Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

QUESTIONS AND • • • ANSWERS The ~ * QUESTIOtI: I have a 1966 Ducat i .. • * Q UESTION: What ever happened to the fabulous new 1968 I ndian that Floyd Cl ymer was going to in Uoduce at the races in Orange County. some time in November? W hat is Dave Bi ckers opinion of South ern Calif.? How about a - Meet the Racers" write up on Steve Hurd. the Matchl ess expert? J,H. - Los Angel es. ANSWER: All of the c hoice it ems yo u a sk for have be en in clud ed in re ce nt issue s of Cycle News. Ste ve Hurd was the ra ce r in Vol ume 'v Number 1 and Floyd Clymer's -I ndia n" was included i n Volume IV Numb er 50. May we s uggest yo u s ubscri be to Cy cle News and not miss an oppal'tunity to gat her some of these highli ghts inc lud ed in each issue that makes up part of a volume - of information and kicks . QUESTION: I recently acquired a race program from the 1959 Ascot season and I ran across riders wi th red pl ates. Probati onary Novices? My cycle experience doesn' t date that far back. Coul d you explain how thi s was worked? S.E.-W ttier hi ANSWER: Those plate s did s ignify a Novi c e rid er on pr obation . If a rider had a bad re cord of numer- ous a ccidents a t pre vious e ve nts or a rec ord that in any way s howe d he might be detrimen tal to the s port his was give n th e red pl ate and was kept und er co ns ta nt s ur vei llance . T he plat e was als o issued to fir st year A s cot Novi ce s that ha d previo us e xpe rie nce in s portsma n ra cing . Some area s that rid ers arrived from were without di strict c ha pters a nd s portsma n eve nts. Thus the rid er was a llowed to compete but was und er the eve r watchful eye of A.M.A. officials . Th e rid er was give n a regulatio n plat e when a s pecific numbe r of point s wer e e a rne d . or if he wa s · p romot e d· by a co mpe ti tio n mem be r of th e A.M.A . II) ' An sw er :\Ian Di ana Mk 111. My husband changed it to bat tery for awhile and when he put it back on the mag. the way it came. it ref used to run ri ght. It cuts out very badl y and j ust will not turn on. I know of another Ducati with the same problem. Both have been checked out comple tely. by a qualified mechanic. but no luck! Back on battery everything i s fine. What could be wrong? G.E.A.-Ontari o, Calif. ANSW ER: Your Duca ti i s not co mple t ely c he ck ed out! If a me chanic has ma de visual a nd s ystema ti c tun e up or insta llation chec ks a nd ha s found noth in g wrong. yet is a wa re that the machin e i s not running pr operly he s ho ul d not throw i n the towe I and ca ll it Quits . There ar e many th in gs that co ul d be wrong that simple bench a nd idle running chec ks will not s olve. The magneto windi ngs co uld ha ve a broke n series of windin gs that a re not visi ble from the out e r s hellacked c oils a nd breakd own o nly when wa rm or und er load. T he s ame co nditio n c o uld e xist in the conde nse r. F ind a me c ha nic or dealer who wi 11 syst ematically plu g in new units un til the c ulprit is loc a te d and e li mi na te d! Q UESTION: I would like to know what you think about Perill as. If you have a n opinion I would be glad to accept it on whateveryou think about them. Could you give me some idea on how the Wildcat, Grandsport or 175cc run. D.M.Galena. 1lI. ANSWER: Thanks for yo ur faith in our j udgme nt . bu t ther e is n't much of a pro blem in pla c in g a n opi ni on on the ·Va nis hi ng Bre ed" . P ar illa . Ther e ar e no distribut ors or de ale rs in this W ern half of the U.S. est Onl y two e x-dea le rs a re i n e xis te nce that I know of . tha t s t ill ha ve any . parts left in stock, fo r repairs . All the Parilla mod el s tha t I ha ve had e xpe rience with were c ra nky , ill-temp ered littl e · #@#- 's . Maybe that 's why I really down de ep , had a s pot in my he ar t for the Grand spo rt I a lmost purcha sed , u "ntil it to re a chunk out of my a nkle on a kic k start! ' Send your qaestilns to The Answer Man, Care at Cycle News, B. 4911, Lang Beach, Calif. SerTy, valllllle at mall does nat allow us to SIIId IndiVidual repl ies. TRADE ASSOCIATION WILL TAKE DEALERS FOR LEGISLATION FUNDS An opportunity for conce rted action by the various elements of the motorcycle business is the basis of a new program being launched by the industry's trade association. In