Letters

LETTERS

KEEP ’EM RUNNIN’

Over the last few months I’ve read of your editor’s noble attempts to keep his vintage dual-purpose Japanese motorcycle running. I am sympathetic to so noble a cause. In our throw-away, obsolete-tomorrow culture, loyalty to a trusted friend is not often found. Also, from a purely economical standpoint, there are bunches of us out in readerland who can’t afford the latest scoot.

I must say, however, that your editor’s problems are not as difficult as he thinks they are. I surmise from what I’ve read that he owns a modified 1972 Honda XL250. Honda must have made about two zillion of them. Compare this to my particular albatross, a modified 1972 Ossa 250 Pioneer-Stiletto (don’t even ask). Parts availability is one thing; getting those parts to work in harmony with each other is an entirely different matter. Add to that the yearly ritual of getting the beast inspected for street legality. And don’t forget how many Ossa dealers there are these days (Yeah, kid, I used to sell Ossas, but my business now is chain saws).

Is it really worth it? When it’s blow-a-

bulb, foul-a-plug time, I would say no. But when scores of Yamaha (and XL250) riders chase me across town just to get a better look at just what the hell I’m riding, yeah, it’s worth it—I guess.

Hang in there.

Lee Barnes Greensboro, N.C.

INVISIBLE MAN

I’m not an eye doctor, but I’m certain our visual perceptors detect movement across their field of vision much more quickly than toward or away from them, i.e. a motorcyclist crossing, or moving right to left for instance, will be picked up and recorded by my eyes sooner than the biker riding toward me.

For that reason I make it a habit to swerve or zig-zag when approaching a potential car turning left. This may give the perceptors of the driver a chance to see me sooner than would otherwise be the case. Obviously the same practice is used to attract the attention of drivers at cross streets, entering traffic and other applicable situations. When riding in traffic it seems to me that you have to continually ask yourself “Of all the cars around, who can surprise me?” and “Who can I surprise?” You might be surprised how often the answers can modify what you’re doing at the moment.

I think the motorcyclist must bear almost total responsibility for making himself visible and I think the swerve/zig-zag technique is well worth considering.

Bob Denby

Bellevue, Wash.

TIRE TEST FEEDBACK

Congratulations on your August 1978 tire test report. Your test program exhibits extraordinary imagination, energy, and critical self-awareness. Somebody at CONTINENTAL once compared tire testing to the classic problem of eating an elephant: The issue is not where you take the first bite, but that you’d better be prepared for some heavy chewing. We in the industry and I am sure your riderreaders appreciate a fresh and unbiased assessment of the many tire choices actually out there.

We look forward to further reports in the series, particularly to a look at tire wear characteristics. Perhaps your test will confirm what we strongly believe: that trade-> offs between durability and performance aren’t necessary, a high-performance tire can also be a high mileage tire.

Arnold van Ruitenbeek Vice President Continental Products Corporation

The tire tests included in your August issue were excellent. It is indeed refreshing to read test results that are straightforward and meaningful. Keep up the good work.

Ted H. Davis Fuqua Cycle Columbus. Ohio

Terrific! Fantastic! Super test of all those tires. Something that really needed to be done and the number of tires sampled and the quantity of information gathered was staggering. Well Done.

I have one request. Please test the Dunlop K-8l (TT 100) which as all production racers know is the one tire. (Except for those fortunate few who have gotten their hands on the Michelins tires with the super soft race compound.)

I know you only tested the tires the companies gave you and I know' the K-8l is obsolete but it is still one of the best all around production road racing tires ever.

David G. Waddell Chicago. 111.

I was amazed that a publication, astute as you are. would miss a possible side effect of your article. Tire Test Break-Through, August 1978 issue. Of course, it was probably the most definitive test on record; up to date and accurate—very scientific, I might add. ... It taught me a lot I didn’t know' about bike tires, and your photography of the skidding Suzuki w'as excellent! Therein lies my paranoia; What if some important political hack, or bureaucrat sees those beautiful shots on pages 43-45 while getting a haircut, and has time to get interested? God, that’s a good mechanism for saving lives and votes. Our only hope is that he picks up a Playboy instead.

J. Stockman Brookfield, Mass.

I liked your test, its methods and results, but why did you test such a small number of tires? I have seen ads for the following tires, both current and in the not-toodistant past, so most if not all are probably available: Avon GP, Cheng Shin 198H and 193S, Goodyear H/P and A/T, Michelin M-45 (V-rated), Pirelli MTll, Dunlop K-8l. K-87 and K-87 MK K-70 and K-95. Other Nankangs and Nittos are also available.

