Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

-America's leadilli weekly newspaper covering the motorcycle sport. You'll always see it first jn Cycle News.· Publl her•..•.••. Chua I.ylon Calendar F;dltor••.... Terry Pratt "sst. to the Editor. Gael Bucbllllan Iluslness Manaler•• Shanx. Clayton "America'S WeekI Motorcycle Newspa:er" Olrlce Manaler•. Ga lene Thomason ClrculaLlon Manalter•• Bruce Easley Production Asst•• Dean Cunningham 7 7 7 z 7 2 z 7 or just succumb to I1Ie propqanda r1the bIk. manutaeturers? Ar. you trytnr to promote the sport or are try1JIi to kI.1l It ott? What ta yOIII' (Oa1? HERB SCHENK South Laka Tahoe. Calit. b1i ,OU GREAT FUN, HOIEVER... We went on tile EnMMlla Run - Great wealIIer, bubl Met ISOme creatpeopl. and bad tun shopplnr. Howevw, was It ever .-n-pnl&edl Where was .-.t camp1J'OQIId. &nJbow? Did you eftr decide wilen or It tber. was to be a parad.? And. about tile tour - _ didn't ftnd out wIIIIII It was untO after It wu oYer. Saaestton: New P.A. SJStlIm? Sure bops tile ~ In tbe acc:1dent are doI.nC O.K, Tbe pu1icJpants In the l'IIII 8bould be concratWated tor tbe1r Iood bebarior. ERNtE JENSEN Compton. cal. THAIIKS flTeO BULTACO! M:J blke tllat I . . Plannln&' saturday FridaY and rnm. 'Mtr. the Your plctur.s sbow INLt yOIII' man was rtebt tber. with us (11Ie Checker bq In eff1CY WU out-ot-stcbt). and It's nlc. to be able to check over the results In the sam. weet. keep up the Iood work; It's nlc. to baft an insider who knows tile local scene. ROOER CLAYTON El Monte. Calit. er. (Honest 101.... be's no relaUon.) to ride .aetn. 0017 -.lnce&bl. pieces len. 5atIIrda¥ la Mltco's bulast dI7 r1 the - - . but by 1:00 tIlataftlrllOOllt Nanmbel' 1M, Ill)' Bandtt (or ..RoacIl" as Jmco caUa It,) ftn4 011 till ftrat ktc:t. I didn't belt_ It" .... oilier r1den bnaed about weco, and 1M Rl'ric. ..., .... recehed. Now I . . a beUeftr and al80 UIIderstaDd _ ..., are 1M ~ "I" 8lIltaco dialer Ina-U.s.A. "ft __ 1 met a nicer bluM:II, from . . muapmeat dowII lID 1M lot boy. MID CRAM 1& MIrada, Cal. IIIVOLYlIIG MORE III RACES RefVenc. BW FlemlnC's 1ettIer In Jour " Iilw. 6t IN... I tb1nt BW had a poIIIt d-nnc ot mon lIzt8nslft treatment. 1 per~ 8IlJo1 motorc7clu tremeDdou817 and It la obttous tllat, In 011I' democratic ~ . actIOIIla tabn prImaJ1l7 to oil 1M . . . . . tIlat SCII*k. TIIus. 1M more motol'qdlats tbere are wbD "~'. 1M poealIU' wtll be 011I' lawmabrs' I'8IIPQIIA to" ~ as It becomes a roar. r1Ibt? O.1e. 'I1len It beIIoun8 lIS all, pu1icularl7 tboH wbo ran rac.. l1ke~orbarellCl'&lll . . . (wbIre IarIe ~ r1 motorqdlsta are lImIlftd 011 U.S. Fonst Sen1c. or Bur-.u r1 La81 Manacement 1aIId) to run tbem ISO 1M participants not onlY eIIjOf . . eftIIl bat wtll want to PUS 011 1Uorabl. commenta to IIIelr trlends, HaYlnr atlltnded and r1ddeIl In a number r1 mo4loc:ross and scrambles raees In N. . . . and t can SS7 from experience .-.t the nee PI'OlDOWrS and orpnlzers are not actlnc In th. best interests of the sportl Wby? Beeause tbe)' are setttnr up courses mad. to order for at least a 15Oc:c machlne but which strain tbe 125ccs and are actualI11D1poss1bl. or ~l7 so for the lOOCCsI Ulrml7 belleve that, In I11ILIlY cases, no 'ODe In tile spanIIOI1IIC club even botbered to try retttnr a lOOc:c cycle ov.er the' course prior to race dayl Perhaps tile answer ls to work toward 1I&fatweteht (100c:c:). mediumwetcbt (1011OOcc) and b.~ classes with a wbol. day I01nc to l1chtweICIIt and beari.s comblned (due to tbe usually smaller IIWllbers inVOlved). 