Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

• TRADE: Twin carb set-up for Trlwnph 500 and stockstreetequlpmentfordesert equipment. Tom Donis, 3504 Bell Ave., Bell, Ca. 636- 8844. WANTED: MECHANIC & PARTS MAN Must be experienced and ambitious. Paid vacations and unirorms. Salary open. Contact Orange County Cycle Center, 205 N. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana, c an r, 92703. (714) 531-9984 or (714) 531-93 03 In the heart of Orange County. FOR SALE: 1965 Greeves moto-cross, new eng I n e, extra tank , Bates seat, sprocket, chain , plugs, muffler, s kid plate, clean, dependable and quick $475. Call evenings or afternoons, 636- 8844. Tom Davis , 3504 Bell Ave., Bell, Calif. BULTACO METRALLA 167-1/2 . only 1,000 miles. Absolutely showroom condition. Tuned, jetted and geared for max. go. Extras Include factor y fairing, 2 sets bars, much more . Ride new demothen try mine at $200. less, $495.(order.ed new car, need bucks, so I might bag_ .gle) Pasadena (213) 793-4667 eves or 354-6 860 wkdays . ~ TRADE: ShIny Suzuld 1966, 120cc trail, looks and runs good. Will trade for larg•er gOOd- running street bike or one ·wor th fixing. (714) 523-4815 . MEET THE RACER 1968 SUZUKI iooee, 17 hp moto- cr oss. Ready to race, will trade for 100cc Hodaka 5 speed desertblke. (213)428-4252. ~ 67 HONDA 450 custom fiberglass tank, custom paint job, llke new 400 original miles $799.00. Will consider trade for late model Hodaka and cash. Call (213) 634- 5908. d EXPERIENCED'HONDA MECHAtUC Respect For Others Guarantee & commission, unlimited potential. Busy shop with maximum benefits , 5 day week. BILL KRAU HONDA TRIUMPH SE 1 Inglewood, Call Tuesday-Friday (213) 671-0407 or (213) 678-5289 . "65 BULTACO Torqu er, Lo, mt., desert r eady, extra tank $475.00.(21 3)289-61\32 431 So. Third St., Alhambra, Ca. 91801. Monthly salary. 5 day week and beneflts. 1 year experience r equired. 1960 TRIUMPH Cub, r oad, dirt. Comple te, sharp, fast, extras. Also 1960 BSA 250 needs very little work, must s ell. Make offer . 50cc Ja wa- $20.00. After 5 call (213) 833-6060. YAMAHA 80 Looks and runs llke newl Newsea t, tires, paint, set up for street $140. (213) 3911467 after 3:30. 68 MONTESA 250cc La-Cross, llkenew. Must sell $600.00. (213) 676-6101. TRADE: Yamaha 100 Upswept expochambers w/sllencers (J8oR). For same w/o s ilencers. Tom Lay Jr. eves. (213) 6338957, days (213) 670-9151 ext . #4086. UNCLE LBJ wants me. As the National Guard leaves for an extended weekend my beautiful 1967 dese rt Bulta co 5 speed PurSang must be sol d. $600.00. 846- 5204. WANTE D: Anyone Interested In being a par ticipating member of a newly formed des ert club, Limited membership. We want r ider s and pit cr ew. Anaheim area. For Information call (714) 827-04 05 after 5:00. 67 HONDA CL90 scrambler, excer.conc, Make offer phone (213) 925-78 73 Lakewood. COUNTER MAN PARTS DEPT. BILL.KRAUSE ENTERPRISE ' Inglewood. Call Tuesday-Friday (213) 671-0407 or (213) 678-52 89. 1967-3/4 360 HUSKY, much better than new with, 2-1 /2 & 3-1 /2 gal. tanks, 19" or 21" rr, wheel, cornp , release, flltron , Metlsse bars, Maguracontrols & 6 sprockets $895.00. Bakerstleld Motorcycle, 120 Kentucky, Bakersfield, Cal if. TRIUMPH FRAME KIT For 500 unit, 30 lbs .llghter than Metls se and cheaper, 55" base, plated moly tubIng, large filt er, hide s ea t, $425. Call Jim (408) 243-714 6. 1967 TRIUMPH CUB $300 In engine and trans ., new clutch , street ready or trail, must see to apprecia te $495.00. Call (213) 861-1 986. LIKE TO FORM or jolnM.C. stric tly tor Engllsh bikes. Montebello and su rroundIng area. (213) 721-7541 . HODAKA SUP ER lOOcc Late 66 by year only, 19" alloy tr ont wheel with Mezzler tire , ported barrel by Mor gan, Webco head, racing clutch, straight cut gears, 5 speed, Orlando forks, 6" travel, glrllngs, rear for k brace, expo chamber, bars, universal 17x360 rear. Call (213) DA 5-3494 $395. (805) 947-0462. 