Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

.... 7"::",'7"":","7':~~7":l",'7"":""7'::r:::l"''7'''':",''7':~~,.,..,.,.,,.,.,.,''''7'''':,,,''7':,.,~:r:::l,.,.,.,,.,.'7''':r'2II.,.,.,,.,.'7''':,.,'7''':r'2II~,.,.,.7 ~~;.&,,~1 ll. by C&S Publishing Co., Post Office Box 498, Lon g Beach, California, also publishers of State Cycle News for the Eastern states. ~ 101 2; f:o::l oJ U >. u -~:r---~_ • Altedca' s Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper- Publisher••••• Charles C. Clayton BusiDess Manaa:er•• Sharon Clayton Manadna: Editor. Wayne Flemlna:ton Production Maoaa:er••Dennis Greene Assislant Editor && Lab Technician •••••••••••••• Bill PeUia:rew Bookkeeper•••••• Susan Whitelaw Circulation Dept. • Jenoy McDonald Receptionist. •••••• SIlodra Purdy P"ublished weekly except the first and last week of the calendar year second Class Postage paid at Long Beach, Calif. Editorial stories: cartoons, photos, etc. are welcomed and will be paid for upon publication (except press releases and ·Voice" letters.) Addressed, stamped envelope assures return. Single copy price•••••••••• 25¢ Subscription: ODe year 2nd class mail •••••••••••••• " - VOICES OF THE WEST BEAUTY vs. PABLUM T1InIe cheers for freedom of speech, Cyc:la News and BartBra Dahms; and tIIaots for a publlcatlon tbat tells it I1ke It is. IIaII7 Americana, includ1Dg Ibe "yollllC and imprellSlClMhls", are fed up w1tb Ibe diet of jolll'll&11stic pablum, and are beCbm1IIC to realiZe lIIat tiley are being torce-fed tIda diet iD tile gu1ae at prol8c:tIoC contemporary standards. TIle tllDiUt1cally IlYPocJ'ltkaI "standU'd8" ban 10IIc been a stumbliDc-block ar.nta ....bll..."1C nwort between people - people of dlffereDt ace groups or from dUfereat walks of lite. To. tboIIe wbo I1ke tile diet (and your col"m. . IIId1cate tbere mq be IMIlJ) I Dr. "DoII't try 110 separate my -..ort from r-.l1b'. I'm read7 tor facts, 1iIIIItber you spell It forn1cate, pollloate V'" ar 1II!IIat:8ger." D.BERRY Forest Hill, CaL THE IllTORCYCLE MAFIA? You reaDy lIOId it I1ke it Is, four ~tter -roB and all. Keep up saying nice tb1Dcs about our sick members and maybe tbIIy wtll switch to anotber sPOrt. It Is a rotteD sbame tbat so few nor~ bike riders and dealers ban eDOUIh time and interest 110 do sometb1Dg as concrete aga1nst tile compulsory belrnet laws as you give credit 110 tile Angels of caIUornia, but adversity Is supposed 110 make strange bed-fellows. If we normal riders bave to sleep wltIl tile sick ones,l for 0Ile, will quit tile sport alter 35 yrs. Your article and pbotos make Sonny and Animal look almost civilized, but I bave seen too many of lbem in lbelr ur1ne--ud dungarees acting I1kebalfmad anImals to ever respect any of tIlem. We know tile antics of tile sick ones cost us Spr1ngt1eld, Laconia, The Jack Pine (two years ago), Marlboro to name just a few of tile big races lIIat once gave us so much plee.sure. Granted it wasn't Ibe Calitornia Angels, directly, that caused tile rotteD ones to tear up a toWD, but tile spJ.r1tual1nsplration came from nortbem ClI1Uornia. ADd now tIlese odd m1sf1ts are movie stars, and a generation of drIn-in watchers are trytDg to Imitate tbem, sometimes wltbout tile bikes but always wltIl tile motorcycle leatller jacketsl It was one lousy Dahm article, wellwritten, worse luck. JACK MERCER CODDeCtiCut P .S. I know you printed the Dahms article wltIl tongue In cheek, but I am afraid tile ancel-types w1II use such love letters as furtber ammunition to increase lbelr grow1Dg streogtb. in every major c1b' tbere are outlaw cycle gangs who pattern Ibe1r bebavlor on Ibe mov1e-:image of tile Angels. These sick %~I@1 love bad pubUc1b'. Perbaps we sbould all tbrow In Ibe sponge and leave tile entire sport to tb1s bunch? Wberever tbere Is any cycle activity, theBe vultures gatber, stupid and troublesome. We lost Ibe best scrambles in New EnglaDd, Grafton, VermOllt, because we couldn't control tile bunch even wltIlpa1d COPS. They blew up tile outllouses, set fire to certain selected victims, copulated In dayUgbt and even bad a machine gun emplaced on a hUll Clever, tIley bad members