'lben the mediumwelcbts could run by themse1fts on as eunc-bo a course as tile orp.n1zers wlsb (tbe7 may f1nd tllat there ts alarp number r1 potential medium class racers wIIo would l1ke to race It tbe)' knew that promoters would reserve their all-out course tor state-wide r\l.DOfts, national 01' International races so tbat noncJwnplonsbtp races would give them a cbanc. of taIdng tbe1r macblnes 'bom. In working order. At the least, tile lOOCcs could be routed on a cours. more sultable to their clPablUties. 'lblnk about It, clubsl An you t1'Ylnlt to lJm)lve all c7clu ~ of d1rt work caJItorma. Your desert write-uP ta looldni Iood. and your facta are correct. The lOOCc class la iOtnr all the way, 1ncludlnr tbe Rams run. PVBLlSRER'SCOMMENT: Tlall", Ror- ntebt, was 1JmIlftcl in a tire OCtober nat; 1M 1IlCtlt. DESERT COVERAGE PRAISE APPRECIATE HELP I would Uk. to taka lbts opportunltJ to (I'&tefully lIIank J. N. Roberts for pu1ltbr my truck and trailer t1JroUIb the sand WUb at tbe Cbec:kers rac•• Altar be lett, I found out my clutch BooIllleeper.••••• SuNIl IbUela. Lab Technlc:l LIlI LaIIltiI ReceplhlDist. ••••• 8lllIilee EYIUIs Published weekly except the first and last week of the calendar year by Cycle News, Inc •. PosL Office Box 498. Loni Beach, California, also publlshers of Cycle News East. Second Class Postaie pald aL Loni Beach, Calif. Brlltorial stories, cartoons, photos, etc. are welcome. Write for Information. Addtessed, stamped envelope ..saures return of editorial matter. Reprinllni In whole or in part only by permIssion of the publishers. Advertislni rates and circulation informatIon will be sent upon request. 7 7 7 7 on had ione out the truck and I want to thank WhItey Martino for comtnr and pulUnr us to "harder" ground. Tbanks f.llas. It was really appreciated. JOE TRIB Bell, Cal. OXNARD M,C, POKER RUN A FLUSH OF HEARTS Enclosed Is a copy of a letter 1 received In March of tbts year and one tbat we of the Oxnard Motorcycle Club are very proud of. • Your club's contribution to the Max aaer Heart Fund Is a fine .xample of what motorcycl. clubs do tbat the papers completely liOOre. Your orpnlzation ill one tbat the City of Oxnard and Its people can be rlibtfu1ly proud of. We of the Grand Aerie salute the membersblp of the Oxnard Motorcycle Cillb. and In some way I bope tbat we mliht 1le able to contribute sometbtni to th. weitare of your Orpnlzatlon.'" MICHAEL T. GAFFNEY, Dlr.ctor, Max aaer Heart Fund W. would Uke to bave people know how some people INLt are not connected with motorcycles teel. RON SCHALL. Pr.81d.nt Oxnard M/C Program For The Future By Chuck C1a)'ton Now lkt AMA ... taIraa tbe pant atep of amllatton with the world sanc~ bodJ. and rlmoncl . . odious suspension oft.nse from Its rul.book and created a Iood set of rules for tile road rtdlnr enthualUta at Am.rica, It Is tim. to map out a new procram for future Prosr.... TIle Competition Coocr." bas done Ita job well. accompUsb1ni In two abort Jll&rs all .-.t could be .lIP8Cted r11t, and more. N.xt It Is up to th. Executive Board r1 Director•• If the Competition Conrr.s. can be satd to be th. tront wheel, It bas steered tile AMA on the .tratehtaway to the future. Now tile qu.stion ill wb.ther th. Board will prorid. the power and traction to follow thr0llih. Man7 r1 tile problem. and praposals beard In the Conrre.. committee meetlnis were not actually the prorinc:. at th. rulemaldni bodJ. Tbee. primarlly conc.rned th. subject r1 pubUc1l;r and PubUC r.lations wbtcb, Uk. th. weatller, ev.ryboc:b' In motorcycUnc talks about, but IIClbocIJ yet bas done anytbtni about. Well. we wtsb to state .