Letters

LETTERS

Size-wise

Please settle a difference of opin ion. I say 2 50cc is the best size for a beginning rider's first bike. My friend says it's 5 50cc, and the lady at the local convenience store is happy with her 650 after starting out on a 900. What size is really best? Steve LaBelle Chesaning, Michigan

Your friends have answered your question better than we ever could. The ideal size is in the mind of the beginner.

Hail to Hailwood

Many thanks for the article on Mike Hailwood's struggle with the Honda RC 181, in the February, 1987, issue.

I can remember being passed by a fiercely struggling Mike Hailwood on the big, bad GP Honda, while riding in the 1966 Isle of Man Se nior TT race. He made no secret of his disgust with the handling qual ities of the machine, and on the dangerous road course around the Island, handling becomes an issue of critical importance.

I had previously worked as inter preter for the 1962 Japan GP race at Suzuka-Honda's test course and an absolute dream of a track to ride. And there lay the problem, along with the lack of seasoned and quali fied Japanese test riders: The com pany was not able to pursue frame! suspension development at home, Mike Hailwood was too busy winfling races and chasing dollies to spend a lot of time testing, and roadracing was still thought of as a peculiar European perversion in the stick-out-the-foot-and-slide-that-hog American market. None of the Japa nese racing machines of that era were known as good handlers, and custom builders like Cohn Seeley and Derek Minter were already building experimental frames for Japanese GP engines.

It was to Hailwood's great credit that he "rode the unridable" RC 1 8 1 to as many victories as he did. And it should be noted that the rest of the Honda GP lineup was regarded as reasonably well-handling. I had the privilege of riding Redman's old RC144 GP250 Four at Suzuka, and it was absolutely steady and predict able at speed. completely unlike the GP500. This was the era, by the

way, when Honda was alone in its valiant but futile effort to battle the two-stroke competition. I treasure the memories of that era, when Ja pan suddenly came out of nowhere and treated us to amazing displays of riders and machines.

Byron Black

Vancouver, B.C.. Canada

British bloodbath

I was indeed touched that you chose to look back on the Triumph for your 25th Anniversary issue. Also, the October, 1986, article, "Triumph Remembered," en compassed all the attributes of the machine.

I wonder if there is some guilt associated with printing these arti cles because it was magazines such as yours that helped to kill the U.S. market for British bikes. The com ments of Mike Nicks in the article, "The New Bonneville," are typical of the comments of the early Seven ties printed in American magazines. Comments like "mechanical dino saur," "A parallel Twin that shakes," "excessive vibration," "the pooi of oil beneath almost any parked British motorcycle." Those remarks back then surely influenced the new kids coming into the sport.

You people touted all the nuances of Japanese bikes and had nothing good to say about American and British bikes, which I'm sure helped advertising revenue.

Now, with some blood on your hands, you are telling us something we older riders knew all along, that is: Yes, those bikes had matured in design, but they offered something worth paying for—simplicity, low expense, ease of maintenance, reliability, great gas milage, standardization of parts from year to year, and versatility, to name a few features.

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1'V1EIV16ER OTO~CVC~E INDUSTRY COUNCILINC.

I must say that you have been fair to Harley in your latest road tests. Harley has something to offer. I also own a Sportster.

Michael Conboy Worcester, Massachusetts

You 're right—those kinds of remarks back then did influence new kids coming into the sport. But w hat were the magazines supposed to do, lie?

Seoul-searching

Mr. Dean’s editorial on the need for a good, inexpensive entrylevel motorcycle from a “developing” (read Third World) country (“Seoul-searching,” February, 1987) is shortsighted and myopic. The

U.S. motorcycle world cannot exist independent of the health of the U.S. economy. Nor is it likely or feasible to believe that U.S. motorcyclists can continue pursuing their hobby at the expense of cheap labor. Yes, Korea may indeed be the “new Japan,” as some say, but consider what this will mean:

—Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation, replacing the U.S., which has become a net debtor. —The world’s four largest banks are Japanese. Six of the first 10 are Japanese. Only Citibank is left in the top 10 among U.S. banks. —Japanese banks now control 10 percent of the U.S. banking market, up from almost nothing five years ago.

—Japanese real-estate interests invested about $5 billion in the U.S. in 1986.

