Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.COST Of RACING ca tc h so meon e, bu t he's likely to ruin the wheel bearings in a 25-cent car wash or destroy the upper end with an inadequate air cleaner. We've p resented two types of rid ers; the chances are that the reader isn't exactly like either of them so as h e st udies th e chart, he's going to have to make allowances fo r the differences and to make it easy, we've left one blank set of boxes to be filled in. Here's how we figured the various costs . MOTORCY CLE COST: Most of the b ikes in the vario us categories are 250's. T he exception is in th e road racin g class. For road racing we chose the 350cc class because of its overwhelming popularity. To find the cost of the motorcycle for o ne year (as opposed to the purchase p rice) we h ad to make an assumption abou t h ow long th e rid er would keep th e bike, how much he would pay for it, h ow m uch he could sell it for at the end of that time and what he had pai d for finance and insuran ce charges. We ass umed the serious ri der wo uld b uy one of the t op four ma ch in es in h is category p ay 10% less than retail for it, put 1{3 down and finance the rest of it at a true 18% rate for two years. At the end of that time he would then sell it privately at 50% of retail. O ur pl ay rider buy s a lesser machin e ; pays retail for it , pays th e sam e 1{3 dow n, but he finances it for th ree years (except in trials category) . He also keeps the mach ine for three years and th en trades it in at blue-book on a new b ik e. To make th in gs realistic in th e road ' racing category we h ad to change things a b it. Bo th the serious and the p lay rid er road race the same m ach in e. MODIFICATIONS: The assumptions regarding modifications were the hardest to make and are the easiest to .q uarrel with. We defin e a modification as a change that a rider ma kes to be mo re competitive or more comfortable or just for the hell of it. In the category of Motocross, serious, the rider will almost certainly change his handlebars ., an d grips; he might b uy a new carb or ex pansion chamber, or get so me porting done. He 's quit e likely to ma ke changes to the air cleaner. We allowed him (Cont'd. from page 25) $ 125.00 for h is changes whic h is pro b ab ly conservative. Motocross, play, modifications are even harder. Shock absorbers, porting, ex pansion chamber, and air cleaner mods are almost certain, as are handlebars and fenders. He may have to go for tires and frame modifica ti o ns. Many buy new for ks. Most new motocross riders are appalle d at w hat it costs them to convert essentially trail bikes into motocross bikes. $250.00 seems about righ t. Desert racers make the types and degrees o f change, though they don't often win d up porting th eir cy linders. The serious enduro rider does the same sorts of things to his good-to-start with scooter that the serious motocross rider does, but substitute speedo's, clocks and calculators for the porting an d carburetio n changes . He'll also d o bullet-proofing and mayb e some duplicate some items. Say about $125.00 for h im , too. The play enduro rider gets off a bit cheaper than his motocross counterpart. He's usually sorry, b ut he rides an essentially stock mach ine. Allo w h im $25 .00. Trials in Southern Californ ia has evolved to the p oin t where even a novice needs an ou t-and-ou t trials bike or a very highly modified enduro bike. To keep our comparison somewhat realistic we assumed that o ur serious rid er b ough t a new machin e an d spent abo ut $75 .00 modifying it. We assumed that our p lay rider bought a 2·year-old used machine and spent the same $75 .00 putting the machine in shape. Some ri ders d o b uy Japanese enduro bikes and attempt to make trials bikes ou t 'Of th em, but th e m odi fica tion is so expensive an d so unsatisfactory that w e consider the approach hopelessly unr eal isti c. Serious TTriders spend more than just about anyone to make an d keep their bi kes competitive. Engi nes, carburetion, exhaust system, gearing, ti res, fra me, everything comes up for improvement. $300.00 a year for improvements is probably very conservative. Say about half that for the not-so-serious TT rider. In expensive modifications, the serious IT rider has h is most serious rival in the road racing business . We make the same (Please turn to page 51) the otest Last week we took Werner Schutz, Frank Cooper, and