Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

• IDS 111 Bvening Witb By Ron Schneider None of motorcycling's heroes are very well known by the non- motorcycling public. We don't have a DiMaggio, a Snead, a Louis, or even a Junior Johnston. But the one man who really comes closest Is undoubtedly Bud Ekins. His fa:me does not come from the fact that he was one of the first Americans to compete In motocross (and on equal terms with the Europeans) nor from the fac t that he was the organizer of America's first Six Days Trial Team and the most successful trialer this country has produced (4 gold medl.ls, 1 silver m~dal, In seven tries). No, his fame comes from the fact that he associates with Michael Parks and Steve Mc Queen, doing the difficult stunt work In shows like "The Great Escape," jIBullltt," and 4'Then Came Bronson." Recently Bud was asked to again represent the U.S. In the Six Days Trials, this time as Captain of the first official Trophy team. (In the past we have had "Vase" teams because of a rullng, now changed, that a Trophy team had to be mounted on motorcycles manufactured in Its own country. Although the competition is the same for both the" Vase" teams and the Trophy teams, the Trophy team competition is the more important.) The selection of Bud to Captain the Trophy team was not made easily. Bud is 40 years old and no longer active in any kind of motorcycle competition. There was also the question of whether he woqld be wUl1ng and able to devote sufficient time to the project. Besides his movie work, Bud runs his own Triumph dealership in Sherman Oaks, drives a race car in off-road competition, and collects antique motorcycles. Quite a fuli life. Since I was not at the meeting, I don't know exactly what transPired, but I do know that three hours of heated argument was resolved by the selection of Bud to be the team captain. It was also decided that the Trophy team would be mounted on Husqvarnas. I arranged for an Interview with Bud to talk about the Trials. Bud Ekins has a large, very nicely decorated home In the Hollywood Hills. I was met at the door by Bud's' wife, Betty, his two little girls, oneof their friends, and, I believe, a dog. Somewhat overwhelmed, I introduced myself and was soon led to BUd, who was ensconced on the patio. Naturally, I too was wonderIng If Bud Ekins would be capable of leading our Trophy team In a creditable fashion. First impressions were not par,ticularly encouraging. Apart from the fact that Bud is a fairly heavy smoker, drinks a bit, and was a little paunchy, there was this fee1!ng-here is a guy who has got it made. He has money,abeautiful home, nice family, good business, a degree of fame, some important friends, and four gold medals. He doesn't even have anything to prove; he's already done It. I began to wonder why he had even accepted the spot. I began asking Bud what he was going to do In the way of tra1n1ng for the trials. "Nothing," he said. I didn't really believe that, and I kept coming hack to the question In various forms throughout the evening. Finally BUd told me that he planned to do two hours of hard, continuous riding around a scrambles course every night after work for a month before the trials. I asked If he thought this was sufficient to get In shape for the trials, but before he could answer. his wlfe broke "Is moslly to get reallyfam1l1ar with the bike." It's no secret that Bud likes the big four strokes, particularly the Triumph twins. At one point In the evening he indicated that lie thought the best possible off-road motorcycle (and the only one capable of beating the cars In the Baja race) was the Cheney frame with a Triumph engine. Knowing this, I asked him the slightly loaded question, "What do you think of the bike selected for you to ride. Ekins at Hopetown. In with, "What do you mean get In shape? Do you know that everyone of those directors on the Bronson show has some mudhole or swamp picked out, and every one of them wanted Bud to push that Sportster out of the hole?" Since pushing a Sportster off the center stand makes you a good bet for a heart transplant, I decided Bud was probably In pretty good shape after all. "The practice," he said, The 19671.S.D.T. Ameri('~n Vase Team. Dave & Bud Ekins are seated, while Steve McQueen, .John...S.~ and Cliff Coleman stand. the Husky?" With no hes~tation at alI; Bud replied, "It's a good bike,lt's absolutely reliable." A little surprised, I asked if he would be rlding the 360 Sportsman. "No, I'm going to ride the 400 Cross," he said. "Don't you think that might have a little more power than is desirable?" I asked. Bud grinned and said, "No two-stroke has too much power." I next broached the question of possible modlficatiODS. "I don't know," Bud said, "But before we go I'm going to ask Malcoim Smith. He's absolutely straight and he knows. Whatever he says is weak we'll fix. I think we might want an extra coil mounted on the bike or In our pocketS, but I don't know of anything else." We moved onto the question of the other team members. Several of them Budhad never heard