Any Program today?

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and back to bike stuff..

 

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8344025.stm

 

Anatomy of a crash

 

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Anji Archer and her partner, Shaun Henderson, who was killed in a road crash

Every day, several people are killed on the UK's roads. With each casualty there is a tale of lives shattered. In the first of four articles looking at the anatomy of a fatal road crash, Adrian Brown pieces together the events that led an ordinary day to end in tragedy for one family.

 

Wednesday 3 January 2007 began much like any normal day for Anji Archer and her partner, Shaun Henderson, and their two young children. It's a day Anji has played over in her mind countless times since.

 

"We did the usual things. Shaun got up, had breakfast, helped get the children ready and then he left for work," Anji begins. "It was his first day back after the Christmas and New Year break."

 

Anji and Shaun had both been looking forward to the coming year after going through a tumultuous time.

 

In less than three years, they had gone from being good friends to being in a relationship and becoming parents of two small boys, both of whom had difficult births.

 

They had met a decade earlier through Stevenage's arts scene and become firm friends. They talked often and Anji, an established artist, discovered Shaun's talent for art and writing poetry.

 

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Anji Archer recalls the day Shaun died

 

Then, one day, out of the blue, Anji received a letter. It was from Shaun.

 

"It was just an amazing hand-written letter. It was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Basically, he was saying, 'I am in love with you and if I don't say it, I'll live to regret it'".

 

Within months, they'd moved in together and soon afterwards along came their first son.

 

"When Malackay was born he was the spitting image of Shaun. I couldn't ask for a more perfect baby. I remember thinking, 'I've got my family now'. This is it. This is all I wanted," Anji says, her voice catching slightly with the memory.

 

Within a year, a second son, Reilly, had arrived. The family was complete.

 

Later that Wednesday in 2007 in the afternoon, Shaun returned from his job as a chef at a local cafe.

 

"Considering it was his first day back at work, he came back," she says, suddenly hesitating, before continuing; "just full of life."

 

'I didn't say goodbye'

 

"After dinner it was bath the children, read them a story and put them to bed. Shaun was a very, very hands-on father, very practical, very helpful."

 

Just before 7.30pm, Shaun said he had to go and meet some friends.

 

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A younger Shaun on a classic scooter

 

"I said, okay. That's all I said," she says with regret in her voice.

 

"I heard him get himself ready, he walked down the stairs. I picked up Reilly from the cot as he was a bit disturbed, so I didn't go downstairs, I didn't follow Shaun to say goodbye. I heard him go."

 

Shaun left on his silver classic Vespa scooter. He'd been into scooters since he was a teenager and was a member of a local scooter club. Though at the time, he rarely travelled beyond Stevenage on his bike.

 

It's likely that Shaun rode little more than a mile before the crash.

 

To reach the spot where it occurred, Shaun would have threaded his way through the residential area where the family lived to reach a roundabout before turning left on to Six Hills Way, one of Stevenage's main roads.

 

After Shaun rode away, Anji came downstairs and got on with the household chores.

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Phone call

 

"I remember as I was ironing, I could hear the wind outside and thinking to myself, 'that doesn't sound very nice out there. I hope Shaun's okay on his scooter'."

 

At around the time Shaun was leaving home, the driver of a Citroen van had pulled over into a lay-by on Six Hills Way to make a mobile phone call.

 

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The lay-by where the van driver made his phone call

 

When he had finished, he pulled the van forward to get back on to Six Hills Way. As he did so Shaun was travelling up the hill towards him on his scooter. His lights were on and he was probably travelling no faster than 30mph on the 40mph limit road.

 

Though it was raining, visibility was good. At night, the street lamps along this stretch cast an orange glow over the road. The van's windows were clean and being high up, the driver should have had a good view of the oncoming traffic.

 

Emergency brake

 

When Shaun's scooter was approximately 20m away, the van driver pulled out into his path. Assuming Shaun's reaction time was the single second it typically takes to react to the unexpected, he'd have travelled a further 13m towards the van before responding.

