Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

. SEASON OPENER AT CASTLE ROCK , .. ~ By Chuck Clayton TIMES THEY ARE CHANGI NG AND HOW 0Jganized motorcycle riders were taking up a rms against a sea of troubles in California last week. Wednesday , Hells Angels presented arguments against making it a crime to ride cycles bareheaded and turned the slate capitolAssembly hearing in their favor • .And in Los Angeles professional motorcycle racers launched an effective boycott of Ascot speedway. Pickets wearing the colored leathe rs and white pants of professional racers and tuners stood quietly at the three e ntrances to .As cot Spe e dway along 'Vermont .Ave nue , di splaying v gn s infonning arriving fans of all the st s tars who would not ride. The $1 ,500 .00 purse offe red was less than opening night purses in the past. The racers were being asked to ris k their lives a nd equipment for less money and 'so naturally they refused . T he solidarity among the striking racers were ove rwhelming. Only 28 cycles crossed the picket lines to put on a H -race show . Half of these we re sidecar ra c ers, who are still ve ry new to professional racing. Th ey were competing for a 's e pa ra t e purse and were exempt from the boycott. Story and Photos IIY Vic Ebbutl The Mt. St. Helens Motorcycle Club of Castle Rock, Washington, site of the National TI Champi onships , played host on March 31 to 92 r iders and nearly 400 spectator s . Considering the fact that during the past six months the Nor thwest has had more than a few drop s of rain, the tr ack was in great s hape and the Sunday afte rnoon events wer e r unat near recor d speeds. It Is vir tually impossi ble to pic out the outs tanding r ider of the day. Ther e were too many in tbIs category. In the Ughtweights , consistent winner BIl! Langley, Dan Kirk, and Mark Nlmlck were supe rb while the honors in the 250Cc and divis ions would have to include Sonny Burres, Dick Jagow, Jac k Mott, all of the Portland area, Sandy Saunders of Tacoma, and young Jim Einarsson of Shelton , W ash. Burres Comes Through Burres got his new Triumph together Sunday morning about thr ee a.m. and 1n1t1ated it in a fi tting manner. Although los ing a heat race by about two feet, when the chips were down in the A Main, he once again proved who was the boss. It is always a disttnct pleasure to cover the tirst race of the season at Castle Rock for a number of reasons. First, it s1gnWes that racing in the Northwes t has really begun after a long gr ey winter. The riders are eager and gung-ho to start the season, the TI track is one of the tinest on this or any other coast and the Mt. St. Helens Club can always be depended on to sponsor and run a well organized event. Their next two events on Apr U 21 and May 19 will undoubtedly be Just as suc cessful. (Results on page 16) Money Goes, Bu t Where? Barrel li ng 10 vlclory In CasUe Rock Open Main Is Sonny Burres (69) on new Tri umph. Ra cing fans from as rar away as San ta Cruz and San Die go le ft with out seeing the moto rcyc le ra c e s . Sympa thy wa s with the rid e rs . Everyone kn ows that As c ot mot orcycle ra c es bring i n thousands of dollars . Where d oe sIt go? Who ge ts it? The fa ns 'su s pe c t it goes int o the pock ets of J .C• .Aga janian, the fa mous pranot er • .Actually, t he promoter only retains a small part of the tota l gate rec eip ts • .F or ty percent us e d to go 'to the rid ers ( but not a ny more). F ifte en per cen t be lo ngs to the track mana gemen t for rent, a nd about $ 1,000 per ra ce is pa id to the Amer ican Motor cy c le .As s oc ia ti on for insuranc e . P arkin g a nd concession profits belong to the trac k. 17- P rior to the history- maki ng strike at As cot , the A s s e mbly Ways & Mea ~ Committee convene d in Sa c rame nto to hear .AB 289, a bill calli ng for, amo ng other things , mandatory c rash he lme ts and goggles for motorcycle operators . - My na me is Ralph Barge r, I' m the pre sld ent of the Oa kla nd chapte r of He lls Angels and we are professio nal moto rcycle rid ers .- The voice was strong and confide nt. The Committe e paid close attention as the young ma n in the cutoff bl ue suede jacket decorated with a he lme ted skull, playboy rabbit, the numbe r 13 and HELLS ANGELS - CALIFORNIA on the back, spoke . In a - now listen you guYs · tone of voice he told the legislators they did n't know anything about motorcycles . - I know what's good for my head , you don' t, - the 28-year-old Ba rg er continued . -I gotta be ab le to see and hear good to ride my bi ke so some car doesn 't tangle with me. I can 't he ar with my ears covered up and I can't always 'se e so good with 's hade s on. You want to put he lme ts on US? You should make every body e lse wear them if you make us, " He cited the numbers of people killed ann ually fro m head injuries resulti ng from fa l ls , car accidents a nd pedestrian ac cid en ts . The Committee Loved It. - - NATIONAL - - THE NEW IMAGE / T he f1ytng whi z kid from Shelton, W ash., ye_ld Jim Einarsson. Assemblyman John Burton " He's rl &flt, I can'l hear a thing!" CHAMPIONSHIP MOTORCYCLE Oakland Angels Presl denl Barger l estlfl es before Asse mbly W ays and Means Commltt.. whil e bill's author J. F. Foran, far ri ght, watches his volu slipp ing away, .Aft er Ba rge r' s appearance the lobbyist from United Motorcycle Enthusiasts , repre s en ting the average motorcycle rider , seemed rather dull . Sh e had with her some helmets , the best on the market , according to 's ome experts , a nd some of the assemblymen asked to try them on. " He' s ri ght," s houted Democ rat J ohn Burton of San Franc is c o, " You can't hear a thing! " Ass e mbly man Britchk e of San M te o got hi s he ad stuck .in a fu ll-coverage a helmet an d two of hi s colleagues had to help him pull it off , while T V cameras re corded the co medy for later broad cas t . The bill ' s a utho r, John F or an of San Fran cis co , co mplaine d that the he a ri ng was bei ng turned i nto " a circus" and c ha irma n postpone d vot in g o n the bill unt il .Aprill7, but the re i s little cha nce of it s pa s s in g. One assemblyman in ter vie we d by this repo rte r late r said he " wa s go ing to give J oh n a vote ," unt il he heard Bar ger's evidence . " F ora n ha d that bill by two votes whe n he went in to the he arin g. Ba rger changed a t le a s t three of our minds to vote against it•.And whe n I put on that helmet. ,.I know I changed VACA VALLEY RACEWAY Just off Interstate 80 at Vacaville mine;" Featuring the Nation's Top Road Racers Admission (Ad ult s) $2.50 Children (Unde r 12) FREE MAYS - - - SHOES DOWN THE TUBES P,.wnt.d by : Inte rnation al Sport Cycle bpo~tio". Inc. P. O. Box 5945 Son Francisco Phone: 589 ·7365 Sanctioned· by: Am.ricon F.d.ratio" of Moforcycl ii's S. E. Chopfrr - ~~tiue~ - Assemblyman L.E. Townsend's mandatory footwear measure was shot down in the Assembly last week. After una.nt mous " do- pass " In Transportation Committee It ran Into a soltd wall of opposition from legislators who said, "A law about shoes? n:ey'll be telling us what to wear next ." By Barbara Adams Dah ms W r emember issuing tbIs warning e last year but we don't re member anyone list ening••.at the time. Last yea r they wer en't talking principles. It wasn't the year for "do we have the right to legislate tbIs ?" It was the year for "the federal government expects us to do this or they will cut of! our money." (Continued on page 7)

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