Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

LET'S HEAR IT FOR L,ACHER VOICE VOICE AND MORE VOICE We constantly hear about the gr eat Harley r iders , Markel, Rayborn, NIX , Lawwill, Reiman, etc. , but why don' t we ever hear about Nat'l #37 Mel Lacher , the BEST hall-m ller on the west coast? Why Isn 't he given factor y backing li ke the other s ? Surely he Is a better dirt rider than Rayborn or Reiman yet they get factor y backlng for both dlr t and road raci ng. Maybe you could Inform the many Lacher fans why he Isn't given the recognlUon that Is due him. Why don' t you feature Lacher In one of your future "Meet The Racer " columns? A disg ru ntled Lacher fan and sub scriber, BEN C, CHAVEZ Wal nut, Calif . HE HELPED THE INVADERS Concerning Gary For th' s comments on the Invader s Hare Scr ambles . The Invaders are mostly new riders and have never put on a run . Sure they made mistakes , but I'll bet their next r un Is 100% better. My engine blew going to the s tart and I walked with heavy boots and leath ers the rest of the way and marked tank car ds at the start and home chec k. I forgot to bitc h about their mistakes , beca use I was too busy helpi ng out. Mr. Forth evidently hasn' t ridden too much deser t, as he claim s this was the worst run he was ever on. I have seen a lot worse and r ecently . WES ANDERSON SR, Trail Bike #42 Los Angeles, Call!. (" W think Lac her's neat , too, and wlll e set UP a ' Meet The Racer' column on him as soon as pos si ble to answer so me of your questlcna," ) SHEDD INTERNATIONAL S1DEHACK SIDE With cur r ent difficulties and hard feelings between the pro r iders and the promoter locally, I think the posi tion of the Sidehack Association should be clarified, lest ther e be some misunderstand. Ing and hard feelings. Yes, we crossed the " picket 11ne" and raced at Ascot on the 5th and 6th this month. We gener ally sympathize with the plight of the pr o racer who feel s his pocketbook Is being attacked, but we have to face the facts of life. J ust a fe w days before the boycott of Ascot, we were Invited to Join the MRI and s tay away from the track. After much disc us sion the cons ens us was the how- . ever noble this move might appear , It would gain us nothing, and could lose us all that we have fought for for years. It was also remembered that only a fe w weeks earlier as we cr acked the door at Ascot for our first pr o raci ng efforts, we were left with the distinct Impr ession that the MRI didn't really want us . What we did re member was the dur ing our long st ruggle for r ecognition In the !leld of pr ofes sional racing, our grea test boos t ca me from Mr . Bill Ber ry and Mr . Agajanlan. We could hardly turn on our benefa ctors . If, with jus t a toe In the door , we fell out of favor, would the MRI stand up for us? So we have no axe to grind. We aren' t against anythi ng, and we ar e only for Sidehac k racing. We try to give the fans the BEST In entertainment (which rais es the ga te to the benefit of all) and Inter est mor e pr ospects In this type of r aci ng (If you think It does n't take six loa ds of talent, come gtve It a tr y). GARY WEBER Sidehac k As s n. WHO'S TO BLAME? The motorcycle cl ubs of Dist r ict 37 have no one but themselves to blame for the decline In membership. For the past two years of what club was the " *1" rider a member ? None . l! you want members, stop givi ng Dis trict 37 Points to non- club r iders. They will join a cl ub - and be good members too, because they are fine fellows. Sincerely, LYMAN HAM Riverside, Calif• THEY'RE COMING AROUND Here's another Senatorial viewpoint, received by Cyle News reader Jack Browne, from California State Senator Lou Cusanovich: to Dear Mr. Browne: " Thank you for your letter of 3-4-68 regarding proposals to require the wearIng of helmets by motorcycle riders; I lllso wish to thank you for filling out and returning the que silo n n a I r e recently mailed by my office. " I am enclosing for you a copy of A,B, 289 containing the helmet pr opos al. You will note It was amended on March 7. You will be pleased to learn that I feel as you do about this proposal - that It Is a matter of personal choice and that I plan to support the positi on you have taken on this . "Thank you very much for writing. Sincerely, LOU CUSA NOVICH Califor nia State Senate 23r d Senatorial District, Sherman Oaks Sacramento, Calif," Editor, Cycle News Cycle News Journalist, John Shedd, sold a super-action photograph taken at Hopetown for the April cover of Motor Cycli st Illustrated. The maga zine published In London features monthly cover age of all wor ld champion ship ro ad races and moto- cro s s . BSA works r ider Jeff Smith Is their star r epor ter for motocr