-.t It la now IIOII8lble to brlnr about a cbanp In the cUmate of pub11c OPI.n1no. TecIlnlques .xt.t to seed the clouded minds of th. Am.rlcan pubUc conc.rntnr motorcycUnc and cause the cleans11llf ratn of und.rstandlnr without wh1cb our sport, pastttm. and 11&)' r1 lit. cannot contlnu. to i!'ow healtbl1y. Only the AMA ExecutiYe . Board can make tills posslbl•• The DIrectors should Immediately create a new position In the AMA. that of DIrector r1 PubUc1tJ and PubUc R.latlon. with r.sponstbWty for activ.1y promottnr a better understandlnr of motorcycltng and the AMA amonr th. pn.ral pubUc In any and 8ftry way posslbl•• The Director of PubUelty and P.R. would work both Independently and with Indtriduals and AMA clubs to pubUcize actlriti.s of a non-comm.rclal, or pubUc s.rric. nature such as th. proposed Seattle-to-Oaytona Road Marathon by the Wubtniton 9gers M.e. . He would be enjoined from pub11clZ1ni any part1c:u1ar brand or product, but could "swap" publlclty with other serrice organtzatlons such as Charity Newsies and the National Safety Councll. Our proposed off1ce of Publ1clb' and PubUc R.lations would be paid for by an Incr_ In AMA annual m.mbersblp dues trom th. present $2 to $5. Two dollars of the lncr_ (total: $4) would lOt to the pr•••nt AMA structure for defraytnr rlstng costs and also for eJlPlUldlnr the omce facWties to accommodate a Wier member· sblp. One dollar out of each AMA m.mber's dues would 10 to the offtce of PubUcity and P.R. Based on pr.sent m.mbersblp tllat would ilTe the P.R. DIrector $105,000 annually to blre bls staff. detra)' otftc. and other expenses and pay bls own salary. Such an off1c. ta Ionr ov.rdue. At present the AMA divides publlclty and pub11c relations respooslb1UtI.s amonr three or four employees, all of WIIom bave plenty else to do, and none of WIIom are qua1Itled In the skills of pubUcity or P.R. Th. Ust of actirities tllat sbould be undertaken by the P.R. DIr.ctor Is enormous: Promote a "National Motorcycle Day" during wbtcb everyone WIIo owns a motorcypl. would be uried to rid. Itonbts or ber everyday transportation actiVIties. PubUclze the "Gold.n AMlv.rsay of AMA - 50 years of Progr.ss" WIlen the AMA reacbes Its 50th anniversary In 1973. Promote and pubUclze the "Tbtnk Motorcycle" campa1(n wbtch was sUCC.Ssfully lntt1ated on a small scale by the Motorcycle Safety Councll and the South.rn Calitornla AutomobUe ClUb. Advance the prO(J'ess of motorcycle rld.r education In the schools and overcome the mlSilrings caused by lack of knowledp on th. part of educatOrs, such as Yamaha's P.R. chief RollY Rockwood bas been so successfully do1ng rec.ntly. Cooperate with national mqaz1nes and local medta. TV, radio etc. In preparing tnformational and entertainment articles and prOiJ'lUllS about every pbase of motorcycling. Write speeches and interviews for motorcycle sports stars WIIo are often called upon to apPear on tv and before grouPs and pnerally turn out to be inarticulate. Answer defamatory publicity as It appears In publlc and private media and present the better side or motorcycltnr, etc., etc. $105.000.00 should give a talented. qualItled P.R. director enougb money to do a iOod job the first year. If successful, the AMA sb9uld attract more members eacb year and thus the P.R. budget would automatically Increase. CertainlY no increase In member dues could be .ntlr.l7 just1t1ed without providing tbts !dnd of an answer to the question. "What do we pt for our two (or five) dollars?" How about It, AMA Board of DIrectors? WW you provide motorcycUnr what ltneeds? saalle copy price. • • • • . • . • . ZSt Subllc:npUaa: _e year 2nd cia ...0 ••• _ ••...•••.• , '.' 