 

According to the police accident investigator, Shaun emergency braked, causing the front wheel to lock up. Unlike in a car, on two wheels this can have a dramatic effect, instantly throwing the bike onto its side - which is exactly what happened.

 

The police crash investigator estimates Shaun and the scooter slid along the wet tarmac together at between 23 and 28mph until his scooter hit the van. As it did so Shaun's head struck the van's front off-side wing.

 

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Six Hills Way, where Shaun's crash occured

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At 7.41pm, a 999 call was received at Ambulance control in Kempston. The call was immediately relayed to Hertfordshire police headquarters in Welwyn Garden City who contacted all police units in the area.

 

Sgt Toni Hall was out on patrol in Stevenage when the "immediate" call came in. "I responded, saying that I was available, put my blue lights on and made my way to the scene," she says.

 

Others also heard the call. Traffic police officer Pc Vicki Richards was in another patrol car.

 

"It was a horrible night, January, and it was raining. The roads were very greasy", she remembers. She and her police partner turned their car in the direction of the incident and sped off, sirens blaring.

 

A paramedic fast response car was also dispatched from Stevenage ambulance station.

 

Severely injured

 

Sgt Hall was the first police officer to arrive. A crowd had gathered, illuminated, she recalls, by the street lights. Traffic was backing up but the road was still open.

 

"The first thing I did was to partially block the road with my car, I then ran up the road towards the crash. I shouted at a member of the public to move his vehicle to block the road on the other side.

 

"When I got to Mr Henderson I could see he was severely injured, there was a lot of blood. A nurse who happened to be in a car just behind the accident was giving him heart resuscitation." She felt for his pulse but couldn't find one.

 

Four minutes (7.45pm) after the 999 call first came in, the paramedic arrived.

 

"The bike was on top of Mr Henderson, so we had to lift it off, to get him out and ready for the ambulance," Pc Hall remembers. Someone mentioned to her that the driver of the van had been drinking.

 

"He'd parked his van by the side of the road. I shouted at the guy to get in his vehicle and stay there," she recalls.

 

Soon, others from the police and emergency services were arriving at the scene. Another member of the ambulance service, Communications manager Gary Sanderson, came from his home nearby after taking a call out. He called in two ambulances and helped get Shaun ready to be taken to hospital.

 

Trauma team

 

Three miles away at the Lister Hospital, A&E consultant Carolyn Meredith was coming to the end of her shift when the "red call" alerting her of Shaun's imminent arrival came in. There are four or five of these calls on any typical day, around a quarter of them for traffic crashes.

 

"We quickly assembled a trauma team - an anaesthetist, general surgeon, an orthopaedic surgeon, two registrars, and three nurses. I briefed them on what we knew, which was that we had a patient with serious head injuries."

 

On Six Hills Way, it was still drizzling as police officers closed the road and secured the area. The ambulance had arrived and Shaun was loaded into the back.

 

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Shaun was rushed to Stevenage's Lister Hospital

 

"The casualty was rapidly treated, put on a spinal board and taken to the Lister. You do your quick stabilisation at the scene and then get them to hospital as soon as you can," Mr Sanderson explains.

 

Bee-line

 

Ten minutes after the paramedic arrived, traffic officer Pc Richards' patrol car pulled up at the crash scene. Every serious road crash has an investigating officer assigned to it, and this one was to be hers.

 

After a quick brief from a colleague on the scene, she made "a bee-line" for the van driver.

 

Her memory of their first encounter is very clear. "He was with another officer sitting in a police car. I remember getting into the car and immediately smelling alcohol. The driver was very quiet, very shocked."

 

As she talked to the driver, the ambulance left with Shaun on board. On the way to hospital, the ambulance crew reported that Shaun's heart had stopped.

 

By now, other police officers were on their way.

 

Twelve miles away at Hertfordshire police headquarters, collision investigator, Pc Roy Ward, was working in the Road Death Investigation Unit, a drab, blue temporary building sitting on the edge of a windswept car park.

