Letters

LETTERS

Letters to the editor are welcomed and should be addressed to: Cycle World Editor, 1499 Monrovia Ave., Newport Beach, Calif. 92663. All letters are subject to editing and cannot be returned.

FT500 VS. SR500

I read with mixed emotions the test on the Honda FT500. I'm pleased to see Honda pick up the concept of a road-going big Single with its advantages of low weight, low initial cost and maintenance within the grasp of the average owner. It’s also nice to see it styled as a serious sporting bike with no attempts to connect it with big Singles of the past.

But. I knew that such a bike would be immediately compared to the SR500 with its conspicuous lack of electric start and counterbalancers. Fve never been annoyed with the vibration on mine and I use it as 1 would any other bike of its size. The Ascot looks good, but I don’t think I’d straight-trade my SR for one. I like the electric start but I want a kick start for flat battery mornings and I'd hate to have to choose between the two. And besides, the Ascot may be a Single but there are still four valves to adjust!

Alan Johansson Winston-Salem, N.C.

DIFFERENT STROKES

Although I enjoy technological advances as much as anyone, I sometimes feel that motorcycling is losing its tradi-

tional appeal and following the route of the automotive industry. Theoretically one could purchase the most advanced unit available (at a handsome price tag) only to find his pride and joy outmoded in a few>

months or a year later. Personally I feel that sidestand reminder lights, LED tachs, speedos, fuel warning lights, etc., are bogus and take away from the fun of motorcycling and certainly the responsibility of the motorcyclist.

1 guess Em just a fundamentalist and that’s why I opt to drive a Harley Sportster. As the time worn phrase goes, different strokes for different folks and I guess this freedom of choice offers the motorcyclist some charisma.

Robert Bergquist Springfield, Mass.

MAKING WAVES

1 would like to add my thoughts to May’s Up Front column.

Last summer my brother and a good friend joined me for two weeks on the road from Salt Lake City to the west coast. The BMW RIOOS and the CB900F had small sport fairings while the GL1000 wore a Windjammer. Invariably every other cyclist we encountered with a smilar fairing waved or stopped to talk. Riders on similar bikes but without fairings rarely gave us a second glance.

Jeff Boyle Auburn, Calif.

There are many bonds that exist among people who share a common interest in a special car or truck. They'll wave or toot a horn when they pass each other on the road and then the bond ends.

In my experience, the bond that exists between motorcyclists is unique. Our bond goes beyond the complimentary acknowledgment. Most bikers go out of their way to stop and help a stranded, fellow biker. This is what motorcycle riding is all about and why I’m glad to be a part of it.

Mark Lauzier East Hartford, Conn.

ASCOT HONDA

After reading your magazine for 20 years, I’m prompted to write in response to your feature in Round Up, May, 1982 on the first 450 Ascot Honda.

To set the record straight, the first 450 Honda to race at Ascot, to the best of my knowledge, was one owned by Jim Yanai, amateur # 141, in the 1966 season.

The bike was originally a CB450 and was purchased directly from the importer in November, 1965. Along with George and Barry Troup, Jim and myself started to build a flat tracker. After many months of cut and try, and technical difficulties we thought we were ready for Ascot. (The same rules that barred the Matchless G-50 and the Velocette KTT from flat tracking were thrown in front of us.) With the help of Bert Brundage and Earl Flanders, tech referees, we were allowed to compete providing that the bore and stroke were not altered from stock.

Our fiat tracker weighed in at 232 lb. dry. Everything but the tank and tires was drilled. A modified A.R.D. magneto fired the rig and Dempsey Wilson cut us a set of experimental cams. Finally we got a semi-sponsorship from Gardena Honda.

Considering those days and a lot of tough luck, we competed in 1966 and on into 1967 (for low bucks) and had a lot of fun too.

Robert Pico

So. El Monte, Calif.

HE’S RIGHT

You made a mistake in your Honda 300 Scrambler article (June, 1982). You stated that the bike had 6.5 mi. on the odometer, but in the photo the odometer reads 6.3 mi.

I guess you’re entitled to one mistake per edition, but only one.

Kris Hansen Cedar City, Utah

THE OWL AND THE HONDA HAWK

Maybe I could win a prize in the Most Unusual Passenger category at the next ^MA-sponsored event.

Recently I gave a motorcycle ride to a>

Great Horned Owl. It seems the little fellow had fallen from his nest and seemed destined for oblivion in the form of a car tire. A guy donated a brake shoe box from the back of his car and with a few well placed air holes, voila! A custom made owl-carrying case. I bungeed him on and away we went. Upon arriving home he expressed his appreciation by drinking water and eating some roast beef.

I considered entering him in the sidecar rally but a helmet would be hard to find so I turned him over to the local wildlife official to be rehabilitated.

Fittingly, the bike which carried my fuzzy friend was a Honda Hawk.

Andy Oltman Murfreesboro, N.C.

YAMAHA XV920 SEAT

The seat for your XV920 (Yamaha XV920 Long Term Report, May 1982 sounds neat. Is there any place near New Jersey that does this kind of work? I’ve tried a million places including furniture stores to no avail.

W.J. Buurman Wanaque, N.Y.

We’ve had several seats modified this way. Our technique is to find an auto up-' holstery shop with at least one employe who rides bikes. Ask them to remove the stock cover and cut an additional pad that will fill in the valley of the production seat. The pad is glued onto the stock pad and a new’ cover made and installed. It shouldn’t take more than a few> days and the cost averages $50.

WHAT IT IS

I have subscribed to your magazine for years and I have one little gripe.

You and every other motorcycle magazine assumes that all of us out here know the terminology simply because we ride and read your magazines. I, for one? would like some definitions of what is: a>

trials bike, an enduro bike, a works bike and what constitutes a cafe racer as op-1 posed to any mid size bike with a lot of chrome?

William Ames Berger, Texas

Here’s a list of definitions from the glossary in our Introduction to Motorcycling hook.

Trials bike—a specialized motorcycle with low seats because they have to be ridden standing up. They turn sharply, have great pulling power and low top speed. They’re great for riding where goats can’t walk, not good for other types of play riding.

Enduro bike—an enduro is a timed offroad competition where riders traverse difficult terrain while averaging predetermined speeds between checks. An enduro bike is a motorcycle designed for this event.

Works bike—a motorcycle designed and built especially by the factory for factory racers.

Cafe racer—either a motorcycle or a motorcyclist for street sport. A cafe racer bike has rear-set pegs, low handlebars and sometimes a small sport fairing. The name comes from riders who would race from cafe to cafe.

WE’LL NEVER TELL

I wish you would publish just what it is that your editor drinks before he applies the captions to the Slipstream photographs. Not that I desire to buy him a drink, just that I would like to get that goofy myself.

Gayle Moreland Yucaipa, Calif.

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