Roundup
ROUNDUP
POLITICS AS USUAL
Political reports are becoming something of a habit for us, as every month there are new efforts by the government to exert control, or by motorcyclists to resist. Nor is there an end in sight. Not once in recorded history has a government improved itself out of existence. The highways will never be adequately safe, nor the air nor the water, nor will our elected officials declare that all special-interest groups have been given all they deserve.
So. The Environmental Protection Agency's proposed noise regulations are now supposed to be under advisement for many months, while the EPA reads the comments and does its final calculations.
Best part of the hearing in Washington, D.C. was when John Davidson, now chairman of the board of Harley-Davidson, held a curbside press conference.
Davidson noted that 10 years ago, production motorcycles came with noise levels as high as 92 decibels. New bikes today are 83 dB. or lower, an 88 percent decrease in sound energy, without federal intervention: the buying public wanted quieter bikes and the free market meant the manufacturers gave the buyers what they wanted.
To illustrate his belief that the 83-dB. motorcycle is not an offense to the ear, Davidson asked the press to step outside, to where a 1976 Super Glide (92 dB) and a 1978 Low Rider (83 dB) were waiting.
There Davidson gave a demonstration of how much noise has been reduced. With interruptions. Seemed that the passing trucks and busses drowned out the noise of the motorcycles, a point which one hopes wasn’t lost on the press.
More good news from the emissionscontrol front. The Motorcycle Industry Council has been working to get clear rulings on which changes can legally be made to bikes built to emissions standards.
EPA has no objection to such things as saddlebags and fairings. Because they add weight and thus could affect performance and fuel usage, there was fear that adding accessories could be construed as tampering with the emissions controls. No, said the EPA, such changes are not against the law.
Aftermarket exhaust systems for fourstrokes will also be allowed. The EPA has ruled that replacement parts “are presumed to be equivalent in emission performanee characteristics in the absence of specific evidence to the contrary.”
Help from an unexpected source. The United States Council of Wage and Price Stability opposes the EPA’s proposed noise levels.
The council noted that EPA set benefit/ cost ratios for proposed truck noise control, but didn’t use the same methods when preparing the motorcycle controls. The council did, and the report says “On the basis of the net benefit and incremental benefit cost ratio criteria, the 83 dBA level is the only appropriate regulatory level.”
Encouraging evidence also is coming in for the off-road people. The federal government, remember, is surveying public lands, and the public, to see where and how much land can be classified as wilderness. As noted here earlier, wilderness can't have roads and the feds have their own definition of a road.
The U.S. Forest Service has conducted a survey to learn how the public thinks public land should be used. They collected 50,000 replies.
Now then. Of the total, five percent were from the academic fraternity, forest service representatives and other government branches. They ranked preservation of ecosystems as extremely important.
The other 95 percent ranked preservation as having small to moderate importance. Few people wanted more wilderness for mental challenges, and few people felt the wilderness needs to be close to population centers.
The American Motorcyclist Association notes that the study shows the public-atlarge, that is. minus the anti-public preservationists, believes the wilderness is for resource production and recreation. Plenty of us motorized recreationists replied, giving more weight to our views and more hope that motorcycles will be a form of recognized activity on public lands.
As the punch line, we now have evidence that the public in general isn’t all that keen on sheer preservation.
We can do some political good, then. As an aid to that, the AMA is offering “A Biker’s Political Handbook,” just what it sounds like. Free to AMA members except they ask 50C for postage, and $1 for nonmembers, from the AMA, P.O. Box 141, Westerville, Ohio 43081.
CITY HALL GETS BEAT
The individual does have a chance. Hal Kendall, secretary for the United Sidecar Association, learned that the various toll systems in the U.S. charged per axle; a sidecar, with three axles, was paying as much toll as a tractor with semi-trailer. No fair, obviously, so Kendall wrote to the various states and asked for better treatment. Most of the states changed their rules soonest, but Illinois objected. Ken-> dall signed up the AMA for the fight and finally, the last state has given in and is charging motorcycle rates for bikes with chairs. Goes to show we can win, if we go about it right.
A FREE SHOW
Local news, but perhaps this soft of event will catch on elsewhere as well. Shopping centers love crowds of people and will make an effort to attract them. Motorcycles are entertainment, so it has happened that the Douglas Office Plaza, Irvine, Calif., asked race promoter Jim Manning if he could put together a show of and for antique, classic, vintage and collector motorcycles. Sure, said Manning, and he asked CW for help.
