Letters
LETTERS
FROM LAOS
Here in Laos, where I am currently serving with the State Department, there is much two-wheel activity of the smaller Japanese variety, with an occasional AJS, Gold Star Clubman, or Villiers among the Nipponese offerings. This, of course, brings much nostalgia to one who remembers with reverence Catalina, Big Bear, and the streets and byways of Southern California some years ago.
I am the owner of a recently purchased Suzuki A-100, that being the reigning marque here — quite adequate for the local roads and limited range of travel. I would enjoy seeing an impression by your capable staff of this fine little machine, which I believe will catch on well in the States. Not that I don’t know the capabilities of the bike; I just enjoy the literary sparkle of your staff.
I would like to correspond with British or Continental readers (I hope to be posted to Europe next time around). All letters from fellow enthusiasts “over there” will be answered promptly.
Some time before I finish my tour in Laos, I hope to organize a club of some sort among the local hotshoes, and perhaps one of your readers might enjoy exchanging correspondence about similar efforts. I had thought that a nearly complete collection of CYCLE WORLD since its inception might be a nice legacy for such a group, a minor bid for the people-topeople program.
NORM GRABLE American Embassy APO San Francisco, Calif. 96352
VINDIANS
I found the Indian issue quite interesting. Although I’ve given up motorcycles since taking LSD, I can’t resist mentioning a few “historical” bits of information, regarding the Indian factory. First, when Indian took over distributing English bikes, there was a fierce dislike between the “old boys” at the factory, and the “new boys” selling the Limey machines. It so happens a fellow I know living in Ohio, loaned his Vincent to his girl friend. She frequently used it for weekend hops to the Indian factory in Massachusetts (!) to meet some of her friends among the old boys. In gratitude, they often gave her new Vincent parts they swiped from the new crowd, and shortly, my friend had a very well equipped Vincent!!
Another nugget of historical information I doubt has ever made print: A certain chap wanted a Vincent “Lightning” and ordered it from the Indian factory. For some odd reason, instead of having it shipped over from England, they built the machine up at the Indian plant from spare parts. I doubt if the Vincent company ever knew about this, and would be most surprised to find out there is an extra genuine Lightning in existence. This machine is currently owned by a neighbor of mine and is unique in that the crankcase never had any serial numbers imprinted upon it.
(Continued on page 12)
The picture on page 69 brings tears of sentiment to me. I had one of these Indian shaft drives, and consider it one of the great classic designs of all times. If only they had put it into civil production! Six hundred Indian shaft drives were built for the army, and 1,000 Harley shaft drives. The Harley was horizontally opposed, and the Indian a transverse mounted 750cc vee twin. They were both designed for desert use, and had specially made sand tires. The Indian’s crankcase had 12 separate compartments and when I unwisely tried to take mine apart for overhaul (with .050-inch wear in the bores!), I got down to the 8th compartment and was stumped! In fact, I had to give the remains away.
Incidentally, Indian was strongly influenced by Vincent (the shaft drive’s front fork is almost a copy of the Girdraulic fork) and you may like to know at one time plans were underway to fit Vincent Shadow engines in Indian Chief frames.
VAUGHAN M. GREENE San Francisco, Calif.
FOR ROMANTIC YANKS
I enclose a page from a recent BMW Club newsletter. You will find this Britisher’s comments concerning the American motorcycling scene interesting I’m sure.
During the past few years a number of good American motorcycle magazines have appeared and they are well worth reading whenever you happen to come across them. They are much glossier than ours, and liberally sprinkled with slick, professionally-produced advertisements in the best Madison Avenue tradition. The articles often have a slightly didactic atmosphere about them, coupled with the suggestion that "We’re not only telling you this — we’re having to find out about it ourselves” — in other words, a youngish, let’s find out attitude appropriate to a motorcycling ‘scene’ which is relatively new and lacking in the backlog of myth and tradition which exists in this country. I mean, we have all read about such heroes as Crasher White and Jimmy Guthrie the mythology of the Scott and Brough, the racing heritage of Norton, and so on, together with the romantic aura which surrounds "those days” and the press pundits who wrote about them. It’s a kind of Golden Treasury of Anecdotes, in which the storm-coated and flat-capped he-men of the last fifty years appear as de mi-gods, complete with their girder forks, springheels, butt-ended tubes and everlasting grimy fortitude.
