Motorcycle-Intelligence.com

Generally speaking, supermoto (or supermotard) machines are an alternative to high-performance bikes, with a notable difference in rider position: in this case the rider is seated upright, instead of the forward-leaning posture that sport-bikes demand.

That, by itself, lends any supermotard to practical service as an urban performance bike, since it provides greater traffic visibility, in addition to the upright physical comfort. Supermotards also handle poor road conditions better than sportbikes, which further’s their practical application to taming city tarmac. Additionally, their light and nimble frame and handling characteristics not only works well in dense urban traffic, but in tight, twisty, mountain and canyon roads.

If you consider their resemblance to be a cross between a street and dirt bike, you’d be tapping into the supermoto basic lineage going back to 1970’s when the supermoto category was featured as part of ABC’s Wide World of Sports. It lost its higher-profile status when that show went away in the mid 80’s. Supermoto racing combines roughly 70% tarmac with about 30% dirt, including small jumps, although the dirt section is not an actual requirement. Hence, the machines themselves have been traditionally customized creations combining both off-road and on-road features, including rims and tires.

Only in recent years have manufacturers begun to offer bikes targeted specifically at this supermoto niche. Ducati is certainly not among the first to capitalize on this trend, but they have forwarded the category with their very able Hypermotard.

Ducati featured its accolade-winning Hypermotard for demo rides at the 2008 Cycle World’s International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, CA and I took advantage of the opportunity.

My Italian Hypermotard engendered an immediate smile under my helmet. It was comfortable, confident, entertaining, enthusiastic and just plain fun.

Ducati’s Hypermotard comes in two flavors: the Hypermotard 1100 and, an advanced ‘S’ version (Hypermotard 1100 S) which is a little lighter (390 lbs dry weight compared to 395), and includes an enhanced suspension.

Those Italians seem to know a thing or two about making life more enjoyable….

The North American debut of the new Harley Davidson XR1200 motorcycle was featured at the Cycle World International Motorcycle Show in Long Beach, CA, on December 5, 2008.

The XR1200 is a unique machine for the Motor Company in two distinct ways:

• It is not a cruiser
• It is the first bike in Harley’s history (over 100 years) that has not been launched on US soil.

The all-new Harley Davidson XR1200 had its world debut in Europe earlier in 2008.

I took the bike out for a test ride and found the upright ergonomics comfortable, and was impressed with the low-end response.

This is a “performance” bike - at least for Harley - although it is not to be compared with any modern sport bike from any other manufacturer: Harley is positioning the XR1200 in the “standard” category of motorbikes, which is a fair placement.

The XR1200 design is based on Harley’s famous XR750 racing bike manufactured in the 70’s and 80’s where it was a prominent figure in dirt-track competitions (and still is to this day).

I like the bike, although I would like it even better as a smaller and lighter machine, with a 750 motor: not to emulate its race-bike heritage, but simply as an around-town playbike without any pretensions of being performance oriented - since there are other manufacturers and machines that fulfill that need more aptly.

I agree with the assessment of Harley’s Paul James, that this is a “fun” bike.

Further to that, Paul says sales are doing well for HD in Europe and the initial pre-sales of the bike in the United States indicate success here at home. North American MSRP for the XR1200 is $10,799. This is a great addition to the Harley lineup and presuming it does well here in the US, it could signal a new direction of expansion for the Motor Company.

Cycle World Magazine’s International Motorcycle Show (IMS) wrapped up its 28th expo this weekend (Dec 5-7, 08), just outside of Los Angeles, and as usual, right on the ocean, in the Long Beach Convention Center.

This year’s annual show started its United States tour in October and will be running through to February 2009, making the following 13 stops along the way: Phoenix, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, San Mateo (outside of San Francisco), Novi (outside of Detroit), Washington DC, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Minneapolis, and in South Carolina, all in addition to this stop in Long Beach, which is typically one of the largest of the tour.

