Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

·, I ~. " t· I, .• , .,. ~' ; October 9, 1973 Page 5 DuHamel won Ontario. Gary Nixon was' second. Saddleback Park is having a rash of bike thefts. Keep an eye on your belongings, keep your truck locked, and if you catch those SOB's... In a cost cutting move, the AMA has had to let another seven people go. Among them are ~rt Barda, Guy Outland and Jim Sweeden. While the rumors favor, a Honda two stroke road racer, there's also one that says that Honda has a six cylinder 750 four stroke in the fire. All you folks who don't want to see another good MX track go down the tube better get' on out to Bay Mare. (See story, page 16.) Triumph was able to overcome chain problems encountered in ISDT because of the Berkshire mud with a case hardened sprocket and a Dense Lube chain. The individual medalists in the ISDT are listed on page 46. Prominent Junior road racer, John Long was seriously injured and his brother was killed while they were travelling to Ontario, when their van, driven by his brother, was involved in an accident. Rokon surprised the hordes of skeptics by doing very well in the ISDT. The only problem that the belt drives had was a bit of slip in the wet, but even that seemed to work out alright. They fmished all six days. Doug Grant the motoerosser and his mechanic were also involved in I crash while trlveling between the Philadelphia and Capetown Trans-Ami last weekend. Grant's mechanic, known to us only IS Butch, was killed and Grant was seriously injured. . K_asaki, too, shocked some people with their U.S. R&D developed entry. "But," they said, "wait until next year." THE 'FOUR ACES GP has been moved to Muntz Park, this coming weekend, October 6 and 7. It was originally planned for oledad Sands but the citizens of Acton, who have had trouble with one percenters and have difficulty in determining that there is more than ond kind of biker, decided that they didn't want a bunch of rowdies out there. Montesa is following their superb 250 VR with a 125 YR. The British John Player Nortons, from England, surprised a lot of people by using American Goodyear tires instead of British Dunlops. Dave Aldana had one of the monocoques to ride, but both he and Peter Williams were sidelined with leaks; David's leaked oil, Peter's leak'ed gas. T'riumph ,motorcycles is going to consolidate their U.S. offices in California, although an East Coast wharehouse will be maintained in Baltimore. In addition to their 750 six, Benelli has developed a 500 fOllr. They will probably be exporting both next year. The French 801 d'Or 24 hour road race was won by a Japuto Honda 750 based 950 which in winning beat several factory efforts. Kawasakis filled the next six spots except for third which was a new BMW 900. • Terry Lee and the Desert Turtles are sponsoring a protest rally at the BLM Riverside, CA., office October 13, at 1 p.m. The local TV boys may be there, too, we hear. Assemblyman Edwin L. Z'berg, the Califomia paragon of virtue dedicated to saving all mankind from the evils of motorcycling, will be tried November 2 on charges of dNnken driving. He has been convicted of dNnk driving once already in an unrelated incident. With this year's road racing season barely over, there is a great deal of talk about who will ride what next year. Gary Fisher and Paul Smart have been linked to Honda. Many riders, in fact most of the good road racers, are either negotiating with Yamaha or are buying Yamaha 700's. Some riders are buying the bikes just for insurance since they can always sell them if a bucks-up factory ride comes along. Surveys indicate that the overhwelming majority of politica11y active Associate E di tors do not make acceptable motocrossers on their first try. They don't bounce well, either. Look for an upcoming comparison taste of the hot dogs and hamburgers of SoCal's various racetrack concessions. Something is wrong here. FORD HAS A BETTER IDEA. If you are upset about the portrayal of dirt riders on last week's "Mannix", get 'em where it hurts, right in the sponsor. Write Ford Motor Co~ American Road, Dearborn, Michigan. We understand that the UBilly the Kid" 100 mile enduro held in New Mexico was not an event for the wife and kids. Even the six riders lout of 400 starters) who did manage to start the second loop will admit that it was difficult. Al Hendrix high poin ted the Sandy Lane National Enduro in New Jersey Sunday. Hendrix, aboard a XL 350 Honda, turned in a score of 998. High point "A" rider was Husky mounted Norm Ford. Mike Lorsen topped the "B" riders with a 99 7. Lorsen rode a 175 Penton. Over 400 entries started what was described ,as easy run by the 330 finishers. Then there was our new staffer who always wanted to be a motocrosser but didn't go to his first race because his alarm clock dropped a cam chain or something. . Last week we said that Bob Vinveard organized milch of the succ~ssfu1 resistance to the Burbank City COllncil's plan for a mandatory helmet law in that city. This week Bob called us up and said that it was r,ea11y Bill, of Bill's Do It Yourself Motorcycle Shop, on Victory Boulevard in Glendale. We don't know your last name, Bill, but thanks anyway. Our hat's off to the weatherman who arranged for decent (by local standards) w"eather for Ontario last weekend. "Number One", a half-hour television fil'm about Mark Brelsford, will be released this month. Co-tPOOsored by Pennzoil Corporation and Champion Spark Plug Company, the film was written and narrated by Brock Yates, one of America's foremost motorsports journalists. It follows Brelsford's racing activities during the early part of the 1973 S88SOII up to his fiery crash at Daytona, that sidelined Brelsfo'rd for the season, but did not deter his motivation or determination to return to the pinnacle of success he achieved in 1972. The film highlights the strenuous conditioning program Brelsford undertakes in his come-back effort.

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