Most of the members of the U.S. Norton Owners Association ride on K-8l Dunlops; this tire may well be the most popular high-performance replacement available.> I do not understand why this tire and others were excluded. It is important that we know, comparatively speaking, the performance of our only two contacts with terra firma. I know that the tires tested were furnished by manufacturers, but the fact that they sent only certain tires is insufficient cause not to buy others for testing. After all. the test is for your readers more than the makers (some of whom obviously need to clean up their acts).

I’ll gladly buy you a 4.10 x 19 K-81 for front and rear testing, but I want it for my Norton afterwards.

Michael E. Davis Pittsburgh. Pa.

Whew! A complete, run-em-all tire test would definitely have been better; but, unfortunately, would have also been quite impossible. The number of different rear tires currently available must approach the hundred mark. As it was, for 15 tires, nearly 700 individual specification and performance figures had to be generated to complete the data panels. Testing the tires was a timeconsuming project; the behind-the-scenes measuring, mounting, photographing, balancing, weighing, etc., etc. involved more time still. Unlike some independent testing labs, our staff is small, and we have other duties. The line had to be drawn somewhere, just to make the test possible. A llowing each manufacturer to submit one tire—of their choice—was the solution. Otherwise, the decision of which tires included would have been too arbitrary to be fair.

Thank you very much for the work done and articles produced in the August 1978 issue on tires. It is a work that I wish someone had done a long time ago. It certainly was needed and will be a great help for me in buying tires for my bike. All the articles on tires were just great.

Don Caswell Ahwahnee, Calif.

MORE ON EPA

It’s time for the motorcycle industry and the motorcycle buying public to take a united stand in defiance of the latest garbage the EPA has handed us in the form of emission and noise regulations. The government has suppressed us again, and it seems that the louder we scream, the worse things get! It’s not unlike the stuff King George handed our ancestors 200 years ago. The only difference is that they had enough guts to stand up for what’s right!

The average motorcycle has a displacement of less than lOOOcc, or less that 1/5 the displacement of the average American automobile. Moreover, the average motorcycle engine is not only tuned to run more efficiently than its automotive counterpart, but is also likely to receive more attention to keep it running efficiently. If America is going to suffocate from smog, you can bet it won’t be caused by a motorcycle.

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The EPA’s also way out in left field in its noise regulations because its standards are as unreasonable as the means of measurements. Most recent bikes are quiet as cars in a traffic situation, and any legislation which would end the half-century tradition of the Harley Twin must be absurd.

Robert F. Haas Port Trevorton, Pa.

I ride a motorcycle, and love it more than any other interest I have. The feeling of freedom, the release of tensions from the work week, and the contact with the environment are what makes riding enthusiasts what they are.

I ride a 1978 Gold Wing; no lairing, a little suspension work, and a stock motor. That is really not important and shouldn’t be. But unfortunately it is.

As our sport grows, and as the bureaucrap in Washington gets thicker, we as a group stand to lose much. Cutbacks in forest and dirt riding area, the ERA atrocities, etc. are all facing today’s motorcyclist with challenges to his freedom that are unparalleled. What are we doing about it? Not much. Let me explain.

Dirt riders don’t think much about road riders and vice versa. Touring riders; faired, CB’d, and dressed to the hilt look at Japanese Multis in sporting gear and frown. Road racers wonder how a full dressed Gold Wing even classifies as a motorcycle, and the Japanese and European sporter camps are often at odds. When was the last time someone riding a Suzihondayamakaw got a wave back from a Harley? The problem is too much classification and not enough cooperation as a unified special interest group. To be effective against government encroachments on our freedom, we first must stop dividing ourselves up.

A good lesson can be learned from the firearms lobby. If motorcyclists don’t take the same attitude, and start looking past who makes their bike and what equipment is bolted onto it, we will lose. Just like the high-performance automobile, many of our sport’s most beloved bikes and goodies will become a fond memory. Even worse, we may not be able to afford to buy what is left.

Think about this the next time you are out riding. The guy in the next lane, or out in the field next to your road is on a motorcycle. No matter how big or small or how equipped, basically he is there for the same reasons you are. If we don’t start writing those letters to Washington, and watching over our shoulders for all riders’ interests, the end result could be more> depressing than many of us can imagine.