with walIde-taIk1es,protectlng tile antics from police intervention. The cops were scared, as any normal person would be. FiDaIIy, tile state simply said, "No more cycle events in Vermont." COMMENT: The real point of lIIe article was tbat California BA's don't mess witll leptlmate motorcycle events out bere in the west any more. Perhaps Ihey are ton busy gi viDa: interviews or testifyiDa: before committees. We can ooly hope tbat pseud~Angels In tile east and midwest will follow Ihelr example and lay off our races tIlere. HELP NEEDED FROM TORRANCE RESIDENTS In Torrance there Is a sectlOll(45.6.8) of tile City Code which states as follows: Any person who rides a motorcycle or motor-driven cycle on any vacant lot In tile Cib' and disturbs a substantial number of persOlls iD the neighborhood of such lot, by noise, dust, smoke, or fumes caused by such motorcycle sball be gul11y at a misdemeanor. ThIs Is obviously against us, but not to tile degree most of you tb1nk. The problem we bave bad is Ibe way the pallce try to enforce It. For sometime now In many cases police bave completely Ignored tile $7.:10 -' portion that states: DIsturbs a substantial number of persons in tile neigbborbood. Therefore, when tIley see a bike being operated on a vacant lot the officer informs tile rider tIlere Is a law ap1Dst wbat he Is doing, and tells tile rider to leave. Most of us being Iaw-ab1d1ng citizens are wIll1ng to rely OIl tile officers lntegrity and would leave, believ1.Dg we bad broken Ibe law. Some would return and receive a citation, ratber tbao spend tile time to ftght It in court. If you did have time, and pleaded not guUb', It would not be prosecuted due to lack of a substantial number of complaiDts. So really we stand a good cbaDce of beating any cbarge tbat stems from tile above section. If we want to spend tile time. In about Aug. of 1968anumber atbtlre riders went to tile Council meeting to bave tile above section revised or repealed. The council requested tile Traffic Commission to meet wltIl the bike riders and return a recommendation to tile council. The meeting was held in Sept. 1968 (I was unable to atteDd). Alter listeniDg to Ibe bike riders, the com mission passed a motiOll to revise tile aboYe section to include jeeps, dune buggies, go carts and lIIat mufflers be required. The proposed rev1s1oo deviates greatly from tile TraffIc Commission's motion. The new proposed section, which would replace the eldstlng ooe states: Any person wbo operates a motorcycle, trail btIre, m1n1 bike, duDe buggy, motor scooter, jeep or otber motor driven vehicle on any vacant lot, vacant property or acreage wltb1n tile CIIy and disturbs tile peace or quiet of any neighborhood or person by noise, dust, smoke, or fumes caused by such vehicle shall be guilly of a misdemeanor. The new section went to council Jan. 21, 1969 for adoption. I was able to 0btain a tbree week delay to inform interested parties (YOU). I am fairly confident tile council will reject tile proposed section when made aware of tile bad points. A large attendance will definitely help the outcome. I respectfully request your presence to make council aware that many Torrance residents like off tile road riding. You can also express your views of tile proposed and existing ordinance if you desire, but be tbere. DATE: FEBRUARY ll, 1969 TIME: 6:45 (tile earlier tile better) PLACE: CITY HALL 3031 TORRANCE BLVD. Upstairs. For furtber information phone 3710585 (alter 5 p.m.) Be tbere and be beard. KEN HUDSON T01"ranee, Calit. THE RISE OF ·SUPER CHAMp· In response to an open letter to tile Competition Committee which you recently priDted, I would like to describe an Incident tbat I personalJy" observe. My wife and I arrived at tile desert early one Sunday for a European Scrambles and my race didn't start until early afternoon. R1d1Dg tile course before tile race wasn't allowed, so I rode aroUDd the outer periphery until I foUDd a good SPDt to observe the tecbnique and sldll of tile experts and amateurs.After a short wait, the race began and SOon tile leaders bad passed my paiDt of observation. Then one rider