Letters
LETTERS
The Hunter Chronicles
For a number of years, I have enjoyed Cycle World's excellent feature articles and service tips. But during the last year you have let your writers interject commentary regarding political and social agendas that I find entirely irrelevant to the subject of motorcycling. I may have been able to ignore the "left wing" snide remarks through one more subscription renewal, howev er the March issue was the final straw. "The Song of the Sausage Creature" by that well-known degenerate, Hunter S. Thompson, pushed me to the edge. I subscribe to three motorcycle maga zines, but Cicle World is no longer one of them.
Denny Schmidt Brainerd, Minnesota
I have just received my March issue and read the perverted ramblings of Hunter S. Thompson titled “Song of the Sausage Creature.” The article had absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever. You must have known that such an article would cost you the cancellation of quite a number of subscriptions.
/ am not one of them! Anyone who has the balls to print a politically incorrect article like Thompson’s in this evermore-saccharin world has my undying devotion and support. 1 can’t tell you when I’ve enjoyed an article more.
The rest of your magazine wasn’t too bad either-your best effort so far, in fact. Keep up the good work; you have a subscriber for life!
Vern Hoim Menomonie, Wisconsin
What possible reason could a motor cycle enthusiast~s publication have for devoting (wasting) six complete pages to Ilunter S. Thompson? Did you really pay him money to do whatever it was he did? Why not deliver that S1O,000 Ducati to the local zoo and let a resi
dent chimpanzee evaluate it? Hell, send it to me for a couple of weeks, and I'll evaluate it. In English. For free.
Joseph Bradley LaFontaine, Indiana
Regarding the March, 1995, issue: Harley vs. Honda, Speed Twin vs. Indian Chief, the Triumph Daytona, whispers of the new Excelsior and Porsche motorcycles, MZs with sidecars, and an enduro shootout. These elements alone made this issue one of the most entertaining bike rags put out by anybody in recent memory. But the inclusion of “Song of the Sausage Creature” has elevated your March issue to the best I've seen in my 28 years of reading motorcycle magazines.
Undoubtedly there will be those, uncomprehending of the good Doctor’s humor and style, who will write to complain. Pay them no heed. There are plain-vanilla magazines that pander to their limited tastes. Anyway, don’t let a year go by without giving us another dose of Gonzo.
Thomas P Krise Turner, Oregon
Who had the bright idea of putting this bag of hot air in your publication? This guy makes me ashamed to be human, let alone a motorcyclist Please, don't clutter up my very fa vorite magazine of all time wit garbage like Hunter S. Thompson.
LItJLII}J.~'.JL I. Kyle Parto Sevierville, Tennesse
Imagine my surprise when I r• ceived the March copy of cycle W( and saw it contained a rare piec~r, Gonzo Journalism! Dr. Hunter Thompson a contributing edito~e (`ide World?! It was a pleasure is read such a refreshing view of mot cycling as only the good Doctor c paint. I always believed this magazi~j had a spirit the others lacked. Than~. for not being another run-of-the-mi motor-rag!
Michael W. Hahne Spring Valley, Illinol
I have subscribed to (*vcle Work for most of 20 years. Each month I ea• gerly await the issue and promptly de `our it from cover to cover. LaF month, though, I read the bigge aste of ink and paper I've ever 1: eyes on. The culprit? The articles and about, Dr. Hunter Thompsc Why some people insist on makin heroes out of irresponsible, egotisti cal, self-professed substance abusers is beyond me.
Cuyler Murphy Perrysburg, Ohio
Wow! What a wonderful idea to in vite Hunter S. Thompson to take off on a Ducati and live to tell such a tal as only his Greatness of Gonzo can. Please invite the Good Doctor back for more. I love motorcycles, and I also love a literate and well-written tale.
Arthur P Leone Winnetka, California
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hunter Thompson works very hard at being provocative. There was a kid like that in my fifth-grade class. I thought he was crv cool. Then.
Don Sucher 3oston, Massachusetts
"~~oflg of the Sausage Creature"... is it merely the best thing I've ever read in a motorcycle magazine, or is it the best thing I've ever read... period.~ IJ~.)L II I II~ \icc work.
Dave bespain Watkinsville, Georgia
Re: I lunter Thompson s "Song of the Sausage Creature." What a set 1crving piece of crap this is. I thought about liniiie my parrots cage with it, hut that would he shoveling it in. not out. Whose idea was it to loan the 1)uc to the [)ork?
Mark A. Stevens Birmingham, Alabama
(iratitude to the [)ivine I)oc for putting it exactly right, in the wrong and only way. While many of us are Ii u nters-and we eat what we k ii I-there iS otilv OflC IIUfltCf.
Jack Lewis, Jr. Seattle, Washington
Was there some reason for the Hunter S. Thompson story in the March issue? There were two things 1 got out of the article: I ) Modern motorcycles are too fast for him and 2) he's an idiot.
1 guess it's jnst really cool to have someone from the '60s counter-culture do a story for your magazine, huh? Was Dennis Hopper busy? You guys should be ashamed to have wasted six on this crap.
Rick Hegerteld Prairier de Sac, Wisconsin
I wish to offer my pro fuse t Ii an k s for your recent article by I)r. If tinter S. Thompson. The vertiginous Duke of (joiiio has a WaY of' living out our funtasies (to the degree of 130 percent) and then getting it on paper in his own unique st\'lc. It's this caliber of diverse journalism that keeps (`vc/c ftor/d niagaz i tie on top of' the stack.
