Letters
LETTERS
The final Triumph?
This is an open letter to Mr. John Bloor(“Will Triumph be buffaloed?," January, 1985). It seems to me that your ego is at odds with Triumph’s best interests. I'm a motorcycle mechanic, and I say why not put Triumph in a class with Ducati-Cagiva, Laverda, Moto Guzzi or, for that matter, BMW?
The Phoenix 900 is a good idea, but I don’t think one motorcycle model is going to single-handedly save England’s last bike. The Bonneville should have been updated a long time ago. Why not bring back an updated Triumph Trident Triple, a beautiful motorcycle if there ever was one? Don’t make people prove to you all over again that they won't buy a 1979 Bonneville. For our sake, Mr. Bloor, don’t make Triumph die for good. Dave Benda Crown Point, Indiana
Brain-buckets or empty threats?
I doubt that you will appreciate or print this letter, but here it is anyway. A lot of your subscribers, including myself, did not appreciate the way that Cycle World implied that to ride without a helmet is ignorant. After all, if all “smart” riders always wear helmets, what does that make the rest of us who elect not to wear one on occasion? F. Edward James Macon, Georgia
If the opposite of wearing a helmet is not wearing a helmet, what do you suppose is the opposite of “smart”?
Weather retort
I’d had a rough day. My car had gotten stuck in the snow. I had to shovel my driveway just so I could drive up it. I had to take the battery out of my XT600 just so it wouldn't freeze in our 10-degree weather. I mean, I was really bummed-out. But when my January Cycle World arrived in the mail, I started to feel a little better. Until I read Paul Dean’s editorial about not getting enough rain in the F.A. area to make a decent puddle, and having to ride furiously just to be able to ride in the rain. Well, it was just about enough to make a grown man cry. I guess you can always find someone who’s just a little bit worse off than you are. I’m feeling sheer, absolute pity for Dean. Cheer up; things will get better. Ron Schroeder Spokane, Washington
Is that a promise?
Rain damaged
Okay, the Kawasaki “Vulcan" may “Clingon" the corners and go easy on “Uranus" thanks to a plush seat, but logical? Sure, overcomplicated Harley impersonators oughta sell like hotcakes, since there are only three dozen of them to choose from.
Anyway, I nominate Paul Dean for the “Most Fikely To Have Wet Underwear" award. Geez, Paul, while most of us are avoiding rainstorms, you head right for ’em (Editorial, January, 1985). Did this brain damage occur at an early age or as a result of a bike accident? Look, if Southern California is too dry for you, rent the house across the street from me. If we don't get enough rain for you here in Florida, I’ll turn on my sprinkler system and you can ride around in my yard. Don Fulsang Orlando, Florida
Sounds a lot better than riding around in Ron Schroeder's yard.
Ah, fan mail
Paul Dean's editorial in the December, 1984 issue was the worst piece of crap I’ve ever read in its entirety in a motorcycle magazine. I have to admit that I didn't read his other editorials in their entirety. I also deplore Cvele Worlcf s editorial policy of replying to each letter to the editor, praising those with whom they agree and ridiculing those with whom they disagree. Since you’ve always got the last word, it’s always easy for you to make the writer look like a fool. Why don't you be a little more honest and allow opinions to stand as is, which most publications feel they owe respondents?
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I don’t buy motorcycles so that I can learn about the meaning of life (or lack thereof) from some manic depressive. I buy motorcycle magazines to learn about motorcycles. I suggest that Dean’s “catharsis” comes not only when he’s riding a motorcycle, but also when he’s rambling on and on in an editorial. It's highly ironic that he uses such an appropriate term.
