Test Ride: 2017 Tempo Carmel e-bike

E-bikes were something I had been relatively skeptical of since I first saw a clunky example while visiting China many years ago. As a road cyclist, the idea of using electrical power to supplement the power put through the pedals seemed like cheating, especially for those long weekend rides. But in recent years, as the technology improved and the the designs became less cumbersome and more sleek, I started to wonder if I was perhaps being a little too narrow-minded in my assessment of e-bikes. After all, not everyone is as fortunate as me to live in a relatively flat area and be in reasonable good health. Why shouldn't everyone have an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of cycling in some way and why wouldn't an e-bike be a good choice for a commute?

Fortunately for me, the opportunity presented itself this year to attend the E-Bike Expo being held at the Long Beach Convention Center, which gave me an opportunity to learn not just about e-bikes, but also to take advantage of the chance to spend some quality time with a very nice e-bike from Tempo, a CA based e-bike manufacturer. In fact, they were kind enough to lend me one of their Carmel model bikes to use for an extended trial, which allowed me to truly experience what living with an e-bike is like. I must admit, life with an e-bike is something that I could get accustomed to.

Test Ride: 2017 BMW R1200RS

It has been a while since I had a chance to ride a new motorcycle. Even when I have attended the International Motorcycle Show, the bikes usually have quite a few miles on them. When I rent a bike from a place like Motoquest, the bikes frequently have serious miles. So during my recent hunting online for motorcycles, I came across reviews for a new bike from BMW, the R1200RS. This took the new air and water-cooled flat twin engine from BMW's insanely popular GS adventure bike and places it into a frame that is set up more for sport touring. I absolutely love the torque of the GS flat-twin; this is one of the most iconic engines in motorcycling made better by the addition of water-cooling to create something with more power and ever more reliability. The idea of taking this new, better engine and the ultra-reliable maintenance-free Paralever shaft-drive rear-end and applying it to something more sport touring oriented was certainly very intriguing.

On a day when I needed to be available due to a termite tenting at our house, I finished up dealing with the exterminators and took a little detour before my next appointment to stop by my local BMW dealer to check out this interesting new bike.

Test Ride: 2016 BMW F800R

Lately, while having the K1200S serviced, I took the opportunity to take one of the dealerships loaners out for a day. My local dealer, BMW of Long Beach, has a number of brand new F800R nakeds available as rented loaners for riders who did not originally purchase their bikes there. For $50 a day, I had essentially unlimited miles and a chance to play with a brand new motorcycle.

Designed to compete in the middle weight super-naked class that has increased in popularity in recent years, the F800R is BMW's answer to bikes like the Yamaha FZ-07 and Kawasaki Z800. However, taking a decidedly BMW spin to the idea of a middle weight super-naked, the existing F800 sport touring platform was modified with a regular chain-drive rear wheel and stripped down to the bare essentials. Using a 798cc parallel twin making 90 hp and 63 lb-ft of torque, the streetfighter comes standard with ABS and ASC to ensure safety, but provides strong torquey power low in the rev range making daily riding in city traffic as easy as lofting its front wheel at a twist of the wrist.

2016 Honda NC700X DCT

Let's be honest: as much as people drool over supersport bikes, only a small number of people genuinely enjoy them for daily use. They are loud, fold the rider into an uncomfortable position, totally incapable of carrying anything, and produce so much power that one always has to be super attentive to keep from getting into serious trouble. Sure they are an absolute blast to ride through the canyons or on a track, but most riders hardly ever see either of those except for the odd weekend here and there. Honda clearly had this in mind when they developed the NC700X. This is a seriously well thought out urban commuter that is aimed squarely at providing an exceedingly practical motorcycle that is accessible to the masses. In fact, Honda considered that point so clearly that they even offer this bike with what essentially amounts to an automatic transmission. 

Yes,folks, you heard that right. The automatic transmission is creeping its way into full-size motorcycles. This is, thankfully, not the terrible CVTs that you see on scooters, but is instead a computer actuated dual-clutch arrangement that I will talk more about later on in this review.

Test Ride: 2016 CanAm Spyder RS-S

To be honest, I never understood the CamAm Spyder. It has all of the negatives of the motorcycle - the lack of crash protection, exposure to the elements, limited practicality, and excessive noise - with none of the benefits - outrageously quick acceleration, thrilling sensation of leaning into corners, ability to split lanes in California. For me, the Spyder always represented a segment of motorcycling that seemed too far outside of logical for me to really pay much attention to. Whenever I saw one on the road, I would generally roll my eyes and think to myself, "There goes another guy with more money than brains." So because of this, I had never really expressed much interest in giving the CanAm Spyder a test, even though their demo days seemed to be omnipresent no matter what city I lived in. This time around, at the International Motorcycle Show, I figured it was time to get over my prejudices and see if I could make sense of why people would find this thing even remotely appealing.

