Letters

LETTERS

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

Dear CW:

Received my second issue the other day and couldn’t take my nose out of it. I think your magazine is fine the way it is now, so please don’t take anything out, but put more in. If it has handlebars and two wheels I’m sure it belongs in CW, no matter the size or horsepower.

I have been riding for 30 years and

I am on my 11th bike, an NSU Super Max, and I hope I’ll be able to ride

II more.

JOSEPH DAVIS Freeport, N. Y.

Dear CW:

I missed the first issue of CYCLE WORLD and its article on mini-bikes. In the coming issues I hope you will find room for some good mini-bike articles. I am 13 years old and have my own mini-bike.

PHILLIP S. SIEBERT Emmans, Penna.

Dear CW:

I was reading your fine magazine (January issue), when I noticed a letter sent in by Al Zuber. In this letter Mr. Zuber said that he was against articles on mini-bikes, mopeds and motor scooters. Well, who does he think he is? I own an Allstate mo-ped and I am very happy with it. Maybe someone should tell Mr. Zuber that not everyone can afford a motorcycle. I live in a small town and don’t have use for a motorcycle. Keep up the good articles on scooters, mo-peds and mini-bikes.

PAUL GILBERT Sheridan, 111.

Dear CW:

I especially like your road tests of cycles. In the future I would like to see a test of the Harley CH and the top Royal Enfield model. Your tests are by far the best I have seen and I have no suggestion for improvement.

Continue your technical articles and tuning tips, but try to cut down the number of articles on mini-bikes. I know you must try to please everyone but if enough of us express our opinions maybe mini-bike articles won’t appear too frequently.

At present I ride a 1956 Triumph TR-6; my dad, who is 64, now owns a 1961 Lilac after trading in a 1929 Indian Scout that he had been riding about 20 years. Keep up the good work on your excellent magazine.

DAVID S. MILLER Beloit, Wise.

Dear CW:

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I went down to the local news-stand and found this new magazine CYCLE WORLD. Judging from your first edition it is by far in

my book the best publication on the sport of cycling.

As soon as the weather gets warmer and I can get up another $650.00 I will be be the proud owner of a 1962 BSA Super Rocket. I enjoyed your road test of the Triumph Bonneville.

In my opinion if you stick to road tests like the Bonneville test and have articles like the Honda Four and keep racing statistics to a minimum, you will have a fine magazine.

Also, I have to agree with Al Zuber. I’d like to see more articles on motorcycles and less on mo-peds and minibikes. I hope I don’t offend anyone but I feel that any bike under 250cc isn’t a real motorcycle. Keep up the good work.

ED FARRIS

East Brunswick, N.J.

Dear CW:

Needless to say, I like CYCLE WORLD. I enjoy the could-be’s, the should-be’s and the will-be’s much more than the has-been’s. I feel that including the mini-bikes is a good idea, too. After all, your bike riders of tomorrow are the mini-bike kids of today and to add insult to injury, it takes over in second childhood, too.

I am approaching the half-century mark and have given up the 74, 61 and 45 cubic jobs in favor of the 175 and 250cc jobs and my boy rides one just like mine (only, as you would expect, it’s newer).

A bike rider shouldn’t back away from anything that has two wheels, so include them all.

MERRIT H. WILLHETE Grant City, Mo.

Dear CW:

I just finished reading the test of the Gasser in your February issue and it was boss. I think that this bomb of a Gasser will be a hit with the local rodder who is always looking for something new.

I have a question concerning minibikes. Can they be licensed and used on public roads? Also, can they be driven in New York state and in New Jersey? Keep up the great work, your magazine is turning into a gasser.

PAUL GAYER Rumson, N.J.

EDITOR: And so that feud rages. For CYCLE WORLD’S answer to all of this; the Micro Rebel test in this issue pretty well speaks for itself. In answer to reader Gayer’s question, yes and no. Some states allow the use of mini-bikes on public roads, and some do not. We suggest you contact the local office of your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles for the exact answer.

A NEAT BSA TRICK

Dear CW:

Just a line to let you know that CYCLE WORLD looks to be on the

right track. However, as the previous owner of a BSA Catalina Scrambler, I was wondering if possibly the model shown in the test in your February issue may be a re-hashed Gold Star. The center oil tank looks right but that front brake hub looks pretty fat. Also, a mag-dyno on a scrambler? The pipe looks like a road pipe, but the mono-bloc carburetor is, of course, proper. Bet the boys at Birmingham (England, ed.) would like to be able to switch the exhaust pipe and tuning side around as easy as you did.

BRUCE PERSHALL Seattle, Wash.

EDITOR: Ok, ok, this is about the 100th letter we have received telling us about that BSA exhaust pipe. The photograph got printed backwards, an easy mistake, but a hard one to explain. As for the Catalina looking like a Gold Star, according to Aub Le Bard, the BSA dealer that supplied the Catalina for our test (and who could argue with him about BSA’s?), the Catalina is just that, a scrambles version of their red hot Gold Star. The mag-dyno is an optional extra on the Catalina. As much as we hate to say it, most of the confusion can be traced that same X* #/*? photograph.

VINCENT OWNER’S CLUB NEWS

Dear CW:

Thanks very much for your magazine. We have certainly needed something like this for years.

Vincent motorcycles are my hobby and I have been in the Vincent Owner’s Club for years. I would appreciate it if you would mention in your magazine that I will supply free information on joining the club, and to interested parties I will send copies of our club magazine “MPH.” I will also supply free information on where people can buy or sell Vincents or used parts, and in addition sell a few custom-made bits.

VAUGHN M. GREENE P.O. Box 7724 Rincon Annex San Francisco, Calif.

FEARLESS JOURNALISM WINS OUT

Dear CW:

Congratulations on your first issues. I am glad that at least there is going to be one magazine around that is not afraid to write technical articles about motorcycles, and which includes real road tests rather than glorified advertising. Keep up the good work.

PETER FRETTEM Stanton, Minn.

Dear CW:

When I got your first issue I thought I might do it. Now, after the second issue, I will.

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE DAY Peoria, 111.