Feedback

FEEDBACK

Readers are invited to have their say about motorcycles they own or have owned. Anything is fair game: performance, handling, reliability, service, parts availability, funkiness, lovability, you name it. Suggestions: be objective, be fair, no wildly emotional but illfounded invectives; include useful facts like miles on odometer, time owned, model year, special equipment and accessories bought, etc.

THE SUPER GLIDE

If he's honest with himself, what red-blooded American motorcyclist hasn't pined for a Harley? Last year I gave up pining (and financial solvency) to buy a new `71 Super Glide. I've had Zundapps, a BSA, a little Honda, a big Honda, a Norton, and now the 74. I liked them all. Probably the best bike, the Norton, I liked the least. But the Super Glide is another thing altogether: a weird, eccentric, totally lovable bike. What has impressed me was the uncanny accuracy of the road tests and articles on the Super Glide in the leading cycle magazines. As they pre dicted, the brakes are terrible! Tailgate and you are dead. Also it took me 2000 miles to learn how to start the beast easily. The exhaust pipes quickly dis colored. It fouled plug after plug until I corrected the factory mistiming and carb adjustment. My bike, along with the new cop bikes in town, had a defective timing pinion gear.

What the articles failed to point o.ut is the difficulty in obtaining anything from the dealers, even spark plugs. I had to wait four months for a plastic view plug.required for timing. It's ironic that parts for my Norton were easier to obtain here by writing Elite Motors in London, where I bought the Com mando. I will say this: When that pinion started clacking, the dealer carted the 74 off in his pickup to the factory, where it was made right. It would be difficult for Honda to say they've done the same.

All of this is bygone. Once the initial troubles were straightened out, it has become the steadiest bike I have owned. What the magazine articles only hinted at I now enjoy every day: the unrivaled joy of riding the beast, a strong, strong, thumping bike in the fine old tradition of American motorcycling. An anachro nism in tne aay 0! etectric start, turn signals, white metal, four-cylinder mo torcycles (in popular pastels) designed for the hip, young executive. Motor cycling seems to be on the same track as sportscars; there are intangibles present in my MG TF that are simply not present in modern, so-called sports cars. The Super Glide is gross, but so is motorcycling.

C.R. MacCluer Lansing, Mich.

HIS COMPLIMENTS

I have some compliments I wish to offer to the United States Suzuki Mo tors Co., and to my Suzuki dealer, Floyd Emde Co. of San Diego.

Someone rear-ended my Suzuki 500 about two months ago, and when the insurance company finally approved the repairs, my dealer ordered the parts. He was then informed that Suzuki was closed for inventory, and that nothing was being sent out. Still, about three days later, all but a few of the parts arrived at the dealer's. Even though they had closed for inventory, Suzuki was nice enough to send the parts anyway. This, to me, is really fine customer treatment! My dealer got right on the job, and the bike was out of the shop within 24 hours after the parts were delivered! Again, fine customer treat ment!

I have read many letters from readers, screaming about the poor ser vice and the delays in getting their machines serviced. I have never had a delay with my dealer, and parts were always in stock, or delivered within eight or 10 days. I guess I am just lucky. I might add that my Suzuki has over 10,700 miles on it, put on in less than nine months' use. One set of rings and a set of tires is all that has needed to be replaced. Splendid bike!

David "Wally" Mann San Diego, Calif.

ROAD TEST DEALERS?

I've just been riding for a few months, so I still have a lot to learn about motorcycles and motorcycle dealers.

When I first decided to buy, I went out and bought your magazine and a few others like it. After reading all of them, I decided I wanted a dirt bike. Then after reading more, I decided the Kawasaki Bighorn was for me. Your articles and advertisements didn't say anything about the fact that you can't get parts, if you live anywhere but California, except by waiting two or three weeks. You also didn't mention that Kawasaki wasn't very particular about who they got for dealers.

F.C. Jordan Houston, Texas

Unfortunately, we haven't roadtested any dealers lately. It might be a nice idea, if we could figure out how to do it.-Ed.