Test Ride: 2012 BMW R1200GS

Image courtesy of Motoquest.com

Adventure bikes are not usually my thing. The weight does not bother me so much as the rather high center of gravity relative to a sport, or even a standard, bike. However, during my most recent trip back to the West Coast, I had the occasion to slip away from work for a day and take the gold standard of the adventure bike class, BMW's venerable R1200GS, for a full day test ride. I used the opportunity to cover a road that is popular with all sorts of riders, Southern California's famed Ortega Highway, but also spent plenty of time on it traversing the crowded suburban sprawl of LA as well as slicing through traffic as I split lanes between cars on the parking lot that is the 405 freeway during rush hour. MotoQuest, which provided the bike for the review, was extremely helpful and made sure that I had plenty of time to get acquainted and appreciate the genius that is this motorcycle.

Test Ride: K2 Astral 1.0

Here at East West Brothers Garage, our focus is usually on vehicles powered by some sort of motor or engine. However, as much as we enjoy our petrol powered vehicles, the both of us do occasionally feel the need to use something more environmentally friendly. What is more environmentally friendly than a vehicle powered by man itself? I am, of course, talking about bicycles!

The K2 Astral 1.0 parked in front of my S2000

The specimen I review here is a recent purchase of my own, the K2 Astral 1.0 hybrid road bike. I had originally purchased a $95 Wal-Mart mountain bike, but that ended up being a terrible idea as the gears did not all work and the bike was improperly sized. After selling the Wal-Mart bike on Craigslist, I made it a point to spend more than $100 on bicycle and to get something that actually worked and fit me properly.

I will admit though, I do not know a whole lot about bicycles. I have, at this point in my life, only owned three bicycles, including the one being reviewed here. The first bike I ever owned was, yet again, another $90 Wal-Mart bike that I purchased to use while attending UC Davis. After owning the bike for roughly two days during my freshman year, it was stolen and I never saw it again. Despite registering the bike with the police a day after I bought it, it was never recovered. The second bike was the $95 Wal-Mart bike I described above. And so we come to the Astral 1.0, which cost $299 ($249 after a Google offers discount). Is this bike worth three times the cost of the Wal-mart bikes?

Test Ride: 2010 Triumph Street Triple

As I have mentioned before, I am a massive fan of Triumph's 3-cylinder motors. Of all of the bikes on the market at the moment, I have always felt that the Triumph triple is the one with the most character to it; that unique exhaust tone giving it a very soulful sound. So when the opportunity arises, I never pass up a chance to take one for a ride.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

After coming back from my test ride of the Sprint ST, I opted to jump at the chance to test the 2010 Street Triple. For those who know Triumphs, the Street Triple is the little brother to the Speed Triple. It offers a smaller displacement triple motor out of the Daytona 675, giving it a power delivery characteristic closer to a 600cc super sport, but also enhances maneuverability due to the lower weight. It does not deliver the visceral punch of the Speed Triple's 1050cc motor, but offers a more user friendly package for those who cannot, or do not, use the extra power and acceleration offered in the bigger bike.

Test Ride: 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000

Kawasaki has a long history of producing excellent race replica motorcycles, sport touring motorcycles, and commuting motorcycles, but in recent history, they have not had a single motorcycle that could fit the bill in all of those categories. That is, until 2011, when Kawasaki introduced the Ninja 1000 (sold as the Kawasaki Z1000SX in other markets). This bike, based off the hooligan favorite Z1000 super-naked, shares the same powerful inline-4 cylinder motor, excellent ergos, and strong suspension, but adds a full fairing for improved wind protection. I had the opportunity to take an extended demo ride of the Ninja 1000 through a variety of different roads and see for myself the amazing work that Kawasaki did to make this one of the best all-around motorcycles one can buy.

Test Ride: 2011 Ducati Diavel

Cruisers are not for me. They are loud, crude, soft, and silly. Nearly everything a cruiser does can be done better with another kind of bike, except for hanging out with the cruiser crowd. To me, a cruiser is all about the image of riding and much less the thrill. So imagine my shock when Ducati announced in 2010 that it was going to be introducing a bike with the styling of a cruiser, but the performance of a sport bike. Everything about this bike seemed downright heretical to both cruisers and sport bikes. Color me intrigued. Luckily for me, Ducati was kind enough to offer several demo days specifically to introduce the Diavel, so I suited up, fired up my bike, and rode out to see what all the fuss was about.

Road Trip: Riding along the coast of Oahu on a 2009 Triumph Bonneville

My wife and I had the pleasure of traveling to Hawaii for a friends wedding, and on one day, when we slept in and most of our other plans fell through, we found ourselves with a half a day of free-time, so being the kind of person that I am, I suggested that we look into renting a motorcycle and do a little riding around the coastal roads of Oahu. When calling around to see what was available, the selection was paltry, to say the least. Mostly heavy HD cruisers or tiny step through scooters, neither of which were my taste. However, I eventually stumbled upon one place that carried a newer Triumph Bonneville, so I jumped at the opportunity. The gentleman who answered the phone was pleasant and event told me he'd give me the rest of the day  (6+ hours) for the 3-hour rental rate. Sweet!

Every road we were on that day looked
like this; smooth as glass and
hugging every curve of the island.