66 MATCHLESS 650cc Norton forks, new Tire Chains , battery valve-job, chr ome fenders, ex c e 11e n t condition, superb handling, twin carburetors or sell with single. J.S . Hardy , 1564 Moorland Ir., San Diego, Cam. 92109. FOR SALE 40" Triumph TT bike, completely rebuilt for 68' season ready to go. Phone #20 Gene Romero, (805) 5438567. TRADE: 64' Greaves-Silverstone, new Alpha 5-spd; a-port, fairing; spare 4 spd , Trade for plcklij), panel or dirt bike. Michael Flint, 5022 Miramar Ave., San Jose, Ca. 95129. (408) 296-7177. TRADE: 1967 Triumph " TT" special, street equip. , 2000 street miles, extras, tor Norton- Vincent SPecial, or late serIes Vincent twin In good condition. B. Day, 744 Paloma Ave., Burlingame, Cal. (415) 342-3746. SAN DIEGO ROAD RIDERS ASSN. CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DISCRIMINATIVE LEGISLATION Story and Photo by Bill Harmer The San Diego County Road Riders Assn ., which consists of five affiliated motorcycle touring clubs , held Its monthly business meeting April 1 at the Sllvergate Savings and LOan Co.' s community room at 9th and Highland In National City, Calif. Aside fr om the usual business meetIng that Is necessary to synchronize the calendar ot events planned by the various participating clubs, the topics of most Inter est and discussion were the " socal led" motorcycle safety bills which are now In the process of legislation In Sacramento. Various club representatives reported on petitions circulated and Individual cards and letters to Sen- ators and Assemblymen with accent on ways and means of effecting an active campaign to defeat unsympathetic legislators In the San Diego area, In the upcoming elections. A commendation was extended to Cycle News, by way of your reporter, for Its efforts regarding motorcycle legislation and Its relentless fight to defeat discriminative and unfair bills In the Senate and Assembly. Petitions will be cir culated by members of the Singing Wheels M.C., Road Cr uis er s M.C., Terrapins M.C., Mary 's Men M.C. (a Catholic Church group) and Travellers M.C., all of which are afflUated clubs of the S.D. County Road Riders Assn. my favor ite , and Springfield my favorite .., track - probably only because I've done C\l well there. As far as the bikes go, I don't ~ really have favorites, except that I get a os hell uva kick out of beating the boys with Q" my Sportster. I have Ihe TT machine, 00 two half- mller s and a short tracker, and '" Milwaukee keeps developing and main - :!l talnlng a road racer for me. I've got the ..; spares and a good boss , and I've got Jim .... Belland to do my frames for me. Can't S ask for morel Basically, I've always :::e done my own mechanical work, more of It In fact than any of the other racers I ~ can think of, other than Bugsy Mann and r.J Al Gunter." Mert is often mentioned by :<: Bay Area tuners such as Rick SchelilUld r.J Doug Schwerma as one of the best. PROFILE: MERT LAWWILL By Anthony Herbo ld At 27, Mert Lawwill Is In his prime. He comes across the room at you at five feet six and a sinewy 140 pounds , smilIng. When not racing, he's always smilIng, or ready to smile. But he has his dar k and brooding moods too. He talks easily , softly and clearly, with a flai r for wit. He Is still a bachelor with no Immedi ate plan s for changing, that, but one could hardly call him cold or standoffish . Born In Idaho In 1940, Mert was thi rd from last among five si sters and an olde r brother . His father Is a painting contractor, and the Lawwills stili live In Boise . Mer t r eme mber s his early years gladly . He gr aduate d from high sch ool In 1959, and although us ually at the back of the pac k In Engll sh, he often led the clas s In math. His favorite sport was football, but with his stze he s oon looked arouod for so mething else. He s tili r ecalls wanting to borrow his br other' s scoo ter , s o that he could r ide by himself down to sixth gr ade , and he still r ecalls his brother's refusal. When he was a junior , he got a hold of a BSA Gold Star, and this became his first real " r ide." In fact , he took that Beezer with him to Callfor nla when he decid ed to " move to Ascot ." Mert's first race was In Boise, a TT In 1957. After two of these scrambles, he decided to become a racer . When Gene Thiessen, then National Number 4, came to town for the Northwest TT, Mert watched him closely. " Gene kinda became my hero." Mert himself entered the Northwest In 1959 and took 9th as a Class C Novice . He rode all the races he could get to In the Northwest that year . The Move to L.A. At the close of 1961, he gathered hlmself, his Gold Star, and his cameras together - for he had ptcked Iijl holography In s chool and was then earning his bread with it - and headed for Los Angeles . He has never forgotten his first night at Ascot. "I IrOt a good start In the Amateur heat,' and led around the first turn and down the back straight. I was sure I was riding