of. Only one, Malcolm Smith, really commanded hls respect. "We ought to have LeRoy Winters on the Trophy team," Bud remarked. I suggested that there might be a conflict because of Winters' commitment to the Penton motorcycle. "Yeah, I suPpose so," Bud said, "but LeRoy's really good. He's missed a Gold several times on things that are really nukes." I mentioned that Jeff Penton, the only Penton on the Trophy team, was probably good; that he had just won his class In the Greenhorn. "Yeah, but he's just like his dad," Bud replied, "he can't see a motorcycle without trying to pass it." "Maybe that will be an asset in the special tests," I suggested. "If we could just flnish with all Golds we'd have a very good chance to win without doing anything spectacular on the specJ.al tests," Bud sald, "but thatwon't happen. We've probably got several botsbot Eastern scramblers that won't finish at alI." I must have looked somewhat skeptical, because he offered thls explanation. "Here's what happens. The racer gets alI caught uP in excitement, crowds watching and alI that. He tries to pass someone who's really going fast enough and he crashes or hits a rock. Maybe he dents a rim. The next section, he gets a fiat. Since he can't fix a nat quickly enough, he decides to ride on it to the next check. By then he's lost some spokes or broken the hub and he's out of it. Trouble snowballs very quickly." "How long does It take you to change a tire?" "About four minutes on my Triumph, a few seconds longer on the Husky." BUd said matter of facily, "l'llprobablyhave to practice some to get my time down to that, but that's what it's got to be." "Sounds like you expect some flats," I remarked. "It's a question of being prepared for those things that you can do something about." Bud replied. "I know I'll have to change both tires and maybe fix a nat during the six days. I know I'll have to replace the chain and maybe fix it. Tires, no problem. Carry a tube, fix It. Chain, no problem. Carry an extra chain, smear it with graphlte at each check. Fixltwhen it breaks. Gearbox trouble, you're out. Clutch trouble, you're out. Ignition, maybe,' just maybe,' you can fix it. Carburetor, maybe. Control cables, no problem. Fix It." "You're talking about fixing these things, but what about time?" I asked. "You have to know Just how much time you have at any given time. Sometimes you have to fix something on the spot. A tire you almost always fix. That's where judgment comes in. Sometimes you'll be in a tough section and you'll know there's an easy one coming next that'll give you time to make the repair." "I didn't know there were any easy sections," I quiPPed. Bud Ignored the remark and started off on something that he obviously considered very important. "Most people don't realize that the Six Days Trial is laid out by clubs over In Europe, just as the races and enduros are here. And just like over here most of the work Is done by the older guys that have stuck with the SPOI't for years and no longer compete themselves. Lots of times, what these older guys think is a realIy tough section is really nothing for a competent rider. Our guys go over there and think, "Oh , my gosh, Six Days Trials. Laid out by suP!!rmen. I'll never be able to finish on time." It's just not true. The schedules are very realistic and the course is not impossible or anything close to it. The schedule for the entire six days is only about 28 mph. If you just stop and remember that the course wa:s laid out and ridden by men perhaps older and In worse shape than yourself then it becomes a lot easier. The other thing to remember is that every other competitor is riding the same sections you are and if the section really is too tough it'll be thrown out." BUd's wlfehandedmeanotherdrlnkand I took a gooJ swallow before asking the next question, "What about cheating?" I suppose I expected Bud to be embarrassed or angry or something, but in fact the only emotion that I observed was a little irritation at my naivete. "Everybody cheats," he said quietly, "but it's only cheating when you get caught and it's proven, Every government and every manufacturer has a huge stake in the trials and each one Is going to win if at all possible. Everyone of the Tropby team riders will have a manager following hlm around with an overcoat stuffed with tools and parts. They'll have identical bikes following the riders on the course so that if a part breaks, they can strip It off the other bike and fix the competition bike. If the rider gets caught they'll bring it uP In the evening meeting. Then the rider's manager defend hlm ,and try to disprove the charges. We'll have two' things going for us In those meetings. First, Edison Dye is very good at that political maneuvering. Second, we'll usually be sure of three votes -- England (a kind of mutual tradition), Sweden (because we're riding Huskys), and our own. ., Nobody paid much attention to us before because we didn't have a Tropby team, but we'll be watched much more w.w , (Continued on page 10)

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