Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.. -= .t 11II 11II ~ ...... 0'\ • By Tad Rafferty ..... oo~ ISDT '73 The Olympics of >- Motorcycling, by Ron Schneiders. ~ .150 pages. (Chilton, $12.95) = ~ ~ 20 The single most distressing item about Schneiders' book on the Six Days is that it opens from bottom to top, rather than right to left. Why the publishers chose this format is unclear to me, since the book could have been bound conventionally and retained the same dimensions. Only a few two-page pictures which should have been eliminated or reduced, and it would be easier to read. Weird. There are lots of swell photographs here by Boyd Reynolds, Abram Schoenfeld and Marco Vega. The color photography was done by Farrell Grehan, who must be a European who favors something other than Kodak film. All the color appears to have been shot through a bTown mter, and New England can't be that brown in September. Of course this· may be the fault of the printer rather than the photographer. The book includes plenty of action shots, pLus a study of Cycle News supersalesman Leo Potvin and one of Jeannie Cranke watching out for Carl. There is even a rare photograph of the winning Czech Trophy Team smiling. Schneiders has done an admirable job (especially for having written it in such a short time) of providing a wide-angle view of the ISDT. To my knowLedge, there is no other such volume available in English. Following a brief explanation of the rules and awards, the author gives some space to the popular theme of Cheating. Schneiders doesn't belabor the subject, which seems to be the current trend in the Pop-Clever school of mota-journalism. He cites a few of the most blatant rule-breaking tricks and concludes the probably little can be done about the cloak-and-dagger mischief. The Cold War survives in the ISDT. Big deal. None of the riders carry guns. Perhaps next year's event should be held in the Golan Heights. Might even help straighten out the Great Petroleum P!,t-On. Make big enduros, not wars. Schneiders has been able to give at least some indication of what this type of event is like for the rider. The rider's singular purpose is to win, to stay on Gold. Most riders have little concern for how many motorcycles their performance mayor may not sell, or whether the natives are capitalists, communists, fascists or fools .. The men who ride come for the thrill and challenge of heads-up competition, only. The meat of this book begins with a chapier titled "The Bud Ek,ins Era,'" a period when American interest in the event began to take serious shape. (Although the interest of one American began much earlier. Teddy Hastings rode an Indian V-twin in the first ISDT, held in 1913.) This part af the book should have been more comprehensive. Comments from Ekins, Walt Axtheln:. and John Penton. would have made interesting reading. And Schneiders only briefly mentions Amedca's first Vas,e team of 1964: Ekins, Ekins, Coleman and McQueen. They could spin some good yarns. . Schneiders traces the growth of Yankee interest in the ISDT as it expanded beyond California laler in the Sixties; how the AMA and FIM finally got it together, and how the American Trophy Team astounded a few folk. by urth in the 1971 Trial at the Isle oU"an~.'--Following thumbnail sketches of the Trophy and Vase team riders for this year, the author outlines the first American ISDT on a day-by-day basis. Schneiders managed to gather lots of information on what happened to whom, and sometimes why. This is no small feat for a one-man reporting crew in an event so complicated as the Six Days. Naturally most of thl: information was secondhand, and may have sometimes been slightly altered versions of the truth, but Schneiders gets good marks for accuracy. The tfxt is supplemented by course maps showing each day's route. . This is a nice book. It's easy to read, graphically pleasing for the most part,. and it's the only up-to-date capsule history of th,e ISI)T around,. The photography ranges from excellen t to drab (like New England weather) and most of the photos naturally fall between the two extremes. At $12.95 it's an expensive volume, but you do get a matching cardboard sleeve to keep it in good shape. It's definitely a book for the coffee table rather than the workbench. Mayes & BalcJcen wheel to wheel By Andy Kirker LUCERNE VALLEY, CAL., DEC. 16 For all of you who didn't show up for the last race of the year: for shame! You really missed a beautiful weekend. The weather was nice to us with clear skies and temperatures that were most bearable, considering the time of year. The only thing missing was wind. Bike Fever, by Lee Gutkind 150 pages, (Follett, $6.95) This guy almost wrote a terrific book. As it happened he wrote a good account on the development of the sport of motorcycling in America. It will be most appreciated by the reader with little or no knowledge of the subject. ' Gutkind is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh. That's a dubious credential at best, and his ·"creative writing" ability is subordinated by the textbook sociology approach he takes in the book. The dust jacket blurbs, "A nice paean' to the open road. If Whitman had had a Harley, it's what he'd have written." Sid ¥oody. Right, Sid. Gutkind, who rides a BMW, knows that Whitman would have written something much different, and much better. Which is really beside the point, because what he has done is to construct a panoramic mural of how and why the sport of motorcycling developed as it did in this country. And although many parts read like a post-graduate thesis ("Men and Motorcycles: Their existen tial evolu tion in mid-twentieth century America"), it includes plenty of interesting background information on the phenomenon of bikers-as-a-separatesociety. The author demonstrates a studied knowledge of national trends and fads, and he obviously conducted considerable research before writing the book. Every known category of motorcycle freak is represented somewhere in these pages; from Hollister to Laconia, Sonny Barger to Gene Romero, the Isle of Man TT to Evel Knievel - all the diverse elements of biking are noted. Gutkind shows some real insight into the heads of the varied personalities