as fast as a human being could ride - when they passed me on both sides going Into turn twol" That was In April. By July, he had learned some of the lessons a racer must learn, and he made It Into the Expert Trophy Dash. He led the 1962 National TT, also as an Amateur, but a leaking gas line drained away his chances In that one. " My fir st yea r as an Expert, 1963, was my hardest and my worst. The Exper ts snowed me under ." Yet Dudley Perkins, Sr . had seen enough of this young fellow's potentialities to pick him up and sponsor him . Nowlnhis sixth year of as socia tion with Lawwill, Dud has pr obably never regretted the confidence he showed In that little known first year Exper t. Of Perkins, Mert Is emphatic: " He has given me lots of liberty, both r iding and working on the Har1eys, and he stuck by me when things were not going well at all." "My first really big race was the Sacramento 20-mller In 1963." If you look up the finishing position of #84R, you may not see why. But the lessons and the thrills In racing se1dome coincide with the more obvious successes. In 1964, Lawwill was given National Number 18, and he's had It ever since in his steady Iijlhlll climb. "The mile is sttll Among the other conten ders on the AMA circuit, Lawwill has no favorites, but he does have rivals he keeps r eferring to. "I am impressed with Tanner. He was winning at Ascot when I Irot there , and he'S winning now. Anyone so good so long, who stays a half- dozen years on top of the pile, has as much of my r espect as anyone has . Chris Iraa yer Is out, which Is a pity for us as well as for him, for Chris was going s traig ht to the top, Mann Is probably our best al1ar ound r ider , and I'll watch Is YankeeOssa 460 with Interest this year, aIKYIll a lot of guys. Nixon's going to -be orn er y again , and although Roeder has quit, Bart Is back - and I'll have to keep an eye on Nix and Haaby too." Of the outright road racers, he names Art Baumann as one to keep track of, and, of course, that " es tabli shed stylist," Ron Grant. Obviously, Mer t Lawwill Is a confident but also a humble and re asonable fellow . He over took Gar y Nixon In the Na tional points standings la te In Augus t last yea r, but at Sacramento he "ble w," and in prac tice at Carlsbad, Mert broke his shoulder. That break put him out of the s eason's final road r ace, out of the Oklahoma City "do" as well. " I might have take n the Number One plate If I'd finished well In those two. As it was, I ended up number four. And It was mainly cons istency that got me that. Except perhaps for Ca s tle Rock, I was hardly ell, I might have won flashy last year . W It all." (Ed. Note: Mert's following statements were made prior to Daytonav ) This year ? Mert speaks of the current season In one way only: " I' m out for Number One." This, then, Is not only an ambition but a plan, a plan he Is both conscious of and articulate about. "I'm out for Number One." Although free to climb aboard non-Milwaukee (that Is , non- Aer macchl Sprint) lightweights, he has decided not to do so In 1968.Rath~r, he will concentrate on the polnts-"though I will go wherever there's a good purssl" Besides, he says, " It's a different s tory In AMA road racing today. NotIn my own case so much perhaps, but most of the riders have Impr oved greatly. Daytona should be nip and tuck between the dualcarbed Har1eys and the Triumphs, for both of them are said to have picked Iijl a handful ot ponies , and the KR's stream lining is definitely Improved. But Yamaha wouldn't have brought Read over for nothing, and I've heard last minute rumors on both sides, trom riders and through Honda, that HondaIs coming over with some fast ones, that they will pick Iijl and sign whatever talent they can, on the spot In Florida. Whoever wins, it'll be fast. I look for speeds around 150 on the oval ." The future Is relativelY open for Mert Lawwill . "I can 't really see more than two or three years ahead of me on the bikes . I' d someday like to open upa lltt1e busin es s of some kind, also go Into motocross In a big way." But the SU bject that makes his eyes flash most, the subject he keeps coming back to, Is stock cars. It may notbe long befor e he's seen r unning ar ound the stocker tr ac ks as he Is now seen running around the bike track s. Wherever he does ride, look for him out front. TOP TRADE IN ON NEW ;:... u

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