Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

... 1 IYIII I ••• I w Z W -J o > t.> "America's No. 1 weekly motorcycle newspaper. You'll always see it FIRST in Cycle News'" ...... _- " ", .. Publisher Charles Clayton Business Manager .. '.' . Sharon Clayton General Manager Tom Culp Managing Editor John Bethea Assistant Editor. . . . . . . .. David Swift Circulation Manager Rheba Sl)'Iith Circulation Ass't Marla Tarbet Production Manager Steve LeHuray Ed Drechsler Production Assistant ., Advertising Assistant .. Barbara Richard Bookkeeper Dorothea Lang Bookkeeper Ass't. . Eleanor Duke Lab Technician Larry Groves Cycle News East, Dixie Cycle News, and National Advertising information: Tom Culp, National Advertising Director. Cycle News (West), P.O. Box 498. Long Beach, California 90801. (213) 427·7433 - L.A. 636-8844. TELEX NO. 673474 Subscription: One year 2nd class mail 2 years 2nd class mail 3 years 2nd class mail Single copy' price . . . ~ ,~, · .$9.00 · $15.00 · $18.00 · . $.30 Published weekly except 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. Addressed, stamped envelope assures return of editorial maner. Reprinting in whole or in part only by permission of the publishers. Advertising rates and circulation information will be sent upon request. See S.R.D.S. ..;.~- C.E.R.A:s POSITION ON PROPOSED DISTRICT 37 RULE CHANGES, Not having seen the full list of District 37 Enduro Rule changes, we have to assume that the report by Ron Schneiders is correct. We accept the fact that some existing Enduro rules may require modification; this being especially true in District 37 now that they will be keeping track of points...in much the same manner that the California Enduro Riders Association already is keeping track of Enduro points for its 1200 members. We don't feel that all the new proposed changes should go into effect without further discussion on them by more than a handful of riders - as Mr. Schneiders pointed out, they do tend to favor "A" riders; which class contains the fewest number of riders. A rider classification system has to start somewhere; and we are happy to see District 3 7 finally get on the stick with an" kind of classification system. We feel that the Enduro program requires three (3) rider classifications, a sy.tem like every other phase of the sport, rather than just the Expert Amateur or A and B rider system. For the past two years we have run 'A', 'B' and 'C' (or Expert, Amateur and Novice) classes. Without a Novice or 'C' class, the new rider or beginning rider doesn't stand much of a chance against some of the very experienced "B" riders. The way we work this system, is that a new or beginning rider is classed as "C". Should he win the 'C' class in his engine size, he is transferred to 'B' status. Should he trophy three (3) times in the 'C' class in any position, he transfers to 'B '. Youngest finisher, father/son teams, first girl (Special Awards) do not count, unless they also place well in class. A 'B' rider must trophy three (3) times to transfer to 'A' status. The trophy award system has been 1(1% of class for a long time. We felt that this standard practice could stand some modification and in our last event instituted a 5% PLUS 5% system. What this amounts to is at the first 5% mark (over-all), all finishers will troph y regardless of class, and after that another 5% trophy in class. The reason being that a rider could finish 5th overall and not receive a troph y if he were a member of a class that was limited in number of entries, and the riders fmishing ahead of him were all in the same class. Engine size classification breakdowns have always been subject to widespread controversy, dependent entirely upon who was discussing the matter and what size machine they were riding at the time. The classes we now run are: O-lOOcc; 101-250cc, 251-open. We feel that there is room for change in this, and are again considering using the 4th class - from 501 to open. We feel that it is le.s fair to run 360's against 750's than to run the 125's against the 250's. W~ have to disagree with Mr. Schneiders when he says enduros are laid out for big bikes. Weare sure that if he were to ride a 650·7 50cc !J1achine around any given course (as opposed to his 125) his opinion would change considerably. Granted, big bike riders have won some of the tougher events in the past year or so, a case in point being Bud Howseman, winner of the Golden Bear 200 and Greenhorn 500 on his 750 Norton, but then we compare that with the excellent performance of Max Bubeck on his 100cc Hodaka - ...so we're back to the old truth that the guy turning the knob is the controlling factor. Re: section 8; (in events of less than 100 miles, checks may be as close as 3 miles apart) - to the best of our knowledge, this rule has long