Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

·America's #1. weekly !motorcycle newspaper. You'll always see it FIRST in Cycle News'" . DANGEROUS PRACTICES Everyone seems to get up tight when they see pit racing. Yet, other practices are being done on the race track. which really don't upset people as mucb, until someone gets burt. Novice or Junior riders are the principle offenders. All the rule books specifically forbid ever pushing a bike the wrong direction on the race track. Everyone agrees that this is a dangerous practice, Yet the novice rider keeps insisting be should sit in the middle of the groove while he tries to restart his bike. In the past two years, I have been in the hospital and have been hurt twice with a loss of four months riding, because of novice riders safety, much less their own. Because of my previous experiences with these rna- . ture responsible rid.ers I have taken to avoiding riding whenever I think the riders are not experienced enough. I would like to see an article or editorial by a. well-known expert outlining the track practices considered dang.er- Publisher•.•••.• Charles Clayton Business Manager•••Sharon Clayton General Manager••••••• Tom Culp Advertising Manager. . . Tom Walsh Edi tor• . . • • • . • . . . . Bob Sanford Assi stant Edi tor ••••• John 8(:jthea CirculaHon Manager••• Rheba Smith Art Di rector . • . • . . . • Li Ii Laki ch Lab Technician. Greg Westmoreland Advertising Asst••..• Bruce Braly Bookkeeper••••.•• Edna Williams Bookkeeper•••••••• Eleanor Duke Delivery••.• •.••• Bob Hill MISTAKEN ERROR In many of your past issues, you have printed in errors and wrong reports. This time one involves me, so I am writing for a correction. Len Earl hi-sided his bike and I hit the wreckage and crashed. You had it printed. wrong with ,me "Dumping my bike in front of Len'" Let's print the true facts of a story or go back to' your usual "result" type reporting. REG CHOSNEY Manhattan Bc h. NOISE POLLUTION The time has now come for all true motorcycle people to wake uP and realize that our recreational land is about to be taken away from us. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) along with major cities and counties to the southern Cal1f. area now have before them motorcycle legislation of one sort or another to stop all forms of off toad activities. The cause is PlatnlY. written on the wall. Yoioe. ous. Also, a run down on what a rider should do when unavoidable occurrences do happen. Not only would this make racing a little safer, it would give the rank beginner a good idea of what to do, ,and give me a little more peace of mind. MICHAEL D. MILLE Los Angeles, Calif, RIGGS THANKS ALL Last week at Orange County Speedway I was' injured whire competing in the races there. The La Paz Ambulance serVice, who. standby at the track for such emergencies, did a fantastic job of handling me for my trip to Tustin Community Hospital, and are to be highiy comme nded. The Tustin Hospital, must also be recognized for outstanding service and treatment to their patients, an increasing rare occurrence these days. Last, but not least, I want to thank everyone who helped me in my time of need, most of all Rick Thompson, and thanks so much for the many, many phone calls, cards, and visits that made me 'feel so good'when I was down. See yOU next year. RANDY RIGGS #182r CYCLE PARK ON DUMP A couple of weeks ago a small article in the Los Angeles Times Newspaper appeared mentioning the possibility of a motorcycle park on the old city dum~ site in Anaheim. What good news-hay what? It would seem most appropriate that CYCLE NEWS take up the calling with articles and editorial comments in regards to this issue. Enclosed is copy of a letter I received from Mr. Murdoch. Any thoughts or suggestions as t.o how to create an active interest in getting this cycle park approved and adopted by the City of Anaheim will be most appreciated. L.R. MARTIN 134 Topaz Street Balboa Island, Calif. 92662 We have published an article on the proposed site and agree with your suggestion that a citizens committee would be advantageous. We have published Mr. Martin's fuJI address and strongly urge those of our readers Interested in such a venture to contact him immediately ...ed. a NOISE POLLUTION. Peopledon'tclassi- ty motorcycles as people ridtng motor- cycles. They say 'Those- damn noisy thIngs'. People now SEE a motorcycle and thInk NOISE. It may not be .lair to the people who care but it seems to me that a very small handful of people are runin1ng all of our fIm, and I don't like it one bit. Before it's too late it would beh9QVe all loyal motorcycle people to take a second look at our predicament. From thIs side of the paper it looks pretty bael. THOMAS C. MOCK Yorlla Linda, Cal1f. WHO'S STUCK WITH 'PINS? We desert riders have a couple of finisher pins owed us. One, from the Desert Turtles, June 14 '70' and the other from the Lost Coyoles, July 12, '70. I was wondering.if you people at Cycle News know what the hang up is, and if not, maybe you could find out. I've personally been riding about three months and I think you'll find that most novices watch for races with pins, and regard the pins as trophies. GREG HENDERSON Los Angeles, Calif. PERFECT PROGRAM . I rode the Stump-Jumper European' Scrambles on Sunday, July 26. I would like to congratulate them on a perlect race. The course was very well marked with arrows and lime. I am only 13 and just beginning to race. It was the best race sci far. I wish that clubs would put on more European Scrambles in District 37. Congratulations again Stump-Jumpers JERRY STEVENS Torrance, Calif. BROWN ADMIRERS We would like to congratulate Dave Brown on the. fine articles he has written on Deadman's Point. Deadmans is a great track and it d'eserves good coverage. Dave races at the Point besides writing the articles and does both well. All