Cycle World Letters

CYCLE WORLD LETTERS

Tales of intolerance and intolerants

Self-pronounced "yuppie" James Phillips ("A less-than-

tolerant viewpoint,” September, 1984 Letters) must have let the fizz in his Perrier go to his head. By saying that the Harley image is made up of b-eer bellies, tattoos, blue collars and room-temperature IQs, Mr. Phillips shows he is as ignorant of Harley owners as he is of the bikes themselves. I own a Harley, and my riding companions include many doctors, lawyers, teachers, military officers and business owners as well as blue-collar workers (who are nicer than anyone I ever met on a Honda). More-famous Harley owners include Dan Aykroyd, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Jenner . . . even Olivia Newton-John and Neil Diamond. Publisher Malcolm Forbes makes no secret that he is a diehard Harley owner. Forbes knows quality and good value when he sees it. Maybe Mr. Phillips would, too, if he would compare his Japanese machine with a Harley at resale time. Only problem is, I don’t know why anyone would want to let their Harley go.

Chuck Merlo Burke, Virginia

J.W. Phillips, in his immature contempt for anything Harley, has insulted millions of hard-working Americans; millions with hair longer than his; millions who weigh more than him; millions of average intelligence. He obviously considers himself an “affluent young professional.”

He’s a pig. A pig who loves to degrade anyone not up to his social-economic status. A pig who creates hatred and derisiveness in a hobby many of us hold dear. A pig whose literary droppings don’t deserve editorial space in a quality publication like Cycle World. Motorcyclists buying your magazine are looking for information, not pig droppings.

Lawrence Ellis Mocksville, North Carolina

If Mr. Phillips is an “affluent young professional,” it certainly isn’t in economics. I am constantly running into 1954, 1958, 1962 Harleys out on the highways in like-new condition. These bikes are worth more now than their original purchase price. But in 30 years, where will the 550s be that eat alive the 1 340cc Harley? I know that my PXRS will still be putting down the highway.

J.P. Camerotta Hyannis, Massachusetts

Mr. Phillips asks, “What does Harley have to compete with a Gold Wing or a Venture, an Interceptor or a Ninja?” I ask, what do the Japanese have to compete with a Harley? A Shadow? A Madura? Certainly nothing I would spend my money on.

Andy Upham Traveler Rest, South Carolina

This is a reply to James Phillips: You panty-waist computer wimp, you don’t deserve to own a Harley-Davidson. If you don't like Harley’s interpretation of a motorcycle, don’t buy one. I doubt if you could afford one, anyway. The digital instrument panel on an Aspencade is right up your alley, since you probably play with your Atari into the wee hours of the night. Don’t ever let me catch you in my favorite bar.

Glenn Garrett Montrose, California

I have read your essay steam-rollering HarleyDavidson motorcycles, Mr. Phillips, and stereotyping their owners, and I must assume that your ideas have been gathered primarily from Easy riders magazine. If you would kindly open your eyes,

you would find your ideas to be rather narrow. You are either misinformed or just plain dull.

E.D. Rogers Warrenville, Illinois

Look, Phillips, this is a free country. This is America. You're free to choose what you want to ride. I chose Harley-Davidson (American), and it seems you chose Japanese. Go ahead, son, help them take over the market. Glenn Havery Georgetown, Delaware

Not a first

In your September Race Watch column, you stated that “Dave Roper . . . has become the first American in the 77-year history of Isle of Man racing to win any kind of event.” That is incorrect. 1911 was a banner year for Oscar Hedstrom, head of the Indian factory, as his equipment swept the first three places, with American rider Jake de Rosier the lead finisher.

Paul Hagerty San Diego, California

You’re right. Roper’s win was heralded as a “first” for an American by his own Team Obsolete press releases, and we merely assumed that information was correct. That’s no excuse, however, for we should have checked the record book more thoroughly before publishing that claim.

Radial front-runner

Dunlop may wish to lay claim to the first radial tire for motorcycles in America (Roundup, August 1984), but I had to laugh when reading the column, recalling an unidentified pioneer in radial-> tire application for two-wheelers.

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One evening out on a ride I encountered a fellow riding a crudely chopped Harley with an enormous front tire. Curious, I took a closer look while at a stoplight. Mounted on his front rim was a 15-inch Michelin-X radial whitewall like you’d find on a Cadillac. The bike seemed to handle okay, even though it

had this big, fat, flat tire leading the way. Considering that this was 10 years ago, wouldn’t you agree that the man was way ahead of his time?

Rick Bailey Miami, Florida

Yes, we would. We only hope he’s still alive to read about it.

Head games

I have just moved from a state not requiring helmets to another with a helmet law. I have heard so many pros and cons regarding helmets that I just don’t know what to believe as far as actual safety on the road is concerned. Has anyone ever compiled any statistics about accidents on the road? I tend to believe that helmets are safer, but their pull and presence, as well as the way they distract my vision, bothers me.

Must I leave behind my love for the wind in my face or do I just have the wrong helmet? What is really safer?

Susan Clark

Miami, Florida

The Hurt Report, Harry Hurt’s extensive and highly regarded study of motorcycle accidents, concludes beyond, a shadow of a doubt that in a crash, any helmet, even a cheap one, is better than no helmet at all. There have been many arguments put forth disputing that conclusion, claiming that a helmet restricts hearing and vision enough to cause accidents; but those arguments just don’t hold up in light of the facts. We don’t believe the government should force anyone to wear a helmet, but we do believe everyone should have the good sense to wear one anyway.

