Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

~! " ~ Ql :: a.. TWI .......d FIlii" Salon quet, PIddle tennis, and bow11Dg to devote severa11nebes of Space tomotoJ:cycling. , The New York bLsed magazine reported lIIat Michael Wadley of Memphis, Tennessee brought immolation to the peaeetu1 Sou!bern town. Wad1e;r became convinced police were harassing him after he was stopped several times within a week and asked for his license. Wadley drove his motorcycle (the brand was not named) lIP to the steps of the Shelby C0W!ty Courthouse, soaked It in gasoline and set the hapless machine on fire. Wadley was ~eported1)' ebarged with arson. ottawa, IWnois Tiines curled an Item about a lady who advocates motorcycle ridiDg as an Ideal form of exercise to lose weight. Soo said three months of daily cycling dropped her welght from 136 to 117 Ibs.'Ibis could open lIP a whole new field tor llIlterpr1s1ng bJke rental agencies. Can you see a stout matron on a Metisse, poundiDg off exees.s lard? The earl)' rigid trame machines would probably be best. BII'II, Baby, Bum Sports Illustrl.ted took time from re- porting such hair-raising sports as cro- Add more FUN SAFETY and to your cycling Let an AROS CYCLETRAILER· pUll your bi kes out of the cities For Informillon IlId brocllu.. writ. or gil AHOS W.ldlnl&MuuflCudn" 379 No.JoIIn_Avo., EI Cejon, CIIIf. 92020. CALL Jl4 442-4100 KAWASAKI SPEED KITS $".00 up ~6 120ee & 175ee wrlll or gil DRACO'S MOTORCYCLES 1629 So, StMdlrd Avo. Sontl Ana, Cal. 92707 (714) 54309&11 e6•• piol Pr.selra,ioIS Gary Bailey - Bay Mare Rick Woods - Orange Co, Eric Oleson - Orange Co~ sic for e D....r of III. . . . Choice of ChamPions 8 S.,.. StIe... Barney Tillman's SPORT CENTER 6027 MUtUer Blvd., E. Los An&eles . (213) 723-3:123 Hoadl Dol H.)' liOW 4421 S. $opu'voda, at your d.al. p(/tfklt's (().~titi()11 Ellt,rptis, ·s. ·s_..S"."",",.,.,•• ....". _ _"11. 1201.1'. ·~_ Sr"'. Jr. 7-• •" C.,,,,•. """. Husqvarna-CZ-Penton Complete line of Torsten Hallman Racing Equipment Largest Stock of Motorcycles & Parts in Ibe Los Angeles Area ALSO SUZUki, Zundapp, M.Z. & Montesa ~tde4t4le'4, 2 CYCLE CITY • Mot~~~i::ies (2'3) 475-454' 10673 W. Pico Blvd., West Los AnQeles. Cal. THE TWO-WHEELER Ready For Innedlate Deily.,! 167 W. Colton Avo. SIn B.mltdlno, CII. (714) TU 5-3445 '70 OF .16LEWOOO MODELS Coming • Aug. 20th 611-1&89 or Ill-lIDO Foot Pegs for Yamaha Fits Models - D11B, cn, & An 12nun x 1.2510 ISO T1Iread Lightweight Low Cost N9,!BI!D~~OCK ~ 4915 Pacific Blvd" Vernon, California, Phone: 589-5488 Legislative Notebook Or: No Pro,.ef;oD Witi.., Repres.n'a';on By Barbara Adams Dallrns '!bat Harvard psychiatrist started something. It he can generalize about syndromes so can we. And one of the syndromes lIIat has bothered us the most as motorcycle riders, Is tbe "safetysyndrome" • A S)'Ddrome, since no one has exp1a1ned It yet,lsaco1lectionofs;rmptoms whlcb are characteristic of a disease. Taken to !be limits that some safety people take It, safety can be a disease. For elllUllple there was a repl)' in a L.A. PlP9r to a question concerning 'the relat1ve safety of motorcycles and autos. Motore;rcles had, aecordiDg to the National Safety Councu, five times as many fata11ties per ml1l1on m11es. Well, everybody in !be 'motorcycle field knows there has never been IlIlY near-accurate estimate of the annual mlleage on motorc;reles so I ea11ed the National Safety Coune11 for their source. Turned out It was the Bureau of Public roads who measures !be tax from gas, estlmates the gallons of gas sold, pro rates the types of vehicles registered and arrives at a guess as to !be annual m11eage of each type. Accuracyl The National Safety Coune11 then picks up th1s guess and advises that motorcycles are ftve times as 11keJy to be latal. There Isn't IlIlY rea11)' va11d way to measure the relative safety of motorcycles. Based on M/C andautoreg1strations In CalUorn1a M/C lata11ties are slightly hlgOOr. But !ben are obVlous1)' a large number of motore;rc1es used 00caslona1l7 on the streets and country roads whlcharenotcurrentlyreglstered. And, many autos are registered which are rarel)' driven. Tbe National Safety CouneU has never been IlIlY friend of ours. Last year a national press release of theirs beBdllned "TougOOr Laws, Fewer Cycle AccIdents" • With a perfectly stralgbt face tb1s artlcleacclalmsadrop in natlonal lata11t1es on motorcycles from 2050 to 2000 in the previous year. They then estimate lIIat motorcycle reglstration wU1 rise 300,000 in tbe coming year and credit !be abrupt drop in latallties to tougher laws, helmets, eye protection and licenslQg in 33 states. With their taee stl.l1 stralght they point to the dramatic rise in fatallties in CalUornla ...319 to 326 without mentioning lIIat the registration of motore;rcles in CalUornla increased from 310,000 to 381,000 in the same time. '!bat's ~ 71,000 increase, It Is no SurPrise lIIat P8<'ple who work in a field become lavolved with the alms of that field and aecord1ngl)' somewbat biased. There are two sides or more to each question and we all tend to see the one we're