Letters
LETTERS
Time wars
In the March issue, you had no less than three letters decrying modern machinery and yearning for the iron of 20 years ago. Okay, here’s another one.
Honda, bring back the CB750, circa 1969. Kawasaki, bring back the H1 and H2 Triples (de-pollute with fuel injection and electronics). Suzuki, bring back the T-500 Titan, and finally roll out the GJ1000 “Super Buffalo” two-stroke you had ready to sell but didn't in ’78. Yamaha, the XS650 was nice, and how about the GL750 two-stroke, four-cylinder, fuel-injected superbike that was killed about the same time as Suzuki’s big oil-burner.
Make ’em nice; no stepped seats, no trick frames. In short, make ’em like you used to. David Reid Chenault Mount Sterling, Kentucky
For some odd reason, people these days want to go back to the things of the late ’60s and early ’70s. From music to clothing, right down to the most vital of our possessions, our motorcycles, people seem to think the past had it right. But were things really that good back then? The answer is simple: No.
Bell bottoms and disco sucked, but the real issue here is motorcycles. Some people are calling for the return of the “great UJMs.” Obviously, it has been 20 years since these people have ridden the memory of a “perfect” standard. Having had the displeasure to ride two examples not long ago, I can’t see why anyone would want them back. They both were incredibly heavy, had lousy steering manners, marshmallow suspension, spindly forks and brakes incapable of stopping anytime in the near future. I just don’t get it. Why would anyone want to go back to the past?
My advice? Put the bell bottoms and the Bee Gees albums back in the closet, pick up a slightly used FJ1200 or ZX-10 and quit looking back. The future lays ahead. John Ellis
Waukegan, Illinois
Price wars
C’mon guys, help me out, here. I just left a “Big Four” motorcycle dealership. and I must now assume that the latest prerequisite for being a newbike salesman is training in CPR. Talk about sticker shock! I’ve been buying a new motorcycle about every four years since 1981, but there’s no way that will happen this year-they’ve become too pricey for me.
Yeah, I hear your story about the yen-to-dollar ratio; now hear my story about a mortgage, car payments and two kids. I have about as much chance of “selling” my wife on the idea of a $10,000 motorcycle as I do of having Elvis show up for dinner at my place tonight. I don’t need carbon-fiber fenders, inverted forks, magnesium triple-clamps and fuel injection. All I want is an Open-class bike that will go like stink, with payments that won’t force me to subsist on macaroni and cheese. All that seems to be available are low-powered standards that can’t pull a string out of a cat’s ass, and sport-tourers with price tags that make my eyes water. Anybody got a line on a good used FJ1200?
Gary Kowatch Albuquerque, New Mexico.
It is natural to wish for a return to “the good old days,” when motorcycles were inexpensive. But, how do yesterday’s bikes compare to what we can buy today?
For purposes of comparison, I used figures for the Consumer Price Index, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. My figures go back to 1961. I extrapolated prices for bikes in the ’60s to find out what they would cost today, in 1994 dollars (I actually used the statistics for December 1993).
In 1966, the BSA 650 Lightning retailed for $1285. Change those 1966 dollars to December, 1993 dollars, and the same bike would cost $5885. Compare that to the ’94 Suzuki Katana 600 at $5499 or the Yamaha FZR600 at $5699.
After comparing price, consider technology. I don’t think there’s any question either 1994 model would compare favorably when considering power, suspension, ignition accuracy and reliability, braking ability, tire quality and overall durability. Here’s another way to look at it: Imagine your reaction, in 1966, to a motorcycle with four cylinders, 16 valves, electronic ignition, wide, sticky tires, liquid-cooling, a six-speed transmission, and amazing acceleration and top speed.
In motorcycling value and technology, these are the good old days.
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Charles Marshall
Kansas City, Missouri
Chain reaction
As motorcycle enthusiasts and engineers at Borg-Warner Corporation, we felt compelled to respond to statements made by Kevin Cameron in his article on Harley-Davidson’s new VR1000 racing Twin (March, 1994). Cameron editorializes that the “once muscular U.S. chain-makers” are now “presumably satisfied with escalator and hoist business.”
This is far from the case. The Morse chain division of Borg-Warner supplies the major portion of the world’s automotive timing chain, front-wheel-drive transmission chain and four-wheel-drive transfer-case chain from plants in the U.S., Mexico, Canada and Japan. Borg-Warner is also a major supplier of the timing, oil-pump and primary chain used in the Japanese motorcycle industry.
Borg-Warner was also the first company to successfully apply silenttype timing chain to motorcycle camshaft drives. Borg-Warner chains can be found on over 100 models of motorcycles, both on and off-road, ranging from dual-purpose 125s to touring bikes to superbikes such as the Suzuki GSX-R1100.
While we cannot influence the choices of every engineer on every new chain application, we hope this points out that Borg-Warner is one U.S. chain manufacturer that is a major player in both the automotive and motorcycle industries.
Dave White, Steve Siegert Ithaca, New York
Ahamay Aces
I just “flipped” when I saw the picture of the new Ahamay 600 in Cycle World's April issue! Could you tell me where 1 might find the nearest Ahamay dealer? Jim Bensberg
Wahington, D.C.
What’s a Ahamay II Aces?
Robert E.Hokan Amston, Connecticut
As an avid reader and admirer of your magazine, I feel I have to inform you of an unusual picture of the Yamaha Seca II on page 63 of the April issue. All of the decals are backwards and the chain is on the wrong side. Mike Cox
Dallas, Texas
Is the bike a special model, disguised by the backwards spelling to throw off us motorcycle nuts? If so, I want one. Keep up the “doog” work.
Don Giacalone
Apalachin, New York
Regarding the cool yellow bike on page 63, either the doggone Japanese have started putting their decals on backwards or you guys goofed and flopped the photo in the printing process. Harold T. Miller
Leitchfield, Kentucky
On tihs, Kcolrehs. E3
