It’s time to dip into the electronic mailbag and answer your questions in another edition of Café LTTE (letters to the editor). If you’ve got a compliment, complaint or suggestion, drop us a line at info@motorcycle-usa.com 

Hello From Over There

My name is Daniel "Dan-O" Olortegui, from Orange County, Ca, currently serving in the United States Navy, (Sea Bee) in Iraq. I am an avid motorcyclist and can't wait to get back to the states and RIDE! I am sending you a photo from the "Sandbox". Hope you can print in your upcoming issue, so my family and friends can see that I'm still in touch with my roots!  Photos of me & Moto USA magazine, with my company vehicle in the background, the MRAP (Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle), plus my custom 99' CBR 900RR with model: Lisa Catara onboard.
 - Daniel "Dan-O" Olortegui, Quarter Master First Class, United States Navy

Thanks for the pic Daniel. Of course we are referring to the one of Lisa on the CBR900RR! Seriously though, how cool is it that our service men and women are checking out MotoUSA over in the “Sandbox.” All of us at MCUSA can only hope that our photos and scribblings bring you some relief and enjoyment while you all put your lives on the line for our country. 

Ducati Streetfighter. Why didn’t I think of that… Oh, wait, I did!

The new Street Fighter looks great, here’s mine for comparison. Hard to say if I would change from mine.
 - John

When John Martin from Brisbane, Australia sent us a shot of his own naked 1098 after reading our 2009 Ducati Streetfighter First Look, we were impressed. So we asked for a follow up and he sent us a write up. Check out the Naked Ducati 1098 Reader Ride.


Wow… Good Job!
Congratulations for the new web interfaz !!!
Best regards,
 - Horst, Uruguay.

Just wanted to let you guys know how impressed I was with the look of your website update. Well done, to all at MotorcycleUSA.
- Rich and Mahnaz, Vancouver, BC

Thanks for the kudos, it makes our day. A site redesign is a lot of work, but we are proud of the fresh look to Motorcycle USA. The redesigned site also includes new features, like our Dealer Locator and improved Buyer’s Guide, that we believe make the reader’s experience a better one. And stay tuned for more surprises, as MCUSA prepares to roll out redesigned My Garage and Ride Guide sections in the months to come.

What the…

Embracing change ain’t easy, especially when you can’t find your favorite sections and stories. Here are some of the more common questions we’ve received in recent weeks.

Are the desktop calendars (computer wallpaper) a thing of the past? I’m not having any luck locating them on the site since the redesign…
 - Larry

OK, maybe I’m a total dumb a$$ but I can’t seem to find the Wallpaper Calendars. Can you hook me up?
 - Craig

Sorry, folks the new wallpaper and calendar sections haven’t been finished yet. We promise they are on the way soon, however, and the new wallpaper galleries will include widescreen sizes to fit wider monitors. So, Craig, no, you are not a dumb a$$.

Hello, I have viewed your site for years and enjoy it every day. Have you done away with the TV schedule? If so it will be missed.
 - Gordon, Milton, Florida

First off, thank you Gordon for the loyal daily visits - you’re one of the many that make it so we can get paid to ride motorcycles! Second, the TV schedule was missing but has since been added to the site. You can get to it through links on the homepage. We now have two TV Listings pages: One for all TV Lisings and another for Racing TV Listings. Enjoy.

Did the "Rate the Ride" section get deleted when you site was updated?
 - Anonymous

When we decided to make the switch, Rate the Ride didn’t make the cut. Sorry.

Hi, I was reading the article on the Titanium BSA last week. I went back to you site to read the rest of it, but I cannot find it. What happened to it? Thank you,
 - Dwayne

Apologies, Dwayne. We have been re-loading thousands of original content articles into a new system. As a result some of our archived content is still in transit. We are happy to report that all of the Memorable Motorcycles are now reloaded, however, so the BSA Titanium article is back online. Also, make sure to check out more vintage motorcycle features on the new Memorable Motorcycles page.

Tiring Decisions

I am looking to replace the stock tires on my Kawasaki ZX6R. It's a 2007 model but I bought it as a left over this year. I'm looking at the Diablo Corsa III's and at the Bridgestone BT016's. I've heard the Corsa IIIs take some time to warm up on the street (cold tires are bad in the canyons) and that the BT016s get greasy on the track. Ultimately, I'm looking for a good street tire (both downtown and twisties) that will hold up to a fast intermediate pace on the track. Thanks.
 - James

James, tires always seem to be a hot topic, as that black magic rubber never ceases to confuse, but I will do my best. Both the Pirelli Diablo Corsa III and Bridgestone BT-016 are great tires, and both are very comparable to each other. Also, in this same league are the Dunlop Qualifier and the Michelin Pilot Sport. For what you are looking to accomplish, any of these tires will serve you well. Of the four, from our experience testing, the Pirelli and the Dunlop have proven to give the most outright grip and hold up best to high-heat racetrack abuse. The tradeoff seems to be they don’t typically last as long on the street as the Bridgestone and Michelins, though not far behind. As a far as heat up time goes, between the Pirelli and Bridgestone, we have never had any troubles with either tire taking a long time to get up to temperature, so we wouldn’t be able to say one is better than the other. Please do remember that no matter the tire, it is always smart to make sure you have ample heat in them before you unleash the beast, so to speak. In summary, both tires you have asked about (as well as the Dunlop and Michelin) will serve you well, but if racetrack abuse is in your future, the Pirelli would be a touch better. Hope this is of some help.
-Steve Atlas, Exec. Ed.

MT-01 for US?

Gentlemen, Having owned over 40 street bikes, the last few being five GSXR-1000s with two ZX-10s mixed in. I am only sharing that with you to give you a perspective of my taste for motorcycles. I’ll get to my point. Getting information from Yamaha Motor Corporation is very difficult. Why will they not allow the MT-01 into the USA. It is a fascinating motorcycle and different than the usual “repli-racer”. Same with Honda’s CB-1000R. Please shed some light.
 - Michael

Michael, sometimes we ask ourselves, and the manufacturers, the same questions. Why do those Euros seem to get all the good stuff and we don’t, right? Well, in fact, we get a lot of great stuff that they don’t as well, but the grass is always greener on the other side, as they say. It purely comes down to market research and what each manufacturer thinks will sell the best in each country worldwide. There are always ways to try and get this stuff changed though: start sending emails to the manufacturers telling them what you want! A good example of this is the Kawasaki Versys. We were never supposed to get this machine, only Europe and Canada, but due to how many Americans requested the machine Kawasaki listened and began importing them in early 2007. And it has since been one of their most successful models. Just goes to show, market research isn’t always right. So if you want it, let them know!
-Steve Atlas, Exec. Ed.

Supersports Ready Yet?

I was wondering if you knew when the 2009 Yamaha R6 first ride and reviews would be coming out?
 - Carl

Hey, I am a regular reader of your magazine and I check out the website frequently too. Anyway, can you please test the new Daytona 675, I still haven't seen anything on it!! Thanks,
 - John Meiser

Yeesh, you guys are about as patient as us for this year’s Supersport Shootout, and both the above bikes will certainly be participating. So, Carl and John, try and keep it together until February when we plan on running our yearly battle of the middleweight sportbikes.

KTM MIA

Hello, Just wondering why the KTM was not included in the 450 MX shootout????????
 - Keith

Keith, we invite KTM to participate in our MX shootouts every year. And every year the Austrian firm declines. It’s a bummer, for us and our readers, but we promise to never stop asking. For now, enjoy our KTM-less 2009 450 Motocross Comparison.