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/125564
... "" FIRST DISTRICT 31 A.M.A• MOTO-CROSS ~tory a nd Photos by Mauree n Lee ~ You might say thatit was a shake0> ... down cruise. the mow-cross the An~ telope Ramblers threw at Saddleback ~ Park Sunday, June 9 but for a shake.=; down, it ran very smoothly. District up with = astill new to37 bas come and this year been ' moto-cross division everything Is ~ everyone unless they 've CI:l Col ...:l U G riding mota-cross sponsored by other organizations. Biggest disappointment the Ramblers had was the low pre-entry and the fact that riders just haven'tbeen applying for moto-cross numbers. These cost $4.00 and as Dave Lewis the motocross steward explalned It was obvious that a lot of riders didn't want to come up with the $4.00 with only four motocrosses scheduled on the 1968 calendar. So purely as an experiment and to get the project going, this event allowed all riders to enter regarcl1ess of what competition card they held. So everyone who wished to got to ride but only those with moto-cross competition cards received any points towards their next year's number ; however this does not set a precedent. It was to get the moto-cross division going. Start or Open Expert cl ass evenls with winner Chuck " Feels" Ml nert alr eady gaining ground ( center roreground) on his BSA.Fl rst AMA Di stric t 37 moto-cro.. event at Saddleback Park was a smooth-r unning success. Wal lin' In the 100CC Novice department was Bi ll Gome n and his L oblto. Trlumph-mounted John Hateley, who romped away wi th the Open Novic e cl ass In great shape. We'll say again the Ramblers put on one heck of a good race. Rounds were started ott promptly, riders drawing for starting position on each round from a carton of numbered ping pong balls. Watching most of them pop them in their mouths for the ride to the starting Une we couldn't wonder what would have happened it one had hit a bump••.and ••• ooPs••.gulpl YAMAHA meet tire ex ci t er s AT HAR RY 'f OSTER M/C Complete Line full warranty on parts & la bor on all model s EXPERT SE RVIC E Parts & Accessories We can handle all you r machine shop needs Open 9:00-6:3Q daily 9:00-9:00 on Thurs . Closed Sun. & Mon. 10425 S. VERMONT 3 blocks off the Harbor Fwy. 754 -2811 As most people probably know by now the old moto- cr os s course atSadcl1eback laid out by Joel Robert is closed downto keep the neighbors happy. They are a long way away but when one thr ows motorcycle events one learns to walk a tightrope! The new course Is good. It's long, about a mlle and 3/lOths and the only gripe we heard was that there was too much ott-camber stut!. There was quite a bit of It but then moto-cross was never intended to be a TT scrambles I We also griped a bit about the dust ourselves and had to forego taking pictures on s ome sections for fear of getting Just too much dirt in the old Pentax...but•••thls wl1l all be changed and we heard one rumor and we Uke to think it's true that sprinklers will be put in to take care of that problem. No watering truck could make It around and that ' s the way It should be. The starting Une takes you straight up a big wide h1ll with ample opportunity to Dave Aldana (115) and Ti m Hart (22x) determined ly maki ng It through the mudhole. get sorted out from your fellow riders before hitting the !irst turn. Spectators can see just about the whole course part of it runs along a crest. incidentally, the spectator area Is quite a way ott from the pits which keeps the racers happy with not too many unknown people around all the time while the spectators themselves can still see everything that's going on. The new course Is not s o balry as the old, but It's a goodyl as The Day's Raci ng The activities started with the 100 Novices and it was Tom Rapp's day. LOOK MA/ NO - NNERTUBES ' For the mst time in the 60- year history of the spor t, tubeless tires were used successfully as Roger Reiman of Kankakee, m., drove his Harley-Davidson to a record qual1tYlng speed and competed in the 27th annual Daytona Classic for Expert division riders. Mike Babich, distribution manager for Goodyear's racing division, said the use of motor cycle racing tires without tubes was not pr eviously disc losed by Reiman or Goodyear for competitive reasons, but was now being announced due to published repor ts of the achievement. He cautioned, however, that the technique should not be attempted by noncompetitive riders for street use . ThIs is because it involves a precise method for sealing the 40 spoke holes In the rims , and the process r emai ns in the experlmenl:a1 stage. ~ : Shell Thuet • ~ GUy Louis : SHELL MOTORS ; HODAKA • :~~~ .c.~~ ~.Bl~d; ;.L~~~~2 ;N.8;i8~i " •• Babich explalned that Reiman Invented the Idea of eUmlnating the tubes in his Blue Streak Motor Racer tires and approac hed Goodyear with the proposal . The company worked closely with him on the project. Tubes are used in motorcycle tires, both r acing and street types , to r etai n inflation pre s su re without atr le~e thr ough the spoke holes In the rim of the spoked wheels on the two-wheelers. Air Iaakage could r esult in the tire' s los ing its grip on the rim, sudden complete deflation, or less of positive trac tion and control. Babich said Reiman realized two dis tinct advantages by not using tubes: eUmlnation of about eight pounds of unsprung weight, and improved bancl11ng by reducing the centritugal forces transmitted to the motorcycle by the spinning wheels . The success of Reiman'S experiment, Babich said, was refiected In his record 149.080 mph qualitylng performance, 2-1 /2 mph taster than the second-fastes t rider and nearly 9 mph faster than the 140,230 mph record set a year ago by Fred Nix. Rapp built up really good leads over the res t of the troops on his Hodaka but he wasn't without competition who were sorting thems elves out behind him. I:6nnle Hockle (Hodaka) was in second for a while and then sutfered back luck in one round; Bl1l Gamen (Lobl to) and wearlni ' a Crowe ll jumper also had second for! while but both he and Hockle lost that s econd to Walt Bird on a Hodaka. After wlnnlng the three rounds Rapp wenton to do 'em in In the Ughtwelght sweep. The 100 Amat eur-Expert win was Claude Henderson (Hodaka) and he was another one to build up some fantastic in the race itself, Reiman led or was amon g the front-runners untll a broker. 011 Une forced him to retire. HIs tubeles s Goodyear tires performed faultles s ly. ••••••••••••••• NEXT WEEK: "NATIONAL DRAG MEET" at Bristol Tenn. •••••••••••••••