 

"I was in the office doing paperwork. I took the call on the 24-hour phone. I left immediately in one of the two special vehicles we have on constant standby.

 

Before Shaun reached hospital, Pc Richards had breathalysed the van driver who'd given a positive breath test. She arrested him for driving while over the limit, and took him off to Stevenage police station together with Sgt Hall.

 

As Pc Richards arrived at the station, she spotted the custody sergeant and called out: "He's blown 48 and someone's dead", signalling that she wanted the driver booked in rapidly so that a second, more accurate, reading could be taken.

 

"I knew we had a gentleman who was seriously injured if not already dead and a man who's failed a breath test. The evidence is in the body and we're potentially losing it the longer we delay," she explains.

 

It was six minutes past eight, when the ambulance carrying Shaun arrived at the Lister and he was quickly brought into the resuscitation bay. Dr Meredith's team gathered around Shaun who was being kept alive by cardio respiratory resuscitation (CPR).

 

"We kept CPR going while we examined Mr Henderson, checking his airways, breathing and circulation. There were no reversible causes for his cardiac arrest that we could treat because sadly, brain and spinal injuries that are enough to stop your heart are usually always overwhelming and unfortunately, this was the case here," Dr Meredith recalls.

 

"The brain stem and spinal cord are responsible for keeping your heart beating. If you damage these structures seriously enough, your heart stops and that is likely to be what happened with Mr Henderson."

 

Shaun was declared dead at 8.20pm.

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1. 7.30pm: Shaun leaves home (approximate time)

2. 7.41pm: First 999 call made from crash site. Pc Hall arrives within minutes

3. 7.42pm: Paramedic leaves for crash scene, followed by ambulance

4. 2031: Van driver tests positive for alcohol in intoxicator room

5. 8.06pm: Shaun arrives at Lister, declared dead at 8.20pm

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The accident investigation unit has two MPVs

They're fitted out with specialist equipment, including digital cameras, special road markers, and a decelerometer that measures road friction

They also carry a surveyor's theodolite for measuring road layout.

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http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46894000/jpg/_46894613_anje_hand.jpg

 

Family Liaison Officer Pc Felicity Moody reached the scene an hour after the crash. It was her job to find Shaun's next of kin and break the news to them. This is a delicate and difficult task and not just a case of knocking on someone's door.

 

"I've been punched and thrown up on. Others have fainted on me, it's not uncommon to have a severe reaction to our arrival," she says.

 

Before delivering what's known as the "agony message" Felicity will routinely research the background of the road victim.

 

"We need to know who's likely to open the door before we actually knock," she explains. "None of us like doing it, so we prepare ourselves as best we can for how someone might react."

 

After getting briefed on the crash and doing her research, she and a colleague made their way to Anji and Shaun's home.

 

Meanwhile at Stevenage police station, Vicki Richards was in the intoxicator room getting ready to conduct an "evidential" breath test on the van driver. As she did so, another officer put his head round the door and indicated that Shaun had died.

 

His death changed what was already a very serious incident into a fatal collision investigation, equivalent in many ways to a murder investigation.

 

Evidence that can stand up in court was now needed, along with a thorough examination of where the crash occurred if charges were to be brought.

 

Knowing this, Pc Richards called in another police office to witness the "evidential" breath test.

 

"I wanted to ensure that the evidence I collected was the best and of the highest quality as it will be tested in court," she explains.

 

The test read 54 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, considerably over the prescribed limit of 35 micrograms per 100ml of breath. Three minutes later a second test produced an identical reading.

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Cowering

 

Some two hours after the 999 call to report Shaun's crash, Anji heard a knock on her door.

 

"I saw two female police officers at the door," Anji recounts. "They didn't have to say anything. I knew something was wrong. They asked if the owner of a Vespa lived here. I said yes, and said Shaun's name.

 

"They asked if they could come in and actually I didn't allow them in at first, I just screamed, I said, 'no, I want you to tell me now'".

 

At that point it was clear Anji was going into shock.

