Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125558
MEET THE DEALERS PROFILE: GENE M EYER'S CYCLE CENTER lIy Delm er O. Gasc he One of the ti nest motorcyc le service shops In the Puget Sound area Is at Gene Meyer' s Cycle Center in Rent on, Washington. Denny Deusen , the service manager, has had twen ty yea r s e xpe r ie nce in the motorcycling spor t. He has wor ked with some of the top co mpeti tor s In the area. " In 1959, for exam ple," Denny said, " I did a lot of tuni ng for Bob Budschat.Wetraveled to mee ts ihroughout Washingto n, Or egon an d Idah o." Denny's service s hop Is probably the best equippe d shop of it s kind in the ' Seat tle-Tacoma a r ea. "Even a cr an ks haf t fr om a warran ty machi ne only stays in for two da ys ," Denny said. " We have compl ete cr an ks haf t r ebuild on ail twi ns and ar e the only s hop around thi s area whi ch can do this a t the pr esent ti me. The s hop Is completely air oper a ted . We have an Alpha - Tru for crankshafts, boring ba r s , arc an d ac etylene welder s , new Quick- Way valve equipment and a South Bend la the ." "I used to race," Denny continued. " My first attempt at road racing was at Abbotsford, Canada and It cost me $600. I tinally made amateur then decided it was too expensive. After finishing the 1959 season I decided to give up motorcycling completely because It was so expensive and took me away from my family so much. So I got all heated up about skin diving and sunk $300 into equipment. I told myself that skin diving was going to take the place of racing. I could take the family along an d s pend some time with them. Well, I tried It!or two years . Hell, I never even learned to swim . One day I loaned my equipme nt to a fellow an d he sold It , left the country with the money and I never di d hear fr om him aga in. I wen t r ight back to mo tor cycling. You ca n' t quit once you're In it. Nothin g r eally takes the place of racing an d s et ti ng up a bike." Denny owned hi s tirst bik e when he was 17. "That was way ba ck in 1947," he said. " I bought a '46 In dian Chief and almos t cr a s hed getting it home . That was in the good old days before the government decided to protect eve rybody from the ms elves. Not that there' s a nything wr ong with the laws , the laws are all r ight but they s hould be s uggesti ons Instead of law s . A lot of old ti me r iders don' t like helmets for s treet r idin g. I probably rode ove r a 100, 000 miles before I put a helmet on for stree t r iding, now I wouldn't go out with out one . But I don't want anyone telling me I have to wear one! I want to decide with my own head how mu ch protection I need." I-However," Denny added, ItI think these laws are comi ng abo ut because of Federal push and I doubt if there Is an y way to change the s ituati on . It's li ke a bull y talking to a li ttle kid - do as I say, or else! I don' t believe there are enough serious motorcyclis ts to successfully lobby. " I expect sales to return to normal as people get used to them ." Duane has been In motorcycling 11 years. He r eceived his Expe r t' s card a few years ago and won many indoor races at the Tacoma Sports Arena . "He fell off onceanddldn'tknuwwhere he was for a bout a day," Denny co mmented dryly . "I leaped off the high s ide right Int o the straightaway at Graham ' s quarter mile track," Duane explained . " Some body hit me and I couldn't ev en r em e mber who I was. I had to a sk peopl e where I' d tiuished after each race becaus e ! just co uldn' t re me m ber. After the race, when we were loading the bikes, I coul dn' t even rem e mber which bike was -m i ne , " " He was goofi er than an outhous e mouse, " Denny added. Duane smiled and continued, " we 're s pons oring a new rider this season. His na me is John Kent and thi s will be his first year as a pr o. He' ll be riding a 250 Suzuki and we've got high hopes for him :' Duane han dl es the a dvertis ing for Gen e Meyer 's Cycle Center . " We sunk a lot of money into radio a dverti s ing la s t year," he said, "and in my opinion it was wasted money . Classified ads are the ones which can r eally prove the ms elv es . I place spot ads in the large area papers and they r eally bring in customers . [ believe the new 500/ Fi ve Suzuki will prove to be a good , strong seller:' Denny Is a member