Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/125810
III • I_I Pre-Dawn Raid Busts Up Bike Plot by J. G. Krol WASHINGTON, D.C. - Spokesmen for a picked team of federal agen ts revealed today that a lightning raid at dawn climaxed a ten-month investigation into alleged violations of Anti-Trust laws by a secret organization of motorcycle magazine photo editors. Under the joint co-ordjnation of the Federal Trade Commission and the National Security Agency, 178 agents struck. in synchronized raids against more than a dozen hideouts across the nation, most concentrated in California and New York. Names of the captured conspirators will not be released until the round-up has been completed. Two of the suspects are still the subjects of an intensjve manhunt through the mils above Laguna Beach, Cilifomia, a small resort town some 40 miles north of Los Angeles. A hig~y placed source explained that that for several years individual edjtors have selected the illustrations in motorcycle road tests to show many views of the test machine, but always from the same side. Since there was no cartel agree men t, however, it was possible for some readers to find two magazines, one of which showed all right-side shots, the other all left-side photos, and between the two to pjece • together an overall impression of the motorcycle. uWe had to move sooner than planned", the spokesman said, explaining why some of the photo editors were able to escape the nationwide web, ubecau"se they were on the verge of an agreement whereby all magazines would picture each tested motorcycle from the same, single side". It is believed that the conspirators, who are being charged with violations of the Shennan Anti-Trust Act, the Robinson-Patman Act, and the Criminal Hand Washoble WNlC Radio Editorial---As if there weren't already plenty of motoring hazards to worry about, the U.s. Departmen t of Transportation comes up with a new one that hadn't occurred to us - headphones. The federal agency said: "An increasing number of today's drivers are being transported in to a world apart, a world separate from other drivers 'with whom they share the highway, a rhythmic, crashing, clanging world slammed into their ears by headphones, the world of slereophonic sound." With the foam rubber ruses over his ears, the mo torist may miss the sound of the wmstle of an approaching train, the wailing siren of an emergency vehicle, or the hom of another car that may be bearing down on him. Anyone who ventures out on today's streets and highways knows, or ought to know, that driving demands undivided a t ten tion. As the Departmen t of Transportation puts it, "A driver needs to hear all sounds of the highway in order to be a safe driver." Any motor vehicle operator who covers his ears' may be heading for eternity. And there are 4S sUtes with mandatory helmet I will be riding a 125cc Hodaka Wombat along the coastline of over 12,000 miles with a goal of 400 miles a day. This will be over' mostly unimproved roads, in extreme heat and monsoon rains over desolate terrain through uninhabited areas. The trip will take approximately 28 days of hard riding with no outside assistance. All supplies will be loaded on the bike with my own 225 Ib body. I have the authorization and sanction of the Australian Consulate and Tourist Commission, the A.M.A. and' the Federation of International Motorcycljsts, and this is the first such yen lure ever attempted by anyone on a 125cc motorcycle. If I achjeve my goal, I shall have set a record that should stand for a long time to come, and will not only be a first for me, just like. Baja, A.laska, South and ,Central Amenca and the Green Horn,ll will be a mile-stone in motorcycle achievemen t. The greatest portion of the credit for Police ~arch for Stolen Bike~ TACOMA, WASH., Nov. 7, 1972 More than the average amount of effon is being employed by the Tacoma, Washington Police Department in a search for a Harley-Davidson FLP-GT, license number XX097. The blue and white bike is distinguishable due to its two way radio, flasher lights, and identifying marks which say POLICE. While details are not as of yet available, it is known that the bike was stolen from the home of a motorcycle traffic patrolman. The patrolmen in the Wapato Lake area take their bikes home so that they are available for work on their way to and from the station. Woe be the man who has to push a 74 far, or lift it at all. Also reported by the Tacoma News Tribune was th~ theft of seven ·newspaper stands from the Tacoma Review. A clever detective would notice the connection between. these two events. - from the Tacoma News Tribune - Western swing of the series but Marty's last ride for Yamaha came at the Carlsbad TransAMA. He crashed while leading the 250 class for a short while. Marty never seemed to regain his pre-Series form after being put on a big bike for the Beginning of the Tra"sAMA and then bounced into the 250 class. He was still fast but he wasn't quite winning. His .out of the pack charges seemed to come too late in the moto and his timin!!, was off. After some test rides on the new Honda 250 Elsinore and the failure to reach agreement in last minute talks with Yamaha's competition director, Marty has dropped Yamaha and is scheduled to introduce the new Honda <>. ·S..