Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

MEAN'WHlLE DOWN'dIN THE' By Ed Youngblood Around NOYember the rumor mills in AMA professional circles were alive. In Worthington the Competition Congress Iud just made radical and unpredicted changes in the rules governing dirt track racing. ThaI fact, combined with DO detailed information aboul those rules, set up wild speculalion. It is known Ihal the limit had been raised from 500cc to 750cc for OHV motors, and lhal a rear brake was legal and optional, bUI little else was known. The immediate lesponse was to mourn the demise of the KR and the Gold Star. Some said the 750cc Wcbcor equipped Triumph was legal. Some claimed Ihal lhe production HODda four would legalize Ihe Hailwood mOlor, and some predicted a summer of sJaughler caused by upstart scrambles riders trying to use brakes on the half-miJe. In short. the whole fruit basket seemed 10 be dumping over. The Springf"lC1d race at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Ohio, however, indicates that no one is going 10 be in real trouble. If the AMA bas done anything 10 professional fia1track racing by changing the rules, il is for the better. By the end of the 1967 season the circuit had become a privale batllefield between Ihe KR and the 500 Triumph. Now il looks as if the coming season is going to hold a great deal more excitement in va~iety and e'xperimen tation. Bow.rsox', Norton dep.-rI IinIe from -.cIerd trim. CO-;,. IN_a. bpt it from fIexint its .......... for U. f - . True, the old Gold Star will DOW pass away, bUI exponents of BSA have open possibilities with the 650cc Lightining. In the end il wiD be a far cheaper bike to maintain than the 500cc single, which had been developed beyond reliability and had outlived. its parts supply. Nor is the KR dead. The Ebr1ey camp is vely much alive and well with many innovations. For " - r e - . $po ;,ogfieId 1969 . . . .. in-a,. It - - , . _ _ important. U. mid_ - . _ . for it is the first ch.... for U. f8ctorilIa ....t inde",,_t tuners to _ their rnectlinery lMfore tt. demending ond costly grind of u. summer.-on begins. Lasl year, for example, Gary Nixon traveled all the way from Baltimore 10 lesl the revolutionary Sonic frame. II was worth the trip. Nixon won, and by .the end of the year the Sonic was a necessary item on the Triumph owner's winning list. BUI Springfield 1969 was more importanl than ever, for the riders were testing nol just minor changes, bUI a whole new line of motors and book of rules. ~ THf JWO-WHfIlfI i~'I:1II'''''II~'1, ~-,' RI~S' 1IeItimore·, _ to the _ rules twwrod 0 Sonic ............... cone m pphol_.... a m.., bnlk._ looking for the righl combinatioD. L-a _ the fac1ary CUM out with the urwoe".'tic.... springer. turning _ from u. adao,," rigid dirt-_ • IF noion. TlIis. " - . _ _ to be • _ _ of _ . Cahin Rayborn. _-.finery on more It -tt. felt 11_ on U. Bon MMcol I01dorn ......... to nwb it _ r1IhtBwt', Springfiold bib ~od u. rigid ..... - he rnten. but u. rigid .aion . - u . . . . - . . . . . . . . thet """""ul on u. Sonic T.-.-, BEEZER RENAISSANCE ~ sta_ foot 10_ than u. pi_look It. . . . . on the KR. but b y _m to u. IMW domed pistons. And do they _ r put up. bellow. ~ . full _rlc _I with . . . - 10 LOOK TO THE EAST MILWAUKEE VARIETY Triumph, with the Baltimore crew selting the example, seems to have the rising star for Ihe season with its 650cc Bonneville. Rumor has it that Nixon lested the 750cc triple this winter, theD settled on the Bonneville, and for the private owner especially it is a happy choice. The BODneville, with minimal modifications, has all the power most riders will ever need on a half-mile oval, and the privateer can modify his Sonic 500 frame 10 fit, thou&h a new frame for tbe 650 is available. Geo'lle Loveless, for example, purchased a pair of Sorties at the end of last season, and, like many others could see no reasoD in throwing away such an expensive mess of tubing. With a Iit1le CUlting and Je-welding, and some aluminum adapting plates, the Bonnevilles III nicely. They require far less critical tuning than the Iit1le 500, providing a good margin of reliability in their greater basic horsepower. These anxieties showed up in Ihe Harley pils in the preponderance and variety of innovations. One can see everything from Ihe old Linkerl c",buretor 10 single and Iwin Tillotsons. KR riders are Irying every combinalion to gel the power necessary 10 beat the Brilish twins. The convenlional flathead wilh Linkert is still competilive, bUI the mosl radical version of the KR now employs domed pistons, twin TiUotsons, and even megaphones. Bart Markel showed up with the twin-earb Iayou t, bu I with straighl pipes. Alton Slory is running the domed pistons wilh 48 inch megaphones and a single Tillolson. Some tuners claim the megaphones do not increase power, bul the heat race where first year Expert Slory flatly outraced Darrel Dovel, the 1968 overall points winner on dirt, proved thaI they certainly do no harm. Larry Darr had Ihe mosl curious combination of the new and the old. His KR carried a hydraulic disc brake OD the rear, but retained the antiquated Linkert carburelor. _.Ie _ Gary Nixon. of _ . _ on tIw show His c:.