Letters

LETTERS

Style vs. style

After reading your Roundup column (April, 1986), I send you a few of my own thoughts on style. Some people prefer to eat fish eggs, and wash them down to their pompous little bellies with a few swigs of overpriced, fermented berry juice. That’s fine. But give me a steak with a baked potato and a beer to follow them anyday. As for skiing and dirtbiking, how can you even begin to compare the two? Skiers have style (according to some magazines). You’d never catch a skier wearing large boots or a brightly colored suit and helmet to keep the elements at bay. And those funny goggles that dirt-bikers wear—you’d never see a stylish skier with a pair of Smiths or Scotts wrapped around his or her cranium. Or would you?

Let’s face it, downhill skiing and dirt-biking both are foods designed to satisfy the same proverbial hunger. They keep the scenery flying by and the adrenaline flow at a maximum. Style, my dictionary tells me, is “a particular or characteristic form or mode of composition, construction or appearance ... a way of living.” With this in mind, I feel it is safe to say that everything and everybody has style. But I think the rarest style for a person (or magazine) to keep up is a humble ability to live and let live ... ski and let ride . . . ride and let ski. . . whatever. Paul Smith Milltown, New Jersey

Moko mix

Thanks ever so much for the stunning pictorial on the Moko Harley.

Looks like an incredible show, but how about the “go”? Did Strahm really do his homework? Road test, challenge and sales pitch: Put it on Sears Point or Laguna Seca racetrack in a BoTT race against Williams, Church and Adamo. If it comes in third or better, I’ll buy two. M. Rocha Selma,Oregon

So will one of those three riders.

First, I loved the article on Red Wolverton and the Ace XP4. I imagine that riding a motorcycle of that era at 129 mph would be like trying to do 350 mph on one of today’s high-tech whiz-bangs.

Second, your article on the Moko Harley reaffirms the fact that at least some of your staff knows very little about Milwaukee iron. On page 60, you report: “The base of the beauty is a 1973 iron-barreled FLH Harley engine in standard 1340cc form.”

The 1340cc (read 80-inch in English) engine wasn’t available to the public until mid-1978, or prior to 1948 in flathead models. Either Mr. Cathcart suffers from chow mein-induced temporary insanity or the engine is stroked. Fred Schmidt Stacy, Minnesota

Or both.

Thank you for your article on the Moko Harley. I hope it enlightens your readers to the fact that many people across the oceans appreciate American-made vehicles. I have been trying to dispel the old wives’ tale that “nobody drives an American car or rides a Harley overseas.” I personally know this to be untrue, because it is my company that supplies the repair parts and full vehicles to Europe and soon to Australia. So the next time somebody tells you that American vehicles don't exist in Europe,

Australia or anywhere else, have them come talk to me. And if you are in Europe or Australia or anywhere else and need help in getting parts for your American-made machine, call or write: American Sports Car and Parts, P.O. Box 255, Uwchland, PA 19480, U.S.A.; (215) 458-8395. Barry DiLibero Uwchland, Pennsylvania

Uwchland? Are you sure you're in the United States?

Safety aftershock

“Do not laugh at this man or his unlikely looking inventions. He is trying to do the impossible.”

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Surely you jest, David Edwards. If motorcycling ever comes to what Thadeus Carl Winiecki rides or what he wears when riding a conventional motorcycle, I will not ride. If a person is not willing to ride and take the risks involved with the freedom that is inherent with the concept of two wheels, then they are not worthy of motorcycling. Publishing of this article is not in the best interest of motorcycling. Leslie D'Amico MSF Instructor Hilton, New York

I have to take exception to the article, “Safety First,” and “Could This Be The Shape of Things To Come?” If we, as motorcyclists, continue to give coverage to the likes of crackpots like Mr. Winiecki, we may well be assured that some governmental agency, set on saving us from ourselves, will come out of the woodwork and make something like this be the shape of things to come. Mr. Winiecki may be well-meaning, but he strikes me as a fatalist who is

afraid to ride and enjoy motorcycling as it now exists. To me, his contraptions give motorcycling a bad image as being unsafe. He’s the equivalent of having a Sierra Club member doing the main planning on your enduro committee. I wish Mr. Winiecki well . . . but in the world of building roll bars and crash cages around aircraft passenger compartments. R.W. Anderson Lakeside, California

Old Viragos never die

I enjoyed the Yamaha Virago long-term test entitled, “A Heavyweight Goes The Distance,” in your March issue. As the owner of an XV 1000, I related to all the pluses and minuses you mention. Because you didn’t say if you were keeping the bike for more reports, I thought I would update your article to 23,000 miles, 10,000 of which were accumulated while earning ninth place in the ’85 Iron Butt Rally.

Put very simply, not much changes in the next 13,000 miles. I’ve had no problems with fork seals, but I’ve replaced the kickstand killswitch twice. I don’t mind the OEM seat (I use a sheepskin once in a while), but I went to H-D fenders front and rear to keep my crotch dry. Yamaha changed the rear shocks for ’85, and the new ones solve the rear suspension problems. I chose a National Cycle plexifairing for the Iron Butt and was very pleased with both the results and the looks. Four rear tires and two fronts later, the chrome and gold still shine. This is my eighth bike over the last 20 years, my second V-Twin, and my only worry is that it might not last another 20 years. Jeff Jenks Geneva, Ohio

As an owner of an ’84 XV1000 Virago, I felt your assessment was right on the money; it is a great bike. The minor problems you cited, I experienced, as well, especially the front-brake squeak. A few items to note: Living in New York, I use two of National Cycle’s windscreens— the one you showed, and a clear, larger size for colder weather. I also added National Cycle’s Audio Cannon, which fits nicely and works well. For real cold-weather riding I found that my electric chaps/vest is quite effective.

Regarding safety: The book fails to stress that when riding two-up, you must really back off on the rear brake adjustment. If you don’t, the added weight, with the system using a solid rod as opposed to a flexible cable, applies brake pressure that can cause overheating of the rear brakes and, eventually, rear-wheel seizure. This happened to me. Yamaha replaced the rear wheel and brakes. Good as new. Still love the bike. Paul Steinberg Babylon, New York

Layin’ ’er down

I am writing in response to “Myths,” by George Huebner. As I wish to take exception with one of his exploded myths. He devotes an entire paragraph to how it is an almost impossible situation for a biker to lay a bike down on purpose. He also claims he wouldn't have the guts to do so. This leads me to believe that Mr. Huebner is exhibiting lack of experience or memory, which makes for good copy if nothing else.

Picture the scenario: You are riding your bike home in the rain from a hard day’s work. You’re tired and not as alert as you should be. The light has just turned amber and the car you are following speeds up to make the light. As do you. The roads are slick from the water and city oil. Ten yards away from the light, the driver changes his mind and slams on the brakes at 40 mph, bringing his car to a fishtailing halt. You have one of two options as you discover that minimal brake pressure induces the same piscene maneuvers as Mr. Honkenholler. You can either run into his rear end, sustaining significant damage to your scooter as well as your body, or you can ease over to the left, slam on the brakes to slow the bike down as much as possible, and lay it down. That’s what I did. And in so doing. I avoided all personal injury (I wear leathers, gloves and helmet, although I did not need the last two items in this instance), and my FLT, adhering to the path in which it was pointed, cleared the car with feet to spare and sustained minimal damage. The motor was still running when I walked over to pick it up.

I could find fault with a couple or three other of his statements but I’ll only point to this one instance where he bombed out. F.J. Jermyn Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Okay, we're impressed. But if it's so easy, wh y do so man y riders fail to do it when faced with similar situations?

Poodles on parade

In regard to your article on Poodle Bikes (March, 1986), I owned the predecessor to the Honda 1 10. a 1967 Trail 90. It had a stamped sheet-metal frame and fork, with a leading-link suspension. There are many advantages to these bikes that are not apparent from casual contact. They are extremely durable (at 20 years old, my ex-machine is going through yet another batch of teenagers on the original motor) and economical. They don’t eat points, tires, sparkplugs or much gasoline. They hardly go fast enough to get speeding tickets, and you can ride them through very rough, rocky terrain with ease. In retrospect, my Trail 90 was the slowest, least powerful, most dependable and fun machine I have ever owned. I don’t recommend them for long road trips, but they will get you there— eventually. Bob White Juneau, Alaska

I just read your feature starring the Honda CT1 10 poodle bike. Shame on ya’ll for not riding them to your final destination. I remember reading a story about 10 years ago of a sturdy individual who rode a CT90 from Florida to California. I think he was blazing a trail for the Cannonball Run. Anyway, judging by the pictures, ya’ll appear to be young bucks and full of energy.

