Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

• , Night Races At Sprockets Park By P aula L o pe z Saturday , J un e 18 , th e Sproc kets Motor cycl e Club of Bake rsfield is starting a new c ha pte r i n t he i r t rack history, ni gh t rac e s. Su mme rti me in Ba ker s fi eld u sually s ees t he track closed down, t he heat of t he day is too much to bear eve n fo r t he most e nt hus i a s t i c motorcyc le rid er. Bi ke ra c ers throug hout t he s tate will be glad to s e e t he t rack stayi ng o pe n , si nc e it is well known fo r its fast a nd safe ra c e s . T he past month the Sproc ke t s ha ve be en spending long hou rs preparing th e track and putting up the lights for th e fir st of th ese night rac e s . The othe r Sa t urda y night rac e s ar e o n July 30 , August 20 , a nd Sep t e mber 17 . Si gnup will be at 6:30 for all si z e bi ke s and rac e s will start at 8: 00 p .m . The t rac k is loc a t ed a t t he bottom of China G rad e L oop . And refre shments ar e a vailable a t t he track. • the ra ce tra ck s unbeli evable. Th e hal fmile a t Chippawa is hu ge , surr ounde d by gree n trees. T he infi eld is a blank e t o f bri ght green gra s s an d the grandstands a re clean. co vere d and painted white. It' s rea ll )' thrilling to see s uc h a race trac k. T hIS is real rac ing , The track was a li ttl e wet from the previo us day 's rain , so t he program wa s somewhat l ate i n starting. Tho ugh th ere wer e still scattered clouds in the sky , th e air was warm and i t was a great Sunday for racing. Durin g pra ctice our trav eling novi c e , Bob McElvain. crashed "'-;1 I" First C hampionship Run • "First C a pio ship Wo I" • U ~r WESTERNSTATES H& H C HAMP IO NSH IP 1 st A. Rog e rs - -- Tr i 650cc 3 2 nd A . C h r is t y - - - T ri 650cc RD OVERALL White· 250" LARRY HAWKES 2S0cc White Tor ado ' • • deci ded to go to the short tra ck in Montice llo , Iowa , Sunday night. It was too bad, bec aus e it got rai ned o ut. Th e re s t of the crew went up to Chippawa Falls, Wisconsin. for a half-mile at the Ia irgrounds th ere. I took Sid Ca rlson up ea rly for his televisioo appearance Saturday ni ght. He was rea lly great . He wore hi s l ea ther s and car ried his he lmet . He was int ervi ewed for a bout ten minut es and by th e time it was ove r, Si d wa s a hero in C hippawa Falls . Wisconsin is a beautiful place. the people ar e friendly. cycle enthusiasts, \ • 1st 2S0cc Class I \ \ J lIy Annette Camp After t he Natio nal at El khorn, Wisconsi n, most of the riders took orr for a half-mile ra ce that night a t Beaver Da m, W c., ab out s ixty miles away . B ecaus e is ma ny of t he Experts were late getti ng t here from t he Nation al , t he Novice program was run off first. The E xpert heats finally got s ta rted a t 11:15 p. m., and it was bi tter co ld to boo t. Bob McElvain, our Cali fornia Novice , took a beauti ful s ec ond in his heat and a f ourth in th e Novic e Main on hi s Honda, despite ca rbureto r tro uble . Bill y Ershi g took a fas t fourth in his heat, but thi s was not Quite enough for t he final , as they only moved thr ee riders up. Phil Hawk got a thi rd in hi s heat a nd a gain was th e only non-National Number Exp ert in the Main Event, a gainst so me ve ry stiff co mpa ny. Sid Car ls on, aft er a hard-fought four th place Nati onal fin ish at Elkhorn that af te rnoo n, didn't like th e Beave r Dam track. It was hard , fast and not too well-li ght ed , s o he didn 't rid e. J im McMurren , after taki ng a third in his heat rac e , wouldn 't rid e the main either. In the fina l it wa s Roger Re iman firs t, F re d Nix , Rabe DeMa~' , Darrel Dovel , Haw k, Dan W ty, Art Barda and el J el'tY Ra er. Disappoin tme