Practice what we preach

How nice of Paul Dean to inform your readers that cruiser motorcycles are most popular with the American public (Editorial, September 1984).

One could not determine that popularity, however, by reading Cycle World: This year the magazine has tested 17 dirt and dual-purpose bikes, 10 sport bikes, two tourers, four bikes that do not focus on a single specialty (Honda Nighthawk S, H-D XLX-61, Moto Guzzi SP, and the Honda V65 Sabre), and two cruiser bikes. The most popular class of motorcycles in America therefore comprises only 5.7 percent of all the bikes tested by Cycle World. I recall a remark in your magazine that the name on the door is Cycle World, not HalfCycle World. That name and that

commitment are the reasons I subscribe to your magazine. This year, however, I have been disappointed by finding most tests focused on bikes called “New!New!New!,” while in the May Roundup you disdain the “New!New!New!” infatuation which leads to disposable motorcycles. Cycle World needs to shift its aim back to the full world of motorcycling, which includes much more than dirt bikes and sport bikes.

Tom Whitney Oxon Hill, Maryland

The issue in which you read that Editorial featured a test of a cruiser, the Suzuki Madura, which was even the cover subject. And if you read the previous month’s Editorial, you also know that there is a new Editor here, and several new staff members. Your testbike tally sheet primarily represents the efforts and the philosophies of a previous regime, not of the present one.

You will see more tests of cruisers in future issues of this magazine. And you also will see more discussion of things that are “new.” Perhaps you don’t care about staying abreast of the never-ending changes in motorcycling, but the vast majority of our readers do.

Hydraulic backlash

In your test of the Suzuki V-4 Madura, you say that the hydraulic valve lash adjusters used in the Honda and Suzuki engines are unique from automotive lifters. Look up the specifications for the OHC inline six-cylinder engine that Pontiac (that’s a U.S. company) introduced in the 1966 Tempest. Surprise, surprise! The Pontiac used stationary hydraulic valve lash adjusters 18 years ago.

Brian Furman Lake Katrine, New York

It’s no surprise to us. Nowhere in the Madura test did we say that the adjusters were “unique” to motorcycles. In fact, in our test of Honda’s Nighthawk 650 back in February of 1983, we acknowledged that Pontiac had used a similar design, and that Mercedes and Porsche still do employ virtually identical adjusters on certain engines.

Parts unknown

Where is the “Bic” of the motorcycle parts business? I wonder how long it will be before someone gets smart and realizes that they can literally “have” the motorcycle parts business if they would sell replacement parts at a reasonable price. When I can buy a pair of rear shocks for my Cadillac for $15

but have to pay $100 for a pair for my Honda 350, it tells me that this market is ripe for the tapping.

Jon Gullett

Washington, Illinois Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. For one thing, there’s volume; most motorcycle parts, shocks included, will fit only one specific model of bike built over a period of just one or two modelyears, which means that there is a maximum of perhaps 20,000 or 25,000 machines on which any given part will fit. But most car parts are applicable to many more model years of any given brand, meaning that there are literally millions of potential applications for any given part. Then there’s quality; you might want a pair of $15 shocks on the back of your Honda, but I wouldn’t. Because unless the volume of motorcycle replacement parts were ten times higher than it is, I don’t believe that anyone could come very close to duplicating motorcycle OEM quality at a price comparable to that of automotive aftermarket componentry. Then there’s the fact that you are comparing OEM motorcycle parts to something made by an independent automotive supplier. Check out the price of the OEM Cadillac shocks and I think you’ll find they’re much higher than $15. Motorcycle parts prices are outrageous; but as long as bikes continue to be low-volume items that are superseded or redesigned every few years, parts prices aren’t likely to go down.

Bikes are a drag

Well, Yamaha has gone and done it with the FJ1100—a machine with the most incredible acceleration on earth. I need one. But Road & Track tells me that the new Ferrari GTO tops out at 189 mph. Sure, the Yamaha will blow its doors off out of the gate, but after a half-mile all you’ll see is four taillights receding on the horizon.

So never mind the $79,000 price difference; with different gearing, how do you calculate that the FJ would do against the Ferrari in top speed? I gots to know.

Paul Unger Spokane, Washington

Look at it this way: Don’t bet on the Yamaha, even if you get spotted 10 or 20 mph. Because with ideal gearing, the engine in perfect tune and a slight tailwind, it still is unlikely that the FJ1100 could even reach 160 mph.

The FJ out-accelerates the Ferrari (and just about anything else you’ll find parked in a showroom) because it has a far superior power-to-weight ratio (as well as gearing that’s best-suited to quarter-mile acceleration). But weight means nothing in top-speed performance, and the FJ gets creamed by the car on top-end because, like all motorcycles, it has an inferior power-to-drag ratio. Bikes have a large frontal area relative to the amount of horsepower they produce; and despite some good fairing designs, they also have a comparatively high coefficient of drag. The Ferrari has around three times more frontal area than the FJ, but its coefficient of drag is only about half that of the Yamaha.

What all of this means is that at 150 mph or so, the Ferrari is subject only to about 50 percent more drag than the FJ1100, but it has 300 percent more horsepower with which to overcome it. In other words, if you intend to race a Ferrari or any of the other high-zoot sportscars with a bike, make it a contest of acceleration, not speed.