Letters
LETTERS
WE HAD IT COVERED
I would like to say for what it’s worth as an industrial designer, art teacher, and “wheel nut” that your December '70 cover was the best ever!
STEVE OXENFELDT Overbrook, Pa.
SNOW JOB?
In your latest issue of February 1971, there has been some discussion about the picture on the cover of your magazine. We were wondering if the snow is fake or is real.
RON HANSEN Y orba Linda, Calif. The snow is fake. The entire scene was simulated in a studio. Note the black above the horizon line.-Ed.
COPY CAT
1 was recently stuck with the task of having to write a 500-word composition
for English class. It was to describe a person with vivid detail. While thinking about the assignment I thumbed through a past issue of CYCLE WORLD and found an article on Giacomo Agostini. I copied the article and got a B for it. I just want to thank you for helping me. You have a great magazine and 1 hope you keep up the good work.
STEVE MULHOLLAN Mähern. Pa.
A “B”? Only a “B”.9 We’ll have to try harder, you and us, next time.-Ed.
EUROPEAN TOURING
Having just read “European Touring, A Guide To Get You Started” Dec. 70, I felt I must write to tell you some information was untrue.
Having just returned from seven months’ touring in Europe by motorcycle, I felt qualified to relay this information.
Any motorcycle, whether export or domestic, will be able to qualify for the tax free buy. The dealers in England will put two reflectors on the tail and under the front of the gas tank, and presto, an export model, able to pass U.S. safety standards.
It is a good idea to write ahead to be certain of the model of your choice. When in England, I visited the Triumph factory and was informed that plans are
being made to make only one model!
It also may be of interest to your readers to know that the English motorcycles are for sale in Copenhagen, Denmark at very low prices at C. Reinhart A/S, 6L Kongevei 1 1 .u, Vesterport, Copenhagen, Denmark.
If you are buying in England I recommend Comerfords Ltd., Porthsmith Rd. Thames, Ditton Surry, London S.W. England.
Keep up the great mag.
PAUL FEDCH Birmingham, Mich.
WHY NOT TRANS VERSE?
When the newsstands finally came out with the January issue of your magazine, I was delighted to see a cover article on the Wankel-powered Sachs motorcycle. I have long believed that these engines would revolutionize the dirt-bike field, as their power-to-weight ratios and compactness were far superior to piston engines. But upon closer observation, I saw that Sachs had made a mistake-they put the engine in sideways! That engine, which appeared fully suited to power an executive jet, would, unfortunately, never make it in a dirt bike. My question is this: why didn’t Sachs mount the engine with the “crankshaft” running transversely? The
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shaft drive and swinging arm rear end suspension. This Velocette continued until around 1969, I believe, and was just about the quietest motorcycle in the world. So don’t believe all those stories that come from Japan.
R.E. SMITH Summerland, B.C. Can.
A H-EEH-A HHH!
There he stands. High on the soap box dressed in red tights with a giant CW printed in blue on his chest, pounding this same chest and uttering wailing Tarzan AH-EHH-AHHH’s. He’s holding the March issue high for all to see while telling us that under his (humble?) leadership the mag has gone from a mere 120 pages to a whopping 166 pages. However, he fails to point out the small fact that a full 33 pages are devoted to a Suzuki ad. This fella has the hair to beat his chest at the same time he is selling us his rag at LESS-forMORE. Has Wager ever tried out for a spot with Ralph Williams?
1 would hereby like to nominate Ivan J. Wager (sic) for the Spiro Agnew award for unparalleled guts, gall, brass,
hair, and giant things displayed in the face of a slumping economy.
JACK SWEENEY Spring Valley, Calif.
We accepi. But when you send us our trophy, would you please read the magazine carefully enough to spell our name right? It’s Wagur, hoy, not Wager. — Ed.
1 have just received my March issue of CYCLE WORLD and after reading “Aspects of Braking” have found it a well written and informative article.
Also in this issue you claim “World’s Biggest Monthly 166 pages.” This I will not argue. 1 find in this Biggest issue, 80 full-page advertisements, including 30 pages touting Suzuki alone. This leaves a scant 86 pages still mostly filled with ads. Noting also nothing to interest me, a road rider, on touring.
At this time I would like to formally terminate my subscription. In the future I will look for your magazine at my favorite newsstand, and pick those monthly issues, if any, that fit my interest.
VICTOR REN ST ROM JR.
St. Paul, Minn.
1 just received my March issue of CYCLE WORLD in today’s mail. It’s really great —all 1 66 pages of it. Congratulations.
