Chain Me Up-Chain Me Down
Q. I've got a new 650 ABS V Strom and it's everything I expected it to be-great. The chain I swore I'd never have is also everything I expected it to be-a pain.

I was a little surprised when someone recently asked me if it was possible to rack up a hundred thousand (or more) miles on a late model cruiser without making any major repairs, and if it was, what sort of maintenance it would take to do it. My knee-jerk reaction was to start cataloging all the things that would need doing, but the more I considered the question, the more I realized that while all devices are subject to the whims of mechanical misfortune, the current crop of motorcycles are for the most part as reliable as anvils, and, barring any unforeseen mishaps, will last almost as long while needing only slightly more attention.inline_mediumwraptextright26152097/tech/1002_crup_routine_motorcycle_maintenance1002_crup_02_z+going_the_distance+.jpgTrue

(February, 2010) - Polaris Industries Inc. has announced its acquisition of swissauto Powersports, a firm based in Burgdorf, Switzerland. swissauto is known for its expertise in designing and developing high-performance and high-efficiency engines and innovative vehicles. The acquisition will likely strengthen Polaris' engine and vehicle design capability across the globe, while also reinforcing the company's European presence.

Harley-Davidson announced it will donate 28 new Buell and Harley-Davidson motorcycles to assist with earthquake disaster relief and stabilization efforts in Haiti. The motorcycles are being shipped from Motor Company facilities to the Dominican Republic, where Harley-Davidson dealership organization MagnaMotors will facilitate direct delivery to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti.inline_mediumwraptextright32208522/newsandupdates/1002_crup_harley_davidson_to_donate_motorcycles_for_haiti_relief_efforts1002_crup_01_z+harley_davidson_to_donate_motorcycles_for_haiti_relief_efforts+motorcycle.jpgTrue

Check out what's inside the current issue of Motorcycle Cruiser on sale now! Grab a copy at newsstands or subscribe online to get the newest issue first. Here's what's new:

The American Motorcycle Association (AMA) reports that a significant new motorcycle crash causation study will soon get under way at Oklahoma State University (OSU). Announced last October by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the study claims it will give motorcyclists a better picture of how motorcycles fit into today's traffic mix, a deeper understanding of what causes crashes, and insights into strategies to prevent these crashes. The FHWA said researchers would evaluate data from hundreds of motorcycle crashes to help identify common factors, including road configurations, environmental conditions and rider experience.

Perhaps inspired by the packs of enthusiasts perusing its booth at the International Motorcycle Show series these past few months, Victory Motorcycles has seen fit to introduce yet another new model for its 2010 lineup. As Victory puts it, "the Vegas Limited Edition motorcycle represents the leanest and meanest Victory ever offered." That's because the LE is equipped with Victory's powerful Freedom 106/6 powertrain, made all the more gnarly with the addition of Stage 2 cams. Victory says the combo conspires to pump out 97 horsepower and 113 ft/lb of torque on the Vegas LE. The bike also features a Bonneville Salt Flats-inspired paint scheme, because "we wanted to honor racers that have brought Victory Motorcycles to the Bonneville Salt Flats," according to Victory Product Manager Gary Gray. "We started with our lightest bike and our largest most powerful engine and added a Limited Edition paint scheme to create a unique motorcycle."

(January 25, 2010) - Harley has announced yet another Custom Vehicle Operations (CVO) model for 2010, the Ultra Classic Electra Glide. This version eschews the now-de rigueur mega-bling piled onto most CVO machines, opting instead for a toned-down, nearly monochromatic ebony effect.

Just when you thought all the new metal was out of the box, comes this surprising bit of news from Harley Davidson. The Motor Company has announced a new 2010 Sportster model called the Forty-Eight, a shadow-splashed factory custom powered by a fuel-injected, rubber-mounted 1200cc Evolution V-twin.inline_mediumwraptextrightThe 2010 Harley-Davidson Forty-Eight brings its low profile and blacked-out components to Harley's Dark Custom family.26667482/newsandupdates/1001_crup_new_2010_harley_davidson_forty_eight_released1002_crup_01_z+new_2010_harley_davidson_forty_eight_released+side_front_view.jpgTrue

Winter is a tough time for riders, and it can be even tougher on your motorcycle, especially if you're keeping it on the road. Short trips, low temperatures and roads covered in a corrosive slurry of sand and slime can really tear up a bike. Here are six tips to make it easier on you and your ride when Old Man Winter blows in.

