Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

- 1M MODS roa AJIUIS., c Rich Eaton More heginning riders would participate in -English Trials· if they understood how to prepare their machines for Trials operation. This article will help you set-up your bike so that you can shave points off your score and add to the enjoyment you will have by competing in a Trials contest. The modifications listed here can be made to any make or size of bike; they are simple and will greatly improve the bike's handling characteristics. by ~ .Q S ~ go en en S ~ Gearing r.J ...:l U One of the main points in Trials riding is to be able to traverse rough grounds at speed slow enough to keep from heing ·bounced" out of control. To do this you must gear down. An overlay sprocket or trail sprocket is the easiest way to achieve this. You will sacrifice speed in your top gear but most trials courses seldom require speeds over 30 mph. The serious Trials rider will.want to convert his transmission to a ·wide range ratio" system in order to give flexibility at slow speeds as well as top end speed. :>.. U Foot Pegs If your pegs are adjustable, shift them back and up as high as possible. The object is to shift the rider's weight over the rear wheel to improve traction on loose ground or mud. The tire will get more bite and you will be less likely to register a stop (5 points) for wheel spin. With the pegs set high, you will be able to clear rocks on the course. Special pegs can be designed and fabricated later when you become a true Trials enth usiast. Tires & Wbeels Road tires are never adequate for Trials. The Dunlop -Trials Universal- or Avon -Trials Supreme" make a good combination for street or Trials. A 21-inch front wheel is advantageous for working your way through a rock-strewn section and, with this large diameter wh~el, the bike can roll over objects easily. Tire pressure is extremely important. Lowering tire pressure can more than double the contact surface of the tire. If you plan to use a low tire pressure, security bolts are a must in order to keep from pulling a valve stem. The British Trials Master, sam Miller, uses as low as two P .S.1. for short course Trials. Carburetor Tune Low speed performance can be improved by tuning the idle speed screw and the idle air mixture screw. Your objective should be to find a setting which produces a smooth, slow idle, yet one which allows the engine to pull without balking when the throttle is opened slowly. Some riders find it better to set-up small bikes with a little faster idle than normal to avoid stalling on gentle inclines. BIlE BlESSINGS Photos &< Story by Robert O. Fee Three road events scheduled for the same week-end seriously cut the expected turnout for the 7th annual Hi-Way Kings Boys Home Benefit. One Hundred and fifteen riders attended the one day event, Sunday, August 13 tho The run started at the santa Monica Harley-Davidson agency and ended at the El Rancho san Antonio Home for Boys in Chatsworth. All of the riders heat the deadline and the program started at 2 :30 p.m. Brother John Crow of the Holy Cross Order welcomed the riders back to the home and explained that their contributions went to the athletic fund and last year's donations purchased baseball equipment. The Ace of Clubs performed their drill maneuvers for the riders and the boys of the home. Following the performance the cyclists took their places by their machines and Father Clement Kane. CSC. director of the home. hlessed the motorcycles, then the riders. After he offered a prayer for the safety of the motorcyclists, he walked by each machine and sprinkled it, Peter Ostermeyer fol~ lowed him hearing the container of Holy Water. Motorcycle Medals Next in the procession was Jerry -........ Fatller Kale b1e••e. the . .ell.... at the H"'a, IUap BGJ' H_ a.eflt .... Bingochea carrying a box from which Howard Eble of the Hi-Way Kings passed out Saint Christopher medals to the riders. The medals brought Quite a bit of comment this year as they showed a motorcycle on the front • Indi vidual games with gift certificates for the winners were conducted whiie the club cOlllpleted the poker tally. B.R. Wheeler won the backward race. Danny and Dale Foss outdistanced everyone on three legs and Mike Anderson downed 3 do-nuts the Quickest of all. Bike judging was NEW SOUTHlAND AIOTO-CROSS TRACK by Mike Bishop Forst Ranch near Castaic on Highway 99. is a departure from the race-track design philosophy of recent years. It makes no special concession to horsepower - except that arider will have to have about 250cc of displacement - hefore he will feel tbat he bas turned in a racing lap at Forst Ranch. To say that the l.l-mile course is rough is an understatement. One desert racer, after an invi tational three laps on the new course, commented that he felt like he had just completed the first loop of a hareand-hound. Forst Ranch was not designed to emulate Prado Park; it was designed to put the • rough" back in rough scrambles. Once Around the Track Be ginning at the start-finish line (A), there is a 150-foot sprint to the first turn, a progressively tightening, narrowing 180-degree right hander; (8) with escape area - that funnels