Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

.Iw.,. You'll "America's Only Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper" Pu blish er•••••Charles C. Claylo n E dit o ria l stor ir-s , c a rtoo ns . phot os , Busin es s Manage r••Sharon Clayton FIRST !'te . are wol corm-d an d will hp paid Circula tion Mgr•••Gaye Thomason In ' for upo n PUblicati on ( P \(" t' p t Pfl'SS Editor• • • • •• • • • • •• Carol Sims Cl..'ll'usl's an d - Vo iet '- lo t te rs .) AdAdvertisin g Mgr•••••• Tom Culp d rt'sst'd . stum ped en vr-Iom- asxu te s Photo Edi tor•• •• • Dennis Grepne n- tu rn, Lab Technldan•••• BIII Petu grew 6411 N Long Beadl Blvd. . Si ndt· (,O P.\ priC'~ • •• • • • • • • 2;)(' Bookkeeper •• • • , SUsan Whi telaw Long Beach. Calif. 50805 Subscri pun n: One vea r 2nd cla ss Receptlurus !•••••• • J udy nail ey Or: Box 458, Long Beach, Calif. '1ai l • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • S7. 50 Published weekly except th l' IIrst and las t w.,.'k or the calen da r ' par Phone: 423-0431 (SUbs c ri lw rs pteas e alto" thrt' t" by CNS Pub llahin z Co• . P ost Offi'cp (Area Code 213) "f' t'~S for a ddn's s (' ha n ~f1'.) Box ~9 8, Lona ~t'a ch. Calirornia . AdVt'rllsln..: m h ' s and ci rculation s econd Class From L.A, Phones: 636-8844 Beach. Calil . posta g« paid at Long i ntorma t i o n will tx- S t' u l up on req uest , ... II CHARLEY W ASA POET TRAIL RIDERS TAKE NOTE! Trall Machine Assoclatlons, they come and they go. Not long ago there was the American Motorized Sportsman, of which I became a member. Then there was the National Trall Riders Associa tion which I also joined as a member. I do not regr et having belonged to ei ther one beca use they did a lot for the trail mac hine r ider , while they lasted. Thes e two organizations brought about meetings betwee n the U.S. Forest Service and the trall machine enthusiasts , which crea ted better understanding and helped to salvage a lot of our publlc lands, for the tr all rider. In spite of all the good these organizations did, the motorcycle dealers, motorcycle and scooter clubs, and Indtvlduals , would not cr eate enough support to keep them In business. I ask you " Why?" Don't we give a hoot what becomes of our r ights to use publlc lands? Can't we spare a few dimes and dollars, now and then, to support an organi zation that Is going to help us to have a say In legislation, .wher eby decisions are made as to whether or not our publlc lands will be kept ope n to the type of r ecreation we choose ? We now have one more chance. An organization has been formed, known as California Trall Machine Association. They have been organized for se veral months and alr eady have lobbyis ts In sacramento. The objective of this organizati on Is to establlsh and main tain better understanding between members and the general publlc, private property owner s , Ci t y, County and Feder al officers . To endeavor to get mor e publlc land, available for the use of trail machines and to encour age the proper us e of thes e lands, publlc and pr ivate . Clubs or Individuals , wishing fur ther tnfor mation, please contact: C.W. (Chuck) Henry, President, Call!or nia Trail Machine Association, P.O . Box 1508, Bakersfield, canr. 93302 or [)Lve Beeso n, Treasurer, 100 W. Gettyburg, Fresno, canr, HERMAN R. DOKE Oak View, caur, CONGRATS TO SHAMROCKS I enjoyed your desertls sue very much. The article on the Shamrock' s Enduro was good also. How about an article som etime on Enduro timekeeping ? The time tape as used by the winner and other time methods would be very-interesting to us novice B type Enduro riders. Congra tulations to the Shamrocks for a fine run. The humorous signs along the trail were fun, too - a nice touch. BILL RUSSO san Diego, Call!. THANKS FROM STURTEVANT While reading thr ough the current May 23rd Issue of Cycle News I carne across the complimentary write-up on our Mechanic 's Award to Gary Nixon's mechanic , Cillf Guild of Tr iumph In Baltimore. We very much appreciate this, and you can be assured that It Is because of your thoughtful efforts that we can conti nue our support of the mechanics behind motorcycle racing. Yours truly, LEE A. STURTEVANT P .A. Sturtevant Co. Addiso n, Ill1nols CAUTION ADULTS AT PLAY TH EY LIKE JIM! Char ley was a poet one day a t Rus ty Nalls . He sat and pondered nature as rider s followed trails. He wondered how It happened, as you must well agr ee, That they who pass too fast may s ur e confront a tree . The young poet at Rus ty Nails thought, and truly found, That young men can find pleasant terr or, whils t cycle bound. But those old racing meetings sure were lots of fun With dust and heat, and sand and grease and you had paid to ru n. So Rusty Nails, Ilke Gearbox Fla ts, Is just a happy thought, But those races of long ago never could be boughtSo Charley's now a PUbllsher, we're glad he has that lot; Longfellow w1l1 be re membered, Clayton's ode; alas , 'tw1l be forgot . JOHN