Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

----..,- - - - - - - - - E I. • ss GE MEET THE RACERS By Ford Re id Ther e ' s snow a ll over the place and und er that .is mud . T he ground is s loppy and the ai r is cold. The we a the r is horrible an d the conditions are di s gusti ng . Whoopee , thi ngs a re perfe c t for a har e s crambles. Ohio s ty le . Hare scrambling In Ohlo is a winter time thing and mud makes the race. Not a mud hole or two, like a moto cross , but a whole course full of guck, Ohlo doesn't have those near endless expanses of des e r t some states are blessed with (we watched the Bruce Brown film and coveted). Many clubs are lucky if they are able to rent or buy acreage enough for the two or so mUe laps required for a hare scrambles course. So the events are run In laps and It doesn't take much imagtna:tion to get a picture of what happends when an already wet field is hlt by a hundred or so screaming bikes. Mud is what happens. The race Is usually on a two bour time limit basis with the rider making the most laps the winner. Although this makes It technically a speed event, rellab1llty of man and machine are the ultimate deciding factors. The fir s t few laps slim the field considerably, often by more than 50 per cent. There are as many r iding styles as r iders but mos t of the mor e experie nced competitor s keep their cool until the fi el d thins and then make the move. On a good day and a r ideable course better r iders will make 20 laps during the race or about a lap every six minute s. On a bad day, l1ke the one the Cleveland Compe tition Club had recently when It snowed a couple of feel, It may take halt an hour or 45 minutes for the first laP. Snow and mud aren' t the only things whlch make a nor thern hare s crambles rough, tough. There are always a couple of hlll s and a ere ek or two to make It mor_ e_lnter es ttl1lt. eye W thi s Issue, Cycle News is ple ased ith to welcome a new columnist, Ford Reid, who will he witting a regular report of motorcycle progress In the Midwest every week. Ford Is 23 years old, married wilh a daughter and another edition due In mid-April. He has heen enthused over motorcycles for about six years, has lived in Louisville, Ky. and now resides in Norwalk, Ohio. Just about any kind of bike can be, and is , used. I once saw a guy run a Benelll mini-bike. The man had one big advantage over everyone else. He came to a creek with bikes stalled all over the place. Everyone was In case-deep water and pretty soon he was , too. But when he fiooded out he simply picked up hls machine and threw it out to dry ground. Because rellah1llty of the ma chine and stamina of the man are so Impor tant In Ohlo hare scrambling, a good r ider on a well prepared 50 has as much chance of winning as the super shoe on hls 650 racer . Bike preparation varies , too, but it ' s got to Include water pr oofing. Bes ides the inevi table creek there Is the even more cer tain case deep mud and anyone who doesn't seal ott everything In sight and run the air cleaner up under the seat is going to find hlm self with a carb full of slop and a very wet coil . From there anythl ng goes . From hot bikes to s tock bike s , you'll see 'em all and you might s ometi mes be surprised whlch ones win. It's a good sport and one a wide variety of motor cycling types can enjoy. That Is , any type who isn't afraid of getting dirty. E ALL EW PHOTO CONTEST S10.00 PRIZE NEW CONTEST RU LES ANY THEM E USI NG M TORC O YCLES (AR · CUSTOMS · GIRLS · ETC.) T 8xJO IN SIZE, PHOTOGRAPHER TO '"CLUOE !lAME AND ADDRESS ON lACK OF PHD TO. ENTER AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE - ALL PHOTOS BECOME TXE PROPERTY 0 F CYCLE NElS AND MLL NOT IE RETURNED OPEN TO AMATEUR AHO PROFESSIONAl PHOTOGRAPH ERS ALIKE. ADDRESS ALL ENTRIES TO PHOTO EDITOR C/O CYCLE HEIS un I . LONG BEACH BLVD. LOIG lEACH, CAUFORNIA _5 IN S U R A N C E THEMOTORCY CL EINSU RANCE RI W TER Since 1937 JOHN W. MAYNARD 3447 MOTO R AVE.. L.A. 90034 83 6· 5211 SAVE 011 USED HONDA PARTS T~~:;58 W ilmington D iscount Cycle Center 1505 Avalon, Wilmington. Calif. BI b Budsclla1 By Delmer O. Gasche Bob Budschat, owner of Bob Budschat Motorcycle Sales In Seattle, Washlngton ranked t1tth In the AMA National Short Track standings in 1967. He entered 14 meets, comp1llng a record of 35 wins , 5 seconds, 1 third and 1 fourth for a total of 193 points, "I originally bought a bike to use on flshlng trips," Bob recalled. " My pals got bikes and we started trail riding. Fr om traU r iding we graduated to sliding around In empty fields and practice racing against each other . In 1950 I was all set to begin active raci ng at the old High School Memorial Stadium In downtown Seattle. However, my friends and neighbor s selected me to sy mboli cally r epr esent them In Korea . Thls r etarded my racing career unttl 1953, when I began my fir st season on a regular basis. " Since 1953, I' ve raced all over the Northwest, Californi a, Illinois , Vancouvver and a few other areas." Bob has ridden In the Santa Fe Short Track National In Chlcago, the Peor ia TT National , the Catallna Is land Grand Prix, the San Jos e Mile Na tional and many other majo r races, "I wanted to enter In the Short Trac k Indoor National in Houston' s Astrodome thls February 10th," he said, "but it Is just too far to travel ." Bob has enjoyed many satistying momenls on the tra ck but he r ecalled hls most sal1sfy ing moment as happe ning In the 1964 peor ia TT National. " I raced against Gary Nixon In the 12-lap consolation maln event and had the satisfaction of passing hlm In each corner . His machlne was quite a bit faster than mine and he passed me back each time we straightened out. He took first and I took second