Over the years, the Bonneville Salt Flats have become a Mecca for speedfreaks of all kinds, and naturally, motorcycle pilots are right up there in the mix. BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials has been timing the measured mile for motorcycles on the salt exclusively since 2004. The BUB meet has classes for just about anything with two wheels and even a "Run wha-cha Brung" (RWB) class. This year over 300 competitors took their shot at a record, and it wasn't just sportbikes.

In fact, there were cruisers galore on the Salt Flats this past September, and among them were a good number of Victory machines. Gregor Moe set a new national speed run record of 165.8 mph on a Victory Kingpin at the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials. Moe's first timed mile run clocked in at 166.004 mph. At Bonneville though, once isn't good enough, as records are determined by averaging two runs. Moe backed it up with a second run of 165.6 mph, giving him the average of 165.8 mph for the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) record books. Moe's Kingpin ran in the 2000-M-AG class which includes bikes of up to 2000cc with modified frames that are gas-powered without turbos or superchargers. The Kingpin was running a 110-cubic inch Victory Freedom engine prepped by Lloydz Motorworkz, from Pine Bush, N.Y., Modifications include a Lloydz cam package, intake and fuel mapping.inline_mediumwraptextrightGregor Moe's Kingpin practically melted the salt with a 165.8 mph average run time32071005/newsandupdates/1002_crup_victory_at_bonneville1002_crup_01_z+gregor_moes_kingpin+.jpgTrue

The small village of Copper Harbor is nestled near the tip on Michigan's Upper Peninsula, at the end of Route 41 on the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. You heard me right, a peninsula on a peninsula. Hey, I didn't name the place. But I really enjoyed riding it.

After a long week at Sturgis, I needed to unwind in a mellower atmosphere. So off I went to U.S. 41, also known as the Copper Country Trail National Byway. It starts from Houghton and ends in Copper Harbor, the site of the first copper boom in the United States. The Copper Country Trail runs through the center of the peninsula, and it has a canopy of trees growing over the roadway that creates a winding tunnel of solitude.inline_mediumwraptextright26205380/rideanddest/1002_crup_copper_harbor_circle_tour_michigan1002_crup_01_z+copper_harbor_circle_tour_michigan+.jpgTrue

• Harley-Davidson 883 Iron
• Moto Guzzi V7 Classic
• Star V-Star 950
• Triumph Bonneville

Dealers Who Follow Up after a Sale May Positively Impact Overall Satisfaction with the Sales Experience

New York's mythic status is taken to new heights when you work in book publishing. The industry orbits around the Big Apple. When I worked at a Midwestern book publisher, we envied, idolized and mythologized NYC book editors, with tales whispered about exorbitant salaries, penthouse suites, and halls teeming with overworked editorial assistants paid three cents an hour who lived packed like rats into roach-infested 10-square-foot apartments underneath creosote factories.

The myth grew exponentially for me, as I didn't visit the city until a four-day business-pleasure brawl in 2006 injected the town into my bloodstream. The food, the energy, the cabbies, the freaks, and the fact that you can walk into a bookstore at midnight and it's packed all convinced me that Leary had it right: New York is a drug.inline_mediumwraptextrightLow seat height and a relatively light 504-pound weight make the Speedmaster a good choice for shorter riders or people who appreciate tight-handling cruisers.26136683/rideanddest/1002_crup_2009_triumph_speedmaster_in_new_york_city1002_crup_01_z+2009_triumph_speedmaster_new_york_city+.jpgTrue

Few things are more aggravating than opening the door to your trailer and finding your bike on its side. I had a race bike come loose once, and was mightily upset when I discovered my custom-painted Bultaco now looked like it had been dragged behind a truck. I can only imagine how I'd have felt if it were a show bike. A better tie-down system would have prevented the carnage, but I'd never installed one-mostly because I needed the trailer to carry gear other than race bikes, and everything I'd looked at required bolting hardware to the trailer floor, which would have interfered with lugging things like lawnmowers and sheets of plywood. By the same token, I hauled a lot of bikes in those days, and often there'd be three or more stuffed in there so I had to be able to configure my tie-downs to suit.

NEW DELHI (January 5, 2010) - Today at the 2010 New Delhi Auto Expo, Harley-Davidson India announced it will bring 12 motorcycles from its 2010 model portfolio to India. The broad selection, with bikes from each of its five model families, will give riders in India maximum choice and opportunity to join millions of Harley-Davidson owners worldwide in pursuit of adventure, freedom and self-expression.

