Roundup
ROUNDUP
CYCLE WORLD
VOL. 17 NO.4
THE ENDLESS(MINDLESS?) DEBATE
Prepare to take sides. Our western ad man Jim (Desert Crazy) Hansen believes the definition of an overweight engine is one with valves. CW alumnus Fernando Belair, now toiling for Honda's ad agency, cherishes a four-stroke Honda with every modification possible. They were on a twoday ride together, during which Fernando 's mount encountered a spot of malfunction. Jim decided to rub it in. Their correspondence follows:
Dear Ferd:
We're glad you could come on the ride and hope you had a good time putting a few break-in miles on the ol' four-stroke.
I was amazed at the speed and agility of your mount. The dust kicked up by your mighty thump was indeed impressive to those of us waiting at the highway for your arrival.
I think I've seen the light. For a paltry $3000 or so I too could have a good fourstroke; a bike that starts easily on the 25th kick, a machine that will always get you through, and a low maintenance bill, only a couple of hundred bucks per weekend. What more could one want?
Jim
Dear Jim.
I'm grateful for your comments but wish no credit. Although our pace was a dull stroll for my mighty marvel, we were glad to run behind the two-strokes, making sure they all made the correct turns (since we all know that anyone who rides a two-stroke hasn't got enough brains to read a map). It's always good to have a two-stroke lead the pack on such a ride. Not only do they make nifty targets for '53 pickup trucks on blind curves, but even with a strong wind blowing it's easy to follow them. Even after the stench of premix has dissipated the trail of dead and choking shrubbery can be followed by a blind man on a moonless night.
I know you've just ordered a new twostroke. I hope your loved ones have the foresight to provide the proper equipment, such as a 6.6-gal. tank, a case of spark plugs, a baker's dozen Motoplats, 12 lower-end seals, a six-pack of pistons of various overbores, a vial of muriatic acid and of course a portable honing tool.
Let me assure you your comments have affected me deeply. I intend to go home this evening, whiz into an empty can of two-stroke oil and sell it to the kid down the street who owns a trail bike.
If you ever want to know the feel of a real man's machine, just tap me on the shoulder as I pass and I'll stop and let you kiss my megaphone.
Ferd
RECORDS-OFFICIAL AND NOT SO
Amazing what people will do to set a record. Three Australians have completed the world's longest ride, 500 hours, non-stop and that means non-stop, aboard a Yamaha XS500.
The actual riding, for 20 days and 20 hours, isn't hard to imagine. Likewise the motives. First, the record-setting team was sponsored by an Australian Yamaha dealer, who did it as newsworthy proof that the XS500 is durable and reliable.
About that non-stop. Refueling was handled by another bike, with a sidecar. The chair carried a man. a fuel tank with extra-long spout and a hand-operated pump. The refueling rig pulled alongside, the solo rider opened the tank and guided the spout and the monkey pumped.
But the record bike had a flat tire and later a worn-out tire. How did they handle that, non-stop? Planning. The team had a hydraulic hoist, on wheels. They gently rode the Yamaha onto the hoist, then hauled the front wheel off the ground and changed tires while the entire assembly rolled slowly down the road, with the engine running.
The project was done with such care because The Guinness Book of World Records, which recognizes such feats, had already drawn up the rules.
The next step, though, is still in the debating stages: Is there a world record for pushing motorcycles and if so, of what does the record consist?
Seems there's a school in England where the lads bid for the record by pushing a non-running cycle for days on end. And there's an English motorcycle club which did the same thing.
The students, though, claim the record because they achieved the most distance, while the clubmen pushed for a longer period of time. Both have submitted their claims to the Guinness people and the matter is now in arbitration.
OUR HERO
Our own Tony Swan has joined the cavalry, as in To The Rescue.
Unplanned. What Tony set out to do was run an errand on a test bike. He was warming the engine in our parking lot when 'round the corner of the lot. running fast, came a gentleman clutching a metal box. A few yards behind him was another man. The second runner had barely enough strength to shout "Stop him! He's got the cashbox!"
The human foot is no match for four powerful cylinders. Tony quickly caught the runner, who was in good condition. He also looked determined, jogging along with the loot clutched firmly to his chest.
Tony rode up to. past and then in literal circles around the thief. Then inspiration arrived. "Drop the box," Tony said, "and I'll let you go."
A couple more blocks and the bad guy was tired enough to see the good sense in this deal. So he carefully placed the box on a parked car and loped away. Tonyscooped up the cash and returned it to a grateful owner.
All in a day's work, he said modestly.
NO MORE T'NTS
Sad but sensible news from Can-Am is that there will not be any more T'NTs built by the Canadian firm.
Chalk it up to economics and the new federal regulations. All street-legal motorcycles sold in the U.S. and built after January 1. 1978. must conform to various standards for emissions, noise, lights and the like. Meeting these requirements isn't impossible. The problem is the cost of proving that each model or engine family does conform to the laws. A certification can cost as much as S25.000.
For a large manufacturer, selling 10.000 examples of each model per year, the cost can be passed on without having to raise the price.
For a small maker, building a few thousand of each, the extra money hurts, especially when for other economic reasons the small factory has to begin with higher prices than does the large factory.
Can-Am's motorcycle division is only a small part of a large company, thus the firm doesn't need to make street-legal bikes. The Rotax engine division can in fact make better use of its facilities by building engines for snowmobiles and the Can-Am Qualifier and MX-4 models. Can-Am has therefore decided to phase out the T'NT line, as of calendar year 1978. (They tell us there are still some pre'78 T'NTS in dealer stocks, so if you want one. better buy it quickly.)
