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LATEST HONDA AMENITIES–For a $24,000 sticker price, the latest Honda has all the amenities you’d expect from a modern set of wheels- a heated seat, an in-dash satellite-navigation system and a newly engineered air bag.But there’s only one thing that distinguishes this model from every other feature-laden car on the road.It’s a motorcycle.
As motorcycle sales continue to grow, these icons of tough-guy rebellion featured in films like “The Wild One”and “Easy Rider” are being refashioned for an older, chubbier crowd that wants the same features found onupmarket sedans.
Although bikes designed for comfort have been around for a few decades – purists have dubbed one modelthe “Geezer Glide” – innovations now hitting the market include cell phone hookups, heated handgrips that adjust automatically to the ambient temperature and a windshield that rises to limit the air blast on thehighway.
One BMW due out next year will have electronic tire-pressure monitors.This growing class of upscale “touring bikes,” like Honda’s Gold Wing, is becoming a major source of profit:Harley-Davidson says it sold about 110,000 touring bikes in 2005 – a 56 percent increase in three years andmore than double the sales-growth rate for all its models.
“I’ve gotten used to these features in the car, but for a long time you couldn’t get them on motorcycles,” saysMeir Amir, a New Jersey limousine-company owner. Since Amir bought a new BMW K1200S (base price: $15,800) a few weeks ago, the veteran biker says he’s come to love the gadgetry- including a button that allows him to adjust the suspension without having to haul out his toolbox.
For years, motorcycle buyers were famously slow to embrace innovation. Even now, some companies continue to build machines with the same basic technology as bikes built after World War II – a bare-bones engineconnected to a chain that drives the rear wheel.
On rare occasions when they introduced modern conveniences – like an automatic transmission in the1970s – the market responded with a collective yawn. Some loyal bike buyers still prefer carburetors to more-efficient fuel-injection systems because they consider the latter too fussy.
When Harley-Davidson introduced the Electra Glide, a larger, more comfortable “touring” oriented bikein the mid-1960s, the improvements consisted mostly of basic elements like electric starters, outsizesaddlebags and generously padded seats. But in the last decade, the motorcycle market has shifted.
From 1998 to 2003, according to the Motorcycle Industry Council, the average age of a motorcycle ownerrose by three years to 41, while the percentage of women owners this year reached 10 percent for the first time.
Buyers are also getting wealthier: In its last survey, the trade group says 13 percent of riders reportedhousehold incomes of more than $100,000 – up from just 6.1 percent in 1998. All this is good news formanufacturers: Motorcycle sales have risen 57 percent since 2000 to 1.1 million last year, while car saleshave sagged over the same time span.For this new breed of buyer, there’s no shame in spending a little extra for a bike with car-like touches.
Since a typical bike gets 45 to 55 miles per gallon, owners figure a motorcycle will cost significantly less tooperate than other recreational vehicles – like sports cars, boats and motor homes.Bike manufacturers seem to be borrowing a page from the auto industry’s experience with sport-utilityvehicles: taking a breed of relatively simple machines, larding them up with “extras” and charging apremium. The average motorcycle price is $9,500 this year, up almost 7 percent from last year.Harley-Davidson’s “Screamin’ Eagle,” which comes with satellite radio, has a base price of $31,995.Not that all motorcyclists are interested in comfort. When Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisbergerhad a highly publicized wreck earlier this month, he was riding on a Suzuki Hayabusa – a super sport bike whoseclaim to fame at its introduction was that it could go 200 miles per hour.
Even some manufacturers are sticking with the basics: Erik Buell, the founder of Wisconsin-based BuellMotorcycle, says he continues to build lighter, more maneuverable bikes that are more fun to ride. His latest model, the XB12X, weighs in at 425 pounds (a fully equipped Honda Gold Wing weighs morethan 800 pounds) and doesn’t have antilock brakes, a fancy suspension or any other “clutter,” as Buell calls it.Moreover, some purists say these gizmo-laden cruisers, with their car-like mufflers and pollution controls, are makinglife tougher for enthusiasts who like performance bikes that still let out a healthy growl. To answer the growingdrumbeat against the noisy bikes of old, some bikers wear T-shirts that say “Loud Pipes Save Lives” -a reference to the idea that the noise of an oncoming bike warns other motorists to get out of the way.”Most people ride motorcycles to escape,” says Mark Mederski, executive director of the Motorcycle Hall ofFame Museum in Pickerington, Ohio. Many of the cushy features coming out now, he says, “just defeat the purpose.”
Nonetheless, manufacturers show no sign of turning back the clock. Yamaha’s latest advancement, out forjust a month, is a transmission that allows riders to switch gears with a button rather than a clutch – a technology that’s mainly available on exotic sports cars.
BMW began offering heated seats a few years ago, and last year, the company rolled out an adjustablesuspension that allows riders to correct for extra weight or riding style.
Later this summer, Honda will start offering a unique feature for its Gold Wing tourers: an air bag.And one of Harley-Davidson’s new options is a voice-activated cell phone system.”Sometimes the only way you can get away for a ride is by giving the boss a way to reach you,”says a spokesman – showing a seemingly un-Harley-like concern for office politics.
–from Rogue
AVON TECH QUESTION OF THE WEEK–What is the difference between a radial, bias, and bias belted tire?
