Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

tors " by expulsio n. If a rider wis hes to ra ce in events sancti on ed b~ othe r ass ociations he sh ould not be de prive d of his AMA s ta tus . The rule VIOlates th e law of s everal s ta te s and in no way contri butes to the be tt ermen t of the AMA. 2. Close The Displacement Gap. E xperience ha s 's how,n th~t .the ru le allowin g 750 cc s i dev a lve e ngines to compe te agains t OHVen gm es Iimite d to 500c c i s not fair or ne ces sary . It de pri ves the s port of man y s upporters a nd e mba rrasses us a ll when we tr,y to j ustify it to outside rs . It forc es the nonHarley-Davi dson ri ders to spend great s ums of money to mak e a dwi nd li ng s upply of 500 c c eq ui pment competi tive a nd loc ks out tra de s upport fo r brands a nd models tba t a re no longer on tbe market. It violates the fundamental AMA p rin c ip le that Clas s C ra cin g equi pme nt should re s e mble the kind of motorcycles that a custome r can buy . 3. Win On The Road. Th e M IA is in c ompetition with the outlaw elemen ts for road rid er s ' loya lti es an d I'm afra id that right now the other side is wi nning . Est ima t e s a re t ba t the tra di tio na l 1% of mea nly-d isposed roa d riders ha s ri se n la tely to 15 or 20'7'< • .At this rate the proli fi c Hells An ge ls imitators wi ll s oo n outnumber tbe re sp ectable motorcycle ri ders. In some big cities this may already ha ve happened , What new indi gnitie s wi ll motorcy clin g ha ve to suff er before this t rend is re vers ed ? Th e a vera ge ri der nee ds to bave a bette r ch oice than he ha s now . If we fail to a ttrac t him to our s ide with clean fun an d lawful re spec t , we wi ll lose hi m to the dismal allure of mob power a nd defi anc e of the law . The AMA s hould adopt a more pos iti ve attitude toward defe a tin g repre s s ive la ws withou t compromising and wi thout res ortin g to the cou rts vThe la te nt power of the AMA road c lubs must be unleash ed by giv ing them more encoura geme nt to do wha t they do best - organize a cti vit i es , speak up for motorcy cling, aid worthy ca uses like ri der tra i ni ng and safety d emons tra tio ns that adva nc e motorcycl tn g, 4. Join MICUS. The fi na l point wou ld be the mos t con trov e rs ial a nd difficult to a c c ept. It i s a fact, howe ver, tha t Ame ri ca ha s no choice but to follo w t he pr oc edure se t by tbe FIM if we eve r wa nt to ha ve t rue i n te rn at io na l ra c in g i n this country . The ,F IM could no more a bandon MICUS and deal di rectly with th e AMA tban tbe U.S. gove rnme nt co u ld abandon the Vi etn a me s e . Th ere will always be a MICUS. j ust a s there will alwa ys be a n .AMA. Affi li a tion with the FIM thr ough MICUS would not affect the AMA' s do mes ti c polic i es in a ny way and the .M lA wou ld gain much by the services of MICUS owne r W s Coo ley e a nd t be th ree or fo ur othe r fulltime moto rcyc le e nthusiasts Who ma ke UpMIC US. .AMA has already ex pressed willin gne s s to abide by every ot her ,F 11I1 req uire me nt. It is ti me to take the fi na l step now, and s h ow the wo rl d tha t we a re no t a fra i d to rac e the m. A If th is fi rst Compe titi on Co ngress of the ,AM can le a ve motorc yc lin g w itb any legacy that will li ve in th e hearts of mo torcy cle histori an s, it .wou ld b e to thro w out the musty old prejudic e s a nd set a prec eden t fo r fair a nd fearless ren ova ti on of the ru le book. W offer ou r pa ges fo r ins tant comm unication of debate on these and e othe r matters of . pub li c inte rest a cr os s the nati on . (NOT ~ : .E very announced Compe tition Con gres s d ele ga te rec ei ve s a free copy of this Is sue .) comes mos tly through compromises. " I would just s tate generally that the status QUO, in regards to motorcycle legislation In so me areas Is fine, " he explains. " But from time to time there 'a r e pro ble ms;" WIth a s mil e, Bagnall recalls a pr oposa l which was made se ver al years ago In Iowa which would have r equir ed all motorcycles to have a six toot high pole, with a r evolving li ght at the top, to be mounted on each machine . "One al ert manufactur er even made up se veral prototypes to ge t In on the band wagon" he chuckled, " But the la w never went through." " This Is an example of so me of the radical thinkin,g" Bagnall says. " Naturally, as tar as laws go, if we can make the motorcycli st better seen by the motori s t , and make him a better r ider, then we're going to achieve all these th ngs ," be stres s ed) "and compnisory..hel met wearing won't be nec es sary." " It we can just make the man a better motorcyclist, we've won three-quarters of the battle right there ." On the subjec t of hel mets, Bagnall becom es a hit exci ted. " Ther e Is absolutely a need for wearIng a helmet," he says, " It gives you Meet the AMA President " Bill Bagnall By R.W. sanders In 1947 B1ll Bagnall was just back from two years of service with the Army in the Pacl!1c, but he was already starting on his way to the