Letters
LETTERS
THE UJM THEORY
I have been riding since I was 17 years old and now I’m 35. Up until last year I’ve had English bikes, and was a firm backer of the UJM theory. I knew they were faster, got better mileage, were more dependable, etc., than my Beeza, but I still didn’t consider them real bikes.
A couple of years ago, I started to change my attitude . . . slowly at first . . . when I became hooked on the KZ1000 MK II. I made a feeble attempt to sell the Beeza, but how much would I miss hearing those shorties talk to me while I was going down the road?
At the beginning of 1980 I took the old Beeza out of mothballs after the winter and fired it up. Somehow it didn’t sound as good as it usually did. Of course, I had just read about the new KZ750 . . . how light, quick and dependable it was. Then your June 1980 issue featured a road test on the bike. That did it. I bought one, sold the Beeza and have enjoyed every minute I’ve spent on my new KZ.
Russ O’Blenes Lynn, Mass.
REALISTIC IMAGE
With the riding season for many riders rapidly approaching, we will see the annual flurry of proand anti-motorcycle articles and letters to the editor in the newspapers and periodicals.
One aspect of the Caltrans motorcycle program is informing the public of the benefits of motorcycling and balancing (where possible and practical) the an*imotorcycle sentiment held by many people. Reinforcing the positive articles and refuting the negativism, inaccuracies and innuendos that get printed are respon sibilities shared by both individual motorcyclists and the motorcycling community at large. However, there may be instances where a letter from a State office will be published more readily than one from an individual or motorcycle publication or manufacturer.
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I am primarily interested in receiving articles and letters printed in other publications from Cycle World readers.
With your help Caltrans will do whatever possible to foster a more realistic public image about our chosen form of transportation and recreation.
Joe Mariner
Caltrans Motorcycle Coord.
D.O.T.
1120 N Street
Sacramento, Calif. 95814
BUYER BEWARE
I read your test of the Yamaha Seca 550 with great interest, as I have purchased one of the first ones to be delivered to New York City, to replace my beloved RD. The bike measures up in every respect but one; the suspension. Yamaha’s current advertising for the Seca 550 indicates that it has adjustable suspension fore and aft. One can consider spring preload a source of adjustment in the aft section, but how does one adjust the front forks without fork caps? On a recent phone call to Yamaha’s customer relations, I was told that “fore” meant changing the volume of oil in the fork tubes.
I have been subsequently informed that changing the oil level appreciably can damage forks and that the proper means to affect a change is through oil viscosity. Not only is Yamaha’s advertising deceprtive and misleading, in a day and age when adjustable generally refers to variable rate hydraulic/air dampening adjustments, their advertising is designed to lure unsuspecting customers into the showroom who will, like myself, later be dismayed to find out the truth after the purchase of the bike. The buyer should be aware. Read the fine print and don’t believe it!
Cem Barut New York, N.Y.
Yamaha is both guilty . .. and innocent. There was no intent to deceive. Rather, the ink-stained wretch who wrote the ad didn’t know that not all the sporting Yamahas have air-assisted front forks.
MISGUIDED GEOMETRY
Today I bought the March, 1981 issue and pored over it with great interest. As I have recently been reading up on the problems of suspension geometries, the Pro-> Link suspension article intrigued me.
At first, it seemed that our hapless author had merely reversed the idea of the wheel-travel/shock-travel ratio. In describing Pro-Link, he said that this ratio started at less than 3:1 at the bottom and over 4:1 at the top. This would mean that as the wheel rises, it moves the shock less and less. This is precisely the opposite of what is desired in a progressive suspension.
The rest of the ratios given were equally misguided, with the lone exception of photo four. But with the aid of the printed graph and the figures on the model, I was able to compute some considerably more accurate leverage ratios. They are:
carb tuning, but after seeing these glaring technical errors, I’m wondering if I should trust it.
Henry Velick Westborough, Mass.
We were wrong. What happened was simply brain fade. We wrote that article from a technical description translated from the Japanese and we got things mixed up.
If the rear wheel can move a lot while moving the shock only a bit, that’s easy, and the spring and damping rates are low. The more you must move the shock for a given amount of wheel travel, the more difficult . . . hence stiffer . . . the suspension becomes.
Your ratios, from 4:1 at full extension to 2:1 at full compression are correct.
As for the carb tuning, though, we don’t translate those. We do them on our own bikes, so we can vouch for our how-tos.
WITH REGRETS
I regret to inform you that a person cannot achieve a 20 mph curve at 65 mph on a Kawasaki 440LTD. (But the Seca 550 that I was following made it through.)
The late J.C. Balch Fort Smith, Ark.
CARE TO COMMENT?
We would appreciate hearing any good things about the Drouin Supercharger that Cycle World readers might offer. Send your comments and opinions to us. Tom Frutiger Wheels Unlimited M R. 73 Box 172 Rochester, Minn. 5590U
INSPIRATIONAL
Your story on Mike Spencer in the April, 1981 issue was truly inspirational for me.
Seems to me that Mike has the gredt potential for earning a world championship title. He really can’t lose with his determination and ability to bounce up after being knocked down. Good luck in ’81 Mike ... you deserve it.
Robert Bourgue Northboro, Mass
THE ART OF SPORT RIDING
When cornering my motorcycle at high speeds, I would like to know how to do this with a method that has the most control and offers the most safety. Apparently the “hanging off” method is the most widely used.
How about an article on the art of speed cornering and some physics involved in this?
Tom Kurland Bridgeton, Mo.
The techniques of high speed cornering and the physics involved here are very difficult to answer in a letter. We’re planning a series of articles on high performance riding later on this year. In the meantime, our new book, Introduction To Motorcycling, has a chapter on this subject as well as other how-to features on advanced street riding and off-road riding skills.
If you can’t find a copy on your newsstand, it is available for $2.50 each copy, plus 7 5 <t postage from CBS Specials, P.O. Box SG, Madison Heights, Mich. 48071.
THE WORKS OF PETER EGAN
Well, Peter Egan has done it again. Another tale of adventure (The Lost Highway, May, 1981 Cycle World). He gets four stars for this one.
Editors, give this kid a fast motorcycle and some more note paper. Tell him to get out of town by sundown and start working on the next story.
This story goes into my collection of the works of Peter Egan .. .who knows, maybe they’ll be worth something at the next motorcycle swap meet.
Tim Elliott Burbank, Calif.