My only concern is that if Suzuki and Triumph pay their advertising bills this month, you guys will never have to work again and I really enjoy the magazine.
J.B. ANDERSON Poland, Ohio
POGO-BACK RIDER
After reading your remarks on the new BSA 500-cc Single. (C'W Feb. ’71)1 had to object to your calling my 44 1-cc Victor a “pogo stick.” I love my old long-stroke thumper and have become very touchy about it.
It’s my fourth bike, the first being a CL 160 Honda, then a custom 450 Honda, and third a 238-cc Kawasaki “dualpurpose” machine. This machine I would recommend to no one. I had little else but trouble from all parts of this bike, frame, running gear, engine and all. This was borne out by a touring Sportster rider from Illinois, who told me his brother owned one and was having the same specific troubles I was. The first Honda was nearly as bad, but in all fairness, the 450 was super reliable.
After the two bad experiences, that old British anvil was two-wheeled heaven. My Shooting Star road model of the Victor handles very confidently on
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ry at the Bonneville flats that perhaps CYCLE WORLD is more disappointed than Don Vesco!
DR. TREVOR FARNSWORTH, D.D.S.
APO San Francisco, Calif.
In following your magazine for the last year or so, I have found that you usually have been at least accurate in your reporting, despite a sometimes obvious partiality.
However, on reading your article, “The 265-mph Thief . . . And The Victim, Don Vesco,” 1 feel that you have done an injustice to a talented and dedicated team. My congratulations to Harley-Davidson and Dick O’Brien for acting in the true spirit of racing.
To you with fondest wishes—“SOUR GRAPES AWARD OF THE YEAR.”
JOHN DALY APO San Francisco, Calif.
And to you both, a free course in Sense of Humor to improve your lack of same. — Ed.
MA R Y LA ND A S SOCIA TI ON
The “Maryland Association of Sport Cycle Clubs” has been formed due to recent legislation and pending legislation closing areas to motorcyclists or restricting motorcycle riding in parts of Maryland. I have volunteered to write to all of the motorcycle publications requesting any names and addresses of similar organizations which you may have in your files to whom we may write for suggestions and ideas concerning this problem. Our members can remember reading “Letters to the Editor” articles and editorials on the subject, from time to time, and have chosen this route—of writing to the publications rather than trying to look back through every page of every issue of every publication for this information.
So if you can supply us with any names and addresses of any who have “fought the good fight,” we would greatly appreciate it.
ALBERT M. SCHONE 3 20 Leyton Road Reisterstown, Maryland 21136
50,000-MI LE YAMAHA
This letter contains information on an extraordinary motorcycle I own. It is a Yamaha Y-DS3, 1966 model. You’re probably saying to yourself, “So what. What makes this bike so wonderful?” If you have a week or so, I’ll tell you, and to shorten it . . .
This bike has over 50,000 miles on it, and these are original. But there is more to it, plenty more. With the entire engine, except clutch plates and spark
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plugs, it is completely original. The pistons and rings have never been changed or removed from the barrel. All bearings are truly original. Main seals and seals adjacent to and including crankcase halves are original and untouched by mechanics’ hands.
This bike has been in my ownership for three years, and I’m extremely proud of it. The articles 1 am about to mention have been replaced: front and rear tires, chain and rear sprocket, and battery and cables (the electrical system is original except the battery).
MIKE ROM A NO WICH Niagara Falls, Ont., Canada
FEEDBACK DEPT.
1 feel that Honda and BMW of North Florida located on Phillips Highway, Jacksonville, Florida, deserve mention for their courteous and quality repair of motorcycles. Of particular note is their willingness to accept warranty work under other than routine circumstances.
1 have said what I wanted to say and I still have room on the paper for much more. Perhaps it would be prudent to comment on how much I enjoy your magazine. I sometimes require a dictionary when reading some of the articles. It is refreshing to learn new words, particularly in a motorcycle publication.
DONALD E. BOOSE Milton, Fla.
MORE ON LAND CLOSURE
We are concerned over the loss of riding areas in the desert for those of us who go out for a peaceful weekend in the open. We realize that the industry is growing so rapidly that you are spread in 18 different directions. Racing on a big scale is more thrilling to the public than puttering around a mountain all day. Motocross has a chance to grow more popular because of the limited amount of land needed for it. Trials needs even less. However, desert racing and weekend cowtrailing appeal to a lot of us in a special way. The more crowded a city becomes the more we need a place to go and ride in peace.
