Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

c UP 11TH HODAKA POWER AID LONGEVITY Those popular s tor me rs, the Hodakas , have been given an added shot In the arm with two, newly developed items by Steen's, Inc . An engineered expa ns io n chamber exh au st and high-capacity air cleaner mean extra power, longer engine life and less plug fouling for the ubiquitous li ghtweights, it is claimed. The new exha ust cone , which mounts to the stock headpipe, is tuned for good torque thr oughout the rpm range used in cr os s-count ry r acing . Both cones of the cha mber a re well cove red with a ven tilated hea t shield. P riced at $21.95, the exh aust is ftnlshed in heat - pr oof, fla t black, as is the companion part, a high volu me c a r b u r e t o r air fil ter whic h <:; ' mounts in place of the stock item , and added s upport to co unte r a ct the s train of increased size. The washable foam element is the well-known F iltron cl eaner . Lack of restriction also pe rmits tuning for maxim um powe r at high rpm . The ele ment is quic kly remova bl e for cleaning by sp i nning off a single wingnut. Becaus e of its size, the cleaner nec essita tes removal or relocation of the Hodaka battery. Price Is 14.9 5; .95. Both r eplacement ele men ts are !terns are offered as a powe r package deal for $34.95 . Or der s should request Hoda ka Tuning Kit HTK-90, available only from Steen' s , tnc.; Box 2276, Al ha mbra, Ca li fornia 91803 . has Bill Grapev ine's Aztec speedway frame. Cauch l In mid-ai r by t he arne,a of . all Sawlllll al the Azllec Pa rk Inte m lona M otD-ero ss belel In Sedan , Kansas are llram le ft) America 's Glenn Vlncenl (Bullaco), Sweclm' s Ste ffen Enqulsl (Husqva ma) and Be lgium' s Roger Decosl er ( CZ) . Vincen t finisbe d higher 11Im any ~lIIer Ameri, can a t lhe A M molo-eross rac e held in Peppere ll, Mass. ; Decos ler clu ned hoa s e In Kansas. FRO An Interesting visitor from Kansas droppe d in to tile Cycl e News oftices recently - Bill Grapevine , a man whose positions, enthusiasms, a ctivities an d plans for tile future are numerous . Bill Is President of PARA ( PanAmerican Raci ng Ass n.), a l'onCUS/FIM affillate for tile U.S. along witll several other associations - AAMRR, ACA, AFM and the Tennessee- Carollna Racing As sociation . Grapevine'S jurisdiction exten ds throughout 16 ce ntral s tates ranging from Missouri, Oklahoma , Kansas, Colo rado, Texas, Indiana and Ill1nols up to tile Dakotas. He Is tile mari responsible for tile Ill ustrious European moto-cross aces appearing at his hometown tra ck, Aztec Park, in Sedan, Kansas, is Vice President of MICUS, and Is currently marketing two motorcycle frames - tile Aztec speed way fr ame and tile Maverick cr osscountry fr a me , suitabl e for bo tll trials an d mo ta -cr os s . While vlsltlng in Cal1!or nla, B111 set up Steens, Inc , as tile distributors for his merchandise, remarking that John McLaughlin, Walt Axthelm and MlCUS/ ACA P resident Wes Cooley had also expressed interest. " Had real good luck witll the trials frame last year," says Grapevine. "Won the FI M National Trials Champions hip of the U.S. over competitors from many s tates . I us e d a Hodaka engin e when I won the cha mpions hip - now I've got a Kawas ald 120 for thi s year' s title attempt." Ge tting on to tile specIfications 0 the frame asse bli es, B111 expla ined that the s hort trac k s peedway fr ame weig hs a mere 110 pounds including a 250cc Bultaeo engine , about 60-65 pounds bare. It Is construeted of 4130 chrome moly tub , will accept any 250cc engine or less, down to l OOec, and !las a 52" wheelbase. Grapevine markets his package without an engine, but all the other good ies are Included - wheels , seat , magnesium rear hub , mo unting plate s, etc. - for $400. It 's just necessarytospeclfy wblch engine is to be used wben ordering . Steens , Inc ., 1635 W. Valley Blvd., Alhambra, Cal1!. 91803, will furnl s b br oc hur es an d further iofo rmation on the Gr apevine frames . Their phone number Is (213) 283-8229 . Bill then continued enthusiastically about his competitio n plans for the future . Fir s t on the agenda foe 1968 will be the FIM Na ti onal Trials C!iampionship, Saturday an d Sunday, April 27 and 28, In Sedan. Kansas. The cour se so unds de manding Indeed. "It's 100 miles each day, " says Grapev ine ," all rocks, mud an d fores t pa ths. Last year 37 riders started at 9 a .rn., five tinished at 7 p .m , And, by the way, for us old folks , none of the fini s her s was under 30. On the second da y, 16 started an d all fi nished." , Ioto-cr oss racing has become incrasingly popular in the Kansas-Oklahoma area, and trials are hel d each month. Much of the Interest in motocross was sparked by the appearance of the seven European r ider s at Grapevine's Aztec Park eve nt . And B111 has a few co mme nts on the versions of hi s race that appeared in several motor cy cle publications • " In the r eport that appeared in Cycle , 'e ws written by Ray cc artr, for instance, it s lated that there were no flagmen. no :un bulance an d pr ac ticall y no spectators ," says he . "Compared to Hopetown , I s upposed you co uld say there were no s pectator s, but 1,414 paid admissions came through the gate. I felt pretty good about that because I bad only about five weeks to put the entire show toge ther , handle advertising an d promotion, and prepa re the trac k." " But," continues Bill, u my gripe was that fr om 8: 30 in the mor ning on, there wer e 6 flagmen. each with a yell ow and a r ed flag, stati oned at positions around the cours e . And Ray McCarty parked beside the ambulance , whic h every ride r had to go around because it was parked r ight at the pit gate en trance. But it wasn't needed, although [ doub t that a s ingle ride r didn' t fall at least once, including all the E:uropeans. Last year Hallman complained that all the courses be ran were boo s moo th, too fast and too easy. This one was differen!." W1ll the European s be ba ck for a PARA r ace in Kansas this year? Yes Indeed, confirms Grapevine, they will return In November, with dates to be finaliZed at the Febr ua ry meeting of MICUS. Dave Bickers ta l d Bill that the Kansas track was most similar to co ndi tions the y were ac customed to. " It' s wide enough and fast enough to provide good racing ," said Dave af ter tile event, " yet it was tougb en ough that ev en we were getting ti red, a nd tri cky e nough tha t we al l had a turn at coming off ." Joel Robert and Bickers hope to com e ba ck early thi s year and help In maldng a few mino r cha nge s to the course. For riders interested in further info r mation on the upcoming FIM International Trials in April, or other PARA activi ties in the ce ntra l s ta tes area , write Bill Grapevine at 5326 Ea sUlarry St ., Wichi ta , Kansas 67218, or call him a t MU 36032 in 'ichi ta , Here's Bil l Grap ev ine in acti on aboa rd his Hodaka-en glned Maverick cro ss-country and trial s frame. He's shown on his way to vie:tory In last yea l' s AM Na llona l Trial s Championship In Sedan, Kan.. s,

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