Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

.... ~ .Iw.,. You'll Q" - Americl's Only Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper- ... II FIRST • 18 ' ClQ se C'l .... .... ClQ 6471 N. Long Beach Blvd. Long Beach, Calif. !IlIB05 Or: BOI 498, Long Beach, Cali f. Phone: 423-0431 (Area Code 213) From L.A. Phones: 636-8844 PONDEROSA PROBLEM COMPRESSION RELEASE DEBATE In re sponse to the r ecent AMA r uling against compres sio n r eleases , we beli eve that this explanation will show that the compression release puts a twocycle engine on an equal basis with a four -cycle engine when dece lerating. When an engine Is dece lerating 1\ is absorbing energy rather than producing. In both a four -cycle and a two-cycle engine friction Is ai ways abs or bing energy• However, during deceleration much mor e energy is absorbed by the "pumping" of air In and out of the combustion chamber. During the compression s troke a gr ea t deai of energy Is absorbed to compress the ai r in the cyli nder, but after the piston starts down on the power stroke, this pr essure the n returns most of the energy to the system by pushing the piston down again . In a two-cycle engine this Is repeated over and over . Ina four cycle the next s troke (exhaust) the air In the cyli nder Is pumped out the exhaus t valv e at the expens e of energy and during the Intake stroke mor e energy is expended to draw air back Into the cylind er . When a compr ession r elease Is used In a two- stroke, this same pumping ac tion takes place. As the piston goes up It absorbs energy to pump ai r out the release and s ince most of the air bas been for ced out of the combusti on cham ber the system must expend more energy to draw air In during its downward stroke. Another problem with a decelerating two-cycle Is that 1\ doesn 't completely stop fir ing when the throtlle is closed.A four- cycle stops clean but a two-cycle produces the fam iliar " r lng- a- ding" sound of erratic firing. This comes about because the fuel that is cl1ng1ng to the surfaces of the induction tract Is vaporized by engine heat, then enters the combustion chamber where 1\ Is Ignited. It occurs In both two- and four-cycle engines but the reason the effect is ' not as noticeable in a four-cycle is that the surfaces Include only the Intake port, the manifold and a portion of the carburetor throat, whereas In a two-cycJe In add1t1on to the carburetor throat and manifold, the total surface area of the Induction tract includes the surfaces of the Interior of the crankcase, the connecting rod , the crankshaft, the underside of the piston, the lower portion of the cylinder wail and the transfer ports. So there is much more residual fuel fed to a two-cycle after the throtlle Is closed than there Is a four-cycle. The compr es sion release nullities the effec t of this r esidual fuel by preventing compr es s ion and Its subsequent Ignition and by allowing the fuel to es cape the sy stem unburnt, Since the compr es sion r elease Is a definite safety featur e in all types of competition, outlawing of this device will create a hazard for r iders of Short track racing; Approxima tely 75% of all short track racers ride a two-cycle mac hine. This r uling Is not only dangerous but could possibly kill the spor t. RAYABRAMS A & A Manufacturing Redwood City, Calitornia I COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT ALONE Thanks to all the guys whohelped Gary Bailey'S wite load up their truck at Elsinor e Saturday night. The ass istance was really appreciated. Thanks again. I wish to call your attention to a change for the worse at the Ponderosa Races. 1s t: Cheap trophies; second place receives the same trophy as 20th place winner. 2nd: The fun of Trophy Presentation Is no more. Trophies ar en' t presented anymor e. You go ask for your s anytime. 3rd: The results are old news by the time they're sen t In. Ple nty feel as I do, maybe he' ll take the hint ane' -hange back to the better. UNHAPPY RACER Los Angeles, Calit. A CITIZEN SPEAKS As the neares t resident of the proposed Huntington Beach Motorcycle Park I was sent notice to attend the Planning Commission meeting June 18. 