Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Cycle News 1968 12 05

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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~ ~ ~ i oooo '~ 00000000000000000000ססoo00000ססoo000000000000000000000000 Entertainment and'nformation from America's Biggest Undiscorered Motor Sport 8 § ~ . ~ ':: 0 OJ 0 ~ 0 OJ 8 0 0 8 ~ 0 Q o 0 "- 8 ... ~ 8 CI) ~ tl ~ U ~- , W kl Amenca s ee y Motorcycle Newspaper& . 7' ''' . ' I, ~ aA 'T~.E ::r. '~ ~ 'W . Q ] 6411 N, Long Beach Blvd. Long Beach, Calif, 90805 Dr.. Box 498, Long Beach, Calif. Phone: 423-0431 (A C d 213) rea a e From LA. Phones: 636·8844 0 8 I 0 0 ' Pu hi IShe r • • • •C h ar Ies C. Clayton Busioess Man a ~er ••Sha ron Clav ton ,\ s s· t. Edilnr •••W vn c F iemi n2 Wtl ,,:'iationa l Adv , Dir ector ••Tom Culp Photo Edi tor••••• •Dennis Gre e"" Lab Technic ia n••••BiII P e t ti gr e w Boo kk eepe r ••• • ••Sus an M 'hitelaw 0 Second Calif. postage paid at Long Bea ch . Clas s 0 0 Editoria l s tories. ca rtoons . photos, 0 e tc . are wel comed a nd " i ll be paid 0 for upon publi cati on (e xc e pt pres s § Circ ula tio n Dept. • • Jenny ~le()onald E di lnria l &: Adv. .. s s t. Sandra Pu rdy 0 \ P ublished wee kly e xcept the fir s t 0 and last week o f the ca lenda r ~'ear by ..,.,.., P U bli himg C. P t Offi ,..RoC IS 0. os Ice Box ~98 , Lon g Bea ch , Ca liforni a . re leas es a nd · Voi ce· le tte rs.) Ad- § 8 § 0 dressed. s ta mped envelope assu res re turn . Sin .. rop~' price •••• •••• •• 25 \" ...e Subscription: One year 2nd c la s s Mail • • • •• •• ••• • •• • • • • $7.50 . , " , Ad verti sing rates an d cl rcul a rio n in format ion will be sent upon requ est. 8 8 • 8 oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo o VOICES OF THE WEST YEAH , CARLSBAD We would like to express our appr ectation for the crew at Carlsbad Raceway. Due to circumstances quite beyond their control, the event scheduled for the 27th of October (and advertised that week In Cycle News) was canceled. Other tracks, no doubt, would have s imply left the gates closed; but Larry Gr ismer went ahead, contacted members of the moto-cros s club that holds events at Carlsbad, and provided a very good day of racing for all of us. It Is worth noting that the track s uffered a financial loss, since only 20 riders showed UP. But Mr . Grismer, and CarlsbadRaceway not only didn't disappoint us (we, for example, had hauled our bikes 100 mUes to race) but gave us more racing than usual: would you believe 20 laps for lightweigbt production? (Are you listenIng, AFM ?) Furthermore, we were sent a l etter of apology (I) In which Mr . Grismer says .. . .. your attitude a t thi s even t proves out my personal opinion of longstanding, that cycle racers are still out to race and haven't accepted the Cry-Baby individuals that ha ve come Into other types of racing." Where else can you get such good racing and compliments too ? Mr. Grismer, come the next race, we will be therel And every race we can get to. Thank youl JOHN WEIGEL #3 19 DAVE DOAN #63 iverslde, Cal. CHEAP ABOUT TROPHIES? I think the cycle cl ubs are getting pretty cheap when they trophy riders as they did In the Southe r n California Hare and Hound . I finished 6th overall trallbike and was third Amateur . Everyone I've talked to agrees I was r Obbed, in- . - "._.- cluil1iii & few So. Gal. members. We all agree tblLt it's been almost common policy to trophy the firs t 10 overall, and at least 1s t. , 2nd, and 3rd. In the ir class es. Tbere were 22 Ama teurs s o there should have been three or four Ama teur trophies. BRIAN KOCK TraUbike en, P .S.: I was one of the seven names left off the letter on long races in your last Issue . I'm all for them. U the riders can't take it, let them sit out the Hare and Hounds and Hare Scrambles and ride only the European Scrambles. CHEERS FOR SIDEHACK ASSII. I want to Iilank the Side-Hack Assn. for listing every rider In the results of their TT Scrambles &t Huntingtoa Beach Oct. 27th. That ts something the c1Dbs baven't done in years and sboulddofrom now on. It is discouraging not to find one's name listed In the results, especially to the beginner. I think every rider wants to know wba.t position be was In. No one Is perfect and we all "goof" at times but I think over all, the Side-Hack Assn. put on a