HEDIN Los Angeles, Cali f. I'm w-ritllll1: to express my husband' s and my appr eciation for your printing the picture of young Jim Einar sso n of Shelton, Washington In one of your recent publlcatlons. The photo was one taken by Vic Ebbutt, terr l!lc photographe r In this area, and s ubmitted with an artic le on Ji m and other r iders In the Paclflc Nor thwes t. We' re very proud of Jim, and pr edict gr eat things C him In the future . On his or Kawasaki 238, No. T- 21, he has chal ked up many 250 A Main scra mbles wins In this part of the country by distances so gr eat and with such ability It' s dl!f1cult to belleve he's only 17. Of course anyone who knows Jim 's father, big Jim , knows It IS possible because big J im , at 47, Is sti ll a pr etty fantastic r ider hims elf, Thank you again for putling this boy' s pictur e In your paper _ only one thing I'd Ilke to add. Fellows - hones tly _ we do NOT use fuel In any of our bikes, Ji m' s or our two " Hot Hodakas." Ver y truly yours, JEAN MUNDELL (MRS. VERNON) Custom Cycle Tacoma, W ash. CHERRY·PICKING TIME Dear Mr. Clayton: I call your attention again to the fact that your publlcatton has allowed an offensi ve terminology to appear In your Cycle News newspaper (May 23r d Issue : Page 31, sixth ad down from top In lett hand column). Evidently this matter I spoke to you about on the telephone did not Impr ess you sufficie ntly and either you shrugged It off as just a lot of nonsense or else you didn't Infor m your classified ad as to the matter. In either case, I ask you to s ta te your attitude to me so that I may properly eval uate the circumstances. If you decide to Ignor e the Issue by all owing the use of the term " Cherry" to appear In your future columns, then proper action will be taken against your publl catlon by Informing the community and trade Industry of the matter . The whole matter Is enti rely distress Ing especially when you yourself had an Immedia te av.. reness of the origin of the a term when I spoke to you on the telephone several months ago. I do hope that you w1l1 cooperate with this matter In a realistic way and for the betterment of our motorcycle Image. Your fr iend In Motorcycllng, BOB SCHWARTZ santa Monica, canr, 90403 (- An Inronnal poll or Cycle News employees, both male and remale , round DOne who rell Ihe wo rd ' cherry' to be orrens lve. What do olher readers Ihlnk?" ) taker THE TRUTH WI LL OUT Fr eedom of Pre s s does not give Cycle News Ilcense to twist the tru th and destroy c a r e f u11 y maintained reputations. , Ever since Peter Zenger's precedent setting trlal, the right to print one' s perceptions of events has been one of America's most cherished Ideals. We are told that two world wars and numerous poll ce actions occurred In order that these r ights be Insured. However, Cycle News does not have the right to distort and warp the truth week after week, Cycle News does not have the prlvllege to perpetrate atrocities against one's character. Continued I r res p 0 n s ib I e reporting cannot , and will not, be tolerated. Let It be said that Cycle News makes use or this dastardly practice. Therefore, I urge that you let ' the world know that I flnls hed fourth at Deadman' s Poi nt In the 250cc class on March 7, 1968, not for my benefit, but for the welfare and perpetuation of America and the truth. Sincerely your s , JOE Y SANDERS #813x Sherman Oaks, Call!. IT 'S HERE CYCLE NEWS fAST HOW COME IT COSTS MORE? ~ Maybe someone has beat me to the punch but ca n anyone explain the reason for the Increase In admiss ion at Ascot, s ince the purse Is only $2400? I have been a Friday night fan going back to the days of old Gar dena . I know the r iders corne out on the short end oC the s tic k with the guarantee that has been pos ted . I was all for the 40%they use d to get and always hoped they would get more . It s ur e Is funny that now they will race for a guarantee of $2400. All you have to do Is look at the Friday night fans that are si tting In the s tands and you can just about tell how many dollars carne thr ough that gate . I have to hand It to J .C. He sure knows how to sock It to them, not only to rider s but the paying fans also. I hope the prof es sional motor cycle race r s make mllllons - for thems elves , they des erve It - but not for the pr omoter . Maybe the paying publlc should boycott for what THEY used to have, the S2.50admlsslon. R.LYNN Buena Park, Cal . (Ex-Friday Night Fan) (" Don Basile, Program Director ror ,\I:ajani an Enterprises , s tates that ' You ca n' t go anyplace in the country and get a bette r show, better riders and a bette r prepared race track ror tile action Ihat is viewe d ilY the payin g public. ' This is Ihe £lrst rais e In a.misslon price In rour years and has to be Ihis way to ma intain purse s or the highe s t caliber, W e else her can you go and see a better show ror $3.50?' " ~~~"1ttJte~ By Barlara Adams Dahms LET ME BE ME! (Part II) Many motorcycle people