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/125672
, By Lyn Jensen Aft er find the hillsi de home on the narrow Brisbane street, I walked up and r ang the door bell. Suzuld's road r acing captain, Ron Grant, wearing hls ." workon-the-bike" casual clothes, appeared, He and his wlfe, Barb had gues ts over f or sturgeon dinner - Neville L lndrebe and . his wlfe, both from New Zealand (Nev1lle won the roadrace at Vaca Valley just a few weeks ago, and is stylng wlth the Grants dur ing hls vts tt to the U.S .) ; Art Baumann, Ron' S Suzuld teammate; and Steve, a neighbor . Duri ng the course of the evening I foun d th e Grants and the ir fri ends to be some of th e m os t eas y -going people I 've ever met. ...-...;;;,;,; And each Ume he learns more about braking, downshltUng, looking ahead at the esses and determining just how to go through the m smoothly and faster than the other guy. " It' s the expe rience whlch counts . It's up here In the head," he says. Millions of Instantaneous decisions are made. Gradually, the decisions are made quicker and a loose pattern follows _ he now kno ws has fast he dare go and the fe el of the machine, the Suzuld 500, .which he has ridden since 1968. ' Art Baumann seems to be the exception. He has been roadraclng only 3 or 4 years, but he has done trem endous things - like wInn1ng Sears P t. National ' last fall - the lirs t National won by a two-stroke, Ron made it two th1s y ear at K ent , Washington after he and Art battled it out for the lead. "To win a National giv es y ou great satisfaction, especially since I am riding for a company. I had to win. a National before I retired from motorcycles." It's all downh1ll now the n Ron? " Yeah , there's nothing to look forward to anymore, " he kidd ed, " Each race i s always a challenge and experiment. It's like a drug - onc e y ou'v e had it y ou want to go back f or more," Bu t now Ron has something better ( ?) to do. He and A r t go f18hlng and camping on the weekends they aren't racing and bring along their new toys, After Kent they each received the new SuzuJdHoncho 90 to fool around on. ,. We've crashed 'em several times. They are really a ball." 11 you happen to see two guys up In th e Sierras on the ne w Honcho, look again. It m ay be them, Ron attributes h1s success to h1s calmness before a race, " I f eel confident that I am racing wlth the best machine and I just try to keep my appearance calm, That really rattles some other riders, At Daytona thls year I hadn 't eaten lunch yet. I couldn't see racing on an empty stomach - might as well fill up - so I was lying on my back eating a hot dog when a couple of riders walked by and really got rattled. ' How can you be so calm?' Thay were amazed at m y attitude. It really shook ' em UP." This pas t winter Ron, Barb and their si x-year-old dau ghter, Jaclde, went to New Zealand for six weeks. That 18when they first got acquainted wlth Nev1lle, Ron won 21 of the 23 races he competed in Down Under (It.was summer there). Ev er y tim e Ron looked back, # 10 was close behind hlm, so ne, A i r New Zealand; and others made arrangem e.nts f or # 10, Geoff Perry, to come to th e U. S. f or Daytona. It really paid off. GeoU came In fifth behind DuHamel , and went on to win the Malaysian Grand Prix ( $3,000) soon after, Afte r seeing the slides th e Grants took of the beautiful N.Z. countryside Art plans to go wlth th em thls coming winter, partly for th e racing and pa rtly for the vacation and exclusi v e lishlng he could get In, The Grants and A r t are looking f or ward to a tour of th o European road r ac ing circuit thls su m mer. The plans are not, at pressti me, def1n1te , but i t would f it In perfectly since there are no National Road Races after May until th1s fall. " That ' s one thing the AMA could have more