Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

FOUR ACES M.C. • • • By Geo r ge B. Maness Spectators and participants in Di stri ct 37 Sport sman events have , over the years, become very familiar with the bri ght red and whi te raci ng colo rs of the F our Ace s Mot orcycle Cl ub. T hese sta nd-o ut ve sts are quite frequent ly seen on t he prof essi onal tracks as well. When not racing, the si milarly colo red sweaters and jackets can be see n througho ut the area as their wearers flock to the action as spectators or worke rs . This go-ahead cl ub was founded In 1938 by six ent husiasts in North Hollywood. Six months l at er , at the Ri versi de Mot orcycl e Rally , they were awarded a tr ophy fo r the la rgest uniformed attendance. Members hip now numbers 36 with six on the inactive list becaus e Uncle Sam needed them more t han the club di d. T o go along wi t h t he playi ng cards from which they derived their name, membership Is limited to 52. Each member has one card (worn on the sleeve of their j acket) which is hi s personal insigni a. T he four aces belong to the four senior members and the ot her cards ar e chose n from those remaining when a new member i s vote d i n. Speci al significance is gi ven to the j oker. A man who wears this emble m on his sleev e earne d i t as the cl ub' s highp~d . 11 . .... LOS ANGELES SPORTS ARENA ~~~fura "~ .Tbe~~ Gn TOUI: n ClCET NOW ROM ONE OF THE fOUOWING LOCATIONS: S LOS ANGoIUS SPOrTS AlENA AGAJANIAN ENTnPIIS ES AU MUTUAL TICKET AGlHCIIS ns , ....... ItNet n11l. s.. H ...." L. ~ If'. c.... ' .0. au:,. ..... ... M241 I used to det ermin e a member's sta ndi ng within the club are earned for work and competition. A tr ophy i s award ed each six months to the man with the most points. and the joker at the end of th e ___ __ ___ __ _____ • . • • • ------ ...... .. ~ ~_!!· ~ !.:. ~~~~2:I.!! J __ rr.. r LOS ANGIUS _SPOU'S AlINA JtJt ......... year, The work poin t s come f rom hel ping prepare for one of the event s the cl ub promotes. for transporting a fellow member and his bike to a race . or providin g transp ortation for someone else to the meetings. Three hundr ed work points must be earned befo re one's competition points will count . I n c ompetition, where this cl ub is very active . points ar e earned for ent erin g a rac e and the pla ce earned i n rel ation to t he othe r members. More points are awarded for fi nis hi ng t wentiet h out of fifty i n yo ur class . t han fo r seventh out of t en. . T o keep t he competition fair. t he club is divided Into amateurs and expe rts. A new member is classed as an amateur when he j oin s and is promoted to expert only after he has placed higher i n competiti on than the other amateurs in thr ee even ts . T o gai n recognition fo r the club withi n the . District. the members select at eac h meeti ng whi ch of the lo cal eve nts will be th e "Club Ride" and all members are expec te d to compete at tha t race. In t hat the cl ub is evenl y divided betw een tr ack and desert rjJ1 ers. th ere are actually tw o cl ub rid es,rone for the des ert rid ers and one for t hos e who prefer the shorter events . The re i s no penalty i mpose d upon a member if he decides t o race elsewhere , but if a member skips" th e "Ride of the Month" which is selected by vo tes . he will receive no competiti on points that week . P la cing highes t among t he members in thi s event wi ll win one a trophy . F our of their members, Ed Morris, Don Harris. John Harrison and Denis Germain can be see n at the weekly A scot races and many of th e members show up i n their bright j acket s and sweate rs to cheer thei r boys on to victory. Th e Moos e Run, promoted annually by the Four A ces, i s a must rid e fo r many of the l oc al desert riders and has thr ee times been a National. I n 1960 the event was writt en up by the mot orcy cle press as the best dese rt event of the year. This popular run was s tarted 14 years ago as a benefi t for one of their m embers, Mason " Moose" Page. who had been serio usly inj ured in racing. Moose die d on t he day of the race and the Moose Run has become a memorial to their fal l en comrade . This y ear t here will also be two TT Scrambl es promot ed by t he F our A ces ,on July 17 and September 18. All yo u racers should t ry and make it to thesethey promi se to be pretty good. Carro ll Gerardy i s th e cl ub's president. One man. AI Fe rdman, handles the chores of Vice Pr esid ent and Club Secretary . Money matt ers are taken care of by Fred E lswort h. Three members , T ex Myers , Bu d Gowin g and Bob Hayes , handle the bulk of