Round Up

Round Up

HONDAS AFTER NEXT

The complete 1977 Honda line, far as we know, is described in general in Honda’s 12-page ad section elsewhere in this issue. Most of the news has been announced in bits and pieces earlier, with the exception of the performance version of the 750, the one delayed for reworking to meet the latest competition.

Spies of our acquaintance, meanwhile, tell us there will be some really new stuff from Honda later in 1977. to be billed as the 1978 line. What they will be, we can't say. We do hear that a series of four-stroke off-road Singles, as in the XR75 except for adults with engines to match, is something Honda is working hard on.

Sounds reasonable. At one of the industry get-togethers late in 1976 there was a big Thumper, bright red, like an MR250 except with XL350 engine. And Honda has a 500 Single under test in the U.S. and being sold in Australia.

JUSTICE AND LAW

Curiosity can be a wonderful thing, especially when one’s self-interest is involved. Consider this contribution from a reader who is a practicing attorney:

“I received a traffic ticket for doing 44 mph in a 30 mph zone and uncovered a defense you may wish to pass on to your readers.

“California Vehicle Code Section 40802(b) provides that on a particular section of highway with a posted or prima facie speed limit enforced with the aid of radar or other electronic devices, the speed must be proved in court.

“Within five years of the date the citation w'as issued, there must have been a traffic survey, which shows the average speed of traffic on that section of road or highway.

“The officer wffio issued the citation is required to bring to court a certified copy of the traffic survey.

“The posted speed for the section of the road is not allowed to be more than three mph less than the average speed as shown by the survey.

“In other words, if daily traffic has been surveyed at 34 mph and the posted speed is 30 mph, or if the section hasn’t been surveyed, the section of road and the use of radar or other devices must be declared a speed trap. Under Vehicle Code 40804(a) if the officer bases his testimony on a speed trap, he is declared incompetent as a witness.

“The section of road where I was cited had been surveyed, the officer brought the certified copy and it showed daily traffic moved at 34 mph, while the posted speed was 30 mph.

“My citation was dismissed.’’

The reader’s name is being withheld for obvious reasons. While his defense only applies initially to California law, most state vehicle codes are roughly similar and other states may well have provisions of the same type. (And how nice it is to find a law written to protect the motorist from those who’d have the police serve chiefly as collectors of revenue.) Legal research by laymen is difficult, but it could be far more useful than telling a bored judge the same excuse he hears from every accused speeder.

Next, a scientific reason (but no cure) for a problem as old as the motorcycle and the semi-automated traffic light.

MASS DISCRIMINATION

Little did I realize when I bought a Honda CB360 over a year ago that I w'ould fall victim to one of the more ridiculous forms of discrimination.

“I’m sure many of us have approached a stop light and noticed either a rectangular or hexagonal outline in the roadway in the path of traffic. These devices are sensors of the pressure pad (rectangular) or loop detector (hexagonal) varieties. Their purpose is to regulate the light sequence to accommodate the demands of prevailing traffic conditions.

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“Congratulations and thanks are extended to those responsible for this improvement over the locked-in timing devices which caused the light to turn red although there were no other vehicles in sight.

“Just like the designer who builds a complex electronic machine and forgets to include an on/off switch, though, this new traffic control system has lost something in the transition from drawing board to practical application.

“As an avid biker, I have become increasingly frustrated and angry with this electronic wonder.

“The sensors are nothing more than sophisticated on/off switches. The pressure pad type is activated by weight and the loop detector is triggered by the presence of a quantity of metal one foot or so away.

“All cars on the road today have sufficient weight and/or metal content to activate these switches, thereby receiving the welcome go-ahead signal w ithin a reasonable time.

“But for more than 40 percent of the time, my Honda and I don’t have what it takes to get the light to change. I can only assume bikers with machines in the same weight and size class share the same problem.

“We unfortunates—the country’s greatest gas savers, no less—must sit and fume until some automobile driver is kind enough to pass over the sensors for us. Waiting for that car can become quite an endurance test, particularly in the left-turn lane. I have on several occasions been forced to sit through two or even three complete cycles before finally, at the risk of a ticket or even a fine, proceeding through the intersection regardless of the light.

“I’ve tried every technique I can think of; getting off the bike and jumping on the sensor; placing the bike broadside to traffic with both wheels on the pad and bouncing the bike up and down; laying the bike on its side to get more metal closer to the loop detector. Each of these tricks is accompanied by varying degrees of cursing and screaming.

(“Other motorists have found this sofascinating that many have pulled over to w'atch. Thanks, gang.)

“My last resort—w'hich usually works—is to put the bike on its stand and walk to the pedestrian crossing control. I push the button and dash madly back across the street, furiously dodging trafile. This allows me just enough time to vault onto the bike and get through the intersection before the light reverts to its eternal red.