good race and I, for one appreciate their efforts. AL VINE SUMMERS Calif. Gopbers Bell Gardens, Calif. SMALL BIKE RACE TIME Last Sunday Oct. 27, my son and I rode the SldehackAss'n. race a t Huntlngton Beach, We ride small bikes ( lOOCc) and had to ride In the afternoon, which seems only fair that the big bikes get to ride In the morning once In a while. But the hi g bikes got to ride 15 lap mains (the Ope n Experts rode motos) and the small bikes got to r ide 8 lap mains and In the case of the lOOCc Novice class some of them only got to ride 3 lousy laps because they had 3 beat races of only 3 laps and no semi Mains. Pretty damned expensive riding and damned unfair. We have to pay just as much to r ide as the big bike r iders so why shouldn' t we get as many laps as they do? And don't tell me It was because they were running out of daylight. They co uld have cu t the big bikes down to 10 laps and gi ven eve ry one an eqnal numbe r of laps. U this s ounds like I am griping you better believ e I sure as hell am. CHUCK NEELEY #374x TRIUMPH (ANT) POEM Here ts a poem composed by my wife, Marlene, after the 8- MUe National when Triumph retained the No. 1 Plate. She rides a Triumph and I ride a Harley so the battle wages continuallY• She read this a t our last club meeting (Los Borracbos M.C . of Ventura) of whicb sbe Is secretary. The members s eemed to enjoy It and I thought the readers of Cycle News might get a kick out of i t too. It any Harleys are here, ldndIy stay In the rear, And let a Triumph lead the way . It's definitely the tate of • 68, to be a Triumph year. They're not only fun, They are still number one, And for that fans may let out a cheer . Think, you Harley riders, As you' re riding In the rear, With a LARGER fa ctor y team, Per haps you'll bave a chance next year• So my friends , we are nearly to the end, I just thougbt I'd gi ve you the score, Harley may bave won s ome battles, But Triumpb won the WAHl! DAN SPENCER Ojal, Cal. LAPPED 'EM? In the HUltoppers 15-lapper In the 50cc class I got third, not fif th. I lapped Jay Lewis and Frank McDowell. I demand that Maureen Lee wr ite a retrac': tion on It. HANK SCOTI, 64X Baldwin Park . Cal. -. was in tha t race myseIr aDd was so busy being lapped twice' didn· t noUc e .... aune in llird. However. lbe omci al results from lbe club l isted you as firth so you'd lieder lake It ... with lbe CompeUlioo committee.ML. DONAHER NOT INVOLVED I am Terry Donaher' s brother, and I think It was downright unfalr to -even mention Terry's name In Steve P ed er son's fa tal accident. I believe Terry Is Innocent of any wrong doing. I was there and saw the whole thing. MIKE DaNAHER Gardena, Calif . I am writing In protest to a lett er In your co lumn last wee k enti tled "Don't Blame Terry Donaher" concer ning Ste ve Pederson's taial a ccident at the Ascot quarter mUe on October 25th. Anyo ne with half an eye tha t watc hed that race could s e e Terry neve r, at any ti me came close t o St eve or his bike . Terry would be the first one to admit any guilt because Steve was his best friend. At the conclusion of the race he ran over to give aid and was forcibly pushed away by the a ttendants since there was nothing he could do to help. Mr . Jeffery must have been watching other riders, but I followed Terry from s tart to finish an d I know he Is In no way r esponsible for the tragedy. I think it's unfair to publish a l etter before you check the facts, and I believe Mr . Jeffery's le tt er cast a shadow on an innocent r ider. MRS. W.J. DONAHER Gardena, Callf. The "Titer of the letter to Voic es, James Jeffery , was apparently In error when he mentioned Terry Danahe r' s name in connection wt th the accident.He was, however, just trying to poin t out tIIa t none of the riders were at tau l t, W apole ogize for any inj ury, certainly uninte nded. that may have resulted from the letter and thank Mrs. Donaher and Mike for straight~ ening it o u t, -Ed. MEET THE DEALER GOOD AMBULANCE CREW Since no one else bas sald anything, I will. I know most of the people In the staDds a.t Ascot dOll't know wba.t goes on a.t the track when a rider has fallen and been injured. But to those of us who see It and know wba.t happens It certainly means a lot to have a competent ambulance crew. They were Johnny-on-thespot wben Steve Pederson fell, admini