Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The Homecoming Cro ss- countr y g ro u p rid es fai rl y well ha ve to be expe rien ced for us to gras p th eir true so u l. The natural comedy and d ram a o f the happen ing itself is n ' t eas ily tr an srniu ed th ro u gh words and p h otographs. In fact, it 's usu al lv a lost ca use. But wai t! Here CO lJ1t'S ' a n alter nat ive! So p u t a way those cu m berso me rai n su its a nd long d istan ce touring gear, park a nd lock yo ur mot orcyle, a nd sit yo urself a nd friends dow n in front o f a VC R screen. Because th ere is a new video cas sette ta pe o n th e m arket th at bri ngs home th at mega-mi le road adven tu re's so u l for yo u, a nd does it wi th rem arkab le success. It 's ca lled "T he H omecoming." It's a win -win situa tio n! " folk hero Willie G . Da vid son asse rts , before go bb ling co m p a ny birthda y ca ke a lo ngs ide rocker Bill y Idol , two of th e lit erall y thousa nds o f Mil waukee Riders seen in thi s pop u lous tape, " Win -wi n " beca use thi s vid eo ca psu le of H a r le y-D a vid son 's 1988 Mil wa uk ee R ide for th e Mu scul a r Dyst ro ph y As soc ia ti o n o ffe r s a health y, u pb eat servi ng o f the h umor a nd hea rt o f th e real thi ng. Sure, th ere a re proba b ly slic ker , m ore p ro fessional tou ring ta pe s aro u nd, but none enga gin g ly human as th is re-watchab le prize o f road ca rna raderie a nd pe rso na l del ight. P roduced for Harley-Davidson th rou gh Zim merm an & Associat es o f Sa n An to n io, T exas, this bri ght ho me en tertainm ent uses so u n d sni ps a n d ca me ra g lim pses from the hugel y effect ive na ti o n wide charity/a n ni versary week long ride to benefit MD A a nd ult im at ely celebra te H ar Icy ' s ' 85 th b irth d a y i n " H a r ley M ecca " - Mil wa u kee, Wisco nsin hometow n of Am erica 's o n ly su rvivin g motorcycl e co m pany. " G im me a pi ece 0 ' tha t Hog cake!" cr ies a biker's vo ice, hung ry a nd eager to ride, a t o ne of a dozen start points across th e n ited ra tes a nd Ca nada. And prod ucer Peter Em ch 's a nd director R o n Zi m m e r m a n 's " Ho meco m ing" (red uce d to a sp irited 20 m inu tes view ing tim e) is off a nd runn in g! With pl enty of flash a nd th roaty mo tor so n g. And, m erc ifu ll y, . witho u t na rra tion, ot h er tha n a few ob ligatory lin es at th e o pen and close. The rest is p u re joy in rid e-sharing and spo nta n eo us rider co m me nts, bl ended with a music so u nd track by T erry Ash ley a nd Paul Kennerl y featurin g rockbased bike tunes as ar p ro p ria te as th e aco ustica l throb a bi g V-twins. This national travelgra m br in gs us th e rid e's men , women , ch ildren, dogs, a nd stu ffed a n ima ls - a n yo ne a nd a n ythi ng th at mi ght be found o n a n Am er ican flag-fl yin g mo torcycle or side hack, Come ra in or shi ne or heal a nd wind, cro ssing th e open di sta nces that link city to city over th is gr eat land, the rid ers co nverge en m a s se on M il wauk ee ' s' mo torcycle-packed Iak efron t park. " It's bik e hea ven, everyth in g yo u see is bea ut iful !" says a dazed fin ish er, Wh at 's a lso beaut iful abo u t it is th e cas h d o na tio ns rai sed ( n ea rl y a m ill ion do llar s) to help th e man y brave bu t crip p led victims o f muscu lar dystrop h y a nd o th er neu ro mu scul ar d isea ses. In sp ite of its worth wh ile !\IDA ca use, a nd with H arley-David son 's upper eche lo n sca ttered th ro u ghout, so m e m ig h t be in clined to ca ll thi s vid eo H a rl ey propaga n da th at excl udes th e rest o f our bro ad mo torcycl ing world. And, yes, in a sense , they wou ld no t be wro ng . Bu t they wo u ld be offe nde rs, too , aga inst that brorher-Se-sisterhood of o u r riding mo torcycles together , rider to rider , bra nd names be damned. And th ey wo u ld a lso be m issi ng th e real valu e o f th is appea ling video keepsa ke thi s excell ent in cent ive for us to co mmi t to th e m ore ac tive a n d admi ra b le as pec ts o f motorcycli ng. Reach in g o u t to help o u rsel ves a nd o thers. "T he H o mecom in g " is a va ila b le for 20.00 o n VH S video cassettes th rough Ha rley-David son dealers, or by m ai lin g check o r money o rder directly to Harley-Da vid son, All en tio n: Bill Davidson, P,O , Box 653, . Mil waukee, WI 5320 1. T a pe proceeds go to th e Mu scul ar Dystroph y Associa tio n. Like Will ie G . says, it 's a win -win dea l. William Edgar WRITIN' AROUND W hatzamatter w ith the m /c biz? Everybody bu t H arley-Davidson is complaining that new bike sales are do wn. The October issu e of Rider magazine goes into the details, if you are interested. H igh prices, dangerous image, co mpetition from other products and insu rance problems ar e ci ted as th e four " p lagu es" that prompt them to ask, " Is motorcycling in Am erica dying? Wh ile it ma y seem like The End to people who have o n ly known motorcycling in its fat yea rs, let me ass ure you that th e business has been through tougher times before. In fact , tough times are normal for th e m otorcycl e biz. There is nothing rea ll y th e matter wi th our business, u nl ess yo u ar e j ust in it for th e money. However , for th ose who co u nt su ccess by un it sales, th ere is a lwa ys hope on th e horizon. For exa m p le: Whatzamatter w it h the m /c biz? Nothing that a n ew-des ign, ch ea p moped couldn 't cure. The business ch u gged a long well en o u g h unti l th e Whizzer was in vented , and showed us what a ch eap, clip-on motor could do for sa les. Then low-priced scooters from Italy rea ched our shores and created a new flood of business for dealers. By the tim e th at wave waned, Honda was here with their $215 " Nifty 5Occ" lightweight and the b o o m was underway that we are only now recovering from , Meantime th er e wer e m oped s, m in ib ikes, ATV s. more scooters - a ll chea p, entry or-fu n m o torized leve-l s o r ju st- C b ikes. T h ey kept th e boom boom in g fo r decades, . Yo u kn o w w h a t h appe n ed to th em . They served their purpose a n d (Co n tinued to pag e -/6)

• Cover