been in _ effect. We haven't come in contact with it in Southern California because our enduros are usuaUy longer than 100 miles; but with territory in which to ride becoming increasingly more difficult to obtain, some short, tough runs may be forthcoming and this ruling would be an advantage to the layout crew. Section 9: ("Using the Enduro point chart", etc.) As far as awarding points, the district suggests that they go by the poin t chart in the rule book which would pay down to 43 riders in an 800 rider evenL This is about 5% of the riders receiving points; consequently, at the end of the year, the point chart would cover only about 3% of the riders competing. We feel that the novice or amateur rider can onlv discover and compare his progress throughout the year (and year to year) by a point system that includes all competitors, and if we are keeping track of only the top 3%, we're back where we were in the district in years past, keeping track of 10 to 25 riders. C.E.R.A.'s over-all point system pays points on a graduated scale from 1 thru 150, with all finishers within the 1 hour time limit receiving one (1) point for finishing after the 10. We know that this system requires by far a greater amount of paperwork, but it is the only way to be fair to other than the top riders. We don't feel that 'A' riders should have the advantage in a starting time discourage novice riders and remove the only status symbol in enduros, that of working your way up to becoming an A rider...We are sure Whitey Martino had to do more than request Number One. Section 18: this proposed ruling suggests we score a rider's points, less 2 events. - (so that clubs sponsoring enduros aren't penalized because their members can't ride). - A ruling which might be better would be that if a rider works on one event per year, he would receive the average of the number of points he has earned in all other events ridden during that calendar year. Section 23 is clumsy; if the finish were the only known check, it would be No.1. (?) Section 24: (2 day events pay double). This is probably worthwhile if for no other reason than distance in a 500 mile event, but the question has arisen, if a run starts one day and goes into the next day (as in a night enduro) is that a two day event? A regulation regarding mileage should be put into effect. (Such as 300 miles or more pays double.) We further feel that there should be a team or group of District 37 appointed people, including Novice, Amateur and Expert riders who would assist clubs in putting on Enduros, as regards to difficulty of terrain, time and mileage, VOICES OF THE WEST drawing. In most events, an early starting time is advantageous. The original idea behind this was to have 'A' riders leaving f1l'lt, because they're adept at reading the course and would bum a good trail for the B riders to follow. But how is a B rider ever going to learn to read markings unless he has equal opportunity to ride in the flfSt pack? We vote for complete random drawings, with everyone having the same equal opportunity for early riding numbers. Transferring a rider to "A" by his own request/option, seems out of line. This would remove any need for a point system or any reason for it. Similar to asking for (and receiving) No. 1 in the desert Hare & Hound system. Section 12 (RE: TEAMS) As the word "team" implies, we feel that this should be (in some places) a group effort. Having any group of three riders finish is quite a feaL In an enduro, any territory that's traversable by machine or manpower or any combination thereof is legal - so to separate teams on different minutes removes the factor of teamwork. If split, matters would be further complicated for traveling pit crews in longer events, and would amount to having one crew for each rider. But more important, the definite advantage is to the "A" team - all riding together. Splitting teams also removes the pleasure of being able to spit rocks on your buddy's face, rather than a stranger's. With our A, B, C categories, we allow 'c' riders to ride with A or B on a team without changing class. If B riders ride on a team with one 'A' rider, they are all 'A' riders for that event only. Should the 'C' rider do well as a member of a team, he1J only be doing it once, because his over·aIl finish will transfer him to "B". Not being able to revert back to B status when riding alone, after once requesting to ride as an 'A' will speed averages, lo'cation and number of checks and disqualification of checks. Some of these ideas and suggestions may sound like they have been compiled by "c" riders. WRONG!! But let's accept the fact that the majority of riders are novices or amateurs. (Pre "Vote yourself 'Am program). We don't feel that enduros will continue to grow and/or be fun, challenging or