Letters
LETTERS
Letters to the editor are welcomed and should be addressed to: Cycle World Editor, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, C alif. 92663. All letters are subject to editing and cannot be returned.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
The first article I read in the December ssue was the test on the FXRS. Good Drakes and mileage, improved handling, ubber mounted engine. This sounded Dretty good until I saw the list price of £6990!
How in Hell can they charge that nuch? They’re using about the same old engine and while the tech improvements ^re admirable, they’re pretty sad comDared to Japanese technology.
There are plenty of American riders vho want to buy U.S.-made bikes. But et’s face it . . . you can still buy two fast, lependable 750’s for one FXRS.
Neal Nusbaumer Gas City, Ind.
I would hate to be a Harley-Davidson Jealer with either Yamaha or Honda moorcycles in the same store and have to try ind explain why the Harley costs $3000 nore at 18 percent interest.
Evan Thompson Anderson, Ind.
First, there isn’t a Honda or Yamaha. The tops of both lines, as in Interstate Aspencade, CBX or XS11 Maxim, are not $3000 cheaper than the FXRS or any other Harley.
The price of a motorcycle is ... the price. For every buyer who’ll pay $4000 but not $6000, there’s at least one who thinks $4000 is too much and $2000 just about right and so it goes, right down to the kid with the paper route and the $400 banger.
One man’s bargain is the next man’s impossible dream, so we avoid making judgements on prices.
Harley-Davidson builds and sells 50,000 bikes a year, compared with worldwide sales of millions of motorcycles annually by the Big Four. This alone means Harley cannot compete dollar for dollar, and that’s why Harley-Davidson is careful to offer what the other factories don’t.
I’m a 40-year old, slightly balding attorney who adores his FXS-80.1 am elated to see a Harley-Davidson test in your De cember issue. My Low Rider gets 60 mpg has never stranded me and best of all, get attention from bystanders . . . much to th( chagrin of my friends on their Hondas. Philip G. Labas Rahway, N.J.
MY SUMMER VACATION
Last summer my buddies and I (alj rookies) left on a four-week tour of the U.S. We were riding a Suzuki GS1100. Yamaha 1100 and a 650 Custom Honda. All the bikes performed well except for ar occasional flat or worn tire and a fevj cracked oil lines.
Although most auto drivers gave us al the room we needed there were severa times in California and Texas where th< only space to drive was the median of th< four-lane highway. Truck drivers were th< culprits most of the time in Texas while ii California four wheelers kept us wid< awake. There were no crashes althougl motocross riding was experienced at leas) once by all of us. And along the way wi did happen to get interviewed personall; by some of the local law agencies in Floi ida, Wyoming, California as well as otl] ers. All were polite and offered seleq words of wisdom (except in Californi where it cost us $70.)
Anybody who takes the same tr^ should be aware of certain items: Califo nia has the sneakiest highway patrol b far; truck drivers in Texas hate all biker banditos or not; all it does is rain froi Ohio to Florida; if you’re on a limited but get stay out of Vegas; and don’t get a fk tire in Winnemucca, Nevada on a bj bike. I got the last tire that fits. David Mitche Oswego, N.Y.,
BODY LANGUAGE
As a graduate student in linguistics enjoyed your Up Front article on body lar guage (January, 1982). During my gradi ate work I learned American Sign Laij guage (AMESLAN) and it’s interestin how many signs seem universal! understood.
Of course, when some s.o.b. ignores m right of way and tries to run over me, Lí inclined to give him a little sign languag which I’m sure is universally understood Jack W. Boyd National City, Cal!
My first impression after reading L Front in the January issue was, “you aí totally out of your everlovin’ mind.” M second and third impressions, ditto; rr fourth impression was “you’re stark, ra ing, lunatic and insane. Blowing kiss to the new bride, in the kind of traffi you were talking about? You're askin~ for something up the exhaust pipe tha you didn't see coming. You got to b kidding..
By the way, when you coming out t take another shot at the Jack Pine? Phillip L. Bear Lansing, Mich
Another Jack Pine? We may be crazj but we aren't that crazy.
