Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

By Peter White Geoff Davis Photos SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, Jan. 20, 1970Australian speedway fans wer e treated to a bonanza of racing last weekend. On the Friday night at Frank Oliveri's Liverpool Raceway world championship stars Ove Fundln (Sweden) and Ivan Mauger (New Zealand) made their 1970 Australian debut. The following night the scene shifted to the fa med Sydney Showground wher e the Na tional Championship Final was held. Even t was sp onsor ed by W.D.&H.O. Wills, the cigarette people, and carried prizemoney am ounting to $2,500. Eleven of the country's top r iders battled for the title. And to cap It all, on the Sunday afternoon the provincial track of Kembla Grange staged an International mee ting featuring Englishman Roy Trigg and Scotsman Bert Harkins . A huge a mount of publici ty preceded ea ch meeting and there Is no doubt the two wheele rs are now top of the popularIty poll with Aus sie spec ta tor s . A large crowd flock ed to Liverpool to watch Fundin and Mauger. Both riders appeared here last year and were a sensational success: It sure seems there is nothing like the tag of World Champion to stimulate interest•••shades of California a few months agol The meeti ng resulted in so me tremendous racing with local lad Greg Kentwell comple te ly stealing the thunder. He raced six ti mes to notch s ix tremendous wins . Two came in handicap events when he started from the near backmark of 120 yards behind but per- By haps his most impressive victory was in the Champion of Champ ions Scratch Rac e Final when he outpac ed Ted Lindkog (Sweden), Mauger and Fundin to the checker . Greg was In Immaculate form, the nearest he has come so far to that great night at the Showground two years ago when he s cored a Test match maximum. It was certainly heartening to see an Auss le whip the strong overseas line up of visitors and resident internationals. Ivan had quite a good night and began by shattering his own one lap flying start record. Time nowstands at 17.1 seconds. His shining, chromed machine brought murmurs of approval fr om the terrace s - a legacy from his stop-over inAmerlca, naturallyl He opened his racing account with a good win over Garry Middleton (Australia) and Fundin, then follo wed up with another scratch race win over Middleton, Trigg and Howard Cole (England). The handicap heat proved a little tougher, however, and Ivan was unplaced, He quickly mad e amends by taking out the next event'fr om Harkins, John Langfield (Australia) and Fundin, Mauger proved an extremely popular contestant and was immedaitely contracted to race again the next week. As can be seen, It was a less happy night for Fundin, The Swede's bike was not at its best which was a shame, for when Ove is in the mood no one cam match him. Three years ago in England he was known as Mr. Per petual Motion. He was almost Invincible. Nevertheless, on the night in question he still managed to knock only one win. Russ Sanford It wouid seem that a large number of our State legislators have returned to the " Big Golden Dome" in Sacramento, armed to the teeth with controversial proposals that will keep their names In the headlines for weeks to come .....which ts n' t a bad idea in an election year. One of the unfortunate consequences Is that much of this proposed legislation either directly or indirectly affects motorcycling. VEIIICLE REGISTRATION Senate Bill 47 prohibits the registration of any motor vehicle after January I, 1971, unless the application for registration Is accompanied by a certificate of insurance certifying that the motor vehicle is covered by insurance sufficient to meet the financial responsiblity law. Also, SB 47 pr ovides for the issue of permanent license plates which will be transferred fr om vehicle to vehicl e. However, if your ins ur ance is cancelled for any cause (such as failure to pay the premium) your registration and license plates must be for feited. Under this little bomb, It will no longer be possible to register amotcrcycle without licensing It for street-use. And you are already aware that you cannot purchase a new bike without registering It. And you also know that you cannot li cense a bike without meeting all of the minimum equipment requirements. And now you must have insurance. You had better mull this one over very carefully. Assembly Bill 262 specifies that apphcattons for original (ne w owner ) registration of motorcycles shall contain, In addition to data presently required, the motor, transmission, and frame numbers s tamp ed on the vehicle by the manufacturer and be accompanied by a tracing of the motor number or a motor number ver ifica tion Mauger And Fundin Compete In ~ AUSSIE SPEED'WAY ~ ~ t.:l -.J U s, o Ove Fundln has left the cold Swedish winter behind and Is racing the summer speedway season · In Australia. Fundln and World Champ lvan Mauger met In Sydney for a little of the crossed.up action. HELMETS. HELM ETS. HELM ET S Here we ' go again! In the Decembe r 23r d is s ue of Cycle News, I reported the latest status on the helmet situation and thi ngs didn' t look too bad. But here is where we stand now. Ass emblyman -John Francis For an has reintroduced last year's helmet law as As sembly Bill 142. True to his word, AB 142 does not require the wearing of a helmet but merely establishes minimum safety standards for our protection. I don't believe that anyone will disagree with the merit of this proposal. However, we learned last Fall that California stood to lose 10% of its Feder'll Highway Aid funds if it did not enact a law requiring the mandatory wearing of helmets by motorcyclists. When questioned, Assemblyman Foran, who is also' the Chairman of the As s embly Committee on Transportation, r eplied, " While the federal government does have the power to withhold ten percent of our federal ai d highway funds if we do not enac t a ma ndatory helm et la w, I think it unlikely that the federal government will ta ke such action dur ing the next le gislative session". The same 'ques tion was asked of Senator Alan Short, who until recently was Chai rman of the Senate Transportation Committee. Senator Short's office replied by telephone that they could not answer the question and instead referred me to Mr. Delwyn Roberts who is the Safety Engineer for the Divis ion of Highways, State of . California. His answer stated, " The Highway Safety Actof 1966 by the 89th Congress requires each State to have an approved Highway Safety Program or there will be a penalty Imposed. One of the r equi rements In the Act is ' Each