Letters
LETTERS
VROOM
I read your article in the January issue suggesting some form of vintage machine road racing in conjunction with other race meets and I think it is a great idea. I have 20 or so bikes in my collection, including Guzzi Falcones, Goldies, Velos, Ducatis and a ‘7R’ on its way up from South Africa.
I missed out on Laguna Seca year before last and have been hoping something similar would come up again.
I sure hope someone gets something going because I feel the same as you mentioned in your article, the fans and owners/riders are missing a real piece of history by not seeing the veteran machines on the track again.
Randy Say Huntington Beach, Calif.
I sure hope this letter joins an enthusiastic pile of support for VROOM, or whatever. It’s the right time for that idea.
Vintage sports car racing is certainly growing in popularity, witness the last four years at Laguna Seca and this month’s Car & Driver. Even the “bog-people" quit burning cars to take notice of the vintage races at Watkins Glen this year.
Since wheels have been turning, people have been marking time in model years and such. Bikes are simpler, easier to restore (usually), and make for better stories. If people had access to only one vintage bike event a year it would make the difference between restoring old bikes or not.
It would also make the difference between running my 500 Single Matchless in scrambles for attention, then followed by two years of repairs.
Why not a 12 year or older stock production class?
And a swap meet . . . “if only I had. . . .”
Of course it will work. Now that you've got my hopes up don't stop.
John Burke Carmel Valley. Calif.
Encouraging words are coming in. As this is written, Eve had something like a dozen replies, representing at least 50 vintage bikes of all kinds, in most sections of the country. The supply and the enthusiasm are certainly there.
Still not much of a demand, though. Applications for president of the club are lacking, not many makes clubs have responded, and one vintage owner tells me he suggested that the American Federation of Motorcyclists, the road-racing club in which our staff club racers compete, have a vintage class.
The other members liked the idea but track rental is expensive and the racing programs now run dawn to dusk. They may not have time for us.
Even so, when the next issue comes out I'll figure we have a list offounding members, so to speak, and I'll do up a mailing list and see where we are and begin working on the various promoters. The racing public will love us, just you wait. —AG
FUTURE GROUPS
I enjoyed your article “Four Star Showdown” in your June 1978 issue, and ever since I have been waiting on a similar article on Mini Motocrossers. I currently race a '11 RM80 at the local track, and although it has been modified, it is becoming non-competitive and I am in the market for a new one.
James A. Mazzaro Leisure City, Fla.
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I was very pleased with the article in the June. 1978 issue of your magazine that compared four of the 250cc motocrossers, the KX250-A4, the YZ250E, the RM250C2, and the CR250R.
I suggest that in a future issue you should compare the new 1979 125cc motocrossers, the KX125, the YZ125F, the RM 125 and the CR125R.
Thomas O’Connor Chappaqua, N.Y.
Yes on both ideas. Without giving away the details too early, we're working on a comparison test on the 125 motocrossers, and the mini-racers and the better ISDTstyle enduro 250s.
POLITICALLY SPEAKING
I have been reading your magazine over a year, so the Phantom Duck of the Desert is not new to me.
Now here are some ideas I would like to share with you.
What you need to find is a marginal candidate for congress who is a strong backer of the EPA in a county that borders on the desert. You then organize a political legal enduro two days before an election. If you can get 500 people to go from door to door in a medium size county you can defeat a marginal candidate.
If an EPA-backing candidate for congress gets a beating by the very minority (i.e. motorcyclists) they have been oppressing, what do you think the Bureau of Land Management will do? Scream and then realize there is a large block of bikers.about four or five million voters and political activists.
Thomas P. Faulkner Associate Member Republican County Central Committee of San Francisco San Francisco, Calif.
What a neat idea. Here's a heck of a project for the off-road clubs.
LIGHT PROBLEMS
Congratulations on your August tire test. It was the first intelligible piece on the subject I’ve seen.
I feel I must comment on Mr. Arnold’s quartz-light problem. Having commuted over a year and some 5000 miles with a Marchai, I don’t believe “burnout” is his gremlin. But since mine was installed in a Kawasaki H2B (with difficulty), a notorious vibrator, it mustn’t be vibration either. (Did I mention rough roads?)
