Letters
LETTERS
QUARTZ-HALOGEN HEADLIGHTS
I would like to offer a conflicting argument concerning your claim of the superiority of quartz-halogen headlights, as voiced in your June issue.
While I concede that a QH light provides a better and brighter beam pat tern, their reliability is somewhat dubious.
A friend of mine, after installing a QH light on his Harley, experienced three bulb failures in two months. Another friend had two QH bulbs fail on his Honda 750 in less than one month. Both filaments in the factory installed QH headlight on my Kawasaki Zl-R burned out with less than 300 miles on the bike. After switching back to sealed beam lights none of us have had any further lighting troubles.
At $10 per bulb riding with QH lights can quickly become very expensive. Prospective buyers should take heed of this before switching. Danny Arnold Rainelle, W. Va.
Yes, the halogen bulbs do have something of a service problem. It may be brand rather than type. We had a Marchai bulb that broke after a few thousand miles. But we now have a Cibie bulb that’s been in the longterm Suzuki GS550for several months, and another in a friend’s Yamaha XT500for several months, without failure. Until we do a full comparison test, we can 7 make firm recommendations, but for now, Cibie bulbs seem to be able to stand up to motorcycle vibrations.
HOORAH FOR THE OLD THUMPERS
Here in the frozen tracks of Greenland, good cycle magazines are at a premium or non-existent. I have enjoyed reading CW because the articles are informative and interesting. 1 especially liked the write up on the Royal Enfield Bullet (November, 1977). Hoorah for the old four-cycle thumpers. My old Indian Chief still lights off on the first kick. Not to demean Honda’s CX500 but Indian had a similar unit in World War II called the 841. Though it was a military-type it too had a Vee Twin transversally mounted. 4-speed foot-shifted gearbox, running a shaft drive to the rear wheel. The new' machines are technologically advanced but it shows that some good ideas come from older ones. Keep the good articles coming and every once in a while how about some on the famous machines of yesteryear? After all, before there was Honda or Kawasaki there was Thor, Cyclone, Pope, Ace, Indian. . . . Francis Noga APO, N.Y.
YOU DECIDE
As a Corporate Safety Director with 25 years' experience, as a parent of seven children—two of whom ride motorcycles, and as an owner of a new' XS750E which represents a return to cycling after a 23year absence, I have some personal views.
I’m in a profession which is heavily affected by government control; some good—some bad! Therefore, I can relate to those persons who resist mandatory governmental helmet and eye protection edicts and laws. But I can only relate in a general anti-control sense.
However, fact, not logic, dictates that a serious, unemotional review' be made of injury/fatality figures. Those figures support the need for each of us to wear appropriate personal protective equipment. It should be worn, not because: a) it costs the community money to bury us; or b) a government agency wants us to; or c) we aren’t skilled; but because: a) lack of protection causes us and our families un-; necessary pain and suffering; b) statistics and experience tell us we’ll each be faced with potential, if not actual, injury-producing accidents; and c) regardless of our individual skills, ever-increasing road traffic and unpredictable weather conditions all work against two-wheeled vehicles. I have to laugh when a BMW owner tries to explain why hand pin-striping adds $2000 to the cost of his bike and ignores the fact that the inflated price is merely a matter of the unfavorable U.S. dollar exchange rate vis-a-vis Germany. 1 have to chuckle when he tells me that the $5000 plus price tag is justified by a superior suspension, lack of vibration or torquey performance or that it can cruise all day at 100 mph. I have to gaffaw when he states how expensive shaft drives are but how they are well worth it. I have to snicker when he expounds at length on the comfort of its seat or its top gear high-speed passing ability.
I often read articles indicating or stating that it’s not “macho” to wear protective equipment. Man—that’s some ego trip that uses an excuse like that.
Professional and amateur athletes in such sports and activities as: football, baseball, hockey, auto racing, mountain climbing, sky diving, motocross, enduro and road racing, etc., all wear appropriate forms of protection. Why? Is it because they’re not “macho”?
No. The problem is not that the Government wants it. or the National Safety Council wants it, or your families want it. The problem lies with cycle operators w ho frankly don’t give a damn and care more about something else than their own safety and that of their passengers. What is that something? Is it “ego” or “vanity” or “foolishness” or “insanity”? You decide.
Gerhardt R. Krug Lake Elmo. Minn.
GOIN’ TO THE FRONT
The May issue. (Up Front), had an item by Allan Girdler with his narration of traveling between lanes on a bike and getting to the front of the line. It was one of the better items on that subject.
I began riding in 1933 and from the start, 1 made use of the ‘alleyways’ as Girdler calls them.
1 believe that the bikers with the loud and raucous pipes are the ones that irritate the motoring public. They also irritate the off-road public and that’s the reason why motorists would object to having a biker squeeze between cars. Stands to reason. Also the inclination of envy is a good point. It burns a motorist up to watch a biker idling along to the front between the lanes while he and his V8 monster sit and gas up the ecology.
More items by Girdler . . . he’s okay.
Art Armijo Carson, Calif.
VAN VEEN OCR 1000
I noticed in a recent issue of your magazine that Van Veen motorcycles are now to be imported into the U.S. I have recently, on behalf of an American motorcycle enthusiast. ridden a Van Veen OCR 1000 across France to deliver it to its London home. Because I am probably one of the very few people in the world to have ridden one, I thought that perhaps you would be interested in my impressions of the bike.
