Letters
LETTERS
TICKLED WITH TRIUMPH
Just a note of thanks from a subscriber on the Triumph coverage in your April 1978 issue.
Knowing that Triumph makes only a few bikes and no longer races only makes me appreciate it more. I’ve ridden most all the popular make bikes, but I’ve never owned anything but Triumphs. They’ve been rock solid and ultra dependable, without the dreaded ( AND I often think overstated) oil problem, which I’ve never had.
So while others would rather go with the flow and ride around on brightly colored, multi-cylindered, overweight, two-wheeled cars that handle like a 50-gallon drum, I'll stay with Triumphs that look like motorcy cles should, handle flawlessly, and feel like a motorcycle.
Just as an afterthought, my present motorcycle is a 1970 TR6-C. It’s been so dependable I’ve had no reason to purchase another one. After sitting outside in an unheated toolshed all winter, it took exactly three kicks before I roared off. Amen.
Jeff Vredenburg Mechanicville, N.Y.
I’m glad to hear that Triumph goes on, despite gas tanks of questionable size and an abysmal advertising campaign. And 1 do like Henry N. Manney Ill’s rather dry style, despite his editorializing: to wit, his comment concerning the collapse of the Triumph company (along with NVT as a whole), and how it was the workers “who probably caused most of the trouble in the first place . . .” Come now, Henry, you sound like a coal mine operator who thinks the miners should be grateful to have any sort of job at all. You’re just bloody well out of date.
Britain’s economy has gone to hell since World War II, resulting in the demise of everything from Ariel to Velocette. Part of this economic chaos can certainly be attributed to a drop in worker productivity, but an even larger part is because of management policies that doomed the industry. When management wanted to drop the Twin and close the factory in order to concentrate on the Triple and the Norton Commando, the Meriden works said to hell with that, they’d run their own show.
I’m all for efficiency and low prices, but I’m also against terminating a factory that can turn out a salable item in limited quantities. The Meriden Workers’ Cooperative is still very much in a trial stage, and I, for one, hope it works.
Clement L. Salvadori Cambridge, Mass.
While I tenaciously admire Henry Manney’s attitudes and linguistic approach in his recent (April ’78) assessment of the new (sic) Triumph motorcyle, I must protest his closing statement.
I for one would MUCH rather see Makarova do the 19-year-old student.
No contest indeed!
Banzai!
Perry Mills Bellingham, Wash.
WHERE THE WEST BEGINS
A sentence from the Yamaha IT250 test in your April issue disturbs me so much I feel compelled to write this letter. I quote, “Their riders agree the IT250 is more suited to open Western terrain than the wooded trails of the East.”
Contrary to your belief, the West does not begin west of the Colorado river, and tundra country does not begin just north of Bakersfield. continued on page 14
continued /rom page 10 Get out of your sand, sagebrush and smog cocoon, and see for yourselves.
Have you ever heard of redwood, fir, cedar, aspen, maple, cottonwood, pine, oak, or alder? These are trees and they grow in abundance in the West.
Travel to northern California, Utah,
Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana.
Oregon, Washington, or British Columbia or Alberta in Canada and you will see trees. Lots of them. Millions of them. Hundreds of thousands of square miles of trees.
Check your maps and you will find that these states and provinces are in the WEST!
R.E.M. Western USA
YAMAHA XS1100E
I am writing to thank you for the excel lent road test of the Yamaha XS1100E in your February issue. As a result of it I purchased an 1100. I could not be more delighted with the bike. It is, without a doubt, the greatest motorcycle I have owned during my 23 years of riding, going back to the Vincent Black Shadow. If anything, your road test was a bit conserva tive. The machine must be lived with for awhile before it can really be appreciated.
In December of last year I purchased a Kawasaki Zl-R. At the time I was very pleased with the bike (I still am) but I made the mistake of getting on an 1100 owned by a friend. Not that I was im pressed, but I bought my 1100 the next day. I have not been on the Zl-R since. It's really a bummer because it is a good machine. So good that I can't bring myself to sell it. The only fault that I can find in it is that it pales when compared with the 1100. True, it will out-handle the 1100 but, in my opinion, it takes more than handling to make a great bike.
Jerry Pierce N. Hollywood, Calif.
SUZUKI GS550
As an owner of a 1977 Suzuki GS550 (3600 miles), I look forward to reading your upcoming long-term evaluation of that hike.
I have found my bike to be quite reliable and of the right physical size and weight for comfortable solo touring, as well as an all-around sports bike. But, the more I ride it, the more I become convinced it should have been designed as a 650cc model, with performance emphasis in 0-80 mph accel eration and 40-80 mph passing speeds.
With the bigger engine, the suspension refinements incorporated in the GSJ000, tubeless tires on (lightweight) cast wheels, ignition system a La XSL 100, a quartz> headlight, and perhaps a more comfortable seat, the GS650 would be one hell of a bike.
A.B. Medeiros E. Providence, R.I.
LETTER TO HONDA
For what it's worth. Honda. I hope your new CX500 shaft drive is a success, as I can already visualize it in a 600 or 750 version as a replacement for my BMW.
I still like my Kraut Kruiser and am confident a new one would be as superb as the rest, but they have flat priced me out of the market, period.
