Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Cycle News 1969 07 22

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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Note now MacDoulfe has twisted nls neck to avoid Injury to his back. He sustained a sliCht neck sprain and will have to talk out of the comer of It's a nice, ne"OUBY feellnr you set on the start:1ng l1De for the first ttme. I sat there amonc all those rea111ve rlICers and tried not to look too DerTllUS. Ten 0' clock rolled aroUDd and tile starting banner was dropped. EDc1Des, about one hlllldred of them, eJlPloded1Dto noise and everybody was d!. EYerybody but MacDouffee that Is. I had lorgotte11 ·to turn the gas on and by the time I was started some of tile dust bad seWed. I bounced almost througb tIleftrstloop and l1na1ly caught sight of the grove at trees that marked the finish. My lboaIbt at the time was, "My Goodness, I b&ft to do that two more times?" Well, I did It two more times and got a little faster. A l1tt1e too fast, I expect, for I got a heavy taste of sand IIaJ1way through the last loop. Dave warren 1IIIS there and got a good action sbot. Note how I agUely twisted my neck to keep from hurting my back. I got back 011 and managed to pass one guy who had gone by me. He was Ia.ughlng so hard I hope he lost control and crashed himself. The finish line was easy to 11Dd, what with all the campfires burning so brightly. Denise was waiting for me with a jar full of Gator Ade, and sml11ng because I had finished. She brought me a toothbrush and I got most of the sand out from between my teeth by bed time. SundaY was more of the same, only I was a little faster. It still Idnda hurt to have those girls on Hodakas pass me but you've gotta keep plugging away. Guess It'll be a wh1Ie before we are reaQy ID tackle the Speed Week festiV1t1es at Daytona but it's best to aIm h1gh... ~sm"~~a~~M~.(D~W~~P~toJ • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •~ • By Leon MacDouffe All you motorcycle riders out there -wIlo have never raced one of the famous Southern Callforn1a desert events may have wondered from time to time whatlt feels like ID get out in the sand and churn up the rea.! estate. We talked to Jack Ross, president of the GreyhoundS M.C., several weeks ago and he told us the Ponderosa would be an Idea.! place for a beginner so we agreed to show up saturday and SundaY. That was k1nd of a mistake; I had tile pre-race jitters for two weeks. Being a rank, ranIt, novIce, I squeezed tennis IJa.1ls and rode every night after work at Dominguez Hills trying ID beat mY tired bodY InlD shape. The first night Denise and r went out there r rode hard for what seemed like hours and then came back to the truck. "Get back out there, you big sissy, you've only been riding for ten m1nutes," Denise said encouragingly. It went like that for the weeks prior ID the race; each day I'd increase the time until I could stay out for about an hour of riding without my arms fa111ng off. Some guy named Gary Batley came out there one day and was watching me ride. He gr1nned a lot and said he had never seen anyone ride quite I1te that. Guess it was a compliment•••Gary lives right across the street and said he was attracted by the durability of my Matchless. He said anything that would keep runnlng after being on Its side in the dirt so much must be a good machIne. Denise and Wb1zzer and I went to Ascot the night before my big race just to get in the right mood and then left for the desert 1mmed1a.tely after. Our old Ford truck chugged fa.1thtully through the San Fernando Valley and climbed out of the Los Angeles Ba.s1n. We thought the smog was unusually heavy for nighttime but It turned out to be the windshield. The truck Is so old, the windshield has started to purple like the old glass hoWes people hunt in the desert. We stopped in Lancaster, Cal., at Denny's restaurant for a. spot of breakfast and were treated to the local loudmouths beating their chests in pride at being able to drink a pitcher of beer and then finding a pIa.ce to ea.t. Guess there Isn't much else to do in Lancaster unless you have a motorcycle... We found the Ponderosa area fUteen mUes east of town on straight, lonely Avenue J and drove a.s quietly as we could through the campsite until we found a space. We got in two hours of sleep before the first two-stroke alarm clock went off. Jack Ross briefed me on race procedures and suggested I go around the course once to find out what it was like. I did and we almost packed UP and went home right there. The torture started right at the beginning. 100 yards of deep sand Is a hell of a way for a novice to begin his racing career. The sand was nice compared to the whoop-te-doos, though. Miles and miles of roller coaster personally formed bY the Marquis de Sade made up two-third of the nine- m11e loop. Denise and I tried to do all the last minute essentials and soon race time was uPOO us. Bergquist TEALS ANOTHER IIIUIDIDO st OVERALL Desert Turtles M.C. Hare Scrambles July 4, 1969 1st OVERALL Larry BergqUist EI Bandido 3&Occ 43.5 H.P, 580cc power - 250cc weight e tnnel 'lie AFM 250 mile Production Road Race l!l69 Cleghorn & Eric Leighton co Metralla MK II otocross Winner Eugene, Ore. _ a_ - _Paul Johnson -- July 3, 1969 Bultaco PurSCIlg _ _Winner of 250cc Heal, T. D., Main, Hand. Main Aurora Speedway - July 4, 1969 Paul Johnson - Bullaco PurSalg & Sherpa S Wins 125cc - 200cc - 250cc Classes Aurora Speedway - July 5, 1969 Paul Johnson - Bultaco PurSCIlg & Sherp Wins 125cc - 200cc - 250cc Classes Asbury Park, Ore. - July 6, 1969 Paul Johnson - Bullaco PurS~"'''I''''1"· Wins 125cc - 250cc Main &T Plus Sweepstakes (ridin BULTACO EI Montadero 360cc Enduro. The Dirt Bike You Can Ride On· The Street Functional Beauty: Black and White with red striping • swing arm pivots through the rear engine mount • Femsa system • geared primary drive • 32mm Amal Concentric carb • 4 speed drum-shifter box • new air filtration system • reinforced wheel hubs • heavy-duty rear chain • heavy-duty alloy rims • ENGINE Number of cyl inders . . . . . 1 Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 2 stroke Bore and stroke . 85 x 64 mm. Oi splacement . . • . . . . . . 362.8 cc. Compression ratio . . . . . • 9:1 Brake horsepower . • . . . . 32.5 HP Alloy cyl inder head hand alloy cylinder with hardened liner GENERAL MEASUREMENTS Gas-tank capacity. . . . .• 2'1> U.S. gallons (9,5 I itres) Wheel base. . . . . . . • . •. 56" (1420 m/m) Handlebar available on upper yoke or stanchions clip-on Saddle height above ground 31" (785 m/m.) . 10.4" (263 m/m.) Ground clearance Footrest height . 11.2" (285 m/m.) Height of air intake . 29.5" (750 m/m.) Weight (empty) . 251 Ibs. (114 Kgs.) So. of Kern Counly Line Easlern Slates BULTACO WESTERN CEMOTO EAST IMPORTING CO. 10Q2Q Chandler Blvd. No Hollywood, Cailf. 91601 P.O. Box 20 ,Schenectady, N. Y. 12301 (213) TR 7-2400 No. of Kem Co. Line (518) 372-4721 BULTACO AMERICAN, LTD. 2765 Scott Blvd. Santa Clara, Calif. QSOSO (408) 241-4672 A\'g"':'r~ iA' ..;.y>:; II ~,. ;Ei 0 ~ ,. ~Iii«i~ .., ..

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