Letters
LETTERS
HE’S FOUND HIS FAVORITE
Being an avid motorcycle fan, I like to be on top of what’s happening. Reading mags like this is a good way. Every month different mags test a different brand of bike or cover different events, so you pick up the mag with the article you want. After all they’re all the same, right? WRONG!
Recently I picked up a mag whose name I’d never even heard of. Upon opening to the first test I found a picture of the bike with test rider aboard, clad in blue jeans, T-shirt, and K-Mart $2.00 special boots. Being interested in the bike, I read on. Expecting a report on quality, powerband, tires, rims, handling characteristics, dyno, etc., I got a few hundred words that contained none of the above. The bike was not criticized for anything at all. It was like reading a salesman poking you full of supposed facts when he knows only what the spec sheet says. This is what you pay a hard-earned buck for? A mag that from cover to cover doesn’t do anything but set you back a dollar? This is the last time I make that mistake again! My subscription is in the mail to your mag now.
Craig Laman Denver, Colo.
THEY RIDE TOO, YOU KNOW
I am a 15-year-old female who is interested in motorcycles, and I am very disappointed in CYCLE WORLD. Your magazine usually gives a very wide view on new things or ideas, but I very rarely see any articles having to do with or written by females. Even in advertisements, all I ever see are men.
There are many girls who are experienced at riding motorcycles and working on them, including me. I am sure a lot of other females feel the same way I do. If you are interested in promoting your circulation you might consider having more articles that appeal to the female reader, such as an article with a female changing the oil or adjusting a chain, or a picture of a girl covered with mud after riding an enduro. I feel that articles like these would really make an improvement.
Sue Cheesman Milford, Mich.
SWITCHING TO UNCOLA
You’ve probably seen R.C. Cola’s latest commercial that shows a girl singing about what a great time she’s having riding her bike. Why, since the commercial is centered on her, isn’t she doing the riding instead of sitting on the back (without wearing goggles even). I posed this question to the advertising department of the company at 10th St. & 1 0th Ave., Columbus, GA 31901, and told them I wouldn’t drink their product again until they changed the ad. Advertisers have too much influence on people to show someone riding around without any eye protection and especially droning on and on about her life on her bike when she isn’t riding it.
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I’m not a militant feminist, but I’m getting tired of token attempts at including us female bikers in the scheme of things. If anyone feels the same way, please write to the R.C. Cola company and tell them so.
Kathy A. Johnson Waukegan, 111.
ALDANA NO DRUNKARD
I am writing in regard to a letter in your July issue about David Aldana. I can’t understand why people make such rash statements when they don’t really know what or whom they’re talking about. Don’t get me wrong, I love CYCLE WORLD, but____
As for John Clark’s letter in your July issue, it stinks! What does he mean the readers deserve and usually get better articles? If the readers deserved anything it was not having to read his ridiculous letter. We all thought the story by John Ulrich in your March issue was pretty good, but when people like Clark start voicing their bad opinions publicly, without an ounce of truth to any of them, it is not only damaging to the person being talked about, but also upsets those of us who know him personally.
To know David Aldana is to love David Aldana! There’s nothing phony about the guy. He always tells it like it is, and if there are people who can’t accept the truth, I’m sure David won’t Jose any sleep over it. He never said anything to lead the public to believe that the “road to racing success is paved with empty booze bottles.” And what do you (editor) mean by “David’s excessive drinking problem?” “If it does indeed exist,” is right! I’ve known David for a good many years and feel I’ve got some right to stick up for the guy, not that he needs any defending, or would even want it for that matter.
David is far from an alcoholic, and that’s fact. What’s your definition of an alcoholic anyway? A drink at a party, or every once in awhile? David to me is somebody who likes to have a good time all the time, and can do so with or without drinking. He’s good people and doesn’t have anything to hide. The mere fact that he stated he’d rather get drunk than mess with drugs doesn’t mean he’s addicted to booze. If that be the case, I suppose 99.9 percent of our population should be classified as alcoholics. Do you Clark, or you Mr. Editor fall into that category? Alcoholism is a serious disease, a label I wouldn’t want to place on anybody. And when you use the term so loosely, we the public automatically start thinking “bad news.” Fortunately, Mr. Aldana does not have such a problem, and with all of your thousands of readers, I thought we had ought to let them know the truth. Thanks for listening.
