Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1973 07 31

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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SALES SEPVICE Weldil1g' Porting Accessories ;:; >- "5 .., en 3: w z w oJ (,J > (,J - LAYING IT DOWN Another Plan to Save Road Racing 213 826- 7856 BIG BIKE SHOP POWER! CZ -IONARK. HODAKA COMPLETE DIRT SHOP TOTAL ACCESSORIES 1I Custom Engine Building• • THE.SIIP . 4418 Cllapman Ave. Orange. Ca. '(714) 532.363. BODY FUlL BY "DURA I esled ,,'d used by the IOllowing Qist. 37 nde" 'RIC JENSEN .. BOB McLAUGHLIN • LAFH.Y HLRGQUI:;T • L.ARRY PFUTZENRUETER .. fQ ~CHEIOL.E"R • WAL.T AXTHELM" LARRY HEAI=lN . CEORCE MAGALLON, M.D. $850 1o. 3 ,nont"\ ,uoo'''' (COl~'~o'f:~~e~:~id~I~'1V.';:kTURAL ".:.>0 10' 3 months supply (Calli. reSIdents adel ~o~ 1011l1. Send c"ec" o. money orClf'r to: Endur. V,tllmlll, Deal. A. 638 !-. Glendora Ave., Glendora, Ca. 91140. ~et~ 233 7th Ave.• Lately, there has been a great deal of editorial ink expended in an effort to direct the AMA in choosing a new formula for the heavyweight road racing class. which, it is generally agreed, is dommated too completely by the twostrokes, specifically the Yamaha TZ-350. Not to be out-done, I hereby offer my solutions. A four-stroke hasn't won an American road race since last year's Laguna Seca National and the spoils have been left to Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki. Although, tbey still seem to bave the upper hand, the folks in the 750 camp are getting concerned about the Yamaha TZ-350. They are no longer trouncing the littler bike, now they are just barely holding il at bay, and news of a 700cc four cylinder water cooled has the opposition in a tizzy. They have had the same problem in Europe where Yamaba has -completely dominated the sport. In some events the rules now read so as to ban the Yamaha 350'•. The Anglo-American Easter series is an example. Machines had to be between 600 and 75Occ. The Yamahas, it was felt, are just too fast, too reliable, go too far on a gallon of gas and have too much of an advantage. Tbe problem is similar over here. Yamaha has certainly dominated American road racing on an overall basi.. The biggest possible newl that could come out of Laguna Seca is that Kawasaki beat Yamaha in the 250 event. For almost the last ten years, Yamaha has had a lock on the 250 class. even though the rules were altered to allow other manufacturers to have a shot at them with 350's, no one seems to be able to do it. Kawasaki has come c10sesL In the 750 class it isn't quite as bad. The total domination by Yamaha of that class feared by some observers after Daytona basn't materialized. Yamaba hasn't won a race since the 200. But they have always been right there. Only at Dallas did they fail to make it in to • _0 SOC'OIt ' ... oa.... ',C* ~ BOSSOnl1 M ....ul... l"rony. 1'1< I 630-1'21 'lI06 ...............................•..... 116<1 C fOUNT A'N WAY A¥HIE. CALIf Collins & Sons '65 E. Lincoln Anaheim (714) 535·5000 CH & MVCZ;lgnition for sheer power, easy starting. We have the- best CZ ignition in the country $89.95 complete. Dealer inquiries invited. 1550 I.,... "vd. Col. II•• 2L1 - 115-5131 race~: o ,.. -a ~ :I . . .0 - ' second. They had to settle for third. Yamaha is in an enviable and envied position, and some of the cOlI\petition would like to see them banned. There are good sound reasons for bringing Yamaha to hand. If American road racing becomes' an all-Yamaha show, it isn't going to have the same spectator appeal that a multi-brand competition would. The entire sport will suffer. It won't be as much fun. But a straight ban isn't fair either. Yamaha has gained their J>0le spot by developing the best bike. (If you don't agree, ask any European road racer.) That is, of course, supposed to be what racing is all ahout. They also are favored by being the biggest manufacturer active in racing. (Honda could probably hurt Yamaha mOre than anyone if they would give it a real try.) Finally, Yamaha is the only manufacturer that gives the privateer a chance. You can't buy, and there aren't more than two or three private groups who could build, a competitive Kawasaki, Suzuki, Honda, Triumph, Norton, J;larley-Davidson, BMW, Ducati, or anythmg else. Even on a Yamaha your chance~ are distant, but at least they exisL Don Emde proved it last year. The first priva eer at every National is on a Yamaha (now that Cliff Carr and Kevin Cameron have been absorbed by Kawasaki). The privateers don't have quite the equipment that Kel Carruthers turns out for the factory guys, bu t that's racing. Yamaha is the only manufacturer that gives the privateer any kind of chance, and if you win they'll even give you some con lingency. So banning Yamahas straigh t across the board would kill the privateer dead. Right now he is capable of uttering little gasps_ But the latest face-reddener from Yamaha to the other factories is the news of their 500 and 700 four cylinder water cooled two-stroke racers. This has sen t a flurry of "ban Yamaha" proposals flying around. ... _ Which is something that I tend to agree with_ I don't go for banning the 350's, especially since they're already here, but more new spec.ialized racers aren't what American racing needs. The bigger Yamaha road racers would give Yamaha an almost untouchable edge. What's more, they would be too fast to dispense in the same' manner as the TZ·350's have been. Some privateers would be graced with them, but some couldn't be. Scraping riders off the walls at Talladega could get to be a bore. Yamaha has been able to race with engines unlike what they sell for the street because they have imported 200 of them and had them approved. But I thin k this has gotten away from the original intent of the AMA's Formula 750 rules. The original intent I feel was to make racing bikes that re~mble'd, at their very heart, the maker's street bikes. In this 1 find my answer to the problem: Require that road racers be based on street bikes (that have been imported in quantity) or have been approved and raced in American in 1973. Which would mean that Yamaha could race their 350 and that privateers would still have a chance. It would mean that Yamaila couldn't race their 500 or 700 unless they base it on a street bike that they import in numbers. So far they show no intention of doing so. Assuming that this would keep the Yamahas at a level where they were approximately equal to the 750 triples (and that seems to be the case, at least this year), the problem of how to save. the four-strokes remains. Here I tend to concur with my colleagues. The sugge.stion (fITst aired, I believe by Cook Neilson of "Cycle") to raise the ceiling for four-strokes seems to be the answer. A limit of IOOOcc to 1200cc would open the door for several of the companies that are now sort of obscure on the American racing scene; Ducati, .Moto-Guzzi, BMW, and Laverda all have larger than 45 inch four-strokes in e,l'( of Indunry, Calif. 91746 The Yamaha 500 road v. NUll. III Will it dominate Ameriean road racing next year? Photo courtesy of "Motorrad" .

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