Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

SAFE RIDE again pages erved and from 13 refreshments will be 14 T~~pp SUZUKI • DUCATI BULTACO SALES·PARTS·SERVICE SF'£Ell T\.OlIHC IlOAll & IlAONC ACtB50IlIa 11. 1l. ' OIT I U D. CO STa I U A. CA LIF, (11.) U2-Qa 2·STROKE SPEED EQUIPMENT 1857 Merced St reet EI Monte, ca lifor n ia 9 1733 well qualified spokesmen will give pointers to the gatherin g. Highpoint of the ride las t ye ar , and again' this year , is the mass ride from Yamaha' s headquarters at Slauson and Tele graph in Montebell o to the Los Angel es Sp orts Arena to att end the Cycle W orld Show. The entourage , led by cele brities and di gnitaries (in cars) , will travel west on Slaus on Avenue to Figueroa Street. turn north to Santa Barbara Avenue and then travel wes t two more blocks to a res erved parking lot. After the prize drawin g. the group otorcycle Aswlll view the Amer ican M sociation' s s afety film, "Wisdo m on IIbeels," (wow) and then en Joy the M otorcycl e & Custom Car Show. All parti cipant s will receiv e discount ticket s to the Sports Arena Show, to the steeple chase at Ascot Park the following Saturday night, and to the indoor short trac k races at the Long Beach Arena. imieux, Lori Yamaha riding...Yvett e M Saunde rs, James Darin, SonllY & Cher have been invited. SCHEDULE: 12 to I PM-Registration. refreshments, get-acquainted period. 1 to 2 PM- Guest safety speakers , prese ntation of dignitaries and cel ebrities, mus ical entertainment by "The Spats ." 2 to 3 PM-Calvalcad e to the Los Angeles Sports Arena. MY FAVORITE MOTORCYCLE FUN GROUNDS By ChUck Clayton UNLESS HODAlA S ALES· PARTS· SERVICE EDDIE CROWELL 10427 Pra ir ie ,lnglewood OR .3-9573 r---YAMA"HA---' ! • I $219 • Complete Par ts & Se rv ice i I ~dn£ ~ ,,411C . _ 00 SPECIALISTS IN ACCESSORIES 1941 E. COLORADO STREET PASADENA • 793-5153 1•••••••••••_ - r,~~, _'~ Nonda C-z (t. Hwqvarna M;Lri~irn .o 'i M 0 R 5 2422 E. H UNTINGTON DRIV E DUARTE. CALI FO RNIA Tele phono 359-454W Ii NE 84864 Roya l Enfield Specia list COMPLETE ROYAL ENFIE L D PARTS S UPPL Y 1955 T O 1965 SHELL MOTORS Lynwood, 3346 Century Rd. Calif. M of us who ride motorcycles ost in the dirt know of one Dr two places not far from home where we go to practi ce sliding and jlll1lping, where we can occasionally engage someone in an i~ro~ tu speed contest, and otherwise generall y work the poison out of our systems, Such " pIaygrounds" are not near· Iy as well charted as the places we nIIst keep out of. Not knowing about all of the many good riding grounds near their homes, some avid riders have not been gening as m uch fun as they would like to out of their motorcycle investment. MAP OF MOTORCYCLE FUNGROUNDS To colTect this, CYCLE NEWS is publishing a ruMing guide to motorcycle playgrounds, and calling on all readers and riders to share their knowledge with each other. Only you can make the map complete, the map of motorcycle fun· land, by writing a "'ief description of your favorite funground along with directions to it, advantages, Iimit~ tions and local taboos, if any, and if possible malt the area on a road map forus and send itin to CY CLE Nns. We will pay regular contributor rates for complete, checked-out reports as longas this series continues ".So, before someone beats me to the bucks, here are my favorite fungrounds, all within the LA, Harbor area. DOMINGUEZ HILLS J us t a pe bbl e ' s th row from Cy cl e News ' new offi c e, between Wilmington and Compton j uts the Domi ngue z Hills, shelf-like. about 30 to 60 feet higher tb an the surroundin g fl at pasture s an d oil land s that us ed to belon g to Senor Domin guez and his family . The bills are all that is left of the once-vast Domin guez ran ch o. Th e family mansion occupies on e co rne r, borde ri ng on Alameda St re et and Domin gue z Road . T be re s ident s and c areta ke rs ar e kindly disposed to ward motorcycles , but do not wish to be disturbed. Ride rs are directed to the Nor tb east co rner of the e s ta te , borde ring on A I am e d a an d 64th st reet s . It can be entered from Al a- So y ou want to learn to be a road racer? Now you can, and withou t spending a lot of time and money . A new shcool has opened up and th e aim is to acquaint the fledglin g racer with the principles involved. Road racing is a lot of fun on c e y ou' re aware of what the do's and don'ts are . You 'll be a bl e to get as much out of a few hou rs instruction as you would by racing for 6 months (and have a lot more fun in the bargain. ) Th e school is open to any rider old enou gh to qualify for a c ompetition license , and wh o has a mach in e 50cc .or over. The classes a re de signed for the av eraee rider wit h little or no racing experience . The riders will be expected to bring their own helmet. boots, goggles and leather j ac ke ts . Th er e is no affiliation with any club, but the s chool has the approval of all the Southern California road racing organizations and publications. Members of these associations will partake in the activitie s of this s ch oo l so that each s tud ent will receive th e best personal ins tru ction possible. BOth verbal and trac