Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

"" "" so MEET THE RAC R E .. 'l.> 0... 00 so .... '" 0;.... ... 'l.> .Q e: ~ Q. 'l.> V) V) ~ __ :c: , t.:l t.:l ...:J U ;:.., U Alex Chi nowskl ALEX CHINOWSKI - PROFILE OF AN UP-AND-COMING RACER By T homa s D . Austin Alex Chinowski doesn' t look li ke a guy who fronts the field In fla ttrack or makes spectacular jumps In T.To's . He Is a quiet, al mos t shy young man with clear blue eye s and a shock of unruly blonde hair. But appearances, as the saying goes, are deceiving - this soft- spoken nlneteen- year-o ld Is one of the hottest new talents in r aci ng. . Though Alex began racing just over a year ago, he has been interested in motorcycles si nce he bought his first bike at the age of fiftee n. He Immediately put the bike ' to wor k on his paper route. "Sometimes," Alex gr ins. HI'd want to ride faster than I could toss papers. I got to where I looked for ward to doing my route just for a chance to see If 1 could learn to toss as fast as I rode." Alex's first bike was more than a convenience for his paper route. He began tinkering with It, learning how to make his own r epairs. He confessed to being alm ost happy when something went wrong because it gave him a chance to exper iment. Even before graduating fr om high sch ool, he parlayed that knowledge Into a part time job for a local Honda deal er . After graduation , Alex became a lull time mechanic at the same dealer ship . His employer Introduced him to raeing , Alex started attending as a spectator and quickly decided he wanted to tr y racing himself. He was an apt pupil, prac tic ing night and .day to lear n the " tricks of the trade." He entered his fir st race on one of the shop's r ental bikes - a Honda 50. "I didn' t do very well," he says with a modest chuckle. Despite his undistinguished showing in that !1r s t competition , It was like an open sesame to Alex Chinows kl. "I liked the competition, the feeling that you had to be on the alert every second. I guess I also liked being able to go as fast as I could without wor rying about getting a ' ticket." Alex began to enter everywhere he could qUalifY. He now races regularly at Ascot Park, and has been entered In other competitions allover Califor nia. As lifetime reminder s of last year when he was In the sportsman classification, he has accumulated some forty trophies for his wins . "The trophies, " he grinned, "ar e scattered all over Ventura County. I have some at home, my girlfriend has some , my grandmother has so me. " But Alex (whose last name , though ac tually spelled Chr zanows ki, has been QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS • * By The Answer Man ANSWER: QUESTION: Wh at i s meant by degreein g a cam i n? J .H. -Los Angeles, Calif. Cams a re designed to op en a nd clos e va lv es at s pe cific pe riods of a pis ton' s trav e l. For e xa mple if an i ntake cams timing figur es a s 50-60 .It means that th e ca m is s upposed to begin opening a n i ntake valve at 50 degrees before to p dead center a nd close it at 60 degrees af te r TOC . Tools requi red fo r this timi ng ar e : One ' degree wheel a nd a dial indicator ca libra ted in tho usands of a n inc h trav el. 'Vi rt ually every e ngine is ti med basically in the same method but ea ch ha s its own pe culia ritie s . I suggest yo u obtain a s hop manual that pe rtains to yo ur particula r make a nd model. CHOWCHILLA SC RAMBL ES - AUGUST 17, 19 68 100 AM/E X. C LASS 1st GREG GROWLEFF - M/B 2nd G Y MAULD EN - M/B AR M B SPORTCYCLES ' 311 E, ALEXANDER AVE., TACOMA, WASHINGTON 984 2 1 shortened by the pr es s to the mor e pr onounceable Chinowskl), Isn't a man to rest on his laurels. His Amateur class year has been pr ogr essing nicely, with s everal MaIn Event wins at Ascot, mounted on a Honda 450 and later on BSA. In spite of his already Impressive trophy collection, Alex s till considers his' first win as his pr oudest moment to date. " I took the Trl- State Champions hip at Bakersfield. I' d had the thrill of r acing, but the thrill of that first win was l1ke nothing else . That was befor e I'd ever raced at Asc ot." Alex's first races were entered Independentl y. He now has sponsorship, and does n't mind a bit. "I like being spon . sored," he say s. "I don' t have to worry about gettIng my bike to the track." He uses a BSA Gold Star for flattrack and switches to Triumph for TT' s . On both he per for ms well, attesting to his allaround abili ty. Having a sponsor and a respectable win record has changed Alex's atti tude towar d r acing . "I take racing more seriously than I used to. When I started, It was kind of a hobby - lots orrun and that was about It. Now, I fee l a r esponsibili ty to my spons or , and a r esponsi bili ty to the spor t of racing as a whole." Alex's racing s uccesses have made him something of a local a uthority on the subject. Young, would-be r acers dr op by the Honda shop to ply Alex with 'ques tions about the sport. " I' m just a ~in ner myself," he says. " I don'UeeJqualiWed to give anyone advice. The only thing I try to do Is tell people how much I enjoy racing, and that you have to work • • at It to be good." And ,Alex does work at It. He adjusts his personal life to allow for plenty of practice . "There are times," he grins. " when I' d like to go put or maybe just loaf around the house Instead of