LIVIN’ ROOM MISSUS

Wow! Glad I’m not the only one with bikes in the living room during the winter. This is my 1959 BMW R50 with Hoske tank. Thanks, Mitch, for keeping us normal.

Greg Sproule

Love the lamp, too, Greg! —Ed.

Enjoyed the January issue. It was like a time machine that dropped me back 40 years ago. So many great memories of riding my Suzuki RE5 and Honda CBX. Even better was remembering when my jacket size was medium, and I had reason to carry a comb! I do regret not being a better

My heart rate quickened when I opened the January 2023 issue and spied Mitch Boehm’s Livin’ Room Missus column. The photo of the red CBX got me, as I owned one in the mid-1980s while living in Jamaica. I have fond memories of the rides I made with two friends who rode a Kawasaki GPZ1100 and a Honda Interceptor — typically an early-morning jaunt from where I lived in a suburb around Kingston, down to the coast, along the Palisades strip and on to Port Royal. I recall that Cycle magazine described the big six as “the automotive equivalent of having a cathedral pipe organ in a living room.” To show off I would lug the engine down to 1500 revs in top gear, then open the throttle…no hesitation, just tractor pull up the rev range with the Kerkers keeping harmony. I miss it. You’re all doing a fine job with the magazine. Keep it up.

Harold Hirst Life Member

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.

of electric motorcycles. A government that is powerful enough to force other people to help you pay for an electric motorcycle is also powerful enough to force you to buy fuel you don’t want, or even to prevent you from buying fuel that you do want. We can’t have it both ways. Subsidies don’t reduce the cost of a vehicle and may not reduce the price of the vehicle either. If an electric vehicle (no matter how many wheels) is not worth the price, then forcing taxpayers to help pay for it is both wrong and wrongheaded. Let the buyer decide if the vehicle is worth the price, and let’s not have the government interfering with the law of supply and demand.

A. Wayne Hinson, Life Member Greensboro, N.C.

Apples and oranges for the most part, Wayne. E15 fuel is illegal for motorcycles and power equipment, period. In terms of tax credits for EVs, our beef is with fairness, not whether they should be there in the first place. If they’re in place for four-wheel EVs, they should be available for two-wheel EVs, too. —Ed.

Walking The Walk

Just wanted to comment on how much we can all relate to you folks and the magazine. I just turned 75, have ridden and raced all types of motorcycles for 60 years, and wanted to tell you how much I enjoy American Motorcyclist and most of the articles. I feel especially lucky to be part of a group of people that walk the walk. Not everybody races, rides twisty tracks, lane splits, or adventure rides, but your crew does. I am blessed to still ride dirt on my KTM 450 6-day and adventure ride on my KTM 1190. It doesn’t matter what a person rides, it’s the pilot not the plane, but I really enjoyed your BDR write up in the December HOF issue. I don’t think many people can relate to what an unbelievable experience it is to ride 100 miles of freeway and then jump into the dirt and ride into the weeds and back. That’s what my life is all about whenever I can do it. Keep sharing all the great articles and stories.

Larry Heller

Not So Solo

Don’t mean to belabor a past subject, but I need to respond to the “Solo or No” opinions written in previous issues. After reading so many like responses, I realize how blessed I am to still have great riding partners. I’ve been riding and racing dirt bikes for over 50 years…MX, ISDE, cross country, and just good ol’ trail riding… which is all I do now in my advanced age. I can honestly say that I have never in all those years ridden alone, although I highly respect those of you that love the sport so much that you ride solo rather than give it up.

To me, though, it’s flat dangerous. In all my experiences, my two most serious injuries occurred while trail riding. And if it hadn’t been for great riding buddies, I’m not sure I’d have survived. When these accidents happened, I was not riding out of control or doing anything “crazy.” (Stuff happens, right?) And honestly, if I didn’t have the great riding buds, I wouldn’t be riding. (With the exception of riding my H-D, which is entirely different.)

As my great friend Mike Mather (who passed away several years ago) once said, “There’s nuthin’ like riding in the woods with your buddies.” RIP, Mike. We love and miss you. I used to just glance at your magazine and then toss it, but with your new format, I look forward to reading it every month. Love Malcolm’s Moments

Dave Merklin

To each his or her own, right, Dave? Good on ya. BTW, Mike’s quote reminds me of Bruce Brown’s emotional voiceover at the end of On Any Sunday: “There’s something about going riding with your friends…a feeling of freedom, a feeling of joy…that really can’t be put into words. It can only be fully shared by someone who’s done it.” Godspeed Mike, Godspeed, Bruce. —Ed.

I am 76 years old and still enjoy riding off-road by myself, and on-road, too. In the 1970s there were 10 of us that would go trail riding, and we always had a great time. Over the years, some quit riding, and some passed away; I am the only one of that group that still rides. Riding motorcycles is a very freeing experience, and I am going to keep riding until I can’t. Stay strong.

Roger McCahill Reedley, Calif.

You go, Roger! —Ed.