IT WAS AYERY GOOD YEAR
By Chuck Clayton
ee
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CYCLE NEWS INCREASES DEALER
PROFIT Twenty-five celts per Copy
Next Year
AS OLD 1966 TOTTERS down the corridors of History and little
1967 creeps around the comer we pause to review the year just past
and attempt to assess what it has meant to motorcycling.
The latest figures from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows that registrations of two wheelers rose another 50,000 in
1966 bringing the total number of registered motorcycles in the state
to very near 300,000. When the final figures for 1966 are compiled, I
predict the magic 300,000 mark will be surpassed, making California
far and away the number one state in motorcycl e registrations in the
nation.
The figure 50,000 is coincidental. For many recent years California led the nation with a total number of regis tered motorcycles that
hovered right at SO,OOO. Those days , thankfully , are gone forever. And
if 300,000 motorcycles are registered with the D.M. V. for highway use,
how many more sporting machines are there that are unregistered, and
thus uncounted? I would estimate, including all kinds of racing machines, trail scooters and farm cycles, that there are at leal>. another
200,000 motorcycles that are never used on the highways , and never
come to the attention of the D.M.V. beyond the year that they are firs t
sold. If I am correct, there are at least half a million motorbikes,
motorcycl es and scooters in use in California at the present time. If
you doubt this figure, just add up the number of new motorcycles sold
in California each year since 1957 and deduct the number of motorcycl es, like old soldiers, never die.
Next year Cyc le New s will go to
a ne w pric e of 25¢ per copy. The adj us tme nt from 15¢ per c opy is need ed
to brin g the new spape r's fiscal balance in to lin e with c urr ent co sts a nd
a llow mor e attractiv e pr ofits to
dili gent deal er s .
FOR NE ARLY A YEA R read er s
ha ve bee n asking when Cycl e New s
was going to go to a quart er, but
management postpon ed th e rise until
they felt the new spaper had proved
it s va lue.
Some mot orcycle deal ers ha ve
be en gi vi ng th e paper to th eir c ustomers , a prac t ic e which is contrary to
all rul es of economics. Although
many have indicated that th ey will
continue giving Cycl e News a way ,
it is hoped that the ne w pric e will
spur mor e dealer s to ab ando n this
practi c e and start cha rgi ng for th eir .
papers.
Cycle Ne ws is deliver ed e very
Thursday to mot orcycle sto res vi a
United P arc el Ser vic e. Thus th e
motorcycle de al er rec ei ve s the pape r
faste r than any ot he r form of s ubscriber. Man y dealers who sell out
in one or two days fail to ord er more
papers for t he ir Saturday-throughWedn esday c ustomers . On ch ecking
thi s out, we are told, "Oh, I don't
charge for Cy cle New s , I give th em
away. I can't afford to gi ve aw ay
mor e than te n a we ek.· It is ve ry
ha rd to i nc re ase c i rc ula tion in the
fac e of t his answer.
SAFETY BECOMES THE WATCHWORD
The year 1966 also saw the bare beginning of a concentrated attack on the number one problem facing the motorcycle sport and industry- the accident danger.
At first the scare approach was tried by interests inimical to
motorcycle riding. Phony horror stories and warped statistics appeared
in everything from Time magazine to telephone company newsletters,
causing an immediate drop in cycle sales. Better statistics and clearer
thinking has recently demonstrated that motorcycles are not only less
inherentl y dangerous than other modes of transportation, but their
safety record is less awful than we thought The increase in two-wheel
acci dents, in this state at least, is in direct proportion to the increase
in use , and compared to automobile and train carnage, the welldressed, helmeted , experienced or well-trained motorcycle rider is the
safest man on the road.
In the coming year all of us who love our sport should, and shall ,
do everything in our power to diminish the danger to new motorcyclists
by developing better training methods, licensing requirements and
protective legislation to shield us from the idiocy of other road users.
Looking through last
year ' s papers during an
idle momen t thi s week (we
occasionally have spare
time on our hands around
Cycl e News) I find that I
promis ed last. July 7 in
Volume ill #26. that if the
AMA Competition Comm ittee would pass the rule
that Amateur cla ss C profes s ional riders (that 's not
a contradiction of terms,
just a confusion of terminology) could ride sportsman, non-paying scrambles,
Cycle News would happily
headline the deed in " Ietters three inches high!When the news of the
AMA ' s decision to do just
that came to us most of
our pa ges were on the press
and we could only find a
tiny spa ce to slip it in.