but I did find It thrilling to compete with a guy of Nixon' s caIlber and discover that I had the ability to get In there and ride. OVer the years I' ve competed with so me of the real pro s, guys like Dick Mann and Joe Leonard, for example. It Is an education just to run on the same track with guys of this caIl ber." Bob's 250 Ducati Is cons ider ed to be one of the besl short track machlnes In the country. " I've spent a lot of money and tim e on it," he explained, " and also received a lot of help and advi ce. Last year I had the machine to Cal1tornta and r eceived some help from Bob Blai r and Tim Witham, both very savvy guys in setting up a shor t trac k mac hine. Tim Witham is probably the finest tuner we've had in this country. He's built som e of the fastest, most r eliable motors to run on a tr ack." Bob then continued on to explain why he per sonall y prefers short track raeIng. "On a short track you s eldom reach A .C.E. R IM .J A C K 0 1sIr! buled by: A.C.E., 163 S. Fairfax Ave. Los Angeles, Calif. 90036 speeds over 60 mph. On a mile you re ach spee ds up :0 120 mph and on a big TT you get up to 90 mph. The average guy can get Into shor t track racing for so mething close to $900 and have a machine capable of reachlng the Expert Maln Events , Occas sionally a fellow with exceptional tale nt will win on an almost stock mac hlne. I can go out and cover the cost of my machine In one racing season. I could never do that with a big TT machine, Ducati probably has the best basic 250cc model for short track racing. In ' 66, I vis ited the Ducati factory and spent a few days In their racing department. I was quite impr ess ed. Before .I left, the manager of the racing division slipped an experimental camshaft into my jacket pocket. Of course , when I got home this went r ight into my machine," Bob expressed hls opinions on the motorcycle business in the Puget Sound area. "From what I can learn tal king with other dealer s, 1965 seemed to be the peak year In this business. Sales have fallen during the last two years . One dealer I talked with is down 100 units fro m last yea r . There are more shops each year, of course, but we all feel that the legislation on driver's licenses and helmels has created a lot of aiumosity among riders and It Is showing up in our falllng volume. I know some people have said, 'It it's going to be this much trouble to ride, then the hell with It,' I've had a few riders bring In their bikes for me to . sell. Riders feel they are being harassed and to some extent this is true. But to some extent, they are also being made to conform, something whlch is foreign to the name of most motorcyclists. - " The idea of a special driver's license for cycl1sls Is fine except it is being handled untalrly. The test is easy enough except it is completely unfair for some machines. The state uses a pylon course as a part of the test. From what I can learn, this course was set UP for a Honda 90. A guy on a big Harley gels the well known wooden part of the arrow. "A fr iend of mine went to take the test. He's got a $2800, full dr es s Harley 74. 'My machine won't fit through that course,' he told the state police. 'I couldn't even push it through there, let alone ride it through,' The state poli ce answered, ' either go thr ough or fiunt the tes t: Anyway, this fellowlett without runnin g the cour se, He r eturned the next week with two of hls friends who are Sher iff' s deputies. The deputi es were riding their official Harleys, whlch are nearly iden tical with the State Police mac hlnes . All three of them fiunked the cour se. Ob vi o usly the s ta te Poli ce wouldn' t be able to pass the tes t on their offictal bikes ei ther . "Uninformed legis lation causes pr oblems whlch are not only untalr but downr ight simple- minded. The people who make these laws don't ride. They never contact anyone In the trade for advice or opinions . They don't know what they are after or trying to accomplish. "The nephew of a lawyer friend of mine bought a Nor ton fro m me . One day he offered a r ide to one of hls friends at the Univer sity of Washlngton. The nephew was wearing a helmet but hls friend was not. The nephew got a ticket for $40 for aiding and abeting the non- wearing ot a helmet. This sort of enforcement doesn 't seem too damn talr to me . Thls particular case went to court but I haven't any infor mation as of now on how it cam e out, "Another young fellow who bought a Norton fr om me got picked up on the freeway because the bike was too loud. He told the cop that it was a brand new bike and that he hadn't done anything to the muttler s. The cop told the kid outright that he wouldn't have plckedhlm up 11 he' d have been driving a car. Well, thls kid' s father happens to be a retir ed Ar my Colonel and when he heard this he went r ight downtown and marred a few desktops with hls fist. The case was dismis sed, but a lot of people wouldn't have stood up like he did and they would have had to pay an unfair fine . " What can be done? A lot of people say all we can do is lobby. To lobby you have an organization and you have to pay people to get in there and fight for your ri ghts. Motorcycle people are awfully hard to get together in any kind of a strong organization. We tried to organize the dealers In this area a few years ago for the purpose of exerting our selves politically but the or gan iz ation fell through. I feel tha t the editor s and personnel of the trade mags are doing a good job In keeping r ider s and dealers Infor med on both sides of ea ch is sue, but things are not going to impr ove until the riders themselves get together and fight. Well, maybe righ t will triumph In the end,"

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