Feed Back

FEED BACK

Readers, as well as those involved in the motorcycle industry, are invited to have their say about motorcycles they own or have owned. Anything is fair game: performance, handling, reliabil ity, service, parts availability, lovability, you name it. Suggestions: be objective, be fair, no wildly emotional but ill founded invectives; include useful facts like mileage on odometer, time owned, model year, special equipment and accessories bought, etc.

SLOWER BUT SURER

I am the owner of a `71 Honda SL100 that is, in my opinion, one of the best little motorcycles the Honda peo ple have ever produced. The motor is running strong at over 4000 miles. The bike is on its second set of rings, but has original tires, battery, spark plug and points. The worst mileage is around 85 mpg and the top speed is about 60 mph. The controls are easily accessible and the handlebars are perfect. With some weighty accessories stripped off, the SL is converted into a nice play bike for off-road, weighing in at 1 90 lb.

The best thing is that it doesn't burn oil like two-strokes do. . .and it will never foul plugs. The only problem with the bike is that its front end wants to wash out on mud; that isn't a problem anywhere else, though. Although you won't win many races, I still don't think anything can beat Honda dependability and style.

Larry Schaeffer Salem, Ore.

MAYBE HIS FACE IS STUCK

In the January issue I read with interest Keith Foster's comments on his 1974 Suzuki TS185. I'd like to add my own two-cents worth about my 1974 TC185 Suzuki. I've got more than 9500 miles on it and haven't had any prob lems at all except for replacing the brushes in the starter-generator unit at 9255 miles. I've had the same NGK plug in it for 4500 miles and it is still going strong.

I use my bike mainly on the streets around town, but I have gone to cities as far as 150 miles away and back on the same day, stopping only for gas and food. My bike cruises easily at 60 mph and the handling is the best of any enduro bike I've ever ridden at that speed for any distance. It's even good in rain or on slick road surfaces.

Service in my area is very good; I can get parts when I need them and work done reasonably, usually the same day. I replaced those starter-generator brushes, had the unit torn down, cleaned, re assembled and reinstalled for a grand total of $22.38. In my opinion, the TC185 is the best mid-priced bike on the market. Incidentally, the dealer stands behind the 12,000-mi./12-mo. warranty and even smiles while he does it.

Bob Baxter Greenville, S.C.

A DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION

After reading Ed Armstrong's note on helmet protection and the Snell construction standards (Feb. `76), 1 did a few calculations of my own and would like to share them with other readers.

First of all, using 170 lb. as the "head" weight is questionable, since most body weight in a crash is sup ported by other parts of the body that are in contact with the ground. The trunk, arms and legs absorb a lot of impact. It isn’t as though the rider skids along standing on his head for the entire distance!

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Probably the best weight to consider for head protection is head weight alone, about 1 1 lb. including helmet. Since the shoulders usually strike the ground at the same instant as the head, most of the body is supported by muscles and bones beneath the neck. If you think of the situation this way, the Snell 103 lb.-ft. standard means that the helmet will withstand an impact speed of about 25 ft./sec. This equals 17 mph, and is worse if impact is concentrated at one point on the helmet. In most situations, impact is more evenly distributed, so higher speed impacts can therefore be tolerated better by the Snellapproved helmet.

Even so, if an unprotected head is knocked into some pointy object at 17 mph, you can bet that an injury of some sort will be sustained. On the other hand, a Snell-approved helmet will prevent exactly this kind of damage.

Of course, nobody is suggesting that a helmet will protect the rider in a 60-mph accident, but when it comes to lowand medium-speed mishaps, head injuries can and should be prevented. A Snell helmet is built to absorb the shocks of these incidents, and there just isn’t any question that a helmet is extremely useful in low-speed accidents. 1 never ride without one.

Eric Weis (no address)

HIS CAN-AM CAN’T

After reading Mr. Salib’s letter in your Oct. ’75 issue and Mr. Finger’s letter in Feb. ’76, I thought I would tell you about my 1975 Can-Am 175 T’NT. I bought it in May of ’75. The first thing I found upon arriving home was a steady leak of transmission oil from where the engine cases mate together on the left side. I filled the trans with oil and went to adjust the oil pump. The adjuster broke in two. I was able to homemake a fix and try out the bike. The jetting was so far off I could barely reach 40 mph. I finally got it running pretty decent, but I’ve constantly had problems with the Bing carb flooding the engine.

Six days after I bought it the headlight blew out. It took more than a month and $18 to get a new one. The air filter element fell apart the fourth time I cleaned it and the dealer didn’t have one. Also, at this time, with about 900 miles on the bike, the speedometer quit and the regulator/rectifier had to be replaced at a cost of almost $25.

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With that fixed, it began getting impos sible to start with anything but a new spark plug. The problem was chased to the electronic control unit, which cost me $77.95.

All of these problems happened in the space of about 1800 miles. The engine does produce fantastic power for its size, but the headaches, time and money spent aren't worth it to me. Come this spring I'll be trading for a new Yamaha enduro with a dealer only five miles away, instead of 65 like the Can-Am dealer.

Dennis Young Rice Lake, Wis.

AND THEY CAN ALSO WRITE

I purchased a 1975 Laverda 750 SFC from Helman and Sons in Ballston Spa, N.Y. I had taken my Norton there for service. It was excellent.