Wherever the bike stopped it would attract the attention of other bikers and the three main questions were always the same—What is it? How fast? How much?> While the answer to the first brought only blank looks, the second disbelief, the last always brought open incredulity.
As far as performance is concerned, it is the fastest road bike I have ever ridden. I’ve no way, or even the inclination, on someone else’s machine, to check the manufacturer’s published performance figures, but from my experience, I do not doubt that they are pretty close to the fact. The gearing gives approximately, per 1000 rpm. 10 mph in first. 14 mph in second. 20 mph in third, and 24 mph in top. which, incidentally. gives a theoretical top speed of 150 mph at the redline on the rev counter. The effect of the gap between second and third gears, in practical terms, makes first and second town gears and third and top open road gears. Also, the engine showed a distinct unwillingness to be blipped on downchanges resulting, unless slow and deliberate changes are made, in the rear wheel locking up. irritating and embarrassing in the dry but potentially lethal in the wet.
The handling is all you would expect from a machine of this parentage, certainly at the speeds I rode it.
Unfortunately, for fast cruising the handlebars are too high and wide, the bike is unfaired, making it physically exhausting to cruise far at any speed in excess of 70 mph. European flat bars and/or a fairing would make a world of difference and I do not doubt that cruising could be at speeds over 100 mph with these fitted.
The finish on the suspension and mechanical parts is very good, with such things as cast aluminum forks and swing arm rear. The brakes are tremendous. The finish on the rest is not particularly good, although the saddle is some kind of suede. The mudguards and tank are of fiberglass. The tool kit must rate as the best quality anywhere, with sockets for nuts, screws and Allen keys. A lot of the equipment is obviously bought out, e.g., Koni rear suspension units, indicator lights from BMW, switch gear from Yamaha, and the radiator looks like Suzuki.
The biggest shortcoming is maneuvering the machine at rest. There is no side stand, which is very inconvenient. The centerstand is very easy to get the bike on but extraordinarily difficult to get the bike off. Also, because of the high center of gravity and restricted steering lock, as soon as the bike gets slightly out of vertical it just wants to topple over—potential buyers should have muscles of steel, or very strong henchmen.
Overall, one gets the impression of a thoroughbred statically unwieldy and poorly finished (for the price) but dynamically all it should be, with just about the sexiest exhaust note you ever heard.
Paul Sharp
London, England continued on page 16
continued from page 12
LAUGH A MINUTE
1 have to hold my sides when I see the ads depicting stone-faced German craftsmen suggesting that this outlandishly priced vehicle is not mass-produced.
However, what really cracks me up completely is passing a full throttle RIOOS as though it was moving backwards, in perfect vibration-free comfort, with $2000 more in my bank account on my XS Eleven.
Joseph Ramiesi Randolph. N.J.
CLUBS SPOKEN HERE
1 am indeed sorry I missed your December. 1977 issue that included club information and hope you will print this to inform Yamaha fans that they too now have an association.
Yamaha Club of America was recently formed to promote a closer association between owners of Japan's finest. We are limiting membership to owners of road and street bikes at the present time but hope to expand to include off-road riders in the future.
Annual membership is $8 and we publish a quarterly newsletter.
Yamaha owners, unite!
Gerald Ritchie Yamaha Club of America 2906 Monterey Court Springfield. Pa. 19064
CLUBS SPOKEN HERE
The Kawasaki Owners Club meets every Tuesday night at the Red Lion pub, Barnes, London. They have weekly runs throughout the spring, summer and autumn and attend race meetings, go camping and have a rally every year. Members also enjoy discount prices at many dealers for accessories, etc. Lurther details from: “Nobby” Clark 24 Essex Court Barnes
London SW13. G.B.
Andy Longfellow Great Britain
EYESORE
In your June issue, pages 47 and 50, the Four-Star showdown, my 54-year-old eyes had a tough time reading the print. The choice of color in the printing is very bad. It also spoils the beautifully colored photos of the bikes and scenery which are truly outstanding. You did this once before, on black and brown, which was a complete loss of an interesting article. I completely gave up on page 50; however, everything else is beautiful.
W.J. Burman Wamague, N.J.
DUCATI DARMAH
I enjoyed reading about the Ducati Darmah in your May issue. Last September I purchased a Ducati 900SS, and to date this is the first that I have seen in print about the Duck V-Twins. By the way, this is my first street bike.
You touched a couple of points that I agree with. The desmo heads are a pain to adjust, but (so far anyway) they seem to stay where they are put. It is very hard to squash one of the shims thinner; hence, once adjusted, that’s it until cam or rocker wear change it. And the cam and the rocker arms don’t wear that fast! Am I wTong? Second, there most definitely is a tendency to fall over at slow' speeds. The SS has closer steering stops than the Darmah (plus a different frame which makes “I don’t know how much” difference) and it’s the first scoot I’ve had that w ill take a turn at speed that you can’t walk the bike through. But then that’s why it’s w hat it is instead of a Sherpa T. Eh?
I envy the Campagnolo wheels. Mine has spokes and Boriani rims. If Campy bike (motorcycle) parts run anywhere close to Campy bike (bicycle) parts, I know that my budget will be set back a long w^ays when it comes to buying a pair.
I study the pictures of road-racers and try to emulate their form. I’ve got it down pretty well, but I keep hiking the wrong direction and putting my heel out front (I ride a Husky too). As soon as the fairing is repainted and the scabs heal up I’ll be back there trying to figure it out.
Stephen D. Drake Denver, Colo.
