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34 LIFESTYLE Army February 4, 2010 BOOKS A good read The Good Soldiers By David Finkel Scribe Publications $35 By Gordon Traill DAVID Finkel, an editor and journalist with The Washington Post, was embedded with the /16 Infantry Battalion based in aghdad. They were part <strong>of</strong> the surge” in 2007. His account <strong>of</strong> the new stratgy <strong>of</strong> the war in Iraq was told through his eight-month involvement with the unit’s soldiers, in the US and through the highly volatile and unpredictable, roadside bomb ridden streets <strong>of</strong> Baghdad. He captures the feelings <strong>of</strong> the pre-deployed soldiers with their ideals <strong>of</strong> hope, honour, love <strong>of</strong> their country and winning the war. He grabs the reader by the scruff <strong>of</strong> the neck with his no holds barred description <strong>of</strong> events that change these soldiers’ lives forever. Finkel describes how these young men are robbed <strong>of</strong> their youth as they learn early on in Baghdad about death, fear and destruction. One soldier wrote in his last journal entry the desperation he faced during his deployment, “I’ve lost all hope. I feel the end is near for me, very, near.” He also captured the heartache and difficulties the soldiers and their families faced when they returned home. The Good Soldiers is beautifully written and is difficult to put down. This book is not just for soldiers, but also for families with members deployed to Iraq – it would be an inroad into the minds <strong>of</strong> their loved ones. The Good Soldiers is the best book I have read on the Iraq War. Gordon Traill is an Iraq veteran and editor <strong>of</strong> the Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans’ Association Australia website www.peacekeepers. asn.au MOTORING Comfortable cruising: The DN-01 handles most road conditions with ease. Photo by Sgt Andrew Hetherington Super cruiser is three rides in one bike By Sgt Andrew Hetherington THE first time I laid eyes on a Honda DN-01 I wondered if it was a big bike or a scooter on steroids. Its styling is nothing short <strong>of</strong> what you’d expect to see as a bike in a future instalment <strong>of</strong> Blade Runner. When I first approached it I thought it looked like a shark. To look at it front on, the headlights give it an almost human appearance. It looks like there are two eyes looking back at you. After 10 minutes walking around gazing at the huge wheels, LED tail light, sleek body and silver exhaust, I began to like the design so much I imagined owning one. When you first go to throw your leg over the comfortable sculptured seat you notice the raised handle bars and the easy to read, fully digitised instrument panel, which displays speed, what gear you are in, which transmission mode you have selected, fuel level, rpm, time and a trip meter. My first impression was this is a big scooter, but it isn’t. It’s a cruiser. There’s no scooter on the market with a liquid cooled 680cc HONDA DN-01 680CC Price: $10,990 Final drive: Enclosed shaft Wheel size: 17 inch For: Comfort, riding position, futuristic looks, it’ll never date, ABS, the HFT and it’s a bike. Against: Width and smallish fuel tank 15L Best suit: Anyone who wants a reliable, responsive cruiser. Insurance: 12-month comprehensive insurance for a 25-year-old male: $899 Sydney, $2033 Darwin, $1587 Brisbane and $1352 Townsville. V Twin engine, and it has no under seat storage like a scooter either. As I looked at the left hand grip there’s no clutch and near the hand grip there’s a plus and minus paddle shift arrangement, for the semi-automatic Human Friendly Transmission (HFT) easily operated by index finger and thumb. Sitting on it you feel more comfortable than what you would on most bikes and most lounge chairs at home. As I accelerated from the kerb I wasn’t expecting the rush from the V Twin; does this cruiser move. The exhaust note is deep and sounds like it should belong to something bigger than a 680cc. 60 and 100km/h comes up in a blink <strong>of</strong> an eye and the transmission borders on a similar smoothness to VW’s car DSG. Whether you are in drive (sport where it revs a little higher improving responsiveness) or in manual mode the changes are hardly noticeable. I gave manual mode a good workout on a hilly section and it was flawless, allowing me to have as much control as I wanted. Handling was light, sure, safe, giving you still the fun <strong>of</strong> leaning over as far as the 130mm ground clearance will provide. The 712mm seat height will allow most people a comfortable perch to ride from and the angled foot boards give you confidence even when leaning into corners. The large diameter wheels coupled with a telescopic fork front and rear 7-step adjustable suspension gave a comfortable ride in most conditions. The DN-01 is a bike with many personalities, it can be a relaxed cruiser, a semi-auto sport-like bike you can blast around town on, or it can be a sensible commuter; where you can manually change gears and if you don’t want to do the changing, let the HFT do it for you. It’s three bikes in one, what more could you want?
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