The Laverda presently has 2100 miles on it. It has several pluses. There are two disc brakes in front and one in the rear that really work. The Pirelli Supersport H tires work as well as the K81 Dunlops I have used on other motorcycles I have owned. It comes with two sets of exhaust systems and two sets of jets. I used the richer jets and the open and noisy two-into-one megaphones. I have yet to try the two-into-a-d ouble-crossover-pipe-intotwo muffler system. You also get electric start, a quarter fairing, a 6.5-gal. gas tank, single seat, fully adjustable clipons, adjustable rearsets and a little storage section in back of the solo seat with the toolkit enclosed.

The bike handles extremely well. Nothing scrapes, no twitches, no wobbles. It handles far better than the three Triumphs and the Norton I owned. It does not, however, handle with quite the ease of the 750 GT Ducati. Its center of gravity is higher than a Due’s, and it weighs more.

The motor is very dependable. It starts easily hot or cold. It is a Twin and suffers the chronic complaint of all Twins: it vibrates. As a matter of fact, if the Laverda is in neutral and you give the throttle a 6000-7000 rpm jab, the vibration is enough to jiggle your eyeballs loose. The vibration shook loose two reflectors in the headlight in the first 800 miles. Rubber mounting of the fairing cured that. While riding, however, there is almost no vibration between 2000-4000 rpm. The bike is fairly quick and has a decent top end (125 mph). It is not, however, a wise move to try to outrun your buddy’s Z1 on a fairly straight road. You won’t see a thing except his taillight getting smaller and then disappearing.

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Now for the minuses. Within the first five minutes of riding, my left hand felt like it was going to fall off. It has the worst clutch pull of any bike I have ever ridden. The adjustable clip-ons can't be adjusted up far enough to make street riding (riding under 70) comfortable without your hands hitting the fairing. I had problems with the shifting mech anism. The gearbox would continuously go into neutral between gears no matter how carefully I shifted. As it turned out, the people at the factory left out a spacer that went between the shifting mechanism cover and the return spring of the shifting lever. The spring would bind against the cover. Instant missed shift! Once the spacer was installed, I had no more trouble with the five-speed gearbox.

I have come to the conclusion that the Laverda SFC is really suited to only one thing, and that is production racing for long distances. With its handling, stopping and super dependable motor, it and the bike's rider have a very good chance of outlasting the competition. With the addition of the new 750cc Production class, the Laverda also would have a good chance of being a winner on the twistier road racing cir cuits. The one-mindedness of its con struction makes it a poor street ma chine.

The only good thing the bike did on the street was to get everyone's atten tion. You could see that orange racing machine a mile away. Unfortunately, the local police aren't blind. . .or deaf either, for that matter.

Werner Scheeren Clifton Park, N.Y.

THE SWITCH TO SUZUKI

After reading road tests and praise worthy ads on the many bikes available, last spring I purchased my first motor cycle, a 1974 Jawa 350 Californian. I fell for the advertisements put out by Jawa and felt I was getting a tough, reliable bike.

On the way home the clutch cable broke, and I nearly went off a mountain road when the throttle stuck. The brakes also proved very unreliable. Even under careful maintenance the bike required constant repair. Clutch cables broke, headlights burned out, there were fuse and other electrical troubles. The brakes went from bad to worse. Oil leaks and vibration plagued me con stantly.

The costs of repairs finally turned a bargain into a bad investment. I talked to other Jawa owners and have found these same problems were duplicated.

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There should be a ban on their advertising and their road tests should be run. by an unbiased person not on the Jawa payroll.

I have just recently bought a 1 974 Suzuki 380 and can hardly wait until spring to start riding.

Tainas Grove Nanaimo, B.C.

NOT ALONE

I'm glad to hear that there are other concerned Norton riders around who are happy with their bikes, but also concerned for the future of one of the world's most fun bikes to ride. I own a 1969 Norton Matchless with a P-i 1 ranger engine and would not trade it for any other bike on the market. People complain about the oil leaks and tuning problems, but ask any Norton owner if it isn't worth it. I'm sure you'll find most of them answering yes.

I'm presently going to school in N.Y., but my home is in Montana. I rode my bike here with absolutely no problems except the need to rejet the single Mikuni carb in London, Ontario. I plan to ride it back home in May with full confidence. Keep the letters coming in and maybe Norton will realize that it can't stop producing a fine machine.

F. Lawrence LeRoy Alfred, N.Y.

GLJ HARLEY-DAVIDSON?

"Feedback" is a good idea; it's a little more reliable source of informa tion than ads. My bike was a new Sportster: the worst bike I've ever owned. Receipts kept from repairs and maintenance after a year came close to $700. They included things like the generator (twice), armatures and brushes, voltage regulator, spark ad vance, valves (twice), broken speed ometer mount, cables, brakes, cracked hub. Vibration on trips was so bad that every gas stop (1 00 miles with the peanut tank) was a rest stop. It had to be, which wasted a lot of riding time.

Without thinking, I put another 6OUU into customizing. Three weeks after the final work, the transmission went out, along with a cracked case. That did it; the hike now he1on~s to someone else

AMF also makes lawn mowers. Where I work (in a lawn mower repair shop), AMF Products are at the top of the list of things keeping us busy with repairs. We thank AMF for that. Keep it up AMF, and you can add GLJ (good looking junk) to your growing name.

Randy Booth Beaverton, Ore.