Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125602
The Drag Race Scene IMeet Tile DraggerI By Betty Nichols Photos by Dan Zeman We had a cOuPle of visitors on the West Coast r e c e n tl y. They had or1g1nal1y planned to attend the Winternatiooals at Beeline Drag Strip, but a premonition caused them to make a phone call before thetr departure. They found thai the bikes wowdn't be running, so decided to come on out to Los Angeles to give our strips a try. Marv Steinberg and his Side-kick, Rick S1lverman made the trip from Illinois 10 Marv's '68 Corvette (pull1nga bike trailer with two bikes) in 38 hours. Marv is a Hoosier, but makes his home 10 River Forest, lllinois. He travels over to Crown Point, Indiana to the weekly meets at the U.S. 30 Drag Strip, located about 30 miles from Gary. Marv is quite handsome, so when I found out that he was single, I asked him why. It didn't seem very fair to all those single good-looking girls back in lllinois. He said he was just too quick and the girls haven't been able to catch him. Our visitors handed out a few nice compliments about our So. Callf. drag striPS. They said the ones they go to 10 Indiana couldn't begln to compare. They liked the strip out at Orange County because of the modern facilities, but also liked Lions Drag Strip because the officials run such" well-organized meets" and all the riders are quite friendly and eager to belp one another out. Rick seemed especiallY amazed that there was plenty of soap for dirty hands 10 the restrooms. Marv got his bike frame from Rick Gordon of Norrige, Illinois. He now owns two of these frames, and that leaves Gordon without one of this particular type of frame for himself right now. (He can't make them fast enough). The bike be brougbt out bere is ten lncbes longer than a regular stock frame. The handle bars are swept back to offset the extended distance from the seat. The frame he left be bin d is even longer, by three inches. Marv said his bike was two years 10 the making, so be is certainly proud of it. Many of the parts are hand-tooled so that machine is really a work of art. Thls was Marv's fifth triP out to Callfornia, but his first time to race. He had a lot of tougb luck, but it didn't dampen his spirits any. The first two weekends were ralned out, but he managed to spend his last weekend out at Lions. He did pretty well on saturday night, but Sunday be developed a slipping clutcb on his first run. After scrounging around, a belpful local rider, Bruce Miller, came uP with the rigbt amount of plates for a quick Never Ro e A Drag Be ore Kateley Takes Top Fuel Story and Photos by Dan Zeman Gordon Kateley had never ridden a motorcycle down a drag strip 10 his life. Now that his 65 loch fuel burning Harley Davidson was completed, be figured be had best get with it. He didn't waste any time doing so, for OIl his first run he turned 10 the low elevens and by the time Lions closed its gates for the day, Gordon had a fifty dollar cheque in his wallet that is a warded to the winner of lxJp fuel. This cbeque didn't come easily for Gordon. In his class were three other fuel burners: Art Houston, Joe Smith and Disharoon. In the Gas Division there were new bikes and new faces. Charlie Cash sbowed uP with a 250 Suzuki Gasser that he just finished a few weeks ago. Things didn't feel right at the big end, so IIlh O. Luca makes a ...icycl. out of his stock st... t Triumph. Charlie loaded the mach1ne back 10 the truck. He says he will be back when be finds the bug. Marv Stelnberg trailered his 77 loch Sportster from Illinois to try his luck in So. Calif. With nine machines entered 10 Gas Division, Marv had his work cut out for him. Things wenl well uP until the last run, when staged with Ron Knapp's 350 Yamaha. Marv's red light kept comIng on before the countdown. The starter figured this was Marv's fault and sent Ron on a single. Ron being a good sport thougbt this was unfair to Marv and wanted a rerun. This was arranged and Marv took it, turning a 10.84 E.T. and 131.50 m~.h. Man's best E.T. was turned back home when be turned 10.35 and 136.00. (How's that for a gasser?) There was lots of excitement 10 Modifled Division. It was "2 Stroke" versus "4 Stroke" right down to the finish. Suzukis were the only 2 strokes entered, so It was Suzuki against Triumpb and Harley Davidson. ThIngs looked good towards the end for Jack Linn and Jack Murphy, both were on Suzukis. They had worked the division down to three. That third one was Grant Hannah on a Trlumpb. Grant didn't like these odds so be didn't waste much time evening them lIP; he sbut down