Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

•. •••• ~ • America's leading weekly newspaper covering the motorcycle sport. You'll always see it first in Cycle News." Publisher Chuck ('Jay Lon Editor. Eric Ilaits Calendar EdiLor Terry Pratt Business Manager•. Sharun ('Iavton Office Manager.. Gaylene Thomason CirculatlOlI Manager•• llruce Ea ley Production Manager•• Ilennis Greene Production Asst.• Dean Cunningham 7 7 7 7 Bookkeeper..•.•• Susan IIhltelaw Lab Technician••.... LUi Lakich Want Ads••••.•.... Irene Keith Published weekly except the first and last week of the calendar year by Cycle News, Inc., Post Office Box 498, Long Beach, California, a Iso publishers of Cycle News East. Second Class Postage paid at Long Beach, Calif. Editorial stories. cartoons, photos. etc. are welcome. Write for information. Addressed. stamped envelope assures return of editorial matter. Reprinting in whole or in part only by permission of the publishers. Advertising rates and circulation in· formation will be sent upon request. 7 LAPD ERMALS REMEMBERED BY MORE THAN TITLE It Is with great regret that I was informed the death of Ron Ermals In your last Issue. It always saddens me to read of the passing of any athlete, but Mr. Ermals death was even more uotortunate In that he was a !lne ambassador to motorcycling on the track. As a resident of northern Alabamafor several years, I rode the short tracks there and In Tennessee. I met Mr. Ermals In ShelbyvlJJe, Tennessee last year• He and Darrell Dovel had driven from Atlanta to ride and were both very congenial to spectators and local riders alike. Experts who race and conduct themselves professionally are vitally important to us, especiallY In the south where persons like Mr. Ermals are KIngs In the eyes of spectators who don't often see champion performance. My wife and 1 have since moved to California and had looked forward to seeing him again. In fact she paid him the highest compliment she could have gtven as a spectator. She is completely new to the sport, yet remembered him well, and solely on the merit of riding and personal racing conduct rather than by his esteemed title "Expert". JERRY GREER Pomona, Cal. CONFUSION A PART OF RACING? Five weeks ago, I carted my bike to scenic South Gate, the home of torrid Trojan Speedway. It was recommended to me as "a good short track" where I could learn and compete against riders who were not out and out pros. Wen. one heat, a semi-main, seven- falls and no bruises later, 1 had found my new home. Somehow. with the help of the Great Rider In the sky, I had backed Into next to last place. Motorcycle racing justhad to be the best thing since packaged bread. The five wets since. however. have turned out to be a turmoU of confused numbers, names, heats and rules. This confusion along with a sincere desire ID get involved. are the reasons for this letter. As you are the rider's combination Bible. Wall Street Journal and Horoscope, I decided to write and ask for some knowledgeable Information. As far as confusioogoes 1 was wondering If Trojan Speedway is typical of all tracks that feature sportsman type events. From one week to the next, nothing remains the same. The process of elimination from heat race to semi main to !Inal main has been different J.'l1Ch week. Sometimes 3 from lbe semi and sometimes 1 and the main has fluctuated from 13 to 18 riders with no apparent reasoning. One week, theyeven sltlpped a trophy dash. 1 know I'm a little green as far as racing is concerned but is this confusion part of racing? 1 sure would like to know. BOB CORDERE MORE NATIONAL COVERAGE Having read your newspaper for three years and subscribing for two years, I feel I am quali!led to offer a little constructive criticism. Why not give more coverage to the Nationals? WIth more column space and more and better photos? Or, phrased a difierent way, why not bring the quall ty of your National coverage up to its last year's level. After all, the National circult is stlll the biggest thing going. 1 especially miss the action shots of the National flat track action. Now for one of your real brailstorms. The combined subscription for Cycle News East and West. This would be a real convenience to readers and would stimulate subscriPtion sales as most Eastern readers are Interested in what happens In California and vice versa. Please make this offer a reality soon. JOHN H. CURLEY Franklin, Tennessee COMM ENT: Thanks for the criticism, John, and look for Ule combined subscription ofler soon. BOUQUETS To Lost Coyotes M.C: congrats. on your European Scrambles. A well laid out course - good ambulance coverage - well organized. The Novices on one side and Am.lEx. on the other kept It moving beautifully so you could head for the barn by 12 o'clock. A salute from the DIrt Diggers. HYDRAULIC JACK Santa Monica, Cal. SWEET-AND-SOUR Concerning our European Scramblers on Sunday, August 24, the Lost Coyotes would like to extend a special "thank you" to the Brush Busters MC of Plco RIvera. When It came time to clean up the pIt area there wasn't much left to do but load bags of trash In trucks and head for the dump. The Brush Busters had already taken care of cleaning the major portion of the pits. We understand they are a new club and have 12 to 15 members. Their help was greatly aPpreciated. Our club symbol Is the coyote that chases the roadrunner In cartoons. We had 4 likenesses of this critter cut out of plywood, painted with enamel and backed by angle iron posts to drive in the ground. Sometime Saturday night, before the race, the coyote bearing our "WELCOME" sign was stolen. By the end of the races, two more were gone. The one rematning was bearing our "sign-up" sign and was In our pit area. We just can't understand why anyone will stoop so low to steal these signs. Everyone knows the work Involved In putting on a race and no thanks are necessary for that, but to donate the extra time and material to "dress up" the area only to have it slDlen leaves a bad taste In your moulb. We sincerely hope