1 was neither for nor against the venture and my knowledge of the sport was limited. Mr . Ron Sloan did a magnl!icent job as spokesman. Also Mike Capalite and several others whose names I did not get were very Impr essive In expla1n1ng their case, and Ji m Boaz and other members of the Calitornia Rainbo ws put In a sharp appearance In uniform . I was so impressed with the cycle gr oup that I now am In favor of the Park and motorcycling as a whole. J .P . SNOW Huntington Beach, Cal. (" And we're impres se d hy your openminm ess , Mr. Snow. W ish there were mor e of y ou! -) I NEED MY SCREWDRIVER Thanks to a San Gabriel r lder - sorry, 1 don't know your name - for the use of your Jeep and Hodaka on the Stardust 7-11 run, in retrieving Jack Morgan. However, In the proc es s I left a twofoot screwdriver (Yellow handie), no kidding , and a blue cheater bar In your Jeep, and knowing Hodakas won't run without this equipment, please return to either Jack Morgan, Gary Bailey or myself. Thanks again. E.C. BIRT (213) 370-9978 Hawthorne, Cal . AMERICAN MOTO -CROSS TEAM IN WEST GERMANY... Publisher•••••Charle s C. CIlQ 'ton Business Manager••Sharon Clayton Circulation Mgr•••Gaye Thomason Editor• •• •• • •• •••• Carol Sims Advertising Mgr••••• • Tom Culp Photo Editor• • •• • Dennis Greene Lah'Techolcian• • ••BlII Pettigrew Bookkeeper•• •• • Susan ~bitelaw Receptionist. •• •••• Jud y BaUey P ublis hed weekly except the first and last week of the cal endar year by C&S P ubli shi ng Co.. P ost Offic e Box 498. Long Beach. California . Second Class postage paid at Long Beach. Calif. r ealize how fierce the completion was on a Grand Prix circutt, until he went to Europe. His own words, "Nobody hack home would believe me when I tell them how tough It really ts over her e." The first race these two boys ente red In Southern Belg1um was a hilly circuit. Shortly beotre the race It started to rain. By r ace time, the course was ver y s li pper y. As Thomas (of Colorado) says, "It was so s lippery we could hardiy make the circuits . Some hills we could not get UP. The Europe an fans looked at us as it s omething was wrong and wondered what sort of amateurs were these." Of course these boys are not used to mud; In fact they had never ridden on a muddy course. Torsten Hallman stepped up to thler defense and told their pr omote rs, " af ter all, these boys are used to Southern Calitornia and you mus t make an exception.' ' Many promoters attended this first race and were extremely Interested In the Americans and said "We' ll wait until next week and s ee how they do when its not so muddy. Then we will make up our minds whether to hirethem Inthe future ." In a la ter race, BIlly was able after a good s tart to hold 2nd spot until his rear chain became dis engaged . William Thomas, the week before, had managed to finish a 13th In a National race. He was extremely happy and well pleased with his efforts. He said, "I even have a fan club now." They both are taking their work very seriously and say after working on your machlnes all week and practicing, there Is very litlle time let t for play . In tact, nei ther one of them has had time to go out on a date. Edi torial s tori es. ca rtoons . photos, etc . are welcomed a nd will be paid for upon publi cation (e xcep t pres s rel eas es and "Voi ce" Ietters.) Address ed, s tamped envelope as sur es return• Single copy price • • • • • • • • • • 25¢ Subscription: One year 2nd class Mail ••• •••••• •••••• •• $7.50 Adve rtising rates and circulation Information will be sent upon reques t. ~~~ By Barbara Adams Dahms It Is doubtful that any government ever put mor e fai th In the act of prohibition with'as litlle justification as the government of the United States . The first r esponse to the awarenes s tha t something i s wrong is to r egulate and then to prohibit, Althoug h all evidence Indicates that no government can really prohib1\the things Its ci tizens want to do and although the r esult of prohibition is generally an increase In the prohibited actlvity.. .accompanied by an Incr ease In poli ee, arres ts , court hearings , prison population, etc ., the lawmakers go on trying to solve problems by pr ohibition. Enforcement d1!ficulties tend to be pr opor tional to the number and enthusiasm of the people affected but there are also indica tions that pro h I b it I on s , like flres torms, generate thei r own cli mate. Atter pr ohibition occurs countles s people who wer e pr eviously unconcerned seem to becom e fas cinated . "u 1\'s prohibited it bas to be good." It Didn' t Work Two collosal failu res come to mind. Halt a century ago a consti tutional amendment known as the Volstead Act attempted to prohibit