Letters
LETTERS
LIFE CAN BE A DREAM
I received my February issue and I enjoyed your section on “Letters,” especially “Never Too Late.”
I am 53 years old. I didn’t fully realize it but I guess I’ve wanted a motorcycle as far back as I can remember. I didn’t feel I could handle one and felt they were too dangerous. My daughter’s boyfriend owned a new Yamaha 650. I admired it for some time and one day he and 1 were in the motorcycle dealership and he talked me into taking home a new Yamaha DS7-250. Two months went by and my wife got a bad case of motorcycle fever. We did the only thing we could, she took over the DS7 and I made another trip to the bike shop and this time I came home with a RD350 for myself.
I agree wholeheartedly with the views of Mr. Murphy and Mr. DeLaTorre when they say a lot of older people would like to ride but are afraid of what people would say. I can just see by the look in their eyes that they would like nothing better than to ride too. Sure people tell me I am too old but as I see it they are the ones that are too old.
I prefer a shaft-driven motorcycle, so I sold both the DS7-250 and the RD350. We now have a Yamaha XS750D and a XS400D. We have wanted a little heavier bike for touring and also prefer the fourstroke engines.
If any of your readers think they would like to try motorcycling. I strongly recommend they do so. I am sure glad I did. and as far as what other people think, frankly, I couldn't care less. My only regret is that I didn’t start 30 years sooner.
Robert C. Hendricks St. Paul. Minn.
HOT IN TEXAS
A few months ago I bought a new Honda Hawk II. At this point I’m very sorry the thought ever crossed my mind. I purchased the bike because I wanted a four-stroke after many years of Suzuki two-stroke Twins.
It's a neat bike, no doubt about it, but I have yet to get the machine over 40 mpg. It's got 2000 miles on it and I checked mileage on every tankful. I do not drive hard, usually shifting at 5-6000 rpm. I installed a cruise-control which should help economy—no help. I then had a new rear sprocket made with five fewer teeth which lowered rpm 1000 at 60 mph—it didn’t help. I then tried a tankful riding in a leaned over position—no help. I guess my next step is to try to swap an Automatic Hawk owner for his head and carbs.
It’s unthinkable to me that Honda would put this motorcycle on the market at this time with this economy. They build a four-passenger automobile that will do better!
I have no love for my new mid-displacement gas hog and as long as I live I shall never own another product of any kind with a Honda name tag on it.
Norman W. Vance Grapevine, Tex.
A GRUDGE MATCH
It would surely be nice if you took that there hairy Laverda Jota and put on onetooth larger rear sprocket and hot gun it against that Polish upstart Zl-R. Maybe it ain’t stock, but who really needs 135 mph?
David A. Cohen Milwaukee, Wise.
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MARUSHO INFO
I read the interesting article on the Marusho in your November. 1977 issue. I nowfind myself the happy ow ner of a Marusho R92 500. It is a finely engineered bike, but it needs some work. My predicament is finding service and parts. So far, all my inquiries have been met with either blank stares or uncontrolled laughter. If you could help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated.
David Garrett 1942 Euclid #8 Santa Monica, Calif.
Here's the address of the Marusho/Lilac Owners Club: 4824 S. First St., Arlington, Va. 22202. We're printing your complete address, if anyone else can help oui.
HONDA FAN
After reading your test of the Honda CR250R Elsinore in your February issue I was very pleased. You finally gave some credit to Honda for something in the motocross field. I was raised on Hondas and still ride them. At the end of the article, you said the “Honda Elsinore CR250R puts everyone else one giant step backward.” You don’t know how long I waited for CYCLE WORLD to say that.
Terry Allen Leonidas. Mich.
MARCH COVER
From one who’s bored with cover photos showing “Richie Racer” hanging perilously over the side while cornering his street bike, thanks for your March cover showing Len sitting right smack in the middle of Suzuki’s GS1000.
Let’s leave hiking over the side to the sailors.
Bob Denby Bellevue, Wash.
KAWASAKI KZ200
I enjoyed the reviewof the Kawasaki KZ200 in your February, 1978 issue. When I was learning to ride I considered buying one because I am 5 - ft. 3-in. tall and thought that a bigger bike would be too tall for me. My husband owns a KZ400 and insisted I try it. Well, I got used to it and would never dream of trading it for a KZ200 now!
I feel the same way as Cecila Manney— too cramped and not enough power. Maybe Kawasaki will win some new women customers to the KZ200, but 1 think they’d be surprised at how many women are already riding 400s.
Even the KZ400 is turning out to be too small for me. I plan on moving up to a KZ650 custom soon, after my dealer
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makes a couple of modifications so my feet touch the ground!
Sharon McCart Irvine, Calif.
SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
It’s not often that one gets to share his enthusiasm for small displacement street bikes. Peter Egan’s article “Because It’s Small” (March, 1978) described what I consider a totality of enthusiasm for street machines.
