Why You Buy a German Bike ?


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From CycleWorld Magazine, April 1994

"Should You Buy a German Bike?"

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  1. The best way to adjust the valves on a motorcycle is to:

    1. remove the body panels, gas tank, air plenum, fairing ducts, ignition coils and cam covers to measure and/or replace up to 16 shims;

    2. take the bike into a shop because the job is so complicated it's better if someone else screws it up so you don't negate the warranty;

    3. remove two aluminum valve covers that stick out in mid-air and adjust four rocker arms while you sit on a mechanics stool listening to Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral" on a garage boom-box and sipping a heavy Bavarian beer that seems to have been brewed from dark honey found in the Black Forest.

  2. A motorcycle, before it wears out and is no longer worthy of rebuilding, should be able to go:

    1. about 18,000 miles;

    2. about 50,000 miles;

    3. at least 250,000 miles, and then be rebuilt anyway.

  3. The famous maxim, "Without music life would be a mistake," was written by a cynical critic of public morals named;

    1. Ross Perot;

    2. the Reverend Jim Bakker;

    3. Friedrich Nietzsche.

  4. You are having some friends over for venison sauerbraten with potato dumplings and Ganseleberpastete. A good wine to serve with dinner would be:

    1. Night Train;

    2. a "blush" wine that looks like someone poured cherry juice into a perfectly good batch of peach syrup;

    3. Schloss Vollrads.

  5. Halfway through dinner, one of your guests says, "What's that terrible music on the stereo?" You:

    1. smile politely and explain it's Wagner's "Das Rheinegold" from Der Ring Des Nibelungen and politely offer to turn it down;

    2. put on any album from the Windham Hill catalog;

    3. begin to clear the table and turn lights off in the house, helping your guests into their coats and explaining that you have to get up early, after which you listen to the entire four-CD boxed set of the Ring until 4 a.m., while polishing off the Schloss Vollrads yourself.

  6. Motorcycle luggage should be carried:

    1. under an elastic cargo net stretched over the rear seat and clipped to the protruding body sidepanels in such a way that it does not scratch the plastic;

    2. inside your jacket;

    3. in a pair of waterproof suitcases that were designed for your bike and clip on and off in about ten seconds.

  7. Ideally, a dog should look as much as possible like:

    1. a small piece of sculpted shrubbery from the gardens of Versailles;

    2. a dust mop;

    3. a wolf.

  8. The best name for a dog is:

    1. Fifi;

    2. Mopsie;

    3. Wolf.

  9. The best name for a rocket scientist is:

    1. Al;

    2. Jimmy;

    3. Werner.

  10. Confronted at a cocktail party by a person with "way out" opinions, the best response is to:

    1. shake your head and smile quietly at the strange diversity of humankind;

    2. tactfully change the subject;

    3. straighten the person out with the crushing precision of logic and lucid Hegelian dialectic.

  11. The most confidence-inspiring name for a general commanding huge numbers of troops is:

    1. Gamelin;

    2. Graziani;

    3. Eisenhower.

  12. A good length for a motorcycle ride is:

    1. over to the 7-Eleven store;

    2. up and down Main Street about six times;

    3. down to Tierra del Fuego and back on opposite coasts.

  13. A dual-purpose bike for serious exploration should hold:

    1. 1.2 gallons of fuel;

    2. 2.3 gallons of fuel;

    3. 9.3 gallons.

  14. The most inviting commercial description of a malt beverage is:

    1. Lite;

    2. Dry;

    3. Clear;

    4. Dark

  15. Dark Bavarian beer should be drunk:

    1. in standard 6-ounce bar glasses;

    2. in thin plastic cups with the names and helmet designs of famous NFL football teams on them;

    3. in huge 1-liter steins depicting folk scenes of castles, stag hunts, and happy peasants eating an entire wild boar and falling down drunk.

  16. Huge 1-liter steins of dark Bavarian beer should be served by:

    1. a guy named Brad who will be your server tonight;

    2. a vending machine;

    3. a great big healthy blond woman who can carry four steins in each hand.

  17. The best part of every touring day is:

    1. when you get to oil your chain;

    2. when you forget to oil your chain;

    3. neither of the above.

  18. If you were shooting a helicopter-assault scene in the movie Apocalypse Now, the best choice of sound-track music might be:

    1. a Glenn Miller dance tune;

    2. Gary Lewis and the Playboys Greatest Hits;

    3. "The Ride of the Valkyries."

  19. Motorcycles;

    1. are fun to ride around sometimes when it's nice out;

    2. really look radical with some of those wild colors they got;

    3. are a lifetime passion whose enjoyment can be enhanced through exacting craftsmanship and the thoughtful application of technology.

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Creator: Tom Coradeschi <tcora@admin.ibmwr.org>

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