Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1960's

Cycle News 1969 12 23

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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;: LEGISLATIVE NOTEBOOK By BIlrtJan. Adams Dahms ON THE OTHER HAND ••• If .. rlClIII'IliM If all Ifklall ,lIIlellS ,Its a pile I. 111,1,.11. If ~ SIll• • •Ius (will• •1111 ~ II _., rllI.s), It II. IIrIIIP G SlllClfle ,...11I- wid. will III 1_ II llIIers. T. all rltIIn It Is -. . __ law, by lID auto. pollutants poured 1Dto the ..... WI IIraIl1 lIaw til . ., •• It atmosphere by a motorcycle eng1ae are cousIderably less than by an auto. Tnt11II py. Is IISI -1U1IIII' tu II f1c conpstlOll is lessened bymotorcycle • •• will• • Ilnall1 Ja' til use. It makes 110 seose 1IbeD your motorcycle l1cense costs as much as your . . . 1'1'11! Tru! Tro! ' I IInl automobile l1cense and withlowerprlced • . . , 1'1II11 mI I'IIIlall_ ailol 2: lol ,a, 1I1IIf, ..... ,.,..11[ rI&IIt •• II . . .11I .... tIIIt " . . I. Ills 11 _IS II 11111 __ ullss ..... Is Cltlllll- tIr It. Tax8s are a burden .lD DIlU1Y torms. not the least of wbtch is the vehicle registration costs we PaY. 'Ibe motorcycle cnmer. it seems, pays an UDfB1r proportion of these costs. In CalUornla and tIIIUIY other states, the cost of vehicle l1cense represents a basic tee, called the reg1stration tee, and a personal property tax. This basic tee is now $11 in Cal1tornla (a rise of $3lD as tIIIUIY years) and the persooal property tax is a mlDlmum of $1 UP. This is true of all autos and motorcycles. Station wagons have a base tee of $12 plus. Trucks have a weight tee added to the $11 plus. To the owner of one moderately priced motorcycle the l1cense cost may riot seem excessive. To the hobbyist with three or tour or more it becomes a major annual budget item. It is true that the perperwork lDvolved lD l1censing a motorcycle is the same as that lD l1censlng an auto and perhaPs all vehicle tees only serve to pay the costs of operating the Department of Motor Veb1cles. But all klglc indtcates that a motorcycle should have a lower base tee than an automob1le. 'Ibe weight of the average motorcycle is about one tenth that of the averace auto, therefore the wear and tear on the r<*1 surface is proportionally less. 'Ibe amount of read space required tor a motorcycle is less than baIt that required cars this is otten the case.SmaJ111ODder that 110 one wants to l1cense eft-r<*1 ftbicles. 1be motorcycle hobbyist and professional rider bas a further problem: the matter of1Dterc1lllllpRble maChineS. Bow does one l1cense & conclomeratlon r1 frames and motors and spare parts that organize lDto one motorcycle tIodIQ' and 8IIOther tomorrow? Is it posstble to f1Dd a 1ep1 arrangement tor such l1censtnc that wouldn't cause undue hassles and headaches to the enthusiast wbo never rides a strictly stock mach1ne anywbere? Motorcycle people aren't promoting the idea of eft-read-vehicle registration yet. It is being discussed by leg1s1ators lD various areas as lID additional source r1 revenue and a method of hlnderlng theft. It may eventually become a real1ty whether we !IuPPort or oppose it. Our problem now is to weigh the pros and cons and clar1f)' our own oplnlons as to the benefits and drawbacks ot such legislation. Know1ng what we want is baIt the battle. Any leg1slation need not otter a simple choice of acceptance or rejection. There is al1l&)'s modlflcat1on. PerhaPs we can conv1Dce the leg1slature that the basic tee tor all motorcycles is too h1gh (it's not easy lD lower taxes but it is sometimes possible). PerhaPS we can work out registratlon procedure to allow tor the versat1l1ty r1 some enthuslasts. PerhaPs we can pUt the l1d on that vast garllBge can of unregistered machines, whence DO stolen bike ever returns, without putt1ng an 1Dtolerable burden on anyone. It's