Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

reporter who'd listen about how the other is incompetent and how the other only won becau. of the speaker's misfortune or sandbagging. Agostini won the 350 world racing title for MV Aguste and Read did likewisa jn the 500 class, breaking Ago's several·year domination of the class. Ago may not ride for MV next year. Maybe Honda. In order to make more lira Agostini has signed with an American PR agency to endorse products. The Imola 200 may not be held at Imola next year bec:au. of a car race scheduled for the same day (dever, those Italians), and Monza is mentioned as a replacemen t. Kalev; Vehkonen, whose initials are borne by the Montesa 250 motocrosser, has qwtMontesa and signed for Husky. Heikki Mikkola will give up the 250 class now and ride the 500 class for Husky. Despite rumors to the contrary, TOM SMITH is recovering and is not d88d. By the time you read this he'll probably be home. That's good news. Vic Wilson called the other day in response to a recent item in this column about how the "motocross" counes in Southern California aren't true motocross counes in the European tradition. Wilson pointed out that he can and has put togethe~ real motocross courses but that they aren't accepted by the riders. He's right. So Cal riders aren't interested in fer-real, hard-to-ride courses. Maybe you're not a motocrosser; maybe you're a scrambler. It's not too important, as long as you dig it. Something that has really begun to irk us is Prez Tricky's stetllment that trucks and buses "operatll more efficiently at higher speeds" and that they will be a1lowad to go 55 MPH. A little checking reveals that this just isn't so. Whether he is misinformed or just plugged into the trucking industry _ can't say, but it does give motorcycles a big loophole. Plenty of the' big bore street bikes do get the best gas mileage at over 50 MPH, particularly if they have an extra tooth on the countenprocket. That lis something that you should probably point out to your representlltive in Washington. Motorcycles aren't part of the problem; they'ra the solution. You have to let the government know. We were noticing how many bikes are named after places in California. pke the Honda Elsinore or the Yamaha Catalina, Big Bear, and Ascot. There's always the new 850 Moto-Guzzi California. Some good names are being overlooked. Maybe a new BeneUi Saugus or the 175 Honda Burbank. The single cylinder 650 Triumph Bodfish would be a real attention-getter, we're sure. How about the Harley Glendale? Would you buy a Suzuki Berkeley? How hard would you look to f"md a Penton Eureka? John McDonough of the California Department of Motor Vehicles called to let 'us know that our assumptions about out of stete riders being required to have green stickies _ falacious. Out-ilf-statll bikes (and dune buggies) can ride off.,oad and be transported without a green stickie if the rider has an out-ilf-statll driver'slicen•. YOU SAW IT HERE FIRST: Well, the TransAMA series is wrappin'g up and lots of the mon thlies are doing end-of-the-season wrap-ups. The guys whl> are doing them keep dropping by to get back issues of CN so that they can f"md out what happened and calling up to get pictures to illustrate their stories. Wait and see. Remember how we told you that the Suzuki Wankel was kind of atrocious looking? Well, reaction at the Tokoyo Motor Show was so unfavorable that Suzuki has apparently cancelled production plans for awhile, maybe forever. The Wankel is an ideawhose time hBS gone. It u.s a lot of gas and puts out lots of pollutants. Maybe Yamaha will cancel theirs, too. Rumors that motor-racing has been banned in Utah and minois have no foundation. In fact, Governor Rampton of Utah is critical of Nixon for his "cavalier attitude". Recreation is the second largest industry in Utah: No jobs lost, Tricky? Gary Fisher will apparently be a privateer next year, probably on YamahBS. Harley will road race next year but only with two team members. Gary Scott and Mark Brelsford will be the H·D road racing team. Barstow to Vegas WBS made doubly grim by the death of Larry Baird from Lakewood, who was killed when he rode off a cliff. EVEL KNIEVEL is a great storyteller. Like the one about how he sold his act to the owner of Caesar's Palace. Using a different voice each time, Kruevel telephoned the casino's office. "Hello, dis iss Geezenstein from Live magaseen. Ve are told zis crazy motorzykfe fellow, Effel Neffel, iss going to jum ofer your fountains. Is ziss correct? .. " On the f"rrst call they'd never heard of the stuntman. But after inquiries from Knievel posing as '·NBC n "Sports Illustrated" and "The German Network.," the casino's publicity advison were saying, "Well, it's not definite yet...but we are negotiating with Mr. Knievel's managers... " All Knievel haCl to do after that bwld-up was walk in, introduce himself (He's here!" exclaimed the secretary), and sign the contract. Many f"me Evel Knievel stories will appear in a forthcoming biography which Knievel is working on with a ghost writer. t GOING DUTCH: Gerrit Wolsink will most likely sign for Suzuki next year. Gerrit WBS last seen checking Laurie Adams' teeth in the pits at Livermore. Don Woods was the winner of the "Cannonball 1000", a race for 1OOcc bikes from Tucker, Georgia to Daytona Beach and back. He did it in exactly 18 hours on a Yamaha 100 twin. Bob Root (Yam) was second followed by Glen Blanton (Kaw). In fourth place was Cycle News' own Bob Lenk, whose single expired after only 65 mlles under the enormous strain. Every SO ofter we get phone calls here at Cycle News from people wondering why they must have commercial license plates on their van or pickup in California if ,they use it to transpon their bikes. It's because the California Vehicle Code does not define "commercial vehicle" utilizing the popular connotation of word "commercial". The Vehicle Code defines vehicles required to have commercial plates as those designed for or used primarily for the transpon of property. Your van or pickup may be licensed with passenger plates if you sign a form saying that it will only be used for the transport of personal sporting equipment, people, groceries, etc. But if you use it for bikes, it needs a commercial license, and after January 1, 1974, light Japanese trucks that were formerly exempt will also have to have commercial plates. MediaMax who originated the coliseum type events for motocross with their "Superbowl" concept also promoted the TransAMA at Carnegie Cycle Park last week. Mike Goodwin the chief wazoo said that, except for the "Superbowl" it will be their last motocross. It's kind of a shame because for a bunch of rock and roll transferees, they always did a pretty good job with purses, professional managemen t, etc. The sport of professional motocross needs more professional promoters who understand that, often, what is in the riders' best interest is also in their best interest at the paid admjssions gate. They spent money on the sport and they made money on the sport. Too bad they're dropping out. Karl-Heinz Heussner, who has been Adolf Well's mechanic for the 250 Grand Prix season and the TransAMA, came back from riding a staffer's less-than-cherry, overjetted, underpowered motocross-trials-<:ndurodesert rig and got off grinning to comment, "Iss not like Adolf's bike." Really? Is that because it has half the suspension travel or a third the horsepower? If you're thinking about buying a small Japanese road machine, now may be the time. Japan is feeling the great th e·w or Id's -r u nning-out-ilf-everything crunch more than just about anyplace, and they're going to need small bikes at home. A rumor out of Australia has it that Honda is going to produce a two-stroke 175 Enduro ,because of the high sales in that class. Rumors out of Austrwa generally aren't too reliable, however. Manley's, the Kawasaki distributor in Canada, is already. advertising the Kawasaki 400 four stroke twin, so _ should see it soon. A new six week series with a Sl5,000 price tag is about to rrre up at Orange County International Raceway. In ad.dition to the regular classes for 125, 250,. and Open, they will have a special class for Powder Puffers with the series winner riding off with a 125 Honda Elsinore. If you're interested, attend the riders' orientation meeting at 8 p.m. on December 12 at the Orange County Fairgrounds or call 714/838-3093 and ask for Bob Reed. They're ajming at a big spectator tum-out and, eventually, a percentage-of-the-gate payback. This is the pil.ot project in what they hope will' lead to bigger and better things for rught motocross. The December ish of "Hot Rod" has an artide entitled "The Last of the Wild Ones" by Joe Scalzo. It's about Dave Aldana, of course. The first man to seek a speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats was A.B. Jenkins of Salt Lake City. He went 60 MPH on a Yale motorcycle in 1910. ROUTE CHECK: In an effort to help conserve fuel for important activities like racing, cowtrailing, etc., _ are offaring tree space in the cIaAified section to anyone wishing to share 8 ride to work, set up a car pool or participata in any cooperative effort that will help motorcydists in easing tha effects of the fUel shortage. If you think you have an idea helpful to fellow motorcyclists, ~d it along to ROUTE CHECK cere of Cyde News, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801. JUST WHEN IT WAS GEITING INTERESTING. There is a real possibility that there will be no Motocross or Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix in the 1974 season due to the increasingly severe fuel shortages in many European countries. Sweden and Holland have already cancelled all motorsports even ts and many other countries are exPected to follow suit. Is thjs also likely to occur in the U.S.? Possibly. See Page 6. Another EVEL KNIEVEL story _like is about the time he jumped the fountains at Caesar's- Palace early in ,his career. Coming-to after crashing and breaking every bone except his neck, the stuntman's fint words, as always, were "Where am 11" "This is Las Vegas, Eve!. You landed in the parking lot of tha Dunes Hotel," he was told. "Find out who owns this place," groaned Eve!, "And make him pay me $25,000 for a personal appeerance'" THE DAY.THE MUSIC DIED: So, Bye, Bye, Ms. American Pie Rode my Honda to the gas station, But the station was dry. Them good ole boys Had filled their Caddies instead, And I wished to hell I was dead. (with apologies to Don MacLean) ATTENTION CLUBS: We will be running tha Club Directory in the next issue or so. If you have been exduded from the directory in the past, send your listing in now (It's free). If you're already listed and want a change or addition, don't delay. We're putting it together right now. Two little-known monthlies, Road Rider and The New England Trail Rider, have shown tremendous improvement in the last few months. The all-new and differen t "Cycle World" has nine (or is it 1O?) pictures of D. Randy Riggs and one of Malcolm Smith in his undies and Gold Medals. Must be ' the Cosmic Muffin theory. The gasoline stations at Four Comers junction and Randsburg, out 'in the Mojave desert, have said that they will be OPEN this coming weekend to refuel desert racers, enduroists and other vanishing breeds. It seems as though Phil Read and Giacomo Agostini are less than ideally suited to be teammates. They've each spent the last few months telling any We wonder why the everybody-shouldhave-kids freaks (You, too, can be a population bombl) have to say about the· world situation ~ dllYs. Harley has decided to produce their 250 and 350 road racers at a price that will be competitive with the Yamahas. 5

• Cover