“In response to my desperate plea for action, my local traffic department could only come up with the sage confirmation, ‘Yes, motorcycles are a problem for the sensors.’

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“In our age of social consciousness, this appalling, widespread discrimination on the basis of size and weight should not be allowed to continue.

“Are not all vehicles created equal in the eyes of the road?”

—Daniel T. Tracy

If there encouraging words for this problem (which most riders have experienced, even though we may not have known why the lights ignored us) we don’t have them here. When more people with more political clout ride motorcycles, something will be done. Meanwhile . . .

MOTORCYCLES WELCOME

A news item from the American Motorcyclist Association strikes one of the rarer notes.

Seems the Colorado Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation followed their mandate and has established the Arapahoe Motorized Recreation Area, a 650acre facility for motorcycles.

Sounds great. The initial system was a motocross track with trails around the park, but plans are (were?) more trails, some hillclimbs, trials sections, in short, all the types and places to ride an off-road biker could hope for.

And the park is reasonably close to Denver, a population center.

The flaws are first, the state park people are not skilled at promotion. The AMA doesn't say how or why, but there doesn’t seem to have been any publicity about this park. Perhaps as a result, the park isn’t getting much use.

Colorado has a sensible policy; development money goes where the people go, that is, if a park isn’t used, it doesn’t get money to attract more use. More of a threat is that if riders don’t use motorcycle parks, public or private, then when there are requests for off-road riding areas the people in charge can safely say there’s no demand for them.

The AMA bulletin urges all motorcyclists in the area to use Arapahoe, to tell others about the park and perhaps even let public officials know the park is being used and appreciated. We second the motion. The man with more information in re hours and so forth is Dennis Scheiwe, Manager, Arapahoe Motorized Recreation Area, 4201 S. Parker Rd., Denver, Colo. 80232.

CITIZEN RIDERS

Getting a fair share of public land for motorcycles is one of our most pressing problems. Needs no introduction, so to speak.

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The U.S. Congress and the various federal agencies have been planning some public use policies for the past few years. The planning is part of an executive directive issued about two chief executives ago.

We here are concerned about this. While we are interested (and in our home area are involved) this magazine cannot keep up to date on all the public hearings, preliminary plans, etc., which are done before the feds issue the rules. Sounds sort of hollow to say what all publications say, that each of us should do our part in attending the hearings, writing letters, talking with neighbors and other political techniques.

But if we don’t do it for ourselves, nobody’s going to do it for us.

A CHANCE TO CLEAN UP

Speaking of public involvement, the Rand Mountain Recreation Area in the desert northeast of Los Angeles is a popular (and relatively unrestricted) riding area. It’s also the scene of a politically useful annual event: a clean-up day.

The day—actually it’s a weekend, with one day for work the other for fun—is sponsored by the California Off-Road Vehicle Association, Motorcycle Owners, Riders and Enthusiasts, the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies and the California division of the federal Bureau of Fand Management. (Nice assortment of sponsors.)

The past clean-up day drew more than 400 volunteers. They gathered something like 48 tons of bottles, paper, cans, old car bodies and other litter. They also fenced off nine abandoned mine shafts, a leading cause of injury and worse in the desert.

Clean-up days for 1977 are April 2 and 3. with the working on Saturday, movies Saturday night and various activities on Sunday. Camping, of course. For more details, write to Dick Harlow', Ridgecrest Resource Area, BFM, 340 Segundo, Ridgecrest, Calif. 93555.

JOHN HARLEY DIES

John Harley, son of one of the founders of Harley-Davidson and a lifelong HD employee, died last December at the age of 61.

John Harley w'as a mechanical engineer. He joined H-D in 1939 as a draftsman and later served as a project engineer and in the sales, service and parts divisions of the company. His last post was Industrial Affairs Manager. John Harley was the son of co-founder William S. Harley.

PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION

Don’t take this seriously. In the wake of the various energy and ecological crises, there has come into being a group known as the International Human Powered Vehicle Association. It’s a racing group, of all things, and what they do is hold races for vehicles powered by people, either solo or in concert.

No kidding. The only rules are that the vehicle must be powered by one or more human beings. They set out timing lights and clock the various creations and give prizes to the winners. How fast? Last year’s Multi, (pedaled by three men) ran through the lights at 48.95 mph. The fastest Single did 47.80 mph, so pow'er-to-w'eight is the rule minus engines, just as it is with engines.

All of which leads up to the association having written to us saying if we’d be so kind, and if our readers would like to watch or take part, the 1977 International Human Powered Speed Championships is scheduled for April 30 at Ontario Motor Speedw'ay. §j