Letters

LETTERS

BORROWED SLOGAN

We recently advertised our new motorcycle club with a poster-carrying car escorted by four bikes in a “Spring Week” parade at Penn State University. Among our club policies are better public relations. Take note of the bottom lines of the poster in the enclosed picture. We borrowed a slogan from your mag.

ROBERT L. ECHARD State College, Pa.

AN ADDED EXTRA

In answer to all these guys bitching about the advertising: 1 don’t see what the gripe is. At a buck a whack, catalogs will have you in the poor house before long, if you’re at all interested in what’s going on in the parts/accessories department. Consider it ... an “added extra.” JOHN T. PARKER Richmond, Ind.

BRA KING TECHNIQUE

While riding my 750 Honda on a very slick surface, caused by a sudden rainstorm recently, 1 learned something i thought might be worth passing on to others. When riding a motorcycle on a slick surface, be sure to disengage the clutch while using the rear brake. This is to prevent excessive application of the rear brake from killing the engine by locking up the rear wheel, something which can easily be done on a slick surface. The locked up rear wheel causes the bike to become unstable and the normal reaction is to immediately release the rear brake. However, with the engine dead and the clutch engaged, the rear wheel may continue to slide, prolonging the instability. 1 didn’t go down as a result of this type of incident, but 1 came close. I found that disengaging the clutch while applying the rear brake

worked much better. If the rear wheel locked up, the brake could be released, and stability immediately regained.

CHET SHUPE Scottsdale, Ariz.

There are pros and cons to your suggestion. If your engine locks up when you touch your rear brake, it is more than likely that you are braking too hard.

Should you grab your clutch prior to braking in the wet, you increase the possibility of locking the rear wheel, as the inertia of the engine is no longer present to resist the stopping effect of the brake on the wheel.

Perhaps it would be wiser to grab the clutch AFTER you have locked the rear wheel and killed the engine. And, the wisest choice of all would be to apply the rear brake more gently in subtle balance with the front brake. — Ed.

THANKS FROM A DEALER

1 have been staying with you on “The Scene” for several months now. I want to thank you for your honesty and forthright courage to write what has needed to be written for a long time now.

Here is one dealer who knows that what you write is a very true fact, and I just hope everyone else who rides, races, or sells motorcycles can see the truth also.

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JACK E. QUALLINE member of MIC San Antonio, Texas

CALIBRATED MIRRORS

I read with some interest the letter from Lee R. Kelly in the July issue. How right that lad was. Some of the mirrors on bikes are real suicide tickets.

In the early 1960s, 1 purchased a Honda 160 which had the dubious distinction of being called “freeway legal” because of its 15 romping horses. This tremendous surging power placed you on the freeway somewhere in the pecking order with a KW diesel semi, towing a full trailer, and the Sunday morning street sweeper.

After several very near misses from vehicles which appeared to be at a considerable safe distance in the mirror prior to passing, I finally decided to do something about it.

With the assistance of two friends and their automobiles, we layed out what we thought was two freeway lanes. We then parked the cars approximately 300 ft. behind the Honda. Using a thin-line paint brush, I drew two thin horizontal lines across both mirrors, including both automobiles in between the lines.

After several more weeks of riding, 1 determined that once an auto was between the two lines, it was almost too late to make my passing move around the car in front of me. However, I did discover by eliminating the top line and making my move before the auto touched the lower line, I generally could pass leisurely.

This may not be everyone's answer to the poor mirror problems on motorcycles, but it surely was mine. Every motorcycle 1 have owned since then I have calibrated the mirrors on both sides for safe passing distance, and it has worked out great.

ERNEST E. VAN MATRE Crestón, Calif.

“LESS SOUND” STICKERS

Will you please send me the address and cost of the “Less Sound, More Ground” stickers at the Off-Road Vehicle Institute in San Diego.

I live out in the orange groves in Riverside, right next to about 700 acres of hills, and the city closed them down, mainly because of the noise. I used to have a nice Yamaha 250 DT-1, but I

sold it because there was no place to ride except out in the orange groves, and that’s no fun at all. I just hope the city will open it up again or something.

GARY THOMAS Riverside, Calif.

The address is: Off-Road Vehicle Institute, 7345 Broadway, Lemon Grove, CA 92045. -Ed.