- Othman Distributing Co. 18227 Ludlow St. r- Dealer Inquiries Invited (213) 363-6230 Northridge, Ca. 91324 factory replacement piston ring. • uperrlngs not only unbfealulble, but chrome plated for extra long life too II • now for -Hodaka 100cc dyke., Bultac'o 125, Bultaco 250, DKW & Sachs 125, Penton 125 FOR ALL FACTORY PISTON S.IZES ASK YOUR LOCAL DEALER 1750~ , S. VICTORY GLENDALE. CAL. PHONE 213'24&,319,5 SPONSORS 1. Hodaka Motorcycles 2. Posa Fuel Carburetors 3. Wixom Fairings 4. Champion Helmets 5. Endura Leathers 6. Diamond Chain 7. Arnaco Shocks S. Webco Parts and Accessories 9. Champion Spark Plugs 10. Bradahl Oil 11. AsWand Chemical Chain Life 12.John Maynard Insurance Co. 13. Andres Handlebars 14. Green Co. 15. Tiger Distribu ting Co. 16. A.M.A. 1973 Motocross Poster·Calendar Are you looking for the newest in posters to wallpaper your racing van? Are you looking for a 1973 calendar to outline the coming racing season? Both poster and calendar are combined in the latest Cycle News products. This kingsize poster is a bri II ian t four-color line screen conversion of European Grand Prix action guaranteed to give anyone the motocross fever, while the calendar at the bottom -adds to make a real gift i tern. Available on a two x three foot heavy gloss stock for $2.50 each. Dealer inquiries are invited. Order from: Bryan Kenney Cycle News P.O. Box 498 Department C.N.P. Long Beach, Cilifornis 90801. Dealer Inquiries Invited Phone: I. $29.95 ~ , (8D5) 824-4261 " /" Oelull Mbdel $34.00 pair 4" travel ../60·90 procresslve,y "OIl nd sprl nes pair Sprlne Ratios from 65t to 125t in stock Shocks come ..ith 7a t as stand..d spa.. sprlnes pair. Complete rebuild kits S5.00 ea. 1.,,- Ealansions S3.00 pr. Seals S1.50 pair Ple..e specify moll.cycle make & model. Mount type required. Eye at each end or e,. and elevls type. NOIN In stock the .... "Mavrick" 5·..ay 'adjustable heavy i1uty shocks, rebulidable,lustrous ehrome sprlnes, 11\2" or 12%" length avai Iable. Center to center 01 eyes 31,2" travel. We Pay Postaee on Prepaid Orders. Calif nia Residents add 5% lor sales tax NOW NEW ADDED WARRANTy ...... II the seal lalls on any MAVRICK unit ..Ithln 90 days from date 01 pureha ....e ..III replace the seal Iree. P.S. Does anybody else do this? sa.oo MAVRICK DOES IT AGAIN Tails advantaee of the best buy 01 the year. SPOOL HUBS, 40 hole ..Ith 5/a" bearlnes included. Best alloy ..Ith chrome like finish. 250 two-stroke motocrosser at the Saddleback TransAMA on December third. If Yamaha wouldn't have Marty ride in the International class. as he did this past summer, then Marty would not ride for Yamaha. That may be over-simple but it boils down to thal. Details of the agreement with Honda, its extent or duration weT\~ not available at press time. The Honda competition people tend to be very secretive concerning most all their plans and this case is no exception. Look for Marty in a Honda Racing Team shirt at Saddleback. Look for ms name to be painted over on the Yamaha Team trailer that Don Jones hauls. Ol !!il ,; o Z ~ w Z W ...J U >U a successful record attempt will go to my sponsors, who will be supplying me with the finest motorcycle, supplies and equipment available. As an lSDT Gold Medal winner, I acknowledge and personally recommend the following products: WARM NEWS '" N Syndicalism Act, were planning to show only righ t-side views of motorcycles whose brand names began with odd-numbered letters of the alphabet, and only Ie ft-side photographs of those having even-number-Ietter names. Ralph Nader was nOt available. for comment, and js beljeved to be out hitch-hiking a ride to the bus station. Magazine editors, most of whom were in seclusion, unanimously denjed any knowledge of the plot and pointed with pride to various examples of photo sturnes which they claimed to portray both sides of the motorcycles. A spokesman for the FTC, however, insjsted that, "Seven or eight photos of one side of a motqrcycle and one photo of a fraction of the other side of the front tire is not consistent with the proportions of dextral and sinistral sides of the motorcycle population as a whole. We will not tolerate token bifacialism. " TRIPES FROM YAMAHA TO HONDA Marly Tripes, sixteen-year old wonder of the Los Angeles Coliseum Superbowl of Motocross, has said goodbye to the Yamaha he had for that event and all the races since then. Yamaha International, who have provided Marty with a bike as part of their four man American racing team, sponsored Marty in the 250 class in the InterAMA series and started him off with a 500 class ride in the curren t TransAMA. Marty suffered .through some rather rnsappointing perfonnances in the early TransAMA rounds due, in part, to an increase in the size of the machinery and the ciliber of the competition. Yamaba moved him over to the 250 National Support class for all of the III N GLOVES Stay Soft WHEELER"S WOMBAT GOES HOME by Frank "Wheelje" Wheeler I, Frank Wheeler, being an adventurous creature with an incurable curiousty about other lands and other folks, and being myself, a great motorcycle enthusiast, combine all this good stuff every chance I gee, and am off to faraway places. Now after touring most of the United States Canada, Alaska, South America, Centr~ America, Mexico and Baja, along with Tiawan and Japan, I'm embarking on a trip that will take me' around the' entire continent of Australia: Tms country covers 3 million square miles and is abou t the size of the Unite'd States, having a population of sligh Lly more than 12 million people whjch is the size of Los Angeles and Orange County put together. The majority of these people live on the east coast in Sidney and Melbourne, each city being about the size of Long Beach, The remainder of the country is very sparsely populated. .'" • Riding • Racing ~ ""... $10 00 .... on this ,..,. introductory '"' offer. Dealer Inquiries Invited MAVRlcr NORTH AMERICAN IMPORTS 2325 cerro Gerda, P.O. Box N Mojave, Calif. 93501