32] RIDER TEST

La Dolce Vita in Red

Moto Guzzi’s Griso 1100 kicks

butt and takes names.

42] EAT TO RIDE

A Truly Movable Feast

A riding recipe from The Food

Network's Alton Brown.

48] RIDER COMPARO

The Great Compromise

The do-it-all, sort-of-well

dual-sport 650s.

64] RIDER TEST

Little Bike That Can

Handling Harley's XL 1200R

Sportster Roadster.

70] ON THE ROAD

Red Rock Adventure

Sublime Southern Utah and

its mysteries.

f Earn some grit at

CamPKTM-

56] GRIME DOES PAY

Camp KTM

Learning to adventure

tour from the pros.

60] Human Adventure:

2006 KTM 950 Adventure

ON THE COVER: MOtO GuZZi'S

inexplicable but talented Griso 1100

bends it in tor lensman Kevin Wing.

departments

8] ONE-TRACK MIND

Oops

10] RESPONSE

16] KICKSTARTS

2008 Victory Vision

22] RIDING AROUND

The Master

26] ROAD TALES

The Smell and Taste

of Motorcycling

78] FAVORITE RIDE

Spanish Moss, Fluff Mud

and History

Subtle beauty in the South

/ Carolina Low Country.

80] RALLIES & CLUBS

A Shared Dream

86] TECH Q&A Stripped 650

94] NEW & COOL

96] ADVERTISER INDEX

97] RIDER SHOPPER

106] RETROSPECTIVE

Matchless Silver Hawk 600

90 Gear: Roadgear XKJ 11

Jacket and Pants fl

91 Gear: Blaster I

Motorcycle Dryer I

92 Gear: Spidi Admiral Suit I

93 Gear: Alpinestars Gear Bag

Remember when you were little and your par-

ents made you do something you really didn’t

want to? For me it was finishing the broccoli on

my plate for the first time—my mom wouldn’t let

me leave the table until it was gone. Realizing

that the sooner I got it over with the sooner I

could go play, I rolled my eyes, held my breath

and chomped on that little piece of broccoli as

fast as I could. Halfway into it, my eyes came

back down and I thought, “You know what? This

isn’t so bad after all!”

A few decades later 1 found myself in a

similar predicament. Here at Rider we had just

received a new XL 1200R Sportster Roadster

from our pals at Harley-Davidson, and it sat

for a while as the editor decided who would

quarterback the review. As luck would have it,

my name was the one drawn from the hat. In

that instant flashbacks of my youth rushed

through my mind. I dragged my feet into Tuttle’s

office and as he handed me the key and the

security fob (more on that later) I rolled my eyes

and thought, “Do I haaaave to.”

Will this story have the same happy ending

as my first encounter with broccoli? Read on to

find out.

To celebrate the 50th year of the Sportster,

Harley-Davidson decided to spruce up the line a

little by equipping all of the Sportsters with elec-

tronic fuel injection. As the XL 1200R is the most

sport-oriented of the Sportster line, I decided '

that instead of drowning in self pity I would; .

make the most of the situation and see whatthis

bike was all about.

The Sportster’s small dimensions help institl ; ,

confidence in riders of all shapes and sizes?;'/

although at a standstill you can still.feel the’

engine's heft sitting low in the frame. The low" -

29.9-inch seat height made it easy for me to

reach the ground, while the bike’s narrow pro-

portions and short reach to the bar gave me

plenty of leverage to flick it from side to side.

Our test bike was fitted with the optional Smart

Security System, a hands-free device that’s

wired into the bike’s ignition system. If the key

fob mentioned earlier is more than 8 feet away

from the motorcycle, the bike won’t start and

will instead flash all the lights in a show...