Round Up
ROUND UP
JOE PARKHURST
DIE-HARD motorcyclists are pretty hard to keep down. CW readers may have learned from our letters columns that motorcycling is booming in Vietnam. We hear regularly from hundreds of riders in service in Vietnam who have purchased bikes from the PX or local dealers, and, in some cases, have shipped their own machines over. They don’t seem to be doing much racing, but a heck of a lot of guys are getting around on bikes.
Now the U.S. Army has revealed that a new type of reconnaissance patrol is being used; the men are mounted on motorcycles. They roar (as the AP news wire puts it) out of a firebase and cruise until they arrive at a point where the dusty road is crossed by a likely looking foot trail. Diving off into the brush, they search cross-country for the Viet Cong.
The experimental group is part of the 25th Infantry Division, my old outfit (I think I’ll cry). They are under the command of Lt. Steven Campbell of Annandale, Va., who believes two similar, four-man motorcycle patrols may be added soon. “I wanted to cover a bigger area in less time with my recon patrols,” Campbell said. He presented the idea to the brass, and they agreed to give it a try. The bikes are Japanese 175-cc models, brand unspecified, that cost $374 in Vietnam. They are extremely effective on what are called high-speed trails, those used most often by bicycles, which form a huge network. To date the patrol has proven to be very effective and has uncovered many rocket launching sites, and other evidence of enemy activity.
Seems to me the only problem would be sneaking up on the VC. As any woodsman will tell you, you can hear the damn things coming from miles away.
NEW TRAINING PROGRAM
A pilot program of motorcycle rider training has been introduced at the Torrance, Calif., YMCA. The classes, held each Saturday morning, and sponsored by Yamaha International, are intended to initiate youngsters into the correct basic habits of sane motorcycling. Roxy Rockwood, administrator of the program, and former instructor with the Los Angeles Police Dept, for 15 years, said, “Most instructors try to teach too much, which may leave a pupil confused. Here, we will teach these kids the basics, the important basics. The machines we use are all 100 cc and under, with no electric starters or automatic clutches. The instructors will be mostly off-duty officers and teachers.” Rockwood continued, “Seventy percent of today’s motorcycle accidents occur on bikes not owned by the rider. And when anyone attempts a new skill with a new machine, he has a good chance of making a serious mistake.”
The course is comprised of four meetings of three hours duration. Of the 12 hours of instruction, 95 percent of that time will be spent on the motorcycles. Also, all participating students will take the California State Rider’s test before passing.
The course begins with demonstration of the safety helmet and the proper protective clothing. Then, the students are shown the use of motorcycle controls and starting procedures. Shortly afterward, with helmets fitted, the young riders are making way around the YMCA parking lot in formation behind the instructor. As the class travels around the lot, the instructor signals changes in speed, shifting and turning while the class maintains formation.
In ensuing classes, the pupils will learn how to negotiate motorcycles through tight, twisty pylon courses, avoidance procedures and emergency braking, “The key of the course,” says Rockwood. “We want them to learn to use safely the innately better braking afforded by a motorcycle.”
The ultimate goal of this pilot program is to arrive at a course outline which can be effectively administered in all parts of the country with maximum efficiency. “We learned about bikes in the school of literally hard knocks,” Rockwood said. “We’re trying to help them avoid that misery.”
NOT EVERYONE SHOULD DRIVE
Universal Underwriters must be one of the best insurance companies, but I have found another that at least is saying the right things. Continental Insurance Companies may hate motorcycles and refuse to insure them—a state of mind not at all uncommon among insurance companies. But one of the organization’s ads contains a line I really like: “Not Everyone Should Drive.”
The ad describes the problems of the average, modern-day driver, coping with 400-horsepower monsters that will do a quarter in the high 13s and high 90s. People don’t have to buy such difficultto-maintain and dangerous vehicles, mind you, but they are buying them in droves. The ad advises those who are concerned with the dangers ever present in this absurd situation to write their local legislators, demanding driving tests which really test. It encourages the weeding out of drivers who “have gone bad.”
Lo, the anguished cries of being deprived of constitutional rights, and the like. But what an idea! While you’re writing, ask your legislator to find someone competent to write the motorcycle driving test questionnaires and to judge the abilities of the applicants. We’ll have more to say about this growing problem at a later date. In the meantime, put CYCLE WORLD aside for just a minute, get out your pen or pencil, and write....