The American New Scene is quite different. It’s the bright, new, on-campus, get-up-and-go kids in their smartly cut leathers ("in six different colours”), beaming guys and dolls astride the latest allchrome cycle, that take prominence. It's charmingly ingenuous, the way in which
all those things we in Europe take for granted like pouring rain, greasy roads, tanks that split and batteries that boil are discussed over there. You're advised to "have the garage give your cycle a good check-over” before you set out on that cross-continent tour. I should think! In fact it often appears that some decent and unfortunate young couple who having just begun motorcycling with the purchase of a brand-new 750-cc tourer Whatsit and the intention of embarking on a trip from New York to California, have broken down before they’ve even got as far as the state line. They write a plaintive but polite letter to the Editor, telling him that the garage has said that their new cycle will need a complete rebuild; surely, they expostulate, not with a new bike? Crimson with embarrassment for them and for what the Ed. will reply one turns the page and comes face to face with a full-page purple passage advertising that same machine, claiming all the virtues under the sun, and finishing off with "Built with loving care by dedicated craftsmen in the best traditions of this fine English marque.” Don’t shoot the adman; he’s doing his best! Seriously though, what kind of national pride is our industry taking in the maintenance of its traditional craftsmanship? Those who face facts will recognize that the big bike market is finished as a manufacturer’s proposition in this country today, but the American market is wide open for competition for the best big road bike. Why don’t the English firms really get in there with something good and orig¡nal in conception? Lethargy during the years when machines were selling well over here is partly responsible for the presentday decline in interest. Tradition, so important to enthusiasts over here, cuts very little ice with the new American riders who just aren't interested in the reasons why such and such a mode! has kept the same shape of silencer or the same type of engine for forty years. They want to know whether the bike's better all round than the latest Japanese import. If it is they’ll buy it, all other things being equal. If it's alleged to be “an enthusiast's machine, full of character", but is in fact chronically unreliable, old-fashioned and rather grubby in appearance, notoriously difficult to start and fiddling to look after, they're just not interested and rightly so. Won every TT for a decade, did it? Then why isn’t it better than the new Kamikaze?
(Continued on page 16)
All this is really self-evident, but l couldn't help thinking (dong these lines as l walked round the dull and disappointing Earls Court show. There didn't seem to be a great deal we could offer the Americans that hasn't been tried already. The NortonVilliers ‘Commando’ consisting of a flexibly-mounted Atlas engine in a new frame, appeared to be merely a slight rehash of the old vertical-twin theme. Appearance comes into this to some extent, l agree; it wouldn't do to be too unorthodox. But here's a suggestion. How about a small. simple four (water or aircooled) with plain bearings, just like a car engine, but of about 900 cc., mounted transversal/}' in something like a (¡reeves frame, with bolted-up unit construction, five speeds, self-starter, and Nylok duplex toothed belt final drive running inside its own fiberclass case — no adjustment, no lubrication, cheap, silent, and with 50,000 tuiles life. 12-V electrics (really reliable ones), disc brakes, radiators (if water-cooled) built neatly into the nose of the tank. Optioned full fiberglass enclosure. The genera! reliability of the American car. Just the sort of thing in fact to appeal to all those novice long-distance enthusiasts who expect to get away with “garage checks" before cross-continent trips. Make it smart-looking enough and it should appeal to the guys on campus as well. — R. M.
ROLAND H. BAKF.R, JR. Suffield, Conn.
ADVICE WOULD BE NICE
We. my wife and I. are seriously thinking about making a trip to the USA during 1968 for a stay of three or four months. We think we shall bring our CB450 over with us rather than buy a machine there.
However, on subjects such as this we would be grateful for advice from readers experienced in long trips.
Our plan is roughly to arrive in New York and. after seeing the most we can there, to travel across as much of America as possible and to eventually arrive in Ontario, Canada. After a stay with relatives there, we’ll be off again to California to spend some time watching road race meetings.
So, if any motorcyclists would be good enough to drop us a line, we’ll answer them all and ask questions. We would accept some offers of a night's lodging, too — the only way to see a country is to meet its people at home.
In return, we will offer free board and keep to any motorcyclist, from anywhere. We boast one of the world’s most beautiful cathedrals and have several road race circuits within 100 miles, with racing almost every weekend.
BRIAN & LORA WILLIAMS 8 Rudgard Lane Lincoln, Fngland
GRANNY-A-GO-GO
I’m a 60-year-old grandmother that loves motorcycles. After my husband passed away two years ago, I made several trips behind my grandson on his Yamaha 305. He's trying now to teach me to ride it, but it’s a pretty big bike for me. I think if I had a 125 or even a 100 I could do just fine. 1 think this is pretty good because I have never driven a car.
My liking for motorcycles is a true feeling even if 1 am looked on as the nut of my neighborhood. I’d like to hear from other people around my age that are interested in motorcycles.
MARY A. LOOMIS 6169 Iris St.
Central Point, Ore. 97501
