Letters

LETTERS

More dirt = less hurt

Your May, '85 editorial (“Dirt Riding: The Untold Story") really hit the nail on the head. I've ridden/ raced off-road bikes for the past 15 years and have spent only the past six on the road. Every time I've mentioned the advantages of having dirt-riding experience to my “street-only" acquaintances, I have either been derided or insulted. Thank you for providing some vindication.

After spending so much time in the dirt, I think that many street riders look ridiculous. Helmetless, Brandoesque, tough-guy riders are positively ludicrous, and my next-door neighbor, dog-paddling his 400cc “beginner" bike into rush-hour traffic, is a mobile disaster looking for a place to happen. I’m not saying I'm any safer than the next guy, but eating a little dirt now and then gives one a whole new perspective on the use (or non-use) of protective equipment and the value of practicing all aspects of riding.

Another, street-only magazine recently recommended to a beginning rider that he spend at least a year riding in the dirt before venturing out onto the street. That’s the best riding advice I've heard in years. Peter Plassman Lawton, Oklahoma

No dabbing, please

Paul Dean’s editorial regarding the good things about learning on a dirt bike neglected to mention one dangerous habit to watch out for. When an Ace 90 Hodaka’s rear wheel slips out from under you, slamming a foot to the ground sets you back upright. When an R 1 OORT BMW hits a patch of oil in a sweeping turn, the last thing you want to do is put your foot down . . . but the habit is there. William Talmage Mountain View, California

No, the last thing you want to do is fall down, not put your foot down; but your point is well-taken anyway.

Not your average housewife

The first time I saw' or heard of the Yamaha V-Max was sometime in January or February of this year. I knew then that it was the bike for me. The first one arrived at the Yamaha dealer around the middle of March, and I bought it. I originally named it Mariah but soon changed it to the Enterprise because I now know what it must feel like to travel at warp speed.

Your test riders and writers have told the story of the V-Max quite well—if you are a man. What about the female population? I would like to be able to pick up a magazine and read an article on any big bike that can tell me how it fits, feels and rides from a woman's point of view. Most of us hate to admit it, but women carry most of their weight below the waist, whereas a man carries his in the shoulder area. I feel this makes riding altogether different for the two. So I had to experience the thrill of the VMax cold-turkey.

You might say I am the Dr. Jill and Mrs. Heide of my neighborhood. Most of the week I am an average, middle-class American housewife and mother of two teenage girls. On the weekends, and any other chance I get, I ride my V-Max. My only fear is the attraction of the black-and-whites. I was stopped four times in five days.

My previous bike was a GS 1 100E Suzuki. It was fast, but the V-Max has faded its memories like a rolling sand hill in a dust storm. I’m not going to tell you what a mean dream machine the V-Max is, because you have already done that. Now, what about the female opinion? M rs. Alice Casey Santa Maria, California

We're impressed. But offering our readers the female point of view on ultra-performance motorcycles would create a couple of major problems. First, statistics show that the number > of females who own and ride such bikes is microscopicall y small. In other words, 99 percent of our readers wou ld n 7 care or be able to relate. And then there's the problem of finding representative females w'ho are willing, able and qualified to act as test riders on bikes of this sort. Unless . . . say, are you going to be busy next month?

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Pinch-hit reply

If Cycle World won't add a comment at the end of Dennis Arcuri's piece of rubbish (“Ah. fan mail." March, 1985, Letters), I will. I personally enjoy CW's witty replies to the letters they receive, and I was very much looking forward to laughing at their retort to the nonsense of Arcuri. But they didn’t make him look like the fool he is, which was disappointing because it would have been so easy to do. I also have to wonder what compelled Arcuri to call Dean’s editorial about his ride in the rain a “piece of crap." A good, flat-out dash through sheets of water and rivers of mud is one of the more exhilarating ways to ride a motorcycle. My advice to you. Mr. Arcuri. is if you want to stay dry, drive a car. Leave motorcycling to those of us who enjoy its every aspect. Eugene Hostetler Duncanville, Texas

Thanks for the defense. Actually, the December, 1984, Editorial Mr. Arcuri referred to was about wh y people ride motorcycles in the first place. The rain-riding Editorial was in the January, 1985, issue. It doesn't make much difference, though; he probably didn 7 like that one, either.

Where were we when you needed us?

“Docile as a kitten." “Starts easily, has terrific brakes, is extremely manageable in traffic and forgives the rider if he lets the engine speed drop too low.” “There is no vibration." “A masterpiece from any point of view."

Is this the same Kawasaki 500 rated as one of the 10 worst bikes in your April Fools Dept? You seemed to think better of it in 1969. The only reason I didn’t buy one after reading your test was that I couldn’t afford the “incredibly low price of $999."

I agree with your present assessment. It's what you should have told me back when I might have bought one. Fifteen years of hindsight don’t count. Hugh Turnbull Coquitlam, B.C. Canada

Since none of Cycle World’s present personnel was on the staff of the magazine back in 1969, we'll all have to plead innocence. Or maybe ignorance. Impotence?

R.I.P. 360T

Re: April Issue, April Fools Dept., Ten Worst Bikes. At long last, confirmation of what I have known since purchase of my 1976 CB360T and what Honda and its various repairmen have denied through the years, despite the expenditure of $$ (the amount of which I'm too ashamed to divulge) it took to keep > the bike running.

This piece of @#*! (since I am a lady, I will leave the terminology to your imagination) has resided in my carport for the last year with 14,000 miles on it and an estimate of $400 to give it temporary life yet again. So to those of you out there who might want to buy that bridge—don’t; I have a 360 Honda you can purchase for considerably less. Jeannie C. Hill Winter Park, Florida

500cc Sniperbike

I loved your piece on the 10 worst motorcycles. In 1970 I flunked my draft physical and decided to give myself a present, so I bought a Mach III Kawasaki. Riding that particular bike was about as dangerous as crawling through a rice field in Vietnam. I did manage to stay out of a body cast and a lawsuit—the latter just barely, though. The Mach III was everything you said it was, and more. Rhett Powell Ferriday, Louisiana

Mad in Minnesota

I just finished reading the article in “Roundup” of the April issue comparing helmet laws to big-brotherism. Irresponsible! Cancel my subscription. Jay H. Harris Minneapolis, Minnesota

When in doubt, bail off

I would appreciate some expert opinion on an aspect of motorcycle safety. I personally do not feel comfortable (from a safety sense) riding a motorcycle that does not have a smooth, straight seat behind me. That is, a seat with no step in it, no sissy bar, luggage box or anything else that is in the way of my being able to quickly slide off the bike in an emergency. As you may notice, it is getting very difficult to find a bike with an uncluttered rear end. By the looks of most of the new bikes, a lot of people disagree with me, but that doesn't make it right. Frank Banovic Utica, New York

If you make a habit ofjumping off the back of your bike in emergencies, it 's eas y to see w/z y your rear end is uncluttered.