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K. A. Neelon Santa Ana, Calif.
EVERY ROSE HAS THORNS
I have been a regular reader of CYCLE WORLD since 1963. In all that time I have read a lot of cycle magazines, but yours is still easily the best on the market.
I have never written to you before, but the other night I heard something that really riled me. There is a radio station in Los Angeles that has talk shows on at night. This station (KFI) has a host named Hilly Rose who is quite popular in Southern California. I agree with most of his comments on topical events, but the other night this guy really floored me. He said, “I don’t happen to like people who ride motorcycles.” How is that for a closed-minded remark? In one statement this guy puts down more than five million people in this country.
The thing that scares me is the number of people who idolize this man; his influence isn’t to be taken lightly. Perhaps your readers should flood KFI (141 N. Vermont, Los Angeles, CA) with letters opposing his prejudice against motorcyclists.
Gary Meese Montclair, Calif.
FIRST-TIME ROAD RACERS
As the owner of a cafe racer for the past four years, I agree with the attitude implicit in John D. Ulrich’s September article on beginners’ road racing, and in Cook Neilson’s “Off the Streets” editorial in Cycle a few months back. A race track, with ambulance drivers, corner workers, and other racers all playing the same game, is a far better place to learn fast riding than a “racer road,” with its stop signs, potholes, unfriendly dogs and harried housewives in station wagons.
But you seem to forget that not everyone lives within spitting distance of a road race course. I’ve just returned from a weekend at Nelson Ledges in Ohio, the nearest track to Chicago that offers regularly scheduled road racing, and I must report that as a 34-year-old homeowner with U/2 kids, and a wife who barely tolerates bikes, there’s no way I’m going to get into the habit of making 16-hour, two-state round trips on my free weekends just to put on some fast miles.
This is particularly true when one considers crashing, which happened to both the racers I traveled east with (neither was injured, fortunately). Certainly a program for beginners such as the AFM’s would do much to reduce first-time getoffs, but even experienced racers I know talk of crashing in terms of when, not if. In the case of my friends, one crashed on oil, another got off because a too-hard rear tire slipped in the carousel turn.
Ignoring medical expenses, if any, a high-speed tumble can mean mangled exhaust pipes, bent forks, twisted handlebars, ripped leathers and dented Bell Stars, all expensive to replace.
It’d be foolish to think that racing doesn’t cost money, of course, or to fail to budget for such expenses, but to have to travel 700 or 800 miles round trip to do the damage is asking too much.
In my ideal world, Chicago-area riders would be able to try racing by attending riders’ schools and club races run by competent, consistent organizations at such tracks as Blackhawk Farms in Rockton, 111., or Elkhart Lake’s Road America course in Wisconsin.
But until that happens (and both tracks seem sewed up by sports car events, so it doesn’t seem too likely), it appears that my only alternative to giving up riding altogether is to relax my throttle hand a bit, keep my eyes peeled for potholes, station wagons and radar traps, and to enjoy whatever local racer roads I can find. It’s not the best solution, for me or for society in general, but it’s more like what I can afford in terms of money and time. If you can suggest alternatives I’m overlooking, I’d appreciate it.
Jim Quinn Oak Park, 111.
I was very glad to see something on road racing (Sept. ’75) in your magazine, because I’m very interested in racing this way with motorcycles. You gave me some of the ins and outs of it.
Please write more on road racing!
Don Evans Pleasanton, Calif.
RODNEY RETURNS
I’ve been waiting many months for an answer to my letter. Your answer in the August ’75 issue was what I expected, a lot of sarcasm, but little facts. I think a positive attitude is always best. If nothing more it makes me feel better. A negative attitude breeds the same.
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I know you’re against mandatory helmet laws, but you should make more noise, with facts to back it up. There’s a new organization called C.O.O.L., Box 8113, Topeka, KS 66608 from which you can get more information on helmet laws and the effects on us. Also, try the John Birch Society, 2627 Mission St., San Marino, CA 91108. You’ll find out how federal funds filter into different projects. I’d rather lose some federal funds than lose some of my freedom, which is what is happening.