who ride the line between skill and disaster, whether for kicks or profit or both. And he recognizes the shaping influence of mass media; how the fabled "power of the press" can construct blind alleys as well as avenues of understanding. Thankfully the academic segments of the text are relieved by chapters on travels taken by the author and a friend. The sketches of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Oklahoma are drawn from. firsthand experience. The people they meet along the way are often friendly, sometimes hostile and occasionally envious. The two travelers are llummed out by the treatment they get in New Mexico, and nearly freeze on the icy roads of Wyoming. These passages make the reader (this one, at least) wish that Gutkind had given more thought to a story just on his experiences on the open road, with only incidental references to the psych ological and socio-economic theme of. "biking in America." I Co'!tinuet! on page ~l! . A small breeze would have been nice to get rid of the dust. The start headed across a fast,_ choppy section leading up through the boulders where 'the bomb was located. I can't tell you who was leading at this point because I was way behind, choking on their dust. The course was fast and fun, typical of Soggy Dry Lake. It took about an hour before the dust cloud of the leader could be seen after completing the first of two 45-mile loops which Huntington Beach M.C. had laid out. 'lIt's A.C.!" Someone cried 'out as we watched him pull in to ~he Sled Riders pits. Just then Mitch Mayes flew by on his Husky, but slowed down and was looking behind him and waiting until A.C. Bakken came out of his pit. Then Mitch resumed his race. The next rider to come along was Mark Adent, running a strong third overall on his 200+cc DKW, with Doug Winchell (Bul) hot on his tail. George Walker (Cl) and Bill Saltzman (Hus) were fighting it out for sixth overall. Larry Roseler (Baj) was running first trail and fifteenth overall after a slow start. Bill Friant (Pen) was first Division II Expert with Mike Johnston (Yam) behind him running first Division II Amateur. Believe it or not, Santa Claus came to visit us, not down a crummey but on a desert sled with 18 reindeer-power to the rear wheel. He was dressed in red with a white beard, and everythig. I did a double take when 1 saw that one go by! One hOUT and 45 miles later, A.C. Bakken (Hus) and Mitch Mayes (Hus) came in, slowly, wheel to wheel, to share first overall. They both got Number One on their tank cards. With the N umber I plate sewed up, Mitch seemed. to be really enjoying himself today. Shortly after these two, Mark Adent (DKW) hel~ on to third overall (or was it second?)'and first 250 Expert. He had NO.2 on his tank card. He has a Number 1 X plate coming next year. Fourth overall and second 250 went to Doug Winchell (Bul). Bill Saltzman (Hus) got ahead of George Walker (Cl) at fifth overall, while Walker dropped back to 10th. Larry Roseler ended up 11 th overall and 1st Trail. He's getting a Number I plate too. At 20th overall, Bill Friant was first Division II Expert followed by-Mike Johnston (Yam), who came back to the desert after motocrossin' for a few months, and finished first Division II Amateur. Not too far behind was Rick Austin (Han) second Division Il Amateur. Second DiVision II went to Bren t Wallingsford. Special thanks to Brent's charming wife, who helped me out with these very unofficial results. San ta Claus finished around 100th overall, and 13th 250 Amateur. He should get Best Dressed Rider Trophy. His gimmick was great, and nobody minded 01' St. Nick coming a little early this year. Number 541 of the' Rovers was first overall Novice; R. Snyder of Viewfinders was second. Steve Martin (Kaw) was first Division II Novice, and mysterious 189x was first 250 Novice. HBMC must have done a good job, for only a few people griped abou t getting lost. Rumor has it that HBMC ran out of lime. The road from the freeway was limed quite well; maybe ~. ~as where _th~jr.l~~~ :"..e.".t: .. •• . It Observel tf.. . .. .. .~.~...=.~.~.~. .. ~ The premier event of 1974: America's first International observed I trials at Saddleback ~. ' " " ··f• . ...... ' By Tad Rafferty The opener for '74 in international amateur competition will be a World Championship observed trials at Saddleback Park on January 6. The ranking trials riders of Europe and America will con test the first such even t held in this country. With sanction from the HM, the European Championship now becomes the -FIM Prize, and America joins the list of European countries long involved with the highly specialized sport of observed trials. Heading the list of foreign competi tors is the curren t European champion, Martin Lampkin of Yorkshire, England. His teammates on~ the Buhaco team include Englishman Malcom Rathmell, runner-up in the '73 championship; lrjo Vesterinen of Finland; northern Californian Lane Leavitt, and Irishman Sammy Miller, seven times the European trials champ. Heavy line-up. !\.1ontesa will he represented by Englishmen Rob Edwards, Rob Shepherd, John "Pig Man" Hemingway and factory development engineer Pedro Pi of Spain and California Champion Marland Whaley. The Ossa contingent will include New Englander Bill Blythe, Mark Eggar of San Diego and Kulot of West Germany. For the past decade all the leading trialers have ridden one of the Spanish machines mentioned alt>ve. Although trials competition is of English origin, the motorcycles with the least weight. best balance and most precise low-speed maneuverability have been built in Spain. And all three were developed primarily by Englishmen. Enter Yamaha, with Suzuki not far behind. The "Japanese Era" in motorcycling comes full circle with their new interest in the relatively obscure sport of observed trials. With domination of professional road racing, dirt track and motocross already proven, two of the major Japanese factories have focused their methodical gaze on trials. Kawasaki is just off the pace with an unproven prototype, and Honda, as usual, is playing bide and watch. The Yamaha trials bike, now in ...................... .. c..'!.'!:tin;~.d. ~ P!'f~ ~~.

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