Roundup
ROUNDUP
HOW TO BUILD A BS DETECTOR
Magazines of all kinds pour into the Cycle World offices every day. Most of them are motorcycle magazines, usually printed in a language we can only guess at. The ad that caught our eye wasn’t in a motorcycle magazine, instead being in something called a men’s magazine. “Carburetor gets 200 mpg!” said the headline at the top of the page. Peter Egan suggested that the only way he knows of to get 200 mpg out of a carburetor is to buy it a Child’s Fare seat on a Greyhound bus to Des Moines, which apparently can be done if the carb is less than 12 years old.
It was a fun ad to read, all copy and with no photos so it looked like a story in the magazine. Readers were told how oil companies were hiding plans for the 200 mpg carb so they could preserve gas sales and so were the auto companies, though R.C. Webster who supposedly wrote this story didn’t explain why auto companies that can’t sell cars were interested in keeping gas sales up. No one was surprised when he read that for $4.95 plus $1 for postage he could buy a book explaining all the secrets of super mileage. “This book is sold with a guarantee of satisfaction or your money back, and is most enthusiastically recommended,” concluded the article.
All of it was horsefeathers, obviously, but it still didn’t seem right the way it was presented. Here at the motorcycle magazine we have a sheltered life, in many ways. Our subject protects us, our readers protect us and even the advertising staff protects us from the worst of it.
Motorcycle magazine ads aren’t perfect, of course, but they are usually interesting reading or to look at, because they show motorcycles and talk about motorcycles. Sometimes they get carried away and show less bike and more body but that usually doesn’t last too long because it isn’t very effective advertising and those companies don’t stay in business long. Motorcycle magazine readers are discriminating enough to see that.
That doesn’t mean everything you read in this or any other magazine is absolutely true. We don’t check out advertisements before they appear in the magazine and the editorial staff (that’s us) doesn’t have any say over what ads appear. Then again,
the advertising staff doesn't have any control over what articles appear, so if an evaluation of a product finds that the claims may be exaggerated, you may get to read our evaluation and the advertiser’s claims in the same issue, even though the two disagree.
Picking BS out of magazines, newspapers, television or racing stories around the parts counter is still an individual task. If the guy at the gas station tells you he’s been out beating Eddie Lawson on the local road race tracks with his CB350, it’s easy enough to determine a rather high BS quotient and discount everything he says. In the same way the advertisement for the incredible Mouse Milk that doubles mileage and cures baldness lives up to its promise. It is incredible, not to be believed.
Obvious examples are easy. Judgement calls are tougher. Whether a helmet is the most comfortable or a motorcycle is the best looking depends on individual taste. For one rider the best tire might provide the longest tread wear, while another rider would expect the best tire to have the best braking performance. Whether a product is superior is usually arguable but the manufacturer believes in his product. But when “superior” gets changed to “ultimate” the BS quotient usually increases. Ultimate doesn’t mean the best or even good. The word refers to the last of a series, the final development, or some end.
To help determine fact from fiction, there’s a device called a BS detector. They come in all sizes and prices, from simple devices used at home to the industrialstrength commercial models. As in any sensitive test equipment, it’s the operation that is more critical than the machine.
Ours looks like a small copper cowbell. It was brought back from the Jack Pine Enduro a couple of years ago. It’s portable, lightweight, nearly unbreakable and remarkably accurate. When an outlandish claim is encountered, when power is tripled, when all discomforts are removed, when cloudy skies are turned blue by a simple device that isn’t explained, we pick up the BS detector, shake it, and if it rings, we know we’ve just heard genuine BS.
YANGTZE RIVER 750
I f ever there was a brand new collector's item, this has got to be it. It's China's answer to Harley, the Japanese and the European bikes-the Yangtze River 750. Now available in Hong Kong for export overseas, the bike 1~as an almost comical homemade look about it and very few op tions. but at $2000 U.S. the once is right.
For a few hundred more you can have it with a sidecar that's designed more for carrying cargo than passengers. When you lift the spare tire and have a look in the trunk, you notice the back of the pas senger backrest is unpainted wood!