os s . The Apr il Is sue ' distributed by ACME for American newsstands will have J une pr inted on the outs ide cover. JAMES E. BRAMMER Long Beach, Calif . LONERS TAKE NOTE This last weekend ther e was an annual r un to Las Vegas hosted by the " Lucky Wheels." Being a utility r ider and a loner 1 only lea rn ed ofthls fr om a fr ie nd. The road r un, the Lucky Wheels, and the conviviality of the many clubs In attendance have caused me to consid er my loner posl tlon , Since It Is not neces s ary .to ride a bike made In the U,S,A., my BSA is going mor e places, and possibly with a passenger or r iding companio n. The camar ade rie and general goodwill and fr iendliness of the many r iders make a loner ' s position diffic ult and cr eate an Interest and desire to assis t. I would li ke to express my thanks to the Lucky Wheels Club for a fine tour and an e x c e p tl 0 n a I buffet banquet. Thro ngs of people ' piled their plates high and there was ple nty for all. The Cit y of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Police Dept., and the Clar k County Sher iffs al so des er ve thanks . Their many cour tes ies , assistance and toler ant attitudes were r eally noticeable. They will Issue citations and do their job, BUT It depends on the riders. It Is strongly sugges ted thai the "gr imy ones " and the "chopper s " go s trai ght thr ough. Don't wander , cr uis e or s top. Ther e was a real spec ta cle to ride In or watch - the par ade of motor cycles, thr ee abreast, with jus t nor ma l dis tance between rows and over three block s long, driving through the center of Ca sino Row and down Fremont, es corted by motor officers. A real show with the cr owds watching fr om the sid ewalks. Next month there are two events on the same day (May 12) that will be difficult. to choose between, the Jaspers M,C, of Ontar io, Calif. and the Riding Roulettes M,C. of Las Vegas. Being a loner Is getting diffic ult. HERB BRAND San Pedro, Calif. . P ,S. Thanks to the unknown mem ber of the " Gypsy Wheels" who tra nsported a . girl's stranded Suzuki back to Califor nia . (She was forgotten In a last minute mix-up) . SAN RAFAEL M,C, JOINS FIGHT The San Rafael Motorcycle cue, Inc ., as a group, and Its members as IndiViduals, are concerned with restrictive legislation In Sacramento regarding motorcycles and motorcycle riders. We would appreciate help from all motorcycle riders and cl ubs In fighting what we feel Is undesirable and unfair legislation. The following Is the text of a letter from the San Rafael M,C, to our representative In Sacramento. "The San Rafael Motorcycl e Club, Inc, ; would like to e xpress concern over pendIng leldslatJon rellllrding motorcycle s and motorcycle riders. "We are opposed to these proposilions: Prop. 289, with provisions ror the mandatory wearing of helme ts, Prop. 366, requiring the us e of protective footwear. Prop. 56, requiring mandato ry wear ing of helmets. "We feel that any regulation requiring the mandatory use of any t,ype or pro- tec tlve clothi ng, footwear, or helmet Is an Infrlngemenl on the rlllhts of motorcyc lis ts as Individual s, and s uch le gisla tlon wuuld detl'llct from the freedom and plea sure enjoyed by sensible mota rcyclis ts ." . The numbers and basic Inform ation of thr ee propos itions are contained In the above letter. Mor e Inform ation can be obta ined fr om your r epres entative. Each of the members of the San Rafael Motorcycle Club has sent a simila r letter to his representati ve . We would appreciate 'the cooper ation of all r ider s and clubs In our effor t to let our State Legis la tur e know how r ider s feel about res trictive legislation. If you sha r e our opinion, pleas e do as we have and let your voic e be heard In Sacramento. SAN RAFAEL M,C. San Rafael, caur. SENATO RLAGOMARSINO'S REPLY TO DARWIN ACRES Thank you for your letter r egarding the pr oposal that all motorcycle riders be required to wear safety hel mets . My apologies for the delay Ina nswering, due to the heavy volume of mail dur ing the legislative session. Two bills have been Introduced concer ning s a f e t y hel mets for motor cycli s ts . One, Senate Bill 111, has been amended by the Senate Transportation Commlttee to delete the hel met requirement. The other bill, Assembly BIlI 289, Is stili pending In the Assembly . If It passes the Assembly, It will be referred to the Senate Tr ansportati on Committee where undoubtedly the same action will be taken, t.a., eli mination of the hel met requirement . I would predict that no legislation will be pas sed requiring that helmets be worn . My position Is that I pr obably will not vote for any bill wit!: suc h a requirement. Befor e taklng a !lnal position on any bill, I must