So to keep our record of
keeping our word unblemish ed, we hereby dis charge
the obligation in the only
way left to us at this late
date. Never let it be said
that Cycl e News cops out
of a promise!
Lay Your MODey Dow_, Boys
500 WESTERN DEALERS TO GET
XMAS PRESENT FROM CYCLE
NEWS
r"
DOUBLE
VICTORY
CHAMP IONSHIP
90 Mile H.H. 350 RIDERS
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_III!!!!!!!!!!I!
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ADULT SCHOOL TO TRAIN M
IC
MECHANICS
~ T~A~ARS AHE~!H!'F TH~.w~~~~ ~
PRADO PARK
Several California agencies including
the Dept. of Education are getting together early in 1967 to work out ways of
introducing motorcycle training into the
secondary scho ol educational system.
Need for qualified instruction in the
skill of cycle operat ion is int ensifi ed
by the es ti mated 50% of teen aged people
who will be riding two wheelers in the
near future.
T ests currently being conducted
seem to indi cat e that riders who receive
better training are considerably less
vulnerable to accidents than minimally
instructed riders. Up to 100% improvement in ac cid ent figures have been reported s o far.
To help c ustomers bre a k th e habit
of e xpe cti ng " something for nothin ga nd help dealers refrain from gi ving
Cycl e News a way , th e publish ers
ar e preparin g attractive, Mod-art
co unter cards with new, in expensiv e
wire display ra cks. The ca rds will
be sent to Cycle New s dealers a nd
ne ws stand s in t ime for th e fi rst is sue
in 1967 and th e racks will b e availa ble s hortly a fte r.
Los Angeles' Adult Occupational
Trai ning Center is offering a 2Q-week
course in Motorcycl e Mecha nics beginning Fe bruary 6, 1967 and contin uing
through Jun e 23. Class es will be held
from 8 a. m, to 3 p.m, M
onday through
Friday. To regis t er for this tax-s upported
course , contact Mr. DeFranco, c/o Adult
Occupat ional Training Center , 6200
W
ennetka A ve. , W
oodland Hills, Cali f.
Tel ephone 346-3540.
WON ALL 3 MOTO'S NOV.27f.
PLANS PROCEED FO R RIDER
TRAINING IN SCHOOLS
•
. Unwrap your next shipm ent of
Cycl e News very ca reful ly , west ern
dealers , becaus e it contains a
Christmas present for you.
Cycle News i s gi vi ng you this
present to bright en your store and
help y our profits a ll nex t year.
W
hen you get your present, an at trac tive sal es ald , place it in your
Cycle News display rack or behind
the paper, th en jus t sit back and
watch th em s ell like magic.
Besides helping you to s ell Cycle
News , the s ales aid announce s the new
per-copy price of 25¢ and we hope it
will also help dis coura ge the practice
of givi ng the papers a way, "bieb a few
dealers still indulge in, to the loss of
our profits and their own.
If you ' re a dealer and your store
is selling out of Cycl e News, don't
disappoint your c usto mers- orde r
more . You s till have full return privileges on unsold copie s , so you
c an 't lose.
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Send Back Some No. Apps!
q~
FAST GOING
SEE YOUR DEAL ER!
~U 250cc ~~1P~m1f
KEITH suz..
MASHBURN
2nd JIll BASSEY -
3, d CARL PATRICK - 8UL
~u ROU GH
GOI NG
ON AlSOce
GARY CONRA
2nd &SO - JreI 650" - .ttt 6S0c:c:
cc
Help! At the last District #37
Sports Committee Meeting there
were 10,000 application blanks on
hand for 1967 Competition numbers.
However, the club represe ntatives
hauled away so many that Cal Makela needs some desperately. So if
you have an excess amount of 1967
number application blanks you're
not using please contact, Cal and
he'll be very grateful. His address
is 207 N. Gladys in Monterey Park.
phone number ATlantic 0-5597.
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