up and over an abrupt hillock (e) tbat features no particular line. This hillock drops as abruptly as it rises, and there is a short dash, just enough to get both wheels into the same li ne, and you are faced with a slightly left-band abrupt offcamber rise (D). The exit, like the approach to this one, is off camber, this time to the right. It is followed by a short straight into a flat 180degree left-band turn (E) which is followed by another short sprint to a near-90 left tum (F) that is deceptively easy looking. Fact is tbat it's slightly off camber and you suddenly find yourself faced with a tight, and very deep, right hander (G) tbat swings back almost 180 degrees. This is followed by a short, bumpy approach to a sandwash. The tur n into the wash drops abou t five feet, approximates 110 degrees (U), and then there is a brief run of about 100 feet, to where the wash intersects a two-rut road (I). Bear to the left, because tbat's the only way out of the wash. Over the road, sixty feet or so down the edge of the bank, and then a gradual drop back into the wash and just when the sand becomes really deep, the track turns sbarply up and to the right (J), flinging you right onto a short bumpy straight that is just long enough to regain full control and prepare for Fuel Tank One of the most obvious but most frequently overlooked items of preparation is that of carrying excess weight in the form of fuel. A full tank. positioned at highest point on the bike, creates a high center of gravity which causes ::lumsy handling at slow speeds. Fill your tank with only a quart of fuel; it is adeQuate for most short course trials. Further weight savings can be attained by fitting a small tank. Try these five mods, you'll be a Sammy Miller before you can say • John Bull". Watch this column for more on trials and enduros. Coming soon -Trials Riding Techniques" and -The Master's Bil!.e-. r-riirL-iOfois-l I • 1341 Cea1lHJ 11ft. • L,....' HE . . .4 I , MOTORCYCLE :;, PARTS 6 - ~ACCESSORIES C7 For III Brands and ....I.. C.H. Wheal & Ken Canove" Owners 4020 Trle, SI, A,lineton, Cal. (714) 617-1373 what's ahead - a 25-foot, 45-degree climb (K) tbat starts as abruptly as a brick wall. and ends just as suddenly. in a flat, swinging right bander around the crown of the hill. and then into an easy descent onto a cobby flat with a rock-hard surface (L). You've got to make the best of this flat stretcb, however, because it ends with a 30-degree rise for about 50 feet (M), followed by a near-left hander ( ), another 50 feet of 3O-degree climb, and then a transitional hump (0) and the climb really steepens. Near the top of this section the course becomes really bumpy and like as not you're going to hit the gradual right hand turn at the summit (P) with both wheels in the air. The surface on the top is churned and Quite deep - deep enough that you will find yourself banking off the left side with power on. And suddenly the hill drops away, onto a steadY3 5-degree slope (Q), notched with some not-so-bad braves-bumps, and then a right hand swing at the bottom (R) tbat exits on an all-toorare short straight (S) that leads into a gradual left bander (T) that crosses the wash and hops, still turning. up 0 nto firm ground. Now, there is a slightly inclined straight (V) tbat is one of the longest on the course leading into a sharply rising right band er that carries you onto a narrow ridge (V) that continues to climb and is interrupted only by a transitional uphill jumP. Immediately after this jump the course banks smoothly to the left (11') and the ridge continues for another 50 feet, and the course turns abruptly to the right and down (X), about 45 degrees, and you find yourself headed Quickly downhill (Y) for the start-finish area, reaching for fourth gear. Only one obstacle left, a lipless gouge (Z) followed by a slight drop - of no consequence, really, if you have the wick turned up and you yank hard on the bars. Otherwise, you will find yourself pulling a front wheel wheelie onto the starti ng line. It is a racer's course, but not a tuner's course. Available to All I··~··I I done by the boys of the home and Ken Osmood took the -Boy'S Favorite" trophy. Following the trophy awards, many of the riders took the boys for a ride on the motorcycles. said Eble, commenting on tbe reduced attendance. -The RRC really goofed when they allowed the Banner Grade run to be transferred on top of us; and the shop tbat also put on a run knew that they would cut into the boy's fund.The Kings absorbed the costs of the run and turned over an even $2 50 tothe home. Map 01 new Forst Rancll co..... Forst Ranch is going to be up for grabs. Any club or association that wishes to stage a race there - or conduct a field meet - can secure the facility for a day or weekend simply by applying in ad vance and having their function added to the schedule. The amount and terms of lease will depend, of course, on the time and nature of event to he held. Now that you're armed with all of this first-hand information you might feel that you would like to have a personal crack at Forst Ranch and decide for yourself what it's really like.

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