Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125635
PEOPLE PLACES THINGS Meet The Challp By D.M. Curran Art By B.E.R. Service What does a tighter do while he's sweating out the time between bouts? Train? He should. So says Oregon's 26-year-old, 135-pound lightweight contender of the boxing ring, Len Kesey who, uptil last March when he was toppled by Barrientos in Hawaii, rated 7th in the world in the Junior Lightweight Class. And he's going back into it soon. For whatever Manager Mike Morton comes up with by way of tights, may well determine Kesey's future in boxing. Meantime he lets the situation alone, maintains a clam facade and races his 250cc motorcycle on the tracks. For Kesey, cycle racing is a sport he indulges himseli in for pure pleasure. Therefore, the 150 trophies he's won so far on the dirt track may not mean as much to him as the record he's stacked up for himseli in his six years of pro fighting - ten knockout wins out or nineteen, tive losses and a draw. Kesey There was a time, back in 1967, when his wtre Janice, a pretty,green-eyed, mother of two - did a bit of racing in the local Powder Puus. "They'd let the girls ride the 250's then, she says, now it's only the l00's," Her husband inslsts hls wtre could be 011 par with the best of them if she kept riding. Experts in the boxing world have said the same thing about Kesey - that his strength lies in his agility and scientific approach to the sport, hls weakness: Not enough tralnlng. The clear-eyed, good looking flghter openly admits, "I know it. Training isooeofthe first all-important requirements in the sport" he says. A former Californian, Kesey comes from an illustrous familY of sportsminded people. A brother was a number one Ground Galner for hls district in foolb8ll and there is a cousin Ken wbo was a boxer of note in college. As a boy, Len watched the saturdaY evening flghts on television, developed his own style early - something he worked out himseli but admits now that some professional training could have helPed. For awhile, he was doinghlscwn managing. By 1959 Kesey had worked hls way up from the Amateur ranks into winning the golden gloves for southern Oregon and Washington state, going pro four years later, in 1963. His goal was always to make a place for himseliin the toP ten world championship brackets - and this he did.li, having gone so far, he felt that goal was accomplished, thus creating a mental block, is a matter of conjecture. Time will tell. He may be pondering thls on those rare weekends when he brings out hls bike, alights, and goes of! into a cloud or dust down the dirt track. Take a friend to a motorcycle event this weekend. I HARLEY-DAVIDSON I '~O MODELS Of INGLEWOOD Coming Aug. 20th 671-1609 or 671-7&00 FORKS FROM GRIZZLY SAVAGE FAST ON 2 WHEELS OR 4 Betor forks known the world over for their unsurpassed damping ability and quality are now available from Grizzly Engineering and Machine. Theseforks have proven their excellence in all forms of international competition. A full 7" of fork travel absorbs the deepest potholes. Super strong stanchion tubes(3.5mm wall thickness) of hard-chrome plated chromemolybdenum resist bending from the hardest spills. Complete unit weight or 19 lbs. provides the proper machine balance. This description gives only the highlights of the characteristics of Betor heavyweight forks. Swede Savage, auto racing protege or Dan Gurney, will return to his natural habitat - motorcycle racing - for the American Legion-sponsored indoor speedway motorcycle races at the Los Angeles Sports Arena three weekeods beginning Aug. 30. Class A motorcycles, the llghtweight fuel-burning machines that draw crowds of 75,000 in Europe, will also race Sept. 7 and 13 at the Sports Arena. The young Santa Ana rider, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday the week of the first race, only recently took up Class A speedway racing, but he is a veteran or nearly 10 years of motorcycle competition. He started racing two-wheelers at the age of 14 near his San Beranrdinohome. By fudging a bit about his age Savage became an American Motorcycle Assn. pro when he was 17 and was the top novice rider in the U.S. In 1963. Hetinished second in his first international race, the '64 Daytona 100. Discovered by Gurney working in a Hollywood motorcycle shop two years ago, Savage was introduced to Ford officials and soon had a job racing NASCAR stock cars in the Carolinas. He returned to Gurney's All-American Racers shop in Santa Ana last year, and Gurney began schooling him in the intracacles of road racing. Savage llnished sixth in his first pro sports car race at Riverside, and he was 11 th in the CanA m point standings last year • Still humble about hls racing beginnings, Savage recalls, "The first three times I was 011 a motorcycle in a race I went on my head. I set fast time sitting up and lying down." His racing schedule at the Sports Arena could be interrupted, but only If an additional Gurney Eagle will be ready for USAC championship races. His next Indy car ride is to be at Brainerd, MinD.. Sept. 14. Also available are the equally great Betor llghtwelght series of racing forks. These offer a full 6" of travel, weight or less than 11 lbs. and 4-1/2" between stanchion tubes for tire clearance. Each of these fork units can be ordered with either a standard axle position