Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Asymmetry as an Indication of Life
WORD WAS OUT
on a guy building Norton Commando replicas with improvements: disc brakes,
a bigger engine and better tranny. I punched it up but alas, the Commando had gone muscular
and looked more retro classic than comfortable.
I punched up BSA and got some diehard guys wrenching tappets on ancient Beezers. I hit
Triumph for the warm and fuzzy feel—and found that Triumph was back. Triumph morphed
years ago to a clenched fist engine on a twisted pretzel chassis with a riding profile that looked
prostate-exam-ready.
But ownership had changed at the Triumph company, and the crotch-rocket line got pre-
empted. The classics were back, born again in the first rule of retail: don't forget what got you
here. The Bonneville was back in a replica nearly identical to the original, with disc brakes and
a new engine up from 650cc to 865cc.
You see an old friend after decades and recall the old times and how it was and . . . God . .
. the life that will not be lived again. Unless . . . Nah, the new Bonny rode too high. The classic
bench seat seemed soulful, but a rider would stop more air than a truck grill. And who wants a
high center of gravity?
Nobody is who, but under New Cruisers, Speedmaster claimed Bonneville genetics with a
longer wheel base, lower seat and center of gravity, forward foot controls and stock stuff that
would run thousands on a Harley Davidson—like a 180 back tire with no compromise on a
skinny belt because this wheel was chain driven—the superior secondary drive. Double discs
up front, a tach and a discreet oil cooler between the double down tubes suggested the raw ap-
peal of a matchbox full of kief at a Pamplona campground in 1969 and felt, uh . . . correct.
Eighty-seven hundred? My last Road King went forty grand and wanted to fold up in the
curves. Yes, that was forty thousand dollars on an addiction to the V-twin fantasy.
Never mind. Idle fantasy had been good, but another motorcycle would not be good. I went
down to the Harley place to see the new Wide Glide, descended from the Sturgis. It seemed
straightforward but the Harley Davidson cost twice as much, and that was BC—before correc-
tions. The correct windshield was four hundred more and the official Harley Davidson wind-
shield mounting brackets were more than that. Then came the Harley Davidson windshield
quick release mounting bracket levers for another hundred or two hundred or four-fifty. The
Harley Davidson saddlebags were nine hundred, plus another two hundred for the rear turn
signal relocation kit, because the rear turn signals had to move so the saddlebags would fit. The
tachometer was another five hundred plus installation, but Harley Davidson riders are sup-