s tering mouth to mo uth r esus ci ta.ti on and doing everything bumanly possible ' to keep him allve. I baven't beard anything about Clyde Ll tc b's condition as yet, but If he's alive he owes It to the ambulance crew, who were right there giving him oxygen. A lot of us can remember the old ambulances we used to have , now they were poor ly equipped and barely ran, but most of all the Incompetence of their crews, who drove out on the track, picked uP the rider, put him In the ambulance, and took him to the hospi tal not caring whether he was dead or allve. Nobody likes to see anyone hurt, but when someone doe s ge t hurt It's nice to know there Is someone there to help who cares, and Ascot has the best. BOB BRYAN (As s t . Starter) Dave 8urns By Elsmar Salley One of the biggest pr omo te r s of motor cycling In Alaska Is Dave "Pappy" Burns who, for the past 13 years, has had the Harley-Davidson dealership In Anchorage . He now also sells Suzuki . " Pap py" cam e to peaceful Alaska to get away from California, after ulcers made It necessary to have two- third of his stomach removed . He bo ught a used Hum mer cycle after arriving and soon found that It was hard to get parts from the dealer . " So I bough t his busines s , mainly to ge t his s mall s toc k of parts and some old machines that I could cannibalize to keep min e running," Burns said. One way he built up business was to Invent an Ice racing machine• •Light aluminum pipes were used for a balanclng side car and the third wheel came from a small scooter . "No one r od e In the s ide car and the thi rd wheel never touched the ground except for cornering or to preve nt a spill during a skid. After a demonstration a t a winte r carnival he had so many order for the little side cars he couldn' t build them fast enough. It also helped hi m sell a lot of cycles. One of his lates t projects of "Pappy" an d the motorcycl e club he formed, the Last Frontier Club, Is to get cyc l es Into the State Highway P a trol. Af ter s ix years of trying, Bur ns ' Infl uenc e got the Alaska leg islature to a uthorize two cycyles for the Anchorage branch of the s tate patrol. But they didn' t allot an y funds In the 1968 budget. Nevertheless, the patrolmen w1ll ge t their Harley 74s, thanks to the club members and those they coaxed Into putting up the money. Torturous Orange County Course Has 15mph Average • Orange County International Raceway has constructed a new race course for cars, but there's a good chance s omebody might organize mo torcycle races on It. 1 Situated In the north wes t corner of the raceway's l20-acre triangle are two ne w dirt circuits , one inside the other. Dips , w a sh b o ard s, jumps, water hazard, s traight-a ways and fifty- four turns form 1. 5 mUes of the mos t torturous road ever, carved fr om nat land. Mounds and corner s are cambered with such variation that even the most skilled will find negotiati on diffi cult. The Initial trials have yet to s ee an yone exceed a 15 mpb average. Most courses of this type can start only one vehicle at a time In a race against the clock, At Orange COWlty two will start s imultaneously, each rac1ng the other. This was not accomplisbed with wider roads but rather through the use of two separate circuits which coincide In the area of the s tart/finish line. As both cars accelerate from the starting line ODe takes the 1n.s1de course. (.7 mUes In length and marked with blue streamers), while the other car takes the outside circuit (.8 miles in length and marked with yellow streamers). As the drivers cross tile startltlDtsh line a.t the cooclusion of the first lap they excbange courses. The first to cross the finish a.t the eod of two laps Is the winner. A 12-foot berm bordering the course on the southeast provides an unobstructed view for spectators of the entire traeIt. This new off-road course w1ll be open to the public Monday thru Satnrday from 8:30 am to 6:00 pm, Adm ission is $3per vehicle per day. The traeIt is also&vaUable on a rental basts to private organi_ zations for testing and special events. Orange County plans to run profess ional races on the new dirt ctrcutt, A schedule and description of these events will be announced soon. • · · SUBSCRIBE · · TO • · · ~ · · · · · See Page 2 · · .W •

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