I started on a Honda 50 Sport 11 years ago while in high school and since have owned machines through 1200cc. However, I keep returning to small bikes as a secondary source of enjoyable transportation to my freeway machine.
Presently I own three of the C100 gutless wonders in addition to a Korean-made 90. The 50s include a 1961 Cub, a 1965 identical to Egan’s, and a 1966. Each was purchased as a basket case for less than $200.1 have completely rebuilt the ’65 which was purchased with a seized piston from a kid who tried to make it into an enduro. After restoring the bike, I added a small windshield and infant carrier with a storage compartment under its padded seat with the whole unit resting in the cradle of the frame.
Riding small bikes requires much patience, a lot of extra alertness, and a state of mind different than when riding large machines. When cruising at 25-35 mph, things that would be only a blur at high speeds become visible for one’s enjoyment, and how else could you better take an all-day ride and spend 50C for transportation?
Many can’t understand my enthusiasm for small machines, but over the years they have paid for themselves in economy and enjoyment as well as adding to my totality as a street rider.
N.R. Koerzendorfe Lakeside, Calif.
KRAUSER FAIRING
Someone has to express more than a mild liking for the Krauser Fairing on the KZ650 in your February issue. I will. As a matter of fact, it’s the first fairing or windshield I’ve ever seen that struck me as being totally believable, and I’ve been looking for three years. Unfortunately, I’m nine feet tall, and even with my $30 windshield in the near vertical position, I seldom actually look through it.
Obviously, what I need is a sharp looking fairing like the Krauser, with an amazing array of plexiglass airfoils, baffles and wings mounted atop it á la 1932 barnstormer bi-plane. This, and a wicker seat bolted flat on the frame might get me
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the aerodynamics I need. Where there’s a wind, there’s a way!
Stephen Jane San Francisco, Calif.
CLUBS SPOKEN HERE
I read the article on clubs in your March issue and I’d like to add a few contributions to your growing list.
(1) American Motorcyclist Association P.O. Box 141 Westerville, Ohio 43081.
This is an organization that any motorcyclist who cares about the future of the sport should belong. Dues are $12 a year which includes a pin, a monthly magazine, some accidental death and dismemberment insurance, and the privilege of participating in a great number of sanctioned events.
(2) Southern California Motorcycle Association
P.O. Box 54233,
Terminal Annex,
Los Angeles, Calif. 90054.
This is an association of bikers dedicated to advancing the sport of family motorcycling. Dues are $5 a year and you get a patch, a card, and a monthly newsletter outlining what’s happening in southern California, southern Nevada, and Arizona.
(3) San Diego County Road Riders Association,
P.O. Box 2151 La Mesa, Calif. 92041.
This is an association of clubs in San Diego County who got together to further the sport of motorcycling. Outrider membership costs $2 a year and includes a card and a monthly newsletter.
Most of these organizations offer a discount on entry fees to events it sanctions to people who hold membership in the respective organizations. These are not make and model clubs but they offer a wide variety of activities for the average motorcyclist.
Alan Stanley
BMW RALLY
The third annual Niagara BMW Rally is scheduled this year for June 30-July 2. It’s a chance to visit Niagara Falls and Canada and meet other BMW riders. (Riders of other makes are welcome, though we don’t understand why people would want to ride anything but a BMW.)
Those interested should contact me.
Herschel Reingold 1030 Liberty Bank Bldg. Buffalo, N.Y. 14202
THE BATTLE RAGES ON
I own a 1973 Bultaco 350 T, and although it is intended for trials riding,
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which I have done a little of as an amateur, the Bui makes a wonderful playbike. Lowend torque? The Bultaco people must have invented it. The T will poke along as slow or slower than any four-stroke on the market. You can pick your way through the roughest ruts and over logs etc., then when you need a surge of power for a steep uphill, just twist the wick and hang on. The Bui’s power comes on twice as fast as any four-stroke to get you out of any gulleys you are brave enough to get into.
As far as not having any compression, don't get your knee under the handlebar and give it a half-hearted kick. I have a couple of bruises to show for this. The engine braking on the T is as good as any four-stroke.
I may sound like a two-stroke fiend, but I'm not. Between my wife and me we own two of each. One BMW R75/5, one Yamaha CS5A, one Honda TL125 and one Bultaco Sherpa T. Each of these bikes has an intended purpose for it performs very well, but for ofif-road, give me the lightness of the two-stroke anytime.
Roy Rowlett Lexington, Ky.
STEEL-MOTORCYCLE PARALLEL
In the letters of Mr. Toomer and Mr. Yeoman (“Letters,” February, 1978) concerning the alleged dumping of Japanese bikes on the American market, both gentlemen state that the Japanese cannot operate without making a profit. While this assumption may be true of an American corporation, the fact is, the Japanese can operate at a loss. Having lost my engineering position in the American steel industry because of unfair Japanese trade practices (dumping), I feel somewhat qualified to comment. A parallel may be drawn between the Japanese motorcycle and steel industries, since Japanese bikes are made from Japanese steel. In Japan the steel mills are generously subsidized by the government. The reasoning behind this is that the operation of those mills at a net loss costs the government far less than it would to pay those same workers unemployment. Cash flow, not profit, is the motive. Those crafty devils are shipping their unemployment to America, and we’re buying it.