believe that the mandatory apparel and safety gear laws are part of an ongoing hattle to eliminate the motorcycle. They may well be right. I have not found evidence or It In the C a lH o r n l a Legislature. Personally, I do not belleve that John F. Foran Is trying to ellmlnate the motorcycle . I'll credit him with being honestly concer ned about safety. I don' t feel lt Is his prerogative to make the decision but I belleve his motives are s ince re. However, there Is evidence fr om elsewhere that the laws are designed to be dis criminatory. In one state the author of a " helmet bill " said to me " What I am most often asked Is why'don't we abollsh motorcycles ...or at least the 11cens e to r ide them on the roads," In some states there has been talk of banning motorcycles Cram the C ee ways (of r all places, the freew ays , where the s afety record Is best). Certai nly ther e has always been an Idea among many people that the motor cycle should be removed C om the scene, r Many reasons have bee n advanced to explain this antag onism .••norse, trafflc hazard, troublemaker cycllsts, etc . What no one ever bla med was the condition of the times . In an er a In which no one should be " differ ent, " In which the grea test good for the gr ea tes t number was s uppos edly the pursuit oC material sec ur ity, what could be more of a threat than a cyclis t, r iding lone and free against the wind, needing only his mac hine and his s k1ll to taste the joy or living. To those who had exchanged the joy of living for the grindstone of "succe ss" he . was an acute dls comtort...somethlng not' to be tolerated.. .C he ques tioned the or vai ue of the exchange . Cyclists met this antagoni sm moreor - less In three ways. Some of them took their cycles and got out. They went out 10 the desert and the hill s . They ran their wide-open pipes where no one could complain about the noise. They put the ir cycle s Into trucks and haule d them for mil es so they could r ide wher e the ma jor ity wouldn' t be distur bed by their freedom . But the major Ity was not ea s ily avoided . They too went out to get away from eac h other and they wanted no motorcycles to mar the solltude, The dir t r iders found more and mor e places close to them , There are thousands of squar e miles oC dese rt and mountains and the rider could al ways find some plac e everyone els e had overlooked (but he often didn' t have enough time left to r ide when he found It) and still the hostillty pur s ued him. Some cyclists tried to become " acceptable ." Th ey tr ied to be super goodcltlzens ••.neat, clean, or der ly. They r ode beautifully appointed super-bikes which had pr etty good odds In a jous t with an automobile. They organized clubs which made a genuine effor t to promote the values of the ma jor ity. They tried to peacefully co-exist with the majo rity and to prove that cycli sts were really " good guys " (but how do you show a majo rity s tuck In long lines of freeway traffic that you're a good guy when you have the ' fr eedom to go wher e they can't go and do what they can't do?) The ma jor ity wouldn't buy It. A motor cycle r ider was after all a motorcycl e r ider . Some even tr ied to imi tate the appearance of the authority s ymbol , looking at times more like the police than the pollce them selves, only to find that the majo rity' s love for the authority symbol really mas ked hostlll ty• Victim s of the Intolerance of the "witch-hun t era," they cyclis ts fell Into the same patt er n. They blamed the other cyclls ts C their unpopularity. They who or should have understood became as Intoler ant of each other as the ma jority was of all of them, Desperately In need of unity for bas ic survival they developed r ifts of enormous pr opor tions which made any sort of group defens e Imposs ible. Some chose to llve up to the Image. Far from disappearing or blen ding they rode Into the fray with the most unique cycles that time, money, and Imagalnation could create. They wor e the Insignia of their rebellion on their backs and said to the world "Here we are l Hate us, " It was an age Cor scapegoats and they were the most obllglng scapegoats. They were hated In the press , In the films, In the laws. They were hated by the majority and by the other cyclists. But a curious thing was happening. They had chos en the same direction the world was about to turn. After years of .belng harassed almost out of exis tence they found themselves In the mainstream of the new national mood. Probably more to their surprise than anyone else's they found themselves In a new situation of respect and lnfiuence . The legend remained out of all proportion to the fa cts but no one car ed . It was the kind of legend the new mood needed•••the Sher l!f of Nottingham Is challenged In the name of personal guts . Meanwhile , so meone had built a Ilttle Inexpensi ve motor cycl e . (To Be Conti nued) ., .. •

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