Roundup
ROUNDUP
A LINE OF THOUGHT
Waiting in line for gasoline last weekend. three test riders on a photo shoot had not read the U.S. Department of Energy’s Response Plan for reducing petroleum consumption. They didn't know that the amount of petroleum being produced and imported to this country exceeded the amount of petroleum products being consumed at that time. They didn’t know that a lawsuit between a major oil company and the U.S. government had forced an oil field in the U.S. to be closed down pending an agreement. They did know that the line they were waiting in led to the only gas station open in town that Saturday. They knew it was 100 mi. to home, their bikes had a little less than 100 mi. of gas left and of the dozens of stations they would pass on the way back, none would have shorter lines if any were open. By now everyone is bored to tears with the gasoline shortage. Readers have read everything and writers have written every-
thing there is to write about it. But there are a few' heartening messages for motorcyclists from our vantage point in California. Motorcyclists are exempted from the California odd-even sort-of rationing plan. The plan limits motorists to purchasing gasoline on odd numbered days only if the last number of their license plate was an odd number, and on even numbered days if the last digit of their license plate was even. Motorcyclists can fill up on either day without regard to the license numbers. Could the state officials realize motorcycles are more economical than cars and therefore were they trying to reward the noble motorcyclists? Or did they feel motorcyclists had a more limited range because of the small gas tanks and therefore deserved to receive fuel on any day? Mavbe the guv who drafted the law rides a moped and wanted to exempt himself. Who knows? In any case motorcyclists fared well in
the rationing scheme. Some motorcyclists fared even better by filling up the huge gas tank of their quadracycle and then commuting for a month on the motorcycle while using the car’s gas tank for a supply. Naturally the logic of 50 mpg wasn’t lost on California’s populace. Our friendly neighborhood Elonda and Yamaha dealer has been selling 15 street bikes a day since the crunch began. He hasn’t sold a dirt bike in a month and a half, though. His service department is overflowing with every conceivable two-wheeled derelict that gas-conscious Californians dredged up from the bottom of their garages. Motorcycle manufacturers apparently weren't privy to the gas shortage planning and therefore didn’t stockpile lots of street bikes. Bv May most of the larger displacement street bikes were sold out from all the major companies. A resourceful aftermarket industry hasn't been sleeping. There’s a lot of thought going on about making larger gas> tanks or auxiliary tanks for motorcycles, but the Gummint doesn’t allow anything but steel gas tanks for street bikes, which makes the tooling costs for replacement tanks exorbitant.
It will be interesting to see how the major motorcycle manufacturers handle the supply situation for the 1980 model year. If they increase imports, thev run the risk of having the gas supply loosen up as it did after the last gas shortage and the sales patterns will change around. Or if thev don’t bring in enough motorcycles the stocks could be sold out before the year’s half over again.
Motorcyclists for their part will no doubt survive a gas crunch better than automobilists not just because of the superior economy of their machines but because of the superior character they have had to develop in coping with government, cars. rain, rocks, etc.
DISAPPEARING ROADS
First it was the Forest Service that changed the definition of roads so that areas with roads could be made wilderness. Now the Bureau of Land Management is finding its own excuses to include roaded land in its own wilderness inventory.
According to the Federal Land Management Poliev Act. the BLM must inventory roadless areas for possible w ilderness des-
ignation. The National Outdoor Coalition, surveying the BLM's roadless areas, found many areas riddled with roads. Protesting the inclusion of roaded areas in a roadless area review, the NOC was told by the BLM that the roads weren’t roads but “nonwilderness corridors.”
If the BLM can do that, why can't motorcyclists ride on chosen “non-wilderness corridors” through wilderness areas?
A SPORTING SUZUKI
Bucko bars and low-slung seats aren't for everybody and Suzuki knows it. So do Suzuki dealers. 100 of whom were visiting the Suzuki factory last year w hen they spied the GS1000S. a cafe racer version of Suzuki’s superbike and intended for Europe only. Those 100 dealers made enough phone calls to U.S. Suzuki’s sales department that when the Spring 1979 Dealer's Meeting was held. 500 cafe racer GS1000S models were available for the dealers to purchase. At the close of the meeting there were over 700 orders and the production schedule was doubled, meaning nearly one GS1000S for each dealer.
The bikes are a development of the basic GS1000. Triple disc brakes as found on the GS1000E are mounted, but the E's 17-in. rear tire isn’t used. Tire size is standard 3.25-19 in front and 4.00-18 rear. Front suspension is normal GS1000 with combination air/coil springs. Rear suspension on the European model is provided by air/ coil sprung, adjustable dampers. The American version will have conventional GS1000 adjustable damping rear shocks without the air boost.
European models of the GS1000S also will get larger 28mm Mikuni earbs that boost horsepower to 90 at 8000 rpm. The American version will have the same 26mm Mikunis as standard GS 1000s.
