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/125738
In the June 1st issue of Cycle News, we printed Assembly Bill 2985 by Assemblyman Z 'berg, wh 0 represen ts parts of Sacramento and Yolo counties. Those portions of AB 2985 which pertained to mo torcycles and motorcycling, were printed in their en tirety because th ey were absurd to the point of incredibility. As a result, thousands of motorcyclists wrote letters protesting AB 2985 to the extent that the Bill was effectively 'killed'. Mr. Z 'berg was, according to my informants, highly displeased from the adverse publicity which he received. Enough so, that he issued a formal letter to his fellow legislators which states in part: "It is regrettable that "Motorcycle Owners Riders and Enthusiasts" lobbyist, Russell Sanford, saw fit to print my "spot" bill in a major cycle publication and call for its defeat in spite of having been earlier advised that this bill would be amended." Mr. Z'berg is correct in his statement that 1 had been advised that his bill would be amended, however his amendments were introduced on 24 May, only two days before the Committee Hearing and after Cycle News had gone to press. In fact, the amended version only became available at 4:30 PM on May 25th, which left very little time for review before the Hearing on the following day. Furthermore, Mr. Z'berg's office refused to give me any advance knowledge of what the amendments would contain even though I repeatedly asked for them. In my opinion, we could not run the risk of having the original AB 2985 (or some thing even worse) get out of his committee. Mr. Z'berg has sent form letters to many of the people who wrote to him. The letters imply that he intended all of the time to amend his AB 2985 to make it compatible with 'our' AB 2342. In that case, why did he ever bother to introduce AB 2985 in the first place? In case you have received one of these letters from Mr. Z'berg and have any doubts about his true attitude toward motorcycles and motorcyclists, let me apprise you of another Z'berg bill. AB 3069 was heard initially on 26 May 1971, at which time several witnesses suggested that the bill should be amended to require the Resources Agency to study and inventory all state 'SUNDAY' m~o.r~.~ from the capitol ASSEBMLY BILL 3069 In its original form introduced on 16 April 1971, AB 3069 stated: PART 5. OFF-ROAD VEHICULAR USE OF STATE LANDS 8571. The Secretary of the Resources Agency shall inventory all state lands to determine which of such lands shall be recommended closed to off·road vehicular use as constituting lands described as follows: (a) Areas, including those of outstanding scenic values, where damage may occur that cannot be feasibly rehabilitated. (b) Areas where sanitary problems may result which do not satisfy the requirements of health and welfare. (c) Mining areas where intensive pits, quarries, shafts, and oth.er excavations present hazards to rep-eationaI use. (d) Explosive storage sites or areas contaminated by military hardware. (e) Areas where off·road vehicular use is not compatible with management of rare and endangered wildlife and of plant species. (f) Sites with scientific values such as historical, biotic, archaeological, and I?aleontological, where damage may occur. (g) Watersheds determined to be critical to domestic water supply, to protected rivers or lakes, or to high sediment-yielding frail watersheds and areas along streams or lakes where physical damage to important fisheries could not be prevented. (h) Slopes exceeding 50 percent unless in special hill climb areas or in approved low·use density or durable soil areas. This does not presuppose that all such slopes within a usable area would be restricted. Areas where soils are classified highly susceptible to erosion. .) Designated wilderness areas, wildlife areas, and certain natural areas. k) Known potential and existing camp and picnic grounds or other appropriate recreation developments. (1) Specified trails or recreation areas where the type of environment needed is noncompatible with off-road vehicular use, including but not limited to, open space and scenic strips along wild rivers. (m) Remote areas where physical access would not permit fire protection or maintenance. Exceptions are where maintenat!ce or fire protection are not required. (n) Range, wildlife, and watershed development projects such as reseedings, contour furrowing, or water developments. (0) Areas adjacent to established watering places, ranch headquarters, or lambing areas.. (p) Mining claims where interference would occur with substantial active mining improvements and commercial mininll: activitv. Areas immediately surroundi.ng suburban developments. r Small isolated parcels where trespass on adjacent ownerships is inevitable. s Active mineral leasing and ma terial sale areas. t Land areas where title transfer or applications for leasing for recreational and ubliC purposes are non-compatible with off-road vehicular use. u) Areas already encumbered by noncompatible special land use permits. v) Airport leases or cemetery sites. x) Any public lands encumbered by noncompatible prior and existing rights. y) Areas or sites which have noncompatible rights-of.way, such as communication sites and electronic and power transmission rights·of-way. 8572. The Secretary of the ResouTces Agency shall submit his findings and recommendations to the Governor and to the Legislature. ') H l~ l REVIEW While the search for the Grand National Championship unfolds, there are some side glimpses of ice racing, side cars, drags, and Cal Rayborn's World. Land Speed Record run. The latter is awesome in both its comedy, beauty, and spacey music from a Moog synthesizer. Motocross is examined with the liberal use of the high-speed camera. Contorted faces fill the whole screen as Chuck "Feets" Minert winces off flying dirt and John DeSoto goes "oomph" as a jolt jars his spine. (One of my favorites was a slow-motion super-sharp close-up of a gear shift lever being jabbed into a new cog. I would have written the shot off as. a one-in-ten-thousand, and that's one reason why Brown will never hire me as a cinematographer). We follow Malcomb Smith from one victory to another, at Baja, a Midwest hillclimb, and one of the most brilliant sequences, the International Six Days Trials in Spain. The section could stand alone as a fme documentary. Steve McQueen, roving ambassador that he is, is shown busting his buns like everyone else on a Sunday afternoon at Indian Dunes. Later, he and Malcomb knock 'em dead at the infamous Elsinore Grand Prix. (Continued from Page 1) The desert guys receive a nice treatment but there are many staged sequences that are humorous but could