nt i n Cedarbu rg From Bea ver Dam, th e boys dr ove to isc an oth er hal f-mile in Cedarburg, W onsin, si xty miles away . T her e wa s no place to stay si nce everyone got th er e about 3:00 in the morning , so they all slept in t hei r t ruc ks . When t hey arrived at the track , it had n' t been worked on, and th e ra ce was ca ncelled. T hi s, of course , aft er eve ryone ha d unl oad ed their gea r. Ev en though there were no ra ces , it was still exciti ng. Th er e we re hundr ed s of s tree t rid ers and spectato rs lining the street s as we drove o ut of town. It 's really so met hing the way the peopl e turn out for rac es in this part of th e country . Most of them foll owed the ra c es all week end . On To Santa F e Th e boy s a gain blast ed off to Santa F e for th e s hort tr ack ra c e s th e foll owin g Wedn e sday ni ght, and Jim McMurren wowed the Chi ca go crowd once more . His great riding moved him UP another not ch. He wo n his heat a nd took a second in th e Trophy Da s h behind Roger Reiman. In the first semi he got an ot her s econd and then a thi rd in the Ma in. T he t rack was in pretty bad shape for the June 2 program, an d during prac tice a lot of rid er s went down. One of th em was Si d Car lson. He be nt t he forks and ban ged up his elbow. This was t he fir st ti me out on a newly-acquired Sprint. Phil Hawk too k a thi rd in his heat , but during the second s emi had a run-in with an unsportsman-like rid er and pull ed off, refus i ng to rid e with such a charact er. Bill Ershi g didn 't rid e , but he sat in t he stands with a lo vely young lady. Rac es for th e wee ke nd were forecast in Iowa , Ohi o , Wis consin and in Oklahoma. Jim McMurren and J uli an Arthur New, handsome, rugged, hot, and the best value in years is the Whi te 125 cc Super/Sports Cycle. And here it is, just when a lot of manufacturers are discontinuing their 125s. The bore and strok e a re both 50 mm ., but the racebred, two -strok e engine and crankcase include some great fea ture s (like seven ba ll be arings) tha t make it a lot mo re than just "sq uare". Deep te lescopic front fo rks, we lde d twin-t ube stee l frames, an d inches mo re ground clea ran ce than usual a re great, to o. But how abou t intercha ngeable 19" wheels? They smooth out roads and trails a lot more than th e 16-17" 'compacts' you se e around. Sixfooters a re com forta ble on ou r 125 Super/Sports ... and with two aboard, hang on! The ho rsepressu re's there! looks? Just as good as performance. Chro me plat ing w here it's important. At $389.50, the 125 cc Wh ite Super/Sports Cycle gives its owners mor e speed, powe r, and all-a round capability per dollar tha n any mac hine on the market Here are some key specs : Wheel base-50" (30Ox19 tires) • Overall length-80" • Saddle height-28" • Ground clearance-10" . Weight-187 Ibs. . Horsepower-12 hp @ 6800 rpm We have about 250 dealers (mo re soon), but if yo u can 't find one, write to us. We 'll get you a ride on a Whi te so me how . White Interna tion al Moto rs, Inc., 2405 Sou th Broadway, Santa Ana, Californ ia. in turn four , hitt ing a brick wall an d bre aking the frame on his Honda . Sid Ca rlson won his heat and too k a seco nd i n the Mai n behind Natio nal No. 54 , All en Smith of Sprin gfi eld , Illinois. Bill Ershi g took a third In his heat and a fifth i n the M in. Chu c k "Hp · F elton a took a fourth i n his heat and a se vent h in the main. P hil Hawk lost a cl utch o n the start of his heat , putting him out for th e day . Just as they finished th e E xper t Main, down ca me the rai n. M er nature oth was kind and , for once, timed it pe rfectly. (To Be Cont inue d) -

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