Letters

LETTERS

I CAN’T HEAR YOU WHEN THE MOTOR'S RUNNING

I am writing in response to all of those articles and reader comments about noise reduction. I am the owner of a Suzuki TM250 and a Yamaha 360 Enduro (1971). I would like to put in my two bits worth for noise. I have been riding the street now everyday for about a year and a half. The baffle is out of my Yamaha and I think that this is about the biggest safety feature that I have.

The times that a cyclist is not seen are very frequent, be it blind spots or lazy drivers. I have had only one close call in the year and a half that I’ve been riding, and attribute this to my baffleless bike. Drivers hear me. Also, I fail to see what is so socially unacceptable about bike noise; people hardly seem to give all the other noises in their lives (like kids), a second thought. Besides, I’d

rather be a social outcast by choice than by death.

One letter that I’ve read in a few magazines that really got to me was from a man who was going to put a small plaque on his motorcycle telling everyone that his was a quiet machine. He strikes me as a goody-goody conformist who wants a pat on the head from all of the nice people. Motorcycle haters wouldn’t come near enough to read it (or if they did, probably wouldn’t care), and enthusiasts realize there’s more to a motorcycle than noise, or lack thereof. . .things like safety.

It seems that people have been perfectly willing to trade a few decibels for a few lives, and after all of the mandatory safety requirements like helmets, lights, speedometers, etc., noise would do more for the cyclist than all of the others put together.

Doug Ferrer Seattle, Wash. Uh, what was that Doug? Couldn’t hear you, what with the noise from your “baffleless bike ” and all.Ed.

THE PLAYBOY PHILOSOPHY?

I would like to bring to the attention of you and your readers the policy of the Lake Geneva Playboy Club that prohibits the entrance of all motorcycles to the hotel grounds. This is obvi-

ously in direct conflict with Playboy magazine, which solicits advertising from all the leading manufacturers. A fine example of the hypocritical, forked-tongue approach we might expect from this phony world.

I have written to Mr. Hefner, who simply passed my letter through an aid to the managing director of the hotel for comment. Mr. Henry Feldman wrote to me on May 23rd confirming the policy, which he stated was “introduced because bikes had been ridden on the golf course in the past.”

Perhaps those riders who patronize the Playboy establishments will take note of Playboy’s anti-bike policies, as also, I trust, will those companies placing ads with them.

Keith H. Smith Russell, 111.

WHERE WERE YOU?

I really enjoyed the “Where Were You In 1967?” article in your May ’75 issue. I would like to see you publish a similar piece on the history of road racing. Also, more road tests of street bikes would be welcomed. Thank you for listening.

John H. Jones Jr. Macon, Ga.

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SETTING THINGS STRAIGHT

This is in reference to your article in the August issue of CYCLE WORLD outlining the face-lift for the Can-Am MX2. We were happy to see that our D.I.D. alloy rims made it possible for you to reduce weight of the wheel, and that you were impressed with the difference in performance.

We would like to clarify one point, however. Daido Corporation is the exclusive U.S. agent for D.I.D. rims and chain. Listed below are our authorized distributors. These distributors are the only sources of supply who can offer, through our inventory, the full line of D.I.D. alloy rims.

Accessory Distributors, Inc.

175 Fair Street Palisades Park, NJ 07650 (201) 947-8200

Alloy Specialties Co.

31 2 N. 65th Street Kansas City, KS 66102 (913) 788-5893

Beck/Arnley Distributing 548 Broad Hollow Road Melville, L.I., NY 11746 (516) 694-7730

Competition Plus Dist., Inc.

3455 Sexton Woods Drive Atlanta, GA 30341 (404) 458-3416

Hahn Cycle Supply Co.

8601 23rd Avenue Sacramento, CA 95826 (916) 381-3210

J.C. Industries Montgomery County Air Pk. Gaithersburg, MD 20760 (301) 948-6123

K.K. Motorcycle Supply 431 E. Third Street Dayton, OH 45400 (513) 222-1303

Nichols Motorcycle Supply 4135 1 26th Street Chicago, IL 60600 (312) 597-3340

Northern Distributors RFD 2, Elm Street Milford, NH 03055 (603) 673-4371

Palace Motors Corp.

1 10 East Avenue Hackettstown, NJ 07840 (201) 852-1717

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Panther Products 5665 South State Street Murray, UT 84107 (801) 266-8231

Niles P. Dally Daido Corporation TLX 833322 Daidocorp Pway.

Beck Arnley Distributing 3130 E. Maria Street Compton, CA 90200 (213) 537-4031

Buchannan’s Frame Shop 629 E. Garvey Avenue Monterey Park, CA 91754 (213) 280-4003

Competition Accessories, Ltd. 85 E. Church Street Xenia, OH 45341 (513) 372-6954

Performance Products 1173 S.W. First Way Deerfield Beach, FL 33441 (305) 421-4422

Rose Cycle Distributors 2040 Tiffin Avenue Findlay, OH 45840 (419) 422-9606

Stevens Cycle 3636 S. Huron Bay City, MI 48706 (517) 747-9872

Sudco International 1824 E. 22nd Street Los Angeles, CA 90058

(213) 747-5173

Surefire Distributing Co.

42 E. Spruce St.

Asheville, NC 28801 (704) 254-6196

Ed Tucker Dist.

9250 King Arthur Drive Dallas, TX 75200

(214) 634-1840

Wheelsport Dist. Co.

2053 N.W. Upshur Portland, OR 97200 (503) 226-41 1 1

Wiseco Piston, Inc.

7201 Industrial Park Blvd. Mentor, OH 44060 (216) 951-6600

FORECAST FOR THE FUTURE?

Please do not consider this just another letter from some overwrought ecology freak, inasmuch as I have been an avid motorcyclist and reader of CYCLE WORLD for the past decade. I must admit, though, that the phenomenal growth of off-road cycling gives me some cause for concern. I say this because off-roading seems to directly conflict with both the preservation of our natural environment and the conservation of our valuable fuel supplies.

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As a road rider, I have always felt a smug pride in the fact that I was transporting myself in a manner that created far less air pollution than the average Detroit brontosaurus. More recently, the economy and altruism of low fuel consumption have made the motorcycle even more attractive as daily transportation to millions of potential new riders. In fact, these advantages have become the mainstay of defense against motorcycling’s many critics. Offroad cycling, on the other hand, is in a much less defensible position, as its participants are actually consuming extra fuel and adding to pollution (noise as well as air), through a purely recreational activity.

Of course, it would be less than fair to place the full burden of guilt in this situation on motorcycles—four-wheeldrive vehicles, power boats, airplanes and all other motorized contrivances are also involved, when used strictly as recreation. The point I am trying to make is that motorized recreation in general is seemingly doomed to be subordinated to our needs to conserve energy and preserve the natural world. Already, experts and bureaucrats of all stripes are exhorting us to turn exclusively to non-mctorized forms of recreation; i.e., archery, tennis, canoeing, bicycling and needlepoint. Technological advances in engine design and fuellubricant formulation may temporarily postpone the inevitable, but I believe that the death knell is already being rung for the sport of motorcycling as we now know it. If the motorcycle survives at all (in spite of federal vehicle safety regulations), it will be in the timehonored form of economical, fuelconserving, pollution-diminishing and enjoyable daily transportation.

You may think that I find some perverse glee in trying to quash the enthusiasm of off-road cyclists, but I am merely trying to describe trends as I see them developing. I would be most interested in other readers’ comments on this subject, as I think that this is the sort of problem that we “affluent Americans” are soon going to have to face squarely.

William T. Lay New Port Richey, Fla.