Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

- weI_.... F.O.B• ...., PrIce Ma.IOTH FOUR tID I~s. $3,• • Morine 011 IlO the Mammoth, the first of the mODSter blkes to reach these sIIores, we come \lPOIl a truly classic macbtne. Somehow the problems of price and senice seem IlO dimlDlsb In theface of Its lmpresslYe German engineerIng. No qaestlon but It's a handful, yet the ~ Is cut low enougb for the shortest adalt. SInce we tested the macblne, Floyd Clymer bas sold the factory to an unlIUIIed ~er who wW soon, It Is rumored, market the Mammoth for around $2,500. Presently they are price at $4,000 a CCIPJ bere, and wortb every buck. Altboagh we weren't allowed to wring oat the monster, there Is no reason no doubt Its claims of 120 plus mpb speed. 'lbe llOOCc NSU 09erbeadcam4cyUnder eaglne nestles In a Iow-slUDg, sturdy frame, fed bY one dual Weber racIng carbo It wears 3" diameter forks. To start It, you twist the ignition key (another· key operates the Ugbts) and the eaglne begins IlO purr. Twist the griP and zIng goes the tacbometer! It Is the most responslYe of all the monster bikes. Everything operates .smooth as oUed butter, with that positive feel that underUnes durable qusl1ty. . The Mammoth bandies well at all speeds above a slow crawl. Altbough we didn't get to ride It 0ger 70 mph on a straigbt road, It gave no indication that problems might develop nearer the century mark. At 40-50 mpb on windlng, rough surface roads, tbe macblne was very reassurIng, and once one 09ercomes tbeawelDsplredby" the price tag, (U that ever happens) the Mammoth rider shouldn't bave a care In bis mind. The macblne can be "s1Zed" to any length rider bY addlng paddlng to tbe seat, Power and acceleration rate the bigbest mark. It feeeis ute there's more borses tbere than you'd ever want or need. Assuming that the flat-out test would bave borne tbls out, the Mammoth ranks among the great motorcycles in the power category. TRIUMPH THREE Weight...490 IU. P.O. E. PrIce... S1165.50 Indicated TIp Speed: 121 ~h Flnlsblng UP witb the Trlumpb Trident, menl. In co~ with Its fe1lcnr British prodDet, the ElSA, the Trident Is the Janer, more ...-resslve of ttIe pair. Ibf meellaD1eal parts bang out In the wind IDles"" med, as a good motorcycle should, and the aesthetic parts bend to accommodate them, with no metal wasted, or tortured to fit. Except for Its color (seabottom green) the Trident Is a very attracl1Te bike. Some of us like the tlshtall mutrlers, others declare they'd baye to go. We llked the way the power Is deUyered so mucb that we rated It great also. Below 3,000 rpm the Triumph Isn't very strong, but It pulls adequately, and the 4- speed gearbox Is a blessing with the wide power band. The BSA Three, on the other band, comes on at 4,000 rpm In order to deUyer a slIgbtly bigber allout speed. Wblppet-quick and nicely balanced. the Triumph Is as mucb of a joy in trattlc as out on the rOlld. It suf- Mammoth toolbox contains a wealth of goodies, Including spa,e clutch, sturdy tools, spa,e plugs. fered In the safety and general column because of Its crank starter, and because the born Is too poUte for a sUPerbike. But the brakes and bandUng left very Uttle to be desired and only a change to pure racing trim could bave 1mproved tbem. Altogether, eacb of the big new rOlldburners Is a deflnlte Improvement over anything that bas been avatlable before now. They are all capable of meeting the normal demands of long distance cruising and then some. The var1ables to consider in deciding wbtcb one Ix> buy are cbiefly price, appearance, service and lndlvldual preference. So you pays your money and you takes your cbolce, knowing you can't go wrong. we rated It Great in the looks depart- American I.S.D.T. Riders Chosen "'lbe time bas come", the bike rider said, "to speak of curious tblngs, of people and macblnes and qusl1ftcatlons, of tbe U.S.A., of the lS.D.T., and of you and me." The day Is past when motorcycle riders with a Uttle spare casb and a big desire could boP a plane for Europe and end UP representing the United States in the International Six Days Trials. From Walt Axtbe1m's lonely- attempt In the middle 50' s until last year, just about any American who wanted Ix> could send bis entry Into M.l.C.U.S. and end upwitb a green Ugbt and blessings Ix> go abrOlld and sock It to ' em for 'Old Glory'. Molx>rcycUng and the popularity of the Six Days bas caugbt UP with us. Of