Nik J Miles

Posts Tagged ‘2012’

“Kawasaki’s 2012 Ninja 650: Stellar and more rider friendly”

My very first experience aboard a Kawasaki Ninja 650 (it’s been so long ago, it could well have been a 600) at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA , which I still think of as Sears Point Raceway). It was during a Kawasaki track day that followed a weekend of riding Kawasaki iron, where I stuck primarily to cruisers, and of enjoying the Superbike road races also sponsored by Kawasaki. The track day was conducted by Keith Code’s Superbike School in Zen-like fashion. I tried the bike on for size and the fit wasn’t even close. My elbows and knees interfered with one another in disturbing fashion and I pointed out to the instructor that I didn’t feel at all comfortable on the bike and felt that I would not be in control. He insisted that I give it a try in the paddock anyway. I complied, and he agreed that it didn’t make for a pretty sight and rounded up a Z1000 for me to ride instead, which worked out much better.

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“Scion and Subaru join forces in developing FR-S and BRZ”

Affordable Sports Coupes to be reckoned with

Las Vegas, Nevada – What happens when two Japanese auto manufacturers join forces to develop a formidable, yet affordable sports coupe? You come up with a most capable yet affordable sports coupe that is extremely fun to drive under the guise of two distinctive marques. The vehicle or vehicles in question are the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ, which are nearly identical in terms of design and mechanical composition. The two cars differ only in the front and rear fascia treatment, headlamp styling and of course badging.

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“All-New 2012 Kia Rio provides new fuel saving technology”

Kia has certainly come a long way since their vehicles were first marketed here on our shores. The Korean automaker is now definitely a force to be reckoned with on all levels of their existing stable. We’ll deal here with their latest Kia Rio lineup.

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“Kia introduces their first ever U.S. Hybrid vehicle – The 2012 Optima”

The Sonata Hybrid from Hyundai bowed first, claiming the best mid-size sedan highway fuel economy. Now Hyundai’s Korean sibling Kia has introduced their first ever Hybrid for the U.S. market – the Optima for 2012, boasting the same EPA mileage ratings from the same basic powertrain. In fact the Optima, which is not an exact clone of the Sonata, is pretty darned close, even within the same pricing range.

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“Mazda’s 2011 MX-5 Roadster: If it ain’t broke…”

The Mazda MX-5 Miata, after more than 20 years, continues to, provide sports car enthusiasts with a pure and simple, fun-focused roadster at an affordable price. The experts at the Guiness Book of World Records, proclaim the MX-5 to be the most popular two-seat convertible sports car in the world, with more than 900,000 produced. Is Miata by any other designation still a Miata? Definitely! The latest generation of the popular roadster now referred to as the MX-5, literally revived open-air motoring on our shores, and now happens to be better than ever. Did it make sense to drop the Miata name reference that has built such positive brand equity? Probably not, but in the final analysis, true aficionados will still revert to using the Miata name when talking about the MX-5 anyway.

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“All Roads Lead to Pikes Peak”

 A Ducati Challenge

Big news for Ducati fans and riders, Ducati is returning to Pikes Peak in 2012 for the 90th running of the “Race to the Clouds.” Defending champion and Pikes Peak motorcycle record holder, Carlin Dunne, will join six-time Pikes Peak winner,Greg Tracy, in an effort to defend the title for Ducati.

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“Infiniti’s G37 drop top: Still seductive”

For those looking for year round driving comfort in a convertible with the security of a three piece folding hardtop and seductive coupe-like styling, the Infiniti G37 convertible that first bowed in 2009 should fill the bill in admirable fashion. It is essentially one car with two souls, with power coming from a 3.7-liter DOHC, 24-valve VVEL V6 engine with sequential multi-point fuel injection, that develops 325 horsepower @ 7,000 rpm, while also delivering 267 pound feet of torque @ 5,200 rpm. The engine is positioned up front and connects to either a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional electronically controlled 7-speed automatic transmission with Drive Sport mode/manual shift mode, downshift rev matching and available magnesium paddle shifters, that gears motive force to the rear wheels.

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“Honda’s ST1300 ABS: An Ideal Sport Tourer”

Honda’s 2012 ST1300 Sport Tourer hits the sweet spot when hitting the open road. If like myself, you find that laying over the tank of an all-out sport bike with your upper body weight pressing on your wrists and holding your head up to see where you’re headed isn’t as much fun as it used to be, then you probably ought to start shopping for a multi-purpose Sport Touring bike. There are lots available in today’s motorcycle marketplace to choose from, but after riding the Honda ST 1300, you may not feel the need to look any further.

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2012 Harley-Davidson FLTRX Road Glide Custom”

One Slick Custom Bagger

By Arv Voss

If you’ve never ridden a Harley-Davidson Road Glide before, or if it’s been a while, do yourself a favor – swing a leg over and go for a test ride. The streamlined bagger benefited from a host of enhancements for the 2009 model year, and the big tourer continues to progressively evolve. There are some who seem to feel that both the Road Glide and Electra Glide are nothing more than Road Kings outfitted with a fairing. Not so….even though the mechanical architecture may share similarities, there are several worthwhile differences that exist. Take the fairing for example – the Road Glide’s fairing is a Sharknose affair featuring dual headlamps and a fixed “shorty” windscreen, fixed to the frame rather than being mounted on the front fork assembly – in other words, it doesn’t turn with the handlebars, which is the case with the Electra glide models.

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“Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster:  A modern day classic”

Last Year I was fortunate enough to be able to test drive and review the SLS AMG Coupe from Mercedes-Benz. I led off my review by stating the obvious – “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. That having been said, I went on to point out the unquestionable beauty and elegance of both the original, mid-50s Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster and the iconic Gullwing, which are highly desirable and collectible vehicles.

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