Letters
LETTERS
ROSE-COLORED GLASSES
Like the 40-year-old Texan whose letter was aired in your July issue, I, too, got "the most acclaimed big bike to come out of Japan," but here the similarity fades. I have so far ridden my Honda 450 for 15,000 delightful miles, including a shakedown trip from here in Southern California up to British Columbia, and two long rides deep into the heart of Mexico, where I had traveled previously on a Honda 305 Tourist Model.
When I started for Canada, I had racked up only 1000 miles of break-in, so was inclined to try limiting my speed, but often found the needle nudging 80, so deceptively smooth was the ride.
I'll admit to getting shook up bouncing along some of Mexico's older uneven roadbeds, but must hasten to assure prospective visitors to this fascinating land that their newer highways are a delight to travel, while reconstruction is being rushed on the sub-standard ones.
Recently, I observed my 60th birthday in scenic Miami, Ariz., returning from a Mexican jaunt that revealed a man-made geyser near Zamora where a thermalpower project blew up, ruins left by the 1943 eruption of the Paricutin Volcano, the remains of the "lost city" of Chicomostoc which had been abandoned long before the Spanish arrived, meanwhile renewing acquaintances in Culiacan. Mazatlan, Guadalajara, Aguas Calientes, and Chihuahua.
Talk about conveniences — within a single block on El Paso's Montana Ave. are a coin-operated car wash, a first-rate motorcycle shop, a fine motel, and a dandy Italian restaurant. If our friend in San Antone wants to try for Mecca, Calif., with its date groves, the Saltón Sea and scenic Box Canyon, he should stop there en route.
Regarding those rose-colored glasses, keep them on! They become you! As a reliable publication, your acceptance of advertising should mean that you trust the product or service presented. When critical tests bear this out, go ahead and say so!
Since I didn't mount up until I was past 40, I haven't enjoyed the fun, sport, economy and comradeship of motorcycling quite two decades, but am looking forward to at least a couple more before having to stash away my boots and helmet!
BILL UTTERBACK Inglewood, Calif.
CONVINCING PARENTS
I suffer from a problem not uncommon among minors; yet, its frustrations are not eased by its commonness: I love and respect motorcycling, but my parents do not.
I am a college freshman who has been riding bikes for two years, never having an accident of any sort. The bikes I have ridden have all been borrowed or rented. because my parents forbid me to buy one. My parents' attitude is especially perplexing because my father is an ex-motorcyclist: 1 remember when I was younger, he used to speak in glowing terms of his riding.
I would appreciate your magazine giving some explicit argument in favor of motorcycles. Possibly — probably — you'll hit something I've missed. Or maybe you could tell me how I could get my father on the-saddle of a H-D Electra Glide — that might do the trick.
I enjoy your magazine very much; it has great therapeutic value for a motorcyclist without a bike.
DICK WILCOX Leawood, Kan. We would like very much to he in a position to convince your parents of the safety in riding a motorcycle or motor scooter, hut it is a deeply involved question and one of extreme importance. We suggest that a motorcycle, or motor scooter, is like any motor vehicle and, consequently, is only as safe as its operator. -
If you demonstrate good driving habits, a serious attitude towards the responsibilities involved in operating a vehicle, show a conscientious desire to become a safe driver, and maintain a well mannered attitude towards motorcycles and scooters, we feel certain your parents will understand your wishes.
Best of luck, and be a safe driver. — Ed.
INTEGRITY
In your June 1967 issue, you printed a letter from Mr. E. A. Hokkanen, proprietor of Mohawk Cycle Sales, Greenfield. Mass. Though I am only 23, reading Mr. Hokkanen's name in your magazine aroused nostalgic memories of my "early" days as a rider, and prompted me to tell you more of this man.
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Today, motorcycling's upswing toward respectability is threatened as much by irresponsible "new wave" dealers as by kids or bums in Nazi insignia. Dealers who sell more bikes than they can service, and then clip their customers with outrageous service charges, sour many first buyers against motorcycles and the industry. Mr. Hokkanen does the opposite. He is in every sense an ethical businessman, and a skilled mechanic in the finest New England tradition. As a result, he has a loyal clientele who ride from Conn., Vt., N. H. and soon, I hope, Mich., to do business at Mohawk Cycle Sales.
All dealers of Mr. Hokkanen's ilk deserve the thanks of the motorcycle industry.
DUNCAN C. McDOUGALL Flint, Mich.
WHERE I GO, MY DOG GOES.
ROAD TEST TESTIMONIAL
I have been reading CYCLE WORLD for about four or five months, ever since 1 ordered my motorcycle, a 1967 Honda S90. I really enjoy your magazine. 1 especially enjoy your road tests and technical articles, which have helped me very much, since the S90 is my first bike and I am very new to the pastime. Don't get me wrong, I'm no 15-year-old kid. I'm a 21-year-old college student. I got the S90 as transportation to and from classes and work and home. But, I have made several long trips over 100 miles and can't get the 90 up to freeway speed, so I am going to get a 250 or 350. Anyway, your concise and complete road tests have proved invaluable in narrowing down the motorcycles to just 10.
