Letters

LETTERS

Coast kudos

I am writing in rebuttal to the letters of criticism regarding Honda’s Pacific Coast (Letters, October, 1989). Burt Bryan wrote that the PC was “the first motorcycle for people who hate motorcycles.” Well, I’ve owned more than 40 motorcycles so far, and I’m an avid roadracer, so I consider myself a true motorcycle enthusiast. The Honda Pacific Coast may be the best motorcycle I’ve ever owned.

David Evans

South Windsor, Connecticut

Wrong response ?

Your September editorial,

“What’s right,” reminded me of the old saying, “I’ve already made up my mind, so don’t confuse me with the facts.” You humbly disagreed with what your readers indicated was their largest single complaint about the sport because, you said, the respondents amounted to less than one percent of Cycle Worlds readership, and, in your opinion, many of your readers who value handling and performance above all else probably didn't even bother to write in.

Well, I am one of the 99 percent of your readers who did not bother to write in and. quite frankly, I resent the fact that you made conclusions based on how yon felt I would have responded, had I responded. Shame on you for assuming what your readers would say and shame on me for not responding to the survey and correctly having my views represented.

Roger D. Miracle

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

Aha, I knew it! The “What’s Wrong” survey didn’t come out like you wanted. Obviously, everyone wants sportbikes, with their 100-plus horsepower, crouched riding position and aerodynamic bodywork; it’s just that only the people who don’t like them responded to your survey. Simple, ain’t it. Just like politics. If motorcycle journalists keep looking through rose-tinted visors at some plastic-coated technoheaven, and the industry keeps turning a deaf ear to the “average” rider’s wants, I don’t think we’ll need to worry about restrictive legislation, because the sport seems to be self-exterminating.

If things don't change in the newbike lineup, when my trusty old '78 CB750 finally wears out, I will either buy a Harley or a new truck.

The simple fact is, I don’t like the new sportbikes, and I won't buy one. And I seem to be in the majority.

Lewis McClendon, II

Ketchikan, Alaska

Some clarification: Editor Edwards did not have specific results in mind w hen he asked readers to write in with tl\eir views on the problems facing our sport. Nor in his September editorial, was he trying to negate those results. Instead, he was pointing out that it was unfair to lay all of the industry's problems at the feet of sportbikes. Let there be sportbikes, ” he wrote, following that statement with the crux of the editorial: “It's clear that there is a calling for a type of machine that 's less intense than a sport bike. "Incidentally, sportbikes make up about 20 percent of the new-motorcycle sales in the U.S. and are often the bestselling model in the Japanese manufacturers' lines. For example, Suzuki's top-selling 1989 model was the Katana 600, and the GSX-R750 and GSX-R1100 were also in the top five. Yamaha's best-seller was the FZR600, Kawasaki's the Ninja 600, followed by the EX500 and the Ninja 250, and even Honda, which was sport bikeshort in 1989, had the CBR600 as its number-two seller.

Turbos forever

Jon Thompson’s article, “Built for Speed,” in the October issue was a refreshing change from stories about stock machines. It is nice to see that there are still a few of us left who like to “fiddle.”

I was particularly interested in (and a little disappointed by the engine malfunctions of) the turbo bikes. I hope that once Mr. Behn works the bugs out of the RB Racing V-Max, you can give it another chance, and let us know how it goes. My interest in turbo bikes stems from the fact that I have been riding one for the last nine years. As the Eighties approached, I realized that my old Kawasaki Z-l was no longer competitive, so I installed a turbo kit made by the now-out-of-business American Turbo-Pak Company. Ten thousand miles later, I have no regrets. The bike still goes like stink and is able to reach hyper-space speeds in microseconds. The engine has never broken or been torn down since the turbo was installed.

My purpose here is not to brag, but rather, to illustrate that the exhilarating performance of turbo bikes can bring their owners years of trouble-free excitement and pleasure. Turbochargers have definitely come of age, and, properly engineered, could have a major application in the motorcycling world.

Roger Neal

Millis, Massachusetts

BMW high-tech

Regarding your BMW K100LT test in the October, 1989, issue, BMW’s high-tech cure for the “embarrassing clouds of blue smoke” that came from the K100 shows why motorcycles now cost $ 13,000. The Germans re-designed the piston rings to keep oil from seeping past while the bike is leaned over on the kickstand. Why not just switch the kickstand to the other side of the bike? If you lean the bike the other way, the oil will pool in the bottom end, instead of in the cylinder head. Plenty of other machines have used right-hand sidestands before. For example, my ’69 Italian-made Harley Sprint had a sidestand on the right to give better access to the left-side kickstarter.

It seems strange that it took BMW six years to cure the problem with pure engineering effort, when switching the stand to the other side would have been cheaper and easier than re-working internal engine parts.

Jon R. Stark

New York, New York

You don't suppose the continued success of bikes like the 1969 Sprint has anything to do with it, do you?

Test testimony

I have to take exception to the negative remarks of some readers concerning test reports on bikes.

I started riding and reading Cycle World at the same time, at the tender age of 47, back in 1980. I got started largely due to the favorable articles in your magazine about bikes and bike riders. Since then,

I’ve had the time of my life on bikes, and now own my fourth one.

I have never yet bought a motorcycle without first reading your test report of it, and every one of the four I have has been a winner.

Therefore, I can only say I highly recommend your test reports as being not only very helpful, but quite vital in the process of selecting a new bike. Most dealers frown on test rides, so it only makes sense to me to listen up when someone talks who has had the opportunity to take out a selection of new bikes, and not just toddle around the block, but thoroughly test it for days, weeks and sometimes months. That has to be a more-valid evaluation of a bike than I can achieve by dropping into the showroom, sitting on it and kicking the tires while listening to some hungry salesman lie a lot.

Ray Sutton

Sqamish, B.C.,Canada

In the beginning

I enjoyed Peter Egan's August Leanings column. He was right about the lifelong importance that first impressions of motorcycling can have. I was amazed to see how my first encounters with bikes paralleled his. He watched Peter O’Toole's Brough in Lawrence of Arabia; I witnessed Steve McQueen’s thinly disguised Triumph in The Great Escape. He went for an unexpected ride on a sprung-saddle Harley; I found myself, at age 10, on the back of a preunit-construction Bonneville, courtesy of a telephone repairman who used it as a service vehicle.

Even though my current daily transportation may have two cylinders too many, at least it has the right number of wheels. Deep down,

I know I owe this happy state of affairs to those first impressive rides—one seen on film, the other experienced first-hand.

Paul Kleinpoppen Atlantic Beach, Florida

Triumph trouble

I was not impressed with the August Roundup item concerning Triumph's new Threes and Fours with Japanese-style bodywork. Even if Triumph does eventually come out with the bikes, they will be no better than the junk they used to make.

And about your earlier article on the new Norton Rotary? Rebirth of British motorcycle industry? Ha, the few who will have the $ 13,000 to buy one will be sorely disappointed. At least the bikes cost so much that only a few of the rich will be burned this time around.

Frank Markover. Jr.

Tampa, Florida

Does this mean you're not interested in the new BSA Gold Star Wing? 0