have been left out without damaging the film. Finally, we see McQueen, Lawwill, and Smith in a romantic display of what it's like to go cowtrailing with your buddies. They even go riding off into the sunset. It is easy to nit-pick "Sunday" when you're constantly around motorcycles. But the movie is made for the non-enthusiast public because they are in the majority. Besides, they have the most knowledge and enjoyment to gain from it; the straight press has given the film raves. Brown's ability at succinct and lucid narration make the most intricate details of our sport easily understandable to the layman. The photography is, even at its worst, overwhelming. Take a..friend, sweetheart, parent, whatever, to see "On Any Sunday" and don't try pointing out slight descrepancies or exaggerations. Just smile, grunt, and nod your head (knowingly) while they watch a heretofore unknown world of mechanical/physical art dance before their eyes and ears. You'll walk out of the theatre a hero like you've never been before. Some ·Startling Statistics... AVON, OHIO, Aug. 1, 1971 - The motorcycle off-road recreation market is bigger than the market for street machines, says Charles Clayton, Chairman' of the Motorcycle Industry Council's Land Use Committee and publisher of Cycle News. The difference between sales figures and registration figures in recent years indicates that more motorcycles are purchased for off-the-road use than for street riding. Road use, which shows in state licensing and registration tallies, predominated until 1968, when registrations rose less than half of total sales, indicating that a greater number of machines were converted to exclusive off-road use than were licensed for the highway that year. In 1966 sales of new motorcycles totalled 712,000 units (112,000 minibikes). 1966 registrations totalled 1,752,801 - an increase of 370,845 over the previous year. By 1969, however, when sales were a whopping 655,000 units (not including domestic manufactured minibikes), registrations increased only 186,000. In 1970, when a total of 1,430,000 motorcycles and minibikes were sold, 588,000 machines disappeared from the registration lists, primarily into off-road use exclusively. Registrations in that year climbed 526,734, however, indicating that the street bikes may be catching up. Not all of the machines which disappear annually from registration lands to determine where off-road vehicles could be operated. Mr. Z'berg commented that this was a good point and that he would make such an amendment. When AB 3069 next came up for bearing on 17 June 1971, the amendments had not yet been printed nor had I been able to obtain an advance copy from l\1r. Z 'berg's office. However, Mr. Z'berg's Committee Consultant assured me before the hearing that the amendments were just what we wanted, so I did not oppose the bill. On 21 June 1971, four days after the Bill had been passed out of Mr. Z'berg's committee without any opposition, Mr. Z'berg introduced the amended version of AB 3069 to the Assembly. In essence, the amended version contained only two changes. The first changed the wording "closed to off-road vehicles" to "suitable for recreational use by off~highway vehicles, and which of such lands shall be closed to, or subject to limited use by off highway vehicles". 1n my estimation, that is no change at all! The amended versiun still contains the list of 24 categories (A thru Y) where off-road vehicles should not be allowed. If you carefully examine these 24 categolies, you will quickly note that nothing is left. MONEY GRAB And here's the real kicker! Mr. Z'berg's amended version of AB 3069 appropriates $I 00,000 of our Off-Highway Vehicle Fund (established by AB 2342) to the Resources Agency to conduct the study. Again, in my estimation, that really takes gall! To take $100,000 of the money we are willing to pay for motorcycle and mini-bike parks for purposes of conducting a statewide study to determine where we cannot operate off-road vehicles. I have tried for twc> weeks to discuss this matter with Assemblyman Z'berg, but have been unable to get closer to him than his Committee Consultant, who has informed me that he has discussed the matter with Mr. Z'berg. But, that Mr. Z'berg is of the opinion that off-road vehicles are causing the problem and should therefore pay the expense. If such a study even needs to be performed, why not pay for it with the • General Fund??? The answer: Mr. Z'berg knows that it would never be approved for inclusion in the budget because it isn't even needed. WHAT NEXT? Mr. Z'berg feels that I have misled you in to wrongful beliefs about his attitude toward motorcycles and motorcyclists. You have now seen his AB 3069 in its original form and after he has had ample opportunity to amend it. If you feel as I do, that this man must be made to realize that motorcyclists are concerned about legislation, you will IMMEDIATELY write a letter to your own Senator requesting that he vote against AB 3069, which has already passed out of the Assembly. We must act quickly! If you still don't know the name of your elected representatives, please send for one of our FREE legislative and letter-writing guides. Address all requests, comments, and/or inquiries to M.O.R.E., P.O. Box 26062, Sacramento, CA 95826. . More Motorc,clists Titan Golfers . 5 Million Mles in t'e U.S• . Off·Roa" Growt" Outstrips Street lists can be assumed to be in use exclusively off-road. A percentage are scrapped, an unknown number are merely stored and not used that year. However, there is a one-year lag before a machine purchased exclusively for off-road disappears from the registration rolls, since many are registered in the year of purchase for title purposes only. Also, virtually all minibikes are exclusively off-road vehicles. In 1970 700,000 minibikes were sold. But the figures show that motorcycle dealers, manufacturers and distributors should consider the off-road market at least as important as the street market, if not more so. Based on the difference between sales and registration figures for the past five years, an estimated 2,252,000 exclusively off-road motorcycle and minibikes now exist in the U.S. There are an additional 2,814,626 motorcycle licensed for street use, making a grand total of over 5 million motorcycles in the U.S.! By applying the conventional ratio of 2.5 participants per bike, Clayton estimates the total number of motorcycle riders in the U.S. at over 12 million. Compare that with the Athletic Institute's 1969 sports participation survey, which shows the total number of participants in golf as 11.9 million, bowling 4.2 million, football 1.2 million and baseball 1.0 million. '" ~ 8:. d; d ,;, J l@ w Z ':J u t;