Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

, Oh, Mama. Your boy's gone off the deep end this time! by Art Friedman I think that it stemmed from my desire to go touring. Working for Cycle News only gets you off at Christmas and it isn't really the best· time of the year to go touring. When George Stirber from Kawasaki called up and said that he had set up a bike for a Three Flags run, (Mexico to Canada in record time), I mentioned that it sounded like fun. (First move: Open mouth.) He said that Mike Hinshaw, AMA Western rep, was doing it. George asked for some CN stickies and I sent them to him along with a note saying that if they needed a back-up, I would volunteer. (Second move: Insert foot). Then I fantasied how neat it would be for a few days until George called up and said that the AMA might not let Mike do it. All of a sudden reality started closing in. I checked a map and did some quick calculation. 80 miles per hour average to break the record. If I'd had any sense, I would have backed out. But I didn't. (Final move: Close mouth). The way th at 1 feel on the starting line was chicken feed compared to my feelings when Hinshaw backed out. EI Retcho. I'm headinK for another border my scrapbook stuffed with murder & a crazy rumor of glory whispering through the wires of my spine... Believe nothing of me except that I felt your beauty more closely than my own. I did not see any cities burn, I heard no promises of endless night, I felt your beauty more closely than my own, Promise me that I will return. - Leonard Cohen Long distance biking is a highly personal heavy thing. You are isolated from everything except the machine, the road, and traffic. There is nO radio to distract you and channel your. thoughts. You have to depend entirely upon yourself. Many. things passed through my head: always though, my attention had to be brought back to the machine and keeping my speed up. As soon as I was rolling, all my fears disappeared and the emotional drive' that I needed to do it came to me. I was ps)'ched. My doubts, tension, and exhaustion were dispelled. Coming through San Diego, I blew past everything on the road except for one Mustang who seemed to feel chalJenged and who ran along with me all the way -to Carlsbad. We went Just the thing for cruising the interestates at 100 mph at night. The day preceeding take-off George dropped off tbe bike and the scbedule. The 80 mph sections were expected but the thougbt of 90 mph bits twisted my gu ts. What do you say to a cop? Then I rode the machine. I'm a road. racer, you see, and Iny cornering style requires that I hang. off. Ever try to hang off with saddlebags? The machine agreed with me otherWise. The reason they chose a Kawasaki 750 was because the people involved wanted to make a statement about two stroke gas mileage. The 750 Kaw is supposed to be the worst and they wanted to show that it could get the mileage necessary for this kind of madness. An extra tank was fitted to the rear of the machine which added tI;ree - gallons to the capacity. George estimated that it would get over 40 miles per gallon. I didn't say anything but I noted the 30 MPG would reduce the range to 2 I 0 miles. The gas stops that had been arranged with Union Oil (76 stations) would required 250 miles at least. The dual disc was appreciated as were the long distance Metzeler tires. The engine was supposed to be very reliable and I couldn't decide if I preferred that over the alternative of holing a piston on my way back through Los Angeles. I was. you sec, somewhat less than eager.. A veritable reluctant warrior, if you will. The last fellow who did this managed to have dealings with the police on five occasions along his route. r can't afford my insurance the way it is. And my back hurts just typing this. I had a friend who was killed on freeway a while back, too. Off to the border I went. After several nights without sleep, 1 left the Mexican border at 1 I p.m. "Myself," I thought as I accelerated away, "J would rather be curled up in a nice warm bed with Jody _ I really would." For the thousandth time, 1 swore that I would never again get involved in Other People's Adventures. Never again will L lose control of my mouth. Never again, J promise. All I had to worry abou t now was cops, drunks, blown tires, falling asleep, and keeping the gas on. Oh, yeah, and running out of gas. through Carlsbad (Carlsbad was the site of my first race) and he got off. The customs station north of the border was open, but they waved me through. !I. CHP car pulled oul 6f the station as I went through, but he was going faster than I needed to and vanished. My lights had been flickering on and off·brigh t and dim, actually - since 1 left, and every time I ran it up t6 90, they went out. Since my average speed for this section was below that I decided to wait and see what would happen. The first real trouble came when the machine ran oul of gas and needed to be switched over to the other tank after only 84 miles. That meant that gas mileage was way below what we needed. Laler, I fowld that the mileage tests were made without the saddlebags which stick ou t in to the. wind a goodly ways. I slipped quickly and quietly through Los Angeles. Through the canyons it would get cold and then. warm up again as the road rose. Except for the flickering ligh ts I really liked the machine. I t had lots of low end and handled very well. Despite my lack of physical preparation, I was confortable the whole way. The smog was bad in down town LA and my eyes were watering sligh tly as I left the San Fernando Valley. The road seemed to empty for a while and I let it go. I was running along about 90 when a headlight came up on me suddenly. I immediately backed off until I saw who it was. It was some fellow on a Triumph Bonneville gassing it along at about 100. I rode with him for a few miles until he pulled off. After [ got out of the