TWO-STROKE RECOLLECTIONS

Re; “Zweitakt Motorrad Museum”-

Having over 40 years of stroker experience behind me, I found the above article in your June issue of deep interest. Clearly Augustusburg must be visited, if only that border could be crossed. In such a short article there were bound to be omissions, so a few comments on these may add to the picture in the early 1920s. As Richard Renstrom said, the close of this decade saw two-stroke design in the doldrums. In the early Twenties, however, there were three outstanding British machines-Levis, Scott and Velocette.

The twin, water-cooled Scott is even now world famous, and its 1924 open frame Squirrel, with its two-speed, stamp-on-it footchange, is eagerly sought by vintage collectors. It handled superbly, and had numerous racing and trials successes, until overhead valves caught up and passed those deflector headed pistons. This highly original machine had plunger front forks back in 1910!

The Levis had a 247-cc engine and also won endless awards in trials and hillclimbs, including the 1922 IOM 250 race and the French Grand Prix (G.S. Davison up in each case).

The 249-cc Velocette, with its overhung crankshaft and mechanical oiling, was a “must” for racing or trials men in this period. It was costly, but the noted Velocette finish was worthwhile. With minor tuning, it would reach 65-70 mph; very good then. It hauled a light sidecar without trouble.

Most interesting of all was the 350-cc Italian Garelli, which had endless successes in European competitions from 1920 to 1926, including The French Grand Prix in 1922 (beating the famed 500-cc flat twin Douglas, no mean feat). In 1923 it held 76 world records, and in 1926, 138. With a sidecar, it gained more records, one for 24 hours. It ran in the Junior IOM TT in 1926 until, lapping up near the winner’s speed, it retired with a broken throttle. The design was similar to that of the Puch, two vertical cylinders with a common head, but instead of Puch’s differential timing, there was a single wristpin for the two pistons. The inlet and transfer ports were in one cylinder, the two exhaust ports in the other, thus reducing loss of fresh charge. The long cylinder head was shaped to provide squish effect and had one spark plug for touring and two for racing. Bore and stroke were 50 by 98mm for touring, and 3 2 by 82 for racing. Likewise, racing models had a second carburetor in the exhaust cylinder and the normal petroil lubrication augmented by an automatic drip feed. It was a wrist construction job. with a two-speed gear, and a fully enclosed gear driven magneto. The machines had outstanding reliability and, even racing, exceptional fuel economy-no signs of the insatiable thirst of today’s racing strokers.

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All these engines were running long before Dr. Schnurle had decapitated those distorted deflector pistons, but even so, there was a faint awareness of gas flow conditions. For it was found that, for high rpm, straight-through exhaust pipes brought loss of power and overheating, whereas an expansion chamber close to the cylinder gave best results. Levis found that the volume of this chamber was important, and also the size of the outlet from it —a crude forerunner of today’s tuned reverse cone exhaust systems. Garelli’s doublecylinder layout, however, allowed him to use straight-through pipes. All data on two-stroke tuning was, in those days, gained through guesswork and continual trial and error, and was in consequence carefully guarded. Incidentally, the Garelli system was used in the 1950s by the German TWN, a finely designed 250-cc machine, which was reputed to have high reliability and economy. Curiously, I saw one of these machines a few weeks ago, owned by a tourist.

Best wishes to your admirable journal, so welcome every month. But please no more of that dual carriageway layout used on pages 79-83 of your June issue. An irritating gimmick that gains nothing.

JOHN F. MANNING Dublin, Ireland

TICKET-GETTER

I have been a reader of CYCLE WORLD ever since it became available here, and have followed with interest the many letters regarding the introduction of compulsory wearing of safety helmets in some U.S. states.

Enclosed is a copy of a traffic department fine I recently had to pay. Eorty dollars may not be much by U.S. wage standards; however, it is only $ l 2 less than my weekly take-home wages! Here in New Zealand, motorcyclists have many petty laws, made for our "protection." including: maximum speed with pillion passenger, 45 mph; maximum speed without approved helmet, 30 mph. At present, a new bill banning “ape hanger’-type bars, and also extended fork legs, is being pushed through . . . Where does it all end.

