Letters
LETTERS
High Sierra mis-trial
Regarding “High Sierra Rubicon Adventure” in the September issue, it’s a good thing your editors can take flashy pictures, since it’s questionable whether they understood the motorcycles they were riding. Their riding ability is also in question, since they had to bring Scott Head along to tackle the tough parts of the trail. Log of Death? Come on, fellas, that log looks as wide as a Cadillac and is certainly wider than a lot of trials sections. Very wimpy.
As for your reference to the Beta Trekking as an entry level machine, you certainly missed the point. The Trekking is a wonderful reincarnation of the Bultaco Alpina with more power, more ground clearance, quicker steering, vastly better suspension, and, despite what you say, an acceptable seat and very good brakes. It’s also the most rugged motorcycle I have ever owned; my deceased Alpina seems stoneaged compared to it.
I'm no Scott Head, but you wouldn’t believe the places I’ve been on the Beta. Maybe you guys should stick to soft seats and seamless highways.
Stan Jakubaszek
Robbinsville, New Jersey
Speaking of missed points, you seem to have missed the message of that story. Its intention was not to promote trials riding, but instead to demonstrate for a wide variet y of readers that bikes like the Trekking and the Honda Reflex offer almost an yone the kind of adventure that no other type of motorcycle can equal. We were trying to encourage many of those readers—
particularly the ones who are not trials experts or highly experienced trait riders—to tackle a ride like ours themselves. Using the story to show off our riding skills or boast about our bravado would not have accomplished that goal.
Justice much as ever
In view of the unending wailing and moaning of those societal parasites who have manipulated our tort system of “justice” (sic) to their own selfish ends, as a motorcyclist in good conscience I am obliged to stick my own oar in.
We have seen unscrupulous use of juror challenges and exploitation of short-sighted ignorance by skillful practitioners of the law result in disproportionate, undeserved judgments, in plaintiffs’ favor. In addition, we the general public, as “ 1 2 honest and true,” stupidly allow ourselves to be manipulated and deceived through specious emotional
pleadings and statistical disinformation into unrealistic, unreasonable and grossly harmful damage awards, much of which the plaintiff never realizes because of fee structure. It is patently obvious this has only encouraged further abuse of a deficient system by those who would, and if fact have, plundered and profited at our expense without commensurate merit. Viewed in its totality, I would hope responsible citizens have concluded these tactics and practices are singulary reprehensible, and indeed this seems to be the case as evidenced by the overwhelming favor of Prop. 5 1, in spite of contrary, well-publicized arguments of fallaciousorigin by opponents who contrive to hold our wallets hostage.
If the long-overdue redress initiated by Prop. 51 is to continue, each of us would be only prudent to remain fully alert, objective and carefully discerning in terms of our responsibilities as voting citizens (in the jury box as well as the election booth), whose vital interests are at stake here. Rest asured we will all be treated mercilessly by those predators with a well developed but macabre sense of taste for the type of flesh generated by a mint (not the after-dinner type, either).
We would do well to remember the little ditty: “Screw me once, shame on you; screw me twice, shame on me." And we should also remember who ultimately pays for such folly.
Joe Phillips
Mission Viejo, California
We agree, Joe. We don 7 know what you said, but we agree. 0
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