the work enc ountered in promoting and partici pating in races. T ex Myers is t he" club's referee, assist ed by Bud Gowing. Both of thes e men are on Di stri ct 37's Sports Committee and Gowing and Hay es are on the Competi ti on Commi ttee. Membershi p i n thi s hi ghly respec ted organi zation is open to any one willi ng to partici pat e i n th e club's activities . B efore a prosp ective member is admitted he must at t end t hree cl ub ri des and thr ee meetings . If work or business in t erferes with the meetings , the requirements may be met wi t h six cl ub rides . Meetings are hel d every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. in t he fi eld house behind the baseball di amond i n North Hollyw ood Par k (on Chandler Str eet i n Nort h Hollywood ). Th eir mailing address is 210 N. Sparks , Burbank , Californi a. (T his is the firs t of a series of ar ticle s to gi ve outstandi ng M/ C clubs the recog nition they deserve.) I " - 741-& 1J1 .. ~~~ .!.-_~ __ Off and tr.4ai1 TODAY!) 1.o"-J9,~ Ticlt.h .t $6.00 . $6.00 • $7.00 (Circl. One ). O.d : or ~ on.y Ord., Enclosed for $ PfMh 'end m• .. N.ftI'Ie _ Add,.s, • WIN A FREE Yamaha Rotary Jet 80 PICK UP YOUR CARO AT OOOR. MORNING OF THE RACE ANO DEPOSIT IN BOX - DRAWING T O TAKE PLACE AT ASCOT PARK IN GARDENA. JUNE 3RD. WINNER NEED NOT BE PRESENT - WILL BE NOTIFIE D BY MAIL .. ..... By Bob Ebeling Di ck Ri os made a cl ean swee p In the thr ee-round mat ch race against Pe rry and Scotty , Saturday at L i ons. It was not a broom t hat he used. but, rath er, epoxy aluminum gl ue and bali ng wire. Rl os was the fi rst to arrive at t he st ri p and made immediate preparations for a run. When t he bike was fired on t he roller sta rte rs , the panic but ton had to be pushed and t he engi nes shut off. One carbureto r on t he forward engi ne had separat ed from its flang e mount when the wel ded joint fr actured due to vibration. The bike was hurri ed back to t he pits and repairs hastily made with th e aforementioned magic materials. Perry and Scotty met with a greater probl em when they began racing preparations. Theirs was th e perp l exing invisible bug that starts In the engi nes and ends by eat in g its way Into a mechanic' s heart and brain. W hen th e bikes were stage d for the first round ofeliminations , Rio s slipped the cl utc h for a maximum traction run of 10.30 E.T. and 148.02 mph. Perry and Scotty's bi ke l urc hed and coughed through the traps at 11. 65-125. 52. Desperat i on seized Scotty and the primary cas es were pulled i n a search for the problem but alas, no bugs m' lady. Th e sec ond round gave Rios a better elapsed- t im e of 10.26 but a slower spee d of 145. 49. All tha t P erry and Scotty wound up with were a few tea rs of disappoi ntment and the resounding echo of a loser's laments . BRAND NEW BULTACO ~Pur 250 ce sang'. SCRAMBLER Third Time No Charm T hird round was much t he same except tha t Perry repeat edl y pulled i n t he cl utch and twisted t he throttle i n a searc h for the l ost rpm. E ach tim e he rel eased t he clutch, t he tire would smoke for a brie f moment. T here is no doubt that Di ck Rlos is still ki ng of the twi n-engine drag bikes and i nte nds to retain t he crow n despite what ever proble ms he must ov ercome. Perry and Scotty phoned me from their garage after the match and had found the pest which spelled their defeat, a defecti ve magneto. Although the rac e was one-sided I n speed and E.T. , it was a fine show of raci ng' s rou ghest si de i n mechanical dlsappointments and st ress on the men in volved. Co ngratulations to Di ck Ri os and bette r l uc k next Sunday to Perry and Scot ty at t he $250. 00 L i ons drag meet. Big and Small T he bi g twin engi ne T riumph of Murray and Cook won top fuel at I rwi ndal e, turning 10.41 - 150. 25. Although not the quickest E .T . of the week end, they did turn i n the fastest speed and tha t i s not a small accompli shment wi th th ree twin-e ngine fuel ers ente red in the action. L e Roy Wyman r e a 11y surp rised everyo ne by wi nning top street at Irwindal e on his .. small" 350cc Ho nda. " Smal l " by comparison to t he Harley (Co ntinued on page 14) -- - ---- ~- '-- 10K, send me Cycle News ter one year via I I faster Second Class Mall service. or money order I enclose check for $7.50, or bi ll me Send subscription t o Name _ d I O. e in vite you to try Cycle News by subscription and our new, fast, 2nd c I a s s mail service. Only $7.50 for one year. "'- " , LJ -- - Address _ I Clly _ I Mail to CYCL E NEWS, Box 498 , Long Beach. 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