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/125861
fI2 WRITIN~ 125 250 400 AROU ND Criticism If cycling had a Bible, it s New Testam ent might be th e book on the curren t best-seller list , " Zen and t he Art of Mot o rcycle Main tenan ce - an inqui ry into Values" by Robert Pirsig. It is a novel by every definition : a 40-year technical writer takes a trip on a Honda with his son who, a t II, is though t to be showing signs of mental illness. The father author isn't very sure o f his own sanity, having been discharged from a hospita l not so long ago after 25 brain shocks to sn ap him o u t of a tr anscendental trance induced by postu l ating past th e conven tiona l margins of re asoning. But he is certa in th at a vacati on by motorcycle, alo ne together, is wh at th ey both need to chase th e blues away, and here begins the boo k. " Yo u see th ings vacationing on a m oto rcy cle in a way that is complet ely different from an y other. In a car . . . every thing yo u see is just more TV. You're a passiv e o bserve r and it is all m oving by you boringly in a fram e. "On a cy cle th e fram e is gon e. You're complet ely in contact with it all; You're in th e scen e . . : and th e sens e of presence is o verwhelm inK. •• Not overwhelming enough to preven t solo meditation, obviously, for the writer mulls some heavy thoughts o n the way to the Coast , For example, "Motorcycle Maintenance" divides people into th e Tech nicals and Romantics. This book will tell you how to fix yo ur cycle, what to take along on the trip. Mo reover, says the book , "The rea l cycle you are working on is a cycle called yourself. " Mo reover st ill, with help from his frie nds like Plato and Aristo tle, Pirsig re t h i nks the pattern of weste rn, techno lo gical reason in to a logic th a t mer ges, like the links of a chain, with the sp roc ke ts of spi ri tual , tran scendent philosophy. T he su bti tle of th e book is UAn inq uiry into values" and it does n o t lie. " Zen an d t he Ar t " is the book I wo uld lik ed to have wri tt en. It has gotten rave reviews: "New Yorker" p uts it alongside Moby Dick, which my co llege professors all swore was the nu mber one novel of al l time . "Zen and the Art" co uld be a gre at movie. How the fa the r and son finally make co n ta ct on th e shore of the oc e an is a moving scene. Read "Zen and the art of m otorcycle Maintenance ," by Robert Pirsig and in 412 pages it will d eliver 25 sh ocks (in a nice wa y ) to your br ain. E ve l Kn ievel , a Romantic by . an yone's -de fin i li on , rev eals a p ow erful phil osophy in Pen th o use for May , 1974 . Evel j o kes about death as on ly he ca n wh o has s pi t in its face regularly . Eve! is o ur he ro , n ot j ust us m otorcy cl e e n t husiasts, but every b od y 's. He 's Hopalong Cassid y , S uperman, Joe Lo uis and Wonder Wart·H og a ll rolled up in a leather j ump sui I with Fren ch cuffs an d diam onds like sear chlights o n busted hands. This co ming September ll, of co u rse . Eve! means to cl imb in a rocketship built b y som e Technical friends of his, and shoo t himself acr oss the biggest abyss in northern U.S.A . There is no guarantee he will make it. But Evel guaran tees he will Iry iI. The evening of September II in Twin Falls , Idah o will witn ess either the biggest wake or th e biggest party the world has ever seen. There is a well -written insigh I into what it's lik e to be Kenny Roberts in the May 6 editorial of Sports Illustrated. It is the issue wi th a pi cture on the front page of two hockey players performing an obscene act. Charles Clayton 51 IlQ -= IiGI ...;I g ~ g 7 f' Cl CO N X-DESERT >-~ :E 125 175 STREET '74 Step up and see CZ this year! You'll like what you see . Some motorcycle manufact urers might offer new and more drastic cha nges every year. some just for the sake of change; but CZ offers featu res that funct ion. If they want it to be stronge r, lighte r, and better . .. it's a serious business . .. because they also want to give the rider more for his money! FOR THE COMPETITOR: You'll always see the name CZ in the win column - if it's in a backyard rnoto-x, in the Trans AMA se ries, in anyone of the major desert races, or in the world rnoto-x championsh ips. This year you can expect it in all three classes because Ihere are some new featur es that only add to their winning ways. NEW FRAME DESIGN: Maintains good ground clearance, but lowers the ce nter of gravity to give added tract ion and response. VELOREX SIDECAR NEW SUSPENSION: More travel (8 inches ) gives the rider, es· pet ia lly the dese rt racer, the most outstand ing hand ling characteristics on those high speed cross country runs. And the new rear swinging arm with its oil dam pened rear shocks (200 cc's oil in eac h leg) even makes the ride comfortable (if that' s possible). AND. MUCH MORE: New cylinder and cylinder head , new carburetion, new exhaust silencer. new fuel tan k. new plast ic fenders. FOR THE STREET RIDER: You need not be frustrated by the gasoline shortage - these mach ines are des igned for economy. In Europe, where the motorcycle is a major form of transportation, it is imperalive that a mach ine is both econom ica l and comfortable. CZ offers the best of these featu res and even more. Quick res ponse. supe rior handling. smooth gea r changes , styling and funct ion. What more can you ask for? THE VEtOREX SIDECAR: Stylis h and comfortable and adaptable to any of the super bikes. Now you can have family motorcycle trans portation and economy with comfort as an added attra ction. If you want more, and MORE FORYOUR MONEY- See CZ in '74. dealer in qui ries invi ted . . . fo r more information wri te: A~ERICAM JAWA. LTD. WEST 114 01 U UR[l PARK ROAO, DRAWER 15, COMPTON. CAlI r . 90224 : liST: 185 EXPRESS srs rrr, PU INVIEW, LON; ISUNO. NEW YORK 11103 Problem drinkers were responsible for 19.00 0 highwav deaths last year. Tha t is your problem. Because thev didn't kill onlv themselves. They killed people they loved. peoplethev'd never met. people Iike you. . .And they didn't only kill.They crippled and maimed and destroyed. lives without actually taking them. If your friend has a drinking problem. there are manv ways you can help him. But first vou must help him slay alive. So others mav live. . If you are really his friend. don't help him drink. Admittedly. you alone probably can't SlOp a problem drinker from drinking , But you can discourage it. If he has been drmk ing. don't let him drive. Drive him vourself. Call a cab.Take his car Keys. It won't be easv. After all. he is your friend. You dOn'l want to hurt him or insult him. But the alternative is perhaps losing him. Everything you think you can't do. you must do. r--- ------ --- --- ---. I DRUNK DRIVER . •2I I BOX 2345 I I ROCKVlu.E. MAR\1A:-U 20852 I I I I I I MYl'Ian'ris I Addrru I I I I want 10 do IlOml'thlng about my probI~ I P1N~ I ~U mr how else I can Mlp. I I ~~~ __ --- ~~~ -- -~~ - - - J l' ..... ~ .~ 15