Why, my pappy (Cap Carpenter) rode his CT1 10 from San Angelo, Texas, to Big Bend National Park and back, which was over 600 miles roundtrip. He didn’t have a luxurious hotel like Clark Gable’s, or even a riding companion. He slept on the ground. That may not sound like much, but he is 70-plus years old. He’s not only eligible for the Retreads, but I think he worked with the Hole in the Wall Gang, too. So, if you’re wondering if anyone read the article, yes, my dad and I did. He made me read it or he was going to let the air out of the tires on my flying saucer. Just to show you he isn’t crazy, though, he’s the one with the subscription to Cycle World. I just rent the magazine from him each month. Bob Carpenter San Angelo, Texas

We know your dad isn 7 crazy; it 's you we're worried about.

Square One revisited

Paul Dean’s April editorial is correct: The smallest end of the motorcycle market is sadly neglected by manufacturers. But motor journalism also often ignores the tiddlers. Although Cycle World supports middle-weight bikes well, look at 10 years of “Ten Best Bike Awards.” The only below-300cc streetbike ever awarded was the ’78 XL250; apparently the last under-300 road test was of the ’82 XL250. I’ve never seen a magazine test of the CB125, any Suzuki 125 or 250 street Single, a KZ250, etc. Let’s not judge entrylevel bikes by liter-class standards (or by how many magazines they’ll sell). The last three or four years were lethal for small bikes; you could buy middleweights for $ 1 100 new. No illustration in your April issue showed a small streetbike, except a satirical cartoon.

And if the best source of expansion lies in the female market, let’s publicize the 250 Ninja, 250 Rebel, TRL Reflex, CT110, KE100,

SP200, SP125, and publish a full list of decent under-250 bikes from past years still in showrooms. Frank Moore Austin, Texas

Road tests of almost all of the bikes you mentioned have been published, either in this magazine or in one of the others. There is, in fact, a 250 Ninja test in this very issue. And while we absolutely do not judge entry-level bikes by liter-bike standards, we do allow our selection of test bikes to be affected by the number of magazines we think we will sell. That's just good business. Especially when our reader surveys have indicated that most of the people who buy this magazine don 7 want to read about small-bore bikes. So, since we don 7 go out of our way to test them, and since we issue our Ten Best Awards based exclusively on motorcycles we have tested during the previous year, it's no wonder little bikes generally don 7 win any awards.

Your editorial, “Back To Square One,” raised some interesting questions in my mind. At the expense of being over-critical and possibly over-analytical, I must agree with you and challenge the current Japanese marketing philosophy.

Having ridden a 1982 Kawasaki AR80 for four years now, I can sympathize with those current and potential riders who find the selection of entry-level bikes limited. The Japanese and their American marketing firms have apparently neglected to consider the the entrylevel market because they perceive it as small and apathetic. I can unequivocally state that they are wrong. For example, as I was leaving school one day, a young lady inquired as to how much my motorcycle cost and would it keep up with traffic in the city. I told her that it was not only inexpensive, but that I would show her how well it fared in the city. She was so impressed at the demonstration that she had me escort her to the local motorcycle dealer to help her with a selection. Naturally, the dealer scoffed at the idea of this young lady purchasing anything more than a glorified moped. Subsequently, she purchased a Rebel 250 and has not only helped her pocketbook, but ensured herself a parking place at school everyday.

My point is that you not only explored the options well and illustrated that the Japanaese have neglected a large portion of the American population, but have shown there is a large gap in the class from mopeds and scooters to the 250 Rebels and above. Hopefully, someone will take your insight and implicit advice to heart and fill that gap, and at the same time put some money in everyone’s pockets Glenn WeidenmiL Gainesville, Florida

One more for the record

I took offense at the letter from Ric Schrank (March, 1986). I think Mr. Schrank forgot that Cycle World’s record runs were made with essentially stock bikes. In this age of disposable vehicles, I feel the record runs are fantastic. I agree with him that, enough money being available, anyone could build record-breaking machines, but to do it on machines already available to the public says quite a lot for Suzuki. Mike Herron Virginia Beach, Virginia S