The Chicago Cycle

Yesterday Doug and I went to the Chicago Cycle at Skokie Illinois, US. Chicago Cycle is the biggest and the most detailed Motorcycle Showroom around Chicago.

Needless to say, that one needs to clutch back his nerves a great deal from the time you enter the building and up till you leave it. The Suzukis, Yamahas, Hondas, Ducatis...... it was simply spell binding. Unfortunately the facility doesn't house any Augustas else the experience would be out of this world.

So, seeing the opportunity, I grabbed it and used it to see how would I feel if I ever happen to own a Suzuki Hayabusa or a Yamaha R1 (I know I would feel as if I was dreaming!!!). So, let's being with the Hayabusa!!!

The Suzuki Hayabusa

• The seating is quite comfortable and it actually provides a lot of cushion to you bike. The seating is comfortable enough to take the bike for long rides (I mean the medium ones!!!), but the bike and the biker won't last a Delhi - Leh/Laddakh trip!!
• The steering of the machine is fitted with Stock Steering Dampers, which not only makes the motion of the steering smooth but also prevents the steering from getting into a frenzy given a bad situation.
• The front panel contains, the Fuel Gauge, then the Tacho-meter, then a digital watch, then the speedo meter and then a Battery water level gauge. The red line starts from 11k rpm and goes up till 13k.
• The knee recess are very smartly designed and they fit comfortably.
• Above all without even starting the bike, I could feel what the monster engine was capable of doing when you give it the Throttle. It's huge, it's bulky..... kinda sticks to the tarmac.

The Yamaha R1

No matter which bike I saw over there, I eyes were glued at the Yamaha R1. The looks of the bike is something that would not let you keep your eyes off it.

• The seating is as comfortable as the Hayabusa but a bit more upright and therefore would be a more comfortable partner than the Hayabusa for long rides and much much more enjoyable. But still I've my doubts if the bike and the biker would last something like a Delhi - Leh/Laddakh trip.
• The steering architecture of the Hayabusa and the R1 are more of less same. One speciality which I noticed with the steering of both the bikes is that, the handle piece of the steering was fixed right besides the steering frame. It would be like, the clip on handle bars but without the vertical piece, only the handle piece fixed to the steering frame. That made the seating more sporty and gives more grip and balance to the steering. Again, I guess the steering damper provides additional balance to the whole assembly which allowed the manufacturers to go with such a setup.
• I somehow liked the panel of the R1 more than that of the Hayabusa. It was simple but yet tangy containing a big analog Tachometer in the center. The rest of the instrumentation is digital so couldn't make out which is what. The red line begins from around 13.75 k rpm and goes up till 15.
• The knee recess and the rider position are perfect both for a smooth cruise as well as blasting off!!

Posture while cruising

Posture while blasting off

• As soon as I sat on the bike, I could feel that it's big, it's huge, it's nasty and it's the R1

Another bike which caught my attention was the Green Kawasaki Ninja 250 mainly because we all are hoping that soon this bike would be launched in India!!

Frankly speaking, this bike gonna be the best bike in India in the 220-250cc class (unless the other players come up with some kind of a miracle). It has all the trade-mark features of a Kawasaki Ninja ......... the build, the looks and the above all the performance. One are at which I found the bike lacking was the size of the bike. I would say it's size is comparable for the Yamaha R15. It's certainly not for 6 feet guys!!

Apart from bikes, the Chicago Cycle has a large collection of Bike Apparels and spares (pricey though!!).

Doug trying out the Joe Rocket 2 Perforated Protective Leather Jacket

All in all it was fun visiting the Chicago Cycle!!