BACKFIRE S LETTER OF THE MONTH
MORE SHOP TALKIN’
GARY YASAKI
WINDSCREEN WISDOM Excellent article on windscreen design, materials and care in the September issue’s Garage section. I ride eight bikes, but one I’ve had for 34 years — my 1988 Harley-Davidson FLHS — has the police-style screen that is original and still very clear and uncracked after 175,000 miles. I only wash it with water and micro-fiber towels, and dry with same. Years ago, micro-fiber towels weren’t really a “thing” and I used old-fashioned baby diapers to wash and dry my screens with. Those did not scratch things up, either. Keep up the great work! Bob Lower Casper, Wyo.
eally enjoyed the Talkin’ Shop article in the August issue. Matthew Crawford’s Shop Class as Soulcraft book (which was mentioned in the October issue’s Backfires section) is a great read. Crawford, who’s a Ph.D., motorcycle shop owner and faculty member at The University of Virginia, writes that not every student is meant for a “knowledge college,” and that technical schools need to be considered more often. Society in turn needs to afford more respect to the trades and graduates with technological credentials. Not long ago a young friend was dropping his mother’s Volvo off for service at the dealer and the Service Manager noticed the tech school logo on his shirt. He was offered a job on the spot and upon graduation became a certified Volvo technician, earning a decent wage doing something he loved. High school guidance counselors need to get on board and offer solutions that accommodate the individual’s interests and aspirations rather than being concerned with statistics boasting about their rate of graduates going off to “knowledge colleges.” Let’s pay these tech graduates accordingly, respect and honor them, and encourage students to explore the many benefits of a technical education and career. Ron Fish Valley Forge, Pa.
R
SKILL TRANSFER At 77 years of age, I am riding my motorcycle a bit less and my bicycle a bit more of late. A month ago I was at a four-way stop on my Cannondale bicycle, arriving simultaneously with a pickup to my right and waiting for my turn to proceed after him. As I began to cross the intersection, I covered my brake and monitored the front wheels of the car that had arrived after the pickup, as I have done in similar situations on my motorcycles. When I was a third of the way into the intersection, the car began to move briskly into my path, but I was able to stop in time to avoid being run over thanks to my 60 years of practice on motorcycles. The car driver appeared to be annoyed at my existence. Not me. Richard DeBeau Nortfield, Minn. 12
From what we’re reading and seeing, Ron, tech-school grads are making quite decent money these days, and in many cases more than liberal arts degree holders. The knowledge-college-is-the-only-way mentality of the last few decades seems to be changing of late, and for those for whom a traditional college education isn’t a good fit, that is good news indeed. —Ed. Letters to the editor are the opinions of the AMA members who write them. Inclusion here does not imply they reflect the positions of the AMA, its staff or board. Agree? Disagree? Let us know. Send letters to submissions@ama-cycle.org or mail to American Motorcyclist Association, 13515 Yarmouth Drive, Pickerington, OH 43147. Letters may be edited for clarity and brevity.
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLIST • NOVEMBER 2022