Local governments have seen fit to close us out without even asking. Enduros are being limited to 500 racers because of the ecology business. We do not wish to damage the environment any more than does GM or Standard Oil.
All we ask is that you remember the days of the open uncluttered desert and help us try to preserve some of it for bike riding. You speak with a loud voice in the industry and we only wish to be assured that you have us in mind too.
CYCLE WORLD is read all over the world and we realize that this is a local problem which would be of little interest to someone in Florida or Hawaii. But it is a huge problem to us.
So whatever you can do for us (the Point Mugu thing, the Lort Irwin deal, the Angeles National Forest meetings of March) will be appreciated. Commercial cycle parks are fine in their way, but please don’t ignore us boondockers.
Incidentally, this is not to deny that you do a tremendous job of covering the industry. The quality of your magazine is without equal.
MR. AND MRS. WOODY JOHNSON Los Angeles, Calif.
CAMERA TALK
Would you take a few minutes to describe to me the technical background of the photos which appear in CYCLE WORLD road tests? I am struck by the great difference between CYCLE WORLD photos and the photos appearing in Cycle road tests.
Comparing the CW photos of the Yamaha RT-1B in your February issue with the similar pictures of the Ossa Pioneer in the February issue of Cycle, for example, I observe that all detail in the tire tread has been lost in the Ossa illustrations, but tire tread patterns are clearly visible in your photos of the Yamaha. Evidently Cycle opts for a very much higher contrast, while you go for a maximum extension of the tonal range with careful rendition of the middle tones. Often, your road test photos appear somewhat muddy, like the side view of the Yamaha headlight at the bottom of page 4Ü. On the other hand, your photos typically show a good rendition of fine detail, and 1 can’t recall an instance of visible grain.
While I appreciate that printing (prints) and printing (magazines) has a lot to do with what 1 finally see in the pages of my copy of CW, it appears that your road test photos are rather consistent in quality, which would follow from the reasonable assumption that, unlike race photos and contributed photos, your road test pictures are made by the same group of people and equipment over a period of time. This leads me to wonder just what equipment you do use for road test photos. These photos do not seem to have the extra crisp detail of the 4 by 5 or larger negative; it is interesting to compare in the January issue the Norton (inside front cover) and Harley-Davidson (page 13) ads with the Bates ad (back cover). On the other hand, your road test photos seem a mite too sharp to be from 35mm. What camera and lens do you normally use for your road test photos? If more than one kind, perhaps you could cite some examples in recent issues to illustrate the differences in
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equipment performance.
Motorcycles, unlike autos, are a difficult subject to photograph well for road tests: they contain a wealth of fine detail that would challenge any photographic outfit. In the February (page 38) side view of the RT-1B, 1 can make out the rivet heads on the rear chain, but I cannot tell if the front fender mounts have Phillips screws or hex head bolts. While I'm not eager for a mass of technical detail, it would be interesting to have some general baseline information about the camera, lens and film you ordinarily use to achieve the results I see in CW road tests.
J.G. KROL Anaheim, Calif.
You’re discussing one of our favorite topics, so we may tend to rap on a bit.
The majority of our road test photographs are done by the staff, usually Hunt, Parkhurst, and, of late, Atkinson. We shoot the majority of those road test photos with 35-mtn Tri-X, and farm out our printing to some local labs in the area for 8 by 10 glossy prints. Some photographers may view this latter fact as a cop-out the elimination of total control from the artistic process-but we simply don’t have time for lab work.
However, we do have a good rapport with the lab people involved, one of whom will “soup” negatives in special developer or at pushed film speeds, and experiment with several print contrasts on the same negative, without being asked. This sort of thing is extremely important to us, as it allows us to get the most out of what we shoot.
“Beep-Beep” magazine generally goes the outside route, using various freelancers for their road tests; thus, they get different results from month to month. Among freelancers these days, contrast and blur are “in,” which is why Beep-Beep magazine looks the way it does. We like our approach better, because we are assured of getting at least one photo in the layout that shows what the motorcycle looks like. BeepBeep, on the other hand, likes their approach because it is dramatic and arty. Both approaches are valid, and both tend to overlap from one magazine to the other, depending upon the photographer’s state of mind at the time of shooting.
Now, an admission. The RT-1B photographs were shot with a 214-square format camera. Both Hunt and Parkhurst go this route occasionally for 1 ) extreme detail, 2) supple tonal gradation, 3) and the change of vision afforded 'by the square framing. The 2!4 camera is particularly useful in “bad”
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lighting conditions where it is hard to get a well balanced negative. For example, given hard, contrasty light and no way to avoid it, the 2% will give you better gradation than the 35. Ho hum, nothing new there. Of interest is the layout on the Montesa trialer in the same issue with the RT-1B. The tones are good, the highlights and blacks are good. It was shot by Parkhurst, with a 35mm.