the AMA to task as a res ult of Sch utz' activities in the T ran s-AMA National class, a class that is supposedly , reserved fo r American riders. Brian Fabre mailed us an indignant note along with copies of two letters. One le tt er is from the German sanctioning organization, Oberste Motorradespo t-Kommission, claiming that Schutz was indeed moving to th e United States for business reasons. The oth er letter, from AMA official Dave Welch to the OMK and dated December 13, 19 71, proves that Schutz was not racing aginst AMA ru les. Fab re, Cooper's service manager, t he n stated, "A simple pho ne call could have cleared the air without all the sniveling insinuations of bad deeds by the AMA and Schutz." He furthers opines that we had slurred Coo per 's integrity and req ue st ed an apology. We we re w rong in saying th at AMA ru les were violated an d we apologize for that. AMA rules are funny things. But we don't feel we have slandered Mr. Cooper because it was h is decision, ' n o t ours, to campaign Schutz in the Nationa l class . Alth ough he w as ab le t o circumven t so me r egul at io ns h e still wasn't b ein g a very good sport. • • • EVEL KNIEVEL'S Snake Canyon Motocross schedu led for May of 1972 , will not be AMA sanctioned . It see ms the famed jumper was a bit unsettled by the p roduction last year and has contacted STU PETERS of the CMC to sanction the event. Says Stu, " Yo u' ve got to have a CMC license to ride." The pu rse is presently set fo r $25,000 b ut Evel has told us that he's try ing to double that figu re by t h e t ime the races are held . • • • The promoters of the Louden , N.H., road ra ce, better know as Laconia, have traded race dates with Louisville, Ky. Half-Mile . It seems the Louden facility isn' t expected to be ready for the Road Race National. So, p lace Louisville's n ew date o n June 3 (Sat. night) and R yQQP Laconia on June II. • • • .f Doug Grant, top West Coast mote-crosser and second in the Trans·AMA 250cc National class on a .box-stock AJS. Morris Malone, another of California's top moto-crossers. Bob Graham, a big name on the Texas moto-cross scene. Jerome Ruzicki, a top contender in the tough California desert. Whitey Gregory, another of the very best off-road racers in the West.. Brian Ross, the big name in Arizona mete-cross. Dur thanks to to the following supporters of our racing program: Castro I Oils, Bell Helmets, Webco, Pico Leathers, Champion Spark Plugs and Yankee Products for their Full Bore boots. THE COMING MACHINE. c: It h as come to our attention th a t at lJ) leas t one p ublica tion interpre te d the ~ AMA's new 360cc Novice rule for z professional events incorrectly. It seems ~ they reported th at beginning in 1972 o the Novices riding professional events ~ can increase engine size to 360cc instead of the p resent 250cc lim it . No t tr ue ; th e rule goes into affect in 1973. • • • Escape Cou ntry, a motorcycle park w ith imagai nati o n in Trabuco Canyon , _ Ca lif. , is do ing its bit for ecology as well as off-road fun by offering to let youngsters and fam ily groups plant a t ree in the picnic area. Escape Country provides trees and shovels, according to owner J im Rob inson. • • • Speaking of motorcycle parks, the California State Park and Recreation d ep artment is in a big hurry to ope n a large p ub lic riding area in Sou thern Cali fo rn ia , in anticipation of th e revenues to come from off-road motorcycle registration. Look fo r the opening before the elections in 1972. MIC and user groups will aid in the site . selection. • • • Seems like every week we have an item about Evel Kn ievel in th is department. The Super Stuntman is always outdoing h imself. Next Knievel may attempt to beat the U.s. ski jump d istance record by rid ing his Harley-Davidson off the Olympic sk i jump at Squaw Valley . Before he sw itc hed to wheels, Knievel was the ski jump champ ion of Montana three years running. • • • GARY NIXON has signed to ride for Bultaco on short tracks fo r 1972. He also told us in a phone call that he will be in Ca lifornia before Ch ristmas to sign w ith Kawasaki for all his pavement activit ies. In view of his should·have w 0 n- e x c ept -for ·the-o il -sl ick performance at Ontario Last October, Kawasak i will be ruff -t u ff next year. Gary said he 's still loo king for someth ing on the dirt and Tri umph has come through with nothing. AN ENCOURAGING YEAR FOR 1971 . ..,

• Cover