Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

EAST BAY", WEST BAY * T he Harley·Da vidson two'man rig drl.en by James Sadllek weathered the storm to fi nis h thir d In the featu re event f or sl decar s. Riders fr om AFM, AMA and ACA well! all In ••Idence at the Vacavi lle ...nt. The 1968 season is well underway, and this col umn will be published at regular intervals to keep Cycle News readers abreast of all forms of motorcycle competition in the San Francisco Bay area and in Northern California gene rally. Columnist Herbold is an AFM road racer "and assistant professor in the English department of the Unive rsity of California at Berkeley. By Anthony He rbo ld Pholos by C. Zaitz The Amertcan Federation of Motor cyclists staged its first road race of the • year at Vaca Valley Raceway on Sunday, February 18th. It looked for a while as though the AFM's policy of " r a ce rain or shine" would be obliterated by a torrential downpour, for Vacaville did not look promising on the eve of the race . John Renesch, chief man atlnternational Cycle Exhibitions, Inc., promoted the race in conjunction with the Bay Area Chapter of the AFM, and Renesch had more than one" second thought" about drawing a respectab le crowd in the rain. But after some las t minute telephone calls around the s tate, and to the roadracers In Oregon and Nevada, the races went on as s che duled. Vaca Valle y Vrooms! It be came obvious dur ing saturday practice that Northern spectators were In for some exciting racing. Two very fast Yamaha TD-ICs were seen s plashIng through the puddles well In exces s of 120 miles an hour . A fast s idecar rig showed up at midday, and Dick Hammer came rolllng In with Doug Schwerma' s very fast Yamaha 350 Grand Prix machine as well as with tales of an appearanc e on race day of the complete Suzuki team from Down South. Sunday morning dawned bright and clear, and although parts of the course still resembled the old swi mmln' hole, and al though - as Hammer was soon to fi nd out _ the oute r perimeter of turn one was covered with grave l , the course was ready for an excellent afternoon of dicing. About a thousand spectators were on hand at midday, and the heat races began on schedule. The Formula Racing Association put on an exciting exhibition with its open-wheeled monoposto cars, and it Is hoped by both the FHA and the AFM that a joint car-bike meeting Is in the offing this Spring, If not at Vacaville or Cotati, at San Luis Obis po. It would be difficult to single out any one of the day 's outstanding races as the most outstanding, for from the first of the races to the last the competition was keen and expert. Two 50cc machines, ridden by Tom Cleghorn and Charles Martinez, dominated the 100 class with surprising ease, and in the 125 class Reg Pridmore of Santa Barbara demonstrated that he was going to be very hard to beat all days (and perhaps all s eason) long. Reg, undoubtedly the day's bi ggest money gr a bbe r, also won the sidecar event with Ernie Caesar in the chair, and took second in the 500 Grand Prix class as well. The 250 race was, as expected, as fast and as closely contested as any of the races . Art Baumann, who fell off two other times during the day, fell off In this one too, when his engine seized, and Ron Grant breez ed home on the factory Suzuki. Ii this machi ne holds together - and If It gets started _ Ron will have a chance to prove at Dayt ona something that many have known for a long time: that he can race with the best this country has to offer , and, with luck, beat them. But it still appears that both Hammer an d Grant will need the l uck, if their mac hine s are going to go two hundred mil es . Suzuki 500s vs. Honda 450s The production race at Vaca Vall ey was dominated by David Bur chard on a Suzuki 500. The Suzuki seems fast and may handle and stop a bit better than the Honda 450, so races between these two Left Down goes Dave CalIerl In tum three, a victim of the slick surface.Above:Callwl Is helped back onto the track by spectators. flne producti on machines promise to be exciting this ye ar . Perhaps the Suzuki will be able to dethrone the 450 in the Annual 250 Mile production race on July 4th. But at this poi nt the 450 is still the machine to beat. The promoters and directors of the February 18th road race worked together well and it is hoped that their coope r a tion will prove fruitful during the remainder of the season. Such cooperation will be a blessing to riders and spectators alike, and to the sport of roadracing