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"NEW" BSA LIGHTNING

You people recently did an article on the new `71 BSA Lightning, so I thought I'd write you and tell you about my new BSA Lightning.

I bought the bike on June 5; since that date it has spent 93 days in the shop. Since I bought this brand new bike, the gas tank split open, the clutch blew twice, one coil burned out, the Zener diode burned out, the fork seals blew, the horn mount broke, the pri mary chain stretched, and right now the clutch is gone again, and the valve train and cams are on their last legs. And it's not out of warranty yet!

To make it even better, when it is on the road, it blows out from 100 to 500 cc's of oil a week, and only gets about 35 to 45 miles per gallon of gas.

I don't ride the bike that hard and even if I did, I've hardly had a chance to anyway. I have never seen a poorer made motorcycle in my life. On top of the above-mentioned faults, the paint is spotty, the chrome peels, and there were no instrument lights in the bike when I bought it. Almost every BSA I've seen in Europe has had some or all of the above problems. And the service is ridiculous. It took 83 days for a new clutch to arrive at Heidelburg from Frankfurt, a distance of less than 100 miles.

So much for my say on the BSA. I've tried to get this bike replaced by the factory, but they refuse to even talk about it or even repair it in a normal length of time.

Neal Sager Boblingen, Germany

A 4000-MILE "TEST"

The following account of the perfor mance of two well known motorcycles during an extensive tour may be of interest to CYCLE WORLD readers. Personally, I find the "Feedback" col umn to be extremely interesting, help ful, and one of the best additions to your magazine in the eight years I've been reading CYCLE WORLD.

A friend and I just completed a 4000-mile tour through the western United States and Canada which proved to be an excellent test of our machines. My bike was a 1971 Honda CB450 purchased in December, 1970, and my friend rode a 1971 Norton Commando Roadster that he bought in May, 1971. Soon after purchase the Norton de veloped numerous problems. After the recommended break-in and only 2500 miles the Norton required a new set of piston rings. At 5800 miles it was evident that new valve guides were needed, but because of a lack of funds, new guides were not installed.

With 7600 miles on the odometer and bated breaths we began our trip. By then, and throughout the tour, the Norton. used a quart of 50-weight oil every 350-400 miles, due, we think, primarily to oil leaking from around the tachometer cable inlet on the engine, from the side casings, from the over productive chain oiler, and by the worn valve guides.

Ifle oil leaking saturated the air tilter with oil and, because of the absence of Norton dealers, necessitated removal of the filter for the latter half of the trip. At 9600 miles, in Dubois, Wyoming, the rear engine mounting bolts vibrated loose which caused us some alarm, but we managed to replace and tighten them with our limited supply of tools since no motorcycle shops were nearby. This occurred again in West Glacier, Mon tana-another town with no bike shops. Then, at 10,800 miles, near Ellens burg, Washington, the primary chain began to chatter and required tighten ing. Neither the local Triumph, Honda, or Yamaha shops knew anything about Nortons, but a Honda mechanic was kind enough to lend us his tools.

The exhaust pipes also vibrated loose from the engine several times, resulting in a continual check to guard against further such occurrences.

At 11,000 miles the throttle became very stiff. This was recently attributed to a sticky left carburetor slide and frayed throttle cable. The fuse blew near California's Mt. Shasta with 11,200 miles on the machine, but this was later traced to a short circuit in one of the saddlebag taillights. An annoying short in the horn wiring developed at 11,400 miles which caused the horn to blow at will and often at embarrassing moments. The side stand also presented diffi culties with the bike loaded with camp ing equipment; the stand did not place the bike at a sufficiently upright angle to prevent the top-heaviness from pul ling the bike over-an irritating problem at best.

On the positive side, the Norton's power, acceleration, "Isolastië" ride and smooth gearbox are excellent. Lucas lighting is good, though not on a par with the Honda CB450. Handling is precise, although top-heaviness is experi enced with a full load of camping gear. The brakes are good, although they developed a squeaking during applica tion not long after the machine's pur chase.

