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/125715
Manzanita Massacree SPARKS FIREMEN WILL RIDE CYCLES TO LIGHTNING FIRES By Randy D. Bailey SPARKS, NEV. (AP) - Instead of trudging up dry, brush-covered hills to fight lightning fires next August, Sparks firemen will ride in relative comfort and at twice the speed on trail bikes. The idea came to Fire Chief Bill Farr one hot day recently while his men fought a blaze on a desert hilltop. "It had taken a number of us about 30 minutes to climb up the steep ridge and get to the scene of a small spot fire caused by a ligh tning strike," he said Tuesday. UWe were standing there, sweating like horses, when all of a sudden this kid comes roaring up the hill on a motorcycle," Farr recalled. . "Right then and there I decided there was a place for motorcycles in ' fire fighting," he said. About I 2 firemen have volunteered their own motorcycles and in training have found they can reach the top of Rattlesnake Mountain southeast of here in half the time it takes on foot or by four-wheel-drive vehicle. "These fellows can get into areas where it's almost inaccessibl'e," Farr said. The cycles are being outfitted by the department with heat shield, trenching tools and water cannisters to fight fires and with snake bike kits, canteens and emergency food. Besides reaching fires quickly, th e cycles have other advantages, Farr says_ "The mo torcyclists can run up and down the hills and locate access roads or other routes that can be used by more conventional fire fighting vehicles," he said. They also can be used to resupply men working fire lines. The idea gets its first field t.est in August over parts of a 150-mile strip of rough terrain between here and the Oregon border. , NIXON RE-BREAKS LEG PHOENIX, ARIZ., Feb. 14, 1971 When John DeSoto and Tim Hart fired up their bikes for the Bluhm-Stone Memorial motocross-TT race today, it looked like a revised-edition of the Valentine's Day Massacre. The California duo was at Manzanita Speedway this weekend for a motocross school Saturday followed by the benefit race today. Publicity for the DeSoto-Hart school had been poor, and attendance at the class was low, but Valley motocross fans were well informed that the two would compete in the race and nearly 500 spectators came for the benefit event. The two CZ-sponsored riders traded the lead several times in the 250 Expert event to give the crowd'a good show. DeSoto finished ahead of Hart in the ..... Bu. .v ...... .d' Mike Pattict's ~- Choice of Cham.piOllS ,MAIM of COIOIA ~ Eastern Distributor: Penton Imports. 1354 Colorado Avenue, Lorain, Ohio 44052 Western Distributor: MED International, 4790 Palm Avenue, la Mesa, CalifOrnia 92041 1101 E. &t11 St. - Cereaa (4) 135-En =•................••••••....•. , . Motorcycles : .CONLEY 250/360 ~ ~ Down Pipes - $49.95 ~ W.st.i.ste, Spo,t C,ele : TIS MOTORS : 1049 W. Mission, Pcmona, Cal. : 91766 714-629-864'2 Guy R. Louis (114) 893-1051 FACTORY AUTHORIZED SALE & SERVICE Wholesale - retail - also mail order SUZUKI CITY 728 So. LaBrea Inglewood, Calif. 90301 (213) 674-1431 4825 EI Cajon Blvd., S.D. Jo••••, •• ,d s.'s ~ ~ • .aJa '.S.,••ce again! S." Up To 25~ JOHN W. MAYNARD INS. 1101 W. Burbank BI.d. 3441 Motor Ave., L.A., Ca. cn3) 836-5211 Calif. 149-5907 .. 145-8731 Ea_ "7 r~~---------~~RAciNG-l Ol CASTOR I I THE WINNERS CHOICE I I P,o,e. f.cts I "BlendzaU" Castor Mixes Easily, Perfectly And Permanently With Gas Or Methanol. Does Not Stick Piston Rings. Does Perform Perfectly In Injectors, By Setting Pump To Minimum Output_ Want Your Engine To Last Longer, Be Safe At Top R.P.M.? L California's motorcycle registration for 1970 reached 622,335 reports the Department of Motor Vehicles; 3.98% of all vehicle registration. Almost a third of that total was in L.A. County (202,516). In the four southern counties currently closed to off-road riding, the registration totaled a whopping 295,513, approximately 45% of the state's total. The smallest total came from Alpine County which accounted for only 18. This isn't surprising since that county only has 419 vehiCles in it. These totals, of course, do not include the unregistered off-road machines. We carryall types of insurance coverage - garage liabilityfire - theft & dealer bonds ~~~ SCRAMBLER MOTORCYCLES I I I I I I I LARGE CYCLE FLEET "Hey Mr. Dea'er" ~ I first two motos and Hart nosed ahead on th e final mo to. Highest placing 250 Expert Arizona rider, Bob Morgan on a Sprite, dogged Hart much of the fmal two motos and finished two seconds behind the leaders and five s.econds ahead of the pack. In the Open Senior event, DeSoto I~d all but two laps of the three motos. He bogged his engine off the start of the first moto and it took him three laps to take the lead. Arizona's Brian ,Ross on an AJS managed to give Hart some close competition in the second and third motos to make the event more than follow-the-leader. The big upset of the day came in the 125 Senior battle, when consistent victor Danny Croyle had Sachs problems. With the field swarming with Yamahas and Carabellas, a stock-looking.... Honda ridden by Rick Kraft pulled into the lead. Kraft kept the Honda out front for three top finishes. His margin on the second place finisher was nine seconds in the last moto. Dust and too much mud still remain BALTIMORE, MD., Feb. 19, 1971 Gary Nixon again broke his leg in a freak accident in back of his home Thursday nigh t. According to Nixon's wife, Mary, he was riding the sand hill behind their house which he does every day when the bike fell ·on top of him exactly on the spot where his break was before. Nixon, who Ujust C3;Jl't believe it," will be out for a good while, says Mrs. Nixon, "even though they are pinning it again." He is currently in the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, Room 4524 in this city. In a couple of weeks he will be moved to Rt. 1, Box 24, Carroll Mill Road, Phoenix, Md., 21131. Wins DUNSTALL Norton-Triumph-BSA-Honda SAN DIEGO SUZUKI 8ur~nk, Rlekman Mellss. 7574 Westminster A .... Westminster Ca . •.......................•.........•.• .~~ ...... ~ the biggest drawbacks of the Valley course, said DeSoto after his dual-wins. But, he added, the track has been greatly improved in design. "They should mix sawdust and sand with water to spread on the track to hold down the dust," he explained. Both DeSoto and Hart donated their prize money from the Open Expert 1-2 finish to the Bluhm-Stone memorial fund. In the TT races preceeding the motocross, Brian LaPlante easily outdistanced the field in the 250 Expert heat and main. LaPlante was riding a Kawasaki for the wins. J on Sellers appeared a little below par in the Open Expert races. But, Sellers fought his way into first to win the heat and the main on his Triumph. (Results on page 22) Addzip Additives. P.O. Box 461 Escalon, Calif. 93320 I'A " "I!!!l'~ -~~" , O"eIIAMfiHN ""'", • --------------------• I I I I I I I J 1/31/71 Four Aces Hare & Hound 100cc Trail Bike Class 1st Place - Terry Clark 3rd Place - Mike Hayes Clark 4th Overall 900 Starters - All classes. the HarleyDavidsoll a.;;;,;;;;;,,;.~ OUtpBrfOrBlSrS M " '" ~ .... en