motorcycle operator wears an approved safety helmet and eye protection when he Is operating his vehicles on streets and highways.' California has no statutory r equirement for this safety equip ment and such a r equirement was deleted fr om the 1968 bill (AB-289 ) prior to m~o~r~e~ from the calRo( certificate issued by specified public employees. Also requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to maintain cross-Index files of such motor, transmission, and frame numbers. While the intent of this law is to discourage theft, the true Impact cannot be determined without further Information. I could possibly be construed that " s waps" must be re-registered and subject to fees. More on this at a later date. KE EP OFF TilE GRASS Senate Bill 37 is a 'jewel' ...Are you ready for a real donnybrook? This Bill very simply states, " Pr ohibits operation of motorcycle or motor-driven cycle in a state park in any area where overnight camping is provided." There is no need for me to explain this one and its effeCt. We only have one recourse against this out-and-out affront to motorcycling and motorcyclists: and that is to " kill" this proposed law. And this is the only way that It can be done. The Bill was Introduced by Senator John Nejedly who represents Contra Costa County and who won his Senate Seat last year by less than 22,000 votes. On the basis of published DMV records and the results of separate surveys, there are more than 25,000 motorcycling enthusiasts in Contra Cos ta County who are registered voters. I am certain that if each of these persons merely took pen in hand and wrote to the Honorable John Nejedly, California State Senate, State Capitol, Sacramento, California 95814, and stated, " Dear Senator Ne jedly; As a registered voter and motorcyclist residing in Contra Costa County, I want you to know that I am against -Senate Bill 37.", and signed It, that Senator Nejedly would see that his proposed Bill would die a very timely death. And while you are writing, you might mention your thoughts on Senate Bill 47 which Senator Nejedly also authored. And just in case our Contra Cosa fraternity brothers don't do the job, it would be a good idea for every other motorcycling enthusiast in the state to write their own Assemblymen and Senators, using the above example but inserting the name of their own coun ty. I have already written to Senator Nejedly s uggesting an alternative solution to the problem of motorcycle nois e . This would be to enact legislation which would, between certain hour s , prohibit the unnecessary operation of any device which create s excessive noise, nuisance, or disturbance, Including motorcycles, automobiles, power boats, chain saws, logging trucks, water pumps, portable generator s, radios, parties, singing, etc. Such a law would not prohibit the use of fac1l1ties by responsible persons. But from past encounters, I am not of the opinion that Senator Nejedly hasIntroduced SB 37 just because he has had his sleep disturbed. Senator Nejed1y is a dyedin-the-wool conservationist and ardent member and supporter of the·Sierr:l'"·Club. I have heard him express himself in Committee Session In such a manner that leaves little doubt that he is "anti-motorcycle" fr om the word 'go '. He is the same Senator whom we had to overwhelm with letters last year to get SB 684 passed so that r ecreational vehicles would be recognized as le gitimate users of recreational trails on state lands . This Is why it is so very important that we show our ' s trength' to our elected representatives. Let's not ' lunch' this onel enactment. However , the California Highway Safety Program was approved by the National Highway Safety Bureau within the past two weeks. These safety features will be included in the Governor's Program to be prescribed to the legislature this coming session." " The Highway Safety Act of 1966 does not require the use of helmets by motorcyclists. It does require that State highway safety programs meet standards established by the Secretary of Transportation. "One of the statutory conditions for securing the benefits available under the Highway Safety Act of 1966 is that each State shall have a highway safety program which embraces activities covered by uniform performance standards promulgated by the Secretary of Transportation. Implementation of the motorcycle safety standard is an essential element of each State's overall highway safety program." . " Thus far 40 States have adopted some type of legislation requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. The rema1nlng States have indicated that such legislation would be sought. As of December 31, 1969, the highway safety program of each State had been granted approval on a: conditional basis and there is no immediate prospect of ibe penalty provisions of the law being Invoked. " Motorcyclists have suggested that " the prevailing legal view is that State laws requiring the use of safety helmets are unconstltuttonal, This is not so. Only in Illinois has a helmet law been declared unconstitutional by the highest State court. Helmet laws have been upheld by the highest courts in more than a. dozen States. Additionally , the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to rule the laws unconstitutional in four cases brought before It, One appeal was dismissed "for want of a substantial . Federal question." Well, sports fans .....what do you think ? DId you ever fee l llke you were playing against a stacked dec k? \\1IAT NOW? So, you ask, what do we do now? I can only answer that question by saying that it alfdepends on what YOU do at this point. Not tomorrow, but r ight nowl These Bills will be coming up for hearing in the respective Committees beginning the 12th of February. You had better start writing letters to your le gislators and expressing your opinions. If you don't know the names of your representatives, call your local newspaper and ask them for the names of your Assemblyman and Senator. For those of you who have registered with MORE and authorized me to lobby in your behalf; you can rest assured that I will be bird-dogging these and all future motorcycling Bills through the com mittee hearings and the Legislature. If we lose out on any of these proposed laws, it won't be fr om lack of trying. It will happen only because those of you who have not registered with MORE didn't get off your duffs and write some letters. Comments and Inquiries on any of the for egoing should be addressed to MORE (Motorcycle Owners, Riders, and Enthusiasts), p .O. Box 26062, Sacramento, q 95826.

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