Types of tire constructions:
Radial tire has a ply that is at or near 90 degrees to the direction of travel and the ply goes from bead to bead.Bias ply tire has the ply(s) cut at an angle and the plies are laid over each other in a criss cross method
Bias belt tire has a ply cut at an angle and the belt is wrapped around the circumference of the tire over the bias ply or radial ply
Zero degree belt is laid at 90 degrees to the direction of travel over the other plies
Benefit of a radial tire (if your bike can work with a radial construction tire) is :
1) a better, more compliant contact patch
2) better transitioning response over bias
3) not as forgiving as the taller profile bias
4) Low aspect ratio – better grip but at max adhesion they slide more quickly with less warning
5) low profile looks great on many bikes
Criteria for running radials
1) Suspension of bike must be stiff enough to work with radial tires
2) wheel width must be wide enough to work properly for radial application
3) never run a radial front and bias rear
–Sukoshi Fahey (Ms.)
Sales Manager, North America
BIKERNET JIMS TOOL OF THE WEEK– Right Side Drive Trap Door Puller, No. 998 – Use on all JIMS Right Side Drive transmissions and other aftermarket rightside drive transmissions. Use this tool to properly remove the transmission trap door.
BIKERNET RADIO INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK–Dave Rash started D&D Performance Exhaust because he couldn’t find an exhaust pipe for his race bike. Now he makes exhaust for Harleys, Hardbikes, Sportbikes andChris Carr’s Harley-Davidson racebike.
Thunder Bob, from Metric Thunder and Bikernet Radio, caught up with Dave and put him on the hot seat. Don’t miss it.
FORT BEND COUNTY CHOPPERS-ALL HARDBIKES, ALL THE TIME–Hermitage, PA (June x, 2006) – Nestled in Richmond, Texas, 31 miles outside of the burgeoning metropolis of Houston is the new 5,000 square foot Hardbikes only dealership, Fort Bend County Choppers. The dealership is owned and operated by Rick Leubeck, a multi-line Polaris, Victory, Suzuki and Triumph motorcycle dealer owner from Houston, Texas.
Fort Bend Choppers will carry the entire line of Hardbikes motorcycles including Choppers, NEO Bobbers, Old School Bobbers and Pro-Street sleds.
“The reason I’m working with Hardbikes is because Bob Kay, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, is very focused on what he is trying to accomplish and he is exceeding in the unique style of his product line” said Rick Leubeck, Owner. “His designs are fresh and they are what people want to purchase. Hardbikes motorcycles are unique and they don’t look like everyone else’s iron. For example, we motored one of our 330 NEO Bobber to the Bugs Bikes and Babes Hooters American IronHorse show and won!”
“Another benefit of the Hardbikes motorcycle is the handling characteristics. Our award-winning 330 NEO Bobber has great balance with the right combination of wheel, rake, motor throttle response and tranny. It’s an easy to handle motorbike.”
“We are excited to have Rick Leubeck represent the brand for us in the Houston metropolitan area,” said Bob Kay. “He is a true motorhead and entrepreneur and we are looking forward to enjoying this ride together with him and his crew.”
At Fort Bend County Choppers motorcycles are available for purchase from the samples on the showroom floor as well as through Hardbikes’ custom bike program.
The way the process works is, a buyer can either come into the dealership or log on to the Hardbikes website and design their custom motorcycle through a software application called the Design Wizard.
Enthusiasts have over a million custom parts to choose from. The Design Wizard is calibrated to offer a diminishing list of choices based on the original selection; this allows the customer to make appropriate decisions and not be overwhelmed in the process.
After that is completed they sit down with their Fort Bend County Choppers’ designer to get fitted for the bike to their physical dimensions and riding style on the Hardbikes Design Center.
The dealer pulls three measurements that include seat position, forward controls setting and handle bar position. This allows the designer to make sure the relationship of the leg extension, arm reach and posterior position fall within a comfortable riding position in the comfort triangle. Enthusiasts get a perfectly fitted bike that avoids back strain and increases safety and performance.
ROLLINSIXES PARTS OF THE WEEK–Solo Seats– The Solo seat has been around since the beginning of motorcycles. Simplyput, this Solo is a time proven winner. This Old School Solo combines old school style ofdecades past with excellent detail and craftsmanship. Old School Solo seat comes inmany colors with our trademark animal print bottom. We are sure you will be impressedwith the effort to carry on a bit of Bobber tradition.
–Tim Ellis
rollinsixescustomchoppers@yahoo.com
DUCK AND RUN–The news is finished for now. Anything flying in the direction of Bikernet from this moment on goes into the exclusive Bandit’s Cantina Sunday Post File for the Sunday News. Gotta be a member of the cantina for the Sunday News. We can’t give it all away. Besides the girls in the Sunday Post, each week, are poor, they have fewer clothes than the Thursday News girls. Does that make any sense.
The roller is just about complete for the 45 flathead Bonne Belle, Bonneville race bike. The engine configuration changed again, from dual carbs and dual front heads to a K-model top end. Dale Walksler from the Wheels Through Time Museum has jumped in to help out, but we’re still looking for KR or KH cam sets for this puppy. Other than the cams we’re good to go, once we figure out the gearing and I get the tanks from Jim Murillo to Yvonne Mecalis for final bomber girl paint work inspired by Chris Kallas.
We need help with the cams and hopefully a few more sponsors will sign on. Over this long weekend I’ll scramble the V-bike from RevTech back together. I’m riding it to Sturgis, so she’ll be all broke in for the Salt Flats. I’ve got a month to make that puppy run as reliably as a stock bike, just faster. Hang on, all the reports will be featured on Bikernet in our Bonneville 2006 Department.
In the meantime, have a helluva weekend. Let me know how all the runs worked out and ride safe, goddamnit.
Ride Forever,
Bandit