worth th1Dk1ng about. Desert Rats Take H'oliday By Bobbie Hedges HOLIDAY, CA., Dec. 7, 1969 - As the first 125cc Junior cIass left the l1ne at Hol1day, Cal1f.. C.E. Hech&rt c:b&rpd uncontested all the 11&)', the repeated the same performance lD the second mota c1Y1nC !JIm an 8lIS)' first over-all. Jack Denny came UP with a closelydefended second over David W1erzb1cky lD the first moto after a hard f1Cht, gh1nc Jack a second over-all. SacbB Eoduro mounted Duane Boman. held a sl88dY second lD the neJ!l moto to wID tourth over-aIl. Jolin MellO, who was r1d1nc a bike tor the first tlmeSaturday, not only flnlshed both matos, but came up only one lap beb1Dd after _raJ crasbes. Good riding and a l1tt1e had lnck gave MaIco-mounted Steve Patterson a wellearned first over-alllD the Open JunJor. He led the first moto with plenty of room to spare t111 the yellow flac, then lost it lD the last turn, only to squeeze back in tor a third. First went lD Dave Buck, who worked his 11&)' UP QD his Bultaco and grabbed the lead over Ken Stiles tor third overall with Stiles second over-all. Pete Fleming had grabbed an early 1eadlDthe first moto when trouble with his Bultaco torced h1m out after three laps. He came hack in the second mota to settle tor a hard-earned second to Patterson. Those thirty-minute motos dldn'tseem to phase the youngsters lD the 125cc Senior as 14-1/2 year-old Jeff Pierce proved riding his Yamaha. He raced his dad, Ale MWer, and lett the rest all tired out. Ak, nevertheless, got his two-cents worth on his Ka wasak1 lD the battle tor second with M. Mu1l1gan, IIDd t1nal1y after crash1ng lD the tront turn, settled for third. During the second molD Jeff was out lD tront again tor the wID, just ahead of J. Mollett who took third overall. It looked 11ke age atlast would triumph in the Open Senior when Art McKnlgbton a Husqyarna took an early lead with a big IIllU'g1n rlgbt ql to the checkered flac. B. Fabler on his Bultaco pusbed his way up to a close second. A Bultaco brougbt J. Roush lD tor a third. Youth -.s the password lD the second mota as Roush, ace 18, secured a very dusq lead and held it all the 11&)' tor an over-all first. Paul Denny, Mike Merriman, and B. Fabler toucbt it out tor the spo11s and came UP lD that order ,leav1JlC' Denny and Fabler lD an over-all tie tor second and Merriman third. Condolences must go to Chico Cisneros who crasbed Sat. on his Mateo, and injured a thumb and hlp, keepq h1m on the bench, wistfully 1ook1nc on. 1be Desert Rats prorided lOad orpnlzatlon and an oppartnnlq tor the new or 1nPpertenced riders to get lD on the sbow. Tropbles will be preseated at a baslI on Sat., Jan. 10, 1970, at 8:00 p.m. at the Lampost, 5454 W. Impertal Hwy., L.A. along with mmes of the motocross. (Results 011 pap 17) NEW BIKE HAULER DESIGNED FOR HEAVY LOAD One of the country's 1ead1ng boat tra1ler manufacturers, VlLDSOn, has upanded their l1ne to lDclude a new motorcycle trailer. Called the Bike Hauler, it is designed lD carry one, two, or three maChineS. The l1st price of $199 1Dcludes 7.35 X 14" 4-ply tires, Ford bolt patlern cast bubs, hitch, safety cha1D, tenders and Illtbts. . The manufacturer polDts out that the Bike Hauler is complete, not a kit, and is readv to tow away. For more lntormatlon on the traUer contact VILDSOD, 32992 Calle Perfecto, San Juan Capistrano, C&Uf. 92675. ~...."...."...."...." ~"""."",~~ ...."...." ...,,~~4Jj . ~. . ~ • It was Jimmy Raymond, John Haleley and Monlesa all the way at the California Slate Championship T.T. held Dec. 7th at Ascot Park. John was in the lead for the A.M.A. Novice T.T. Point O1ampionship, CIld Jimmy was in the lead at the checkered flag. Raymond won the Novice State Cha~ionship Race and Hateley finished 3rd, missing the State Point Championship by one

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