of, " Ron says, "Motorcycling i s going skyhigh In every direction so I expect to see m or e road races. This y ear th ere are only liv e." (Once during my visit a comment was made about dirt tracks. " Bo o, dirt" was Ron' S reaction and Ar t see med to agree wlth him, Ron 'S daught er 'Jaclde loves to trav el as much as her parents and her teacher says it would be better experie.nce for her than school, so she goes everywhere wlth the m. Bu t Ron, who is 30, sees about 3 m ore y ears of m oto rcy cl e racing, Then like many oth er r ac er s he visions at least a decad e of car racing, Ron takes th ings as they come, giving each h1s great enth usiasm . He and his family enjo y th e traveling life they lead and the hun dreds of people they know f r om their travels. A steady job wouldn't fit him. (Although he does build and sell Suzuld 250 road racers .) "Wor ldng 9-5 would be harder than whatI ' m dolngnow, Besides I like to get up at noon ." Ron like s to help prom ising yo ung riders and appreciates the letters he gets f r om them asldng f or tips on racing te chniques. " The f eeling I get whe.n someone writes and tells me he'S been f ollowlng m y progress In road racing is unbelievable." 'llEKERCAlIlE' from U.S.A. Distributors West Coast ORANGEVALE DISTRIBUTORS NYLON ANTI-FRICTION CABLES 9198 Greenback Lane Orangevale, California 95662 RACERS HEADQUARTERS FOR THE NEW FLEXERCABLE IErlACE '(OUI OLD fASHIO.ED CAlLES WITH THE fl.EST 1'(10. A'TI-fIICTlO' U.,TS (Dealers W rite For Info. and Prices) Phone: 916-988-4725 N01RTJHIJE1RN lD1IJRJECT OlRY RAT ES: S75 P ER YEAR 150 ISSUES, FOR E ACH SINGLE BUSINE SS LISTING. PA YA,BLE IN ADVANCE. ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA POWELL'S ALAMEDA HONDA - Bul.· Hod.·Suz.-Hon. Over 250 II/C's 10 choose from. Trade·lns accepted"1lald for or net, Liberal flnanelnr. If you've been IlI'ned down-Try us!) Free rldlnr lessons wllh pareh., Ins. counsellnr. 5 fact. trained meeh. to .rve you. 1828 Park Street 94501. (415) 865-0545. BERKELEY, CALI F. CAMPUS SUZUKI - 1403 San Pablo Ave. Zip 94702. (415) 841·0192. Suzuki, Maleo, Sachs & Ciao sales, service & parts. "Parts are our speelalty!" Any. thing we don'l have, we ean GET." Open 9-' Mon. Ihru Sal. See Jim Johnson. CONCORD, CALIF. NORTH BAY MOTORCYCLES - Jawa &CZ sales & servlce.S ldeears.I .S.D.T . 250's & 402's. 'The Molocross Head· quarters for North Bay. ' Parts & Acces· sorles. Open 9to 6. 2120 Concord Ave. , Concord, Calif. 94520. (415) 687·9300. Charley Brown Cycles! EXCLUSIVE DEALER ....,.-CZ SANTA CR UZ & MONTEREY BAY 1303 Water Sf. santa Cruz. 95060 (40B) 423-9143 • mail order SUL.i'I=lC:O sonny kenyon's' 8 )' cycles sale s servic e par t s ~ ~. lul!lcl,~ SPECIALIST 2594 Middlefield Road Mt , Vie w, .California 94040 ( 4 15 ) 961-439 9 MAl L OR DER • It". ) TOM'S CYCLE CENTER - BSA, Kawa· saki , Suzuki, Greeves, Monlesa, Ossa, Moto·Beta. Full II.. of Mantua parts. 'Home of Good Guys." 1325 Galindo , Z ip 94520. Phone: (415) 689-6722. Hours open 9--6 , 9-8 Wed. EL SOBRANTE, CALIF. DAM CYCLES: Bultaeo, Suzuki , Hodaka, Taeo Min i Bikes , wi th full" parts and accessories Invenl ory for street and dirt riders. We sell Insuranee for dirt and slreet bikes of all kinds. Come In and see Jack lewis , the Paco Kid II' Ride Clyde! 4036 Dam Road. EI Sobranle, . Calif. 94803. Ph: (415) 222·2044. - FREMONT, CALIF. BULTACO OF FREMONT - Enduro Headquarters. Come In and have a eup of coffee . Bultaco , quality from top to bottom. Moto·Beta, Broheo, bold new breed of easy·toolote Mlnl·Blke. Sales, Servlee, and Accessories . Molorcyele Insurance. (415)792.7949, 37318 Fremont . Blvd. al Peralla In Fremonl. CYCLE CENTER STORES #2 - 37422 Fremont Blvd. Phone: (415) SY 3·7311. Honda, Malco, Triumph. Motorcyele In· Sll'ance, Taco & Bonanza lIinl·blke. 100'1 flnanc lnr on approval of eredil . Difficult Customers are a Challenp! CYCLE CENTER STORES #3 - 37418 Fremont Blvd. Phone: (415) SY 2-0111. Suz., Kaw., Hodaka, BSA, Penton, Mon· lesa. Motorcycle Insurance, Taeo & Bonanza IIlnl·blkes. 