Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

o land when not in a sanctioned event, they can whistle in the wind. In this country you're still innocent until proven guilty, or that's what it's supposed to be. LD ~ Q. ... N '" .... • u o ~ w Z W ...J U >U by MaUTeen Lee Over the years, much has been sa;d about motorcycle road racing, most of il thal it's boring to watch unless you are actually competing or have a buddy oul there who is. The boring bit is doubly lrue if you are not a dyed in lhe wool motorcycle race fan, Average John Doe can go to a sports car race and identify, but not a motorcycle road race, and unhappily that's why Ontario didn't get the crowds they should have. That's just my opinion of course, but a terrific racing plant like the Big 0 should have been able to draw more crowds than it did of average John Doe sports fans who want to see something differen t. . We thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though it's all over, here're a few impressions. In the first part of the race, the grandstand announcer didn't report ofteo enough on the amazing charge of Yvon Dullamel. He was running like a loup garou was on pi, tail and gaining every stride. Road racers are not generally large m n but Yvon is smaller than most and his magnificen t Kawasakj obviously doe n't know he's up except for being told where to go. It was unfortunate that a slower rider put him out. As the EngJjsh say, discretion is sometimes the better part of bravery. That slower rider business is a real bugaboo in long races, and hopefully someday rules will be changed to eliminate some of it. Qualifying times don't see.:n to be the answer as sometimes slow riders can really crack it to qualify, while super·stars can't earn a phce on the line because of a couple of lousy laps, but come the race when it 'counts the lucky ones tie up the boys who go fast constantly. At a recent big stock car race four of the leading contenders were taken out the first time they started lapping, causing howls, and justifiably so, from the drivers who surveyed their wrecked cars in the pits. Drivers are now investigating ways to cope with the problem so maybe bike riders can take a leaf from ASCAR when they get their problems straightened out. On the big tracks like Ontario there's no doubl that the two·strokes have the decided edge, but t1ie big Harleys sounc\ like a full·house Mack truck rumbling by. Noticed too, that lbe Kawasakis have not yet gone to disk brakes. Many riders, when running at those top speeds 'prefer the good old drums and feel the disks are not necessary. Same way as the European motocross starts feel a 500cc motocross machine isn't necessary. (WE noticed that the big K,awasakis DID use disc brakes... Ed.) AfJ a privateer, the ultimate in machinery would, in my opinion be that 350cc Yamaha. Not too heavy, not a gas hog, nimble in the comers and competitive, as the record shows. Especially in the hands of Kel Carruthers. Safety and rider pick.up are A·I at On tario and one thing we'd like lo see used at all large trac.ks, including dirt miles, is a copy of their Yamaha patrol bike with two big fire extinguishers moun ted beh ind lbe rear seat like pannier bags, ready to rush to any fire should a second or third extinguisher be needed. To show that some of the big newspapers are starting to think in our direction, our local paper, one of the largest in the country for circulation, had Monday morning coverage of the event slap in the center of the front p"ge Sports Section. Good coverage too, followed up, believe it or not, by extra pictures and piecq in the nigh t editions and Tuesday editions. They finally realize we're out there! If your local paper isn't hot on coverage, try this. When a big even t is held for bikes get a bunch of friends together and then call the SpOTtS departmen t when the appropriate edition hits the streets with no mention of it. We did it once with Daytona. Went a bit like this, "Can you tell me who won the Daytona National Motorcycle Race (or whatever the race is, like a Trans·AMA.) Oh, you have nothing on it, that's strange, the radio The newest No. 1rider in the country wears a Bell Helmet so does his brother • • .and he is also No. 1 Mark Brelsford clinched the coveted AMA Number 1 riding a Harley:Davidson and wearing a Bell Helmet. By becoming the Grand National Champion, Mark goes to the top of a long list of competitors who wear Bell. Scott Brelsford, Mark's brother, wore a Bell Helmet when he was crowned National Junior Division Champion. More professional competitors choose Bell than all other makes combined. Make your selection of head protection a prqfessional decision. Insist on this mark on every hetll'MtJIIDu buy. I said there were thirty thousand people there including riders from this city and only nineteen thousand showed at Dodger Stadium and they get a two-column spread ...etc ...etc." It may not work but you'll get the satisfaction of bugging the hell out of an editor who thinks sports are golf, track, baseball and football! Last week, the dailies also carried two versions on the same day of how unhappy the Departmen t of Motor Vehicles is for us not registering our dirt bikes. Poor lambs. As the director, Robert C. Cozens said, "We expected better response than that." You see, they estimate there are a million vehides that should be registered, and so far only 30,000 people have bought their green stickie and they expected about 50,000 a month to rush up with $15.00 in their paws. So, by not buying them r guess we're not contributing to the growth of the stale as they can't employ more people to check on us, or heli.copters lO fly over us or guns to make sure we do what we're told. Anyway, the DMV has ordered local law enforcement officers to get