in tile pack that followed pulled off tile course, and I surmised lIIat he was having trouble and was most probably hopping mad. But he merely came to a halt, dismounted, turned off tile PDtcock and let tile engine run the bowl dry. Meanwhile, he sat and smoked a clgarette. I don't tb1nk he was aware at my presence higher OIl this b11l aboYe him. We watched wbat must bave been tile tall eDd go by because tile hour was over. Then he fired uP and wltIltileentiluslasm at a run to tile bomb, sped out foJJow1Dg tile course. I departed for tile pits and arrived In Advertising rates and circulation information will be sent upon request. NATIONAL ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, • , , • TII~s R. Culp Cycle News (Wesfl, P,O, Box 498, Loag BUell, ca Iif. 90800 Tel, (213) 423~431, EAST-ERII ADVERTISlIIG IIAIIAGER •••••••••••••••• Frank R.llay.r Slall Cycl. lI.ws (East) P.O. 801 13, Ambe.st, Ohio 44001 T.I. (2UI 914-2433 time to see Ibe last ones In flnisb and to my surprise, next to last, was tile guy tbat pulled out of tile race to watch. Well, when I went over the results a few weeks later, I was enlightened OIl wbat went on. "Super Champ" placed last, having completed only one lap iD tbat hour. But tile point chart 1ndIcated be would obtatD fifl8eD points for his effort! "Sqler Cbamp" may bear a much smaller number tbao I do next January. But I, tor one, know that It WUD' t 0btained in tile "same way. Then a queaUon entered my m1Ddtbatrema1Ds~ ed: "How did he become an amateur?" NORMAN SANDUSKY Long Beach, Calit. PUT OIl? I see in your January 21 lasoe a Grlffltll Park Grand Prix listed in the calendar for March 1" 2. Wowll tbat's sqler 1reeD. I'm sure tile bird lavers, zoo 1avers, horse lavers, and golt 1avers are all going to give us a rousiDe welcome. Councilman Snyder wtll probably be starter and Mayor Sam will wave tile cbeckered flag. I'm a member at Tracy's coffee club and his shop Is as near as you can get to Griffitll Park without being in it. Can't find a soul around tIlere who knows anytb1Dg about this race. By tile. way, who are tile Griffith Park MC? If this Is a put-OIl, It's ratber cruel. I hope I've stuck my foot In my moutll and get cut to ribbons by anotller letter proving me wrong, 'cause i'dsureliketo ride this ooe. It would take me all of teD minutes to get to tile pIts from my house. MELVIN SHAPIRO Hollywood, Cal. COMMENT: Griflilll's people - are you really out tIlere? Really? BROOKS BEAT ROBERTS Doyle Fields and J.N. Roberts at tile Checks M.C. are a cOuPle of cry babies. They contested tile Ponderosa wID by Tom Brooks on New Year's Day. As I understand It, Roberts gets paid $100 by tile Husqvarna people for every win. Are all of tile otber riders supposed to step aside just so J.N. can collect? A. NELSON Gardena, Calit. The" fiD1sh was contested by tIlose who claimed lIIat Brooks dIdD' t pass Roberts or Fields on tile course, tbat they ran first and ll8CODd on tile first loop followed by Brooks. '!be contention seemed to be tbat Brooks Is not a good enough rider to pass Roberts or Flelds. The facts to be considered are: 1. Brooks made all check points. 2. Brooks was not seen by any of tile Ponderosa offic1aJs, located along tile course, cutting course. 3. Brooks said he used all at tile short cuts he knows, but dIdD't cut course. 4. Brooks knows tile Ponderosa course well. 5. J.N. Roberts Is one of tile top desert riders, if not tile top. "6. Tom Brooks Is a DOv1ce. In my opinion tile only tb1Dg tbat tile ll8CODd race proved is tbat it would bave been entirely possible for Tom Brooks to beat J.N. Roberts on tile Ponderosa wltIlout cutting tile course. MIKE NELSON Newball, Cal. II,w Arizo•• Tr.ci By Matt Glover Mile HIgh Motorcycle Club of Prescott, Arizona is about to bold lts first annual elecUon of oftiC8l'S, and attilesameUme Incorporate and IWIy to A.M.A. for sanctlOD1Dg at tbe1r new scrambles track under constractloo 10 DIamond Valley, 5 miles east of Preacott on soutIIboImd route 69, toward Phoenix. First races are tentatively scbeduled during March.

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