Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Cycle News 1966 12 08

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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You' II al ways see it FIRST in .~. J IIrW, &471 N, Long Beach Blvd, Long Beach, Calif. 90805 Or: Box 498, Long Beach, Calif. Phone: 423-0431 (Area Code 213) From L,A, Pbanes: &3&-8844 . By Ro bert O. Fee Automobile drivers ar e mor e oft en at fault than motorcy cle dr iv ers whene ver th e two vehicl e s c ollide! T his was th e conclusion arrived at as th e result o f a s t udy completed by th e Washington State Department of Motor Veh icles. The re s earch covered 73 fatal moto rcycle a ccidents that occur re d in Washington in 1965 and 41 in 1966 . Dougla s Toms, DMV Director for the stat e of Washington said, "of fatal motorcycle acc idents involving a seco nd vehicle , 70 per cent were the faul t of th e other vehicle 's driver." FAILURE TO YIEL D right of way to motorcyclist was the most conunoo cause of accidents . Drivers of th e cars invol ved, when la ter int ervie wed, us ual ly reported that they si mply did oot s ee the motorcyclists. Another finding was that about three out of ten persons killed on motorcycles were riding borrowed or rent ed bikes, Toms concluded that inexperienc e and unfamiliarity with the vehicle was probably a major factor in these accidents. The median age of motorcycllsts killed in accidents was 19 years . but the ages varied from as young as 10 to as old as 70 years. Head injuries accounted for 64 per ce nt of the deaths involving motorcyclists. T he actions to be tak en by motorcyclists that are Indicated hy the conclusions of the Washington study are obvio us. I. Don' t Insist on your "ri ght" of way. You might be dead right. 2. Be seen! W ear I1ght clothing and turn on th e head lamp. 3. Don' t loan your bike. 4. W a helmet. ear SPECIAL REPORT Be caus e a ll o f the RRC Official s were hoping to le t a very un pleasant incident die a n unpublic i z ed death , the foll owin g report was not immediately s ubmitted. As Mr. J oe H. Soto ha s c hosen to mak e th e incide nt pu bli c, a ll th e fact s s hou l d now be avai lable. (E d. Note: See 'Voice" Vol. III #44 .) I : According to Hal Brown of the California Eagles; Mr. Soto arrived at the California Eagles Poke r Run, Sunday, October 16th, 15 minutes before the check point closed. (Note: this would De after he aided the stranded motorcyclist) Mr. Soto reportedly sPent the next 15 mi nutes at the check point tal king, a nd left inunediately in front of the Wunks family after they closed the c heck point. 2. W hen Mr Solo arrived at the finish, . n, acconling to Hal Brow Mr, Soto was informed that he, wi th the othe r 50 la te amvals, was late and ineligible for the dres s competiUon al though they were all eligi ble lor the dra wings. 3. Acco rdi ng to Bm Miller, Acti ng RRC Referee; Mr. Soto came to him protes tin g the disqu ali fica tion. Mr. Miller (per SupplemeDtal Rules ART ID B, Sec. 17) queried the crowd as to "nether the deadline should be extended so that Mr Soto mh:ht qualify for the dress . competition, The rule s s tates that, "No deadline shall be extend ed without the unanimous approval of all official s an d participants arrivln l: before the deadline." Th e noes were se veral and loud. 4. Accordin g to Bill Miller; lie tola Mr. Soto that he (Soto) had no protest aecardin g to the rules . This reporter clearly ovemeard Mr. ~liller tell Mr . soto, "Tony, if y o u want w t h row a way SID on a protest, write it up and I'll take it, but )'OU don't have a leg to stand OD." Mr. Soto wrote the prote s t and submiUed it with $10 to the Referee. 5. The RRC Executive Board reviewed Mr. Miller's deci sion at their meeti ng Octo ber 26th. As Mr. Solo had D apot pealed the Referee's decision, the EBoard could not conduct an appeal hearinl:. 6. The E-Board decided to temporarily suspend the dlsciplenaryaction against Mr. Soto as requested by California Eagl e, Ivan Ga~', who cited the sections of the rules dea lmg wtth Misbeha vtour, Corrupt Practi ce s, and Ungentlemenly Conduc t. Tho se a re t he fa cts as gi ve n to Cyc le Ne ws . It woul d a ppe ar tha t th er e is a king- s i ze mis und e rs ta nd ing on the part of Mr. Soto re gard in g th e RRC suppl emental Rule s on whi ch he was disqualifi ed and th e proper pro c edure for prote sts. The ru le s ar e quite clear a nd the rid er s rend ered t he d ecision on Mr. Soto and t he other late arriv a ls. Mr. Soto 's story of he lping another cyclist was rel a t ed to th e rider s so th e y had the info rma tio n. At that time t he be st d ressed j udging had a lready st arted, Many of th e ride rs we re ups et becaus e of Mr. Soto 's reasonin g: He was disquali fi e d be cause he was late , he was late because he helped anoth er motorcyclist , therefor e he was disqualifi ed because h e helped th e cyclist. It appears t hat Mr. Soto did not und erstand th e pro test procedure before h e ins i s t ed on submitting his prot est