see Its !lnal amended form and hea r the testimony and debate . I will keep your views In mind should this matt er ulti ma tely be bro ught to a vote. Yours si ncerel y, ROBERT J , LAGOMARSINO 24th Senatorial Dls t., Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties Sacramento, Calif. Among the side effects have been the confusion of the whoie heimet pictur e and the tendency of ever yone to choose up sides, pro- helmet or anti- helmet. Thus the legislation In other s tates and the attempted legis la ti on her e has probably r esulted In a lot of people not wearing helmets who would have worn them without the Interference from the establishment. Befor e legis la ti on the cyclist usually considered a good helmet to be an important accessory. He would put time and money Into choosing a quality product he IIked.. .not necessarily to wear every time he started the machine but whenever he felt It would be of benefit. He would accordingly take care of the hel met like the valuable Item It was. Helmet manufacturers bullt products to a high ' standard because It made sense that way when It -was a matter nf choice. But with mandatory legislation the pic ture changed . Forced by law to buy and wear a helmet, many cyclists (who might have purchased a to- quali ty prod uct on their own) r es entfull y purchased the minimu m product acceptable by law. And of course there quic kly cam e to be helmets manufa ctur ed to fit that mlnlmal price market. The fir st comment made by many people was that the hel met manufac ture r s wer e pushing the legislation. This was never true. The top-of-the-line products gain ed nothing but confusion from the whole legislative hassle. When we decided that the California legislators might do well to see jus t what It was they were making la ws about. Bell Toptex loaned us the helmets for demonstr atlon ...the helmets which so dr amati cally resulted In the r emoval of the mandatory provis ion fro m the bill . We all hope, now that the sour odor of force Is removed from the scene that the hel met may aga in re gain Its rightful pla ce of a val uable piece of equipment, wor th the ti me and money for a quali ty pr oduct and the care to mal ntaln It properly.. .to be worn at the dis cretion of the rider who Is still fr ee to use disc retion. BACK AND FORTH This Is In regard to the letter wr itten by Gar y Forth In your May 2 Iss ue of Cycle News. In his letter he negle cted to mention that the r ider was off course. I would like to menti on tha t I was an eyewilness to this ac cident - due to the fact that 1 fell off this dro- off first. The Greeves rider In question fell on top of me . Since we wer e both off course I feel It Is unfair to bla me the Invaders M,C. for this accident. It was not the best race I have ridden but I'm sure there have been worse . JACK MILLER S,G,V.M.C. Monrovta, Calif. lIy Bar bara Adams Dahms WE'RE NOT AGAINST HELMETS WE 'RE JUST AGAINST COMPULSION Whenever the state tried to "do good" by taking away the indi vi dual's li berty some strange side effects occur. Tale the cas e of manda tory helm et legis lation. A lot of cyclists wear helmets all of the time . Most cycllsts wear helmets par t of the time . When the state tried to s ay that all of us had to wear them all of the time we all said "no." Even the helmet manufact ur er s sa id fino ." The mor e that we tried to convince the author s and backers of the bill that putting a helm et on the head of every cyclist for ever y r ide around the block wasn't the answer to all the nation ' s safety problems, the more It s ounded like we hated helmets. This Isn't and never was the ca se. We Just hate to be told what to do. DEATH TAKES LOU HUNTER Lou Hunter , owner of Cr own Cycle #1 In Baldwin Park and Cr own Cycle #2 In Ros emead, died SUddenly of a heart attack on F r iday, Apr il 19. His funer al was held Monday, Apr il 22. Hunter , age 44, had long bee n active In the competition pictur e as well as the dealer end of the Industry. His Interests wer e primarily in up-and- coming Novice r iders, and he fielded an Impressive orange-leathered lineup of future stars at Ascot , Including last year' s recordbreaking Suzukl r ider Rick Durkee, who holds the t-Iap, 3-lap, 5-lap and 10-lap Ascot marks In the Novice dlvtslcn, The untimely death of Lou Hunter Is saddening to all members of the motorcycle fraternity, and deepest sympathy Is extended to members of his family In their loss. HEAD BORED FOR COMPRESSION RELEASE S5.00 for any head - $15.00 with release Send Cash, Check or Money Order to YAMAHA of POMONA 546 West Holt Pomon a, Californi a 91766 RETURN POSTAGE PAID PHONE(n4) 629·0341 "" ~ 'w Cl.. ~ r.J :

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