these "low lives" enjoy the fruits of their thieveryl We doubt' there will be any to steal at our races In the future. LOST COYOTES M.C. Lancaster, California 2 7 e"", II T" 2 .'441. By Eric Ratts We received a call today from Lt. Dan Sanchez of the Los Angeles Police Department, San Pedro division. Lt. Sanchez shed some light on the riding situation In the area across from the San Pedro Drive-In and north of the Harbor Freeway. The police depariment has letters from the land owner and from the City Attorney's office asking the pollce to enforce trespass laws In the area In question. Lt. Sanchez told us he has receIved many complaints from residents about the noise and dust stirred up by motorcyclists and that is the reason we (motorcyclists) were chased out several weeks back. He thanked us for the cooperation shown the officer who came out to do the chasing. He said the officer's report stated most of the estimated 65 motorcyclists were cooperatlve'and gave him no trOUble. The o!!lcer called us some uncomplimentary names (which were not Included In the report Lt. Sanchez saw) and got cooperation In spite of that. Lt. Sanchez says there has been little trouble since then. The Wednesday-night Nationals have shifted to another locale, apparently, and only an occasional rider is seen in the area. The Lieutenant says he is In complete sympathy with the motorcycltst's cause, understands our problems, and asks that we understand his. "The Laws" are caughi In the middle. Homeowners in the area ask why the pollce don't go out there and throw that noIsy bunch of rowdies In jail, and we wonder why the fuzz comes out to roust us when we aren't doing anything but having a good time. The law Is the law and people have a right to not have dust settllng on theIr lawns and cars. We wonder though, If the twenty or so motorcycles which were there on the day in question raised as much dust as the earthmoving equIpment which was tearIng out great chunks of hill? Business before pleasure, money before recreation, they always say. The good relations we have with San Pedro's pollce could deteriorate quickly If any more incidents occur such as the gate crashing there. Some unmentionable slob rl,pped down the gate across the access road and ran over It with a truck. Hey, fellows, let's police ourselves as much as possible and try to hang on to wbat little we have. Ingle copy pnce. . . . . . . . . . 2:ic SubscnptJon: one year ZDd <'lass mail i50 NATIONAL AD DIRECTOR Thomas R. Culp Cycle News (WesU, P.O. Box • •• I • I •••• • 498, Long Beaclt, talif. 9080 Tel. (2131 421-1433 LA. Line 63&-8844 EASTERN ADVERTISING. Paul Cosn... Cycle News East P.O. BOI 13, Amh...st, Ohio 44001 Tel. (216) 984-2433 2 7 7 •••••••••••••• • • : G esl • Editorial : : • : • • • • •••••••••••••• • By George Hays • QUESTION: Is a tax payer's time valueless? Should you have to walt In line six hours to get your drivers license renewed? 1 lost my drivers license. Somewbere. I took it out of my wallet and gave It to a store clerk when I wrote a check. The clerk forgot to gtve it back, and I forgot to ask for it. So, I took a day off work to go to the friendly local Motor Vehicle DePartment. Since my llcense was within a month of Its renewal date, 1 decided to have It renewed, rather than to just apply for a duplicate. After walUng in line for about 45 minutes to get to the first window, I was Informed that since I couldn't proye that I ever had a df'ivers license. 1 would have to take a driving test. Also, since I owned a motorbike, 1 wou1d have ID take a driving test on it also. Seemed strange that they couldn't check to veritY that I held a valid drivers llcense. I even had my driyers license number from the back of one of my cancelled checks. When a policeman stops you on the road, he can check'your license by radio in about Z minutes. but aPparenUy it's impossible for the local DMV office to check by any means. After paying $3 at the window, I was gtven two written tests to take. 1be 36 question test for car drivers was DO problem, particularly since I stud1ed.and outlined the MoIDr Vebicle Code page by page when I was gett1.Dg my credential to teach driyer education. But tile motor· cycle test was som.etbtng else. Ten questions, more than Z wrong, you fall. Even though I baTe a better than average knowledge of the Veb1cJe Code. seYerlIl of the questions were based on obscure laws that I had never beard of. For example, "When parklnc at tile curb, stale law requires that at least one wheel or fender must be IDueMng tile curb." Bo... do you touch the curb witb tile fender of a motorcycle? When parklnc at rigbt angles wilb tile curb, wily not leave tile bike a little out from the curb, so motorists can see tile space is taken, and tbere won't be a parade of drivers puUlngpart way In, then having to back out again? . Three of the questions were apparently based on opln1on. not on the law. For examPle, "When following beIItnd an automobile, you sbouId keep a greater distance than you would U you were driving a car." True. was the correct answer, but I can't remember en!l" rading or hearing of a law !bat covers this one. How much greater? This qaestloo is open to argument. Motorcycles can stop quicker than cars, so why sbould: they have to follow more than the prescribed one car lengtIl for every 10 mph? Particularly If you allow 6 car lengths at 60 mph on the freevay. tbree cars and a truck will i.m.mediately fill in the space. In short, the written Motorcycle Examination impressed me as stupid, not based on the la.... andwrittenbysomeooe who had never ridden a motorcycle. After walting In line for an hoor, I finally got to window liZ where my tests were corrected, and I was issued a temporary license. Since it was too late In the day to take my drtvtng tests - lbere were dozens of cars lined up. and U was only an hoor·till quitting time- I was told to "Just bring your car and motorbike in anytime before yoar temporary 11CONTINUED O. PAGE 26

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