If Paul Dean hates his job so much that he is pushed, by his own admission, to the point ofjumping off the deep end at times, I suggest that he do himself and the motorcycling public a favor and find another line of work. Denys Arcuri Blythe, California
Real zeal in New Zealand
A little reminder that not all Cycle World readers reside in North America. In fact, this communique wings its way to you all the way from the far side of Australia—New Zealand, to be precise. I was amused to see you and Mr. Makishak (“Canadian inflation,” October, 1984 Letters) trading gripes about the expense of motorcycling in your part of the world. Let me put things in perspective for you. Down here, any of the current crop of superbikes (RZ500, VF1000, GPz900, etc.) will cost you around $ 10,000. If you have the urge to go European, $ 1 5,000 will put you on a BMW K100, and $ 1 7,000 will get you a Laverda Jota. Gas costs over $4 per gallon. Granted, one of your dollars is worth two of ours, but then, you earn more than we do, too. And the most expensive of all the exotica? Well, I recently saw a new HarleyDavidson advertised for $27,000. Despite that, you may be interested to know. New Zealand has more motorcycles per head of population than just about anywhere else you can name. Yours in abject poverty, Geoffrey Collins Hamilton, New Zealand
Mr. Arcuri would prefer we keep our mouths shut, but we can't resist telling you that we find your country's commitment to motorc ycling admirable, if not remarkable.
Glamor vs. Invisibility
Once, during a tropically deluged Bridgehampton AAMRR race, I served as a flagman at the entrance to Turn One, which, for those fortunate enough never to have experienced it. is a flat-out, disappearing downhill dogleg, nothing less than an act of blind faith at the end of a Daytona-geared, mile-plus straight.
It was from that vantage (galeswept; sodden) that I observed what I took to be a suicidal madman on a Matchless G-50 thrashing the bejeezus out of a field consisting mostly of late-model TZs. But it was just Dave Roper, turning in what I later came to realize was a typical performance.
Thus it was with great interest that I read of Roper's ride on the Isle of Man, and that I have followed the IOM controversy in your “Letters” section. So I feel compelled to disburden myself of some thoughts provoked by John Surtees’ comments in the January issue. One of my most vivid memories from two highschool years in Germany is of Surtees at speed on the Nürburgring in his later incarnation as a Gran Prix auto racer. His achievements and stature as a world champion need no embellishment in Europe. But by comparison, the current generation of American racing greats must feel like invisible men when they return to the relative lack of general public interest that awaits them at home. This is largely a result of a media imbalance that can make a household name out of a one-shot Olympic champion while relegating Kenny Roberts to the backwater section of the Sunday sports pages at best. And at worst, we’ve come to expect misleading and ignorant treatment in the general press.
In order to bring the world of motorcycle competition to America at large, what is first needed is accurate coverage. The kind of “glamourising” Mr. Surtees refers to simply doesn’t exist outside the circumscribed borders of the motorcycle publications, wherein the faithful preach to each other. If Kenny Roberts were to become the caliber of auto racer that John Surtees did, perhaps the American press would pay us all a little more respect.
Finally, one wonders, tongue-incheek, whether, all other things being equal, John Surtees would have been required, as Dave Roper was, to grind out a dozen push-ups on the starting grid. John M. O’Connor Alton, New Hampshire
In retrospect
John Surtees should be thankful that his “successes” were in the “past,” and that he doesn't have to compete against the current crop of American roadracers (Roberts, Spencer, Lawson, Mamola, etc.). Neil Dorn Cincinnati, Ohio
Fewer is better
Well, it’s that time of year again, new-model time, and once again we’ve gotten a whole lot of more. More horsepower. Crazier styling. Even more valves.
Don’t get me wrong. I like technology, but I think it's being misapplied. Rather than stuffing more and more parts into more and more bikes, I think the greatest advances can be made by applying all the R&D money into designing functionally equal motorcycles that have fewer parts. Which would you rather have, a 95-horsepower bike with 20 valves that costs $4500, or a 95-horsepower bike with 8 valves (or maybe no valves) that costs $2000? Superior design is simple design, and more parts mean more parts to break or wear out. In short, I want an inexpensive bike that will last. Nick Macaluso Houston, Texas