enjoyable for the majority unless we consider the 'B' and 'C' riders in all decisions. Over the past two years, through the efforts of a large number of people, the number of enduros in Southern California has grown from 4 to 12 per year, even though they're more difficult to layout and put on then Hare and Hounds and Hare Scrambles. We feel Enduros are importan t to the sport, in that a rider who may not care to take the chances involved in an out and out speed contest can still compete. It's time for some real working together by all factions and groups involved and by those people and those groups who enjoy riding or care what happens to our sport. Probably the most important point in the whole thing is the classification and transfer of riders - if anyone can be an "A" rider by their own suggestion, it would remove the challenge of working up to "A" in ability and machine preparation; and when you remove the challenge, you remove the reason for riding. At the same time, you can't make it impossible for the amateur or novice rider to work his way to the top of the fraternity by legal, hard working means. We may not agree with everything Ron Schneiders says, but we do appreciate the fact that he'. been the only one for the past year or so who has bothered to write anything extensive about enduro•. CERA was founded for the betterment and preservation of enduros. With this PIIIpOR in miDCI, we fed compelled to voice our opinions on these proposed rule changes. Rather than just criticize, we do offer alternative plans, all of which we institu ted, tried and found workable within our a.sociation. We strongly recommend a meeting of all factions involved before putting new rules into effect which might end to botch up and phase out enduros. We need standardization of rules, rather than indiscriminate modifications. CERA represents 1200 active enduro riders in California; we suggest they, or anyone in the District who is involved write us at P.O. Box 2102, Cypress, 90630. Whether for detailed information, or any suggestions, we, the enduro riders have. ED WHITE Pres., CERA BLACK FLAG THE OFFICIALS? We read with interest in Cycle News West, 10 Aug. 1971 about the protest at Corona because the Livonia National was just as fouled up. How long are the riders going to put up with such stuff? At Livonia the third Expert heat was cut short when the flagman gave the checkered flag for no apparent reason. This was followed by a long hassle session between riders and officials. First the race was going to be re-run then they changed their minds and decided to call it a race. Why don't the officials know what's going on? During the National the race was stopped in the middle for more track conditioning and more hassle. Have you ever heard of such a thing? It really doesn't seem much like racing to us. All the time the crowd was growing more anxious and were clapping and stomping their feet for action. The race wasn't over until 6:10 EST. and 7:10 EDT which sure made it early in the morning for those of us with 240 miles to ride home that night. We just don't see why the AMA officials can't get the rules straight and know what's going on. Maybe they should go to a big time car race to see how it's done. How does motorcycling ever expect to become a truly national sport with such ama teurish officials? PATRICK and MARTY MAY Fairborn, Ohio A TIGHTER HOLD ON QUIET I am glad to see that District 37 requires silencers on the bikes that race. The way the silencers are held by hose clamps is ok - if they are kept tighL I think I have come up with a way to hold silencers to the pipe. You need two pieces of sheet metal, 2" x 2" with 'A" holes. Then, weld or tack one piece to the pipe and the other to the silencer so that when the silencer is placed on the end of the stinger, both pieces line up together and the holes match. Then, you can bolt or tie the two pieces. RICK GRANT Sepulveda, Calif. PAY 'EM TO DO IT Regarding I.S.D.T. support for our riders, I was very amused at Mr. Vancil's concept of training the workers during the flight over to England. Unless the trials starts the following day, he will fmd that his "workers" are scattered all the way from Edinburgh to Rome on sigh tseeing trips. Training a worker on the fligh t to England is analogous to asking a Trophy team rider to prepare his machine between the impound area and the starting line. Mr. Vancil erred when he said he didn't need any help. Both he and the riders need all the help they can get. Ask any I.S.D.T. rider and he will tell you he would like to see American helpers shoulder to shoulder all the way around the course if it were possible. I know of a distributor of highly competitive, weD known dirt machines (PletJSe turn to fNlge 5)

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