there is left to say is, Keep up the good work, Dave. MARK CAIN GARY SCHRECKENGAST Long Beach, Calif. Cycle News East, DixieCycle News, andNationar Advertising information: Tom Culp:National Advertising Dir. Cycre News (West), p.O. Box 498, Long Beach, Cal ifornia 90801 (213) 427-7433 - L.A. 636-8844 Subscription: One year 2nd class mail •••• $7.50 Single copy price•••••••••• 254: Published weekly elCcept the first and last week of the calendar year by Cycle News, Inc., Post Office Box 498, Long Beach, California, also publishers of Cycle News East,' and Dixie, Cycle News. Second Class Postage paid at Long Beach, Calif. Editorial stories, cartoons, photos, etc. are welcome. Write for information. Addressed, stamped envelope· assures return of editorial matter. Reprinting in whole or in part only by permission of the publishers. Advertisln'g rates and circulation information wi 1\ be sent 'upon request. Baumann In Hospital NAPA, CALIF., ,Aug. 24, 1970 - ,Art Baumann, who was injured in the AFM Road Race in Vaccaville, Calif" Sunday, was listed as in serious condition by hospital officials today and he has been placed in the extensive care ward of the Queen of the Valley Hospital. No information could be obtained from the hospital's spokesman as to the extend or type of injuries Baumann sustained when his bike crashed in a turn while leading the 500cc GP race by a large margin. Carl Wilson of Hap Jones, however, reported that "Art's brakes locked up on him at 120 mph and he crashed into the wall. His 'high-quality helmet split like an eggshell and he possibly had a skull fracture with serious concussions." ' A later report from Wilson added that BaUmann had regained conscienceness and was not listed in fair condition, but when checking with" the hospital again, its spokesman stated, "He is still in extensive care. That is all I can state at this time." . Phone number of the Queen of the Valley Hospital, Napa, Calif., is (70~) 224-7811. • Inter-Am Dates Given LA MESA, CALIF., Aug. 21, 1970 - The dates for the upcoming 15 events engulfing this year's Inter-Am series were announced today as well as a list of many of the rid'ers expected to compete. . However, there is still a question as to whether Sylvain Geboers, current world championship points table leader and Suzuki rider, will be able to compete or not. Geboers has signed to ride both the Inter·Ams and another tour sponsored by Suzuki. The legal contradictions are still being looked into, say John Butcher, head of the Suzuki racing program. "At this fime," says Butcher, "I think its safe to say that Geboers will not be riding in the Inter-Ams as Dye states." /' Geboers is listed as a CZ rider in the Inter-Am release but that was changed later to either Suzuki or Husky. But, whether he will actually compete is still in question. ,Also listed to ride are Bengt Aberg,. Torsten Hallman, Arne Kring, Adolf Weil, ,Ake Johnsson; Malcolm Davies, and Roger DeCoster. The lirst events begin Oct. 4 at Copetown, Ontario, Canada and swing throughout the· East and mid-West before 'reaching the West Coast in mid November, Nov. 15 has two separate events going on with action in Seattle, Wash., and at Carlsbad, Calif. A week later, the tour takes in both Portland, Ore., and Honolulu, Hawaii. On Nov. 29 the competition continues in San Francisco and then concludes Dec. 6 at Saddleback Park, Calif. Stu Peters Joins Ascot GARDEN,A, CALIF. - Stu Peters, President of CMC, has been named Vice President and General Manager of .Ascot Park, it was announced last week. Peters will be responsible for the tracks various race promotions, including a soon to be instituted, Autocross. The new Ascot official said that he will still maintain his ties with CMC, although he will be working long hours at the race track. Peters also said that there are plans for the ,Ascot Company to expand their motocross pro• gram in the near future. Bonneville SDlashed BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS, UTAH,Aug. 24, 1970 - The best Salt event in the past five years got off strong today with 14 new ,AMA records being set. Bruce Flanders reports that the most impressive thing so far on the Salt has been a one-way run by Don Sliger from South Gate, Calif., with a tWin-engine Royal Enfield. With no streamlining, he hit a speed of 193 mph, but when he attempted a return run, he blew the clutch all over the Salt. There are five streamlil'lers all with the possibility of breaking the current world speed record for motorcycles. There are 100 entries. Complete results should be available from Flanders next week with complete photo coverage a week later. Knievel To Jump Snake BORDEN TOWN, N'.J.. ,Aug. 20, 1970 - Evel Knievel's plans to jump th.e Snake River are becoming finalized, with a possible target date now of Apnl I, 1971. The king of motorcycle jumping told Cycle News in a telephone interview frolf) his motel here that a 300 yard take off ramp and a 3./8 mile runway are now under construction near the jump site in Twin Falls, Idaho. Knievel said that the jump will'go over Shoshone ,Falls, a distance of onehalf mile. Additionally, Knievel said that the picture about his life, starring George Hamilton, will not be released until June 30, 1971, due to distribution difficulties. He said that the same company that had distributed the various Hell's Angel movies was scheduled to distribute his film, until he extracted a promise from Hamilton to make other arrangements. Knievel will make this statement sometime this week on the Merv Griffon television show. Knievel also said that the promoters of his Snake River jump will stage a $10 000 purse motocross during the first week of next April af the site of the jtim P. The world record holder added that he is dickering with various manufacturers for a new ride. 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