The Mercury Racing calendar is much like the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue - it’s eagerly awaited every year by performance powerboaters. Mercury Racing powers the fastest boats in the world, and the calendar is a showcase of their technology and the boats that are powered by it. Only the best, fastest, and sexiest boats are worthy, and the calendar is printed on extra-glossy, oversized stock that looks almost as amazing as seeing the boats in person.

:: Sample images from the 2008 Mercury Racing calendar - click on image to enlarge ::

For 2008, Andy Driver is featured with his Quartershot T1 and Mercury 2.5-liter Drag outboard. Driver is a world champion, and I had the opportunity to photograph him for the calendar. The boat is not only fast, but beautiful, and my thanks to Andy for accommodating me and Mercury Racing for this shoot.

Equipment used for this shoot was my workhorse Nikon D200 and Nikkor 70-200 AF-S VR 2.8 zoom lens. The camera performed flawlessly for the shoot, with highlight retention and image quality absolutely stunning. That morning we had a thick haze in the air due to all the fires that were sweeping the state at the time, so I was a bit concerned that image resolution would suffer. Once I loaded up the raw files, those concerns were instantly put to rest - which was no real surprise anyway since the D200 always got the job done without fail.

:: Image featured in calendar for Drag engine - click on image to enlarge ::

These days my D200 is relegated as a backup camera body, with a D300 replacing it. I recently had a chance to give the D300 a small workout shooting BMX riders, and it lived up to my expectations as a fast and accurate performer, so stay tuned for a follow up with more details on my results with the D300.

The Mercury Racing calendar is only $12.00, and can be ordered by following this link.

Kuwahara BMX is back - well, sort of. Many of us remember them from back in the 1980s, even though their bikes were never as popular as some of the mainstream bikes of the day. So now that the X-Games have resurrected BMX from the grave in the mid-1990s and it is now an Olympic sport, many brand names have returned, though they are a shadow of their former years. Like the current trend in video games, “retro” is now cool, and Kuwahara also jumped on that bandwagon with the 25th anniversary Laserlite Limited Edition race bike, which is a tribute to the Kuwahara model used in the 1982 movie E.T., The Extra Terrestrial.

:: 2007 Kuwahara Laserlite Limited Edition - click on image to enlarge ::

Basically, this bike is a 2007 Laserlite Team model with a different color scheme. Well, that’s exactly what it is. That’s a good thing I suppose, since the Laserlite Team is very light and fast race bike, although there are some small issues that need to be mentioned. When my Limited Edition model arrives, I’ll be sure to check for these same issues.

When I assembled my 2007 Team model, I noticed that the chain alignment was off due to improper crank spacing from the factory. It’s not a big issue, but it does require removal of the crank set to correct. Another anomaly worth noting is the as-equipped 42/16 gearing, contrary to the factory-stated 44/16 the bike should have. I have a suspicion that the crank spacing issue may not be an accident, and adding a 44-tooth chainring with properly spaced cranks would result in a frame clearance issue with the OEM Funn crankset. Another minor annoyance is the lack of chain tensioners. There’s simply no excuse for this oversight on a bike in this price class.

The Laserlite Team is very well balanced, yet positively flighty on the front end. The handlebars are a bit small, but reversing the stem will correct this for most people. It’s a fast bike - it’s very light, and it feels light too. I’m over six feet tall, and the Pro XL size is slightly smaller on the top tube than most other Pro XLs, but the bottom bracket’s lower position helps make up for this. The Kuwahara-branded cassette hub works fine, and the Funn Viper pedals are really large and grip extremely well. Overall, I really liked how this bike feels, and I’ll post more details as I spend more time with it.

:: 2007 Kuwahara Laserlite in Team model trim - click on image to enlarge ::

According to Kuwahara, the Limited Edition ET model is limited to 250 units worldwide. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? You might be thinking that you had better line up for this one, as the Ebay speculators will be in full force, right? Well, no - though cool looking and equipped with mid-to-top of the line components, of question is whether the $799 MSRP is justified, and lack of sales have underscored this notion, especially with dealers initially offering this model for $1000 or more.

:: Funn Hooka DH is actually a MTB crankset - click on image to enlarge ::

The red, white, and gold colors on the Limited Edition look great, and they pay proper homage to the original E.T. model, though it’s unfortunate that Kuwahara could not sell 250 of these bikes. Maybe this retro stuff has finally reached its limit - well, at least for the now Chinese-made Kuwahara brand name anyway. Is the ET destined to be a collector bike, or will it turn out like the somewhat disappointing Haro Retro Sport? Maybe we’ll know in 20 years, but putting aside the potential issues mentioned above, it’s a great riding machine.