Email a Friend

*Email Addresses (up to 5):

Personal Message:

*Your Name:

*Your Email Address:

Send me a copy of this email

* Indicates a required field

Email addresses will only be used to send this message. They will not be used for promotional purposes. See our Privacy Policy.

Mud in Your Eye

RSS

Font:

Best Non-Bike Shootout Ever

Monday, September 21, 2009

How many rain suits have been patched, motorcycle luggage repaired and airboxes sealed with this stuff?

We spend a lot of time and effort on comparison testing. Every year shootouts like the Superbike Smackdown, Supersport Shootout, 250 and 450 Motocross Comparison and a slew of customs, sport tourers, baggers, adventure bikes and dual sports eat up more time, money and man hours than any other project. Our street guys are working on a tire shootout right now for street and track, but logging enough miles to do it correctly means the results won’t be in for months. The reasons we do these high-profile assignments is because they’re fun, informative and in high demand by readers. The potential for shootouts are endless – just take a few similar items and toss them together – and the concept extends beyond the motorcycle world.

I just stumbled on the simplest, easiest, most straightforward shootout I’ve ever seen – and it has relevance to motorcyclists of all calibers. Whether you’re a rat biker or meticulous tinkerer, at some point we’ve all had to use a makeshift fix to get us through. The most popular in my personal repertoire are zip-ties, JB Weld and duct tape. Popular Mechanics took the latter – a household standard - and put it up against some sticky challengers. It’s one of those things where you instantly appreciate the value of it and then quickly wonder why you never thought to do it yourself. Check out the Duct Tape Shootout.

Post Tags: motorcycle shootout, duct tape, Popular Mechanics

Blog Archive

2012: Jan; Feb; Mar; Apr; May; Jun; Jul; Aug; Sep; Oct; Nov; Dec

2011: Jan; Feb; Mar; Apr; May; Jun; Jul; Aug; Sep; Oct; Nov; Dec

2010: Jan; Feb; Mar; Apr; May; Jun; Jul; Aug; Sep; Oct; Nov; Dec

2009: Jan; Feb; Mar; Apr; May; Jun; Jul; Aug; Sep; Oct; Nov; Dec

2008: Jan; Feb; Mar; Apr; May; Jun; Jul; Aug; Sep; Oct; Nov; Dec

Comments

Ian -Easyrider. April 20, 2010 08:54 PM
Whats the easiest bike to ride through gnarly single track trails.I ride a ktm 450 exc.To heavey and to much motor.Love it on open logging roads.So my my picks are.Honda 250x Husky 310 ktm 400.How about a test with any others you think qualify.The bike youd put your Dad on so he can make it home for dinner.

Lyle -Yes September 23, 2009 08:54 AM
That's awesome! The duct tape shootout is brilliant! Good find!

JC -RE: X2468 September 22, 2009 09:31 AM
Ah, you're not far off the mark with that enduro idea. We've already discussed and made preliminary plans for a mid-size/transgender enduro comparison (Husky 310, Berg 390, KTM 300, KTM 400, KTM 250 XC-W, KTM 250 XC, etc). Possibly a KTM-only test with oddball displacements (150, 200, 300). We all like the idea of doing more non-standard shootouts and I think you'll be seeing more of them. We've already started with things like the '09 Daytona SportBike Comparo, Duc 848 vs. Gixx750, Honda Fury vs. Big Dog Coyote, etc. We're trying to break out of the mold a little to keep things interesting for you guys.

As for the Adventure Bikes, the 650 is great, but try the 800 GS, that’s the one that really got my attention! BMW has those things figured out. That RawHyde event was awesome!

x2468 -oh yeah September 21, 2009 08:46 PM
And i forgot to say, I really liked your write up of that adventure bike competition in the print version of mcusa. I got the chance to ride a gs650 for the first time today and I really am starting to see the appeal of these bikes.

x2468 -shootouts September 21, 2009 08:41 PM
I love motorcycle shootouts. I'm really looking forward to the tire shootout, although I wish it had been a little sooner since I just bought tires. But nonetheless I can't wait to read it. I can imagine that moto-journalists have a bit of a love-hate relationship with shootouts. They must be fun to do, and sell issues. But at the same time I can understand the many problems they present. From simple logistics to trying to be as scientific and bias free as possible, while still remaining within a budget. I like to see the usual shootouts, like the yearly class shootouts (450 mx, superbike etc) be as scientific as possible. But I also like to see some less formal yet informative shootouts between bikes that might not otherwise be in the same class but still comparable. Say like throw the ktm 200 2-stroke and a husky 300 fourstroke against the top 250f. I'd also like to see more shootouts between current models and their respective former models. For example a 2010 vs 2006 gsxr 750. It's great to compare current models from new brands but you don't really know if they're progressing unless you compare predecessor and successor and put aside the hype.