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/127280
open-face hel met, I can hear it fin e behind "the tall windscreen up to 70 mph. The speakers in the fairing pla y loud eno ug h without dist orti on. . GOa solin e pri ces wer e rai sed 25 percent during o ur month o n th e road . wh ich might hav e wrecked the budget if we were driving the motorhome. But the PCs deliver 50 mil es to th e ga llo n and carry 4.2 gallons in the tank. " O h, ' a $1.41 today , hey? No probl em. Six gallons, pl ease!" There is no reserve, so we cau tious ly refuel ed every 150 mil es or so. Fifth gear o n the PC pulls a solo rider smoothly fro m 40 miles an hour to over 100. The o n ly time we ha d to do wnsh ift to fourth o n the road was climbing a steep mountain against a headwind on the Lin coln Highway in Wyoming. O ur usual rate of tra vel is 65-70 mph, but th e PCS run smooth at any speed. The carburetion is set so the bikes run just as well 8900 feet. hi gh in the Rocky Mountains as they do on the coa st. It's a wonder th at the PC ha sn 't found many customers, yet. I wonder if American H onda Mo tor Co. knows wh at it's go t here. For th e p rice of a 1500cc Go ld Win g, you can have two PCS and a mo nt h on the road. One dealer employee from Charlotte, North Caro lina, says he so ld 15 PCs by Accessories for the road By Chuck Clayton n e thin g th at dis tinguis hes motorcycl e rid ing from other forms of tra nsportation is that you have to dress for it. You want to look good and feel good, so the best pl ace to sho p is your motorcycle dea ler. O The Pacific Coast is the first motorcycle designed with a built-in trunk, a feature that comes in handy for carrying groceries. pricin g leftover 1989 mod els a t th ree pe r Go ld Win g. Li st pri ce and th e localized nam e seem to be hold in g back curre nt model sales. Recent ly reduced to $6498, the 1990 PC800 model is a good value, though the lettered " Pac ific Coas t" o n both sides of the trunk is a turnoff unless you live in one of the sta tes wh ere it applies. So ca ll it a PC (" Perso nal Cycle" ) a nd get used to the St ar Wars -p lus-America -scoo ter styli ng . If you ar e no t too inte rested in wi nni ng canyo n races and just- want a rea l good bike, cons ider the PC800 by Honda. It is the best motorcycle we ever rod e. CN Accessories AM/FM Radio Front Nose Mask Upper Spoi ler Lower Spoiler Tall Windshield Back Rest '" ~ ... IJ.) ..0. o .... u o $549.95 $49.95 $I59.95 ~ . $ 1 62. 95 $184.95 $134.95 without one, after all my years battling helmet laws. Sharon chose the Bell Spo rt fu llface, whi ch was also good loo ki ng, comfo rtable and heavy (3lbs.). She says it needs more side vision . H er eye sh ield was poorly fastened, we discovered well int o the tri p. Somethin g a little Loc-Tite a nd atten tion by a deal er cou ld have cured, but we (Below ldt) Our necessities for the road incl uded a cooler and water bo ttle . su n block, and a nutcracker-shaped cruise control. (Below right) Our two Bell helmets. struggled with tem pora ry fixes instead of dealing with it properly. O ne vent cover fell off of eac h of our he lmets. Fortu na tely, Bell backs up its products with good service. For a jacket, I was lucky to get a H ei n Gericke Ace Bo mber brown h ide jacket fro m Interspo rt Fashions West, Inc. This is a new design tha t fi ts the senior rider very well. It is the classic B-24 jacket redesigned by mo torcyclists. War m , co mfortab le an d rugged , it co mpressed neatly in the PC's tru nk -when the day warmed up. It features fo u r zippered p ocket s and a p lace for yo ur h ands whe n you want to look cas ua l. T he li n in g is a map of warti me France, I g ue ss in case you ever bail out over Europe. Wh y not a map of th e U .S., Interspo rt? Any way, check the beau ty o f this jacket o n you at yo ur motorcycl e deal er. In tersport g u a ra n tees th e qual it y , wh ich is hi gh q ua li ty indeed. Little things that make a motorcycle trip more pleasant: Sharon likes her Cycle News fanny pack, which ho lds wa llet, sm okes. cosmetics and like that. Ch uck values th is nu tcracker-shaped cruise control, but lets Sharon use it beca use hi s PC doesn 't rea lly need one. Sun Block lot ion prevents painful sunburn. One application lasts all day . Crabtree &: Evelyn foaming bath oil for a refresh ing touch of lux ury af ter a long riding day. Ice cooler and water bottle can be a life-saver o n days wit h temperat ures in the triple digits, and provide cold refreshmen ts at rest stops. Minkoiled boots repel rai n and keep your feet dry. H onda line two-piece rain suits go on over clothing and really keep th e wet o ut, wh ile providing a sa u na. A hideabl e ho od ca n be depl o yed to dra in th e ra in off your head . With these suits and boo ts, we learned to love ridi ng in the rai n. eN O th er accessories th at ma de th e trip more pleasant were our two-p iece Hondaline rain suits (left) an d my Hein Gericke Ace Bomber leather jacket. I picked out a Bell Mag open-face helm et. Bell still makes th e best looki ng helmet, in my opinion. I was surprised to learn that my head ha s grown in the years since I last bought a helmet (my critics would not be surprised ). Apparentl y this isu fun ction of advancing age. Some people's ha t sizes increase as they get older. The Mag felt heavy , but not un comfortab le. It weighs 2.5 pounds. I wear a helmet not so much for safety, but because I likewhat a helmet does for me. It 's just the best way of dressin g for a motorcycle rid e. It holds my rem ain ing hair in place better th an a bandan a and provides a perch for my goggles. Also it keep s the su n from' broili ng my brain a nd it loo ks good o n me. T here are times wh en any helmet ge ts u ncomfortab le, bu t I would no t like to be ca ugh t dead 23