SILVER HAWK
While reading What's New for Eighty Two: Honda in the December issue, noticed the Matchless Silver Hawk as previous V-Four. Actually Matchless in troduced a 400cc fiathead V-Four calle the Silver Arrow in 1929. It apparenti: wasn't enough, performance wise, so thi following year, out came the 600cc oh~ Silver Hawk. In 1935 AJS brought out ai ohc V-Four, air-cooled and un-super charged, for the racetrack. A blower wa~ added for the 1936 Senior TT race. Thi model was withdrawn until 1938 when i reappeared in water-cooled form. Jay Fontaine Victoria, B.C
ORPHANS HOMES
I can't believe the response. . . five cal and three letters a day for the past monti People from everywhere want to kno' how to get parts. Standard, everyday Bri ish parts that any self-redeeming Tr umph/BSA/Norton dealer should have I stock.
Please continue with more articles liI~ this because there are many, many oth small dealers, shops and private md viduals out there who can do much mo~ than I can. Thanks again. It's great. Dave Smith Dave's Classic Bike~ Vashon, Wash.
I think you people are great. Thanks t Dee Winegardner, I have a pretty goo chance of getting my one-of-a-kind bik fixed and back on the trail again. Wayne Walker Manteca, Calil
NORTON CLUB
I own a 1975 Norton 850 Commands Mk III and am interested in becoming member in a Norton owners club. Couli you, or your readers, assist me in acquirin~ an address? Mike Schnau 11 Mitchell Rd. Greenville, S.C. 29615
United States Norton Owners 525 Blackstone St. La Grange, Iii. 60525
SIDECAR RACING
I was very impressed with John Ulrich’s fine job of relaying to your readers the difficult task a sidecar passenger undertakes. {Three Times Trouble, September, 1981).
Sidecar racing is a team sport and only a good team can produce racing speeds consistently. It takes time to learn all of the quirks about the job of passengering. John not only learned to ride the sidecar but was able to relay the feeling to the readers.
I have been to 53 races since I have been racing, beginning in 1977. We won 31 of the races, finished second at 6, third at 5, fourth at 3, one at fifth and have seven DNF’s. I crashed twice in 1979, fell off three times (once at 125 mph) and spun out five or six times. I have run off just about every track where sidecars race except at Long Beach. I’ve had seven different teammates in four years. However, we were 1978 AMA and AFM champs and 1981 AMF champions.
Peter Essaff Redwood City, Calif.
ROADCRAFT
I’d like to express my heartfelt approval of your Roadcraft series. Nonetheless, I sincerely believe that a major point was left out of the article, The Art of Cornering which appeared in the November issue.
I attended the Penguin School of Racing, taught the Friday preceeding many AAMRR events last year, and learned a most valuable lesson from premier riders John Bettencourt and Penguin instructors Jerry Wood and Joe Zeigler. It is an easy one at that:
Look at the apex.
Your motorcycle is automatically instructed by your body to go where you’re looking, and looking at your predetermined apex point is an essential part of getting into, through and out of a corner in haste, at speed, and with consistency. It is a valuable key to cornering.
Lorenzo Majno Watertown, Mass
The article in your October, 1981 issue, Roadcraft: Using Your Head, is absolutely the best article I have ever read pertaining to staying alive on a motorcycle. It’s full of common sense approaches to riding.
An experienced cyclist would know almost everything the article says, but the beginner would not. This article should be a must for every beginning rider. It’s about
time someone put these facts into print.
Lu. McLeod Ocala, Fa.
KATANA
Twinkle, twinkle, little Katanas,
Your styling drives me quite bananas!
In performance, you may be world-class beaters,
But to me, you all look like anteaters!
Your fiberglass and blacked-out pipes
Look like they were designed by hypes.
You may have the air flow of a glider,
But, what happens when you add the rider?
Heads and arms, and legs akimbo,
Make him look like some poor bimbo!
Suzuki came out with you first,
But BeeEm followed with the worst!
You look like you’re powered by rocket fuel,
But underneath, you’re the same slow mule.
Who’ll be next with this styling dog?
Can you envision a Katana-Hawg?
You may look like you’ve raced and won,
But, as cycles go, you don’t look like one!
Max Ley, Jr.
Red Bank, Tenn
