New Allies In the Atv Wars

New allies in the ATV wars

ROUNDUP

CAMRON E. BUSSARD

THE OCCASION: AN ATV OUTING AT LORETTA LYNN'S DUDE Ranch in Hurricane, Tennessee. The host: U.S. Suzuki Motor Company. The participants: journalists representing magazines outside of the motorcycle/ATV industry, including Penthouse, People, Outdoor Life, Popular Mechanics, Guns & Ammo, Hunting, Georgia Farm Bureau and Farm Equipment.

The mission: counteract some of the misguided and inaccurate reports on ATV safety. Suzuki hoped to demonstrate to these journalists—hence, to their readers-that anyone taking the time to learn proper riding techniques could have a safe and enjoyable ATV experience, contrary to the now-infamous 60 Minutes and 20/ 20 reports.

Before the ride began, these members of the nonenthusiast press marveled at the resplendent autumn colors of Tennessee’s tree-covered hill country, but at the same time were a bit apprehensive about the adventure that lay ahead; only two of them had any previous ATV experience whatsoever. Patrice Baldw in of Penthouse summed up the group’s feelings best w'hen she said, “We just want to survive.”

Fortunately. Suzuki was prepared for jittery nerves, so first thing, the whole contingent took a full ÄTV safety class conducted by the Specialty Vehicle Institute of America (SVIA). After a couple of hours on the SVIA course, concern gave way to smiles and grins as the novices learned the correct way to operate an ATV. Each rider had begun to master riding fundamentals to the point where the machines were no longer intimidating.

By the end of the SVIA course, the riders were eager for an easy trail ride to lunch. And by the end of the first day, they all expressed confidence in their newTound abilities. There even was a consensus among them that the four-wheelers were not the precarious, unpredictable machines they had been led to believe. Tom Opre, representing Outdoor Life, thought that the safety issue was certainly real enough, and needed to be addressed, but that any undue danger lay not so much w ith the machine as it did with the rider. “I wouldn’t like to see these machines banned,” Opre said, but added that he “would like to see some stronger controls on who gets to ride them.”

On the second morning, the journalists tackled a special course with an enthusiasm that made them seem more like people w ho had been riding for years rather than for mere hours. For the most part, they simply didn't want to stop once they got the hang of the course. All that Roman Saliki. working for People magazine and The Star new spaper, would say was, “This is wonderful, simply wonderful.” And Penthouse's Baldwin spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to sneak an ATV on the plane and just where in New York City she could ride it. Granted, no one was ready to sign up for an ATVA competition license, but the bench-racing stories around the lunch table sounded more like the boastings of grizzled veterans than those of first-time riders.

Certainly, none of the participating magazines has an ATV enthusiast readership, but the combined total number of readers they reach is in the multi-millions; so, some positive reporting on ATVs outside of the enthusiast press could go a long way toward offsetting the negative publicitv the sport has received in recent times.

Still, at this point it's hard to tell just how much effect Suzuki's efforts at Loretta Lynn’s will have among the general population. But if the smiles on the faces of the journalists as they climbed off the machines before jetting home is any indication. ATVs have just signed up some very strong allies indeed.

Reagan axes the tariff

Responding to Harley-Davidson’s request of a few months ago, President Reagan has lifted the increased tariff on imported motorcycles larger than 700cc. That tarifif has been in place since 1983, when Harley petitioned the government for help in fighting the aggressive marketing tactics of the Japanese.

Prior to that point, the normal import tariff on motorcycles was just 4.4 percent, but the 1983 action raised it to 49.4 percent for the first year, with a yearly reduction over a five-year period until returning to its normal level (which, at 3.7 percent, currently is lower than in 1 983) in April of 1988. But in mid-1987, Harley claimed that it was once again healthy and competitive with the Japanose and. therefore, no longer needed the protection of a boosted tariff. As a result. Reagan lifted the tariff six months early.

Some people have interpreted Harley’s actions as a goodwill gesture made in the best interests of international trade relations, while others consider it simply a clever PR move intended to portray revitalized HarleyDavidson as a benefactor in the currently struggling motorcycle industry.

Either way. though, the Japanese will be largely unaffected. They had anticipated the boosted tariff being removed early this year and were already committed in their 1 988 lineups to raising the displacement of bikes in that class back up to 750cc.

Matchless update

Those excited about the rebirth of the Matchless marques will have to wait just a little bit longer before the first units begin to arrive in the U.S. The initial batch of the 500cc Rotax-engined machines will be shipped directly to the dealers by early-to-mid December. In Europe, the Matchless Single is outselling the Triumph Bonneville Twin by a ratio of three to one. So, it’s not surprising that Les Harris, the man behind both the Matchless and the Triumph, plans to broaden the line with two Matchless models. One is planned to be a 125cc streetbike, due to the demand of dealers in Britain and in the U.S. who have been asking Harris for a smaller-engined beginner bike. As a result, Harris is currently talking with both Rotax and Italian enginemaker Minarelli about a suitable single-cylinder powerplant, probably a reed-valve, liquid-cooled two-stroke. Harris is also planning a café racer G50 version of the Matchless, still with the Rotax engine, but with sportier styling. Those interested in the Matchless should write: Triumph Motorcycles, 229 Lowland Street, Holliston, Massachusetts, 01746, care of John Healy; or call: 1-800-451-5113.

Harley builds one for Uncle Sam

If things turn out as planned, the military will soon become more mobile. That’s because the Army is looking at increasing its use of motorcycles. The evidence for this is that a large defense contract currently up for bid calls for the delivery of 3000 to 4000 motorcycles to the government. Harley-Davidson, America’s sole-surviving motorcycle manufacturer, is trying to win that contract.

Until last October, however, Harley didn’t have an appropriate soldier’s bike. That was when Harley went to England and bought the design and manufacturing rights of a motorcycle it believes will win the contract for them. The bike is the MT500 military motorcycle from Armstrong Equipment. The MT500 is a well-established model, powered by the Austrian-built Rotax singlecylinder 500cc four-valve four-stroke engine. With the time-proven Rotax powerplant, the bike—which has already been sold to the British, Canadian and Jordanian armies—should be just about bulletproof.