The same may be true of Japanese motorcycles. While I don’t claim they are dumping bikes, like steel, the fact is, gentlemen, they can.
I do not sympathize with Harley’s sour grapes attitude. The company knows that Japan does not make a bike, at any price, to compete head-on against what Harley offers its buyers. Nor does Harley make a bike to match the technical finesse and sophistication of a Japanese Multi.
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In this respect, the steel-motorcycle parallel does not apply. But it is important for us all to realize that the Japanese play the business game by their own rules, and are not burdened by the need to generate a profit.
Dennis Diehl Webster, N.Y.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Expanding the limits; pushing back the edges of the possible. That’s where it’s at in the bike industry right now, and it's a stunning, awe-inspiring thing to witness. Eleven-second, 140-mph machines as tractable and reliable as a Ford sedan, and being ridden here in 55-mph America. But these ultra-bikes are several standard deviations beyond the mean —most of us don't want 600-lb. bikes that don't get on the cam until they're going 35-40 mph in first gear. When 90 percent of your riding is in town, that just doesn’t make sense. My RD400, on the other hand. does. But as much as 1 love my stock RD, Ed love to see some close-to-the-edge engineering applied to light and middleweights. An RD with a stretched wheelbase (say 55 in.), watercooling, 40-45 bhp and quarter-mile times in the low 13s or high 12s—that’s my idea of a superbike. It’s possible such a bike could be built for a reasonable price and it could be tractable and reliable enough for the mass market.
Other things I’d like to see—more storage space (in the frame, maybe) and GS 1000-type adjustable suspension. Honda’s 500 V-Twin comes close (except for weight) and a watercooled, four-valveper-cylinder GS550 would be closer still, with a lighter weight.
Those bright, energetic Japanese are doing a terrific job, but what remains to be designed is a practical light middleweight with genuine superbike performance.
Ken Allport El Cerrito, Calif.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON HUSTLER
How would you like to see and ride an American-built motorcycle in the 750lOOOcc class, with national distribution, instant parts availability, eyeball tearing acceleration, outstanding handling, good looks, immense sex appeal, and a competitive price? Impossible?
Witness the all-new' 750ec (and/or 1000) Harley-Davidson Hustler. Don’t laugh.
Based on the Harley 750 racing engine, the Hustler sports a light but stiff frame similar to the XR750 racers, alloy rims, twin discs, double up seating with passenger pegs moved from the swing arm to the frame, fresh suspension by an American manufacturer (?) that surpasses certain Japanese competitors, the original Harley
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styling that marks American bikes, CDI ignition, Goodyear Eagles, a 56.5-in. wheelbase, and an in-the-tubes oil system similar to some dirt bikes. Add Japanese quality clutch and brake lever action and a quartz-halogen headlight. Can do? Why not?
There is still a market for medium big bore street pounders, witness the popularity of Yamaha’s 650cc, and its new SR5Ó0E. Twins are in. If BMW and Norton could do it. then so can Harley. There is also a market for Harleys (the only real motorcycles?) Then there is a market for roadburners that can haul more than a**. How many Ducati Desmos and Guzzi LeMans are really out there? The XLCR was a good idea, but it has only a small market. Half the fun of bikin’ is haulin' the opposite sex. or am I wrong?
If Harley would compete with the Rising Sun’s roadburners. even, at slightly higher prices, Mr. Honda would turn sickly 6-cylinder green with envy. Until then. I’ll ride my beloved impersonal Yamaha.
Just think of it. a quick crankin' confederate crotch kicker. I can hardly wait.
Thumper Thelin Placerville. Calif.
SELF-PRESERVATION
Got a kick out of your remarks in April’s “Up Front” about cyclists, drivers, cyclist’s reactions to drivers and so on.
I've been riding since the days when all sickles came equipped with floorboards and I’ve never had the slightest worry about getting hit. Or hitting another car.
But there was the time I met a Toyota truck in the hills—he was on my side of the road. But, that was just part of the game and all I did was ride over onto the shoulder wfflich at that place was a good 10 cm wide. And the local hot-rodder who turned left smack-dab in front of me and I turned along with him and missed him—and he me—by a mile (translation: about a meter).
Now, I’m not really a good rider and I’ve bent more handlebars than a dealer can be reasonably expected to stock, shortened a Wombat four inches overall, made a barely rideable wreck out of a Honda CL 160 and even ran into the only snow bank in several hundred miles on a very experienced Hog.
All in the interest of self-preservation.
My lady hates to ride with me in our community-property VW because she says I take too many chances and have too many close calls. She’s not impressed w'hen I point out that all I gotta do is miss those people who afflict our progress and that I had been warned well beforehand that they w'ere going to commit a stoopid manouver.
Doug Richmond Oakland. Calif. @
