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SAFER CLOTHING FOR HIGHER SPEEDS
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING for racers has improved over the years, but in some instances its development has not been sufficient to cope with the speed potential of current racing machinery.
One such instance is road racing, in which 150-mph straightaways are commonplace. If a rider gets off in his traditional leather garb at anywhere near that speed, he can look forward to some very painful abrasions, because the leather wears away at contact points with the ground before the rider stops sliding. Moreover, at the point of initial contact with the ground, leather has a tendency to resist sliding. When this occurs, it is torn and injuries result immediately.
What’s needed is a new material that is not only tougher, but that will resist tearing on initial contact. Dave Bennett, an engineer for General Motors in Detroit, believes he has a solution. He has designed and currently competes in a multi-layered protective suit made of Nomex. The outer layer is of standard Nomex like that automobile racers use, but in a thicker configuration. Inside is a layer of Teflon-impregnated Nomex that not only slides easily, but is almost impossible to wear through. Pads for hips, knees, elbows, and the like complete the suit.
It sounds radical and it is, but Dave is the only person I know who has survived several 80-mph get-offs without so much as a scratch. For further information, he can be contacted at 33715 Somerset, Westland, MI 48185.
EXCESSIVE INVENTORIES CAN BRING PRICE REDUCTIONS
PRODUCTION AND EXPORT of Japanese-made motorcycles has shown a sharp decline from which recovery is not expected until mid-1976.
One of the major reasons for this slowdown is the need to liquidate excessive inventories in the U.S. . . .inventories that grew because bike sales during the fuel crisis of 1975 did not meet manufacturers’ expectations. In the January to June period alone, 596,000 units were imported against actual sales of 443,000, for a surplus of 150,000.
The U.S. economy improved in the second half of ’75, but this had minimal effect on the motorcycle industry because bike sales seasonally slacken after September.
At the consumer level, this situation will produce reduced prices and/or rebates on a lot of models, so be sure to compare brand prices before you buy.
ANOTHER BLOW FOR THE BRITISH
THE BRITISH manufacturing industry took yet another downward turn, this time in Italy. The British Leyland Innocenti car factory in Milan was closed, putting 4200 people out of work. Alejandro deTomaso, owner of Benelli, Moto-Guzzi and Maserati, plans to reopen the plant to make motorcycles and compete with the Japanese on the European market, with financial backing from the Italian government. Meanwhile, Honda has opened a factory at Atessa in Central Italy and has begun production of a 125cc Single.
MOTORIZED BICYCLES: ARE CURRENT REGULATIONS SUFFICIENT TO ENSURE SAFE OPERATION
▲NEW LAW defining and regulating the motorized bicycle went into effect in California on January 1, 1976. The law defines the motorized bicycle as: “any two or three wheeled device having fully operative pedals for propulsion by human power, or having no pedals if powered solely by electrical energy, and an automatic transmission and a motor which produces less than two gross brake horsepower, and is capable of moving the vehicle at a maximum speed of not more than 30 mph on level ground.”
Any valid California driver’s license is sufficient for operation on streets, and the vehicle is subject to all bicycle registration laws.
In addition to streets, operation is allowed on bicycle paths if they are on or adjacent to a roadway, but not allowed on off-road paths unless permitted by local ordinance.
California is the tenth state to enact specific legislation regarding the operation of motorized bicycles. Other states with moped laws already in effect are Hawaii, Nevada, Ohio, Michigan, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey and Texas (see accompanying chart). Bills are pending in a number of other states.
Complementing this favorable state legislation is a Department of Transportation ruling that has lessened lighting requirements for motor driven cycles and exempted them from brake fade tests. Together, these state and federal rulings make the motorized bicycle a salable commodity.
Only two questions remain. Will the public swallow the bait and purchase mopeds? And if moped sales increase, will they prove safe in operation on American highways?
“Who knows?” is the best answer we can come up with for the first question. As for the second, they probably will not prove as safe in the U.S. as they have in Europe. Here’s why: 1. They are too slow to keep up with traffic. 2. Because a motorcycle license is not required (some states do not require licenses), and because mopeds are advertised as something anyone can learn to ride in minutes, people will venture out on the streets before they have acquired the skill and perception necessary to survive. 3. The American automobile driver is not used to sharing the road with anything that does not pose a threat to his safety. This is the main reason bicyclists get killed readily in this country, and it’s the reason bicycle paths are now being constructed nationwide.
In our estimation, the moped is as defenseless as a bicycle when out in traffic. Add untrained riders and you have a dangerous situation at best. J
