Letters
LETTERS
Long live the RD
Thank you for the “RD Days” article in the July issue. I was one of those “street-squid” pocket-rocket fanatics and still enjoy pleasant memories of my RD350, complete with rejetted carbs, K&N air filters and expansion chambers. Four-strokes couldn’t touch my RD, even though they had three times the cc of my little mosquito machine.
You may enjoy this poem I wrote 20 years ago:
Down at the strip, where the road is wide, two motorcycles standing side by side.
The Honda sounds mean and ready to go, my Yamaha sounds like she 's ready to blow.
With a ring-a-ding-ding and big clouds of smoke, even the fans think I am one big joke...
Upon twisting the throttle, you had better hang on, or you will find yourself too far gone.
The front end will pop up into the air, and you will be left without a prayer.
You won't know whether to jump or pray, so here is my lesson for the day.
Say what you want, but there s one fact for sure, when it comes to Honda, Yamaha is the cure. C.B. Cranford Richmond, Virginia
Thanks for the positive press on the Yamaha RD series. Too often I’ve read articles on the history of sportbikes and seen the RDs skipped over or given a line or two, max. The RD400, especially the Daytona Special, was the best air-cooled, two-stroke sportbike ever produced. If you haven’t ridden one, a good one, you wouldn’t understand. They were screamers.
E. Erlenbach Whittier, California
July’s “RD Days” took me back almost 20 years to 1975 when I purchased an RD350B. It was everything you said it was in the article. Makes me want to find another one in good shape and relive my childhood. Kevin Smith Hanover Park, Illinois
I own a 1977 RD400 that I bought new. I had tried an RD350 and was impressed by its speed and handling, but a 400cc version was more than I could stand. Whenever I am asked which of my motorcycles I enjoyed the most, 1 always say that the RD400 was the most fun bike of its time. Maybe of all time.
Armando Barqueiro
Kirkland, Quebec, Canada
Thanks for immortalizing the infamous RD. 1 felt like the article was written especially for me. See, I claim to be the biggest RD nut of all time, having owned 49 of them (I’ve lined up number 50 for $130). Long live the RD, the bike that just won’t die.
Bruce Mangels Palmdale, California
1 am sure all RD fans were as ecstatic with your “RD Days” article as 1 was. Because the bike was used so much as a street racer, most people forget about its quite excellent touring manners. My 1977 RD400 had less vibration and was more comfortable than my brother’s ’76 750SS Honda. Last year, at 56,000 miles, it came time to do a major engine overhaul. The estimate from my local dealer came in at $980, only $200 less than I paid for the bike new. If I can get another 56,000 miles and 15 years of service, then $980 is a bargain. The RD really was (and still is) the little bike that could. Greg Penniston
Tuscon, Arizona
Bring back the babes
In the “RD Days” article, underneath a photo of a bathing-suit model and silver RD400, Cycle World ran a politically correct caption saying that cheescake photos are now socially unacceptable.
Who buys your magazine? Who buys motorcycles? I’ll tell you who. Men. Smelly, dirty, tech-talking, mostly unshaven, grease-under-the fingernails human beings of the masculine persuasion. Do you think if you still published pictures of pretty girls all your female subscribers would cancel?
We’re men out here. We scratch when we itch. We snort and drink beer and, doggone it, even the Ducati Monster would look better with Cindy Crawford sitting on it. You are participating in the insidious guerrilla social engineering of the anti-male feminist radical fringe. In time they will legally define motorcycling as a pitiful male-bonding exercise which serves no useful purpose.
Bring back the girls. Babes, chicks dames, broads, we want ’em all. Put > one in a thong bikini astride a GSXR, and you, my friends, will have a hell of a photo. Rick Wiggins
.
Reader Information
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MEMBER MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRY )couNcIL~ INC.
Los Angeles, California
Is there a women’s motorcycle magazine I could subscribe to? I’m tired of seeing my gender being exploited in yours. Bonni Shuff-Kowalcyk
Alexandria, Pennsylvania
Congratulations are in order. It's not every magazine that can tick off an uncouth male chauvinist and a misguided feminist at the same time.
Norton death watch
I was truly saddened to hear about Norton’s financial woes (see “Norton’s Last Days?” CW, July, 1993), especially after seeing the photo of the new F2 model, which I think is one of the most beautiful designs around. If only I had a spare $10 or $20 million lying around, I would be happy to invest in the Norton cause. That is if Norton promised me the first F2 off the production line. Here’s to a miraculous recovery.
Andrew Kenyon British Columbia, Canada
Breaking the Code
I was greatly disheartened to read that Keith Code’s California Superbike School had closed its doors. Like many riders, I had planned to attend when spare time and finances coincided. I can understand Code’s reasons for moving on, but deep down I hope he changes his mind.
Don McArthur Apopka, Florida
Code closed the Superbike School after 13 years to concentrate on writing and racing (he's campaigning a TZ250 on the national circuit), though he 's not ruling out the possibility of reopening the school sometime in the future. Meanwhile, those interested in taking track lessons in advanced riding can contact Reg Pridmore’s CLASS Motorcycle Riding School (800/2357228) or the Team Suzuki Endurance Advanced Riding School (909/2456414), both of which travel around the country-. In addition, several organizations hold schools at specific tracks, including the Penguin Roadracing School (207/548-2100) at the Loudon, Bridgehampton and Long Island tracks; Laguna Seca Motorcycle Safety
School (805/772-8301); and Track Riders (800/729-1819) at Willow Springs, Las Vegas and Sears Point.
Snide Glide
Regarding Senior Editor Jon F. Thompson’s opinion of the HarleyDavidson Dyna Wide Glide as stated in the “Editors’ Notes” section of July’s test: If Thompson wants to bash the bike, that’s fine. However, his assertion that Wide Glide riders are unsophisticated and searching for an identity is offensive. His job is to review motorcycles, not people.
Thompson’s last statement says it all: “I don’t get it.” He never will-and shouldn't try. Tony Hobkirk
Portland, Oregon
Going, going, gone
I am sick and tired of smart-ass, anti-Harley remarks. You can find someone who appreciates such comments to purchase my copy. Cancel my subscription. Steve Dean
Fort Smith, Arkansas
I am not telling you how to run your business, but I am concerned about the profanity in recent issues. I hope this changes soon. If it doesn’t,
I will have to cancel my subscription.
Mike Foerder Napa, California
Upon receiving the first issue of your magazine, I noticed you carry cigarette ads. Shame, rotten shame, on you. Cancel my subscription immediately. Richard E. Mitton
Thouand Oaks, California
Genetic mistake
In the June issue, the write-up on the clone of the Easy Rider chopper says that “if you could check the two bikes’ DNA, all the amino acids would line up just right.”
In the interest of scientific accuracy, I must advise you that DNA does not contain amino acids. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, while the variability and code-generating capacity of DNA is supplied by nucleic acids (specifically deoxyribonucleic acids).
Richard H. Robinson, MD Merced, California
Thanks, Doc, for setting us straight. Are you sure you don 't want to cancel your subscription while you 're at it? □
