New for ’93: Suzuki
An Open-class GSX-R water-pumper
heads the charge.
Building a Better Bandit
Ducati unleashes a Monster.
Track Tested
Down and dirty with Suzuki’s new
liquid-cooled GSX-R750.
Forever Young
Ol’ Number 9 returns: Nixon at Loudon.
-by Kevin Cameron
1993 Harley-Davidson
Electra Glide
Anniversary Model
Touring wheels for the rich and famous.
1993 Yamaha Seca II
Bargain blaster back again.
Husqvarna WXC360
Best-of-both-worlds dirtbike.
54 Hog Wild in the Gold
Country
Harley-Davidson Low Rider vs. Honda
Shadow 1100 vs. Kawasaki Vulcan 88.
61 The Case for Cruisers
America’s bikes?
72 Suzuka 8-Hour
Fast Freddie’s GP stepping stone?
-by Matthew Miles
98 CLC Leather
Restoration Kit
Cleaner cowhide.
13 UP FRONT
Letter to Willie G.
-by David Edwards
16 LEANINGS
The Bicycle Connection.
-by Peter Egan
20 TDC
Unseen drama.
-by Kevin Cameron
22 Letters
26 Roundup
102 Service
105 CW Showcase
110 Slipstream
The Hymn of the Harley is a
tough one to miss. The score calls
for four-part harmony, and its text
praises Harley Style, Harley Tra-
dition and Harley Reliability.
That, at least, seems to be the popu-
lar view, and actually spending time
aboard a Harley-Davidson-one like
this FLHTCU Anniversary model, for
instance-does little to diminish those
expectations.
The Harley Hymn is an easy one to
grow to like. For starters, there is a
full chorus of happy owners singing
it, so if you decide to pick up the tune,
you won’t be singing solo. Also, there
are good things to sing about.
The bikes are solid and reli-
able, their build quality is
quite good, and the finish ap-
plied is excellent.
All of this is true of the bike
you see on these pages, a gor-
geous gray-on-silver, top-of-
the-line touring rig-a dresser,
in Harley-speak. This is one
of Harley’s six 90th Anniver-
sary models, bearing anniver-
sary paint, cloisonne tank
badges, and a suggested retail
price of SI6,099. The same
bike, but in a solid color and
without the anniversary em-
blems, sells for $ 15,349.
In spite of its breathtaking
price, this new Harley is just like the
old Harleys-which is to say, familiar
as always, different only in detail. The
fundamentals remain unchanged: The
1340cc, 45-degree, air-cooled V-
Twin, the non-unitized, five-speed
transmission, the twin-shock, back-
bone frame, the cast-alloy, 16-inch
wheels. As always, the engine sup-
plies solid, if not startling, motive
force. It’ll pull steady-state speeds on
level ground forever, but if you’re
looking for something with which to
make blitz-like uphill passes while
hauling a passenger and luggage, this
isn’t the engine.
Sharp-eyed readers will spot two
changes for ’93: the saddlebag lid
locks, and the clutch and front-brake
levers. The saddlebag lids themselves
are essentially the same as before; but
now, instead of being completely re-
movable from their respective bags,
they’re held in place by a sort of dou-
ble-articulated locking hinge.
It’s a clumsy system until you leam its
mannerisms. Harley claims 15 percent
increased saddlebag capacity-mostly
due to a relocation of the battery, which
formerly intruded into the right bag’s
space and is now located under the
seat-but we wonder why the bags
weren’t made even bigger at redesign
time. The saddlebags remain thin
enough that serious packing is accom-
plished only with the foreknowledge
that any clothing so packed will be
wrinkled, and that a traveling steam
iron had better be part of the en-
tourage. At least the cavernous, side-
opening tour trunk remains, maybe
the best piece of hard luggage in all of
luxo-touring.
Kudos all around to the designers of
Harley’s new “blade-type” clutch and
brake levers. These have a more acute
dog-leg in them, and are very nicely
contoured to fit the hand. A good deal...