I believe the lights described were suffering from “starter-shock syndrome,” caused by hitting an electric starter with the light switch on. Develop a never-fail habit of turning on lights during warmup and turning them off just before the ignition goes off.’
Moral: Take good care of your racer, and it'll take care of you.
James W. Redman, Jr. Salem, S.C.
TALK OF THE TOWN
I’ve been receiving your magazine for over a year now and enjoy it very much. I really enjoy “Up Front” by Allan Girdler and “Letters.”
I started in 1977 with a Puch moped. I wanted a motorcycle but didn’t think I'd be able to shift as I can only drive automatic cars. But I was determined to ride a bike. My husband bought me a 1966 Yamaha 60cc but since then I’ve talked him into buying a 1978 Honda Twin Star 185cc which I really love.
I'm the only woman cyclist around here and proud to say the talk of the town and surrounding area. Are there any other women bikers out there?
Helen Whalen Mahanoy City, Pa.
Yes, there are thousands of enthusiastic women bikers around. In case you `re inter ested here are afew very active clubs just for women: Motor Maids, 556 W. 4th St.. Chillicothe, Ohio 45601, The WIMA (Womens International Motorcycle A ssoc.), 360 E. Main St., Waterloo, N. Y. 13165 and the Alliance of Women Bikers, P.O. Box 484, Eau Claire, Wisc. 54701.
TRULY A SUPERBIKE
After spending the past six months rid ing my XS1100 I must commend you on the accuracy of your February test of the Eleven. It is as powerful. smooth and as quiet as you described. The loudest noise on the bike is the "clank" when shifting gears (as you described). My bike devel oped two problems during the past six months. At 600 miles one of the coils went bad and at 2500 miles a front fork seal leaked oil very badly. Although it only took a week to get a coil flown in. it took over a month to get a fork seal delivered to my dealer. The poor parts supply was more than made up for by the outstanding ser vice provided by my Yamaha dealer. Ac tion Sport Cycles in N.J. has outstanding service. Yamaha should be proud of their product and even prouder of the dealers that back them up.
Terrance Brain Spotswood. N.J.
FOR COLD RIDERS
I enjoyed reading your report `~The Cold Rider's Almanac" (December 1978). Up here in Buffalo that is a subject that's close to my heart.
I thought I might comment on the riding gear I use in cold weather. My personal choice for cold weather, 5 to 10 degrees, is a combination wool sweater with a down vest on top followed by a shell coat. I use a 60/40 coat available at most alpine shops. I have treated the coat with Belstaff Wax. Heat the coat to about 175 degrees in the oven then smear the wax into the outer cotton shell, let dry, then toss into a clothes dryer to set it. This process impregnates the shell and makes it reasonably waterproof and completely windproof.
For my legs I start with a pair of thermals, Damarts’, followed by a pair of slacks then topped with a pair of skiv warmup pants. The nylon ones with the zipper up the sides make getting in and out of them pretty easy. And if it gets too warm you can control the flow of air by unzipping them.
The secret to warmth is the use of the layering technique, trap the air between^ the layers of clothes. Don’t overlook a good pair of mittens, with long gauntlet tops and a pair of boot liners. Your local army surplus store should have them in stock, they were originally designed for use by our boys stationed in the mountains in the Korean campaign.
One last comment, use Scotchguard or a similar protective sealant on pants and mittens, it really makes cleaning up much easier, particularly for those who have messy, noisy chains to contend with. (That was a dig in case you didn’t catch it.)
David Farion Williamsville, N.Y.
COMING UP
August 24, 25 and 26, 1979 INTERNA TIONAL BMWRA11y, KOA at Coarsegold, California, 40 miles NE of Fresno on California Hwy. 41. Gateway to Yosemite National Park, the Sierra Nevada, and the gold-rush "Mother Lode" country. Less than a day's ride from San Francisco, Carmel, Big Sur, Death Valley, Lake Tahoe and many more. Information and pre registration: BMWRA, P.O. Box 8280, Asheville, NC 28804.