on. We're kind of biased in favor of motorcycles. But a recent dIscusslon with a safety-expert was nevertheless an eye-opener. Each casutatywas to him like the one-lIIat-got-away to the fisherman, a personal cballenge. He was thoroughly convinced that enougb tests and standards and laws and Umlts and order and education would eliminate or nearl)' eliminate traffic casualties. We appreciate his concern with our welfare. But we wish he was as concerned with our freedom. Someplace along lIIat line the cog Is s11PPed. Somewhere between concern and involvement safety becomes a disease. At the point where he Is more concerned with the trend of statistics than !be right of the lndlV1dual to live his ute according to his own values, !be safety-expert becomes not a benefit but a menace. You esn feel It more than measure It when worklng with them. The ,numbers on that &beet are reality;, ute s11Ps Into fantasy. It matters on1)' that we live, lIIat their cause proves Itself by a decrease in easutatles, lIIat they can point to !belr figures each year and perpetuate their place in !be organization. To question the authority of statlstlcs, to argue !be virtue of simple survl val Is to be a OOretic. Safety people look at you as though you were a murderer, as though you bad suggested setting lIP a maeh1n$gUll along the rOadway If you challenge the quantity of ute in behalf of the quallty. The best thing we could do with the National Safety CouncU and all !be otber safety org8nlzations (thllre are surprlsingl)' many, all working for our protection without our consen() would be to teach them all to rIde motore;rcles. I doubt lIIat tb1s Is possible because my estlmate of the safety-S)'Ddrome Is lIIat It Is full of fear and doubt. Maybe we should teach them how to Uve, too; but that wouldn't be fair. They have a rigbt to be safet, they have a rlght to do their thing. It would be nice If they saw It lIIat way too. Happiness Is ATrip To Huntington Beach , B:r Jerry Greer IlIlY dumb mistakes or second chances. HUNTINGTON BEACH, Cal.. August 10, Some bow after laps of such goings on 1969 - Happiness Is••.gettlng ott the line Barry Mayer inched out to second at the last in a Nov1ee 100 heat and on the f1na1 f1n1sh. Hannson did 'em again in the 2nd lap discovering lIIat everyone in front of 350 moto on the Mlteo Bul. in the 3rd you has fallen off, moto, he Idlled It in the lead, restarted It happened to David Tudos on a after all had P&S88d and stl.l1 ebarged to KawasaJd Sunda)' afternoon and was more 5th Showing how a But can nap ends at !ban a f1ttlng beg1nn1ngfor TTSeramhles speed on a straJght. Halrl on a very smooth and dust-free track at Amateur-EJrPert motos were wild to Huntington Beach Cycle Park. watch tool Gar)' Wells was up front The combination of heats for some every time we looked lIP in the 175 classes and motocross scoring for others motos. They let him ride the 250 Novice lett even the org&:nlzers a bit dazed by the da;r's end. Seems that some of the on his 175 to make laps, and he gave "help" dIdn't come througb at the last them heck. minute and some new folks helped roll A 250 Amateur-EJrPert moto was the trophy w1nD8r for cooll Lance Vallery the ba11. For those of you who didn't on a Bul was real17 strumming on the Show as sebedu1ed, my personal feelthroWe cable in the first lap, and Dean ings are "wby' don't you keep going Butterfield who had been rlgbt behind where you were headed?" him made a beautlful move to the inside Ever hear of Gar)' Wells from Las of the track where the "marbles" abide, Vegas? BIg guy. Maybe 200 pounds. and passed him at the tight radius of a Rides the big stuff and doesn't do too left bander. Mike Toussau astride a well. Rlght? Wrong. He'S a Uttle guy Green Streak Kawasald was taking th1s who welghs maybe 100 pounds. Twelve all into consideration back in thlrd plaee, years Old, rides a Brldgestone 100 in the Just feet away. A lap or two later, down 100 and 125 class and a 175 in the 175 the long straight, he pulled alongslde and 200 class. He Is 90% brave and 10% the Butterfield pUoted Yamalla. About body, and he comes from Las Vegas then, he reached over and tapPed old every other week to race hard. Youread Butterfield on the sboulder, waved, and about him last week, just didn't want you to forget him. cut out through the turn for an eventual win. Butterfield hUllg in there for second Mike Hannson's Bul propelled him toa behind the racer who polilel)' passed him. 1/2 lap lead in the Novice 250 heat and Many racers rode excellently and indicated to the fans that there was more certainly were every bit as deserving 'to come in the Novice 350 motos. In the of mention as those we did wrlte about. first one he drew up a forty yard lead On1;r the lack of sufficient Information over =y Hondas with valves. You from of.f1c1a1s prevented our covering remember valves, don't you? Well, 1lIlYthese gentlmen. No riders had excluslYe way, four guYs were packing in so tight for second lIIat there wasn't room for talent; they all raced hard.

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