Letters

LETTERS

DAY OF THE CONDOR

I am in the process of restoring a 1954 Swiss Condor. As you can well imagine, I’m having a fair amount of difficulty in finding information about this bike ... to say nothing of parts.

I’m actually quite impressed with the engineering and construction of this model. It's about 700cc, a Twin opposed flat-head engine very much along the design of an automotive engine. A few of the unusual features include a reverse gear, overdrive in all four forward gears, and beveled synchromesh transmission. It’s shaft-driven and resembles, in looks only, a BMW or Ural.

I would much appreciate it if one of your readers could furnish me with any information they may have and, if at all possible, a photo.

Ken Howell 720 Alexander St.

Vancouver, B.C.

Canada V6A 1E3

FICTION WITH FEELING

I’m a 34-year-old man who's been riding and living motorcycles since 1955. I don’t normally write to magazines but thought you’d like to know that Ron Cain’s “A Moment Passing” (July ’76 CW) made me cry.

Jim Lester Effie, Minn.

DEATH OF THE MOTORCYCLE

The motorcycle will never be the same because those of us who ride motorcycles have changed. BSA, Norton, Velocette, Triumph, Matchless, Ariel, Royal Enfield, Seeley, etc. were bikes made by men, not computers.

The giants of Japan programmed their computers and discovered that if they could mass-produce motorcycles that were cheap, convenient and idiot-proof enough, they could sell millions of the little suckers. In a few short years they had every teenage girl, grandmother and corporate executive on two wheels.

Many will commend the Japanese for making the motorcycle respectable, but is it respectable to send thousands of inept turkeys to the highways on push-button, illhandling, overweight motorcycles only to be maimed or killed?

The British had overhead cams, Singles, Twins, Triples and Fours. They devised most of the suspension and frame designs of today. Conical hubs, oil in the frame, the list is endless. The Limeys didn't die because they lacked technology as many would have you think. They are gone today because huge Japanese corporations killed them with a bombardment of money, more money than the English had probably ever dreamed possible. The Japanese electric starter did more to deflate the English motorcycle industry than did the Honda 750.

You can ride your 600-lb, idiotlighted, digital-gear-indicatored, automatic transmissioned, electric startered, parking braked, radiatored, turn-signal-beepered, multicylindered. sloppy-assembly-line-welded, sponge-suspensioned motorcycle that has all the soul and heart of an Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser and think you have the finest machine on the road, not realizing that you don't even know what a motorcycle is. The man on a thumping BSA Single or a Norton Twin sparking through the night on a twisty back road knows what a motorcycle feels and sounds like, but you can't understand this, can you?

Doug Shook Scottsdale, Ariz.

AN OLDIE BUT A GOODIE

The April edition of CW only just caught up with me, so pardon me if my comment is less than timely.

I read Paul Kronfield’s article, “Greek Odyssey,” with interest, especially his account of his encounter with Yannis Papachristopoulou and his BMW. Perhaps I can correct an apparent misapprehension of Mr. Kronfield’s. He commented that the BMW was the oldest one he had ever seen and “must have seen service in the German army during the battle of Crete.” Although it is hard to make an exact determination of the model from the picture accompanying the article, the machine appears to be an R68.

The R68 was indeed a “kanone” by BMW standards at the time of its introduction, since it was that manufacturer’s first “sport” model. It was produced from 1952 to 1954— certainly vintage, but hardly a World War II veteran. The engine was 600cc, had a compression ratio of 8.0:1, and produced 35 hp at 7000 rpm. Not exactly what we would consider a “kanone” today, but a very comfortable machine, and, as Mr. Papachristopoulou’s demonstrates, with its 20-odd years of service, very dependable. I have seen BMWs this old in daily service in New England.

For further reference, all such BMWs have a plate bolted to the frame behind the headlight that identifies their model and year of manufacture.

Fletcher D. Proctor Vintage BMW Owners, Ltd.

Wellesley, Mass.

TELL OF TRIUMPH’S TRIUMPHS

First off let me say I think your road tests are the best in the industry, but I would like to see lean angle and two-up performance evaluated.

Also, this may be put in the “I bet you won’t print this” category, but I think you people are biased. Your reporting of the Ontario 6-hour Production Race did Tri umph an injustice. I would like to see more complete reporting on this type of race as it is more relevant to what we ride than an 0W31. How come an obsolete and sup posedly dead brand took overall and the 750 class?

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Continued from page 10

And how about the 1000cc Trident that was burning up the track? Where were all the Zis, Ducatis, BMWs, etc.? Does it stick in your throat to print the whole story? If it wasn't for another publication I subscribe to I would not have known of the outcome. . and even they passed over it quite lightly. We are not all berm busters, give us a break. H. L. Voorhees Levittown, Penn.

