Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

'" CIl '" '" J ." e, se - '" 0> .."' CIl " CIl .Q ;, E '" o '" 0 tI) = «= ' -l • '-l ..:l U ~ U • Cycle News Track Test #2 D. O. T. 250 cc California Scrambler By f.e Cycle News Sfaff &Guesf Riders • ,. Whe n Jack Van Wyck (pronounced wikel and hi s brother Ni ck became the D OT motorcycle di s t ri b uto rs fo r the United Sta t e s t hey t o ld the factory ex'what t hey wan ted - a sport i ng ma c hine of 250 c~ di spl a c em ent that would out spee d, out-accelerate , out-handle and underwelgh every other machine on the California racing scene. T he vene rable old English D.O.T. factory , now unde r ne w management, an d wit h a sizeable assist from the British gove rnment. seems to have deli vered exactly what the brot her s asked for, in the cycle whic h is the subject of this test. The initials In the name s ta nd, we are told, for Devoid Of Trouble. Th e words certainly ap ply well to the hancBlng characteristics of the new DOT. During our la ps around San Gabriel Valley Raceway's TT track we had countless occasions to thank the built-In stability of the DOT under almost-racing co nditions. At any angIe of slide it behaves like a well wound-up gyroscope on a striDg. Our efforts were ha mper ed during the one day we had the DOT to test , by an inappropriate combi nation of ti res and ha ndle ba rs and gearing. The bike was better equip ped for des ert riding as the photo graphs sho w, than for slithering s id ewa ys a round a dry. marbely TT tra c k. (San Gah ri el Val l ey Ra c eway isn't as dry and slick for the nighttime TT rac es. They j ust don't lavish a lot of preparation on it for our test , is all.) Still . the tryout prov ed to our s atis taction, that even under less t ha n perfect condi tions, the DOT is caPable of disporting itself well. One tester did manage to drop it in the midst of a hairy slide. !xlt this was lald more to fatigue on the rider' s part than any flaw in th e machi ne. W managed to seize the piston, too. e This is almo st i nev i ta ble when you test a new, out-of-the-box two s t roke. The wonder was that it he ld off s ticking so long, consid ering the flo ggIng the DOT re cei ved at ' t he han ds of half a doz en riders , ran gin g in skill from expert to duffer . Previous experience with su pe r-light, ult ra powerful scramble rs had cautioned us to fly ca refully ove r the jumps lest we end UP with gravel In our backs. The DOT, however. beha ved perfectly in midair, even requiring a hefty pullan the hars to bring it rea r vertical. Rider weight Is positioned slightly forward by the sitting arrangement, so that in turns more weight is on the front wheel , and over jumps the bike planes like a good glider. Wheelies are another matter. Unless the ride r has extremely long arms, like John Rice, the bars would have to be bent farther back to permit graceful weight shift! ng, Our test bike wa.&n't geared for acceleration and so we were not impressed in this depa rtment , althcuzh the tre- aCtly -.. mendous urge produced at mid-range indicates that a couple of teeth more or less on the appro priate sprocket would be all you'd nee d to adapt the Califoml a Sc ramble r to practically any course . impressed witb the design and workmanship of the machi ne. Gone, we hope forever, is the " farm-impl ement" look tha t earlier DOT s use d to fea tur e. And the new Alpha lower end seems to have solved the reliability problems Villiers engines used to experie nce .,hen they were stressed beyond bilge-pump powe r requi rements . Another thi ng we found " devoid of trouble" was engine reliability . The steady beat of the nipped-in exhaust began On the first kick (after primi ng) and continued uninterrupted until the piston grew. Brak es, gea rbox and fittings passed their tests with hono rs . The cl utch exhibited slipping tendencies which co uld be cu red bY fitting Barnett clutch inserts . On e other modification will ha ve to be made before you can rac e t he California Scram hle r in California scrambles . F oldi ng pe gs will need to be added. Current models uow being delivered to Van W k Enterprises are s e t UP yc s e veral inches lower bY means of reduc ed fork tra vel. If this improv es the cros s ed- up han dling beyo nd its present near-perfect state. it will Probably become the new leader of the · put your better wheel sidew ays " hunch. The distrillltors hav e confided that DOT motorcy cl es in kit fo rm will soon be available. at a co nside ra ble saving in price. Meantime . del iveries of the ready-to-ride model to dealers in Californi a ar e already under way. DOT SPECIFICATIOIIS Carburetor s ize••••••• ••••• 1-3/16••ICht •• ,. • • •• • • •••• • • • .2t5 l bs. • • Price as ..pI. • • • • • • • • • • • S!MG.OO Bore and Slroke ••••• 66 lIaL 72 all.. • • •••••• 2. 60 x 2.13 W he.lbase •••••••••••• • • 53 In. Final drive ratios 1st . . ... . . 17.00 2nd. • • • • • • 13.2 3rd • • • • • •• 10.3 4th • • • • • ... 8.4 1961DOT AVAILABLE NOWI VAN WYCK ENT., 11041 Brooldl... st, Anaheim, Calif•• (714) n6-3I09 •

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