or a forward mounted axle which increases the wheelbase 1". Bullders and tuners may cootact Grlzzly Engineering and Machine at 812 South Missouri, Waterford, California, for further information. I RON -ON TRANSFERS Four all new Iron-On Transfers are now available from Pabatco. The Hodaka Insignia (IOT-101) measures 8-1/2" in diameter and comes Hodaka Red. The Hodaka Name (IOT-102). which can be used alone or with the insignia, also comes in Hodaka Red and is 8" in length. The Red Baron (lOT-I03) and Tule TIger (lOT-104) are both full color transfers and measure 8-1/2" x 6-1/2" • MAVRlCK SHOCKS WITH NEW SHAFTS Mavrick shock absorbers engineered for the Yamaha DT-1 are nowavaJIaqle with a halt inch diameter shatto North American Imports says that these re- HQDAKA llED-DOWN WITH CHINESE HANDCUFFS Steen's inc. claims that unhooking is simple; by reversing the tug 00 the upper side of the loop end, while pulling down on the bike to relieve tension opens the weave and trees the rope. To adjust for long or short use, the loop end may be pulled completely out of the main length and reinserted at any point. Additional features include elimination of buckles, clamps, or rings, and easy use when wet. Ust price is $4.95 a pair (California residents add 5% tax). The tie-downs are available at the distributors, Steen's, Inc., Box 2276C, Alhambra,.Cal. 91803. MESA CYCLE CENTER GRAND OPENING Mesa Cycle Center announces their Grand Opening to be heid saturday, Sept. 6th in San Diego, Calif., featuring Kawasaki, Greeves, and Sachs motorcycles. Special invitation is extended to the public. by owners Bruce Sanford and Gordon Newman to come see their street, traIl, and competition bikes now in stock. Also, on display will be the Kawasaki 250 "Road Racer", with Kawasaki Coyote Mini BIkes "for kids". Door prizes, including a Kawasaki 90cc Trail Bike, and discounts on all accessories will be given throughout saturday. The Grand Opening will be at Mesa Cycle Center, 4689 Coovoy 51.. San Diego, Callt., phone number 278-4020. NEVER-SAY·DIE JONES RIDES AGAIN Recovering from a para1yz1ng acci- buildable shocks are fully tested and a great improvement over the standard part. Fully guaranteed, the shocks sell for $32.00 a pair at North American Imports, P.O. Box 621, Garden Grove, Calif. 92642. (714) 534-6390. WILSON'S NAME IN BRITISH SILVER American motocrosser Jim Wilson'S name is engraved in silver on the Fred Austin perpetual cup for his tirst Junior placing in the O-I,OOOcc class at the Diss & District Club scrambles near Bury St. Edmonds in England. TURNER Expansion Chillllbers Port, PolIsll, Five & S...en po,tlne lor (213) most 2-sllokes 519.7717 Also Reed Portlne Hours 10--6 6025 M.ywood #11 Closed WeeL & Sun. Hunlinpn Pork; c.m. FLORIDA INDOORS FOR SPEED WEEK? Rumor has it that Trojan Enterprises (Don Brymer), famed for brlnglng indoor short track to the Los Angeles area two years ago, will host a professional 4star AMA indoor short track at the Jacksonville, Florida Memorial Coliseum on March 9, the first day of Speed Week. Jacksonville is about 100 miles from Daytona Beach. Neil H.ney of Lomita 40 New Molo,cycles in slock o New Sportsters i"""edhte delivery 2212 Poe. Coosl HW)'. (n3) 534-5530 4,'<,"'" forward to riding bikes ag:aln by December <1 this year, and bopes to actually race in the HoostonAstrodome in March, 1970. But Chuck is still just learning to live: "It's like being a baby ail over," he says, as he struggles to walk twenty feet. Chuck's broken bones and total paralysls resulted from a 100-mlle-perhour crash in Sydney, Australia, when he made the critical, split-second decision to "hit the fence" rather than hit the spilled rider in front or him. RADIO CREW ·SAFENS" RACING Two-way radio communication provided by the international Racing Radio Crew moves first ald and personnel immediately to any accident scene 00 a long desert, road race or motocross course. The Crew has been invaluable to such promoting groups as AMA District 37, F .I.M., A.F .M., and many clubs. Grady Lafferty is the President or the Crew and Frank Farquharson Secretary, Treasurer. They can be contacted by phone at (805) 526-893-2940. Welcomes You I HARLEV-DAVIDSON I Col ~ Col ...:l Co) Remember the toy called "Chinese :>., Handcuffs"? It was usually made of Co) woven wicker, and when you stuck a finger in each end, you couldn't get them out again. The harder you pulled, the tighter it got. The same principle has been applied to these outstanding new tie-downs. Nylon fibers have been woven to form a hollow rope, using the "Chinese HandcuU" weave. The adjustable end makes a loop and threads into and back out or the main length. When tension is applied, the end If firmly gripped by the weave, eliminating slippage. The nonadjustable end has a permanent loop which may be used as it comes, or a metal hook (provided with tie-dOwns) can be attached. dent, motorcycle star Chuck Jones looks These are just the thing for jazZing \Cl a scuzzy old T-shirt, sweatshirt, or jacket. No need to buy a whole new wardrobe. Just iron one of these arty little numbers 011 something you already own. Fun to apply and a riot to wear. Cost is only 2-bits each or 3 for 75~. What else can you get today for only a quarter? CI) ~ 'tlfrick's ·S.tu C()/.~fifiDII £lIf~rpris~ .'P-.t. ·S~" to..,- " __ u_5<.-12,.1227-.... 1201 WO. wo. c..... CollI. s,_