Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

mile pl anning my performance at the next stop sign and worryi ng . about dropping the bike if my foo t slipped on some loose gravel. I was free to enjoy the mu lti tu de of sensations that riders with long. legs h a ve been enjoying for years heelin g over in a · 25-mph corner, smelling ora nge groves and watchin g the white li ne flas h by under me ' - a nd it was all do ne with perfect confiden ce in my ability to control the bike. , As riders swa pped back and forth between the availa ble b ikes, th e Int ercepto r soon established itself as a clear favorite, although th e H elix and the Shadow had much to offer too. With no tank be tween your knees, the Helix felt like the smallest of th e three bik es a nd, provided you kep t it o ut of the rai n grooves on th e freewa y, th e a utomatic Helix wo u ld mak e a perfect mount for th e firstti me rid er . T he lazy-bo y seating pos iti on (feet stretched o u t in front) tak es a little getti ng used to if you've never rid den a scooter before. Bu t once you ge t yo ur confide nce up. winding through the canyons o n a Helix ca n be a lo t of fun. T he H elix provides a qu iet , smoo th ride and th e scoo ter is able to shoot up to 75 mph qui te happily in o pen stretches: It even has a tru nk, which riders adapt to in a big hurry. The low-rumbling Shadow was the perfect hi ghwa y cruiser. It 's sitback-an d-relax style with footpegs stretched ou t in front made me feel lik e som ethin g ou t of " Easy R ider" as we po wered th rough the comers a pproaching Warner Sp ri ngs . T he roll-on power a nd th e fun of ridin g somethi ng so completely different to all th e sport bikes I had tackled in the past p ut a smi le on my face th at lasted for m iles. By co mparison, th e Interceptor was lik e flyin g a pa pe r airp la ne. Li ght, n i mb le a n d q u ic k , the brightl y co lored 250cc motorcycle had me cornering harder th an ever before a nd wi nding o n th e gas in the stra ightaways. The li ttle bike pro vided pe rfect balance fo r a sma ll rid er like me. There is enough power to be taken seriously packed into a frame sma ll enough to mak e the pa ckage feel . con trollab le. The bike had only two fa ults - it in spired so much co nfiden ce th a t yo u st arted to feel inv incible, a n d it b el ong ed to Honda, so I co uldn 't take it hom e with me. Desp ite bein g "sca le d do wn " model s, both physicall y a nd in engi ne size, all three bikes were mor e than capa ble of keeping up o n the hi gh way a nd cru ised easily a t more than 70 mph - the CH P officer wh o ticke ted tai l-en d ride r , Cand ace Mead , for speeding ca n vouc h for tha t, After two da ys of co untry-road cruising, we headed back up the 405 Freewa y, toward H o nda headq ua rters, in the mi ddle of Friday afternoon 's ru sh hour tra ffic. The last 40 mil es showed just ho w far a smallerthan -usu al a nd ver y timid street rid er ca n get whe n she finall y finds a bike that fits. For th e first time in my li fe I sp li t lan es (wh ich is legal in Ca lifornia) for miles, feeling co n fident and secure on the little Int ercep to r as we headed back to its hom e a t H onda. The 400 fun-filled mi les were over all too soo n but th e lesso ns I lea rned o ut there o n the hi ghway wi ll be aro u nd for a long time. I found o u t that str eet riding can be fun for everyo ne; even th ose o f us who a re ' five-foot-three with extra short legs and wh o never thought we'd find a serio us street bike tha t was small eno ugh for us to ma nage. • ~DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD · II r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J r:J ... lUI ••• liI.BEA •• II SATURDAY, MARCH 26th & SUNDAY, MARCH 27th D D 00 D ~ D c<')'" c-r D ..g A SUPERWEEK-END of CAfC EVENTS D ~ @i:lf 1988 2nd Annual ~ DODGE TRUCK ~_w...,.,. "... . United States CMC Amateur Nationals Glen Helen OHV Park in San Bernardino, California * SATURDAY IS GRAND PRIX * **DOUBLE PRO POINTS** Each Class Races 45 Minutes 30% Trophies - Finisher Plaques e" "f"~\~51 loll\e 1" " Il\e . . le50" 'lJCtJ-C C G3£ 1~IJC \"\31 .. . 3 oOOG-SW\I,,· ~a~e 0"e5 ,,315 ·" 511\

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