and $10 to Mr. Mill er. Ac cording to th e rules: this was the fee for the protest that Mill er had actually d ecided on t he spot . It did not becom e o ffic ia l , of course, until money showed up . According to th e rul es (AR T III B, sec. 1) Mr. Soto must now app eal to t he RRC EBoard, in writing and wit h another $10. That E-Board decision can th en be appeal ed to the AMA Competition Committ ee fo r only $5. The final appeal goes to an appeal board of th e AMA. (AMA Rules; ART XXXXl, Sees. 3 and 4 ). If at an y time th e d ecis ion against Mr. Soto is o verturned, he naturally ge ts al l o f his mon ey re turn ed. The RRC Pro te st Proc ed ure parallels the AMA proc edure ex c e pt that t he fi rs t t wo s t eps ar e kep t i n the RRC a s inst ructed by t he MIA. Mr. Soto' s and any ot her Road Ride r's protec tion e xtends a ll t he way to th e to p just as an y com pe tition ride r 's doe s. T his i s on e it e m that their 52 AMA membe rs hi p fee pays fo r. J .M. J o ne s repo rts that s eve ral rid er s who had joine d with Mr. So t o i n s hou ting thei r prot e st s, ca me to him (a s RRC Chmn) after t hey reali zed the fa cts and a pologized fo r th e ir beh a viour. Hal Br own repo rt ed tha t Mr. Soto so tho roughl y ins ulted a youn g lady (Miss Sandy Purdy ) tha t his words s ent her fi eein g in tears to the wome n's room . Del Burmm e t t reports t hat Mr. Sot o ca ll ed one of the o lde r ladi es of th e Calif. E a gl e s "a fat s lob." Jud ging by these reports an d s eve ral ot hers who wit ness e d th e e ve nts on th e run, Mr. Sot o s ho ul d be pr ep ar ed to d efend him s elf ag ainst s eve ra l c ha rge s of un gentl emenly cond uc t. By Chuck Clayton EDITORIAL POLICY DEFINED W have bee n asked to spell out e aga i n the edi toria l poli cy of Cycl e News . W at C&S P Ublishing Co. see the job e of a news paper as reporting news an d opinions thoroughly, providing a s howcase for adve rtise rs ' messages to as la rge a nd dis cerning a read ers hi p as , pos sibl e a nd providin g whatev er leade rship a newsp aper can for progressive elements in the community which it serves. Our community , as we see it , Is the giant family of Motorcycledom. W se e k e to report al l the many fac ets of e ve ry que st ion that affects or may be expec ted to affect our community. nTHE VOICE OF CALIFORNIAn Edito r Char les Clayton Sha ron Clay ton •••Business Manager Gil Brown ••••••Advertising Manager Robert Bradford••••••••••Asst, Edito r DelHlis Greene Photo Editor Gay Thomason .Circulation MaRager. second Class Pos tage Paid a t Long Beach , Calif. Any part of this newspaper may be us ed wi thout permission as long as credi t is given. Editorial contributi ons. ca rtoo ns , photos are welcomed and will be paid for upon publi cation. Sel f-address ed. s ta mped en- P ubl ishe d wee kly exce pt th e fi rs t an d last week of t he c a le nd a r yoar by C&S P u blis h in g C o mpan y . P .O . Box 498, L o n g Be ac h , Californ ia . Single Copy Price 15¢ Subscriptions: One yea r 2nd class mail . • . . • . • . . . • • . • . • $7.50 :\ dve rtis ing rates "ill be sent on request: vel op e assures r eturn . THE A.M.A - It s Supporters and Crtics Cycl e News favo rs neithe r the American Motorcycle As s ociation nor its critics, which a re legion. W a re only e int erested in reporting the whole t ruth so that read ers can make their own informed deci sions . We applaud, howeve r, the ac hie vements of any body or anybody which benefit s motorcycling. We believe that motorcycl e enthus iasts wlll need to ac t in union to achi eve the growth and status that our sport requi res . By bringing all the groups a nd indivi dua ls co nrlicting with in motorcycl edo m together in our Pages we are se rving our community bes t . If we ca n s uccee d in leading them to further union, our purpose will have been ach ie ved. That is , and al ways ha s bee n the poli cy of Cycl e News . The edito r invites comment from read ers whe neve r our policies a re ca ll ed into questio n. UNFAIR TO TONY soro: W have been watching the s port of e organize d road riding with great inte rest this recent year . Cycl e News has always felt that Pavement sports are orte n negl ect ed by readers, rac ers, reporte rs and the AMA e ven though a heckofa lot of fun a nel profit is repres e nted here . In our year-long perusal of the road riding scene we have learned that road clubs , for the most Part. ar e unima ginati ve and rath er exclusive littl e encla ves of riders banded together to ride motorcycles . decorate motor cycles and admire motorcycl es. Other acti viUes are enga ged in , but we hear very little a bout them. As we see it, the idea l heroes of the road going cycle se t would be an attractive couple dressed in expensive matchin g outfits . who ride their ela borat ely c usto mize d new " 74" to e very road run under all kinds of conditi ons and s tlll a rrive spotless. Mr. and Mrs. Tony s oto of Dominguez Hlll s fit this des cription better than anyone else we