an announcement following the February 14th meeting in Anaheim, Callfornla, the Motorc ycle , Scooter and Allied Trades Association revealed that its Board of Directors had authorized creation of a new "Associate Member" ca tegor y restricted to retail motorcycle dealers . William E. Kennedy, MS&ATA president, said that dealers thr oughout the country wlll be receiving complete ' infor ma tion concerning associate membershlp in the near future. Kennedy stated that the purpose of the program was to enable the industry as a whole to under take hadly needed, comprehensive nati onal prog rams this year. He said that , if the dealer s respond favorably, the MS&ATA would be able to SAVE on USED Ph HONDA PARTS TE 4~~;58 Wi lmington Discount Cycle Center 150 5 Aval on, W ington. Calif. ilm act forcefully on such vital feder al and state issues as motor cycle driver education, r estrictive legisla tion, safety educa tion and vehicle standards . Previously, the association had only one category of member s hip consis ting of manufac tur er s and d i s tr i b u tor s of motor cycles , scooters, component parts, accessories and trade magazines . The MS&ATA president explai ned that the board's decision to establish the new class of membership was based on the belief that manufact ur ers and distributors have the same gener al goals as r etail deale rs and joint action will have beneficial effect at ali levels. Dealers will receive membership information material, including details of the program, a document explaining the role of trade associations such as the MS&A TA, and an application for as s ociate membership. May 1st bas been set as the deadline for 1968 dealer memberships. Europ ean Styl e Mota-Cross Gates open 7:30 A.M, Entries close 9:00 A.M. First Race 10:45 A.M. .. DETAILS ON NEW DIST. 37 MOTO-CROSS DIVISION Uy L y nn Wineland Following the brief announce ment at the Febr uary Sports Committee meeting on the fir s t of the month. District 37 officer s did not allow any gr ass to gr ow beneath their fee t; a new division, ranktng equally with Scr ambles and Deser t bas been created for Moto- Cr oss. A separate Sports Committe e card and number will be requi r ed and a host of new ru les have been established to make the events highly competitive and exciti ng for both riders and spectators. Heading up the special committee ap pointed by President Ron Sloan was new Competition Committee member Dave Lewis, who will take over as Stewar d for the new Moto- Cross Division, issuing numbers and keepin g points . Other s serving were Yale c amp, Vice- President Lynn Wineland and Ron Sloan. Paul Hunt was called in as an adviso r because of his Europe an and Australian moto-cross exper ience . After 'the intitial dr afts were comple ted the outline was s ubmitted to the Competition Committee and then the Board of Directors. both gr oups unanimously in favor of acceptance . The total r uies as first established will appear in the 1968 edition of the District 37 Ruiebook which is supplementary to the National AMA Rulebook. Moto-Cross is already an es tablished event with AMA for sportsman competition, appearing on page 95 as Article XXVII in the rulebook. Most general rules for safety and machine technicalities apply to the new Moto- Cr oss Division in District 37, but several new ones have been tnstituted. Briefly, the following will apply: The cour se "..i ll be no longer than 1- 1/2 mlles in circuit, having a s eparate starting and staging area. It will be design ed to have highest s pectator access and appeal. as well as chal lenging to the rider . It will be fully fenced, ribboned, or roped off for safety and definition of boundaries. Cour s es must be approved by a Moto-Cross Committee appointed by the Dis tr ict 37 Pr esi dent. To encourage the use of printed programs and all ow notifi cation of over subscription , entries wl11 be by mail only and close 14 days prior to the event . A limit of 50 rider s will be imposed for eac h event (moto ). Rider classlfication will be as usual (NOVice, Amateur and Exper t) and r iders will be gr aded as to their cur r ent highest classification, for Moto- Cross . Motor cycle classification takes on a new look, with four divisio ns , eac h of which rac es separately. Br eakdowns are: I. 0- 175cc, II. 176-440c c, 111. 