|
|
 |
The Ghost Rolls Out
|
|
|
|
|
|
Confederate Wraith
Alan Cathcart
10/01/2005
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Kel Edge Photos
|
New Orleans never labored beneath the austere Puritan
ethos imposed elsewhere in the United States; rather, the Crescent City’s
French-derived Creole and Cajun population embraced the relaxed philosophy of
laissez les bons temps rouler—let the good times roll. And they do at
Confederate Motorcycles—the only motorcycle manufacturer located south of the
Mason-Dixon line—which is about to hit the marketplace with its girder-forked
future-bike known as the Wraith. An astonishing axiom of alternative design
bursting with new technology, the bike has earned its creator, J.T. Nesbitt,
worldwide attention and acclaim for the special brand of minimalist magic it
brings to the American V-twin power-cruiser cult.
 |
| (Click image to enlarge) |
|
|
|
|
Though I have covered
thousands of miles testing motorcycles around the world, I was quite unprepared
for the surprise awaiting me after hopping aboard the Wraith’s low-slung carbon
seat; I discovered a riding position totally unlike anything I’ve encountered on
two wheels. Without a fuel tank or airbox for your knees to grip, it seems as if
you’re mounted on a mountain-bike frame suspending a bare V-twin motor. The
improbable location of the rearset footrests—at least by American cruiser
standards—and an overly-wide, one-piece handlebar that pivots directly in the
fork stem combine to result in a position more sportbike than cruiser.
Far
from being a conventional American cruiser, yet not quite an all-out sportbike,
this Britten of the bayous is the Southern equivalent of a naked streetrod that
brakes and steers like a ProTwins racer while offering real-world street manners
that manage not to be overly superficial. It’s a radical American alternative to
an Aprilia Tuono or Ducati Monster, with rearset footrests and a
forward-inclined riding stance betraying its sporting potential, a promise
backed up by the Wraith’s handling and suspension compliance. The Wraith
features surprisingly good ride quality, just floating in a ghostly manner over
even the worst bumps and ridges in the road surface. But most impressive is how
completely stable it remains on the angle in 80 mph sweepers, with zero
deflection if hitting road imperfections. The handlebar is too wide for comfort
aboard a neo-sportbike—the light, positive steering has no need of the extra
leverage it offers—but even when you hit a bruising bump leaned hard over, the
Wraith shrugs it off, despite the absence of a steering damper.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();){kind=link}