Because of an aggravating tweeting sound produced by the mufflers, my friend cut off the reversed cones on the ends of the tail pipes that then required the installation of oversized main jets (230). Frequent carburetor adjustments and finally the installation of the stock main jets (220) were necessary above 600 ft. At higher elevations the Norton ran erratically but still produced ample power, even over 11 ,000-ft. Colorado and Wyoming mountain passes.

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Gas consumption was 37-44 mpg at an average highway speed of 65-70 mph. Indicated top speed was 113 mph with large fiberglass saddlebags and camping gear.

My Honda CB450 had 3400 miles on the odometer when we left and was nearly free of problems during the whole trip. The chain oiler was inade quate; therefore, frequent lubrication was necessary. Even with the extra lubrication the chain required tightening every night (one thing the Norton did not require), and by the end of the trip, with 7600 miles on the bike, the chain was replaced.

For our own safety we always rode with our headlights on, and, during a pounding rainstorm in Montana (a state that requires motorcycle headlights to be on at all times), the low beam burned out. I later noticed that the speedom eter and tachometer bulbs had also blown.

Because of the famous inadequacies of most motorcycle horns, I installed a low-pitched Toyota horn which greatly increased my "beep power" as well as providing a pleasing harmony with my original horn. But because of the addi tional power needed for the second horn, and with the demands of long distance touring, an electric starter and a constantly operating headlight, it was necessary to top up the battery water twice during the trip. Perhaps a larger battery would be better for touring, although the original one did get the job done.

The front brake developed a squeak after riding in the rain, but when I returned home I merely removed the disc pads, picked out most of the small foreign objects imbedded in them, sanded the pads, reinstalled and ad justed them, and the squeak disap peared.

The Honda had originally been equipped with NGK B8E S spark plugs, but because of the desert heat and sustained 70-mph riding my local Honda dealer recommended B-bE plugs that proved to be excellent on the open road but easily fouled in city traffic.

The performance of the machine was great, and the Honda was smooth at all times. I felt a loss of power in high altitudes and frequent downshifting to fourth and sometimes third gear was. required on hills and in stiff headwinds, but the bike was an enjoyable mount at all times. No carburetor adjustments were necessary, whereas the Norton was constantly alternating a lean and rich mixture.

Oil consumption was 1½ qt. of 40-weight oil in 4000 miles, as com pared to the Commando's 11½ qt. Gas mileage was 44.2 mpg with a large Bates windshield at an average highway speed of 65-70 mph. Top speed indicated 96 mph, with large fiberglass saddlebags' and camping gear.

In conclusion, the Norton proved to be a great bike for the man who likes to tinker with his machine to keep it in good running condition. But for us, the touring riders, this constant attention proved to be a pain in the neck. The "Fastback" model would have been better because of its increased fuel capacity (3.9 gal. as compared to the "Roadster's" 2.7 gal.). The Roadster can only travel about 85 miles when the rider must begin searching for a gas station.

And for long desert stretches, carry ing extra fuel is almost compulsory. Also, because of the lack of Norton dealers, one is constantly aware of the possibility of a breakdown without the comforting assurance that a Norton dealer is nearby. And for the $ 1 595 price tag, one should not have to experi ence such concern.

The Honda CB4SO was a good tour ing bike, although I experienced some fatigue when riding for two hours or more without stopping. Some high fre quency vibration was felt, which one does not encounter in a large Twin, but the Honda 450 is an excellent com promise in-town and touring machine. Handling is good, even with full touring equipment, lighting is excellent, and braking is superb. All factors indicate a great buy for $1050.

There is enough power for the aver age rider, even with a windshield, sad dlebags, and camping gear, and also there is the reassuring thought of Honda reliability and impressive network of Honda dealerships throughout the coun try.

Eric Montizambert Mill Valley, Calif.