The “Up Front” article on energy proposals before Congress is right on. I’ve already written regarding some of those bills. I hope others will do the same. Since I belong to the John Birch Society I already know about these and many other bills like them. I usually put my message on a 4x6 post card so I can keep it short and to the point.
In closing, I think you should read the U.S. Constitution. It may have been written 200 years ago, but it’s up to date in what it says. You’ll never get rid of people like me who love truth and facts.
I’m still not going to renew my subscription. Road Rider is still number one. Oh, I forgot! Let’s see you print this.
Rodney Davey Seattle, Wash.
Well, Rodney, as you can see, we once again fell for the old “Let’s see you print this” ploy.-Ed.
HAVE LEARNED A LOT
I’d like to comment on your “Road Riding” series. My experience in dealing with riding in traffic is mostly limited to bicycles. I’ve been using non-powered vehicles for six or seven years, riding especially downhill in traffic and have been using Mr. Hunt’s techniques as a method of self-preservation. Eye contact is all-important, as is making very clearly understood your intentions as to lane changes and turns.
I’ve found the wobbling routine especially effective in drawing attention from motorists who really otherwise wouldn’t see me, due, I think, to simple lack of interest. Dudley Perkins, in the same issue, puts the matter into a few simple words—the rider must “watch every situation, keep his mind on the job.” Short of jumping straight into the air and hovering until the stupidity below clears, that seems to me to be a two-wheeler’s (motorized or not) best accident insurance.
I intend to buy my first motorcycle soon and I’d like to say that your magazine contains a great deal of useful information presented in a clear and entertaining manner.
Tom Paterson Arrowsmith, 111.
Just lately I was involved in a bike accident. It was the common “run off the road type” that might scare the beginner and bore the vets.
I was traveling down a country road when a dump truck, which was coming toward me, crossed the center line. I was too busy looking at the truck to notice a dip in the road. The dip caused my front wheel to shiver and the truck was still coming. I hit my brakes and tried to lay the bike down. The next thing I remember was lying still in a ditch 54 feet away.
The point I’m trying to make is that no one ever told me, nor did I ever read anything, about emergency bike handling until I read “Road Riding” by Dan Hunt in the July issue of CW. The only thing I regret is that I didn’t read it until I was in the hospital. I was fascinated by the article. I hope every biker gets to read something on the emergency handling of bikes before they find out the hard way, as I did, with a broken nose, fractured arm and a hurting pride.
I want to commend Dan Hunt for a job well done.
George Schmitt Saginaw, Mich.
WOMEN BIKERS' DIRECTORY
Uppity Women, a feminist motorcycle club in Detroit, is assembling a Women Bikers’ Directory which will be available to Directory members next spring.
When Catharine Colon, founder of the club, traveled 7500 miles alone this summer, she never saw another woman touring alone.
“It puzzled me at first,” says Ms. Colon. “I know a lot of women ride, but why weren’t more of us touring? In eight weeks I saw only two women touring on their own bikes, and they were with male partners.”
Ms. Colon feels that perhaps the fear of mechanical failure away from home keeps women from traveling.
To alleviate some of these fears, the Uppity Women are preparing the Directory, which will list women bikers by state and city. Only first names and phone numbers will be used, to assure privacy and safety. Couples will be listed under the woman’s name.
Directory members will be committed only to furnishing information on reliable motorcycle repair shops, local camping, inexpensive motels and decent restaurants. But Ms. Colon expects that a good deal of hospitality will take place as well. And a psychological safety valve has been added—an encouragement for women to take longer trips, knowing that there are unmet friends along the way.
The club expects to produce the directory for $3 or less. Women who wish to be included should write Uppity Women, c/o D. Smith, Detroit, MI 48231, and include a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. They will then receive a newsletter and an application form for Directory membership.
DO THEY PASS?
I am an experienced motorcyclist, having ridden trials courses as well as motocross. It is imperative that a cyclist on the street be more adept at handling his particular road bike than the Sunday dirt rider. So I invite Texas policemen to ride their assigned police hog through the mandatory pylon test for a Texas driver’s license themselves, before commenting on my personal trials form.
Joseph L. Phillips E9 Humble, Texas
