Intake

Intake

SCRAMBLER FOOTWEAR -> URBAN RIDERS -> EASY RIDER -> HIPSTER POLICE

MÊEHSTHRT THE ERn VER SR TiOn

Well, l’m 64 years young, and the Ducati Scrambler appeals to me.

In 74 when I bought my first GT750, it appealed to me, and I didn’t care what others thought about it. Motorcyclists don’t need to be told what is cool. We know. Either you get it or you don’t.

Now, can I afford a Scrambler along with my 2011796M? And no,

I still don’t care what others think. My main ride is a 72 Shovelhead.

MICHAEL PORTAGE CYCLEWORLD.COM

LACE ’EM UP

As a CW devotee for more than 30 years, I’m compelled to write Intake for the first time. The March 2015 issue fires on all cylinders, especially the “World’s Coolest Bikes” feature and the excellent Race Watch on the Superprestigio. High-quality motojournalism not withstanding, the excess of floppyshoelaced riders stumped me like an inexplicably persistent false neutral! Hipster trendy or not, floppy shoelaces have no place on a cyclist’s feet. I only had to see it once—riding buddy splitting lanes ahead of me comes to a stoplight, puts his right foot down, hooks the shoelace loop on the peg or brake lever, and falls over into the side of a new Cadillac.

ERNIE SALLE

MILPITAS, CA

As my wife handed me the March issue, she took one look at the cover and commented: “Didn’t they teach us in that MSF course we took years ago that it was

unsafe to ride with just tennis shoes? I replied that these had the new “safety laces.” I don't think she believed me.

CHRISTO RUSH

CYCLEWORLD.COM

COOL FACTOR

Did it ever occur to anyone that the “new urban rider” may not want (or be able to afford) all the responsibilities and burdens of new bike ownership? A good measure of the “coolness” factor is taking something cast off and cheaply converting it to one’s own design and use. Wasn’t this the original idea behind the first bobbers of long ago?

RICHARD CREED BELTON, TX

GIVING THANKS

The Easy Rider story (“Where Has My Easy Rider Gone?” March) hit home on so many levels. Nancy and I were involved on the front row of Civil Rights in the Deep South in the ’60s. We knew the characters/teams at SNCC (Student

Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), the Freedom Schools Program, the Ford Foundation, working to get all of the traditional Black Colleges accredited.

I ran the Ford Foundation program and had many run-ins with unhappy Southerners and felt their wrath more than once. Paul d’Orleans’ story on the Captain America bike was extraordinary journalism, and the final paragraph was brilliantly written. Thank you for busting the myth and showing another part of American history accurately and succinctly. I am left wondering why Peter Fonda did not end the false myths and give credit where it was due until December 2014? What demons has he been fighting?

HOWARD YANA-SHAPIRO

CYCLEWORLD.COM

I’ve been subscribing to Cycle World for, oh, decades now. It’s always been a modest read: what’s new with motorcycles and how to fix them. Imagine my surprise in the March issue when I see an article on the real story behind Easy Rider. Excellent job. For a while I thought that I was reading the latest Smithsonian.

ROBERTERCK

CYCLEWORLD.COM

ICONIC HIPSTERS

Please, please stop using the word “hipster”—at least when referring to motorcycles I may buy someday, such as the Ducati Scrambler. I see you’ve managed to eliminate “iconic.” Good start. For heaven’s sake, I beg you to make “hipster” (I cringe just writing it) the next to go!

BRAD JARVIS

CYCLEWORLD.COM

Comments? Suggestions? Criticisms? Write us at intake@cycleworld.com.