Both layouts were shot with Tri-X rated at 400 ASA, souped in D-76 or Microdol, and printed on either Agfa or Kodak Polycontrast. Agfa, to our mind, yields sexier blacks.
As for equipment, Hunt, Parkhurst and Nicholas use Nikon and Nikkormat camera bodies. Hunt uses 24-, 45-, 85and 200-nim Nikkor lenses; for color covers, he generally uses a 214-square Mamiya C3 with 55-, 80and 180-mm lenses. He also keeps around a 20-yearold IIIC Leica with 50-mm Summar and 35-mm Nikkor lenses for trail riding (he shot the entire Berkshire report with it), and a funky, old 214 Minolta Autocord with which he claims to have made more than $5000, although it cost him
only $55 used. Parkhurst ’s 2A is a Hasselblad with a full complement of lenses up to 250-mm; at Daytona or Bonneville, he’ll rent a 500or IOOO-mm lens for the thing. Lie also is having great fun with a motor drive on one of his Nikon bodies. Atkinson gets superb results with his well-rounded 35-mm system: a Minolta with 28, 58, 100, 135, 200 and a zoom (which he rarely uses because it’s heavy). Wagar does well with a basic Pentax system, including normal, 135and 200-mm lenses.
While some of us have different film preferences, we have all settled on Tri-X for black-and-white and Ektachrome High Speed for color. This may seem strange, and very unartistic, but there are good reasons for it.
Because of the screens or matrices used to produce magazine halftones, there is no such thing as “fine grain,” so Tri-X usually will fill the bill. Further, the majority of film processors are much better at bringing out the fine qualities of Tri-X than they are a slower film, like Plus-X, or Panatomic-X. And, Tri-X is less contrasty than those slower films, making it more flexible in a wider range of lighting conditions. If Tri-X’s standard 400 ASA rating is too fast for prevailing conditions, you may “slow it down” with a filter. In low light, it
responds very well to Acufine or Diafine treatment, to gain 1 to 3 F stops.
Another reason for standardizing on one film type for the staff is that usage in common generates better understanding of what the film can and cannot do, within the limits imposed by your processor.
The result is better photographs, better control of exposure, contrast, texture and so on, all generated by getting consistent feedback from a commonly used photographic material.
The same principal applies to color, although we have more variety here due to the consistency of commercial color processing. The determining factors in our preference for Ektachrome High Speed are: its handy 160 ASA rating, the fact that it may be processed by most labs, and the ease with which it may be “pushed” one or more F stops in development. It’s a slightly grainy film, so when we want high definition or precise texture, we switch to the 2A format, rather than switching film.
We hope this information is of some use to you. If there is any conclusion to be made, it is that no style of photography or method of treating contrast or tones is any better than any other. What is important is how well you bring off your chosen styles.
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Within the confines of any style or medium, there lies potential for exploiting that style to the fullest.
Equipment doesn’t have much to do with good photography, although it offers the opportunity for certain “nice” effects. Indeed, equipment in superfluous amounts may he a hang-up. So, if you have one of those thousanddollar photographic junkboxes (like we do), you would do well to play a game that we enjoy very much. It’s called, “Leave the lenses at home. ” Try shooting a race, or whatever, with only wide-angle lenses, or only a single telephoto, or even, Heaven forbid, a normal lens. It’ll sharpen your eye and even tax your brain a bit. — Ed.
LEGISLATION, WHY?
In your Round Up column in the November issue of CYCLE WORLD, you appear to be resigned to the idea that we are going to have a “mess of federal legislation against motorcycling.” Not just resigned, perhaps convinced is a better word. But why?
What have we done to deserve to have the legislators of nearly every state in the country down on us, and a Presidential Council appointed to recommend legislation “against motorcycling”? From all I have read or seen or experienced, motorcycles represent pleasure in the same way that sailplanes, airplanes, skydiving, skindiving, sailboating and the like represent pleasure to others. So why the nationwide antimotorcycle crusade?
The laws that have already been passed against motorcyclists, such as requiring them to keep their lights on during daylight hours in some states, and requiring helmets to be worn in others, seem pretty discriminatory to me. Of the people killed in auto accidents each year, thousands of them die of head injuries, and yet they are not required to wear helmets.