hereabouts generally. It was encouraging to see so many ACA and AMA riders in the AFM race, doubly encouraging to know that they profited In substantial ways. Lance Prestidge, Class C Referee for AMA District 36, was on hand and helped organize the grid. Rick Schell started all the races In expert and i mpr ess ive form, and Brent Stockwell kept the public address system buzZing with facts and theories . Nor. Cal. Top 6 Scramblers At its annual district meeting In Antioch, the AMA announced its top half dozen Expert Sportsman scramblers for 1968: Ji m Rice of Pa lo Alto, Bruce Anderson of saratoga, Mark Brelsford of San Bruno, David Hansen of Hayward, Paul Johnson of Lafayette, and Ray Huff of Modesto - an impressive list, for Johnson and Brelsford are teenagers, and Huff is sometimes referred to as the Grand Old Man of scrambling in these parts . Art Baumann and Mike Yarn are now riding behind AMA white plates, and Mike was the only non- National Numbered Expert in the final held recently in the Houston Astrodome. Jim Odom Is now riding behind National Expert Number 77 - Chris Draayer's old number. Chr is is reported to be recuperating. The extent of his tn jur les was not generally known: he lost an arm, both of his legs were broken (one a compound fr a ctur e accompanied by a dislocated knee), his ches t was crushed, and his neck broken. He Is up and about now, and was recently able to get down to his fat her's Sa It Lake Cit y store . It will cheer you to know, after his tragic mishap last year, that he will be among the spectator s a t Daytona. Chris will no doubt wish that he were out there on one of Harley's new KRs, for they are reputed to be not only fast but very elegant indeed this year . Milwaukee has come up with some space-age streamllntng, and their seats and fairings may well prove the hit of the paddock area In Florida. Mert Lawwill, Cal Rayborn, and Dan Haaby will be fa c tor y supported, and Gene Rome ro will also be on a Harley, one of Gary Bray's machines. It was thought for a while that Odom would ride a KR too, but the latest report says he will be on one of the Triumphs. The factory frames for the Harleys are being reproduced and modliled by Earl Woodman in St . Louis and by Jim Belland, a local here. Mert is enthused by Belland's craftsmanship, and Woodman's work is well known for the scrupulous and expert care that he puts into it . The AMA wlll run Its Mile National at sacramento in September and Half- Mile Nationals a t both San Jose and SalInas. Anothe r dozen or so half-miles are on ta p a t san Jos e, Pleasanton, Calistoga, and salinas , an d In a month or so some two dozen quarter- miles will be r un saturday nights at P etaluma, California. The Richmond Ram blers are running the ir usual full schedule of off-the-road races, a s are the Palo Alto club at Fremont , the Hayward a nd Lodl clu bs, and the Po lka Dots in sacramento. The Auburn 49-er Endur o Is only two months off. It Is also encou raging to know that an Engli sh Trials was s uccessfully run by the Ramblers recently, an d that more Trials are s cheduled. British "World Beater" On Its Way? Read Bros. (Cycles) Ltd., of Ley tonstone, England, are presently engaged in bench te sts of their 500cc Read- Weslake twin cylinder engine . Running at 13.5: 1 compression, this eight-valve air- cooled twin Is expected by some to produce somethi ng not far short of 80 horsepower. It will be red-lined at 11,000 and make use of some of the more forwardlooking metallurgical Innovations of recent years - Hldurel Nlmonic valves, an EN36 camshaft, titanium ta ppets and spring caps, silicone chrome vanadium valve springs, and the r es t - all in a package weighing under 100 pounds and costing somewhere In the neighborhood of $1200. Both Rickman and Seeley will be making fr ames for this 940T-RW, and an Italian- based special of the type to be used by Kel Carruthers may al s o be available to the publlc . The complete r acer, with a five -speed In-unit gearbox will , hopefully, weigh abou t 200 pounds, and cost les s than $3800. Cyc le Wor ld magazine has s upposedly bought one of these engines ; and with a deposit of $125 you can have one , too! Road tests are planned in England by early Spring. Will this be the British Wor ld Beater we have so long been promised In the pages of the somewhat chauvinistic Engllsh press? (Results on page 16) nrTTlI'T YOUR AD HERE .................. F or as Ii ttl e as J5. rou Call: (213) 42~043J.LLLaJL.....

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