PRESERVING OUR WHAT?
Mention was made here last month of the belief that cooperation with the government by motorcycle groups will help our cause, specifically in California. Well. In one part of the California desert. Cadiz Valley/Danby Lake, the federal Bureau of Land Management has just reversed a long-standing policy and limited otf-road vehicle use there to designated roads and trails, with some competitive events perhaps allowed on an experimental basis.
One of the reasons given for the switch was that the land in question was used for training troops for World War II. There may be live ordnance still out there, which strikes us as a good reason for caution, but with that came the news that the tracks and scars already on the desert floor shouldn't be disturbed because they were made bv tanks under the command of General Patton.
HISTORY CLASS
Perhaps there is nothing new under the sun. A little item in the Ohio Motorcycle Dealers Association newsletter tells us that the first motorcycle of record in the U.S. was the work of William Austin. Winthrop. Massachusetts, in 1868. It was powered bv steam.
THE LIGHTS-ON QUESTION
Representatives of the American Motorcycle Association have been meeting with officials from Illinois to discuss that state's lights-on law for motorcycles.
AMA legislative analyst Gary Winn noted that the law has been on the books for 10 years and that the state has failed to show any effect of the law. positive or not. His testimony also touched on a study conducted at the University of Dayton, which showed a possible reduction in the ability of drivers to correctly judge the rate of closure for a motorcycle with headlight on. Winn added that the lack of visible difference between taillights and brakelights during the day could increase the risk of rear-end collisions.
PENTONS BY ANOTHER NAME
As of the 1978 model year. KTM motorcycles will be sold in all parts of the country by . . . KTM.
Economics. For as long as we can remember. the Penton family, winners of more enduros, titles, gold medals, etc. than can be counted, have been advising the KTM factory on American needs and have been racing and selling KTMs under the Penton name in the eastern U.S.
It was a workable arrangement. But now that the market has become more competitive. now that mass-produced enduro bikes are improved while selling for less. Penton and KTM can't afford the structure such an arrangement requires.
THE IRON REDSKIN
The Iron Redskin by Harry V. Sucher is one of those books written for people who wish to know more about extinct makes than is provided by the usual magazine article or hardcover quickie. Comprising some 317 pages of closely printed text and photos exclusive of appendices, it is more a tome for a rainy weekend than an evening's light reading. Commencing well before the partnership between a Spaniard and a Swede to make a yet better motorcycle in the early 1900s, Mr. Sucher's book cites chapter and verse about the inner workings and often bizarre palace politics of the Indian motorcycle factory. This is not a book of competition successes although competition is not neglected: this is So the Pentons are selling their distributorship back to the factory. They'll concentrate on their other business. HiPoint Accessories, and Penton/KTM dealers will deal with KTM direct.
It will take some time for the riding public to get used to this, so in the immediate future the KTM line will continue to be sold under the Penton name.
More important for the sport of enduro, the Penton family will keep on racing Pentons/KTMs. They'll be in all the big events, working toward the ISDT. and the KTM factory will back the top men from the former Penton team.
We're also told that the faetory will continue to use the Pentons' expertise and advice when it comes to designing serious dirt bikes for the American market. not a mine of mechanical information although text and appendices tell the Indian enthusiast (if he doesn't know it already) enough to identify that old red bike he found in a barn. Bore, stroke and a few other details are listed but not such esotérica as valve timing or How To Start It. ready) enough to identify that old red bike he found in a barn. Bore, stroke and a few other details are listed but not such eso terica as valve timing or How To Start It.
DON'T TRUDGE IT ...RUDGE IT
Artisans of slightly obscure makes like the Rudge are even slightly more zealous than Crusaders on their way to save Jerusalem from the Infidels who. of course, had all the right to be there in the first place. Bryan Reynolds is clearly such a fanatic but has the grace to be both humorous and informative in writingDon't Trudge It . . . Rudge It, in the process not only telling the story of one of England's most interesting marques but also, unwittingly, tracing very clearly why the Pom motorcycle industry went up the bleeding spout.
Rudge however went on its way, prospering when things were prosperous (i.e. a seller's market) and going to the wall when things were not. The designers, like a profligate and spendthrift wife, produced some marvelous devices like the landmark Rudge Multi and the four-valve Rudge Ulster but the ceaseless search for novelty such as a spring steel sidecar frame (think about that), coupled brakes, electric lighting (the English never got that to work for long), an accessory spring-loaded cap that snapped over the carb to put out fires, a "gliding" front fork held together by wing nuts, a "canoe" sidecar that was a real canoe, an 8-in. 6-shoe front brake, a gearbox with about 100 needle rollers (mechanics forward!), and finally a trailer with two beds, washstand and cookstove finally did them in. Not the least of their problems was a selection of 112 special nuts and bolts on the Rudge that didn't fit any other bike on the market or vice versa, an obligato that runs through the history of British motorcycling. Competition successes saved them for a while but some rather unusual handling characteristics and even more unusual race preparation eventually put paid to that. too. I have ridden an Ulster and very nice it was but evidently the buying public didn't agree: with the onset of WWII the Rudge vanished into the bowels of a radar factory, never to be seen again.
Not only Rudge owners in the United States (all 10 of you) but those in search of a good read will have to have this book. Wait till you learn about Fay Taylour's 500lb. speedway bike that was so stiff it wouldn't turn! Beautiful. From Havnes Publications, 861 Lawrence Dr.. Newbury Park. Calif. 91320. The price is $10.95.
HNM III
