Good Bikes...
Or Loud Pipes?
Re "The Last Word on Loud Pipes," (Shop, May '08) I would be the first to agree there is no excuse for pipes that are so loud they annoy other people, but at the same time I don't want my motorcycle to sound like a sewing machine or an outboard motor. Like it or not, ladies, you are never going to live in a testosterone-free society. Men want their motorcycles to sound like motorcycles, not like granny's grocery-getter.
PS: "Biking Is Good for You" (Exhaust Notes, May '08) by J. Joshua Placa. Best motorcycling article I have read in a long time. Keep up the good work.
Peter J. Wilson
Calgary, Alberta
I just finished reading the "Biking Is Good for You" article in the May '08 issue. It sounded like the type of conversation I have all the time with people who ask me why I ride. I'm 52 years old and have three motorcycles in my garage! One bike is my daughter's, one is my wife's and one is mine. They are a Suzuki S40 and S50 and a VTX 1300C. I have been riding since I was about 13 years old. My motorcycling has gotten me through some bad times in my life; riding keeps your mind off things that normally make you nuts. Riding has always been a way for me to renew myself. The times when the sky is clear and the sun is just right make you forget about everything. I know it sounds corny, but you all know what I'm talking about.
So if I were to sum it up: Biking makes you fit, clears your mind, renews self-esteem, sharpens your senses, improves your reflexes, saves money and pollutes less. Maybe this letter isn't quite the reply you thought this might generate, but I just had to write and share what I think.
Alan Pyatt
Phillipsburg, NJ
See Or Be Seen
In your May '08 issue in "Riding for the First Time . . . Again" by Renee McGinty, there is a reference on page 66 to the MSF "SEE" strategy. I am a new rider and took this course just last year. I must have learned something from the course. You expanded the "SEE" acronym to "See, Evaluate and Execute." The "S" stands for "Search," not "See." Now that the weather in Pennsylvania is getting nicer, I will be out searching and riding on my Vulcan 900 Classic LT.
Tom Romalewski
New Hope, PA
Good call, Tom, and thanks for the correction. We'll be sure to have McGinty retake the written test. -Ed.
We Meant That Ironically
You guys kill me sometimes. In the Orange County Choppers story ("Inside the O.C. . . . Empire," May '08) on page 22 you write about "cartoonish concept bikes," saying, "if you can call $30-$50K lower-priced." Then on page 47 you have a story on the V-Rex! Talk about cartoonish and overpriced ($39,990). But keep up the good work; that's one of the reasons I read you-for your pull-no-punches commentary.
Steve
Virginia Beach, VA
All we can say is that there's cartoonish, and then there's fine art. We're still trying to figure out which bike's which, though. -Ed.
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