55,000 MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIASTS

The 55,000 attendees were crammed everywhere, exploring all things related to motorcycles, but the show’s two most prominent areas of interest were the motorbikes inside the exhibition hall and the demo rides offered outside.

INSIDE IMS: THE MOTORCYCLES

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‘Tis the season!

Motorcycle-Gifts.com

Think you’ve seen a large selection of motorcycle related gifts and stuff for every imaginable biker??

Prepare yourself for a HUGE selection of biker gloves, helmets, boots, tires and jackets, as well as every kind of motorcycle apparel and even unique, specialty items for motorcyclists.

Whether you need to get motorsport gifts for others or yourself, Motorcycle-Gifts.com provides all the motorbike gear, accessories, parts and much, much more. And it’s all in association with Amazon.com so you benefit from that whole Amazon Guaranteed Satisfaction thing as well as their lightning shipping service.

Just beware of the whacky commentary on the Motorcycle Gifts Blog. If you’ve never seen a whole bunch of advice on gifts NOT to get, well, don’t say you weren’t warned….

There are times when I really do wish I were an invisible rider: particularly during those instants of startled realization that my speedometer is indicating the wrong enjoyment factor at the wrong time – at least relative to some long-gone road engineer or lawmaker who determined the speed limit.

However, regardless of how invisible we bikers wish we may be, or how invisible drivers who do bad things to motorcyclists SAY we are, the fact is, we, as riders, are only relatively invisible.

So, you and I may occasionally collect a local or state citation for not being invisible enough. And, at some point, a driver will cut you and I off, because we are perfectly invisible.

Such is part of the risk of being a motorcyclist.

Hence, bikers are a unique breed on the roadways of our world. There is tremendous diversity among the motorcycle characters I have met on both sides of the Atlantic over the decades. But if I were pressed to determine some point of commonality among them all, I would say that most riders enjoy going their own way.

Regardless of ample diversity and independent mindedness, all of us riders DO need to confront the inherent risks of motorcycle enjoyment.

Here in the Unites States, the leading types of motorcycle accidents are twofold:

1. Motorists violating a motorcyclist’s right-of-way and turning across the biker’s path
2. Motorcyclists, without any help from anyone else, running wide through turns and crashing

The solution to point #1 requires CONSTANT alertness to minimize the unfriendly consequences of distracted drivers. A simple way to increase rider road defense is a state of mind: simply ASSUME YOU ARE INVISIBLE!

Operating a bike while assuming invisibility, per force, necessitates a higher awareness of what every other motorist in the vicinity is doing. Attendant with that is an ever-present readiness to get OUT OF THE WAY as soon as possible. Stated differently, complacently riding our motorbikes with the same mind set as driving our cars, SUV’s or trucks, ain’t gonna prove helpful at certain times, regardless of our legally granted right of way. The result of unfriendly meetings between motorcyclists and other vehicles is never good for the rider.

Point #2 is eye-opening. A large chunk of motorcycle accidents are 100% rider error. What’s the fix? IMPROVING RIDER SKILLS. (Note: some of the errors are related to alcohol consumption, which is another story). So, what about improving one’s rider skills?

The evolution of becoming a more professional motorcyclist requires some time. Study, training and gaining more experience, are all workable ways to improve our riding and safety proficiency.

Further, underlying points #1 and #2 is the assumption of another viewpoint: An allowance that we CAN improve our skills. (It’s just a heck of a lot harder for a “Know it all” to become a better rider).

So, do YOU have the viewpoint that you can become an even BETTER rider?

If you can nod your head affirmatively, you already know you’re on your way to longer-term motorcycle riding enjoyment. (Heck, if you are bothering to read this at all, you are automatically among the affirmative head nodders).

So, what’s the take-away point here?

RIDE AS IF YOU ARE INVISIBLE.

The awareness necessitated by assuming invisibility as a rider may very well be what rescues you from some unwanted encounter with a motorist who is gonna end up saying you ARE invisible, anyway.

Beat him to the punch and act the part of an invisible, professional rider to avoid any messy trouble.

Ride safely and invisibly!