Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127142
That finally at last I'd won the war - but The Battle Of The Twins will go longer than I thought. In my muggy garage, way after m idnight, still polishing and doing maintenan ce, getting ready for tomorrow 's dawn, I stopped to relax and sip something cold. It was so q u iet t here; th e sl ightest n oise I'banged on that silence like kettleb~rums. I sat still, holding my breath almost. And looked around at th e m otorcycles, th ree of them - all Tw ins. A m erican . German . Ita lian. I ,L et's see, th ere was a belt drive and "fhaft drive and a cha in. A black, a, 'w hite, a red. And two more, ghosts from the past. Each on e a m ot or w ith just two cylinders. A n inc om parable match! T hat LSR Vincent of m in e, and a silvery T iger by T rium ph. Five bikes in all! A nd togeth er they f lew th rough a dream competition waged on a road in my head. It was "The Ol d R oad" - that one we all see traces of now and again, broken concrete close to our h ig h wa ys, weed-grown and empty. -Perject for th is phantom combat of mine. T he Trumpet in gearing jumped out for a lead, its megaphone pipes blast ing a path for th e others. Th e Ducati's torque gobbled turns. The Vinc ent's full throttl e made fun of th e straights. And m y Beem er and Har ley played tag through the sweepers. Ahhh! Five motors, IO pistons, the best equation in math. It gave me the th rill of pe rfectly paired jugs! On ' they raced, on and on in my mind. JBut th en came on e more to th is two' hanger clash - a new chain-driven bike, a high-tech middleweight that H onda makes. Dual-spar frame , and its wet V-twin that pulls comers together, the Hawk GT 'bringing Japan to the game. Now! Six times two equals I2! The slugs and CCs of just one mill by Ferrari! But six times the joy! BO OM! BOOM! went I;(he dru m s! I jumped at the sound .- of dropping a wrench. The garage was real again suddenly, my race fantasy gone. And I wondered, which bike would I ride into the morning's sun, merely a few hours off now! Th e motorcycle dream scen es had been a runaway tableau - that di ce for a I'Championsh ip that no one would lose. M y forever riding choice. This I !!attle Of Th e Tw ins! William Edgar Copyrig ht Page 3 Prod uctions. From an idea by Carol Sim s! ~---~------------------------------------------------- -- -- - - --, -- -. . SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM . r- Na m e --,"P A"" EP ,"""'"''-E"' RY - - - - - - - - - - - - -:...- - - - - '--"-: S"'"'R"' N C : A"'- -,"-: T ' Address I· -,- C ity Orde r Date: S t a t e' _ -.L i p, Z _ ~_ OK, please start my subs cript ion t o C ycle Ne ws and send me the ne wspa per . o every w eek fo r one y ear (5 0 is sues) for $32.50 o ev er y w eek for t w o yea rs (1 0 0 issues) for $ 60.00 o six months se c on d c lass (25 issues) f o r $ 17.00 One year (5 0 issues). 2n d class Canada or Mexico and all other foreign countries $63.00 (U.S . funds) . First class and airmail rate s available upon request. ~ S end to : Sig nat u re _ MC /Visa# Expiration Date CYCLE NEWS , Inc., P.O . Box 49 8 , Long Beach , CA 90801 -0498 / (213) 427-7433 _ -,. _ ~ 5