Linn, so now he only bad the Dirty Old Man to worry about. This f1nal race was something else. Murphy knew that if be was to win this race he would have to get the jump on Hannah; Hannah knew it would have to be a perfect run to beat the old man. As things turned out,. Murphy got the jump but in doIng so, turned on the red light. Hannah, when shifting into second gear, broke off the shifting lever and finished in low gear. Will Hodges, mounted on a Harley Davidson, took the Top Street money. Will bad good competition in his own class as well as the next division. His closest race was against a new three cylinder Triumph Trident mounted by Bob Ebeling. Will turned 95.95 m.p.h., Ebeling turned 101.00 m~.h. Bob's Triumph Is a fairly new machine, so look out Harleys when it loosens.uP a little more. C.J. Hart, Lions Strip manager was happy with today's event, but says it may take a few more bikes to keep the money uP. Today's entries totaled 34 and It will take at least 40 to 50 to keep the money up througb 1969. So for those of you who didn't make it for the first two weeks of February, try hard to make it for the last two. Don't forget - the money Is uP OIl trial througb February. lf we get good turl) outs we get the money. If not, the money will be lowered considerably in Marcb. I beard througb a reliable source that Top Fuel bikes will be allowed at Bakersfield Annual Smokers Event. I believe the admission for pre-entry is $25. Thls lncludes admission for two, pit pass for two and entry for one bike. This event will be beld Feb. 28, March 1st and 2nd at Bakersfield, Calif. (Results on page 16) WiseGuy Husband By Mrs. L.J. Leonard The men in my family are. just}lOSsibly, throwbacks to an earlier age wbeD they would have done batile with flamIng dragons on the backs of shining, black horses. Today they are infatuated with the modern monsters ialown as motorcycles. "It's fun!" they say as they leapaboard. booted, belmeted, and encased, not in coats of mail, but in leather jackets. "Doesn't that look like fun?" My busband points to a muscular young man tooling down the higbway with a pinlr: stretch-panted damsel cllng1ng to the rear, ber long ru.ir floating gracefully III the breeze. I have the suspicion that he thinks I could look li ke that if I would only put my mind to it. lt so happened last week that our Volkswagen, a truly luxurious vehicle, needed some work done on it. "You take it In," said my husband" nand I'll pick you uP." Hyou won't go very fast, will you?" I aSk, hopefully. "It's much safer when you go fast," he announces. The back of a motorcycle Is not reali7 engineered for the mature female figure. or perhaps it's vice versa. In addition, the whole apparatus vibrates like a spot reducer. "Hang on," he says. "Like death!" say I. So far so good. It doesn't seem too bad, J think, as _ maneuver through town toward the freeway. "This is the most dangerous partl" he shouts back at me. UOh?" "Some kook in an automobile can come aiong and knock you off." Hyou can see so much more trom a bike," he says. "Of what?" I mutter, my eyelashes glUed together by the win. Ob J think as the world rusbes by, If anythIng happens we'll be crusbed like eggshells." My husband is saying something probably, "Isn't this great?" but his wards disappear in the wind. I grunt and hope that's an appropriate answer. I deckle to close my eyes again. U you've got to go, you don't have to know it, doyou? On the other hand with your eyes closed you don't know how far you've come and bow fare you have yet to go. I try to unstic1l: my eyes. My hair is not wafting gently 10 the breeze. it's standing gracefully 00 end like a wire brush. Then I feel it. On each of my quaklDg knees there Is a band, not mlne, and my husband's words float back: "A motorcycle at speed Is ftry stable!" I wisb I could say the same for me. repair job. Rick (grinning) said this partnershiP was about to end. It seems that Rick does all the work while Marv walks around and gossips with his fellow riders. Could this be a happy combination of brains AND brawn? They both seemed to be enjoying their own special jobs. Marv confided that Rick Gordon plans on coming out here 10 June or July, and Marv says be might try to make the trip with him. I guess the troubles he had while here weren't bad enougb to dlscourage him completely. At least Marv didn't have to return borne completely empty-handed. He won a tropby, plus $25 for Top Gas. lIan S18I""1 and his Harl.Y·lass.r. Gordon Kat.l.y trIes hi s IlICk at dral racinl. H. snatcll.d top ruel honors the lirst ....k out. wen. ~ Ia:I :i!: Ia:I "J ~ 0