We welcome your comments and criticisms. Send them to Motorcycle Cruiser, 6420 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048-5515, or cruiser@sourceinterlink.com. All materials sent to the editors will become the property of Motorcycle Cruiser and cannot be returned.
More Canadian Adventure
With the temperature hovering at -29 C outside and hoping the water pipes don't freeze, Evan Kay's Eastern Canada Odyssey and search for Quebec Putin (Feb. 2009) brought me a few chuckles and the kind of smile my wife says I only have when I talk about my bike. Mr. Kay writes about two of my passions, Putin, which has evolved to several variations: chicken, smoked meat, Italian etc., with the same basic ingredients of curd cheese and fries (and which can now be found on the menu of several chic Manhattan restaurants), as well as one of my favorite rides, Quebec's Highway 138
Highway 138 starts at Trout River (Malone) in New York State and hugs the Chateauguay River and runs through the Kahnawake Native Reserve and the entire Island of Montreal. The highway and view of St Lawrence River only becomes more spectacular as you head away from city along its north shore. For a quick summer afternoon ride, I often head to St. Ignace de Loyola, take one of the many ferries that cross the St. Lawrence at Sorel-Tracy and head home along Highway 132, the other highway that traces the south shore of the St Lawrence.
Also known as the King's Highway (Chemin du Roi), Highway 138 was, for many years, the only land route between Montreal and Quebec City. Although two four-lane highways now join the two cities, almost every Quebec biker dreams of making it to the end of Highway 138 near Natashquan and have a photo taken with the "Fin du 138" sign in the background, and experience some of the most breathtaking scenery found in North America.
Across from Quebec City, is the 25-mile Island of Orleans, smack in the middle of the St Lawrence and definitely worth a side trip. Within an easy one-day trip from Quebec or Montreal, the magnificent views of the St Lawrence in the Charlevoix area and especially Baie St. Paul have to be experienced. My personal odyssey along the 138 every fall brings me to Tadoussac, where the Saguenay and St Lawrence rivers meet. Yearly, thousands of tourists flock here from around the world to take in the scenery, the brilliant foliage and to visit the endangered beluga whales (and others) that inhabit the St. Lawrence River
Perhaps the next time Mr. Kay undertakes a voyage of discovery to Eastern Canada, he may try searching for the equally famous, often imitated but incomparable Montreal smoked meat or Montreal bagel and take in some other sights in Quebec well worth a visit.
Frank Verrillo
Montreal, Quebec
Frank, you may have outdone Mr. Kay himself with your rapturous tales of the Quebec highway system. Judging by your shared love of putin (or poutine, see below), I wouldn't surprised if he took you up on your offer.
You Say poo-teen,I Say Pu-Tsen...
I enjoyed your article about touring in Quebec in the February 2009 issue. However, I feel it necessary to correct a glaring error that drove me nuts the entire time I was reading the article. It's spelled "poutine" not "putin", and pronounced "pu-tsen" with very little emphasis on the n, not "poo-teen." In Western Canada, we pronounce it poo-teen, and French Canadians have our hides for it. Besides all that, I have a Russian ex-wife, and the fewer references to anything remotely having anything to do with Russia and its' leaders (Putin), the better. But that's just me.
James Dyck
Sparwood, BC
Helmet Nazis With Gender Ambiguity
I am really surprised that a magazine like Motorcycle Cruiser would not take a serious stand on helmet safety. Pictures of 2009 Victory Previews in your Feb. 2009 issue show Evan Kay wearing what amounts to a plastic salad bowl on her head !
Is this really the message you want to be sending out there?
And what's worse, a photo on page 18 shows her burning the rubber off the rear tire while looking backwards.....Not good...Not smart....
Alex Zapassoff
Huntington Beach, CA
Only in Southern California would anyone assume that someone named Evan was a female. It was a rough awakening to the 21st century when I found that not one, but two girls at my kids' school were named Evan. When I was a boy Evan was a boy's name... and I'm from SoCal!
But I digress... Those are images straight out of Victory's press kit, so if you have any safety issues take it up with them. I personally wear a full-face helmet at all times, and advise just about anyone who will listen to do the same. But I'm also pro choice on the helmet issue... after all where's little Bobby going to get his new kidneys from if everyone had the good sense to wear a quality lid?
Big Love
I was excited getting Motorcycle Cruiser magazine until I read your editorial in February's issue. I think that when you try to make a statement about the DN-01 you do not have to use the word for "crissakes". I work with alot of people that ride for the Lord Jesus and I'm sure hopefully one day you will be. When a person has a relationship with someone, the last thing you want to do is put that person down. Granted I have lived a life in the past with language that would put that to shame and that's why I do not want to come across to you as a jerk. I am simply sticking up for the man who changed my whole life, his name is Jesus Christ. He has protected me in many instances while riding, and many head on collisions. He has given me the strength to change the things I couldn't change on my own.
Please consider this as one day you will stand before him and give an account of your life. I do enjoy your magazine, but hope to never come across this again, otherwise I will cancel my subscription
Dave
Via angel
Mr. Furyous
Great mag! I just renewed for two more years. The new Honda chopper is beautiful! And unlike other "chopper" makers, this will have the usual Honda reliability.
However-Dear Honda, Instead of a new limited-market bike like the Fury, you should have brought back the "Great one", the Valkyrie. I ride a '98 and have toured most of the U.S. Even today, I'll put it up against any other cruiser built today. Isn't that right fellow Valkers.Tom WrightTucker, GA
I'll join that chorus. The Valkyrie is one of my favorite bikes of all time, especially if Honda utilized the current-model 1800cc Goldwing motor for Valkyrie 2.0.
Wingnuts Forever
If and when you do a comparo of the big bikes,(Goldwing, Vision, and numerous Glides) please include the acceleration specs,(quarter mile, 0 to 60 times) because the way my Goldwing performs on the straightaways and through the mountain twisties is simply awesome.
Also, last year I was caught in a Wyoming rainstorm and made a stop at a store, along with two H-D bikers. They couldn't figure out why I was so dry and they were both soaked to the bone, apparently their rides were not engineered and designed for riding in rainstorms like my Goldwing was engineered!!
And yes, just like one of the other Rumblers, (April issue), I'm a young whippersnapper at 72 years old,(and a very proud Honda Goldwing owner). Seeing the listing of 2009 Bikes (including the Goldwing!) made me change my mind about Motorcycle Cruiser. There's still hope for mag coverage of my bike,
Bob Frank
Burlington, WA
You're missing a few models in your listing of the "big bikes." Star still has the Venture and Kawasaki is reintroducing the Voyager this year. That, plus the complete redesign of Harley's venerable Glide-series, makes this a perfect year to hit the road for a nice long tourer shootout.
Personally, I'll trade a more protective faring for more windflow every time... that's what rainsuits are for!