the use of al coholic beverage s in the U.S. and succeeded only in popularizing liquor , creating a nati on of Imbiber s and a giant s yndicate to supply their Illegal needs . Throughout the probi tlon era li quor of som e sor t was available for a price . A few years later the same thing was tried with narcotic drugs. First they were regulated with the Harrison Act , a tax act. A few years later certaln drugs were prohibited. Yearly other drugs were added to the list. When this prohibition was obviously unsuccessful penalties were Increased until some lawmakers suggested the possession of a stick of pot should be a capital offense . TodaY there are more illegal drugs and more illegal drug users than at any time In history. No one knows how many because when an activity is illegal there 15 no provision for measuring it. Estimates are that over halt our population are sometime users of lllegal drugs. (Officials say marijuana use bas increased 1600% since penalties were so severely increased ten years ago, with other drug use Increasing proportionally.) INSURANCE GROUPS FORM "C.I.A." Sever al well-known ins ur ance companies and agencies have for med a nonprofit corporation maInly for the elimination of motorcycle thefts. Called Cycle Insurers Association (C.I.A .) the group is comprised of the Elite Insurance co., John Maynard Insurance Agency, Universai Underwriters Insurance Co. and the Glen Wagner Insurance Agency. Quite a few reward checks have been Iss ued for the recovery of stolen motorcycles or for lntormation leading to arrest and conviction of the thieves. In the photo, John Maynard, president of the C.I.A., delivers a check to Floyd Burk, Corona, Calit. Honda and Triumph dealer. The check will be passed on to a l2-year-old client of Burks' who was Instrumental in the recovery of two stolen Triumphs from Floyd' s s hop. The bikes were stolen during the night by br eaking and entering. So professional were the culprits that they managed to r emove the el ectrical switches fro m the bur glar alarm without setting It oU . Bur k bas not Ins talled magnetic switches and the s ystem Is directly connected to the Cor ona, canr, police station. Such active intere s t In pre venting and reducing bike thefts Is certainly commendable, and the C.I.A . Is to be congratulated for Its civic- minded spir it. What Next? American Bill Silverthorn here leads Belglum's Joel Robert In European competition. Americans Bill Sil ver thorn and Wllllam Thomas looked good In the recent West German Moto- Cross. Att er nearly a month In Eur ope of r iding each weekend In one to two races , they have become acquainted with the Eur opean way of doing things, They looked extremely profes sional and like they belonged with the Circus . Billy said his mos t ditticult job was try1ng to learn to r ide for 45 minutes at • '9.- time without tiring. He'Said he- didnlt Insurance man John Maynard (ri ght) gives check to dealer Floyd Burk from C.I .A. for , .lItsentatlon,. III , 12.-r.~l d er].. e tighter• 10 . Still we think In terms of prohibition. The recent rash of political assasinations...Presldent and Senator Kennedy, Dr. King, Lincoln Rockwell, Medgar Evers and Malcolm X, has burst upon the national awareness as though this sort of thing never happened before. Probably it is Indicative of a national mood of unr est thai bas a r eal message for our lawmakers. But they're not getting the message. The cry is raised In panic, rage and fear and the cry Is for prohibltlon...r egula tion and prohibltlon. "u we p r o hibi t guns maybe people won't want to kill. U we pr ohibit guns maybe all the unrest will disap pear. Maybe this time guns won't become the most prized objects In the country , passed secretly for gr eat amo unts of money. Maybe this tim e there won't bea vast corporation to s upply the illegal needs . Maybe people Who never owned a gun before won' t want to buy a contraband gun just because it Is ill egal . Maybe this time will be ditter ent." It's not likely but the fam iliar route Is comfortable. And what about the philosophy of solution by pr ohibition? What about the next step? What shall we prohibit tomorrow? After a few unexpected events what (or who) will the nation be .'sater " without?' Motor cycle people have heard the words regulate and pr ohibit connected with the word motorcycle often enough to be concer ned.

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