valley and into the twisty part of 1-5, I began to get into it. Riding tucked in, using both lanes, flashing at all the truckers, and generally digging it un til the thing wen t on reserve. I wasn't going to make it to the first gas stop. I was ahead of schedule here so I wasn't loo worried, but the next section was a 90 MPH one and I would be hurting there if llHid to make an extra stop. I backed off to save gas until I found a station. A t least, at the exit before my scheduled one, 1 found one. BeUeve me, I used that dual disc coming off the freeway. My plan was to tear into this station, put a dollar's worth in it and go ...and some g'-lYS never ""ill The editor prepares to go adrih on the sea of life. onto the next station where they were expecting me and could help me get it on the stand and such. But the guys in this station were arguing about capital punishment and the gas pump was locked. Thev started out to me, but they kept pausing because each one to get the last word in. It took several minutes for the gas pump to get unlocked. Then the guy told me to shut iny engine off (S till being in an argumentative mood, I supp·ose). Instead of arguing, I did so. Then I threw the bill at him and wheelied away. The other attendant had gone over and climbed into his '53 Plymouth wagon which came burning out of a dark corner on -the lot at me. We had a Near Thing. Now I knew that gas mileage was going to be a problem. If I could shorren the stops sufficiently, I reasoned, I could make up the difference. The guy in the next station was fast and helpful, but he wanted to talk. I'm afraid I was rather curt. I did it in about four minu tes. I would have made up six minutes there. I ran it up to 100 a ways down the TOad and the Iigh ts all wen t ou L Only this time they didn't come back on when I slowed down. Blink. Blank. So I pulled over. The horn didn't work either. I figured that I must have lost a fuse and that it had a magneto which kep t the engine running: I pulled the fuse and held it up to the lights of oncoming traffic. No, it wasn't blown. I figured, then, that is had to be something else. A wire had come loose, I decided. Big mistake. After playing with the wires in the dark for a very long time I decided that the fuse could have come detached at one end. Sure enough, a new fuse put me back, but I lost a lot of time. 'AWA - CZ Dealer for All San Gabriel Valley and Pasadena Areas . '. ~ . STREET· MOTO CROSS SPEEOWAY MACHINES. Experienced wit" World's Best Two Strolce Since J 949 8ARUM TIRES - CASTROl RACING OILS 330-6171 BERTUS MOTORCYCLES 1340 N. Hacienda Blvd., La Puente :..1 .. ..,; ; en -.' I lost some more when' the cop pulled me over. I had come up on him well above the speed limit. I recognized the tailight pattern but couldn't decide if it was or wasn't. If I went his speed and it wasn't; I lost time. If I pulled up and 'it was, I lost more. I tried easing up. but he was running at 80. I crept up ever so slowly and had just about decided that it wasn't when he slowed down and turned on his ligh t. Wrote me up fOT 80 in a 70. He was a very mild, almost meek, fellow. I explained what I was doing. Wasn't I expected to keep witbin the legal limits? You should have seen the horrified look on his face whert I told him. Utter disbelief. He followed me for about 20 miles, and my sch'edule was beginning to look pre tty flimsy. The clincher came when I ran out of gas altoge tiler, before the second scheduled stop. I decided to can it. ThiS" is the end, my friend My one and only friend. the end Of our elaborate plans, the end of everything that stands, the end. - The Doors I sat there by the road, waiting for someone to stop. I kept thinking about the CRP guy and J burst out laughing. Eventually the absurdity of it all penetrated and I really got laughing. I was standing there by the dark Interstate at four in the morning, laughing like a loon when the guy stopped and gave me gas. N ice fellow with an immaculate Porsche Speedster. l'm afraid that he though t I was pretty weird since I kept sniggering. You know, L finally got to go touring. It was nice riding back into LA and watching the sun rise. The bike was really a nice touring rig and went back over the Grapevine effortlessly in top gear. I rao it up over 70 just for fun, but mostly kept it down to the speed limit, relaxing and enjoying the morning smells that drifted into my Star. When I got to the top of the Grapevine,l remembered that I ludn't eaten 10 a day and stop-ped. I ate one of the sandwiches in my pocket. SHIN GUARDS [l] Vinyl Coated $10.25 pro FOREARM GUARDS Vinyl Coated $6.25 pro ELBOW GUARDS Contoured Vinyl $6.25 pro HELMET FACE GUARDS $3.95 . Prompt Mail Order WARNER'S Box 61, La Mirada, Ca. 90638 Courtesy to Dealers :. .. ...II.. I.. ...1... :.1 JtI .. f...1:. .. :.It.. n:.I:. ATTENTION, FLAT TRACKERS & TT RIDERS VINCE GRAVES DID 'IT~~ YOU CAN DO IT Vince now rides on a Boyd & Stellings competition motorcycle chassis and is winning just about every race he goes to. How does he go so fast? The secret is in the handling. The Boyd & Stellings competition chassis is adjustable so that any problem encountered can be dialed out. It made the difference for Vince. It can do it for you. COMPLETE CHASSIS KIT INCLUDES: .. Chassis * Seat * Tank * Swingarm - Complete (bearings, pin, chain guide, & chain tensioner & all fasteners) * 4130 Footpegs * Aluminum footpeg brackets (replaceable, no welding required) .. Torque arm (for floating brake models) * Brake pedal * Adjustable crown with fasteners, adjusting screw & bearings· Frame comes either plated (type 1 Aircraft cadmium or bare * 32 Ibs. complete. DISCOUNT TO EXPERT & PROFESSIONAL RIDERS KAWASAKI. YAMAHA. SUZUKI. BULTACO, OSSA. & JAWA CZ . . . . . . . 2111 South Grano Ave Santa Ana. Ca 92705 (714) 557·3914 . . . . . I~mm .~~~mmrmmm . " ~ " o ~ w Z W ...J U > U

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