Time once again to answer some letters.

There were a lot of responses to my column on safe riding (July 8). Most in agreement.

Toronto resident Alex Beamish concurs that riding a motorcycle gives you a unique perspective on how bad some drivers really are.

"I notice this driving on heavily congested roads like [Toronto's Don Valley Parkway]. I typically have five to 10 car lengths in front of me when everyone else has just one to two car lengths," he wrote. "I also try to keep a steady speed, rather than racing to catch up to the car in front then braking to a stop."

Bet that makes you popular during rush hour, Alex. But thanks for the note.

Roy Kari liked my safe riding column, but took exception to my closing warning of "Remember: It's a jungle out there." Those kinds of comments, he writes, "only serve to frighten prospective riders."

Sorry if that bugs you, Roy, but it is a jungle out there, and forewarned is fore-armed.

Tony Vanosch of Victoria, meanwhile, doesn't ride a motorcycle, but commutes to work on a bicycle. His gripe is against Canada's lack of legislation for third-party safety -- especially when it comes to oversize 4x4s and large trucks with their "high-mounted bush bars," oversize tires and "headlights that shine directly into your rear-view mirror."

"How can Transport Canada justify their protectionist requirements when so many vehicles on the road here would never, ever be allowed on the road in Europe?" he writes. Until things change "many pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists will be injured or killed."

This won't win me any brownie points in the 4x4 community, but I have to agree. Jacked-up 4x4 rigs are fine off-road, but I have always questioned their legitimacy in urban areas. Besides, they take up too much room in parking lots.

Speaking of big, John Fitzpatrick of Port Alberni, B.C., is thinking about buying a Kawasaki Vulcan 2000 but was concerned that I didn't like the bike during my test ride. Would I buy one, he asks, if I was looking for a cruiser?

I didn't mean to convey the impression I didn't like the 2000. I did have some issues with its styling, but that's a personal thing. And there's no denying it is a big heavy motorcycle, but that comes with the territory.

That said, if you want to have the big dawg on the block, the Vulcan 2000 is the one. It can double as an excellent long-distance tourer and, compared to most of its rivals, it's priced competitively at well under $20,000.

Would I buy one? That would be telling.

Fernando (no last name) sent me an e-mail about my review of the Kawasaki Vulcan 2000. He rides one and wrote: "Thank you for the great review about the V2000. Being a proud owner of one, couldn't have said it any better."

My pleasure.

Moving along, Toronto resident John Bech-Hansen is furious with the demerit point system of traffic offences in Ontario, and is currently petitioning the provincial government to do something about it.

"I was utterly astonished -- and deeply troubled -- to learn the provincial demerit point system makes no distinction whatsoever between actions that are deemed to be offences by the province because they pose a real and legitimate threat to road safety and actions that are permitted to be deemed offences by local authorities (i.e. under the provisions of a municipal bylaw)," he writes.

As far as Bech-Hansen is concerned, it's all a ruse to allow insurance companies to raise premiums.

Colin McGillicuddy of Burlington, Ont., sent me an e-mail from his wireless handheld (not while riding, I trust), responding to my choice of the BMW R1150RT as my favourite sport tourer (July 29).

"While I understand that many aficionados consider the opposed twin Boxer [engine] to be the sine qua non of the BMW marque, I have never found it aesthetically pleasing," he writes. "No accounting for taste, as they say."

McGillicuddy's preference is the K-series of Beemers, and he rides a 1989 K100RS. Will I, he asks, be testing the Honda ST1300 any time soon? In a word, yes.

And last, but not least, Chris Locke insists the Honda Gold Wing does not come with a power-adjustable windscreen. "I kinda like the manual screen as the bike is heavy enough without another electric motor!" he writes.

All I can say is: D'oh! My mistake. It's the ST1300 that has a power-adjustable windscreen (optional), as does the BMW R1150. Thanks for pointing that out.