going and enforce it. I don't advise anyone to break the law. Do your own thing on this one, but on this deal,I'm not putting one on my scooters un til I absolutely have to, under great protest, and if they try and get me for a late penal ty and they can't prove I've ridden my bike on p,:,blic HERE'S DEVIL'S BACKBONE OPENS IN TEXAS Devil's Backbone Motorcycle Riding Park, a 400 acre area located about 20 miles southwest of Abilene, Tex., has been opened to the public. Dues are $15 per bike per year and entitle the member to stake a claim on one of several remaining picnic sites. Scheduled throughout the year are a monthly series of competition eveJUs, which co-owner Eddie Boykin stresses are of the low speed variety. An enduro was held May 14; the next event is to be either an enduro or a hilldimb. Winners of each even t receive trophies. In addition, yearend high point winners will.receive cash prizes as well as trophies. Memberships can be purchased from Boykin at 279 orth Willis, or from Ben Holmes at 501 North Leggett, Abilene, Tex. 79604. DIRT IN YOUR EAR (SIDEWAYS) by Alice Rhea BAD RON! Just last week I told you how it ain't Christian to bad-mouth people. No sooner had I ,gotten the words typed than Ron Schneiders let go blasting J.N. Roberts. Shame on you, Ron! Now, there isn't anybody who has ever seen J.N. ride who will doubt his ability to handle any machine from a one horsepower mini-bike to a 450 Husky. We all believe that J.N. eQuid make a wheelbarrow go 'fast in whichever direction he chose to go, But the worst part of it, Ron, is thal J.N. was undergoing surgery to remove a piece of his skull which was pressing his brain. It is bad enough that this great rider and living near·legend is going to be unable to compete or even earn a living for at least six months without having you bad mouth him. I spoke briefly to J. . on the telephone last week. He is out of the hospital and feeling as well as could be expected. He said he will not be able to do anything for about six mon ths and has more surgery scheduled at that time. As he was obviously still qtlite weak, I did not press him for details. I'm sure he will be keeping us informed as soon as he is feeling up to having an interview. I know all of J .N.'. fans join me in wishing him a speedy recovery. THE TREASURE HUNT Last weekend was without a D-37 race and I swore that nothing was going lO drag me out to the desert. Closer to the truth was the fact that nothing could keep me ou t of the desert if I could fmd a halI.way plausible excuse for going. Well. the Treasure Runt provided that excuse. I won't bore you with the details of how I got my bike and assorted goodies into the truck, or how I loaded my robot (That is what we are calling Dale the.se days. He really \ does look like a robot with both arms in casls.) in the truck for the. drive to the desert. The officials started stamping tank cards and sending the riders ou t three or four at a time. After everybody had started, the plane dropped the little cans, and the hunt was on. And you know what I got? Lost. Well, I've only been in the Lucerne area a doz,en or so times, and I found this neat sandwash and was having the greatest time charging down it and trying to stay in the wash and when I looked up there was nobody around and I didn't know where I was. Well, I was one hill over from those sand dunes about four or five miles to the southeast of Soggy. The camp was up in the rocks. So you see, I was pretty thoroughly lost. . But I came upon a fellow who was just as lost as I was and toge ther we found a farmhouse and a nice farmer who tola us to follow that road for about four miles and we would come to the dry lake. The moral to the story is: "Don't let your dumb broad wife go wandering off alone. Women don't have good sense." (I'll hear from Women's Lib about that!) I do feel rather silly about it, hut was certainly thankful that 1 was able to find my own way back and didn't have the county sherifi' out lookjng for me. That has to be the ultimate em barrassmen t. The people who did find cans really got some .nice prizes. Camp Slaves, helmets, clothes, gloves, even a bike. It really was a fun thing, eKeept I think the next time they have one they should make people go in teams. I wonder if everybody who was l.ost got found? I h.ad to go home and didn't get to stay for the raffle, but all the prizes were given away, and I certajnly had my money's worth of riding. That'sthe first time I have ever run a whole tan k of gas through my bike in the desert. BSA Steps Up Wankel Development - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ONTNRIO, CAL., Sept. 29, 1972 Britain's largest motorcycle manufacturer is stepping up development work on a Wankel·powered motorcycle. According to Dr. Felix A. Kalinski, president of The Birmingham Small Arm s Company Incorporated, the company is aiming for a Wankel·powered motorcycle by the mid·1970's. The announcement was made al the Ontario Speedway, during BSA's 1973 product line introductions.' The company, earlier this year, acq uired development and mahuIacturing rights for the Wankel rotary engine under a licensing agreement with Audi NSU Auto Union and Wankel GMBH, both of West Germany. The agreemen t, Dr. Kalinskj said, means the company's three-year period of preliminary develop men t can now move to a n(:w phase with a Ucense to manufacture.. He emphasized, however, that the Wankel development program, in which BSA acknowledges a three·year lead time, in no way reduces the imparlance of the company's current extensive development work on conven Lion engines. BSA manufactures the Triumph, Rickman, and BSA lines 6f motorcycles. Corporate headquarters are located in Birmingham, England.

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