working on my bike or practicing. But most of the time , I'd ' rather r ide than anything. I thin k that to become a r eally good racer, I have to give it my full attention . I don't have time for many activities outside of my regular job and racing." Alex doesn 't consider restricting his QUESTION: I have a Yamaha YDS2 that seems to be running too rich . What is the standard main size? D.B. - Buena Park, Calif• ANSWER : Ya mah a recomm ends a #8 0 main jet an d #25 pilot j et. QUESTION: I wrote to you sometime ago about the Patilla motorcycl e and have sin ce bought one. It is in pretty good shape but may soon need overhauling. If I a ttempt this I will need specifications, do you have these avai l abl e? Wallen San Gabriel, Calif. ANSWER: .As I re me mber , you r P a dUa i s the 25 0cc mode l and i ts specs. lire: .00,45 piston c le ar ance , .0 12- ring ga p . Sta ndard bore is 2. 677 .inc hes . Igni tion poin t should be at 52 de gree s B.T .n.C . 'Valve timin g .is ; Inta ke ope ns at 50 de gre e s B .T.n.C . a nd closes at 80 de grees a fte r B .O.C. E xhaus t valve opens a t 80 degrce si berore B .O'.C . and c loses at 50 degrees afte r T .o.c. QUESTION: I am ha vi ng a problem that no one seems able to solve. My 305 Honda burns up poin t s every two or thre e days. I took it io a deal et and the condenser has been changed twice but the probl em is still there. Do you have any ideas on what could be wrong? J.S. - Portland, Ore. ANSWER: One ca us e that may ha ve be en ove rloo ked .is co rro s ive . dirty or othe rw is e bad connecti ons at the bat tery , If the s e contac t s a re bad the a lt ernators f ull load may be thr own to the co ils , th us the points a nd poo f , no points! QUESTION: I have a Triu mph TR6 that I overhaul ed twice. Each time .I have had the cyli nder honed to recei ve new rin gs and now the piston is getting pretty loose . I don't want to go oversize on the pi ston until it's absolutely necessary. What do yo u thi nk is the maximum clearance I should have? T. R. L awndal e, Calif. ANSWER: .0 08 is the absolute lim it. Even at t hat clearance you will run into problems of com pression los s a nd oil cons umption . P ossibly beca use of " bl ow-by" yo u may break the rin gs a nd s uff er pi s t on failur e that co uld cause a lot more tro ubl e than a s imple one s te p re bore j ob. outside activities as a sacrifice. " It' s all In what you want to do- what you like to do, " he says. " Ther e's not enough tim e In anybodys life to do everything, so that means you have to choos e what you want to do and then do it the best you can." Alex Chinows ki has made his choice. His ambition In life is to become the best motorcycle racer he possibly can , and perhaps later to s tart racing cars. "I' ve al r eady s tarted mes s ing around with my old For d," he says . " Sometimes a gr oup of us go out to the river bottom and have r aces. Eventually, I'd l1ke to race both bikes and cars ." Alex feels lucky to have discovered his true Interests early In life . " That gives me more tim e to do something with It," he says. " I think my folks want me to go to college, but I can' t ImagIne s tudying for a few yea r s and then settlin g down to a quiet, routine life. 'When I quit racing eventually , I still want to work around blkes- maybe have my own shop." Though he Is highly amb itious, Alex Is r ealis tic In his attitudes towar d racing and his own par t in It. "Raci ng Isn't everything In life ," he says. " I don't think everybod y I know should be Inter . ested in hearing the details of the la test competition. The only point of liVing Is makin g your life count - doing something that really matte r s to you, whether or not It matters to anyone els e. People get hung up on different things - they try something once and It cl1cks with them and they want to keep on trying. That's the way It was for me when I started racing. It's all In doing what you like and I like wheels ." "I like wheels ," su ms It up for Alex . At an age when most young men are go~ng to college, wondering what they really want, or working at the fir s t job that happened to come along, Alex has alr eady begun to shape an exciting career. lf dedication and determination mean anything, Alex Chinowski Is a young racer well worth watching . NEW CRAGAR GOGGLES Three new goggles have been added to the gr owing Cr agar safety helmet acces s ory l1ne. The Cragar Goggle #60070 Is a profess ional- type featuring wide vision. Soft sponge rub ber over high quality natural rubber trame, Insures comfortable, pos iti ve fit to face, and des ign ac comm odates eyeglasses. Interchangeable lens, vented, with adjustable non- slip elastic strap. The Cr agar Extra- Deep Goggle#6oo80 wraps around face, permitting maximum visibility. Has all features of abovementi oned goggle except provision for eyeglasses. Strap Is worn under helmet with this model. The Cragar Economy Goggle #60090 affords 100% vision without distortion. Ventilated with adjustable strap. Inexpensive and replaceable protection . Models 60070 and 60080 li st for $3.50 each. Repla cement lens In clear, green or yell ow are 50~ each. The Economy Goggle Is available In clear (#60090) or smoke green (#60091) and lists for $1.60 at motorcycle or speed shops, tire dealer or auto parts store. 160080

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