have se e n, yet they were denied entry in a contest by a j ury of their peers, e ven though there were miti gatin g ci rcumstanc es. (To ny a rrived late, becaus e he had pa us ed to hel p an unfortunate motorcyclist s .) There was no doubt in an y of the j uror's minds that Soto would win grand prize in th e beauty contest for his immaculate motorcycl e if he wer e all owed to e nte r, but we would not impugn the j ury's verdict by s uggesting this a s the main reason for thei r hea rtl ess s tickli ng to the rules. Sore Mr. Soto was ups et . And although motorcyclists have not bee n trad iti ona ll y associated with good manners , we suspect tha t s ome of the hurt feelings could have been avoid ed by elt he r side in the dispu te. Now that his protest has been deni ed, Mr. s oto will accept his fate as chee rfully as possible, as a good sportsman should. But he still wonders , as do we , if on the ne xt sc heduled RRC road run, the riders will pass up stranded motorists with out offering to help, rather than risk being voted a los er for arrivin g late. Now that competit ors have the fina l sa y-s o wheth er a la te e ntry may compete, will th e motto of the RRC be " P unc tuali ty before P ubli c Rela tions," or " Hel p Out- T he Sport You Save May Be Your Own?" No rton AFB Safety Seminar It will be some time before the fina l echo of the Safety Seminar held last wee k at Norton Air F orce Bas e near San Bernardin o is heard. Apropos of this 1 menti oned that a Cycle News sta ffer had devel oped a Motorcycl e Experienc e Simulator Cont rol Appa ratus and promised a closer look a t the device this week Unfortunately, wit h some of our big even ts rai ned out , we a re a little short of space this issue , so I beg your indulgence until ne xt week when we expect to ha ve more pages . T hen we ' ll sho w you M.E .S.C .A. W h sa fety bec oming the major to pic it in both pro and a nti motorcycl e discussions . the words of Dr. Char les Hartman, Director of the Ed uca ti onal Divis ion, Automo ti ve Safety F oundati on a t W s ha ington, D.C. shou ld be bla zed in the minds of e ve ryone who makes afai r profit out of the sport. Dr. Har tma n recal le d la s t year's co ngres s ional investigati ons into a utomobil e sa fety. The ca rmakers , too, had boas ted of token pro- MOTORBIKE ro THE MOON By Ray E. Warner Robert Nolan, a £inee n year old Long Beac h boy, spent abo ut fifty dollars in wildin g this beautifu l litUe McCulloch powered Sting Ray. lie is curre Dtly blasting around the Dominl:Uez Hill s a rea most every weeken d - doiog a little more impromplo drag racing and hill climbing. Projects like this start )'oung men into extremely important work for die future. P erhap s some dlQ years from ' now, Nolan "ill wild a space shi p on the moon. Exciting, isn't it, to speculate about " nat the ~'ounl: boys today "ill be working on twenty years from now? VOICES LONERS REPLY Th is letter is written as a re w ttal to M. Lee' s col umn, "Scrambli ng Around". and in Parti cular . " No P oint s for Loners" . I am one of those Loners . referred to in the a rticle. But I don' t feel that we who do not bel ong to cl ubs sho uld be considered " Freeloaders". Fi rst of all , when 1 became intereste d in raci ng 1 wanted to join a club. I a sked around as to which cl ub would be the best for me and many were - suggested. 1 attende d meeUn gs of three different Distric t 37 cl ubs , a nd in all three cases the members were only interested in drinking bee r and arguing li ke a bunch of twoyear-olds . 1 am s till in te rested in joining a club, and 1 know of ot hers whO would join. if they were run li ke mature adult competi ednesday Night ti on or ganizatio ns ; not W Beer Busts. P .J. W DORF EN Hunting ton Beach grams .In safety , he said. " I have heard abo ut your movi es and pamphlet s and efforts to buil d more safety into your motorcycl es and this is good, " the Doctor said. But, he point ed out , the ca rmakers presented the sa me defens e to congress a nd it did n't do them very much good. Th e questions that ca use d Det roit to los e their a rgument were as ked by a congressman: " How much profit ha ve you made on th e sale of your product , and what pe rcentage of this profit ha ve you spent on safety ?" How about tba t, Honda ? What would you a nswe r, M.S. & A.T.A.? One percen t? One- half of one percent ? Dr. Ha rtman conclude d by advising the motorcycle indus try to get behind one si ngle ass ociationan d work toge ther against the common enemy, motorcycle accidents. W endorse this advice 100%. e Right now the only group whic h has a chance to ac hieve significant progress in the fie ld of motorcycle safety is the MS&ATA . Unfortunately, they a re hamper ed becaus e HO . the company with Dda 60% of the U.s. market is not a member. How about it , Honda ? Safety aff ect s us all , but the Trade Ass ociation can not do it without you. And even mighty Honda ca nnot do it alon e .- Chuek Clayton

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