Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1122949
CN III VOICES W H A T Y O U A R E S A Y I N G P6 In The Paddock: Silence Of The Amps I had rather hoped that politics would not creep into the pages of Cycle News or our sport in general. In Michael Scott's essay, "Why We Must Look Forward To The Silence Of The Amps," he seems to question whether motorcy- cle racing is an unnecessary endeavor that serves no greater purpose. That is a debatable point. Where he lost me though, is when he further suggests that anyone who disagrees with his premise, that the science of climate change is settled, is therefore a climate change denier. This could be construed as offensive and narrow of mind. We all are best to be careful not to pursue our viewpoints in a polemic manner. If he wishes to lobby for the advance of electric vehicles in racing, or suggest that they are the way of the future, then that is a welcome opinion. After all, we don't drive steam-powered vehicles anymore (except Jay Leno). We will see what the future holds for racing fans soon enough. Reynold Hicklin Great article. We have to convince the knuckle draggers that we are changing the earth. Jim Brown Shame on you, to bring politics into our racing sanctuary! Your view on the rel- evance of why we race motorcycles or cars for that matter is obviously "your" point of view and fine if that's what you believe. But to tie it to "your" political point of view, and then print it in our magazine? We don't want to hear what political-agenda-minded people push in Cycle News. There are plenty of other mags (rags) for that. Did it ever occur to you that we watch racing to see athletes perform the impossible that us mere mortals can't do? And, yes, we do love the loud, the feel, and the sheer awe of what has been accomplished by years of honing the IC engine. If you want to look for another job and ruin a great magazine, keep pushing. E racing may be fun to watch, but nobody is going to come and watch that if that's all there is! Skeet Wyman Thanks to Mr. Scott for bringing forward a subject that is so taboo in the motorsports family. Abrupt climate change due to human activity will change motorcycle racing for sure (it already has due to extreme weather events), and those that are thinking and talking about adapting the sport now are the true pioneers of motorcy- cling's future. Avila Lagzdins Michael Scott, this article is a complete embarrassment. By pissing on motorcycle racing so completely and in such an off-hand manner, you've degraded the very subject that your readers expect you to support. Your quote: "Ask any factory racing engineer what sort of benefit can be transferred from today's MotoGP bikes (which are at least conceptually similar to sport bikes), and he will smile wist- fully. In design, metallurgy, lubrication and longevity, in spite of rules limiting quantities of fuel and numbers of engines over the year, there's really no crossover whatsoever." Don't know if Mr. Scott's ridden any sport bikes in a while, but it's very clear that what's raced on Sunday does reach us bike buyers. Witness the Ducati V4 ridden by Bautista in WorldSBK; really, is this not MotoGP inspired? Anyone who's truly studied the "climate debate" knows that CO2 is not an evil pollutant. It's vital to life on earth. Carbon is not a pollutant. All living entities are carbon-based. Petroleum is not a "fossil fuel." That's a complete falsehood. But none of this means that those who understand these things are in favor of pollution. The climate has always "changed" and will continue to do so until the sun swallows us up. By the way, I've been driving elec- tric cars since 2013, but the Zero SR is not quite my R1 yet. Please retract this article as it is fraught with absurdity. You really need to focus your com- mentary on motorcycles and not the politics of climate change. Stan Gale From my perspective, this article misses the point entirely. Firstly, climate change is a normal condition as we are still slowly easing away from the last ice age. The problem is the rate of climate change, there is a big difference. Second, to assume that racing (and all vehicles) should embrace the E-bikes as the savior is an error. If racing is going to improve the breed again, then the effort should be to open any type of fuel that does not contribute to greenhouse gas. Let the field be wide open, not just restricted to batteries. Bruce Monk If you want to look for another job and ruin a great magazine, keep pushing. Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor