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/125836
Oregon's biggest and toughest ISN'l IIIIM EYOU HAD A"CHERRY"FRONT END ON YOUR BIKE? Unseasonable dust at the start was followed by disintegrating rain. Humph. Even if your bike came factory·equipped with what the ads call "Ceriani·type" forks, there's no substitute for the genuine article, as you may have noticed last time you were passed in the rough. The copies don't have the proven combination of carefulIy engineered hydraulics, forged alloy crowns and sliders, hardened and ground Swedish steel stanchions, and precisio~ manufacture that make ltalian·crafted real Cerianis the really "cherry" front end desired by racing champions. In fact, some factory competition bikes have altered our forks to look similar to their standard models which couldn't provide that winning ride. It's only fair ... look how many have tried to make theirs look like ours! By Larry Ulrich Photos by S.E. Schubert BEND, ORE., OCT. 21 It's the largest cross country event in Oregon. The classic High Desert 100 in Central Oregon drew 469 riders last year and this year 563 tried it. This makes it by far the largest participant motorcycle event in Oregon. One thing that attracts so many riders to this even t is the fact that the course is 100 miles long. The riders never see the same terrain twice. This race not only attracts the go fast desert racer, the motocrosser, the average play racer after a trophy, bu t several riders have told the Cascade M.C. that this is the only even t they ride all year. This year's winner fits many categories. A top desert racer, a very fast motocrosser, a past veteran of IT racing in the Northwest and past national number holder. Dick Jogow is back riding Greeves again, after trying Husqvarna, Grumph (500 Triumph powered. Greeves), AJS, and a few others. This was the roughest High Desert 100 yet. Oregon has not had much moisture yet, and the Central Oregon high desert was really dry. Because of the dry conditions there were three hills in the 100 miles that normally-are fairly easy to negotiate, but were a real bear. If you have ever ridden on ocean beaches, you have an idea of the soil conditions in Cen tral Oregon. The wet packed sand near the water is like our usual winter riding and the deep, dry sand like our summer riding. Imagine that dry beach sand in the form of a hill, with several rocks sprinkled about. Compound this with a couple hundred riders and much dust and you know what these riders were going through. The dust created another problem at the start. The riders were warned at the riders meeting about it. Many riders at Cascade M.C. events ride all the time in the Central Oregon desert events" and had never seen any great amount of dust before. The dust was bad. Someone fell righ t past the smoke bomb and a estimated 50 to 75 bikes followed suil. About 25 riders were taken to hospitals with everything from bad cuts to broken arms and legs. Once past this pileup, there were few casualties. The majority of the riders enjoyed the course, bu t one thing marred an otherwise perfect race. The Cascade M.C. tried a new check system. It is used at enduros all the time. It is used at the ISDT. It should be a good system. Instead of a card on the helmet that is marked with a marking pen at the check points, a card was issued to riders with a length of wire. Where they kept the card was left to the rider. He was warned at the riders meeting that this card was his responsibility and above all "don't lose it". It started raining after the start of the race and many riders cards disin tegrated. There were some very upset riders, bu tIl 7 riders crossed the finish line with all their checks and a legible check card. About 75 of these riders had cards that looked like new. The Cascade M.C. will probably have another race in February, but with many new stipulations imposed by the Bureau of Land Management. • :l11ll11111...I . . - - . I....I.U1III11........................lttlIl"I.. IUIIIII~ :: z: • Roger DeCoster, Hakan Andersson, • .1 Ak~~O~~:~:DR~~o;;;~dson I YELLOW OR BLUE NON·SLlP OURY i sendBox t051,catalog: Progress;"" Products I for free La Masa, Calif. 92041 i Dealer Inquiries Invitea 12131 363~230 ~ !1I11ll11l1llllnlllllllllllllll_uumllllIIIIUIMlIIlIIIIIIIIIlI1111tlllllllIllIIIlI/lllllllt ~~~~ ~~f .P::;ERAANC~RS Mike Patrick's SHIFTER CONTROLS FOR HONDA 750', FOR BROCHURE, PRICE AND INFO SEND SELF ADDRESSED, STAMPED ENVELOPE TO' GRAND PRIX CAFE ACCESSORIES. BOX 1130 PARAMOUNT, CALIF. 0 YAMAHA of CORONA 1101 E. 6th St. - Corona (714) 735-7721 515 N. Victory Blvd. BURBANK, CAUF' (213) 849·7295 t Sweet Duck Suzuki Desert and MX Specialists 1010 E. ~13)~~~' eGo Suzuki & Maico Mail Order Specialists 13