Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

i WHER£WAS ALL THE MOONSHINE? N ,... '" ~ .;, ~ <{ ~ w Z W ...J ~ tJ Despite the shirt, headlamps. dark kerchiefs over mouths, etc., they're really not motorized miners. It's a moonlight enduro without any moon. By Ron Schneiders Photos by Ellen Schneiders LAZY THREE, CAL., Aug. 6, 1972 Night enduros are no longer a novelty in the Southern California desert. The first one, hosted by the Prospectors was held three years ago and each year since the number of these events has increased. But up until now the emphasis has been on the night aspect of the event, rather than the enduro aspect. The Prospectors, this weekend, created a change of emphasis. The riders sensed the change. In place of the usual cavorting around on bikes with no lights or with flashlights taped to the handlebars, this year most of the bikes showed up with decent lights and provision for not only keeping time but being able to read the instruments and charts as well. Although the event started at the Lazy Three, there was not much beer being consumed by the riders b.efore- th,e event. (Incidentally, the new owners of the lJazy Three, Ben and Pam, say they are very happy to have cycle clubs use their facilities for startinK events and parties and what not, a good' thing to remember if your ~."n has difficulty finding a good starting area.) The riders who weren't aware 'of the new emphasis at the start became educated very quickly. Taking full advantage of the new three-mile rule (Only three miles required between checks if the run is less than 100 miles tong.), the Prospectors had three secret checks in the first nine miles! They caught almost everyone on at least one of them. 1 blasted into the second one two minutes hot, but was ,waiting for the third one. Steffan and his Bultaco crew appare-ntly couldn't believe they'd Hodaka. II WOD'I raD oal of g_ls before yoa do. The Hodaka is built for one purpose, To out-last and out- do it three times. in a row and hit the third one a minute early. After some of the night runs which have had only three or four cheeks in the whole run, this blitzkreig was like an ice cold shower. The run started south, but almost immediately began looping back up to .the north, crossing Highway 395 and swinginK out toward Iron Mountain. The schedules on the first loop were unbearably slow, and one 7.2 mile section at nine miles an hour seemed like it would never end. But eventually it did,. and we streaked into Four Comers at a blazing 20 mph. There we had more evidence of the more serious attitude. Instead of the customary one hour rest, we had just time enough to gas the bikes and grab a quick slug of Gatorade before starting on the second loop. Misery. We had to ride that old worn-out whoop-de-dooed trail down . the fence of Edwards Air Force base at a sea-sickening 12 mph. You can't ride whoop-de-doos,that slowly, so it was a matter of go a mile in three minutes, then stop and wait for two minutes for the clock to catch. up down Ine whole thing. The fence ride, though, was the last of the easy riding. The schedule bounced up to 20 miles per hour over hills and rocks. Riding rocky terrain at night can get to be a pretty serious game. The rock wasn't as bad as you w,antedlJ\J' ~Memberll aSA Ne. 1971 $999.00 perform its competition. How 650cc Fire Bird-Financing BSA*TRIUMPH*KAWASAKI*NORTON Sales Parts Accessories Service is this don'e? By refining the same basic, superior design year alter year, Perfecting the little things that multi-model CENTURY MOTORCYCLES S. Pacific Ave. San Pedro manufacturers don't have time sometimes find on a day time enduro, but it defmtely kept you interested. Further interest was added in the form of a mine road which climbed and snaked its way over a hill. On one side you generally had a reassuring wall of dirt, but on the other side there was nothing. Just blackness. As your rear tire started sliding toward the outside, you could appreciate the fear Columbus had of sailing off the end of the world. As the terrain got worse, the average dropped to 14 mph, which is not an easy average 'to comp!!te at 2 a.m. when you're bouncing over rocks and such, but it worked out well for organizers who were able to hide a check in an old strip mine. The arrows pointed over the edge of an embankment, signalled a couple quick turns and there you were, face to face with the Prospectors. Up until that point, the dust had been mercifully light. There was a slight breeze and most of the time you could see mO're or less where you were going. For the last 17 miles, though, it was generally impossible to see anything at all. You could hear bikes crash a few feet in front of you and never see them. The only thing that kept you going was the fear that if you stopped, somebody would run over you. Since the El Mirage dry lake isn't the easiest place to ride in daylight with its brush, deep sand and powder. pockets, crashes were frequen t and poin IS piled up rapidly for the 213/832~190 To repreSent in government Motorcycle'Owners, Riders. and Enthusiasts Send a minimum contribution of $1 for a year's registration of your support. Register each member of your family. PO Box 26062, Sacramento 95826 to notice. "S4YMWIA~ ~I DUCAlI HUSKY montti21 Carefully ..xamine the new Hodaka, Notice the trip-set odom· eter, The feather-light clutch TJre!!p! 01 N C C ~ !! operation and spring protected throttle cable, And the rubber mounted gas tank, Little things tliat add up to big things, We only build one bike, But we build it better than anyone else in the world, CUSTOM COVER Master Links European Scrambles July 30, 1972 Trail Class Swept by Hodaka ,MIKE CARTLEDGE - 1st Expert DEAN DAILY - 2nd Expert DEAN MODESSETI -1st Amateur TIM BOWMAN - 1st Novice --....-. -"" Plain Stitched & Custom· PRICED FROM $11.00 to $18,00 Color BLACK 14807 Oxnard, Van Nuys, Ca. 91401 (213) 994-8100 0 UI e * REPLACEMENT21 SEAT COVER See your local dealer for yours! If your dealer doesn't stock it have him call: CUSTOM PRODUCTS D Cl o :II o ~ =~ jl 1.\" ' upWgmttRY PRODUCTS , FOR A $1.00 REFUND: CLIP THIS AD TO YOUR SALES SLIP WHEN YOU BUY YOUR COVER AND RETURN TO CYCLE PRODUCTS. TH IS COUPON IS EFFECTIVE FROM JULY 19 to AUGUST 2 .•. "a !I ... a

• Cover