 

Soon after, Anji recalls, the police came in. "They were very careful and gentle. They said Shaun had been in an accident and that he had died. I just went hysterical.

 

"I just remember cowering in the corner. I didn't want to be touched or anyone near me because I wanted to be near him."

 

Because Shaun didn't have any identification on him, the police needed Anji to go and identify him.

 

"Anji very bravely came to the hospital with her dad," Pc Moody says. This is never easy, but she and her colleagues try to comfort bereaved relatives by explaining what they can expect at the hospital.

 

They might, for example, need to forewarn about certain serious injuries. Pc Moody also says she tries to arrange for a hand of the victim to be visible on top of the sheet covering the body in case a relative wants to hold it.

 

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Shaun was a talented artist

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http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46913000/jpg/_46913126_ange.jpg

The visit to hospital was distressing

 

 

Wanting to be invisible

 

Anji's recollections of these moments are still immensely upsetting. Her voice falters as she recalls the visit.

 

"I remember getting to the hospital and wishing that none of it was real. It felt very surreal. Very very sterile, very very cold. I also remember suddenly getting very practical and thinking about all the people that ought to be told. I was suddenly very concerned for them."

 

Walking down the hospital corridors was unnerving. "People were looking at me. I wanted to be invisible.

 

"I walked into the room and saw Shaun lying there. All his clothes were in a bag. He just had a sheet over him. I remember thinking, 'he's still warm, he can't be dead, he must just be asleep'. I remember screaming and just saying to him 'you said you were going to stay with me for ever'. And that was it.

 

"I remember looking at his injuries and thinking what must he have gone through. Was he in pain? Because I couldn't bear that. The nurse was very caring and said he wouldn't have felt anything. It was obviously very quick."

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The pain of Shaun's death is still keenly felt by Anji and Shaun's family

 

While Pc Moody comforted Anji, crash investigation officer Pc Ward spent several hours scouring the crash scene for clues as to what happened.

 

Having first got a sense of how the van and the scooter were positioned when they collided, he set about looking for clues that would explain what had happened.

 

Lying flat on his front, he closely scanned the road surface for scrapes and tyre marks. He also searched for any crash debris that could tell him whether for example, Shaun's lights were on at the time of the collision.

 

Evidence

 

Since it had been raining, finding skid marks was difficult. But where Shaun's scooter pitched onto its side after braking, there were marks on the road. Pc Ward also found tiny pieces of the filament from the scooter's headlamp which had smashed on impact. These were all bagged up, numbered and sent off for analysis at a forensic laboratory.

 

The results of lab tests on these and other evidence was presented in the subsequent court trial to prove Shaun had been riding with his headlamps on at the time of the crash, a crucial part of the case against the van driver.

 

By midnight, the driver who caused the crash that killed Shaun had been formally interviewed with a solicitor present and bailed. He was later charged with causing death by careless driving whilst over the prescribed limit.

 

By then Anji was at home but couldn't sleep. The next day was to be no less overwhelming.

 

"I was numb, speaking to Shaun's mum and relatives, my relatives, and friends. I must have been on the phone all day."

 

Pc Moody came round to see Anji and told her more about the accident and that the driver had been bailed for drink driving.

 

"When I heard that I was just devastated. Absolutely devastated. You start to think, why, why? Why Shaun? Why did he have to be there at that time? It was very difficult to hear."

 

Shaun's two funerals in Stevenage and in Scotland, where he was born, proved fitting tributes to a popular and gifted man, but for Anji the loss continues to be a challenge, nearly three years on from his death.

 

"It's strange," she says, "but there are some days when I feel exhilarated. It's when I've achieved something in the day, I've managed to go to work, or get the boys to school.

 

"Sadly, I don't remember much about Reilly's first year. It was all such a blur. There were days when I felt I was coping. There were days when I wasn't coping. And it's still very much like that now.

 

"I had two children under the age of two on my own. Suddenly, I had to do everything and that's a very hard lesson to learn when you had someone who was there all the time and wanted to be there.