KENNETH MANLY Address Unknown
WEE BONNIE SCOUT
I enjoyed your story about the Indian. I am an Indian fan from way back. They were good, strong, reliable machines and served faithfully with a minimum of maintenance. I have known Paul Gambiccini from Kent, Ohio, for a good many years, and he could really make them run.
It is a shame that you did not have a good Bonneville Scout to road test, because they were the greatest. Also, the Chief was a good TT machine. Pete Levinsky, from Canton, Ohio, rode TTs with one for years and did very well.
I would like to refer a book to you which I think you would find very interesting. It is "Motorcycles in Competition," a Fawcett book, No. 149. In it are some AMA records that are enlightening.
I rode a Scout in competition in the late 40s and early 50s, in the Ohio area. I did not set the world on fire, but I did enjoy it very much. I intend to build a Scout some time in the future. If and when I get it completed, it would be a pleasure to let you folks give it a go.
I come from a cycling family. My Dad rode a Thor and a Jefferson. My brother was a Harley man, and I am all Indian.
HOWARD MYERS Westminster, Calif.
DISCOURAGED
As an avid fan of our great sport, I am rather discouraged by the public opinion of two-wheelers and their riders. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest problems confronting motorcycling in America today. After all, the general public can knock us off the road any time they please, although the problem is not yet that grave.
I do not know which is worse, the image of the machine, or that of the rider. I will cover safety first. No one has yet convinced me that a motorcycle cannot be a safe, pleasurable piece of machinery if used properly. It seems that the overwhelming majority seem to feel that a motorcycle is one of the most unpredictable, unstable, unsafe things around. Well, I have been riding a cycle for about seven years now and I will say that I can take care of myself pretty well on one and I have never yet come into a position in which it became uncontrollable, except under extreme circumstances such as when you find your elbow taking over the part of a tire because of a sharp turn. But, most people (I hope) do not go leaning over a cycle that far under normal riding conditions. Of course, it must be noted that we are not quite as visible as our friends, and that an accident is often pretty serious. But, if the brains in Washington say that nearly all accidents involving cars could be avoided, the same would probably be true of cycles.
At any rate, there have been two TV programs dealing with safe driving that I know of. Maybe with some prodding we could get one for cycles, too^ It would certainly improve the public image.
Now, how about some of our fourwheeled friends and, indeed, many others who go around preaching that we all ride messy choppers with loud pipes and leave a stream of rubber at every traffic light? That's quite obviously not true, but one person can do a lot to destroy a good image — or make a bad one worse.
Of course there are those groups who do go around causing trouble, but there are also many, many four-wheeled patch specialists around with even louder pipes. But I think one of the worst things yet to happen is that very recently there have been two movies put out filming some groups such as some of our California friends and making quite a spectacular scene around town. In fact, it seems that a big Harley with short stacks and a slick is the thing to buy. There must be something we can do about this type of thing or our fine sport is going to rapidly run down the drain.
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ANONYMOUS
Tucson, Arizona
PHOTO GEN
I want to know how an amateur can get into motorcycle photography professionally. I realize my photos are not up to the ones everyone enjoys so much in your magazine, but I want your advice on how to improve them. Please publish the ones you like best, and point out how they can be improved.
The last magazine I wrote to didn't even bother to answer, but we know Cycle World has more character than
to treat its readers like that. Also, can you advise me as to how to get a motorcycle club started?
Would any young readers (male or female) that own motorcycles care to write to me? I am 16 years old and own a Honda 250 Scrambler.
PAUL STEVENS, JR. 800 Simmons
Euless, Texas 76039 It is very easy for an amateur to become professional. Merely produce plwtos of good quality. Your biggest chance in selling photos to magazines and newspapers is with black and white, which you should submit as 8 by 10 enlargements with fully descriptive and explanatory captions (typewritten). Color is submitted as transparencies, rather than prints.
To improve your technique, read "Basic Motorcycle Photography," which appeared in the March 1966 issue of CW, and "The Motorcyclist's Camera," in the August 1967 issue. When you submit something, you should precede the submission with a letter asking the editor whether the subjects you have in mind interest him; otherwise, you may do all that photographic work and find that no one wants to buy it.
In the packet you sent us, you had two or three good photos, and we include only one of them due to space limitations. What's good about it? Well, you caught the rider at an interesting peak of action and framed it well against a simple background. Technically, the photo is lacking. Focus is not razor sharp and the haziness would show up badly in a targe blow-up. The print also appears slightly underexposed. You may be punching the shutter release button a bit hard, causing an overall blur, too. Does your camera have an adjustable focusing ring? If it doesn't, you'll never get things sufficiently sharp enough to merit the accolade of "professional quality." We'd also suggest that you use a faster shutter speed, or if you have a box camera, invest in a better camera, taking 35mm or 120 film size, that is more flexible.
The American Motorcycle Association, P.O. Box 231, Worthington, OH 43085, will send a little booklet to anyone seriously interested in organizing a motorcycle club. — Ed.