of the Eve re tt Motorcycl e Cl ub . Duane Is a member of the Seattle Motor cy cle Club . ...... . ~ ~ ~ I .. USED M PARTS IC WE PAY CASH FOR USED PARTS - ALL MAKES DISMANTLING 66 YAMAHA 10Dcc twin 65 HONDA S!IJ 64 HONDA CBl1 305cc 64 YAMAHA YGI 80ce 64 HONDA CAn 300 Drean WE SHIP ANYWHERE. WR ITE OR CALL FOR OUR PROMPT SERVICE - MOTORCYCLE S AlVAGE 835 W. FOOTHILL BLVD. AZUSA, CALIFORNIA PHONE: (213) 334-5912 ••••••••• Duane DePoe Duane DePoe Is the saies manager of the Ge ne Meyer'S Cycle Cen te r . " I beli eve the legislation cut our sales by about one third last year," he said. "Personally 1 don 't feel the laws are as bad as some people make them out to be . RIDGE RUNNER SBENEFIT In his second r ace aboard his 200 Bultaco, pass ing eve rywhere, fr om s ixth plac e to a s tunning win, followed cl os ely by Tom Madlem . In the 200cc Amateur class it was Bon McGuire aboard a 100cc Hodaka that took the big win . Ron completely dominated the 200 class, with some mighty fine r iding. He managed to swoop the rider s In both hi s heat race and the Main Event. The 250 Novice race had Its usual series of pil e -ups an d sp1l1s whic h ha ve made it one of the wildest and mo s t exci ti ng clas s es . The thi r d res tart foun d Montesa-moun ted Bob Bower s chargi ng out of the dus t of another tirs t turn disaster and holding his lead to the flnlsh. From the mess of confused rider s, seeking another black flag, two new Yamaha Enduros charged ahead to bring In second an d fourth place honors. Teenag e Expert Allan Kenyon took home first place trophies for Sonny Kenyon 's Bul taco In the 250 and 650 races, riding in one lap from last position t o vi ctory on his 360 Taco In the Open Main . The Ridge Runner s :'1.C. should be congratulated for the great job they dld of running things smoothly and on time . It Is hoped that the DeLaveaga Park area of Santa Cruz, will be s ch ed uling many mo re s uch races . (Res ults on page 20) DISTRICT 31 HARE SCRAMBLES CHAMPIONSHIP Is' JIM JACKLETT HODAKA For a first-hand demonstration of H O DAKABILITY,visit your dealer for a free test ride. --,....c o For ' .... dra le r ~ -- -:u nearest you ,w ri te: . -..,.... j'~. - '" THREE MILLION - Denny Den san Sto ry by Don I van Despite the attrac ti ons of some other schedule d r ac es in Nor the r n Ca lifornia , including the San J os e halt-mile on April 21, the Ridge Runners Club of Santa Cruz hos ted a fine turnou t fo r their benefit s crambl es. The cl ub, having one of the largest r oster s of acti ve competitive riders in the district, however, had voted the ms elves out of performing for their local fan s . Shunning their di s may, the mass of bl ue-ja ck eted Ridge Runn er s made eve r y e ffort to produce a fine progra m of r acing. The track was a halt- mile of na r r ow ti ght and sweeping tur ns with virtually no s t r aightaways, th r o ug h the hilly, wooded ter rain. Al though continual effor ts wer e made to condition the track, the stubborn s urface offered only hazardous mi xed tracti on which provided the s pllls an d a ction which draw the anxious spectators . Alth ough parti cipation was limited In the Amateur and Expe r t division, the Novice riders, e s p e c i all y the lightweights, created more than a dequate exc itement. Restarts were the order of the day, as the Main Events fo und a very menacing fi rst tur n. Aft er two blackflagged starts , due to first turn mi s haps, the 200cc Novi ce man pro vided a s pectacular show of local racing promis e . Sixteen-year-old Dormie Cowles, r idi ng ~ a, 00 <0 0> JOINTHECHAMPIONSHIP TRAIL Denny Is ex per t on BSA, Tr iu mph, Harley-Davidson an d the Japanes e bik es. He wor ked for two and one- halt years as a mechan ic In the ti r st Honda shop In the area. " Ji m Dunn als o helps me out In the s hop," Denny said. " Jim Is one of the best two- s troke tuners In thi s a r ea. Last year he went to Daytona on his own r ig, compl etel y s pons ored hi ms elf and ran the 7th fa s test novi ce time there. He was running tenth In the novice event when his alternator exploded and put him out . He has won the Junior Canadian National Road Race Cha mpi ons hi p ." r-, ~~ eo P.O. lOX 327 HOD\I\ \ HOD \" \ HOD.\"" HOll\" \ 1I0ll\" \ ATHENA, OUOOH 97813 HOIl \" \ HOll\" \ HOIl\" \ ~. e-, '" :::;; V) ~ ~ :2: ~ ..:l U ;:., U •