 

"I have to financially support them, physically support them, emotionally support them. I have to keep on top of everything, their schooling, making sure that they get what they need, managing the house, decorating the house. I have to do everything. It's exhausting.

 

"But I look at them and I just think, 'You are my life'. I remember thinking the next day after Shaun died, looking at them and thinking: 'That's it. They've got me. They haven't got anyone else.' I have to be well. I can't lie in bed. I can't rest. I have to get up. I want to go to bed. I want to sleep. I can't do that.

 

"That's what's been taken away from me. It's not just about losing that person that you love. It's about your life being completely toppled upside down and having to deal with that massive, massive drastic change."

 

Anji is lucky that her immediate and extended family support her. But she also relies heavily on a counsellor and other support from specialist charities that help those coping with bereavement.

 

She also finds comfort in Shaun's writings and his art work that is displayed on the walls of her home.

 

"When we were living apart, Shaun used to write me letters. Always handwritten, on a postcard, or a bit of paper. I have them all in a box. They are very precious to me. Sometimes I do read through them.

 

"It's very painful to do that but it's also a reminder of just how much in love we were. I'm glad I have them, that they're there and also for the children. It says a lot about him. They're just so intense but in a very, very beautiful way. They were so poetic. He just swept me off my feet. There are really poignant things in there."

 

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Both of Shaun's children with Anji were under two years at the time he died

 

Of the driver who killed Shaun, she has tried to shut him out of her thoughts.

 

"I made a decision, that I don't want him to take up my time, my energy. If I allow that to happen, which it has done at times, it's very bitter and I am very, very angry," she says. "I can't allow anger to show in front of my children. We can't help our emotions but I am just numb."

 

The van driver received a two-year prison sentence for his role in causing the crash. The court case was traumatic for Anji and Shaun's family, including his two other children, Chris, who was 16 at the time he died, and Eve, who was 12.

 

It reopened memories of the crash and the justice system felt confusing and insensitive.

 

"The driver was given the maximum sentence under the law which felt like it was nothing," she says. "How can you justify someone's life being taken for a minimal sentence for two years when he only served 12 months."

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http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/best-of-2009-motorcycles-of-the-year-88656.html

 

Motorcycle of the Year

 

Triumph Street Triple R

 

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Triumph had a good thing going when it unveiled the sweet Street Triple 675, a pared-down streetfighter version of the beloved Daytona 675 sportbike. The Street Triple’s finest feature is its soul-stirring three-cylinder engine that boasts a broad powerband and a symphonic exhaust note. The motor, re-tuned from the Daytona, has a predictable but powerful output that makes it accessible and unintimidating to riders of all skill levels yet is satisfying for even the saltiest veterans. Comfortable ergos – including a reasonably low seat height – and an eminently toss-able nature made it a staff darling, but we were a little disappointed it had some bargain-minded bits to keep the retail figure low.

 

But like a dream come true, the Street Triple R was introduced just last year, replete with the Daytona’s up-spec fully adjustable suspension and potent radial-mount Nissin brake calipers, alleviating all of our concerns. The result is an invigorating and versatile roadster that stickers for less than $10K. Lofting the front wheel is a snap, and before you know it you’ll be drifting out the back end like an inspired Brit hooligan. And on your favorite twisty back road, its friendly yet potent character is almost unbeatable, proving that no one really needs triple-digit horsepower peaks. Now that Triumph perfected the Street in our eyes, it became the perfect Standard. And it's our favorite motorcycle of 2009.

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Best Sportbike

 

Kawasaki ZX-6R

 

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The middleweight class's relatively low buy-in results in the largest amount of sales among sportbikes, so there isn't a segment of motorcycles more keenly contested among manufacturers. Costly (to the OEMs) updates to the 600s arrive every two years in a never-ending quest to one-up their rivals. And it's for these reasons why the ZX-6R is so redoubtable. Kawasaki has built a motor that handily out-guns its 600cc rivals, but just as impressive is a 22-lb lighter machine that handles like a champ, aided by Showa's fabulous new Big Piston Fork. Doubly impressive is that the Ninja took top honors on both the street and track – no mean feat. Triumph's Daytona 675 gives the ZX a run for its money, but among four-cylinder middleweights, the nasty and nimble Ninja stands clearly at the top of this ultra-competitive heap.