presidency of the American MotorcycleAssociatlon(AMA) in 1968. A youthful 42, he Is the seventhpresldent In the AMA's 44-year history, and the flrstpresidenttolive west of Chicago. In addition to his duties as AMA president, Bagnall is the editor and copublisher of two motorcycling magazines, " The Motorcyc11st," for general circulation, and "Motorcycle De ale r News ," a controlled circulation publication for dealers only. There are two reasons for him to be the first AMA president fr om the west coast, the man himself, and the increasing popularity of the sport In the wes t. " Ther e Is tremendous sports activity and a real financ1a1 interest," he says, " Ther efor e, It Is only fair that we have a li ttle more say-so out here." The cu r r e n t AMA vice-president, Fr ank Heacox, Is from Long Beach, and Is vice-pres ident and gener al manager of Bell-Toptex, but the r emai ning six members of the eigh t-man Executive Committee come from the mid-west and the east. Another good r eason for the r ecognition of the west coast Is indicated by the motorcycle r egi s trations . By the end of 1967, there were an estimated 2.19 million motorcycles registered in the United States and Califor nia had the highest state r egis tration with approximately 360,000 machines. The next highes t sta te Is Ohio with approxima tely 125,000 registered motorcycles . -The Highest Honor" Bagnall receives no pay for his pr esidency, and ther e are no pr ovis ions to cover travel expenses. He, li ke most othe r Executive Committe e Members, spent about $1,000 In expenses for travelIng to and fr om AMA Executive Committee meetings since takin g office In Febr uary. If you wonder what would make a man seek the posl uon , Bagnall has an answer. " in my quarter-century of motor cycling, the highest honor that could be bestowed on me, In this regard, wouldbe the AMA presidency," he says. " I am th r III e d doing anything and everything I can to repay motorcycling for' what It has done for me. " And Bagnall Is out to strengthen the Association. The AMA passed the 100,ooo-member mark In the spring of this year and has approximately 1,500 chartered motorcycle clubs throughout the country, but Bagnall Isn 't satisfied. " I would like to see a greater number of motorcyclists jolng our Association." " I expect the members hip to rapidly increase when we can offer them something more than just the good will of motor cycling." " There are so many things you cando, but many of them take money. It's as simple as that, " he says. The only requlrement for AMA membersh ip Is a $2 fee . "There Isn' t a great deal a per son can expect for $2 a year, " he explained. And the AMA members can anticipate changes to come out of the cur rent Execu tive Committee . 100,000 Sanctions The Motorcycle, S co o t e r and Allied Trade Association and the AMA have a program In the planni ng stages to establish a drivers' educatiOll program, 00 a nati on- wide basis, for motorcycl e trainIng at the high school level," he says. "I would per sonal ly be In favor ot establishing mot 0 r c y c 1e training," he agr eed . " It Is transportation at its most fundamental and fun-filled level." Bagnall should know about the motorcycle as a means of trans por tation. He has owned 18 machines , ranging In size fro m 75 to 1,200cc engines since 1947. But he has never pers onally gone In much tor competi tion events as an entrant. " I had dreamed for years of owning a motorcycle , and took in events whenever I COuld, but It was pur ely for pleasure r iding;" he recalls. " Ther e were a few English Trials events I competed in In those days, but I never did any pr ofessional racing." " In motor cycling ther e are many differ ent types of people and degrees of enthusiasm as there are In any sport," he added. Bagnall's other love then was photography, and he finally combined the two loves when he s tarted wor king with "Motor cycli s t" as an as si stant editor In 1950. He was hir ed on a 9O-day trial bas is. " On the last day I was told that I wasn't quite what they wer e looking for , " he says. For the next several years he held down other jobs . Then luck turned for him. The p ub l ishe r of " Motor cycli st" , who had fired him In 1950, r etired and was replaced by his son-In - law, who asked Bagnall to return as editor. He took the job, and kept It tor 13 years . In 1965, Bagnall and Larry Hester decided to start publishing the " Motor cycle Dealer News." The publisher wanted to s ell " Motorcyclis t" and Bagnall and his wife bought it. " My wife and I, In talking It over, decided to take al ong som ething old that we knew would prod uce while s tarting the new publica tion." From Critic To President BILL BAGNALL pro tection and It Is the n a t u r a l thing to do." " But you just don' t like to be told that you HAVE to wear a helmet," he protests. Bagnall Isn't completely oppos ed to all compulsory helmet wear ing provis ions . In fact he would like to see the provision made to cover the motorcyclist under the age of 21. " Her e Is a man whos e parents are