| Home | 2000 Motorcycle Buyer's Guide, if you want to buy a bike. Walking
into a motorcycle dealership, surrounded by leather, chrome and fast-talking
salesmen, can be intimidating - not to say confusing - for anyone looking
for a first bike. And even a rider looking for a fifth motorcycle might have to read countless specialized magazines to pick out the one that's right for him, or her. Fortunately, a new Canadian publication,The Motorcycle Buyer's Guide 2000, is filled with information to help both beginners and seasoned riders choose their next motorcycle. The author, Bertrand Gahel, is a young yet experienced moto-journalist who has test-driven on the street or on the track the vast majority of the 160 motorcycles reviewed in his guide. This is a good translation of the guide the Montreal-based writer published in French earlier this year. The 256-page, soft-cover book is organized by manufacturer, from BMW to Yamaha. There is also a list of all the motorcycles grouped by categories, as well as a convenient price index which allows for quick comparisons. The attractive graphic design lays out two pages for each motorcycle, with a description, model history and riding impressions on the left. The facing page features engine, chassis and performance specifications. The author averaged the results from half a dozen motorcycle magazines tests, as well as his own tests, to arrive at the quarter-mile acceleration and top speed figures. The best aspects of each review can be found on that second page: a well-written conclusion, a key-point summary of "the good" and "the not-so-good," and most important, a subjective value-price ratio and an indication of the experience required to enjoy riding each motorcycle and do so safely. That idea came to Mr. Gahel on the wake of a wave of motorcycle fatalities in Quebec last year, many of which involved inexperienced riders on high-powered sport bikes. He ranks the bikes on a scale of one to ten, from "Beginner without any riding experience or rider's course" to "Expert rider: with enough experience and skills to master the most powerful sportbikes."
The author remains forthright throughout his evaluations: While Mr. Gahel can offer praise ("Excellent value, one of the best on the market," for the Suzuki Katana 600), he is not afraid to point out negative aspects, such as "one tires quickly of the weak performances" of Kawasaki's Ninja 250R. Unfortunately, the complete Triumph lineup is listed but not tested by the author, although he evaluates their technical specifications. New riders picking up the Motorcycle Buyer's Guide to choose their first bike would appreciate a glossary of technical terms, which would make some reviews clearer for them. Likewise, next year's edition could draw from Mr. Gahel's previous guides published in French for the last few years to identify which models would be a good buy on the used market. Since the author is also the publisher of this guide, the print run was limited to 2,500 copies. It's available at motorcycle dealerships, but not in bookstores Let's hope that this guide's evident qualities - most notably the "bang for the buck" ratios and experience level indicator - and the fact that it's aimed at all motorcyclists, will translate into a success, allowing for mass-distribution next year.
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