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Honorable Mention – Honda CBR1000RR

 

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If you want a literbike that handles like a 600, the lightweight and whippet-quick CBR is for you. It's as light as some 600s but has a burly midrange that out-muscles its 1000cc rivals Already a year old in '09, to win our annual literbike shootout in the face of high-profile new challengers from Yamaha and Suzuki is remarkable.

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Best Standard

 

Ducati Monster 1100

 

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The Italians followed up the lively new Monster 696 with this 1100cc version of its revered air-cooled Desmo V-Twin, and it knocked our socks off with its all'-round versatility, rich character and a huge grin factor.

 

The big Monster has cozy ergos that welcome urbane commuter duties, as a proper standard should, but it also has the capable chassis and grunty power to terrorize repli-racer sportbikes on a twisty road. Low-rev neck-snapping performance combines with neck-snapping Italian good looks. Ducati's mondo Streetfighter model is much more powerful, but the M1100 is at least as much fun and is thousands cheaper.

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Honorable Mention – Harley-Davidson XR1200

 

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When Harley-Davidson announced in summer 2007 it had created a new model called the XR1200, but that it was a Euro-only unit, everyone here in the States asked why we were left out. Then, after listening to the loyal masses, the Motor Company conceded and made it available for the U.S. as an '09.

 

Ergonomically the XR1200 strikes a good compromise between aggressive canyon attacker and sensible, upright everyday ride. And the potent Nissin brake calipers are crazy powerful. The flat-tracker look-alike styling is a head-turner, and the reliable 1200cc Sporty Twin has been massaged to yield the most horsepower of any air-cooled mill ever to emerge from H-D. Our only criticism is limited lean angle on the exhaust side impeding super-aggressive cornering, but you have to be the fast guy in your crowd for that to be a concern.

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Best Cruiser

 

Triumph Thunderbird 1600

 

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It's been cruiser utopia for the last decade or so, with every major manufacturer jumping into the market to piggyback on Harley-Davidson's astounding success for the feet-forward crowd. Harley's iconic 45-degree V-Twin has spawned an endless succession of imitators, many of them excellent in their own right. But we don't think we're alone in seeing this genre as a little bit stale. That's one reason why Triumph's new T-Bird made such an impression on us, as its parallel-Twin (a zero-degree Vee) stands apart in a sea of clones. Its 270-degree firing order supplies the requisite thumpity-thump exhaust note, but both its character and layout are unique. This might be a moot point if the 'Bird wasn't blessed with clean, graceful lines that follow a well-worn formula yet are distinct. And for those of you who like cruising on curvy roads in addition to the straight ones on the way to the cafe, the Trumpet can cut an inside track as tight as anything in its class.

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Honorable Mention – Suzuki Boulevard M90

 

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Combine the look of a more powerful cruiser with comfortable ergos, handling and stability rarely if ever found in cruisers; grace it with a bigger Twin than any other bike in its class, then bring it at a price at or below the competition, and you’ve got yourself undeniable value. This is the exact scenario of Suzuki’s Boulevard M90. Looking a whole lot like its bigger, meaner M109 brother, the M90 gives power-cruiser fans the look they want matched to V-Twin power that surely has Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha scratching their heads at the M90’s $9,999 tag. In today’s economy, value makes the perfect partner to performance.

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Best Touring

 

BMW R1200RT

 

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When it comes to piling on thousands of miles, we're not sure it's necessary to saddle up on a half-ton luxo-barge. The surprisingly agile RT is packed with comfort yet scales in at an easily managed 570 lbs with its capacious 7.1-gallon tank full of fuel. Prices start below $17K, but we highly recommend getting the optional “Standard Package” ($17,755) that includes such niceties as heated grips, cruise control and a trip computer.

