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/125988
out into in -plant production processes. The cha nge to h eavy gauge ABS plastic was still years aw ay, but the rea sons and th e ne ed for a chan ge were becoming evide nt . The main d ecisi on against fib erglass was one of health. It presents an almos t unde tectab le and impossible-to -guard -against hazard in th at a nyo ne who dr aws a b reath in an area where w ork is being done is susceptible to its lo ng ran ge effects . Secondly it was impossib le to retain th e qu al it y r equ ired in th e quantit ies needed. Hen ce , t he d ecision to re-tool and attemp t a manufacturing p ro cedure that was entirely ne w to the field to wh ich it was being ap p lied . " We pi oneered th e use of he avy gau ge ABS pl astic fo r t he fab rication o f fairings; nob ody had done it be fore. The Windjamm er II was th e first re al attempt to mak e a fairing look as good on the inside as it did o n the o utside." "1 am the first in a generatio n of plastic desi gn er s. I u se plastic the way it was intended to b e used; probably better than anyo ne else . ABS eliminated all the problems fib erglass had, but in turn it created pr oblems of its own like totally new manufacturing pro cedures. We're alread y at the limit of current " techno logy . ABS has turned out to be a superior mater ial that is very durable to , outdoor exposure and provides an automotive quality fini sh ." The co mpany has progressed to a stage wh ere every t hing is no w made in-house in a facility (new in 19 74) that empl o ys o ver 170 w o rkers with a payr oll that app roached $7 50 ,000 in 19 74 . The Vet te r Corporation fac ility is located on t he outskirt s o f th e b ooming metropoli s of Ran toul, Illin ois. wh ich in reali ty is a slee py farm town of abo ut 26,000 in habitants. And t hat suits Cra ig j ust fine , since he ca n do practical remember the Hudson Terraplane: th ey dropped the nam e when th e co m p any went out o f bu siness and now it 's registered to Vetter) to evol ve from the drawin g board to mo ck-u p t o production model. Side cars are not new and their design (until t he Te rrap lane) was, according to Vetter, mainly a rehash of the origi n al old t im e d esigns. The Terrapl an e's uniqueness stems from its frame which is built on t he geo metric principal of th e tetrahed ro n (the st rongest kind of t hree dimensional struct ur e known) and the Trim -Grip t ruing device . Both are examples of the inq uisitiveness of th e Vetter mind which pushes him to make something t ru ly b etter than ex ist ing products. Of course the b est is not cheap . " I am more proud of the Trim-Grip I tes tin g of his lates t creations w it hout th e slightest fear o f so meone ask ing, or car ing , what th ey a re . The techni que fo r creation of a new product or a new generatio n o f an estab lishe d o ne is a slo w, p iece b y pie ce e vo lut io n . Hit see ms to take for ever to d o. Ther e is no suc h t hi ng as per fect. You can always m ake so mething better. I listen to m y deale rs and talk to th e people w ho use th e prod uct (t ra de show t raffic is a large source of in form ati on). Each su cces sive model o f m y fairings has come fr om exten sive rid er/dealer imput to make it better than the last o ne. " In that vein he rides ab o ut 25 ,00 0 miles a y ear for ple asure, for te sting, for just ab o ut everything he does. His first car, a Honda Civic, was purchased just last summer. And what d oes he ride ? Well, as he said when the question was put to him, " We have just about one of everythin g at th e pl ant." Rel axation this year was a fift h place finish in the 250cc Amateur even t during Da ytona Speed Week in Mar ch. "BM W riders put me in business and I love them. " " I do bik es becaus e they 're right. They are go od tra nspo r ta t io n and they m ak e few d emands on th e highw ay and on parking. Right now sound is a problem, but I don't think t hey have to b e no isy to be enj o yed. I b elieve that everything I do in the m otorcycl e industry makes th e motorcycle a more reasonable means of transportation." The latest V ett er cr eation, the Terraplane side car , is another example of the Vetter ide a of reasonable transportation. " I wanted to build a sid ecar because it's one. mor e thing that enables you to drive a m otorcycle all year long. ('They're fantast ic on icy ro ads for stab ility.') I also felt that no one was making a sidecar worth having." It took two years for the Terraplane (if you're old eno ugh to remember the Hudson au to m ob ile then . . . , might . you ... "I knew that whatever I did would have worldwide implications . . . " on the T errapl ane than any other o f m y design s. It is unique." In short t he Trim-G rip is a variab le lean out d evice th a t ins ures de ad straigh t tracking (according to t he product broch ure) un de r alm os t any ridi ng co n ditio ns with just a twi st or two o f th e w rist while riding. O f t he prob lems en coun ter ed in des ign ing fairings he say s, " It 's easy to d esign a one m ak e/model fai ring, b u t to m ak e one t ha t will fit o ver 30 di fferen t mach in es (since th e fair ing is essentially a bolt o n it em ) is very t im e co n sumi ng. The fittings are th e hardes t p ar t of the design." Some b ik es, li ke t he BMW, are a na t ural for a fairing , (" BMW riders p u t me in b usi ness and I love them. They are always th e first to buy." ) while others like th e Harl ey -Davidson 74 ar e not. Craie saw a need for a special f a iring designed sp ecifically fo r the H arl e y 74 a n d approa ch ed Harley -Davidson's John A . Davidson with th e idea . The result w as the liber ator fairing, a massive article with du al headligh ts that enhances th e inherent bulkiness of the 74. Purists were aghast at t he lack o f sleekness so common in other Vetter designs, but the 74 riders loved it. One of th e most fascinating asp ects o f Vetter is his sense of th e future; of his destiny. His trad em ar k , in essence his con ception of a sp oked wh eel, (" A classic example o f good engine eri ng and design." ) was designed before he had an y id ea of wh er e he migh t chan nel h is talents. " I kn ew th e val ue of a trademark ; so meth ing th at was non-verbal ye t eas ily understan dable throughout the w orld. I knew th at whateve r I did would have w o rld wi de imp licati o ns; t hat whatever I do will be significant." The t alk finall y cen tered o n just what C ra ig Will iam Vetter hop ed to accomplish ; his goals if you will . The answer cam e readily. "I want t o make motorcycles better. I want to be known for making the best of anything and righ t now t he field is motorcycles. I expect to leave the motorcycle industry in a state far ahead of the way it manufacture s motorcycles and what it expe ct s from them than w ha t motorcycling would have been without me . Maybe we 'll talk again 16 ye ars from now and you'll see that what I've said is true. I feel like I've j ust started." And what will the Vetter future look like? He p aused, thought a moment, and said, "I'd rather not talk about future projects b ecause th e people who are my com pe titors will be reading this. I' ve go t th e capaci ty to build things today that I . never had before and I've got th e d esire and I'm go ing to do it. My next proj ect will be a co mb in ati o n of -superlatives." It was clear that he wouldn't settle for anyt~ing les s. • • 37