Roundup
ROUNDUP
THE FIST WITHIN THE GLOVE
Some of us have been through this before. About 15 years ago the car manufacturers discovered that drivers like powerful cars. So they began to make powerful cars. Then the social critics discovered that the factories were selling the public what the public wanted to buy. There were hearings. Every concerned party except the buying public got into the act and next thing we knew, unless you were very rich you couldn't buy a car with enough power to pull a robin off its nest. What about safety? Well, not much actually happened, but skip that. The social critics were busy saving somebody else by that time.
Does that sound a bit like paranoia? Remember the punch line: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
All of which serves to introduce Joan Claybrook. administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. On April 28, 1978, she spoke to the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. She spoke firmly, she spoke well and we had all better pay attention, to what she said and who it was said it.
We cannot reprint the entire speech. At the risk of picking only the bad parts and of taking phrases out of context, here are some excerpts. The numbers are ours and indicate footnotes, to follow:
"Motorcycling is the most hazardous form of personal transportation in this country today." (1)
"An estimated 4,067 motorcyclists were killed in crashes during 1977. That represented an increase of 23% over the 3,312 persons killed in 1976 ... It is, of course, not possible to exactly pinpoint the cause of each change in motorcycle fatalities, but certainly the substantial reduction in helmet use throughout the country last year must be considered a partial cause." (2)
"The fact that motorcycling involves an inherent high risk does not mean ipso facto that people should be prohibited from riding motorcycles. Rather, it means that motorcycle riders, organizations encouraging motorcycle use, and organizations making and selling motorcycles must accept the inherent dangers and accept reasonable limitations on their use. It also means that motorcycle organizations and Government, at all levels, have special obligations to fulfill."
" . . . We are now in the midst of a motorcycle horsepower race in which there will be no winners, only losers. The latest is Honda's 6-cylinder machine which can only be characterized as a street legal road racer . . . People don't buy that kind of machine to cruise around the block." (3) (Then comes quotes from various ads mentioning speed and power—Ed.)
" . . . We see no useful role for grossly overpowered machines which are essentially designed and advertised to appeal to the highest risk-taking segments of the motorcycle population." (4)
" . . . Fewer than one-third of the accident-involved motorcyclists are wearing helmets voluntarily."
" . . . If industry refuses to monitor itself and allows its hazards to become a major public health problem, (5) then society is inevitably going to step in to perform that function with all inefficiency and irritations that accompany regulation." (6)
And then she closes with a reference to "you (the members of the MSF) . . . the profit-makers of the motorcycle industry."
Our comments:
1) That's the opening sentence. Don't you reckon she got their attention?
2) What reduction? What does "substantial" mean? Does she assume that repeal of helmet use laws automatically means fewer helmets are worn? Assuming that there is something to be learned from reports from 50 states with 50 reporting methods, there have been increases in fatalities in states that have never had helmet laws. And fatalities are down in states whose helmet laws have been repealed.
3) What is a street legal road racer? And if buying a powerful motorcycle proves guilty intent, then buying a length of clothesline proves you're gonna hang yourself.
4) How are we to defend ourselves against that? If you begin with the assumption that there's no good reason to buy a big motorcycle, then it follows that all your reasons must be bad. Are there valid studies as to the crash rate, or the circumstances, the age and experience of these buyers? Our studies, and those of the motorcycle industry, indicate the lOOOcc machines are bought by touring riders,> older than the average biker and more experienced; the same men who show up so well in the insurance charts.
5) A classic. If ever in the course of human history self-regulation has averted government intervention, we'd like to hear of it. The car makers had a voluntary recall program. They got a mandatory recall program. The car magazines furnished accurate road-test miles-per-gallon figures. Now the car buyer has EPA estimates. Furnished by law. And not accurate. Ask your neighbor.
6) Perfectly true. The wonderful folks who brought us the post office and the passenger train are now gonna help us design motorcycles.
All this is depressing, the moreso because we have no answers and have not yet been formally attacked. For now, remember that we are faced with enemies who, to quote an English critic, "won't rest until we stand in the snow at the bus stop every morning of our lives."
DUMPING CONFIRMED
Acting on a petition filed by HarleyDavidson, the U.S. Treasury Department has ruled that Japanese motorcycles have been sold in the U.S. at prices lower than those charged in their home market. The government announcement said that suggested retail prices in the U.S. were 7.3 percent lower for Kawasaki, 2.9 percent lower for Honda and 1.9 percent lower for Yamaha. Suzuki was exempted from the petition because the Treasury found the price difference was only 0.3 percent.
The agency has forwarded its report to the U.S. International Trade Commission. That group must now decide if HarleyDavidson has been injured by the importers' pricing. If this happens, additional duties will be levied against Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha. Presumably this will mean an increase in the suggested retail prices of models sold by those makers.
QUACK, QUACK!
Once again we've heard from our mysterious friend the Phantom Duck of the Desert, and once again, by annual coincidence, on or about 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 25, there will be a bunch of offroad riders heading east from Harvard Road, east of Barstow, Calif, on the north side of Interstate 5, toward Fas Vegas. The unorganized riders will observe the anniversary of the Barstow-to-Vegas race and will ride on public land or on private property with permission, thanks to the man with feathers on his helmet. Because this is not an organized event, it's open to all, young and old alike, retired expert to novice.
NEW FACES
Two new faces, and two new names on Cycle World's masthead.
John Ulrich has been a CW contributor for several years. A unique man, in that John was the first (may still be the only) writer to win an all-subjects journalism award for writing about motorcycles. As a rider, he's rolled up more than 50 class wins at the road races.
Steve Kimball is the touring type. Rides an, uh, experienced Moto Guzzi and so enjoys the road that he's just back from visiting the Arctic Circle. With a Suzuki SP370. Steve is an old newspaper man and will be curing the occasional typographical errors that pop up around here.
HUSKY'S NEWEST
First 1979 Husqvarna is this 125CR, the CR standing for close ratio and thus designating a motocrosser. The 125 has the 17-in. rear wheel first seen on the larger CRs, a new aluminum cylinder with re-
placeable cast-iron liner, Husky's own fork with new seals and 9.6 in. of travel, Girling gas shocks with 10 in. rear wheel travel, and a quieter exhaust pipe.
POLICEMEN'S HOLIDAY
To say that motorcycle patrolmen ride on their days off isn't the half of it. Seems the bike squad within the California Highway Patrol got into a friendly bet with the bike squad on the Houston Police Department: which group had the most tourers. So they figured the Grand Canyon was a good place to visit, scenery and all that, plus it's roughly halfway between Houston and California. The two teams would meet there and count heads. The winner? The CHP, 52 to 12.
NEW YORK NIGHT MOVES
The Big Apple gets a new worm. The New York state legislature, acting quickly and without much known debate, has approved a bill banning motorcycles from the streets at night in cities with more than 1,000,000 residents, that is, New York City. The American Motorcyclist Association learned of the bill after passage and alerted members, who responded with letters in protest. Gov. Hugh Carey signed the bill anyway.
The motive for all this seems to have been street racing. There are outlaw clubs or groups in the New York area who bring their racing bikes out at night and race on the streets. They out-number or have intimidated the police. Because existing laws
haven't been enforced, all bike riders get penalized.
It isn't just us who thinks that. The Wall Street Journal, not normally involved with bikes, described the motorcycling limit legislation as "blatant legislative overkill . . . a restrictive ordinance on entire classes of innocent citizens."
Too true. At this writing, the limit won't go into effect unless the New York City Council passes an ordinance of its own.
That vote is scheduled to have taken place before this appears in print. Just in case, letters should go to Council President Carol Bellamy, c/o City Hall, New York, N.Y. 10007, or you can call (212) 566-5200.
LOW RIDER SPORTSTER
Harley-Davidson's 1979-model show featured this XLS Sportster, another version on the Low Rider theme. Forks have 2-in. extensions, and the drag-style handlebars are on 3.5-in. risers. H-D seems to have re-invented the pillion seat, as the passenger perch is attached to the rear fender rather than being part of the seat proper. For the rest, the XLS-1000 uses the XR-750-inspired frame and the siamesed exhaust system first seen on the XLCR Sportster. That model, by the way, isn't in the 1979 catalog. It wasn't the hoped-for sales success, while the 1200 Low Rider sold out, so H-D has taken its styling to where the customers are.
The standard Sportster and the XLS have 16-in. rear wheels and triple disc brakes. The XLS comes in metallic charcoal and black, while the other Sportsters are offered in black, red, brown and blue.
The 1979 H-D Electra-Glides have either the 74 or the 80-cu-in. Vee Twins and of course are available with fairings, saddlebags, floorboards, etc. Top of the line is the Classic, tan and cream paint with brown striping and a replica of the 1939
"Flying Wheel" medallion for the fuel tank.
The Super Glide is offered as standard. Fat Bob and Low Rider. The standard is all but unchanged from 1978, the Fat Bob has
(you guessed?) the twin filler gas tank with instruments down the middle, and the Low Rider gains a sissy bar. Paint is silver and black and the Low Rider now has a leather stash pouch as standard equipment. Ifil
