Hotshots

HOTSHOTS

Re: "Dear Arnold"

As an ER nurse, I have had plenty of chances to speak with motorcycle crash victims as well as the paramedics and police officers who accompany them to the ER. If I only had a nickel for every time the medics or police say that car drivers don't hear the sirens pointed right at them or see a bar of flashing lights... Yet many motorcyclists tell us over and over that "Loud Pipes Saves Lives." If that were true, the police and medics only need to remove their mufflers rather than have sirens and flashing lights.

As a fellow motorcyclist, I can't stand loud pipes on bikes. I find them incredibly irritating at best, and even though I have dedicated myself to saving lives, I feel like driving loud pipers right into the nearest retaining wall. Since such action would be inappropriate, I therefore support any legislation that would restrict loud pipes no matter how punitive it might be. If I crash and have to buy only OEM pipes, it would be worth every penny not to have to hear some inconsiderate guy's overly loud motorcycle.

And while I'm bitching, I want to say to the "anti-helmet" guys: The only people I ever saw die in motorcycle crashes weren't wearing helmets. I know that's not good science, but you can fix broken bones and lacerated livers. But when your head takes a hit, ya can't fix stupid.

Alan Hayashi, RN Loveland, Colorado

I have been riding for 38 years and I wholeheartedly support this type of legislation! I am tired of the noise that most of the middle-aged "look-at-me" biker wannabes make. They can be heard at all hours of the night during the summer. I guess they are afraid we might not see their store-bought "colors" and satanic tattoos if they ride by quietly. They can still enjoy their ride if they let the rest of us enjoy our sleep!

Phil Jennings Staten Island, New York

I have to agree with Mark Hoyer's "Dear Arnold" editorial. Excessive noise from motorcycles is definitely an important issue. That is why I'm sure the Cycle World/Ride for Kids project Honda CBR1000RR, featured a couple of pages after your column, had the optional quiet insert in the LeoVince carbonfiber muffler to show everyone you are a responsible magazine and practice what you preach. Tell me it's not just wishful thinking. Jim Chonga

Ontario, Canada

Eat the poor

I have been a reader/subscriber since the late Seventies, and although I read two other motorcycle publications, I consider yours to be the "must renew no matter what" of the three. My liter-

or*T/ -Foo-fop oKiroT/c KIQCPH tA_

Mo' Feinblatt

Glenview, Illinois

An unbridled rant can be tiresome, but wrap that rant in irony, infuse it with experience, then spice it with intelligence and you have Kevin Cameron's March column. One of his most memorable efforts. Reg Kittrelle

Santa Cruz, California

Electronic era error?

I have admired much of Kevin Cameron's writing over the years. But his thesis that whatever makes a machine go faster without crashing is great "because it works" is a classic example of begging

perhaps leaner, for efficient energy extraction without excessive or harmful reduction in mechanical durability—is laudable for obvious reasons. That said, it does not follow that all electronic tricks imaginable are a real ft_op jn track are riders with invisible digital training wheels. Cameron's special pleading cannot disguise the fact that when the leading GP bike rounds the final corner on the last lap at an apparently death-defying angle and speed, there will be two riders on the bike: one of flesh and blood, and one of silicone. That's cheating, in my book. Bill Harris

Tampa Bay, Florida

I'm an ex-AM A Superbike pro from the Rainey, Cooley and Baldwin era, so I qualify as a genuine old fart. "The Electronic Era" misses the mark, in my opinion. I agree with Valentino Rossi in wishing that the electronic controls could be removed from MotoGP bikes. Not from the street machines anyone can buy, but from the motorcycles used in racing at this level.

Why? MotoGP is a sport. Sports are contests with prescribed inefficiencies as required by the rules. The rules are made to maximize the challenge and give the participants a chance to show their abilities in competition against their peers. While electronic throttle controls, anti-lock brakes, slipper clutches and the like may be wonderful additions to road-going machines piloted by mere mortals, there's no question they take away some of the opportunity for a superior rider to demonstrate his ability. If we allow electronic control of the motorcycle, how far are we from a rider as little more than ballast on the machine, useless except that the rules mandate that the sport be contested by riders using motorcycles? How easy would it then be to simply stuff a mannequin into a leather suit and strap it onto the bike while the real Valentino Rossi relaxes safely in his motorhome?

It would be more efficient and safer but no more a sport than radio-controlled scale-model car racing.

This is a moral choice, one affecting the essence of sport. Electronic rideraids allowed under the claim of "efficiency" or "technological evolution" change that essence. The idea of sport is, who can run a prescribed distance the fastest, jump the farthest or go around a track X-number of times in the shortest time under these agreed-upon restrictions? The restrictions make the sport; they can be whatever the rules-makers decide them to be.

If Rossi wants to use his foot to operate the throttle or clutch, who cares? But we want Rossi to operate the controls, not electronic servo-motors controlled by computers programmed by team

engineers. The rider must be an integral part of the equation. I hope there's a reasonable solution to this issue before MotoGP becomes as uninteresting and expensive as current Formula One auto racing. MotoGP fans deserve better.

Larry Theobald ex-AMA National Number 39 Sioux City, Iowa

Lovin' the CBR250R

Just read the March issue and am glad to see you showing interest in smalldisplacement motorcycles. I have had small bikes and big bikes, and as I look back, I have to say the small bikes were more fun. Honda has done a good thing with the CBR250R; I will purchase one as soon as my local dealer calls me to let me know they're in. I wanted a TU250, but Suzuki did not think it worthwhile to sell that bike in California. Hell, even Royal Enfield can pass CARB standards.