PROMOTING SAFETY AT EYE LEVEL
St. Cloud, Minn., is the home of the Barons Motorcycle Club. It is a small club, but its members sure are carrying a big stick. They recently decided to try to remedy the traditional traffic safety problems on holidays such as Memorial Day. This year, club members positioned themselves at critical intersections in the city, and handed out cards which read: “Drive Safely—Careless Drivers Get Carried Away. Signed: The Barons Motorcycle Club.”
It may not seem like much, but a little effort like this, amplified throughout the country, could produce truly beneficial results. And, as always, the indomitable spirit of the motorcyclist shows its fine qualities. I’m personally quite proud of the Barons. Real royalty.
BIG FINANCE IN MOTORCYCLING
Not long ago I met a real man of finance—Malcolm S. Forbes, president of Forbes magazine, one of the leading, if not the top, magazine dealing with the world of business and finance. Lately I’ve reported several mergers and acquisitions in the big business/motorcycle world. Forbes was interested in getting into the motorcycle industry one way or another. He “sort of, kind of, would have maybe liked to buy CW.” We weren’t in a selling mood (we rarely are), and he soon got over the urge when he found out that owning CW wasn’t the way to get into the industry in a small way. He was a pleasant man, and he went his way.
We just received an announcement concerning how Forbes finally did join this business. His company has merged with Hank Siegers’ firm in Whippany, N.J. It’s now Forbes-Slegers Motorcycles, Inc. Hank has been in the business for 15 years, selling BMW, BSA, Honda and Triumph, plus handling and importing several lines of motorcycle accessories including Craven saddle bags and Barbour riding suits. Siegers was born in New Jersey, but was raised in Belgium, and returned to the States in 1946. I see him almost every year on the Isle of Man in the company of a gaggle of road riders who are taking part in one of his special tours.
Forbes was an unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate in New Jersey a few years back. It’s pretty evident that he enjoys life, work, and riding motorcycles. He and his sons have a bike or two, somewhat to the chagrin of his well established, family-run firm. The new venture will, I’m sure, generate a considerable growth period for the Siegers company.
CORL ARISES
I met a lady with an unlikely name, Hildmae Voght, but with a very likely proposition. Miss Voght is the executive secretary of an organization named California Outdoor Recreation League. CORL was founded to unite, promote, and protect outdoor recreation in the state. It is a non-profit corporation, made up of interested individuals. Its specific purposes are to represent all persons interested in outdoor recreations and facilities; to prevent restrictive legislation considered not in the best interest of outdoorsmen; to work with governmental agencies to develop more and better recreation areas in California; and to educate the public in safe driving habits, cleanliness, anti-littering, curbing of destruction of public facilities, and how to work for better recreational use of our natural resources. Quite a mouthful for any group, much less one so small.
Which brings me to the point—the organization is small, and would like to grow. It is trying to do something that is badly needed in California, and most other states as well. Our public lands are indeed in danger, -either of being awarded to private interests, or of being closed to recreationists. This applies to all outdoorsmen, which certainly includes motorcyclists. I have talked to representatives of several factions concerned, such as the rock hounds, or gems and minerals nuts, dune buggy enthusiasts and jeep drivers. (The latter group is the least cooperative. Jeep drivers appear to consider themselves a notch or two above the rest of us. If they don’t shape up soon, things will improve very little.)
CORL’s January 1969 Progress Report is a very informative publication. The group has been quite busy. For our readers in California, I think it would be advisable for you to join, assuming you ride off the road and care that governmental officials will try to prevent you from doing so in the near future. I mentioned the Bureau of Land Management’s plans in the March issue. It is just one element in the grand plan to reduce or eliminate access to California public lands. What really bothers me is that those who don’t want us to use the desert are people who aren’t using it themselves and never will, for the most part anyway. I’ll have more on this subject next month. In the meantime, join CORL. We have.
CORL’s address is 4264 East Florence Avenue, Bell, CA 90201, telephone, (213) 585-0581. Membership costs only $2. You will be asked whether you would like to take an active part in running the organization. President of CORL is David Gould, 406 W. Regent St., Inglewood, CA 90301. [Ô]
