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/125668
WIND HAMPERS LIGHTWEIGHT'S TT'S ~ 6: ADELANTO, CALIF. April 19, 1970 - It definitely was not a good day for any kind of race in the desert Sunday• Yet, through sand, grit, grime and wind the Lightweight M.C. charged on to debut their 1970 r acing program with a point run scrambles at the Adelanto track. Specta tors were at a minimum as well as riders . The races were r olled off one after another like clockwork. In fact, the big bores even fini shed early enough to get home and wash down their equipmentlong before dark. The fastest race of the day had to be . the first 250 Expert go. Tom White and his blasting Bultaco just plain whipped the pants off of J im Raymond (Mon) and young pro Gary ' Scott (Bu!). A lot of ralsed eyebrows and " did you see that" looks were going around when he came In for the checkered flag. In the second moto, Raymond had mechanical problems forcing him out of the - 250Cc go for the day, and White endedup chasing Scott around the track for the next two motos with Karl Wilson (Bul) not far behind. Gary wasn't about to let White get any closer than his back fender after that first wild ride. The 175/200 combined event had Larry Tayl or (Bul) and Bob Saunders (Bul) playing cat and mouse all the way through the motos , with Taylor Just barely beating him to the hole in the last race. In the 50Cc class it was Jeff Sexton (Suz) out buzzing Kurt Lewis (Yam) and Jay Lewis (Yam) for King Bee of the day. The Powder Puff class showed some real spunk for a change, with a couple of sisters, Elaine Smith (Yam) and Brenda Smith (Yam), really tying it on. No mis takin g, everyone was out to play the win game. Some races were better than others, but everyone had their day of sport, which seems to be the object of it all. The course was fast and sl1ppery, and weather conditions definitely slowed down all of the riders. (Results on page 27) New . Three Wheeled Mini-Bike Released By Larkin A recent press release concerning the latest entrant Into the mini-bike market made more than a few Cycle News starfers sit up and take note. And, naturally, we couldn't watt to give it a try. It's called the Hill Cat . Designed and .built" by Keith Larkin, owner of Larkin Aircraft In Watsonville, Calif., this unique little bike Inccrporates the tracked vehicle concept, using three wheels, two of which are in pivoted tandem at the rear. Essentially, the Hill Cat uses a 4 h .p , Tecumseh engine to power a primary by the now level and more powerful leader. Theoretically, at least. And, for the most part, it seems to work In practice. Cycle News ran a brief test on the three wheeled mini last week and found that most of the company's claims were, Indeed, justified. As there is no suspension system, as such, in the rear, we were at first a bit skeptical of its handling abUity. But the see-saw effect of the two rear wheels . more than adequately compensate for traditional shock absorbers. When the tion , This does not seem to bear out overly well in actualllty, however . The rear wheels are a scant 3.5 x 11.5, and individually _ as well as collectively do not take well to the powder dust and sand of Southern California. If Larkin could replace the rear rubber with anything close to the more suitable 5 x 14 on the front, the bike would undoubtedly become one of the - if not, THE - finest "soft stuff" machines on the market. This is not to say that the Hill Cat is not one of the best trailblazing minis available. Far from it. A tire change, however, could turn a very fine bike Into a leading contender for Best Minibike honors. Another major problem concerns braking. There simply is no rear brake, and all braking is conducted through a lever operated, Internal expansion, front mounted assembly. Bruce Cox, company representative in Southern California, said that his firm has been working on a solution for the rear brike problem, but to date -they haven't been successful. This problem is not critical In moderate off road . riding, but, we suspect, this could provide considerable trouble on, say, a steep down hill run. The maneuverabUity is , for the most part, good to excellent. It seemed to us that a wider spread on the handlebars would not hurt, but this could be the result of our familiarity with scramblertype bars. At first, turning tends to be a bit tricky. But in learning the Idosyncrasies of the little machine, direction changes become natural and quite easy. The machine has an ample amount of low end, and the Salsbury automatic (no clutch) variable speed torque converter will quickly get you from zero to a reported top speed of 29 mph. The frame is double loop, and a recenlly added rear frame brace has el1mlnated frame flex, and, hopefully, metal fatigue . Cox said that his company had taken s everal bikes to the mountains, offering them to any handy kid, along with instructions to "go out and try to tear them UP." He reports that, with the exception of minor dings, all machines held uP admirably. Mini- Bike Magazine criticized the for ward location of the pegs. But this has been corrected, and the heavy duty, folding Bates foot rests are now more centrally located ·and make standing in the rough stuff a fairly simple matter. There· are many other positive fea tures about the bike, including: 9-1/2 Inch ground clearance; a kill button; lock nuts throughout: specially made spr ockets with built-In keys that cannot loosen, and; easy two-part disassembly, that makes car trunk transportation a reality. All In all, Cycle News feels that the Hill Cat has successfully challenged the minibike field. Larkin has recognized the boom In recreational vehicles and has already built a prototype for an Inexpensive snowmobile, that easily converts Into a dune buggy. Additionally, they hope to eventually Introduce a low-cost, Volkswagen powered airplane. ~)---~----~-----, ~J Simichrome ·~~-rrihines Suddenly ;'\\j( ' 11: ' Sl ml ch' ame Is a honey (C Ie... s qui ck as a bunny OMPETITION Tube $I CHEMICALS Can $3.45 1/ , , . 70 4 '1l'.lshln&ton Ayt• . =I L:"'~ Iowa Falls, l awa 50126 " Specialized Triumph - Honda Repairs • Cust om Racing · Engines Machine Work · Meli sse Kits Cyl . Bori ng • Head Part ing MIKE BURKE Motorcycle Specialties 15178 Raymer St , Van Nuys, Cal . 91406 Te lephone (213) 780·0779 DESERT SET U P SCRAMBLES ANOTHER FINE PRODUCT chain; which powers a secondary chain; which supplies the leading and trailing rear wheels with equal traction. That's on level ground. In the rough, the two rear wheels, being centrally pivoted, produce a seesaw effect as they encounter the off road rocks and ridges. Whenthe leading wheel meets an obstacle, the trailer receives the bulk of the power, pushing the leadIng wheel oyer the rock, bump, log, etc. Conversely, when the tra1l1ng wheel r eac hes the d1tf1culty, it is pulled over leading wheel is UP, the trailer is down, pulling the leader back Into level position . And, of course, vice versa. This action-reaction prevents the frame fr om receiving the full force of the bump, and gives the rider more than usual minibike comfort. The sp rings on the telescopic front forks are adequate for most trail conditions. From a theoretical point of view, at least, the two- wheeled power in the rear should provide considerably more trac- Motorcycle Trai lers Di stri but ed hy New & Used Buy - Sell - Trade 1·- 2 - 3 bike trailers 323 W. MAP L E MONROVIA. CA.