As far as I can tell, all the motorcycle companies have very good products in the 250cc to 500cc range that they sell all over the world but not here. Not everyone in America wants a Harley or a bike that looks like a Harley. I'm not knocking Harley; I have one. I just don't want it anymore. Most of us don't need 0-to-60 in 2.5 seconds or 150 mph. More people might ride if they saw motorcycles that cost $4000 to $5000, that were easy to insure and that could maybe even be thought of as transportation, not a toy.

Name withheld upon request Hollister, California

Creating a little friction

I think you guys should get Kevin Cameron and Renaud Amand in the same room and print the outcome of their discussion of Kevin's February "Friction" TDC column and Renaud's "Eye Catcher" Triumph Speed Triple riding impression. At very least, check to see if your editorial staff read both articles prior to putting them in the same

magazine, pages from each other. Kevin does his usual excellent 2000-word explanation of how reducing engine friction requires huge engineering accomplishments in design and materials. Renaud dismisses frictional-loss improvements with one sentence: "... output was boosted.. .to a new peak of 135 horses and 82 ft.-lb. Nothing major was needed to accomplish this, just an upgraded ECU and reduced frictional losses." Big disparities in thought, only eight pages apart in print. Let the debate begin! And for the record, Mr. Amand wrote the best riding impression I have ever read. Scot A. Wakefield

Odessa, Texas

Kevin 's TDC was a historical thumbnail describing just a few of the specific challenges numerous designers and engineers have faced over the years in the battle between reduced friction and increased rates of component failure. Renaud Armand did not attribute any specific power-increase number to the Speed Triple engine 's reduction in friction; but that number is undoubtedly very small, and it likely took advantage of some of the "huge engineering ac-

complishments " of so many of the pioneering engineers of the past. Viewed from that perspective, those two articles were complementary rather than contradictory.

CW Superbike

I really enjoy reading about and appreciate the effort of all involved with the Cycle World Superbike project. The number and magnitude of tasks are unbelievable. I try to support the sponsors of racing, but there are those true enthusiasts such as Scott Tedro, whose product most of us will not be able to buy so we can repay them for their support. Also, the number of hours and personal sacrifices made by everyone else involved is not easily understood. Looked at from a purely logical perspective, it makes no sense. Just like riding a motorcycle. John Russell

Buckeye, Arizona

Egan again

I, too, am addicted to the "Search for the Eternal Scooter." Presently hoarding five bikes ranging from Gold Wing 1800, FZ1, GS500 to CT70 minibike. Eve previously owned almost 40 bikes in an unsuccessful effort to find the eternal scooter. Empirical evidence suggests that there apparently is nothing to replace the euphoria provided by my first 1960 Vespa 125. The sophistication of that machine was unbelievable for the time and elusive even now, with its two-stroke motor, three-speed manual tranny and onboard spare tire. Or was it just because I was 16 years old? Jim Dennis

Pensacola, Florida

Egan/Buell love

Thank you, Mr. Egan, for dashing my fears that I would never see another article related to the brand of motorcycle that I love. I was happy to see that you also are captured by the "personality" of Buell motorcycles and can refer to the "pure charisma" of the bike. I, of course, am not objective about this; my garage ended up with six Buells in it. I'll never forget the first time I saw a "hooliganized" S-l in 1998: "Wow, an XR-750 for the street!" I took a test ride and was hooked. Since then, I've been unable to resist three more "tubers" and two XBs—the last, a Firebolt I bought after Buell folded. I have had endless fun riding these bikes in the Rockies and the occasional track day at High Plains Raceway. I have ridden my whole life and I've never enjoyed riding as much as I have these last 12 years on my Buells. Maybe someday, Eric will build another machine for us to discuss. But there is no hurry for me—Em only 63 now. Roger Christensen

Evergreen, Colorado

Eric Buell feels your pain and has the antidote. If you haven't already done so, flip back to page 12, where you will find his latest superbike.

Egan/BSA Love

Peter Egan's March Leanings about his pal getting the bug to do a land-speed record attempt on an old Brit bike really hit home for me. Five years ago, I prepped my 1966 BSA Hornet for the track, borrowed a set of leathers and headed to Maxton, North Carolina, the home of the ECTA. They hold events on an old runway where the course is a standing mile with about 0.9 mile for shutdown. I got to make six runs that weekend and was seriously infected with the LSR bug and pursuing the record for the production/ pushrod-650 class. The long-standing record was 114 mph, and I did 104 that weekend. This past September, after many different motor setups and all sorts of "learning," I finally broke that record with a 115.4 pass. Of course,

I want to go faster and also go for the modified record. I've had lots of fun and also a great deal of frustration trying to figure out how BSA could say "120 mph out of the box" in the 1966 ads in your magazine.

Right now, I am working on the latest "secret weapon" in my bat cave. I race two bikes: The other one's also a 650 BSA but has a turbocharger and uses nitrous oxide to propel it to a highest speed so far of 154 mph. We are still striving for that elusive perfect run. I wish Egan and company much luck in their quest! Pushrod Tom Schaefer Westfield, New Jersey