Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

How to ride Moto-Cross by Maureen Lee Moto- cr os s Is demanding. If ei ther Having a body belt Is an advantage. ~ you, your equipment or your machine You'll be taking a physica l pounding out 0.; Isn't in topnotch shape, you might as well there with no let up tor at least 25 - save your money and ride deser t or minutes. Desert races go tor longer 1::- scrambles . per iods but you do get straight stretches 5 The type oI machine you compete on is to relax 'once In a while. In mota-cros s c: up to you but mota- cross bikes are it's tull throttle the whole time• .:; thor oughbr eds, bullt tor that type ot racGood gloves and an excellent helmet ing, s uch as the C- Z's, Husqvarna's, and goggles are next. A peak on the hel~ Gr eeves etc. If you "design" your own met Is n't necessary but mos t or the pr os t>.l mount we hope you won't be silly enough have one. lt comes In handy when you ~ to start out with one that has a road duck your head at ter the mud s tarts ny t>.l tr ame. You may go tine tor a while but Ing. Fac e shi elds are considered too re-J you'll never be competi tive and may tlnd strlc tlng In mota-cross. Dust on the ~ your selt on your ear when you least Inside or mud on the outs ide, they can 't U expect it . be removed quickly enough as goggles Ever since the visits ot the Europeans can It you get In a bind and can 't see . team s moto-cross-style riding equipIs moto- cr oss Ilke a r ough s cr ambles ment has been popular. We' re alltamillar or what? The bes t place to tln d out what now with the s ldebuckl ed boots and the you don't knowabout r iding the real r ough "Torsten Hallman" lea ther pants. If Is to attend one ot the mota-cr os s schools you're r iding moto- cr os s It' s wise to held each year by the vtsttlng European look seriously at the gear. r iders. This year Joel Rober t, 250cc Leather pan ts are leather pants, but a W ld Cha mpion, was schoolmaster. or boot you wear In scrambles with thattlat What We Learned From Robert sole can get you Into serious trouble on a muddy moto-cross cour s e. The Eur oThe class was spll t Into two gr oups, pean moto- cr oss boot wears Ilke iron and each getting one se t oC Instructions tr om the sole has jus t enough indentation to Rober t and Marcel Wler z tor r iding the keep your toot on the peg when everyr ough, and tr om Chrlster · Hammargen thing's muddy. Europeans don't wear and Be ngt Aber g tor the taster type stu!!. leather jacke ts ( too war m) but arms must The rough course was a r ough one. be cover ed according to the r ules so Short enough s o Robert and Wierz could they wear heavy Jer seys. keep an eye on you ilie whole wayaround, 1'6 '- What the well -e qulp'ed moto-cross ri der I s wearing and using can be seen In this pic ture 0 1 t op U.s. International mste-eresser Ron Nel son. Kit consi sts al l· Helmet vi sor, 2- Body Belt, 3- Arm covering, 4- 21-lnch fr ont wheel, 5- Knobby ti res carrying approllmately 16 Ib s front and 19 Ibs rear pressure, 6- Motc>ocross bars, 7- Skier s rubber ri bbed glO Ves, 8- Knee pads ( opti onal) , 9- W aterprool I gniti on, 10· L ower end breathers, 11- Gas la nk overf low tube, 12- Mudguard (l ender). _------------------... ,........ it dropp ed down a bumpy hill, down a Ilttle wash, up a hill and down a short but ver y steep Incline Into a san d wash, and then up a series oI bumps to start all over again . The teac hers tlrst observed the whole class, r iding what they telt was a good lin e down the hill. Robert then showed us a more workable nne, " What work s tor me wouldn' t wor ktor you," he said. "We aren't each other but I can s how you where you can do better ." Some of the class Jus t couldn't take the outside llne Rober t demonstrated but had to hang to the Ins ide . Lectu res foll owed on tec hnique In the s and .wash and coming down the hill. Rober t stood halt way down In the middle with a big stick in his hand. More than one s tudent was tapped on the head In the course oI the morning to bring his at tention to where he should be or what he was doing wrong. Some quotab le quotes fr om the lectur es: Student: " Why don' t you use compr es sion r ele ases?" Robert: " We used them In 1922 or 23. We don' t us e them now." Student: " How are my handlebars?" Robert: " I' d thr ow them away." Student: "Was I alright on that one?" Robert: " J ust twenty miles an hour to t r. . s low." Groundhog The F-4 Sidewinder. Scrambler. 238cc's. Big throat 28nm carb and competition type steel rotary valve. That giYes you a broa der torque range. For power over the full range. With 78 mph at the top. The pipe's tucked in close. Quiet, bUt designed for maximwn thrust. And it has a heat shield. Ceriani type forks. Oil injection, Trials-lIIiversal tires. Deep finish paint. Nine inch ground clearance. Weighs in at just 250. And, like all of our machines, it has a light but strong double cradle frame of aircraft tubular steel. For only $695." • suggested retail pri ce P.O.P . Kawasaki P.P. BOl 6022, Gardena, Calilornia 90247 The s chool was hard, hard work but it was tun and the students got more than their money' s worth out oI it . Just about everyone pick ed up at least one tip they hadn' t even known existed and was oIten contrary to how they learned to r ide. Robert hlmselt Is a li keable person with an appealing sense ot humor. For beg1nn1ng moto-cross ride s It r was a chance to learn what It' s all about. The Eur opeans don't use compression releases, they slow you down too much. When It' s time to s top tor a turn you come In, lock It up and STOP! Fro nt brakes are always used. No one r iding the s er ious moto-cross would thlnk ot using a 19" tr ont tire. " Stand- up" r iding Is the torm tor mota-cross but you can s tand up too • much, "Never in a turn,' says Joel. "Come in standing up DUtsltdown. Your machine needs that extra traction tor accelera- tion." We' ve noted too many times Americans carrying standing up a bit too tar In an attempt to look " moto-cr ossy." Checking handlebars Is easy. With a mota-cross machine it ' s lik e riding a horse and helping It along. The bars are straighter than in s crambles or desert. So sit on the seat close up to the tank. Close your eyes and stretch your arms up and tor ward . Let them dr op down parallel to the s houlder s until they hit the gr ips on the bars with the elbows bent sllghtly down. It they are wider than that, they're too wide tor you. "Speedway," says Rober t, looking at our varieties at wide American bars with a twinkle In his eye . The team oI Hammargen and Aberg taught the techniques ot sliding Into and around tur ns on the TT track at Saddleback . Thos e who'd never learned to slide, came away knowing how. '-

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