r esponsible for him until he reaches the age of 21, and the major ity of our accidents are In this age group ," he expla ins . Deaths Decreasing,Us e Increa.sing When the topic of accidents cam e up, the AMA president had some encouraging news . The death rate from motorcycle accidents was down In 1967 for the fir s t tim e after si x annual Incr eas es . In 1966, the death rate was 2,050, and It dr opped oft In 1967 to 1,950 while motorcycle use In creased by some 440,000 machines . "This Is an encouraging trend." Bagnall went on to explain why the motorcycle accident rate tor older riders was lower on the aver age then tor motorists . " Ther e aren' t a lot of older people r iding motor cycles," he sa ys, "But those who do still have all their reflexes or they wouldn' t even get the fir st 50 feet." SItung In Bagnall's comfortable Sleera Madr e (Calif.) home wher e he lives with his wife Shir lee , and the ir two childr en Tracy Ann, 10, and Bob, almo st 16, the topics changed rapidly. Bagnall Is obviously a man who enjoys talki ng about motor cycling. Another problem tor motor cyclin g, according to Bagnall, are the Insurance la ws In some states. "I personally, and I know I speak for other members of the Executive CommIttee, am In favor of Increasing the membership fee s s o we can charge ahead and r eally do som ething tor the AMA members and the sport In general ," Bagnall says . But gather ing members Isn' t all that the AMA does . " The AMA Is actually the largest sanctioning body ot any of the motor sports associations ," Bagnall Is quick to poin t Insurance A Problem out. Mor e than 500 profes sio nal races wer e In most s tates, he points out, the insanction ed by the AMA In 1967 and the surance for a machine runs less than for Associa tion sanctio ned more than 3,000 a ca r . " It Is a good buy In all ways ," sports events. he says . The ,AMA, since its Inception, has But In some states, the Ins urance for iss ued abo u t 100,000 san ctions for a cycle Is comparable to that for cars, events. " It Is a detriment to the growth of the With the Incr eas e In the sport, one of -, sports," he protests • . Bagnall's objectives asAMA presldentis " In New York, a number of yea rs ago, to work for harmony within and outs ide of many people changed to riding scooter s the ranks. " I' m speaking of motor cycle because of the high Insurance r ates, " legislation, " he says. he says. The AMA already wor ks for bette r But ther e are many good programs motorcycle l e g i slat i o n , acc or ding to being planned, he Is quick to add. Bagnall, but It Isn' t extensive, and It " The National Educa tion Association, The puhllcation they took along has bee n In exis tence since 1912. " Motor cyclist" Is the senior magazine In the fiel d, and has a currentnationalcircula tion of 70,000. But Bagnall Isn't satisfied. He expects to Increase their circula tion by at least 5,000 copies a month. It was while Bagnall was working as the editor of " Motorcyclist" In 1955, that he first became Involved with the AMA other than as a Class A ($2) member. " My Involvement In those days was as a cr iti c of the AMA, " he recalls. " You could have taken a hundred-toone bet that the last man In the world to be the AMA president would be this man doing the editorial cr iticizing of the Association, " he chuckled. " Mos t of my criticis ms deal t with the competi tion r ules , " he says, " Which primarily dealt with the classtfication of the machine s." " Those particular rules r eally haven' t changed a great deal ," he admits, " But ther e have been developments In the smaller machines which put them on an equal tooting." But there wer e 0 t h e r complaints against the AMA in the 1950's. " No one re ally knew much about the AMAin those days ," he sa ys . "In fa ct, It even took a little r es earch on my part tofind out who the AMA pres ident was. " " Today' s Executive Committee is tryIng harder to let people know who weare and what we are doing." Three years ago Bagnal l joined the AMA as a Class B membe r, and a year later he joined the Execu tive Committee. In February of this year he was given the highest honor that his fellow motor cyclis t could give him, the AMA pres idency. . He still owns a lightweight machine. " I haven't used It as much as I would like to, but I also have a set of golf clubs that are collecting cobwebs," he explains . 7·Day Week Talking to him, you get the feeling that he really means It when he sa ys that he mis s es r iding his machine , kept from it by wor king se ven days a week. He knows there ar e r isks trom r iding a motor cycle , but he Is quick topoint out that there are risks In everything that you do. " I' ve been very fortunate In all the years I've been rlding.Ihaveyet tobreak a bone or tear any fles h." " It a fellow Is careful and gets through the first year, then there Is gr eat hope that he will li ve to enjoy the sport for many yea r s," he sa ys warmly, like a man who s till r emembers the excitement of his new Norton ES- 2 In 1947. co to .... '" i... o

• Cover