the 31 serious Americans who qusl1ty, only 20 will be accepted bY the sponsorIng club In West Germany. The classic trials runs next month. So tbe people who bave to make the decisions were faced with a gigantic problem wbtcb involves every motorcycle entbuslast in tbe United States, because those who go will represent the U.S., not a make or a brand of motorcycle, or even some private motorcycle club. They will carry the American flag in tbe opening ceremony and their every action w1ll be notice and crltlzed by their European counterpart. For tbls Is Europe's Olympics for motorcycles and many of these racers devote their entire Uves just Ix> be a part of It. How do you tell eleven guys they can't go? How do you pick 20 men to represent the U.S. wben the problem bits you between the eyes all at once with just 15 days until the entries close? We can talk about next year. We can talk about making elimination contests and qual1t1catlon contests, and all sorts of trials to be run from the Atlantic to the Paclflc, but that doesn't belp now. Tblrty-one entry forms with just names on them, no past performances of bow well they did In their native area, or how many cbamplonsblps they bave won, or even what kind of motorcycle they will bave for tbls tougbest of all endurance contests, Just 31 names. Tbls Is how tbose 20 were cbosen and tbough tbe Earth w1ll swallow UP those responsible for giving that fatal nod and their air t1lters may forever leak dirt, some- one bad Ix> do It. Tbls ' 'someone", wanting 10 spread tbe blame, formed a committee. He was careful in cboosing riders who bad a great interest and knowledge of tbe International and were also skUled In band to band combat. Their major criterion for selection was tbe past performances of these entrants In previous I.S.D.Ts. Not all the openings were filled, so a few new names from the East and a few from the West rounded off tbe twenty. Some of these newcomers Ix> the Six Days bave done very well in the Berkshire Two Day (the only tblng in the U.S, that Is even close Ix> the real tblng), Some others, besides being excellent riders, bave promise of tlrst-class factory macblnes to ride, and tbls Is very-very Important. So It was done, we bave tbe strongest ever Silver Vase "A" and "B" teams and the manufacturers team and ACA club team look good too. Never before bave we bad Silver Vase teams made up entirely of past medal winners and all on first rate macblnery too. Tbls year the riders were graded by their past performances in the I.S.D. T. Medals won, what medals won, and bow many times eacb contestant rode. Even that terrible Six Day In '65 was inclUded, where all private entries were eUmlnated by the evening of the tblrd day. (only 8 Gold medals were won that time). Next year there bas got to be some qual1ty1ng events, and a whole lot of communication between North, South, East, and West. M.J.C.U.S. wants the best Americans to represent the U.S" they just need a way of determ1n1ng who's best. 1969 AMERICAN I.S.D.T. RIDERS: VASE 'A' INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES Dave Ekins Dale Richardson Cbas. Hockle David Latham Malcolm Smith Bud Green LeRoy W"mters Bob Arison VASE 'B' Tom Maxwell Dave Mungenast Herb UbI Mike Patrick MANUFACTURERS TEAM (Bultaco) Jobn Penlx>n Jobn Taylor ACA CLUB TEAM Jerry Pacbalke Bob Ewing Bob Maus Ted Lapadakls Andrew Ricbman Bob Hicks ••••• ..........................................................................................................................................,II.,~ ~ ~ ~ **~ ~ ~ . ..... .... .. .·. .. ... ~ · · · · · · • • • ~ · ~ • Makes Indianapolis Motor Speedway History! Ron Grant and Art Baumann . ·. ~ · ~ · ~ ~ ~ · · ~ · · · · Finish 1-2 Among SOOcc Class Machines Both Riding Suzuki 500/5 : : : : : . ~ . . . AMA National Championship Road Race Indianapllis, Indiana - Allg. 3, 19n Expert Final, in order of finish 1st Cal Rayborn - H-D 150cc, 2nd Ron Grant - Suzuki 500, 3rd Art B.mann - SuZUki 5DO · · · : . : \. - - ~ SUZUKI Expre5 5 ourse. If ~ . . . . pa:.~~:~~i~ E:~~' .~ Ascot I, 1969 Ist John Hateley - Suzuki Ascot Part Half'1llile - July 25, 1969 Novice Main Event 1st Jolin Hateley - SIluki : 1 .. .............................................................................................,......................................................- ~ ~ : : : : : ~ ~ .," ~ ~

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