I believe everyone has a right to their own opinion, so what I find bothersome about a lot of the comments is this. The congratulatory comments are presented as what they are, the opinion of the authors. A fair amount of the negative comments are presented as if their author believes their opinion to be a fact. That simply is not what an opinion is and it is very difficult to form a sound opinion without possessing all of the facts. Reading the comments I have I seen huge evidence of their authors not possessing all the facts, and I can not help but wonder why they think they have them.

So, here are some facts.

The Rambler was built to be a rider. It is currently a runner (a runner by our definition is a bike which starts and runs, but we wouldn’t choose to ride as transportation due to an awareness that the bike still requires mechanical adjustments to meet our safety, comfort and reliability standards ). It will soon be a rider (by our definition a bike we would choose for transportation purposes on a regular basis). As I type this Dave is in the shop playing with the timing on the Rambler. Jetting on the carb is also likely to be an issue, it is currently running lean and getting too hot. These are the key issues preventing the bike from being what we would call a rider. It is also leaking some oil. Nothing that would prevent us from using it as a rider, but since the engine is freshly assembled and all of the leaks appear to leaking from mechanical fastener points and are relatively easy fixes, why not fix them as part of the process of turning a runner into a rider.

The issue of comfort seems to have fairly much made of it in some peoples opinions, which to me is ironic because in my world comfort seems to bear very little impact on what the hardest riding individuals I know choose to ride. Most of them ride something that I myself would be nervous on, and I daily ride a Cook rigid with a non functioning rear brake I haven’t taken the time to fix for some time now. So, in fact, with regard to comfort there is much evidence that rideability is more a function of the rider, not the ride.

Safety is another issue mentioned often and it is certainly my opinion that it is a very important factor in the rideability of a motorcycle. In my opinion braking and handling are most important, with performance important only to the extent that whatever the bike in question has to offer lay somewhere in the range between adequate to run in the traffic conditions the bike will be ridden in and not overpowering the rest of the mechanicals the bike has to offer. The facts surrounding the Rambler is that the braking capabilities of it’s two perimeter rotor brakes are more than adequate to their task (which is why I personally have been staking my life on one such set up). The steering geometry and front suspension is a tried and true version of our standard set up which we have been riding for years, so I can’t see any reason to get any different results from this latest incarnation. This bike is set up with contemporary rubber and the power plant falls comfortably in the middle of the range described above.

With regard to finish, it is a fact that the best finished bike in the show was not the Rambler. It would be sad if it were, as we put relatively little stock in finish, since we build these bikes to ride. The idea of fussing over the paint and polish on a bike that is meant to live on the road and in parking lots with as many people as care to given the opportunity to sit on, or (if we happen to like them) test ride simply makes no sense to us. Much respect to those who choose to make that a priority in their builds, it just isn’t our thing. One of the best things I have learned working with metal over the years is that it can be left as raw as you may want to, or worked and reworked to perfection. The Rambler is an example of working something to a finish we were comfortable with and then leaving it alone.

We have always understood the World Championship to be an engineering competition, which is why Dave and the rest of us are willing to work so hard to perform well. The standards and values it represents are ones we aspire to achieve. The finish we wear with pride on our bikes is the coat of oil and road grime that each of them earn over time. Our goal is to build bikes that many may actually feel look better when they are wearing that coat, and still be able to dress them up to go out when we want to, which is the reason for Rambler’s stainless construction and simple black paint.

Mechanical engineering: the point of the competition this particular bike won. Let’s look at the fact’s there. Dave Cook built a one of a kind engine/driveline from a collection of mismatched donor parts and his own hand made components on a garage builder’s budget. When he first came up with the idea, the reason for the Honda donor motor was the reliability and availability of the components the engine would be using. Important for the rideability requirements he had in mind for the bike. Per usual, everything took longer to make happen than expected. So rather than months, or at least weeks, of shake down time as was originally the plan (and honestly we figured would be REQUIRED), the one-off engine had fluids poured into it literally hours before we would have had no choice but to head out to the competition, runner or not. What happened was that this Frankenstein construction sputtered to life less than an hour after our first attempt to start it. By any set of historical standards for creative engineering of a one of a kind engine, I believe that to be quite an accomplishment. Now that is an opinion. What’s yours.

JP Persitza

Cook Customs

One other opinion that became very strong for me this show: the European bikes had a lot of technical and engineering advances, in workmanship and concept /
But the American bikes were more ride able and about outstanding fit and finish. I was drawn to the American bikes for sure this year.

Congrats Dave, and all of the winners and entries this year.

Robin and team, thanks for making this a great event, and providing a good week of traffic. We enjoyed being on the lot in Champions park

Dale

mazz.

Conrad

PIECE of ART