—Toyota is the world’s largest auto manufacturer.

—Nomura, the world’s largest securities firm, doubled the size of its New York office last year. In London, Nomura has hired more graduates of

Oxford and Cambridge than any employer except the British government.

—Soon, Japan will probably allow the yen to compete with the dollar as the world standard. Indeed, there have been suggestions to the U.S. Treasury that U.S. government bonds be issued in yen.

In light of this, do we really need a “new Japan?” The above seems to belie Mr. Dean’s statement that “anyone who can successfully market entry-level (motorcycles) will only help the motorcycle industry in this country simply by drawing more people into the sport. . ..” The only ones helped, by and large, by imports are the manufacturers of such imports.

Not a single VCR is made in the U.S.; clearly that industry was not helped. Only one or two television brands are made in the U.S.; clearly that industry was not helped by imports. Has the U.S. auto industry been helped by imports? Has the steel industry profited? Has the U.S. shoe industry? The garment industry? There are more VCRs in living rooms than ever, more televisions than before, more clothes, shoes, autos, etc. But all of these industries are marked by plant closings and layoffs, hardly a sign that they were helped by imports.

Well, perhaps by Darwin's law, they were inefficient and deserved to be extinct. Perhaps Harley will one day fall victim to the import malaise. They, too, will be judged inefficient because they couldn’t compete with Mr. Dean's “developing” nations. But a nation which can produce a cheaper motorcycle for the U.S. market can also produce a cheaper motorcycle magazine for the same market. Perhaps Mr. Dean will one day be judged “inefficient.” Robert G. Lowery Seiden, New York

You make some valid points, but consider this one: The American motorcycle industry has had almost JO years unbothered by foreign competition in which to produce true entry-level bikes. Where are they? What American-made motorcycle will suffer every time a Trac DH 100 or any similar Korean-built motorcycle is sold? We're not in favor of Korea or any other country penetrating all aspects of American manufacturing: but when there is a long-unfulfilled need in an industry that is suffering from everdeclining sales revenues, someone has to fill that void to save the industry. In this ease, a little Korean motorcycle fills the bill nicely.

Double your displeasure

In response to Paul Dean’s editorial on double jumps (March,

1987, Editorial)’. He hit the nail squarely on the head. Too many people are getting severely hurt on double jumps.

Almost all of the local tracks in my area have a series of double jumps, varying in height, length and difficulty. As Dean said, “If you don't do the doubles, you have little chance of winning.”

As for myself and most of my friends, we have chosen other means of motorcycle competition because of double jumps. We are all experienced racers, and have cleared doubles numerous times, but still have been hurt by them. We all have families and mortgages, and find that taking the risk of double jumps is not worth a trophy.

Motocross is suffering from a Catch-22. Without the excitement of double jumps, motocross lacks real daredevil flare; but with dangerous doubles on local levels, it is just inviting disaster. As for us, motocross has lost a few devoted racers to less dangerous competition.

Rick Bachman Modesto, California

Kudos to Cagiva

Problem: My 1986 650 Cagiva Alazzurra wasn’t up to Cagiva’s obvious high-quality standards, nor mine.

Solution: Cagiva graciously offers me a new bike.

Happy? Yes. Do I think others should know of this company that treats customers properly? Absolutely!

Thank you, Cagiva North America, Mr. Alberto Camelli, and a spe-

cial thanks to Sonny Angel and his motorcycle shop in National City, California.

Chuck Fairchild San Diego, California

Go-in-the-dark sportbikes

Last night I once again had that unpleasant experience of not being seen by another vehicle’s operator. Fortunately, I was alert enough to avoid meeting someone Fd rather not know. I doubt if he realized he nearly turned me into a statistic.

I know that motorcyclists can’t do much about those who won’t look, other than avoid them as best we can. Low visibility is a problem for us, however, and we are recommended to wear bright or light-colored clothing and safety gear to increase our chances of being seen.

How about the bikes themselves, though? Why don’t the manufacturers come out with reflective materials in their cosmetic schemes? Sportbike striping styles are ready-

made for such an application, and the material could be used on many other models, also. The bikes wouldn’t appear any more gaudy by daylight and the added visibility might prove to be a life-saver at night.

Steve Lomba

Oakland, California

A wonderful idea. Are you motorcycle designers listening? E3