AND THEN THERE’S THE GOOD NEWS

Customer service is dead in our world. It costs three dollars to get a headlight banged around so it will shine right—a dollar a minute. You have to see the shop owner in order to get your inspection sticker put on after the shop boy gets ticked at you for disliking the new sticker display law. Thanks, Honda of Lubbock, but no thanks. My winner for the “You Don’t Count’’ Award has to be Honda East of Dallas. While touring with a friend, he picked up a piece of metal in his rear tire. We tied his tire on my bike and went to our closest ``friendly dealer." "What did the tire come off of?" he asked. "A Z I," we replied. "I'm sorry, we only work on Hondas, but we'll sell you a tube." Thanks, Honda East, but no thanks. We don't count any more, bikers! The almighty dollar has won. I doubt we can correct this, but please tell your friends when you get a raw deal, and please take your money to the few shops that care! There are some: Buddy's of Lubbock, Big D of Dallas. Enjoy yourselves, and be careful. Philip Childs Lubbock, Texas

AND THAT’S AN ORDER

I am a woman rider and I would like to know why you don’t tell much about women. We would like some publicity just like boys. Do something about it. Venus Jacobsen Escondido, Calif.

If you’ll turn to page 84, Venus, you’ll see that we’ re once again covering the National Women’s Motocross Championships, in which you and some 125 other women from around the country participated.—Ed.

SPEEDY’S NOT FORGOTTEN

Being a subscriber to your magazine, I look forward to each issue. I also have been enjoying some older issues belonging to a friend. I really like the old magazines, like the Jan. `65 CW that ran a story about "The Incredible Speedy Babs" by James T. Crow. Speedy used to entertain people by riding his motorcycle in his silodrome (a steel-con structed sphere) and other daredevil acts. I'm sure many of your readers would ap preciate hearing about ol' Speedy and other old-timers who made their living performing stunts that even Evel would think twice about! By the way, "Slipstream" is just one good reason that I look forward to your publication. Perry de Ia Tone Monterey, Calif.

SKILL AND THE RIGHT MACHINE

This concerns the test that you did on the Suzuki RM 100 in the April '76 issue. I think the test was great. I personally like Suzukis and I have had two of them myself; they were great running machines. But there was only one thing I did not like about your article and that was how it started.

I really did not understand what you meant about, “It really has to do with competing against people on bigger bikes, winning, then walking away with the satisfaction that it was you and not something you bought that did the job.”

I think buying the right machine for yourself and being able to handle it is what it’s all about. It takes a good machine to be able to “do that job." But I am no expert yet, so maybe I am wrong. Presently I am living in West Germany. I am a Bultaco nut and I plan to race a lot of motocross this year in Europe. Thomas G. Brougher West Germany

A SYMBOL OF SOMETHING DEEPER

In riding motorcycles, as in most other activities, there are certain things that one simply takes for granted until they are absent. Then they are noticed and sometimes painfully missed.

I am a Canadian. Most of my riding has been done in and around the city of Toronto. In Canada it is a customary courtesy to salute other riders as you meet them on the road. Standard procedure is to lift your grubby paw from the left grip for a few seconds as you pass. It is, of course, acceptable, if at that moment you happen to be diddling the clutch, to simply nod and grin.

A friend of mine recently got married in the city of Detroit. I decided to ride the bike down as a sort of warmup to a cross-Canada trip I am about to take. After crossing from Windsor I soon discovered that none would return my wave.

To me, waving to fellow bikers goes hand in hand with stopping to help when a biker is in trouble. It has always been my policy to help out and I know that in times of trouble I can depend on fellow bikers in Canada to do the same. I realize that it is not my place to suggest you are missing something, but for any touring riders who come into Canada, please wave.

Cycle Canada has lately run ads suggesting that a helmet placed on the shoulder of the road should be a universal signal for “biker in trouble.” When in Canada watch for it and stop to help. If you have trouble yourself, use your helmet to get help. And through it all, wherever you ride, please wave.

Philip Casson Toronto, Ontario

DISCOVERING A NEW THRILL

I am the proud new owner of a Yamaha 100 enduro and am hooked on dirt/trail riding forever. Nothing can compare to the thrill of a good climb up a steep incline, or the feeling of control at being able to take a jump, land again, and keep on going. The surprised looks on other dirt riders’ faces as I zip by and they realize it's a girl keeps me smiling.

Being a 24-year-old female who happens to enjoy the outdoors (and new challenges), it wasn't until recently that I realized what I had been missing simply because girls were not supposed to want to ride motorcycles.

Breaking into this male-dominated sport, I at first expected some hostility. Instead, I encountered lots of support from all bike riders. The guys around my town have gone out of their way being friendly and helpful, teaching me dirt riding techniques that make the sport both safe and fun. They've also pointed out where all the trails are.

Renee Lambert North Bay, Ontario

AMBER MAKES IT PLAIN

The June article on the XS500C is wellwritten and appreciated. I am an XS500B owner and can attest to the qualities of this road machine. Your evaluation has one unusual and important comment.

I am very curious why (on page 37, middle column), you say you prefer “amber lenses for the rear turn-indicator lights.” Our fourwheeled road companions use amber front and red rear turn indicators. On a bike this would indicate to traffic the direction the bike was traveling and would add to the safety of the trip.

William L. Matthews Decatur, Ala.

It is our opinion that the headlight (white) and tail light (red) are adequate for indicating the motorcycle’s direction of travel. As far as rear turn indicators go, motorcycles have a distance problem between the rear stop /running light (red) and the turn indicators themselves. If all three are red, it is not perfectly clear from a distance which direction the motorcycle rider is intending to turn. With amber turn indicator lenses, this problem is solved.— ED. R5