I have not read of any motorcycles being recalled by the manufacturer, the way autos are, because of faulty brakes or something wrong with the steering. Motorcycles have good lights and mufflers, which I believe are already prescribed by law, and I suspect that most I 97 1 models whll have turn signals.
To my way of thinking, noise is our worst offense, and I think we all ought to clamp down hard on that. Let’s boycott noise and the people who make it.
I approve of rider instruction; the better the rider’s ability, the more fun he has and the better his chances of staying alive. And 1, too, would like to
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keep the novices alive through their “probationary period.” According to Ivan, 72 percent of all fatalities occur within the first three months of motorcycle operation, that, apparently, is when we most need to wear a helmet. Ivan further says that 80 percent of all deaths occur on rented or borrowed motorcycles. So if you ride your own bike and have had it for more than three months the chances of having a fatal accident are greatly reduced. I would also suggest that those of us who have driven automobiles for a number of years before becoming motorcyclists may improve the odds even further.
I don’t know what you mean by “vehicle standardization” but I don’t think I like the sound of it. If you mean putting the foot brake on the right side of every motorcycle and the shifter on the left side, or vice versa, why don’t you say so? I don’t see any “standardization” in automobiles. If a guy has been riding for years with the shifter on one side and then is required to change to the other side, how does that contribute to safety? Furthermore, when we crash, do we hurt anyone but ourselves? Maybe Ivan can give us some statistics on that.
What I am trying to say is, are there any real, honest, justifiable reasons for the anti-motorcycle legislation? Or is it all just another method the politicians are using to keep their jobs and raise some more tax money? Does Doug Toms really care if I meet an auto coming around a curve on the wrong side of the road? I doubt it, but my widow may find some consolation in the thought, “He always wore his helmet.”
F.J. BYARS Northridge, Calif.
ADIEU, BON AMI!
I received my March issue today. I was pleased, as I looked at the cover, to see a nice, fat magazine. Well, as usual, I was eager to get reading, since Minnesota is mighty cold now.
I was highly disappointed to find pages 68-100 filled with one-sided Suzuki shit. It was never-ending and 100 percent commercial! I regard your biggest issue as trash through the mails.
In the past you at CYCLE WORLD packed many less pages with informative road tests and technical information. Of fate all I find is fiction and generally non-convincing road tests. I realize you want to leave the conviction up to the reader, but you could be a little more concrete.
My brothers and I have been riding
for about eight years now, in and out of competition, as well as road use of our machines. Your magazine has been coming to the house for six years. But now we feel your magazine has gone the road of the capitalist and not the way of the motorcyclist.
So our subscription will not be renewed, when the time comes. Hopefully your next issues will be better?
TOM CAMPBELL Minneapolis, Minn.
Uh yes, Minnesota must be mighty cold now. - Ed.
FIGHTING AMONG THEMSEL VES
I was talking with two gentlemen, and they both have different views. One feels that choppers and their associates are the ones responsible for so much resentment of motorcyclists. Then there was the second guy that felt just the opposite, feeling that dirt bikes and road bikes were the cause of it. And as it turned out I am the spokesman for the three of us. And we all agreed to accept your opinion on the matter.
My question is, what is wrong with motorcyclists? All that seems to appear is fighting among themselves. A short time ago, I was discussing this with a policeman who said that he had stopped this man on a beautiful Harley 74 and suddenly the guy was at his throat asking why he never got the guys that really broke the law. Why he never got those guys with their long hair and noisy choppers. The guy was doing 40 in a 25 zone. And in the July issue, a man is going to start carrying a gun. One person stated that he was going to run all of those big over-loaded bep bep bikes off the road, meaning road bikes.
Am I being too cynical or misinterpreting all the complaining? It seems that it shouldn’t make any difference what type of bike a person rides.
Anyone that rides a bike does so because he must enjoy it, and they have their own choice of bike. So why not, instead of fighting among themselves, fight for what they all have in common? Everyone complains about the restrictions that are being put on motorcycles, so why not do something about this? It would be helping everyone involved with motorcycles.
K.M. ANDERSON Oak View, Calif.
CANADIAN, S’IL VOUS PLAIT!
With reference to the December 1970 issue of your magazine, page 93, paragraph 2 of the Continental Report: Yvon du Hamel is a CANADIAN.
D.J. LANGLOIS Quebec, Canada
Sony. We had enough trouble getting B.R. tO'Stop calling us "Colonials." In time, he may recognize Canada, too.— Ed.