Paul Thompson Hood River, Oregon
I like the fact that CW tries out new voices. Hunter Thompson has a lot to say on many subjects, but as a motorcycle journalist he is a waste of skin.
Why did von choose to publish the article? There arc other places I would like Cvcle World to take me
than into the mind of Hunter S. Thompson.
Harry Willow Cambridge, Massachusetts
I'm glad you included the article. I like reading anything that is differentit was a nice change from the Latest Cireatest Shootout. I would like to see more writing that takes a chance on offending some readers. Good work CW! Motorcyclists tend to be those who take chances, I want my motorcycle magazines to do the same.
Jack Alexander Carson City, Nevada
Please publish where and when Dr. Hunter Thompson rides, so that I can avoid him. Thank you.
Jeff Lannigan Pullman, Washington
Classic HST: part b.s. and part fiction. There’s an old saying that God protects idiots, drunks and children. Two out of three ain't bad.
Del Scott Kennewick, Washington
1 have never ridden with Sonny Barger or smoked weed in biker bars with Grace Slick and Jack Nicholson, but if you guys ever get stupid again and would like to loan a Ducati out to someone who is not qualified to ride it. I’m your man. Just give me the opportunity, Bubba, and I'll write about a Sausage Creature, or a Salami Creature, or any damn kind of creature you want!
Joel Pearson Selah, Washington
After reading about Hunter S. Thompson's adventure on the sexy, red Ducati 900SP, I was ready to pop a few amyls, drop some acid, fire up my Honda Sabre and head to Las Vegas. I'm fed up with do-goody-good politically correct b.s. How refreshing to read some real journalism—thoughts and feelings nurtured in the inner soul, blended with real-life experiences and catapulted onto the pages of Cycle World in black and white. Ah, to tango on two wheels along a mountain road. I'm going mobile!
Vick Thomas San Francisco, California
Those not in the know, such as the younger X Generation, will not realize IIST's writing is an LSD-bathed realism of his own creation. Mr. Thompson writes with acerbity and sarcasm that is biting, but subtle. Many will not "get” him at all. I pray
that our younger generation will not read this as gospel and go speeding down Ventura Blvd. at 120 mph. throwing caution to the wind. They may smack head-on into Hunter coming in the other direction. What a song the Sausage Creature would sing that evening.
Matt L. Leavitt Londonderry, New Hampshire
From what crazy orbit did you snatch WFO dog-child Dr. Thompson and the blessed Sausage Creature? Don't care. Grab him next rotation or so-he gives new life to moto-techs crushed by politically correct numbers, either smoked or inhaled.
Doppler Davie Prather Jacksonville, Texas
It is a mystery to me why this article, reminiscent of bad coffee-house poetry, was even published in such a creditable magazine. Is HST related to CW Senior Editor Jon F. Thompson?
Noel S. Leavitt Londonderry, New Hampshire
I was absolutely thrilled to see the article. I've been a long-time Ian of Hunter S. Thompson, and a life-long avid motorcycle enthusiast. The two combined made me smile for an hour. Kick Ass!
David W. Zoemer Kenosha, Wisconsin
1)r. Thompson. If your brain isn't f~ist enough to stay ahead of the hike you're riding, stay oft two wheels. That 1)ucati deserves better than to trash it self pitching you over the high side. Do us all a laVo r and g row up.
David Washburn Portland, Maine
I was so close to canceling my subscription to Cycle World. Then you guys do something weird, you put Hunter S. Thompson on a 900SS. Great article. When the going gets weird the weird turn Pro.
Paul Malone New Orleans, Louisiana
What kind of a sick editorial mind does it take to send a sweet red sportbike to Hunter S. Thompson? As a further insult, I presume you paid him and illustrator Ralph Steadman for their contributions in the March issue. Do you really think there is a percentage of your readers that can relate to the ramblings of a drugcrazed, gun-toting psycho pervert like Thompson?
Please renew my subscription as 1 think you will need the income to defray the cost of psychiatric counseling.
Ben Hall Portland, Oregon
More! More! More! More Hunter S. Thompson. Your March issue will be as collectible as the art of Ralph Steadman.
Nick Voge Honolulu, Hawaii
Picked up the March CW issue, complete with Ducati road test by Hunter Thompson. Huh? That clown’s still alive? Must be true-scanning the article reveals familiar, annoying, self-indulgent scribblings.
So, “full-bore Cafe Racer” Thompson thinks racetracks are for punks and street action is hot? I’m sure you don’t want to be bored with facts, but here’s one for ya anyway, Gonzo. Until you spend enough time on racetracks to consistently figure in the top three or four places, you don’t know' a goddamned thing about going fast, Bubba.
John Eckhardt, Jr. Merriam, Kansas
You guys at CW want to sell more magazines? Put Hunter Thompson on the payroll. That guy can write.
Mike Brouse Fosston, Minnesota
Are you really that desperate for something to print? I cannot understand w'hy you would want to include this type of article in an otherwise good publication. Why lower your standards? Anyone can write garbage! Refuse to print such dribble!
My son and 1 would love to receive a good magazine about motorcycles, however we do not want to be ashamed of a publication found in our home. Therefore, I am undecided regarding a subscription to your magazine. That decision will be based on the reply to this letter.
R.L. Hamilton Combs, Arkansas
There will be those who, for various reasons, wTite to complain about the Hunter Thompson article. Please be so kind as to forward their names and addresses to me, so that I may hunt them down, drive them into a corner, and thrash them mercilessly.
Scot Steele Petaluma, California
