Continuing To Compare

Motorcycle manufacturers occasionally have special test-drive events, but otherwise it’s really hard to try one without actually buying it. So my actual motorcycle riding experience is pretty limited… that said, I can’t help but want to write up notes comparing Megan’s Ducati Monster 750 and my Suzuki SV650. They’re both from the same year (2000), both have similar engine sizes (750 and 650cc, respectively), and are of course made in the same ‘naked’ style. As I’ve said before, the SV is in many ways a tribute (don’t say ‘knockoff’) to the Monster.

At first I made fun of her for getting the Italian bike– it was pretty beat up, it’s more expensive to maintain, it cost more, produces less power, it weighs more. But having ridden both, I have to admit I’m really loving the Monster. The center of gravity is lower, and the handling is just so much more… planted. And do I really need the extra five or ten horsepower? Not as such, no.

Not that I don’t love my bike. The handling is still excellent, and I’ve got a little flyscreen that keeps more of the wind off me. The seat also lets me have more variations on seating positions, and it’s got a little trunk under the passenger seat that will hold a toolkit and my papers. They’re a pretty close comparison, and given the difference in purchase and maintenance costs, I’m still inclined to vote for the SV.

I’m wondering what the head-to-head equivalent will be this year, though. Does the SV still stand close to the Monster in the ’07 model year? They’ve cut back to 695 cc on the Monster (OK, dropped to 620 for a few years, then increased back to 695, but whatever), but increased power and decreased weight. Both manufacturers have switched to fuel injection. To improve handling, the Monster added a slipper clutch (popular with racers) to ease downshifts, and the SV has optional antilock brakes. In all, the SV has probably changed less… which means the Monster has probably pulled away in the rankings. Do you have to look at the Triumph 675cc 3-cylinder machines (Daytona and Street Triple) for Monster competition?

Yes, I’m still lusting after the Triumphs.

In Which I Am Clever (A Collection Of Bons Mots On Frivolous Subjects)

This weekend at a family gathering people raised their eyebrows at my line of business. Megan reminded me that it’s an opportunity to polish my writing skills and critical thinking abilities. Whatevs. I have been working on my one-liners.

This week, I described “K-Ville,” a serious cop drama set in post-Katrina New Orleans, as “Storm-damaged police struggle to preserve order in a storm-damaged city and their storm-damaged lives.” And tomorrow’s premier of “Kid Nation” is getting pegged as a “lawsuit-inspiring child-labor reality show, in which 40 kids head out into the desert and try to create a society without going all “Lord Of The Flies.” Spoiler: Piggy dies at the end.”

When some kid got Tasered at a political event, I obviously had to make it the video clip of the day. But since TV With MeeVee is a blog about entertainment, I kept the tone light by pointing out that the dude was now totally famous, and that the phrase “Don’t tase me, bro, AUUUUUUGHHHHH” was hilarious. You might think that’s in poor taste, but Michael Savage characterized the arresting officer as a “Bull-Dyke Fascist,” so I’m still well within the spectrum of acceptability. Here’s the clip:

On my other blog, I characterized Chloe Sevigny as the Christa McAuliffe of fashion. (That last is not an insult I invented, but it’s still totally great.) I’m also rather proud of the closing lines of an earlier dispatch about Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillippe, and depression: “Still, it’s touching to know that both Reese and Ryan experienced the same overwhelming, bottomless despair I feel every day when I wake up. I mean, wow, you know? Stars! They’re just like us! Only better-looking, and with more money, and with people who care about them!”

(Yes, really, that’s how the plural of bon mot is spelled. French declines the adjectives, you know.)

Superbikes, Superboomers

Stat of the day, courtesy of the WSJ: Ultra-high performance sport motorcycles represent 10 percent of sales and 25 percent of motorcycle fatalities. Who’s buying these bikes? Baby boomers. Kids can’t afford them. Sure, young squids die on motorcycles. But a lot of middle aged folks are returning to bikes, can afford the best, and hop on after 20 years of not riding.

Apparently, teenagers aren’t the high-risk age group these days: their parents are.

Years Late, Trillions Short

Greenspan now joins the chorus of people who had a chance to make a difference years ago, but kept their mouths shut and toed the Bush line, and only now speak up to say “oh, that was wrong.”

You supported those tax cuts when you said “responsible tax cuts are good.” You and I might know what a responsible tax cut is, but you knew then that Bush was sponsoring no such thing, and that you’d be quoted as saying “tax cuts are good.”

I hope you and the retired generals all sit around in the nursing home poisoning yourselves with regret. Jerks.