Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

LJ[fi]~ @[f@@JJ ~ - Protective Denim Wear ~ N !l' « en ;;C w for Everyone. ~. Mini-Riders,too! Z W ..J o > o ooo~ • 9S l1® • • ro@~~ Enduro Bib Overalls Built-In Chest Protection Sturdy, Stylish Wear 'Em Anywhere Waist Sizes 22" to 38" Red or 'Yellow Stripes and Stitching PRODUCTSOF ro@~~ Desert Jeans Zipper Legs For street or racing Waist Sizes 22" to 38" Red Stripe Only MIX Denims Heavy Pads, Snap Pocket Waist Sizes 22" to 38" Red or Yellow Stripes GRAND PRIX, 1717 SAN AGUSTIN, LAREDO, TX 78040 512/723-0682 SOLD ONLY THROUGH MOTORCYCLE DEALERS Dealers- These Distributors Have Dynamite Denims Rocky Cycle Co. Fred's Distributing 1250 Elko Drive 155 S. E. Lilly Sunnyvale, CA Corvallis, OR 408/734-3750 503/753-2281 Ed Tucker Distributing Cycle Dealer Supply 9259 King Arthur 8033 Freestone Dallas, TX Santa Fe Springs, CA 214/634-1840 213/693-5811 CALL TOLL-FREE' CALL TOLL-FREE CALL TOLL·FREE CALL TOLL·FREl: MOTOftCVCL • • . "We have the parts" THIS WEEKS SPECIAL 125 MX $695 250 MX $950 785-4289 Call Any Time Mon.~FrI. 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Sat. to 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time other people, and probably quite a few official functions. Dave has the benefit of exactly one Six Days' experience in which he was a spectator. Without Eames as back.up. he would be in real trouble. As it is, it will depend upon the breaks. If Dave gets them, he'U come up smeUing like a rose. If he doesn 't...J ohn Penton thinks Dave will do better than Woods would have done, so we apparently haven't lost in that respect. Some Companies Care It costs about 5230,000 to put on the Six Days, according to Ed Youngblood, . the AMA's interim director. Right now it appears that the AMA is going to go into the hole for at least part of that money. hieorne is derived from the sale of programs, advertisin,g, spectator kits, and other such enterprise, but the AMA has been' counting on major manufacturers to act as sponsors for one day each for a donation of 520,000 for about one third of the money. So far days I, 2, 5 and 6 have been taken by Yamaha, Honda, Penton, and Husqvarna, but prospects for the other two days don't look very good. [ can't help wondering why some of the other companies who are expecting to reap large publicity benefits from the Six Days can't help share the cost of putting it on in this country. Kawasaki, Yankee, Rokon, and Triumph are aU looking for a share of the glory but apparently feel no obli~tion to help. I suppose that they wiU also be the fust to criticize if things which could have been helped along by a little extra cash don't go righ t. In any event, the AMA has pledged that the Six Days will go off as scheduled whether they have come up with enough money to breat< even or not. They have sufficient credit to ensure the operation. And if anyone still wonders why Penton and Husky get the Trophy and Vase teams, here's yet another reason: they care. A t least to the tune of $20,000, which is a big sum for relatively little companies. Bob Hicks Voice of Caution Rumors are pretty nasty under the best of circumstances, bu t sometimes they are enough to make you physically, ill. There has recently been a rumor floating around (I've heard it from three separate sources) that Bob Hicks is actively trying to sabotage the Six Days Trial. I called Bob and asked him abou t it. The substance of the rumor was that Bob was conspiring with the Sierra Club and other groups to obtain a last minute injunction to prevent the event from taking place. There were other allegations as well, but this was the most serious. Bob Hicks is very much concerned about the Six Days and how it is to be run and I feel it is with very good reason. Hicks has been working for many years in the New England area to keep trails open and he has succeeded. His success has been directly attributable to the fact that he has established relations with other user groups and with the Governmental agancies and has convinced them that trial riding motorcyclists are not out to des~roy everything in sight. Working on the other side, with his· magazine and the organization which he helped to found, the New England Trail Rider's Association, he has helped to educate cyclists to be quie t and re~pect the land. All together it's been a very time-eonsuming and very productive effort. As Bob sees it, the ISDT could ruin much of that effort. Bob Hicks has three main concerns: (I.) The noise standard is much too loose. There is no State standard as of the momen t, and last year's ISDT standard is the rule. There is no doubt that the bikes are very noisy and that a lot of people are going to be upset. At this point there is nothing practical that can be done about it, however. To tigh ten the standard would simply disqualify aU the major competi tors. The competitors should have been informed that a tighter standard would be imposed a year ago and this hassle could have been avoided to the benefit of all concerned. (2.) No provisions worthy of the name have been made to keep spectators off the trails during the course of the event. According to Bob (and this squares with my own Continued on page 19

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