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Honorable Mention – Honda Gold Wing

 

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If you want maximum luxury with a bottomless well of power, and you're okay with piloting around a 900-lb two-wheeled convertible, the venerable Honda Gold Wing has an unbeatable combination of comfort and versatile performance. Three excellent V-Twin touring-cruisers have recently been introduced, but they can't do everything as well as the superlative Wing.

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Best Sport-Touring

 

BMW K1300GT

 

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The Honda ST1300, Kawasaki Concours 14 and Yamaha FJR1300 are all terrific mile-munchers, which makes BMW's K1300GT win in our recent sport-touring shootout all the more impressive. True, a princely MSRP is attached to it, but it also has available a plethora of worthy options that are unavailable on its competitors. Combine standard equipment like adjustable seat and windshield with desirable options like cruise control, heated grips and seat, on-the-fly ESA suspension adjustment, Xenon headlamp and traction control, and the K13GT becomes your cross-country best friend. The fact that it has the segment's quickest steering, most powerful motor and excellent brakes only sweetens the deal.

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Honorable Mention – BMW F800ST

 

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If the sport part of the sport-touring equation involves unraveling the squiggliest parts of a map, the athletic F800ST is hard to beat. Accommodating ergonomics provide comfort during weekday commutes, while a lithe and obedient chassis encourages canyon strafing on Sunday rides. Optional locking luggage and heated grips give you the tools for inter-state touring, aided by decent wind protection, a maintenance- and lash-free belt drive, and torquey parallel-Twin motor supplying ample power. Its excellence became apparent after it won a side-by-side comparison with Honda's silky VFR800 Interceptor.

[kmax]

Best On-Off Road

 

BMW F800GS

 

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“The GS for the rest of us,” was how Pete characterized the F800GS. The implication being that the latest addition to BMW’s renowned GS line of adventure bikes is at least as capable as the big R1200GS was at traversing tough terrain, but in a much more manageable package. The F800GS is closer to a big dual-sport than a Boxer-powered behemoth GS or GS Adventure. The 798cc parallel-Twin provides ample power for just about any situation imaginable for an adventure-touring rider, and its humane seat height and reasonable overall size open the door for many riders who’ve always wanted to tread the Sahara but were put off by the dimensions of the motorcycles that normally dominate the adventure-riding segment.

[kmax]

Honorable Mention – Aprilia SXV/RXV 5.5

 

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Stuffing in a compact V-Twin motor into an aluminum-framed dirtbike-style chassis has created one of the most grin-inducing rides we've ever experienced. With 62 excitable horses at the rear wheel galloping with a sub-300-pound burden, the supermoto SXV (and its RXV dual-sport brother) is an extreme thrill ride – it even won the recent Pike's Peak hillclimb. Its $9,499 MSRP ain't cheap and, as we noted in our test of the 550cc SXV, “It's as pragmatic as Paris Hilton,” but it's ultra-cool, quite exotic and as fun as anything on two wheels. We stand by the closing statement from our review: “If you’re a former or present dirtbike rider with a dominant yee-haa! gene, you can’t find a more exciting street-legal two-wheeler at any price.”

[kmax]

Best Scooter

 

Piaggio MP3 400/500 i.e.

 

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For the uninitiated, the MP3 is Piaggio’s three-wheeled scooter line with two wheels up front. The revolutionary parallelogram front end uses an automobile-like double-wishbone aluminum suspension system supporting two independent steering columns that allows it to lean like a proper motorcycle. The result is a fuel-injected scooter that brings along another contact patch for new-rider safety as well as salty-dog giggles. On the right canyon road, it’s like skiing through the trees, holding your line with your outside foot (wheel) instead of your inside leg’s ski edge. Back and forth is wicked fun, like skiing a giant slalom run. At booger-picking speeds, like when maneuvering in a parking lot, a rider feels the added balancing help of the third wheel. The 400 i.e. is the more economical and practical version, with more underseat storage, but the 500 turns us on for its capability of busting a ton on the speedo and while getting more than 50 mpg.