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DON RAYNES Auckland, New Zealand

"GET THE HELL OUT”

“Welcome Motorcyclists” read the multitude of signs posted in the business establishments of Laconia-Wiers Beach, N.H. on the weekend of the Loudon National.

“We don’t want you here ... get the hell out,” countered the N.H. state trooper as he confiscated the security chains my brother and 1 were carrying locked to our bikes in Weirs Beach on Saturday afternoon.

These chains were securely wrapped around and locked to the bike luggage carriers, and were not in such a position as to be readily available for use as “weapons,” as they were referred to by the policeman. As of this date (July 18) we have not been able to recover the chains as we were told we could.

This type of treatment need not be tolerated by bike riders if we complain to the appropriate people. In this case, I have written letters regarding this incident to the Laconia Chamber of Commerce, the N.H. Governor’s Office, and the ACLU. May I urge all cyclists who are hassled by the police in an unreasonable manner to react in a similar manner, and perhaps someday we may be able to ride our bikes and not be regarded as undesirables by the nonriding public and their “protectors.” Meanwhile, don't carry a security chain in Laconia, N.H.

CARL CARLSON Acton, Mass.

THE INJURED RACER

While recently viewing the cycling flick “On Any Sunday,” I was disturbed by an implication which placed the responsibility of professional motorcycle racers in doubt.

Early in the movie a statement was made that while racing, a rider must literally trust his life to the rider from whom he may be speeding only inches away, because if one goes down they both will. Later, in extolling the “courage” of professionals, various riders were shown competing after soaking casts off broken legs, or with a broken nose and in a dazed condition after having previously crashed badly. Also mentioned was a rider who competed with a partially healed broken back.

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My point is this: in a sport which requires such splendid physical conditioning, these riders seem to me to be exhibiting some kind of misplaced egoism rather than the professional responsibility indicated. I would be hesitant about placing my life in the hands of a partially disabled crony.

Although the entertainment value of the movie was excellent and is bound to place motorcycling even more in the public eye, motorcyclists are not all imbued with death wishes, and in the face of voluminous restrictive legislation pending, the inference that could conceivably be drawn by the public from these portions can only hurt our cause. It has been hurt enough here with off road riding banned in the country.

If motorcycling is to be greeted with open arms wherever it appears, still more care must be taken to avoid even the appearance of evil until motorcycling reaches the public acceptability level of other sports.

DAVID EDWARDY Riverside, Calif.

While we, too, sometimes wonder at the partial slate of repair in which some riders go out to race, we cannot believe that a rider would do so out of egoism. Professional racing is just that - professional to make money. Professional racing is a job, a living. If you, a racer, are injured, you are out of work and out of money. Unless you have a good factory contract that pays regardless of inactivity due to racing injury, you do not eat. Hopefully, a professional racer is professional enough to properly judge when it is the proper time to soak off his cast and resume racing safely. Ed.

ADV ER TI SING 'S UPS & DO WNS

Since your magazine was increased in size, I have read many letters complaining about the large amount of advertising. I agree with your answer on page nine of your June issue, that advertising does provide much useful information to the reader. I particularly enjoyed Suzuki’s contribution to your March issue.

What I am unable to see is what useful information an automobile advertisement can provide to a motorcyclist. (Page 41 of June issue, and also appearing in other issues.) I’m not going to condemn your magazine because of one mistake, but if I wanted to read car

advertisements, I would buy Car Craft or some similar publication.

JOHN DAVIDSON Marmora, Ontario Canada

The somewhat rigid logic of your last paragraph leads us to the conclusion that the only kind of ads Playboy magazine should accept are those for sex manuals, dating services and brothels.-Vá.

“AN UNDERSTA TEME NT"

l have just finished a year’s subscription to your magazine, and just subscribed for three more years. There has not been one article in the 12 books that I didn't like. I would like to congratulate every person on the staff. When I saw your test on the Yamaha 175 Enduro in July 1971, I couldn't believe it. Only two weeks before, I'd gotten mine, and, I must say, it was truthful. Which is like every other test I’ve found, because I've ridden quite a few cycles.

I dig every kind of competition. I attend motocross weekly, and hope to ride soon. To sum it up, the little statement under the title of CYCLE WORLD is an understatement. Keep up the good magazine.

DION COLLET [Ö] St. Charles, Mo.