Letters

LETTERS

To scoot or not to scoot

I read with interest your test of the Honda Helix in the December,

1986, issue. The reactions of your testers confirmed a suspicion of mine: Given the opportunity to ride a modern scooter, even a dedicated motorcyclist may find he enjoys it.

I am a fairly experienced rider ( 14 years), and own a Ninja 1000. Several months ago I purchased a Yamaha 180 scooter for my wife to ride for fun and for running errands. As I expected, she quickly discovered how much fun two-wheeled vehicles can be. Surprisingly, I began to use the scooter myself. It is much more practical for short trips than a 125-horsepower sportbike and can carry a useful cargo in the tail trunk. Not only that, it can be ridden flat-out without much fear of the local police. How many people can say the same about their Ninjas or Interceptors? Performance is adequate to keep up with normal traffic, although I would feel uncomfortable on an urban Interstate highway with so little reserve performance. While my Kawasaki is much more exciting for sports riding or long trips, the scooter has a definite place in our scheme of things.

A word to other motorcyclists: Before you dismiss all scooters, try riding one. The scooter rider you try so hard to ignore just might have something more potent in his garage. And don't forget that the manufacturer's profit from that lowly scooter helps subsidize the expense required to bring your new VTR750 to the street.

Spence Peters Mableton, Georgia

Parallel Twins without parallel

Peter Egan’s article on the original Triumph motorcycle brought back many memories. Though time and circumstance never saw fit to join me with a Bonnie, many a throbbing big Twin has won my heart.

In the years before unleaded fuel, emissions regulations, and even worse, noise regulations, the primal heartbeat of a vertical Twin wooed me away from the Orient. Whether it was that chrome and cherry-red BSA 650 Lightning Rocket which was consumed by a careless truck driver, or the Triumph TR-6 I rode for several years, I kept coming back to the sound of the Twins.

In 1969, still trying to decide if I should spring for the high-tech Honda 750, I nearly was won over by a Norton Commando. I spied it in action on the roads of Sequoia National Park. Carving through treelined curves. That black Commando spelled motorcycle. Entranced, I followed it throughout the park; ears perked, I savored every burble, rasp and bark of its exhaust.

Always practical (huh? me?), I bought the Honda in 1970. But to this day, I know why folks loved the vertical Twins: that satisfying sound, and the vibes that are to some—in limited rev ranges, of course—the essence of motorcycling. Ninjas, GSX-Rs and such are great, but the elemental experience of motorcycling harkens back to the big Twins.

Now, if GSX-R engine and chassis technology were applied to the Twin domain . . . let's see, fourvalve combustion chambers, shortstroke. hi-rev engines. . .. Nope! It would never be the same.

Rob Walton

Goleta, California

Short-track Starrdom

Bravo! Well-done! Paul Dean’s article on Hometown hotshoes was fantastic. It couldn't be closer to the truth. I write for a local motorcycling journal—North East Ohio Motorcycle Newspaper—and go to the local short-tracks, and I see some of the best dirt-tracking around.

I recently went to a Camel Pro half-mile, and sure, the factory boys were there and the racing was great, but these guys do this for a living and the money. But if I want to see some kick-ass Racing, go to Rocky Ridge motorcycle short-track for a real thrill. These local boys from Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania ride their hearts out for District 5 points, trophies and maybe 50 bucks on a good night for a feature win.

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MIC

MEMBER

MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY COUNCIL,INC.

Take, for example, #51, Paul Starr. He by far is the hometown hotshoe in this area, with a style that is a lot like Scott Parker’s. Everybody knows about Parker, but damm few have heard of Starr. But Starr still rides wide-open at every race, taking chances some pros wouldn't take, not for fame or fortune, but for the sheer love of racing. When you think of it, all the pros got their start this way, too.

Curt Miller Youngstown, Ohio

And even w hen von don’t think of it.

Horex

I can't help but notice the obscure Horex name surfacing in your publication, usually around European Bike-show time. I know little of the brand except for the the fact that I own one, 1958 vintage. Earles-type front fork, three-speed twist-grip gearchange, all propelled by a mighty, 125cc Sachs engine which to this day boasts enough power to keep the moped boys at bay.

Who needs a V-Max?

C. W. Moore Indianapolis, Indiana

A pound of sliced Guzzi, please

Moto Guzzi is almost invisible in our market for reasons you probably know better than I do. The bottom line, however, is that their models are passed up as alternatives to the Japanese models, possibly without any serious evaluation. That’s bad for competition, the market and Moto Guzzi in particular.

As journalists, you have no responsibility to provide free advertising for any manufacturer.

But by providing comparisons between models, you help us “ride” bikes that aren't allowed off the showroom floor. A comparison test between the two Guzzi sport models and their Japanese equivalents would point out the different approaches that can be taken to achieve lightand middleweight sport-riding fun. The Japanese do it with high tech; the Italians do it with high torque. A valid test, then, would be to compare Japanese (Honda) and Guzzi models in such a way to allow their varying approaches to be compared by equalizing standards— which, I submit, are price and weight. Given the escalating yen and weight penalty of highspecific-output engines, this comparison places the models on about equal footing.

I suggest you compare the Honda 500 Interceptor (412 lb./$3200) to the Guzzi Lario (380 lbs./$3400), and the VFR700 F2 (450 lbs./ $4500) to the Lemans 1000 (475 lbs./$4700). While they are not exact equivalents, they are closer, for example, than the GS550 and GS700 would be. And the GSX-Rs or FZs are far more single-focus, race-oriented models than are the Honda models, which are designed to be street ridden comfortably.

So how about it? The results should show that Guzzi can provide an alternative way to two-wheel fun.

David A. Patton

Jefferson, Georgia

You don 7 need a contrived comparison to reach such a conclusion, simply because a Guzzi already is an alternative to a Japanese bike. Whether or not it is a reasonable alternative is up to the buyer. Your idea would be a wonderful one if people used a priceper-pound criteria when buying a bike. But they don 7. They're shopping for performance, style and function, not for lunchmeat.

The Truth, available in VMS or Beta

Recently, my husband bought a video tape called “Lone Champion,” the story of the 1984 motorcycle world championship. The tape was very exciting and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We were glad to see that Eddie Lawson won the championship. However, there was one particular part of the video that was very disturbing. In one race, Randy Mamola, driving a Honda, was in 1st place all along, with Freddie Spencer in 2nd, also on a Honda, and Eddie Lawson in 3rd on a Yamaha. On the last lap, it was quite obvious that Randy would win the race, when all of a sudden he slows down to let Spencer pass and win. Just as the sportscaster said this would happen, it did. Why would Honda give orders to let Spencer pass his teammate to accumulate points toward the championship? Why would they care which of their riders win, as long as it’s Honda?

This makes me feel that motorcycle racing is not all it’s cracked up to be. My opinion is, “May the best man win.” And in 1984, it looked to me that Randy Mamola was the superior driver to Spencer.

I'd like to read your opinion.

Lisa Charbonneau

Southfield, Michigan

That's easy;just read the Editorial in the October issue. It talks about the way in which the quality of racing is often compromised w hen the desire to win championships exceeds the desire to w in races. Mamola was ordered to let Spencer past because Spencer was mathematically able to catch Eddie Lawson—a Yamaha rider—in the title chase, w hereas Mamola was not. Thus, it was beneficial for Spencer, point s-wise, to finish two places ahead of Lawson rather than just one. But as you saw, the drama of the racing was destro yed as a result, and the best man that day was unfairly denied a win.