Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

BILLBOARD Northern Notes... The general feeling I get from this lady in shiny white armor, nestled in her Walpolian ivory tower (Which, evidently, she is trapped in.) is that motorcycles are sure death if you get on one. I don't know what her averag.es are or what the life expectancy is but I know that my mother rode her first Harley back in 1923 and she is still out and about. . I rode on the back of a big BMW for the first time at age four and, after 16 years of motorsport activities, I still have all my bones ip the righ t spot, all my teeth, and relatively few scars. Maybe that is what it is. A fall from a bike leaves a scar and her lilly white skin couldn't stand that, I'm sure. At any rate, the thing I believe she is missing is that the people that ride bikes, or do a lot of other things related to freedom, are just a cu t different from her and the thing that people don't get is that she seems to have people on her side because the people that write to her are the ones that are trapped inside and do not have the freedom the people who ride, bike, hike, or a myriad of other things, do. Most of her mail has to be lonely type stuff an9 the caliber of people that ride motorcycles are usually never alone or cooped up inside with their own problems. This thing of freedom may well spell the key to why so many people buy by Bill Spencer Ann Landers is on the rampage again. Her (I think it's a she.) venomous syndicated column has some interesting comments from reader~ lately with the same adage of how dangerous it is to ride a motorcycle. One reader couldn't understand why she was so down on motorcycles and so her answer was to print some dear hearts nasty note on the . perils of death-defying destruction reaped each time some ,poor dude rides his motor and gets hurt. LESS SOUND, MORE TALK WASHINGTON, DC, Sept. 5, 1972 The Motorcycle . Industry Council's Technical Standards Committee is now studying the capability of the industry to lower noise levels by two decibels by 1975. These new sound levels for motorcycles are lower than those previously adopted by the Council; however, MIC specifically recommends that regulations requiring lower sound emission levels than those that are self-imposed not be established because the possibility of implementation is questionable at this time. James B. Potter, Jr., Executive Director of MIC, said that in principle the Council will not oppose state legislation which establishes operational noise levels if those levels are in basic agreement with the ones established at the Federal level for the manufacture and sale of motorcycles. Potter also stated that the Motorcycle Industry Council will support and assist the involved Federal agency in promulgating sound level regulation for motorcycles to establish a system of testing,' approval and certification under certain prescribed test procedures. ride your bike. The idea -of saving the M motorcyclist from himself is rotten to It) the core. Why so? ~ If the law says I must wear a helmet "when riding my motorcycle, why not N the bicyclist? A recen t state survey [;; reported that bicycle injuries increased 0;' 63% so far this year. That is both fatalities and injuries. Motorcycles aI'e 15. actually showing a decline- in percen tage ~ numbers of injuries per bike rider. (J) F or the matter of helmets, how :!: about the driver of each and every car? ~ The element of danger is just as w prevalent as to the motorcyclist and the c:3 bicyclist. An undraped head falling from > a bike is apt to be hurt and an undraped () head rattling around inside a car that is flipping is apt to get hurt. Why even stop there? How about leathers being mandatory for all riders on bikes and motors and the car drivers should have Nomex fire-resistant clothes, or gloves and boots and. all the other things that our professional racers wear to protect themselves. Again, it boils down to freedom; the actual act of being able to do what you want to do. So for the guy that wants to _ ride his DT-I with tennies and a T-shirt, that's his right. If Ann.wants to dazzle her fans with some gunk on who killed. who in the latest motorcycle rampage, that seems to be also her righ t, as it is my right to tell her she doesn't know what she's talking about. ~otorcycling is the greatest and if I chose not to wear a helmet or whatever, tough. . . . .1 Turkey Track 4 cr... Rancli \/ World's Richest Motorcycle Race Slated for Ontario Motor Speecfway Indy cars give way to motorcycles at Ontario Motor Speedway Sept. 27 through Oct. 1 for the Champion Spark Plug Motorcycle Classics, featuring the richest and longest motorcycle race in the world. The Classics, a total of five races, culminates with the Champion Spark Plug Motorcycle. Classic, a two-heat, 250-mile Expert race over Ontario's challenging 3.2-mile road course, Sunday, Oct, 1. The Classic is the only two-heat motorcycle race in the United States, and is the only one to-exceed 200 miles in distance. The gU'lranteed