Sure, we said. The show will be from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 1, at the plaza across MacArthur Blvd. from the Orange County Airport. Admission is free to the public, and to bike owners who’d just like to display their treasures. Owners who’d like to compete will be charged an entry fee, $5 or so. For that you get a chance at a trophy (Antique, domestic or imported; Classic, domestic or imported) and the overall show winner gets a trip to Harrah’s collection in Reno, Nev. Interested owners can write or call Jim Manning, P.O. Box 23, E. Irvine, Calif. 92650, (714) 559-0199.
A SKIRMISH WON
Just to cheer us all up, recall that the EPA had a spokeswoman who encouraged elderly people in St. Petersburg, Fla. to come to the noise regulation hearings. She assumed they’d be on the EPA’s side. She was fired. The EPA apologized. And the hearings were attended by senior citizens who rode there, thanks to the work of the American Motorcyclist Association.
THE AMERICAN KAWASAKI
Flying the flag and no mistake. Late this summer, Kawasaki’s Lincoln, Neb. plant assembled 200 KZ 1000s with a special design theme. Stars and Stripes. The tanks were decorated with a Golden Eagle. They lined up all the bikes, which also had fairings and bags built for Kawasaki by Vetter, and dealers from all over the midwest rode the bikes, en mass, to St. Louis.
There’s more here than just publicity. Sounds at first like a gambit, as one assumes Kawasakis are made in Japan.
Not as much as they used to be. The Lincoln plant began as strictly an assembly plant. But as the people there gained experience, and as the home office gained confidence in the branch, there has been more manufacturing and less bolting together of parts.
The KZ1000 frames are made in America. So are the fuel tanks. And most of the snowmobiles, for that matter. Kawasaki is buying parts from U.S. firms. Tires, even.
The work force isn’t like it is at home, in that the Lincoln people tend to wear whatever they wish. And while there are more motorcycles than you’d see at most factories, Honda and Harley owners aren’t reluctant to ride into the plant parking lot. Nor are they reluctant to work. From the look of the assembly lines, the U.S. worker is as willing and as able as his Japanese counterpart.
Kawasaki’s effort is not unappreciated. The night before the ride-away, there was a dinner, sponsored in equal parts by the factory, the dealer organization and the Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. All parties are pleased with the arrangement. Helps the balance of trade, the cause of free trade and—because a motorcycle factory is a source of employment and an addition to the tax base—it’s bound to help all motorcyclists.
The commemorative bikes? Not a production model and not strictly for sale. You’d have to talk one of the participating dealers out of his souvenir.
COLLECTOR’S CHOICE
Achance to own a legend. This purebred machine is the MV Augusta 750S America, 750cc, dohc Four and the handling that comes after winning 67 world championship races. A rare model and one that’s not been available in the U.S. for several years.
Cosmopolitan Motors has changed that. MV Augusta is phasing out motorcycles in favor of helicopters and Cosmopolitan has bought a limited number of 750S Americas, along with spare parts and shop manuals.
Not for the average rider, sure, but for those of us who remember MV’s years of glory and who have seen or heard the Four, it’s a chance that won’t come again. Cosmopolitan is looking for a few good dealers. To be one, or to find one, write Cosmopolitan Motors, Inc. Hatboro, Penn. 19040.
NO MORE LITTLE HARLEYS
Harley-Davidson has stopped building lightweights. Lack of sales, the continuing boom in larger models and stiff competition in the U.S. for the small bike buyer have caused H-D to shut down their plant in Varese, Italy. Board chairman John Davidson said Harley dealers will continue to supply parts and service.
The little Harleys were the result of good intentions. Back when small motorcycles were expected to become popular transportation, H-D built good ones. Didn’t sell. The domestic price problem had Harley looking elsewhere and they bought an Italian company, with factory, and built more good little machines. Harleys won a couple world road racing titles, in 250 and 350cc, and for the last few years they’ve had an always-improving motocross team.
To no avail. The U.S. buyer plain didn’t want a 175 or 250cc Harley-Davidson.
A CHANCE IN KENTUCKY
Off-road riders have a super chance to ride and help our sport in Kentucky and surroundings, thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the American Motorcyclist Association.
Developed as part of a Corps of Engineers project, the 800-acre Green River Lake ORV Test Area is near Campbellsville, in central Kentucky and within reach of riders in southern Indiana and Illinois, Nashville, Tenn., and Louisville and Lexington, Ky.
The Corps began work on the project and was discouraged by opposition from residents of the area, who feared loss of local hunting grounds and the arrival of too many outsiders.
The AMA learned of the opposition and mailed notices of the public meetings to AMA members. The members attended and wrote letters. The opposition was overcome and the area is now open.
For one year. As a test. We riders can help, first by using the site, to prove the public does want and need riding areas, and then by using the site in a responsible manner.
Riders in the area who’d like to know more can get details by writing:
Park Ranger
Green River Lake ORV Project U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Campbellsville, Ky. 42718 El