So we grabbed our stuff and walked the handful of blocks to the shop and signed the paperwork and picked up the keys to a 2009 Triumph Bonneville. The heritage look of the overall design works surprisingly well with the more modern looking wheels on the black one that we picked out, though the fake carburetors were kind of a goofy touch, given the bikes fuel injection. The low flat seat made pillion accommodations surprisingly comfortable for the wife and we got set quickly and headed out onto the streets of Honolulu.

Being what it is, it was no surprise that the somewhat heavy feeling Bonnie became nicely light and sprightly once you got moving. Low speed maneuvering, especially with a passenger, feels heavy, in spite of the wide bars. And while the seating position is upright and comfortable, for me, it just did not offer the level of control that I am used to, since I mostly ride a sportier bike. However, once the grunty twin is fired up and the copious torque at low RPMs is used to get the bike up to speed, it all starts to make sense. The slow and heavy steering gives way to light easy effort and the pounds seem to just melt off as the speed climbed.

We hopped on the freeway and made our way out of the city, heading east towards the windy mountain roads that we had driven days before. With somewhat limited time, we avoided making the usual stops and just rode for a big. The non-existent wind protection was not terribly problematic at these cruising speeds, but I could see it getting tiresome after a longer ride. Of course, I was also concerned as we had not come to Hawaii planning to ride, so we were not in our usual bevy of protective gear. It was weird riding in my street clothes and even weirder riding without gloves. And while not required, my wife and I opted to take the shop up on its free helmet offer, though the brain buckets were likely to do little should anything have actually happened.

Tossing the Bonnie through some corners and cruising along the ocean, this was what motorcycling was all about. The sun, while warming, was tempered by the cool breeze coming off the ocean making for some wonderfully comfortable conditions. And for a relatively low tech ride, the Bonnie was proving to be quite the entertaining partner, especially when kept to the sane speeds dictated by traffic. The roads on Oahu, outside of Honolulu to the east become a collection of fast sweeping turns that hug the curves of the island, allowing one to enjoy not only the beauty of the island, but also the amazing views of the ocean. It really is an amazing place and should be a stop for any motorcyclist.

With a half day worth of riding behind us, I was disappointed that we had to return the Bonnie at the end of the day. In fact, the brief time my wife and I spent with this bike has me contemplating getting one of our own as an around town, local jaunt, two-up bike which I think the wife would love.

Or, I guess we could just keep coming back to Hawaii since I suspect my location may have had some influence on my demeanor. Regardless of all that, the Triumph Bonneville shows why it is one of the longest enduring designs in the world. It's comfortable, handles well, torquey enough that you never feel like you would be caught out for power while running around the city, and it is so simple that maintenance should be a breeze. It just goes to show that sometimes, when you keep things simple, they can all come together and just work. The Bonneville proved a wonderful companion during our time with it and really added that extra little bit to an already awesome vacation.

Test Ride: 2009 Triumph Sprint ST

I have always had a soft spot for Triumphs after hearing the triple on my friend's Speed Triple. And when Clinton Cycle in Camp Springs, MD offered the opportunity to test ride some Triumph motorcycles, I jumped at the chance. While the event offered a rather limited selection of bikes to ride, I did find the opportunity to ride a Triumph Sprint ST with Triumph's phenomenal triple motor.

Firing up the motor, the bike makes the most beautiful sound, even with the stock exhaust system. Picking the bike off the side stand, it feels heavier than my Ninja 650 daily rider, but is not off-putting and with a seat height that is completely manageable for my 31" inseam, the bike felt only slightly top-heavy, especially given the more sport oriented ergos.

Rolling out of the parking lot, the weight of the bike practically disappears. In fact, despite being a slightly heavy sport-tourer, at speed, it feels just as agile as a sport bike and is totally light and flickable, yet stable in even the most difficult corners. Pulling away from a stop, the sound of the triple through the Sprint's exhaust is downright intoxicating. Every roll-off the throttle triggers a cacophony of clicks and pops as the motor slows to an idle. Speaking of the 1050 motor, it is buttery smooth, with loads of torque down low. Every opportunity to rev it up when pulling away from a stop, I roll on the throttle just to enjoy the fantastic mid-range and strong pull from anywhere on the tach.

The one surprise for me was just how stiff the suspension was. While I understand that in order to get the bike to handle well, it needs to be set up pretty stiffly, for a  bike that is expected to eat up the miles, bumps seemed to transfer through the frame to the rider with a rather jarring motion, certainly much more jarring that a number of other sport-tourers that are on the market. Combined with the more forward-leaning riding position and the smallish fuel tank, I had some reservations about really using this bike for distance sport touring.

But honestly, the wonderful 1050 triple is enough to make me overlook the stiff suspension and the other minor shortcomings. This bike has such a strong motor and rides so well on smooth roads that I cannot help but fully recommend this bike for someone who loves to carve the canyons, needs to commute, rides three (possibly even all four) seasons, but can only afford to keep one bike. It really is a wonderful ride and I have added this bike to my short list of potential purchases in the near future. I do want to try the new Kawasaki Ninja 1000 to get a comparison because that bike seems like it is the perfect competitor to this one.

Thanks to Clinton Cycles for hosting the event.