purse for the race is $53,100 and added contingency awards are expected to swell the total purse to more than $ 100,000. Also scheduled for the Classics is a combined "lightweight" race for Expert and Junior riders (Saturday, Sept. 30); a Junior race and a Novice race (both Friday, Sept. 29); and a motocross (Saturday, Sept. 30). All but the motocross will be run on the road course and aU events are sanctioned by the American Motorcycle Association. Richard D. Kudner, a Champion vice president, said, "We believe the Classics is motorcycle racing's biggest event, with more prize money available for competitors than any other. And because the Classics is split into two heats, it will be like two individual races for QIe Ontario fans." In an 'earlier statemen t, Russell March, executive director of the AMA said, "We are pleased that Champion is sponsoring this final event in AMA's National Championship series. Industry's support of professional motorcycle racing is importan t to the growth of the sport. "While this particular rac';. has been run only once - last year - It's already becoming one of the most popular of the championship series with our riders. The competition in the inaugural Ciassic couldn't have been closer, and we expect this year's race to be every bit as excitirig," he said. There will be a 45 minute break 'between the two 125-mile heats of the Classic. Points will be awarded on an "inverted" basis to riders finishing a heat. A heat winner will receive one point, second will receive two points, third three points, and so on. At the completion of both heats, the rider with the least number of points earned in the two heats will be named the overall Classic wipner. In the event of a tie, the rider with the best second, heat performance will be declared the winner. motorcycles. The latest advertising gimmick by Yamaha is the getaway idea with lots of wide open spaces to ride your Yamaha. The idea of many bike types is that you can go to your garage, jump on and ride to the hills or playgrounds with the air of freedom specifically designed for those of that temperament. The freedom kick is the greatest but the thing that gripes the outside people who don't like bikes is just that. They are trapped while those dirty bikers just get away from it all on a motor. The unhappy side affects are that too many of these souls do not prepare themselves for their freedom. Too. many don't wish to wear helmets and appropriate clothing. The likes of Ann Landers and Dear Abby are just laying in the weeds waiting for them to make a mistake s~ as to lay waste to their misfortune in column inches across the land. Now comes the killer as far as I'm concerned. The talk of death and destruction caused by bikes is all a matter of who is doing the talking. Whether Ann and her fans can ever get out of their ivory towers or not is of little concern to the total populace. When they pick on one small part of society, the "minority complex" syndrome enters. The old S top-motorcyclists from-killingthemselves come in the form of Helmet laws, no fault insurance, where it could cost over $2,000 for a year's insurance, strict land use control where you can't 'PRE-OPENING . PASS OFFER . :/ Offers access to over 6,000 acres of mountain wilderness for trail bike riding beginning October 14, 1972. Just 100 miles southeast of Disneyland near Anza, California, off highway 71. No existing trails. Over 6,000 acres to cut trail on, or, if you prefer, keep in the washes and take a 60 mire round trip to Borrego Springs. You can actually ride from our gate to the Mexican Border and never have to cross any other private property or cross areas where bikes are prohibited. . Over 6,000 acres of mountain, hill, canyon, sand washes, and valleys offer a variety of terrain to challenge the best riders. . Day rider fee is $3.00 per bike and $1.00·per vehicle. 50 ride day rider pass $125.00. SPECIAL PRE-OPENING PASS SALE OFFERS: 50 ride day rider pass (Mail order only). $75.00 (NOTE: Passes are not restricted to purchaser only. Families, groups or clubs may use pass as long as each bike uses one (1) ride. Ride means one fu II day/or part of day. . To obtain pre-opening pass special price fill out and mail the coupon below. Mail orders must be postmarked prior to midnight September 25, 1972. Absolutely no pre-opening Pass order will be honored with later post mark. k '1RC' V' ~. r---------------------------~----------------------------I 1 I I 1 I 1 I TURKEY TRACK RANCH P.O. BOX 6169 ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA 92806 (714) 9684087 . - 1 I I I . . ENCLOSED IS.CHECK/MONEY ORDER IN THE SUM OF $75.00 PLEASE MAIL 50-RIDE PASS AND MAP TO I 1 Mr./Mrs. Address City State Zip _ I UNDERSTAND THAT TURKEY TRACK RAN,CH WILL NOT HONOR THIS PASS BEFORE OCTOBER 14, 1972, and any unauthorized use of the property before that date could cause arrest under Riverside CountyOrdinance 529. ~-------------------------------------------------------~

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