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/125840
?ORTING & "IPES That guarantee added HORSEPOWER by E.C. Birt. ALLOY CYLINDER Kits 590.10. Fiju (Hodakal BOcc & l00cc. Hodaka l00cc l00cc & 125cc RADIAL HEADS $5325 & up. Honda, Yamaha. Suz, Hodaka. Fiju 140cc & 150cc kits 569.95. Rickman, Zundapp, Hodaka. Sachs Silenced E.C. pipes $49.95 & up. Any b ike 2-stroke or 4-stroke. Dyno Tuning & Complete S«vice Department. R&D & Service Dept. (213) 542-8850. Complete Parts inventory for Hodaka Rickman. Sachs, Zund_. " Mei~ engines. ALLOY TANKS & _vice manuals for the above motorcycles. • =..1_ - Porting & pipe catalog 50 ce n tl. Fa.t mail order service a dealer pro· gram. Parts Dept. (213) 370-8822 ~~~~~~~~:,:yc~e r ~~ndale, .SCUDERIA Calif. 90260 HUSQVARNA PENTON LA VERDA (213) 542·1695 The Finest Selection of Parts and Accessories For Bike and Rider / We Offer Expert Repairs Porting and Competition Tuning CN: Well, if you'd rather not talk about it... Pliers: No problem; it's just that the whole operation was sort of a shuck. I was low on money at the time and I figured to make some cash as a race reporter. The only opening this magazine had was for a foreign correspondent so I wrote 'em a letter using all the British expressions I could recall from my earlier Speedway tour. They bought it and I started writing a monthly column, including race results from England and the Continent. I was living in Ohio at the time. CN: But how did you get the race results? You didn't make them up did you? Pliers: Certainly not! I have a maiden aunt who lives near Ballough Bridge on the Isle of Man. She used to send me all the information immediately after the races. Now there's an amazing old lady; 92 years old and she still rides - does a full lap of the island every day on her '47 Norton International. She supports herself by selling Manx cats to Norton fanciers; makes a bundle off the tourists every year. Never did tell her why I wanted that information. She thought I was writing a book or something. CN: Your promotional efforts in the 40's and 50's met with mixed fortunes didn't they? Pliers: They sure did. As long as I stayed with the county and state fair ovals, my programs made money, especially in the Midwest. It was when I started to innovate that I got into trouble. CN: Could you give us an example? Pliers: Uh, let's see...There was the time I promoted eighth·mile acceleration races between motorcycles and quarter horses. That one was a real disaster. CN: How so? Pliers: Two reasons: Nobody came to see it, and the horses wouldn't cooperate. I figured to draw 2-3,000 people. Well, counting myself and all the entries, there were maybe 75 people there. To top it all off, the noise scared the animals and they wouldn't run; all but one, that is. This one horse was just as calm as you please. And fast? I've never seen anything like it. He won every time by at least ten yards. That made the bike riders mad - embarrassed actually - and after half a dozen starts they all refused to go up against the beast. One guy kept hollering about drugs - said the horse's pupils weren't the same size or something. J. didn't make any money on that operation but it was entertaining. ' CN: You're something of an inventor too, aren't you? Pliers: I guess you could say that. Over the years I've come up with some interesting ideas. Unfortunately they never seemed to work out as well as they looked on paper. Take my disposable front forks for example... CN: Disposable front forks? Pliers: A few years back, itoccurred to me that there might be a market for an inc x pensive, replaceable suspension system lor dirt machines. Off-road equipment really takes a beating you know, and fron t ends are awfully expensive. Well, I designed a unit based on the failing link principle - one good whack or endo and they break away clean. Sold 'em in sets oisix for $19.95. CN: That's incredibly cheap. How could you expect to make any profit? Pliers: The material costs were next to nothing. We made the things out of old ladder rungs and curtain rods. The problem was mainly a legal one. CN: Law suits? Pliers: You guessed it. Sort of a reverse whiplash phenomenon. We've still got cases pending against us from people claiming they came to grief as a result of my forks. Another one of my brainstorms that didn't work out was the hydraulic spoke system. This was back when everything was girder and hard-tail. I designed a spoke which had a tiny oil reservoir in the nipple. Worked just fine too, bUl there was one complica tion; people tended to get seasick from the ride. We tried giving away a box of motion sickness pills with each set pf spokes, but it never went over very big. CN: We've enjoyed talking to you today, Mr. Pliers, and the readers of Cycle News will certainly enjoy sharing with us your fond memories of a life rich in motorcycling experiences. Pliers: The pleasure was entirely mine. Receive $50 Worth of Parts and A ccesson'es FREE When You Buy a New Husky or Penton. 2419 Artesia Blvd. Redondo Beach, California 90278 & \?y NEW· DODGE· USED ~ VAN - TRUCKS \l5J 4x4'. - CONVERSIONS , Leasing Available, Most Makes ~II For Appointment & Ask 'or M.uv 81gman 86R or John Knowles D~37 Dependlble Dodge 21514 Roscoe 81. CanQ91 Pk. Ca. 91304. 213-8a3-9060, (LA) 213-873.. 095 17