7.51 NATIONAL AD DIRECTOR • • • • • • • •••• Thomas R. Culp Cycle News (Wesn, P.O. Box 498. LonE Beach, Calif••11I1 (213) 421·1433 L,A. &3&-8844 Tllix No. &103414 EASTERN ADVERTISING Cyclt Ntws East P.O. Box 13, Amhtrst, Ohio 44001 Ttl. (216) 914-2433 24- 3449 Ttlt. No. z z 7 WHO IS RUSS SANFORD? I would l1ke to say a few words on beba1f of MORE (Motorcycle OWn.rs, Rld.rs. and Enthusiasts) and the fellow Who ill spearbeadlng tb1s movem.nt. I know .-.t a lot or people around the state are asldnr, "Who Is Russ Sanford?" and, "What Is MORE all about?". Russ Isn't the !dnd of motorcycUst that you bear much about: be rides' bikes just for pleasure and enjoym.nt. But b. .njoys motorcycUnr and motorcycUsts .no\lib INLt be Is willlnr to do sometb1nr about the contlnulng traDSi1'esstons ap1nst our sPort and recreation. For the put several years. be bas been effectiYel7 repr.sentlng the 600 member. at our orpnlzation, several oth.r orpnlzatiOIl8. and an untold number of Independenta In leetSlative matters and on committees and in meetinrs with other iOV.rnmentai &lf8nc1es. He bas spent untold hours at bls own expense In proridlnr an effective l1a1son between th. motorcycUsta and th.s. iOV8rnm.ntal &lf8ncl•• and be Is b1&bly respected by both tllCtiOllll. AlthoUrb h. bas many accompl1ilbm.nts to bls credit, Russ's btii8st concern bas been tllat be bas only been able to pursue tbts .ndeavor on a spar.-tlm. basta and no on. .lse Is watcb-c:toatnc 011I' Interesta on a full-tlm.buls. There ta a b1i job to be done and tbat ill Wb1 be bas founded MORE: to unite Calitornla's motorcycltsts' Interest and to make tile iOVSrllll,)entai proc.sses work for us. Perennally. 1 don't know r1anyone IIIat wtll do a better job of representlni 118. It only because of Russ's stncereltJ and ded1catton to motorcycUne. In my aplnton, th.re isn't a person In the state INLt gives a damn about motorcycllnr that can afford to pUll up th. opportunltJ of jolntnr MORE or tbat. can spend a dollar for a bett.r cause. MR, JOHN FRANTZ Pr.81d.nt, Tra1l BIke Sportsman Assn. Sacram.nto. Calitornla COSTA MESA ON THE SQUARE? I am wrlttnr In responu to file letter trom Mr. Charles Down1.ni. 1 agree with blm tbat Costa Mesa bas shown us flne ractnr. given us Iood price., free prOirams. and tree parldnr, but what about the riders? Wh.n there was Speedway racine at WhIteman and the Sports Arena. besides Costa M.... there was three dltferent books of rul.s. U a rld.r touched the startinr tapes at Costa Mesa. be could get-away with It, but It the same tbtni happeIled at the Sports Arena. b. would be dtsqualltled. Now th.re Is only one track, but the rul.s are being cba.nced every week and s rld.r never knows what to do 01 tlI1nk. H. uked wily Mr. Brliis and Ivan Mauger came over. They came because they are belnr paid to race our boys. Mr. Downtni called Speedway raclni a protesslon In Am.rlca. In order to make over $200. a rider bas to win every event be enters. Not even Rick Woods. th. best rider we bave, bas done that. $200 Is a lot of money but racing Is an expensive sport. It takes mon.y to buy tires, 011, fuel~ cbaln, etc. Only the last two 0,' three races bave been sanctioned by F .I,M. Tbts means tbat the Calit. Championship and U.S. Cbamplonshlp were urtsanctloned eftntd. Aptn Mr. Downing, I agree tllat the sp8ctators are iettlng a iOod deal but I don't tlI1nk the riders are. LESLIE HARPER Santa Ana. Cal. AMA SETS 1&-YEAR-OLD LIMIT FOR SPORTSMAN SPEED CONTESTS After all the press and nearly ba1f the delegates bad departed from Columbus. Ohio to catch their planes, the AMA Competition Congress enacted a new rule for 1970. Nobody younrer than 16 years of are may ride AMA events In wbtch speed ts a determtnlni factor.

• Cover