All considered, the CX500 looks like the most promising alternative. As for the new breed of superbikes. I just don't think I need all those potentially troublesome re ciprocating and whirring parts pumping out all that horsepower I would use less than five percent of the time. Sure, I like a bike that will push my rear `til I get thrilled or scared, but two cylinders and a depend able layout can do that quite nicely. I'll bet a lot of riders would be surprised if they calculated the time spent at part throttle as opposed to full throttle time. Is that frac tional second difference in the quarter mile really that important?
Reliability and ease of self-maintenance are at the top of my list. Will it start on a cold morning? (I sure hate to see the kickstarters disappear.) Can I get it going if it quits in the Nevada flats? Can I pick it up if I flop in the sand? Can I replace points. time, adjust valves, overhaul carbs, etc. without going to school? It goes without saying that I want it to forgive me grace fully if I get surprised going into a60-mph curve at 70.
Unfortunately, I hesitate to buy a newly developed model of any kind of ma chinery, so I guess I'll just give my `71 BMW a spring tonic, hang around the shops. talk to other riders, read reports, wish you luck and wait and see.
Donald Parrott Prescott, Ariz.
KAWASAKI KZ750 ANYONE?
I must be the only guy in the world who owns a Kawasaki KZ750 because I never see anything in print about it. That's really too bad, because it's an excellent bike. Except for a horn that belongs on a 10speed bicycle, and the antiquated battery, coil and points ignition system, the bike has everything it needs, including an en gine with fantastic torque characteristics.
The engine does vibrate some, but it's not bothersome and it doesn't put your hands to sleep like most Twins. This is my seventh bike and it is by far the most satisfying.
James Kirk Phoenix, Ariz.
It's about time we tested a KZ750. Con sider the order placed.
NETRA
Many thanks for printing Bob Hicks' article about NETRA in your February issue. We continue to receive inquiries about our activities from all over the coun try as a result; it seems clear that there is a> large group of trail bike users who feel a need for help with their problems; a need which is not now being met.
There is one important factor in our growth which seemed to me did not receive sufficient emphasis in the article—the extraordinary contributions made over the years by our members themselves, acting as volunteers. As with any voluntary association, a paid staff can only do a part of the job; an organization depends upon volunteer members to shoulder major parts of the burden for keeping activities and programs running. Indeed, without a large group of committed members, it is impossible to develop a paid staff in the first place.
Our trail system was put together through the efforts of dozens of members working in their spare time.
In light of your comments on the American Motorcyclist Association in the same issue, the question of member involvement in a voluntary association is critical, and should never be lost sight of.
Dave Sanderson Executive Director NETRA
W. Newbury, Mass.
THE IRON REDSKIN
In your April issue is an item on a book called The Iron Redskin by Harry V. Sucher.
The price and the publishing company are missing. Where can I get this book, and what does it cost?
Patricia G. Scott Loveland, Ohio
Sorry for the oversight. The publisher is Haynes Publishing Co., 861 Lawrence Dr., Newberry Park, Calif. 91320. The price is $19.95.
SUMMARY CORRECTION
In your April “CYCLE WORLD Test Summary” you listed the Yamaha XS750E quarter-mile times as 14.09 sec., top speed 106 mph, braking 138 ft. from 60 mph, curb weight 616 lb., and fuel consumption 42.9 mpg.
What you failed to mention was that those figures were taken from your March test done on a fully-equipped touring bike with fairing, saddlebags, luggage rack, backrest and crash bar.
Comparing those figures to other bikes in the same class as the Yamaha makes the XS750E look like a real pig, which it is not.
Mike Hoag San Diego, Calif.
Right. We should have noted the added equipment. We make it right in this issue, though, with figures for the XS750 with no accessories. As the figures show, the Triple will move.
continued on page 28
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HERE'S TO HERB
Herb Gunnison, writing about the mystique of touring (“Reflections on an Open Road,” April) brought back many warm and treasured memories of searching for that definitive explanation of what it is like to pack up your bike and go and set your sights on no destination but the open road.
Herb, one of the best writers on any staff, came closer to putting me back onto the road without actually being there than did any other person. Congratulations on a well written article, and see ya on the open road.
Greg Whitaker Columbus, Ohio
I read the April,1978 issue and 1 just had to write to say the touring section is excellent. The article by Herb Gunnison is especially good. He really put into writing the true feeling only a tourer can get.
Last year, after a yo-yo pulled out in front of me, I was out one week of my vacation to New Orleans. After rebuilding the front of my Wing (at his expense) and the better part of July shot, 1 put Pocono in my sights.
On a warm Friday afternoon, just leaving from work, 1 hopped on my machine and headed for Milwaukee. At five in the morning, after a solid breakfast at my brother's, I headed out for Pocono. Sixteen hours and 796 miles behind me 1 pulled into the raceway parking lot where hundreds of other riders were camped. You can’t imagine the feeling I got, when a total stranger asked, “You rode out here all the way from Wisconsin, just to see a race?” And in reply I said, “No, just lookin’ for some place different to ride.”
Herb is right. The guy with the naked motorcycle just doesn’t understand a tourer’s way of thinking, and probably won’t until he has given up local trips around town and seriously tripped across the country.
In the past five years, 22 states and Canada, and three motorcycles later, I have been where Herb has. I’m still lookin’ for what is just around the next curve or what is just over the next hill. After all, there are still 27 states I can see without taking a boat or a plane. Keep your knees in the breeze and out of the trees and tell Herb to save a spot by the meter in Zanzibar.
Tom Schneider Merrill,Wise.S