- in • .....1ifu1 _ Softie springor.lFOI'ting chrome .-..d-cone - - "....... ond _ up by a llyclr8u1ie diIIc brok•. Strangely, the head OD the racing Bonneville is m(,'''~ ed from the ~r. TR-6. The TR-6 head is Je-poned just as the company did ils 500cc head before the Daylona model was available. It is felt that the straighl porting that results is probably more efficient than tI,e splayed ports of the standard ·Bonneville. The stock splayed~port version is stiD on the agenda for testing. Most privateers were running TT pipes because they felt thaI the extra power afforded by Ihe megaphones was nol necessary. Though the strajght-piped version seemed to be muscular enough, we wiD probably see more factory megaphones as the season progresses and they become more readily available. Twin T i I ' - c..buretan ... just u. mixture probll: ns cau.d by the heat diff• ...m.tion of tIw H-D·,. in-line eyli.-,_ Harley riders are playing with frames too, . . . . . 10 BSA also is going to pul some life into dirt track racing. A haIf-dozen Gold Stars were present, bu I many riders were OD 650 twins or were riding the Stars only because their new twins were still in the works. Judging from u. portormo... on u. _ . BSA - " _ witll U. booic Lightning ne. ond it c o _ fw boa. with tIw ll60 Triumpll thet u. 500 _ _ did with their CGIiIWparta. Indeed, some BSA riders claim that the fact that the 650 is actually a larger upper end placed upon a lower end with stroke ideDticai to the 500, giving il oversquare dimensions, offers more developmenlal possibilities than the Bonneville. As it is now, al the beginning of the seasoD, it is an impressive motor, 50 one can expect great things if BSA works as hard on tuning as Triumph and Harley-DavidsoD do. Tbe BSA rider also bas access to a SoDic or sonic-type frame. Several companies are now in tbe business, and one rider said thaI be Iud ordered one frame from Sonic and one from a competitive ccompany. All examples presenl were running IT pipes, for the zenerat feelinB seems 10 be that there is enough power on tap to allow the luner 10 concentrate OD handlisll, gearing, and reliability rather than tricky business in tbe'1llolor. Only one -NortOD was plesent, but this molor, due t ' its brutish power in basic tune, may be one that receives more atteDtioD as Ihe season progresses. Tom Bowersox's mount was based on the stock pol I motor and frame. . He said· thaI so far mosl of his attention had gone into proper gearing, and that he ~n'l been able to Ihink much aboul handling, a1thousb the lough P-ll frame, designed for desert scrambling, should do nicely with no modifications. In die mOlor, only the cams had been c1lan&III,. for a sJigh t1y more radical tinIincSniaIl diameter TT pipes were used for better torque, bUI Bowenox feels that Iit1le else must be done. Apparently. like the LiB/ttning, tbe poll offers enough basic horsepower for the builder 10 devole his efforts to reliability. '69 R.., F.I_II. DeU..,! ........ Cal, 167 W. Coil.. Aw.. s.. (714' TV 503445 IUUA(O Telllple (if, fawasali Area's leading yollI1le Kawasaki Dealer Compl.t. Paris & Ace.ssori .. 5663 N. Ros.mead Blvd., T.mpl. Cily ~ (213) 2B6·7504 ~ Let's go to fbe motorcycle races fbi s weekend! RUfF.STUFF s.oof'ers Tt-CRO RRKS FOR HOO.'\".-\ SEE VOl'R HOO.-\I\.-\ OE.-U.ER BRIDGESTONf Sales-Semee Barney Tillman'sSPORT CENT ER 6027 "IIi Uier Rl vd., E. Lo (2t3) 7~3523 Angeles Exclusive Mi teo's uncondi tional 60 day warranty on all Sherpa' 5, PurSangs, Bandidos, Matadors sold new at our shop. Thi s includes parts & labor. WINNER 1st _ places NoYice Main Event Ascot n Bultaco Mitco Bultaco MOSU COMPLETE 'ar's & Acces. I.n.f.r, ,. S•• (a'if.r.ia Koni Shocks Rickman Bars B1rum Tires Magura Controls Renolds Chain Skid Plates WINNER 125cc S ..ior Class Fontana Motocross Saddleback Motocross Bultaco 522 6J09 Rod Morrison - Manager

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