k instruction will be gi ven. A ne w tr ac k in the beart of the San F ernando Valley will be used and is id eal for beginning racers. Th e first c lass will take plac e on April 23rd at 10:00 a.m . This will be an all day s ession so all riders will get pl enty of practice . The track i s located at 12930 Pierce St ree t, in P ac oima. (W hitema n Airpark) The cost ? T en dollars per student covers everything. T rack , insurance, instructors etc, F or furthe r informa tion call or write Road Ra cin g, 6906 Colbath , Van Nu y s , California. P hone : 785-2421. meda or Wi I m in g t o n Ave., wbi ch parallels Alam eda on the W st . e Leadin g off the trac to r trails inside the playground ar e ne tworks of hilly trails , leadin g to, an d som etimes throu gh, e ve ry ima ginable kin d of terrain except roc ks. T her e ar e good practi c e sand wasbes (n ot too de ep), a fl at. ultra-smooth slidi ng floo r, a tiny lake for a water ha zard and all kinds of hillclimb hills up to a heigh t of abo ut 60 feet. Even the lo udest two-stro ke c an run unmuffl ed in the no rtheast corne r , but any bike that is ridde n in best have som e kind of silencer . Th e roads in and out all le ad pas t farmers' houses and if they ar e willing to share their lands with us we s hould honor their pe ac e and quie t. Any SaturdaY and Sunday fin ds a mixe d ba g of bik e rid ers in th e hills, so watch out for learners. There either side of the concrete building, which houses telephone equipmen t. Eitber road will ge t you there and one is no better than the other. Follow the dirt road to th e cliff's edge and you'll be th er e . You 'll find a s coop-shaped vall ey e dg ed by a few s t eep trails through the cactus and som e shor t, hi gh-speed dirt roads. There ar e various hills to c limb and a scrambles co urse with two or three alte rnate loops . If the s c enery looks familiar it 's be cause yo u 'v e bee n s e e in g it in the bac kground of Cy cle Worl d scrambler test pictures . Th e gro und is loos e shale , ra ther dusty un les s it has j us t rain ed. Slow do wn if yo u can 't see wher e you' re going.. .one peep ove r th e cli ff will ma ke a believ er of yo u . Ke ep the nois e down until y ou're well inside , and of course stay out of any field that looks like a farm . 3 to 3:30 PM-Drawing for prizes: Bell Helmets. Accurate Access ories, and the Grand Prize of a new Twin Jet 100. 3:30 to 4 PM- Adjourn to the Sports Arena. 4 to 4: 15 PM-View " W dom on Wheels" is film on motorcycle safety produced by otorcycl e As s ociation. the American M 4: 15 PM- View Cycl e W orld M otorcyc le Show. ROUTE: Riders led by dignitaries in open cars will travel west on Slauson Avenue, in groups of about 20. to Fi gueroa Street. go north to Santa Barbara. and tum west to the parkin g lot opposite the Sports Arena on Santa Barbara. RACING SCHOOL OPENS APRIL 23 (To be contin ued) MORE FAVORITE GROUNDS Competition riders come to practice and 'un rlders cometo play aUhe vast and varied playground In the Dominguez Hills . ar en ' t any keep-out signs , but th e nursery on top of one of the hills and res id ents' prop erties ar e off limits by unspoken agreement. PALOS VERDES PENINSULA This playground and th e one follo wing are plac es where we us ed to test bik e s for Cycle World ma ga zine . Bo t h are on-aga in-o ff-again pl ay groun d s , which ar e s ometimes padlock ed an d s ometimes not. Th e offi cial at titude toward motorcy cl e us e is still pe nding , so we ad vis e you to us e discretio n en terin g an d leaving . Th e P .V. pl ay ground is on a cli ff below P alos Verd es Drive and cannot be s een from the pavement. It is bar ely possible to drive a car down the road le adin g into it in dry weather . but not if yo u c are for your undercarriage. Look for a s ma ll co nc rete buildi ng on the s easide of th e road, surround ed by farmland . Th ere is a dirt road on I would like to tell you about my favorit e " motorcycle playground ". the Little Sand Creek national forest area. To get there tak e Highland Ave. in San Bernardino east to Sterling Ave., go north to the end of Sterling, turn right on Foothill and go approximately ~ mile east. Ther e are many good dirt roads and. uncountabl e trails winding up throu gh the sc eni c. tree-covered hills. It is a hill climbers paradi se with many hills to challenge riders of all degrees of abili ty. To the ea st is the Little Sand Creek fire road which cuts through the foothills for about 6 miles. There is even a short. improvised scrambles track and the "rolla-c oaster", a s eries of 5 foot Jumps spac ed about 4 feet apart and going slightly uphill. The area cove rs about 4 s quare miles . It is a good idea to use a muffle r and under no circumstanc es go in the summer when the area closed because of fire danger. JOHN W ELLS San Bernardino EDITOR - Thank you John. Please accept: our check 'or $ 1.40. Contributor rates apply to letters telling the whereabouts of ItoodIIIOtorcycle riding grounds. How about you readers in San Fe rnando Valley and Stockton, San Jose? Where do you ride orr the road?

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