441-0pen, iV. Sidecars. Within each division classes will be br oken down alon g existing lines, up to the top of the divis ion. For example , division II might have 200cc, 250cc, 350cc and 440cc classes. Starting pos ltlon for eac h moto would be dete r mined by lottery in the s taging area prior to ea ch event. A r ider may enter oniy ONE CLASSper day. Sponsortng clubs may determine the number of places fr om ea ch moto which will compete in two " al l- comer s" events at the day' s end. These events will not pay points, but could give trophies and/or merchandise awards on the spot . The All- comers events would be divided into divis ion I in a preliminary race, and divis ions II and 1!I combined as the capper. In these events , a handicap sys tem would be employed with Novic es starting fir st, followed at an interval dependent on the length of the course and time duration by the Amateurs, and then by another sui table interval, the E>:perts . All events are scheduled for a certain length of ti me, P LUS TWO LAPS. The race is over when the first machine crosses the finish line after completing two laps following the pos ting of the time flag at that point. Scor es are computed by the Moto-Cross s coring sys tem and based on the number of laps comple ted and finis hing position, plus time if necessary for tie -breaking. Clubs will provide at least two cour se marshals with " M" plates to cle ar the course following each event . Two ambulances must be provided. Machines will carry thr ee OVAL number pla tes, approximate ly 8 inches by 10 inches wide to be secur ely mounted, one on the fron t forks and one on eac h side behind the rider 's legs . Pla tes may be of metal or plastic, but no sharp edges s hal l be exposed which would be a hazard. Numbers will be in the s ame color code as Scrambles, Novtc e- white numer al s on green, Amateur- black on yellow, Expe r ~ black on white, Sidehack- red on white. Standard Dis trict 37 numbers must be used . The $4.00 charge for a Moto-Cross number include s all thr ee sets of numer als, plus any changes for advancement in class during the year . Each person need have but one Moto-Cross number and may compete in any class or division with that number . For 1968 no single-digit numbers will be issued. Ma chines may compete with either fixed or folding footres ts , although fixed are recommended . Folding pegs must have a working return mechanism . All machines are subject to technical examination at any time , and pre-race inspe cti on is stressed. Thro ttles must self-close to " off" position. No "Championship" events will be awarded s ponsoring cl ubs . Dates wllJ be awar ded on the usual basis, leavi ng the first Sunday of each month and Easte r open. No conflic t with a regionally held Na tional Championship run will be schedule d• That about wraps it up. The date board will be open at the next Sports Committee mee ting , March 7, and will be closed after the April meeting. Clubs are r equested to submit their r eques ts for dates as soon as possible . Applications for Moto- Cross numbers are now being accepted. Use the re gular District 37 appli cations available at mos t motorcycle deal ers, or write, enclosing a self-addressed, stamped, No. IO(business size) envelope to the Molo- Cross Steward, and an application will be malled to you. On the application, print your name, address, city and state, as well as the zip code, heavily enough to be legible; this is used for the return mailing and mus t be easily read! Write in " MOTOCROSS" and cr os s out " Scrambles" and "Desert" on the application side. It is not necessary to alter the card por tion which will be proper ly stamped and returned to you. Since appli cations will determine your riding number for '6 8, get them in early. The addr ess is : Dave Lewis, 11339 Moorpark, Kor th Hollywood, Califor nia 91602. Telephone (213) 985-4 947, days only , CASEYS CyaE SHOP Wi shes to Congratulate Dist. 37 AMA Side Car Team #1 for 1968 MIKE PARTI (pilot) JIM MOffITT (passenger) ROBBIE WELLS (tuner) SEE Caseys Cycle Side Car Special at Asco t This Year Caseys Cyc le Shop 10249 Sa n Fernan do Rd •• P aco ima, Cal if. Ph. a9E,.., 046 Sunday MARCH lOth .... Presented by Cali f. M oto-Cross Club Jr, & Expert Classe s 0-125cc 126-250cc 251-500cc 50l-l000cc .,; :;;; ~ '" ::;:

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