2007 Monster S4R Test-stretta is available now in dealerships with an MSRP of $12,995.
Way 2 go:
GRAVE CONSEQUENCES
Story and photos by Anne Van Beveren
Time to kill in Los Angeles? For many Los Angelenos, the unfortunate answer to that question has been yes.
The answer was yes for Elizabeth Short, the young woman nicknamed the Black Dahlia, who was tortured and killed in 1947, her body cut in two and grotesquely posed where it would easily be found in a vacant lot just south of downtown L.A.
The answer was yes for 10 young women who fell victim to the murderous “Hillside Strangler” duo of Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, whose ghoulish deeds terrorized the city in the late 1970’s.
It was yes for the millionaire parents of Beverly Hills bad boys Lyle and Erik Menendez as they were eating ice cream in front of the television in 1989, and yes again for Nicole Brown Simpson after she returned home on a dark night in 1994.
Discover the dark side of Los Angeles with a killer ride in honor of Halloween—a grisly journey that connects some of the lowest points, and exposes some of the most horrific history, of this City of Angeles. A ride to places that all had grave consequences.
 The macabre miles begin in the city of Glendale, a mile south of the 134 freeway. Take the Glendale Avenue exit off the 134, ride south a mile, then make a left turn onto Colorado Boulevard. A tenth of a mile from the intersection, on the left side, you’ll find 703 E. Colorado, now a transmission and auto repair shop. Back in 1977, this was the site of an automobile upholstery shop with an upstairs apartment, and it was the workplace and home of Angelo Buono—the older half of the Hillside Strangler duo. According to Kenneth Bianchi, Buono’s cousin and partner in crime, this was where the psychopathic pair killed nine of their 10 So.Cal. victims.
For more on this story, pick up a current issue of FREE 2 WHEEL at your local dealer, or use the handy order form page found on our web site.
Ask the Sergeant:
I have been bitten by the bug to build one of those Yamaha 650 Street Trackers. I’d like to make it look as authentic a race bike as possible but still meet legal equipment requirements. What are the rules on headlights, turn signals and horns? How about front brakes? I like the look of a half-mile or miler spool front hub.
Dan Marquette, Pico Rivera
I used to hang out at Ascot when I was a teenager in the ‘60’s. I love the look and sound of a clean Street Tracker and I have been toying with this idea myself for quite some time! For those too young to have enjoyed this experience, a Street Tracker is a replica half-mile or mile flat track dirt racer from the ‘60’s or early ‘70’s that is licensed for the street. It’s my humble opinion the AMA killed flat-track racing when it banned multi-cylinder engines from the dirt in 1975, but that is a whole other story.
The first thing you have to accept is that this concept (race bike on the street) is a compromise. Once you accept this, things will become easier. The next thing is to decide whether you are going to ride this bike at night. If you commit to a “daytime only” bike, that may give you a little more latitude.
Okay, as I recall, and I hope my memory serves me well on this, Yamaha made the 650 vertical twin from 1970 to 1983, mostly under the XS label. My first advice to you is to acquire a 1970, 1971 or 1972 model-year 650 for your project. As you’ll see, this would allow you the most freedom and flexibility. Here are the equipment requirements you must consider.
Headlamps: Bikes made after January 1, 1978 must have the headlamp on whenever the engine is running; bikes built before 1978 only require a headlamp during hours of darkness. You can remove the headlamp (and put on a number plate) if your bike is a 1977 or older (as long as you don’t ride it at night). Turn signals are required on bikes built on or after January 1, 1973. As you can see, starting with a ’72 or older bike means you can trash the turn signals and aren’t required to run a headlight.
One mirror is required with vision out to 200 feet. If you ride at night, a license plate light is required (all years) visible at 60 feet. You must have a horn audible at 200 feet and must have a front brake on all bikes made after 1966. This means you’ll have to go with a ‘65 or older Triumph or a BSA if you want that spool look. Stick with the Yamaha and a front brake; your body will appreciate it!
If you elect to go with night riding (or use a ‘73 or newer bike), you must have a multi-beam headlamp that can reveal a person at 350 feet on high and at 100 feet on low. You must also have a high-beam indicator. For a nightrider, you must have side reflectors. Funny thing, I have never heard of anyone being cited for no reflectors (24607 CVC). You would have thought the dual-sport guys would have run into that one.
And finally, speedometers and odometers. You do not have to have a speedo or odometer; however, if the bike you purchase has an odometer, it is illegal to remove it (28051 CVC). If the project bike you pick up is missing the odometer, then you are okay. Read between the lines.
Good luck with your project. One of my most unforgettable experiences was watching Scott Brelsford and Don Castro on their Kawasaki three-cylinder, two-stroke flat trackers at the 1975(?) San Jose Mile. Does anyone know where I can pick up a 1972 Kawasaki H2?
For more on this story, pick up a current 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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