100'1 IInanclnr on approval of credit . We weleome dlffl· culty In Customers. LAFAYETTE, CALIF, RICK SCHELL'S SPORTCYCLES- !lui· taeo, Yamaha, Penton. Headquarters for Gardner earbs. Complete hellarc weldlnr. We specia lize In dirt bikes. Home of Dlst. 36 #1. 3681 Mt. DiablO Blvd. , Lafayette, Calif. 94549. (415) 2~3.2282 . : LIVERMORE, CALI F. CYCLE CENTER STORES #4 - 2310 First St. Phone: (415) 443-5111. Kawa· saki, Suz., BSA, Maleo. Motorcyele Insuranee, Taco & Bonanza Mlnl-b lkes. 10 ~ fl nancl nr on approval of credit . Are you partiCUlar? See us! MARYSVI LLE, CALI F. SLIM'S MOTORCYLE SALES - 100 D Street, Marysville, Calif. 95901, (916) 742-7785. Yamaha , BSA, Mavrlck , and Bonanza.Serv lce andInsurance. All size engine boring. Crank repair. Motoeross headquarters In Marysville . MT. VIEW, CALIF. SONNY KENYON'S CYCLES, Let ... perlenced competitors eare for your bike. Race tuned specia list, we work on most makes. Bultaco and CZ. Parts , Sales , and Service. Mall order for Bultaco and CZ Parts and Accessor ies. 2594 Middle· field Rd. (415) 9614399. OAKLAND, CALI F. COUSEUM CYCLE & ACCESSORY CO. - Kawasaki Sales & Service. Complete accessories , cloth lnr dept. Custom work. "Kawasak i s,raclallsts. Faetory trained mechan ics. Open 9-' Mon. thru Fri. , Sal. 9-5. 3958 E. 14th SI., Oakland 94601. (415) 534·5461. Presl· dent: Howard Self. All riders welcome! NELSON BROS. - Triumph, Honda, BMW, Husqvarna, Penton sales, repair & shop service. Eslab II shed since 1948. Exlenslve parts & accessor ies depls. Complete Insurance & financing fael ll· ties. 'We stand behind our produets & servlce.~ 4500 E. 14th si., Oakland 94601. (415) 532·3677. SACRAMENTO, CALI F. JOHN SMITH MOTORCYCLES - (The Wheel Klnr) Cuslom WhHls fot , any· Ihlnr and Irsl. sel . of eust. parts, Incl. extend forks and slugs for most bl kes. Dealer for Suz. , Jawa, CZ, and Garelll . Mall order for mosl makes. Incl. BSA & Trl. You phone, we ship. 2512 Franklin al Bdwy. Saclo, 95818. (916) 452·2622. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF. HAP JONES DIST. CO. - Avon & Car· ) I sle Tires, Borranl alloy rims, Amal cams, NGK, KLG & Hitach i plugs , Lucas electric parts and all cycle needs. Send $I for retail catalog. Box 3068, 94119. (415) 621-4185. SAN LEANDRO, CALI F. CYCLE CENTER STORES #1 - 16520 Easl 14th St. Phone: (415) BR 6-9211, . Honda, Hodaka, BSA, Ma lco. Motorcyele Insurance, Taeo & Bonanza Mlnl·blkes. 100% financ ing on approval of credll. Dlffleu It customers"wanted. SAN RAFAEL, CALIF. BISCUITS' CYCLE TOWN - Moto·X Hq. for Marin County. Compl. Mach. Shop. Sis. & Svc. BSA, Yam. , A.E , Montesa , Gre., Hod., C·Z... M1n l·Blkes : Maverick, Taco, Bonanza, Scout Choppers. Come In and learn 10 r ide. Open: Mon. 12-5, T ,W,T ,F , 9·9, Sat. 9·5. 933 Franclseo Blvd. 94901. (415) 456-0335. - c-z, OILS & ADDITIVES ESCALON,' CALIF. ' B LENDZ A L L " and "EXCELZALL~ "World's Finest " Join the W IMers! Deal· ers Inquiries Welcome. Addzlp Acld ilives , 1433-37 Flrsl St. , Escalon ,Callf. 95320. Phone: (209) 838.7912. REDWOOD CITY, CALIF. A&A MOTORS - Parts & speed eqU ip. sales & serv ice for Yam., R.E. , Bul. , l., Hod., Ma Nor. and Yam. snowmobiles. Also eomplete maehlne shop, hellarc wel ding, plekup & delivery and mall order service. 2771 EI Camino, 94061. (415) 366-3814. SELBY MOTORS- 346 EI Camino Real, 94062, (415) 3694112 . Largest stock of tires and access. We have the parts for Kaw., Gre., Suz., Montesa, BSA, and Sachs. Easy pay Ins. and honesl deals that we stand behind. Larrest Greeves dealer In No. Calif. Closed Mon , Open . Thurs. 9-9.