A small cafe racer fairing gives the GS1000S its distinctive appearance. Unlike normal quarter fairings, the 1000S fairing has a short wing sticking forward at the bottom edge, giving the appearance of an air scoop. Paint and trim on the S is markedly different from other Suzukis. All bodywork is painted either red and white or blue and white, including the front fender.
While the concept is much like that of Kawasaki's Zl-R. the end result is somewhat different. Kawasaki started out w ith a good bike and dressed it like a road racer. Suzuki started out with an excellent bike and dressed it like a road racer. The Suzuki S also is treated to a greater amount of flash w ith the bright multicolor paint job.
If demand is great enough for the striking superbike, the S could become a part of the regular lineup.
BACK ISSUES
For as long as this magazine has existed. we’ve had a policy encouraging the sale of back issues. We know, having been in the same position, that there are times you want to read things you missed the first time around.
We’ve just learned that we may have accidentally misled some buvers of back issues. Until recently', our reader service department has been able to store issues for several years. We’ve listed these issues as being available. And we’ve assumed that people who asked for a specific test rather than an issue could get an answer.
This is no longer so. The department has grown so big. with so many titles, that we can only stock for one year. When the July 1979 issue arrives at the warehouse, the July 1978 issues w ill be re-cycled. And the staff’can no longer do research. When you want a test, please look up the issue date (in the Test Summary) and order that issue rather than that test.
A BSA REVIVAL
The grand old name of BSA has returned to the English market, in the form of a British-style moped: no foot power. 50cc two-stroke and output reduced to make it legal for 16-year-olds. The engine. frame and most of the parts are made in Italy, so the revived BSA isn't exactly what one can call a British motorcycle.
But it is a start. Parent NVT. the holding company that tried to keep BSA. Triumph and Norton going and was left with only a few projects when the workers’ co-op got Triumph, has at least proved that it can assemble and market a product. NVT reports it has a promising flow' of orders, meaning money is coming in. and that makes the firm stronger. With strength will come larger and more home-grown machines. in fact the news reports from England say the Norton Wankel, the rotarypowered all-British superbike that’s been on the drawing boards for several years, may be introduced later this summer.
ANOTHER LAW?
Presumably for lack of anything better to do, those wonderful people at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration asking for a law' that would require new motorcycles to operate only with all their lights on. That must seem like an odd request to anyone with knowledge of motorcycles because there isn’t a new motorcycle sold in this country that isn’t wared that way already.
The wisdom of the request must still be in doubt—even NHTSA figures say there’s been no statistical benefit derived from all the motorcycles running around with their lights on all the time. According to the IIHS newsletter. “In view' of the practicality and public acceptability of this step. IIHS also requested that NHTSA adopt the lighting requirement effective within 60 days and without prolonged rulemaking.” Normal procedures call for a public notice and public comment on proposed rules, but the IIHS seems to feel there is some urgency to this redundancy.
HIGH PRIORITY
Once again They are thinking of Us. In this case the They is Joan Claybrook and friends over at the National Highway Traffic Safety administration. NHTSA has a five year plan (if it worked for Eeonoid. it might work for Joan) used to prioritize future activity of the department. A revision of the five year plan places new emphasis on motorcycle safety. Motorcycle safety was included as a high priority, the agency said, because “the motorcycle population has increased fivefold since 1964 to a.current five million and motorcycle travel has increased sixfold. Deaths have also increased dramatically, from 1175 fatalities in 1964 to an estimated 4500 in 1978." By our count, that’s not quite a fourfold increase in fatalities even if the NHTSA numbers are right.
Three topics are slated by NHTSA for “near-term” rulemaking. One. safety standards for other than medium size helmets should be adopted by 1980. Two. rearview mirrors should be made so motorcycle riders “see specified percentages of target areas directly behind and on either rear side of the vehicle.” Three, motorcycle batteries will be covered by regulations “reducing the likelihood of explosion from lead-acid batteries” by 1981.
Having recently seen Harry Hurt's thorough study of motorcycle accidents, we know NHTSA has some valid information about the causes of motorcycle acci-
dents and fatalities. So why does NHTSA think that changes in mirrors, batteries and the adoption of a federal standard for small and large helmets will be worthwhile? The private Snell Foundation has a far superior standard for helmets of all sizes. We all know what a killer motorcycle battery explosions are. As for the mirror rules, when the same thing was done to automobile mirrors the results included one manufacturer being fined, consumers deprived of freedom of choice and some mirrors being made with printed warning labels etched in the glass declaring that the mirrors modified depth perception.
More worthwhile is NHTSA’s long term plans that “place primary program emphasis on crash avoidance, that is, improvements of both the rider’s skill and knowledge, and the vehicle’s braking, which will reduce accidents.” To fulfill the long range plans, NHTSA plans to increase “the integritv of safety related vehicle components . . . focusing on the potential for motorcycle leg protection through performance requirements for crash bars.” Another plan is to improve stopping distances for motorcycles and require greater braking stability. Finally, NHTSA wants better “conspicuity for daytime lighting systems.” and to provide “the driver with safe nighttime illumination."