SIDEVALVES FOREVER
Although my father is a Triumph/Honda dealer in Chicago, I have not followed the sport closely, due to being in the Marine Corps since Dec. 1965.
From the looks of a few CW s I just received, I must admit that the sport has grown and diversified at a paralyzing rate. And your publication has led the pace in the quality of its development. It's hard to grow and still be a little guy at heart. From the contents of your editorial columns, it is evident that people still count. One can never tell what will appear in this section, which, naturally, rivals your other departments in reader interest.
Going to practical concerns, why not preserve the use of the HD 45 sidevalve in a special big bike dirt track sidecar event? I mean a half-mile one-man rig, low slung like a road racer. Safe, novel, and interesting, right?
L/CPL PIEKARCZYK Norfolk, Va.
The 350 rule has not gone into effect yet. Let's hope it doesn't. — Ed.
CARE AND FEEDING
I should like to add a thought to Doug Richmond's article, "The Care and Feeding of the Motorcyclists' Camera." As I am neither a professional nor knowledgeable amateur photographer (I've had this thing about pressing shutter buttons since I was so high), I found the article both interesting and informative.
The thought I would like to add is on the subject of filters. After I saw a friend's bill for repairs to the lens of a Canon, I decided that full lens protection was definitely "in." I, therefore, have an ultra-violet filter fitted to mine, feeling that filters are cheaper than lenses. As the u-v has no, or negligible, effects, I feel that this is the best form of lens protection I could obtain, especially at dusty scrambles!
By the way. I own a '66 Velo Thruxton, and (you probably won't believe this) it is possible to kick start it first kick, allowing for a few priming prods with the lifter operated. Admittedly, this isn't a (Continued on page 42) 100% bet, as it displays feminine whims in this respect.
I feel Velo should supply barometers, etc., to assist the rider to start it in its uncooperative moments. Their "poor" (alleged) starting seems to be almost legendary here. Small groups gather whenever a Velo Thruxton owner prepares to start, look almost disappointed when it fires within three or four kicks, and are somewhat amused on the rare occasion when it has to be pushed.
BOB FORBES Hampton, Victoria Australia
Perhaps your success with starting your Velo is owing to its inverted attitude — or so we thought until we turned the staff-owned number upside down and found that it was even more reluctant than normal. Also, owing to our geographic location, we were unable to push start it in this attitude. — Ed.
HACKED CHOPPER FAN
I am writing in reference to your comments on "choppers" under the subtitle "Hell's Angels" in "Round Up" (CW Sept. '67). While choppers may be heavy in the case of H-Ds, they are not "foul handling and most of the time dangerous as a slick tire on wet pavement." The raked front suspension favored by some chopper riders may make the bike slower to respond at slow speeds, but at the same time, the rake imparts much greater high speed stability.
High bars are a matter of preference; for street riding I would have nothing else. If some people prefer clip-ons, and that type is compatible with their style of riding, more power to them. I will concede the point on braking; removing the front brake to install a spool hub removes about 70 percent of the effective stopping power of the bike. The driver can learn to cope with this by watching ahead in traffic.
While Barger blamed only lightweights for accidents, you will have to concede that the majority of accidents causing injury occur to riders of 250-cc or smaller machines — often due to inexperience and the large percentage of the total bike population these machines make up. Also, racing machines are made light so as to accelerate and stop faster, as well as handle better.
DALE SNILORS Birmingham, Ala.
Soft-pedaling the effects of fouled up high-speed handling and the loss of almost all of the braking power, citing nonexistent statistics to protect your personal form of motorcycling, and then turning around and pointing out the obvious truths that lighter machines stop and handle better — these premises haven't endeared your logic to CW's Publisher one whit. Try again. — Ed.
HOLD IT, JOE
I think in your haste you missed the point. No one, and I'm sure this includes the H.A., blames lightweights as is. I think it's that greenhorn riders most often can't afford big bikes, and therefore ride lightweights. Thus, they are the most dangerous — not because they can stop faster, but because of their riders' plaid shorts and sandal-head! Let's put the "blame" where it belongs.
SHERM
Grand Rapids, Mich.
DOWN UNDER INFO
Perhaps some of your readers in this country or abroad can offer assistance. My wife and I are planning to travel to Australia and the Far East early in 1968. We would appreciate correspondence with anyone having first-hand knowledge of conditions and problems relating to motorcycling in Australia, the Philippines, and Japan. We intend to take an R60 with sidecar.
Previous experience includes numerous trips around the British Isles and Europe, and travel through Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and across Africa. Transportation has been BSA Cll, BMW R60 with Steib sidecar, and, best of all, Vincent Rapide/Wessex combination and Vincent Shadow. Incidentally, we are franchised Honda, BMW, Yamaha, Bultaco, and Triumph dealers, and we used to write and photograph a little for CW back in Vincent days.
SIDNEY H. DICKSON
R.D. 3, Box 288 A-l.
Route 50
Easton, Md. 21601 ■
