Intake

Intake

KICKSTART THE CONVERSATION

I don’t have a lot of passion either way for Harley-Davidson, but I do find it interesting how some people get so mad at them when they change anything from the old ways, and others fillet them because they don’t think the bikes changed enough. Harley’s obviously been doing something right to become the size they are. I’m just glad so many people want to ride motorcycles. I’ll be the guy waving to everybody.

GEORGE RUH

CYCLEWORLD.COM

COLLUSION, ETC.

I'm convinced that your coverage of new Harley-Davidsons is in collusion with the guys who populate their corporate and dealership web pages. The details are thorough and accurate, right down to the last chrome nut, but one rarely sees a hint of the MSRP. They must enjoy that look of shock on customers' faces when they walk through the showroom.

BOB GOMOLA DUBOIS, PA

We certainly should have provided pricing in the October issue, but H-D does plainly list pricing in its website, andyou’llfind in our Heritage Classic 114 test and Street Bob sidebar prices are clearly listed.

After reviewing the Softail lineup it appears there are no H-D cruisers with a "standard" riding position. That's pretty weak.

PAT CURRAN RED BLUFF, CA

Pat, this is the “cruiser” lineup. If HarleyDavidson ever builds another sporting stan-

dard like the XR1200X, more people who say they want a standard-style bike from H-D should buy one. But you can fit mid-mount control to the Fat Bob, for example, and that’s pretty close.

NO, IT’S DOMESTIC

The cruiser is a foreign country; they do things differently there.

With apologies to LP Hartley.

It appearsyou took another of his famous quotes to heart. “It's better to write about things you feel than about thingsyou know about.”

WORLD (LESS) SUPERBIKE

Kevin Cameron's article on World Superbike summed up the sad future for a series that has brought us epic battles in the past (Bayliss versus Edwards title fight of 2002). As correctly stated, lap times of WSB came close to matching MotoGP.

When Dorna purchased the series,

I knew their intent. Even the camera angles aren't where they give a greater sense of the battles. I, as a lifetime fan of both series, never felt I had to choose

between the two but enjoyed them both.

JOHN McKENNA

CYCLEWORLD.COM

SEAT-OF-THE-PANTS LESSON

Sorry, Mr. Hoyer, but better you than me (Up Front, September). Pushing limits while enjoying your “high-flying biker status” that damaged machinery and, apparently, well-chosen safety gear... I immediately thought of the chaps I regularly wear as protection as useless in the type of slide your ass took on the racetrack.

Thank you for the additional lesson on sticking to a riding plan instead of going with seat-of-the-pants feeling when pushing for low lap-time numbers. I am contemplating buying more leather, just in case. Dainese products have seemed expensive to me in the past, but walking away might be.. .priceless.

PHIL MOYAERT CYCLEWORLD.COM

THE “UN-SOUND FUTURE”

As a former operator of a Zap motorcycle some 17 years ago, I can state that while there is a lack of sound on these EVs (Wandering Eye, October), the sensation of instantaneous torque remains alluring. With international legislation coming into focus barring the internal combustion engine, we’ll undoubtedly be seeing performance variants of EVs. That said, here in the US, in the not-so-distant future, we motorcyclists may be the sole remnant of operator-controlled vehicles, given the expectation that cars and trucks will be self-driving or robotic. A more elite status of sorts, perhaps.

MARKMERAT SAN FRANCISCO, CA

Comments? Suggestions? Criticisms? Write us at intake@cycleworld.com.