Harley-Davidson is offering customers extended warranty coverage on new, previously untitled 2009 and 2010 model year Harley-Davidson motorcycles purchased and delivered between November 20, 2009 and March 16, 2010. The offer extends coverage through April 2, 2012, and allows customers to gain additional time and benefits of the warranty, especially for motorcycles purchased in colder weather areas.

Tis the season for manufacturers to unveil models for the upcoming new year, and the hoopla of annual motorcycle showcases is now in full swing. At the top of the circuit is the usually scintillating Tokyo Motor Show, though apparently, this year's edition proved to be very lean due to economic doldrums gripping the industry. None of the European brands were in attendance at the bi-annual motorcycle and auto show, and even Kawasaki skipped it entirely.

If you're weary of hearing the phrase "in these trying economic times", we can offer up this optimistic spin: Despite a generally slumping bike market, the touring cruiser segment is enjoying an uptick in popularity. Not surprisingly, Harley's FL bikes represent a good portion of sales in that niche, which explains the appearance of the new Road Glide Custom in H-D's 2010 lineup. Luckily for Milwaukee, nostalgia still sells too, because the Motor Company has gone down memory lane once again with the newly reimagined 2010 Wide Glide. We managed to snag a quick ride on both machines at Harley's 2010 model launch a while back and came back with these impressions.inline_mediumwraptextrightFLTRX ROAD GLIDE CUSTOM27346015/features/1002_crup_2010_harley_road_glide_custom_and_dyna_wide_glide1002_crup_01_z+2010_hd_road_glide_custom+.jpgTrue

In the motorcycle industry, there's a temptation to follow those who have come before, but manufacturers who go their own way usually are the ones who are ultimately more successful. Victory's last attempt at a tourer, the Vision, was met with both fascination and revulsion at its forward-thinking design. Despite that, it's become the most successful Victory to date. But there's a bigger chunk of the market that wants their lines a little more familiar, and that's who these bikes are for.inline_mediumwraptextright2010 Victory Cross Country27344143/features/1002_crup_2010_victory_cross_country_and_cross_roads1002_crup_01_z+2010_victory_cross_country+.jpgTrue

Look at a map of Europe and find Spain (or España). You'll see that the east of the country comes to a point, sandwiched between the Pyrenees Mountains to the North and the Mediterranean Sea to the South. This point is called Catalonia in English or Catalunya in Catalan. This beautiful place, full of rolling hills, wide beaches and jagged peaks, was the battleground where many wars between the Muslim Moors of Cordoba and the Christians of the Holy Roman Empire took place. Eventually it settled in as the last bastion of Christianity, but with its relative isolation from the rest of Europe it developed its own language, customs, and sense of identity. Five hundred years later, they've still got it.inline_mediumwraptextright31284462/rideanddest/0912_crup_catalonia_is_not_spain0912_crup_02_z+catalonia_is_not_spain+bikes_parked.jpgTrue

Taking State Road 60 into the town of Suches then proceeding a hundred yards north of the well-known TWO (Two Wheels Only) motorcycle resort leads to State Route 180, also known as Wolf Pen Gap Road. This asphalt ribbon is said to have more sharp curves and steeper grades than any other paved road in Georgia. The first five miles begin as a sedate two-lane blacktop leading to Lake Winfied Scott, a small very peaceful lake that acts as a reflecting pool to the Appalachian foothills that surround it. Rimmed by overhanging trees, its emerald green color in spring and summer lends a feeling of calm and serenity to the visitor, and the yellows and reds of autumn make this an amazing place to see during the yearly miracle of nature.

Last issue I tested FirstGear's TPG riding gear, but I didn't have room to include another set of products I got at the same time and used almost exclusively in tandem with the TPG stuff. I'm talking about FirstGear's Warm and Safe heated liners and gloves, along with an optional Heat Controller.

Idiot lights are fine as far as they go. They're small and relatively unobtrusive, so a number of them can be clustered together in an instrument panel, or arranged neatly across the bottom of something like a speedometer or tach. Furthermore, they're easy to check with a quick sweep of the eyes and when there's the problem, they stand out like a sore thumb. Lastly, they're cheap to produce, which are all good reasons for OEM manufactures to use them.inline_mediumwraptextrightStart with a quick inventory, make sure all the parts are present and accounted for and that you have some idea where they go. The Motosens handlebar clamp kit includes a shim for use with 7/8ths handlebars.31294611/tech/0912_crup_motorcycle_instrument_install0912_crup_07_z+motosens_instrument_install+parts.jpgTrue