The whole idea of a motorcycle from Communist China may seem laughable, but actually the Chinese infantry have used these bikes since the 1950s. They were in the front lines during the recent clashes over the Vietnam border. The "floating" front and rear axles made them ideal for use in sand, mud and swamp, yet they would give the attackers (or retrea ters) 75 mph on the flat.
ing. 1 ne program inciuciea taKing thC Then the Chinese government got the idea of exporting the bikes overseas. They had to be sure the product was good ennnah "
bikes over 62,000 mi. of otherwise impass able routes across the Gobi Desert, and the foothills of Tibet. 1' __~I_ - 1~~
Last but not least, they gave the bike a public test against a BMW and a Japanese bike, on a rough circuit near Peking. The German bike won, but the Yangtze River 750 was a close second. The Japanese bike .~1~I4 4~h +1~ axles, the rider is
protected by a telescopic front fork and a plunger hub for the rear. There's a spring and-swing arm for the sidecar if you opt for that.
II you want a traffic-stopper that gives 75 mpg even with a load of cordwood on the side, here's your chance. Then there's the tricycle model. It carries six people on
Roger Boschman, in Hong Kong
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPORTSTER
Twenty-five years ago Harley-Davidson created a special motorcycle with
overhead valves and a unitized engine and transmission and called it the Sportster. The Sportster was fast and powerful and the engine held up to performance tuning so well that it became a standard of performance for many years. Since its introduction the Sportster has changed noticeably in style and has had its performance crown usurped by invaders from a foreign land, but there is still a Sportster and it traces its roots directly back to that original machine introduced in 1957.
Harley-Davidson hasn’t forgotten about the Sportster’s birthday and is celebrating with a 25th Anniversary Sportster. No, the 25th Anniversary version doesn’t look exactly like the original version, but it does borrow a few styling tricks from Sportsters over the years, including the Sportster script lettering on the maroon and silver gas tank. There are dual shorty mufflers and a relatively flat, thin seat, the sidecover and oil tank are painted to match the tank rather than painted black, but most of the machine is normal 1982 Sportster, with the new welded-tube frame and lOOOcc V-Twin engine. Various 25th Anniversary emblems are fastened to the
bike. The same styling treatment is available on the XLS Roadster with extended forks, larger tank, cast wheels and other trim.
The 25th Anniversary Sportster was introduced at Bike Week in Daytona and is available in limited numbers.
DETAILS ON HONDA WORKS ROAD RACERS
More technical information has been released on the new Honda works road racers. The RS1000RW V-Four first seen in the March CW displaces 1024cc with a bore and stroke of 78.0 x 53.6mm. Claimed power is 150 bhp at 11,000 rpm. The engine is based on the V45 street engine, and is dohc with four valves per cylinder and water-cooling. The front wheel is 16-in., the rear 18-in., and wheelbase is 54.7 in. Rake is 26°, trail 3.5 in. Claimed dry weight is 363.8 lb. American Honda mechanics have dubbed the bike “The Water Whale.”
The NR500 four-stroke V-Four displaces 498cc, is water-cooled with dohc and eight valves per cylinder. Wheelbase is 54 in. and no dry weight figures were released. Claimed horsepower is over 120 bhp. The front wheel is 16-in., the rear 18in. Like the RS1000RW, the NR500 has Pro-Link rear suspension. The fuel tank holds 7.4 gal.
The NS500 two-stroke Triple also displaces 498cc and also is water-cooled. It has the same wheelbase, the same claimed power, the same wheel sizes and the same type of rear suspension (Pro-Link) as the NR500. The fuel tank carries 8.5 gal., indicating that the bike is thirstier than the NR500.
HELP WANTED
Cycle World has an opening on the staff. We need someone who ...
. . . Understands and appreciates computers.
. . . Knows how motorcycles work.
... Has a working knowledge of journalism and an operational BS detector.
Degrees in engineering and/or journalism helpful. If you qualify, write (don’t ’phone) Mr. Editor Girdler, Cycle World, 1499 Monrovia Ave. Newport Beach, Calif. 92675.