Bruce Nathan Baldwin, L.I., N.Y.

A WORD OF THANKS

Thanks for an interesting and informative article “Quick Power for Yamaha’s RD” in your March issue. 1 have followed the series so far and look forward to any further technical features on the RD Yamahas that you may be planning.

Steve Lewis Bristol, England

SWING ARM LUBRICATION

Normally I find CYCLE WORLD articles quite good but was disappointed in the one on swing arm lubrication in the August 1978 issue.

Zerk fittings utilize pipe threads not straight thread. The proper tap is Vs27NPT. The pipe thread is tapered. % in./ ft., and utilizes the tapered thread for sealing.

I sure hope that there are not too many people with more grease leaking past their ‘/4-28 thread' than entering the swing arm by now'.

Cecil E. Donahorf Laguna Niguel, Calif.

LUGGAGE RACK FOR SUZUKI

In your article, “Bikepacking,” page 35 of your September 1978 issue, you stated that Suzuki does not have a luggage rack for the SP/DR370 series. Please call your local Suzuki dealer and ask for part #46310-32400. list price $15.45. We have had them in stock since May of 1978.

Franklin Tabor Omaha, Neb.

Right. It arrived on sale just too late for our test. One of our guvs has since taken an SP370 to the Arctic Circle and back and reports the rack works fine.

KRAUSER FAIRING

Reader Stephen Jane’s comments (Letters, June) on the Krauser cockpit fairing perfectly illustrate the old cliche, “If you haven’t tried it . . .”

1 bought my Krauser from Bob Beach about six months ago for my 1976 Honda CB750SS. As you did on your KZ650, 1 had to fabricate brackets for it (although, I made mine from Vs in. x 1 in. mild steel strap) and fabricated extensions for my front turn signals from one inch aluminum conduit. I bought the fairing because I wanted a lightweight fairing which didn't require the use of drag bars or clip-ons and didn't have all the protection (or weight) of a touring fairing.

I’ve found the Krauser to he ideally suited for my purposes. A more stable fairing would be nearly impossible to find. Side winds have minimal effect, as does passing a tractor trailer. I once rode up to> 110 mph with the fairing mounted and experienced no flutter or wobble. My bike was rock-steady at that speed. The air foils built into the mirror mounts seem to do their intended job admirably.

Reader Jane ridicules the Krauser’s appearance. but I’ve gotten quite a number of favorable comments from other riders at home, and while at Daytona Beach in March. The Krauser obviously isn’t for everyone, but for me it’s a perfect compromise between a cafe and a touring fairing.

I’ve owned fourteen bikes since I started riding in 1947. and almost as many windshields and fairings. All I can say about the Krauser is that I wish it had been produced 10 or 15 years ago.

L.R. Gray Albany, Ga.

BIG FOUR BECOME ONE?

Did anyone catch Goodyear’s illustration of the forthcoming conglomerate motorcycle (CYCLE WORLD, June issue, page 7)?

The YAM AH ON DAKAWAZUK1 600. This zinger is on the drawing board now for when the Big Four become one.

It incorporates the best ideas from each of the “old” companies.

Note the: GS550 head

XS650 gear box G L1000 carburetors RD400 cast rear wheel CB750F2 rear disc caliper KZ650 rear brake drum

However, I am a bit puzzled at the KZ400 hardtail combination rear suspension, but I’m sure the new conglomerate will get things worked out.

Many thanks to Goodyear for giving us this sneak preview of what we are in for!

Brent Mitchell Towson, Md.

QUICKEST MID-SIZE EVER BUILT

In response to the letter written by Ken Allport in your June issue, “Something to Think About,” Ken said that he thought a true feat of engineering would be to Superbike-ize (my term) a mid-size bike, so it could be ridden in town with ease. Well I have the bike he’s looking for. With some custom swing arm work and a set of Koni’s my Kawasaki 500H1 fills all his needs. Just slightly over 400 lb., 59 bhp, XA mile times of 12.4, and a top end of 124 it exceeds all his specifications and mine. My 500 Triple, two-stroke will leave any 750 in my twostroke smoke.

I feel it’s too bad two-strokes are dying out and I certainly hope Ken Allport reads this and gets the chance to ride a Kawasaki 500 (if he can catch one).

Aaron D. Seeds Columbus, Ohio®