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/125842
By the way, when I have to go , I go . Keep up th e good work. RICK AN DE RSON Downey , Cal if. I do admit I'm predjudice about this machine, having a DKW dealership, but it was even better than I ex pecte d. Sorry (no t real ly ) to b end yo ur ear. MARJORIE E. SMINK The Rotorcyde Shop San fernando, Calif. Re: The Barstow to Vegas Weenie Wavers Whatever employee at Cycle News wh o though t up the series of letters about the mad urinator and whatever employee co mp osed them should be commended and given a raise immediately for the funniest and most outrageous fiction seen in Cycle News this year. PETER URETHRA Bainbridge, Conn. Those That Soil Us Rayborn Remembered I would think that it would be most appropriate for the road racers of this country to wear a black armband on their leathers duri ng the 1974 season to show their admiration for the world's greatest motorcycle road racer, Cal Rayborn. DAVlD G. EVANS Grossmon t, Calif. Pfutzenreuter Family Benefit On January 20 the Sled Riders MC will present their "1st Annual . Larry Pfu tz e nreuter Memorial Hare and Hound." This will be a benefit race and the proceeds will be donated to Larry's family. finisher pins and district points will be awarded. To maximize proceeds, no class trophies will be presented. A Larry Pfutzenreuter Memorial perpetual trophy will be awarded to the overall winner. We are sure all desert riders will IITHUIL Desert 7 One won one The Energy Crisis 8 Effects on ra cing and , motorcycle production Parano ia 10 It's not paranoia if they really are trying to get you Dirty Kitty Small St uff 11 12 In a b ig way Flat Stu ff 14 17 22 It's dry ins ide Tests 24,30 130 3cc Results 27 ON THE COVER: Mini World Championship contenders deal with the mud. One gets his feet out of it ; the other tries to look around what 's on his face shield. Photos by Dale Brown. 4 Since when has the sport of motorcyclings' only merit been the question of to pee or not to pee ! It is a moral question and so every opinion will be different. Have you ever tried to ride a 160 mile race on a full bladder? The pounding your body would take could surely pump those poisons into your system. fACE IT! When you got to go, you got to go. Sanitation facilities are nice, but a boony bush looks a lot more inviting than an overfilled, over-peopled "Andy Gump". I suppose that if it's around 10 :00 and you suddenly realize your morning coffee is about to run full cy cle that you should get on your bike and ride back to the head and have the race start without you? If you did that you co uldn't be muc h of a co mpet itor. But think, if you did this, of all the poor innocent people t hat couldn't go around co ndeming you and your sport for wha t is natural and should be taken as such. The whole question should not be kicked around in a motorcycling newspaper by supposed moralists that are going to save our kids. our wives, and ourselves from ourselves ! I hope the whole controversy stops here or your voices column will soon sound like the Pen thouse forum. Ever think about the time and energy we spend wri ting letters abou t pure drivel, when we could be writing senators, congressmen, and B.L.M. officials about the betterment of our sport? TERRY B. RAYE 12t Desert North Hollywood, Calif. Dear Mr. Hazelwood Thoughts on thoughts Perfeshunul North When You Gotta 13 On the bottom of the world Opinion be there in rern emberen ce of a number one ride r an d a great guy. An d sp eaking o f great guys we would like to than k Doug Winch ell and Art Knapp who were running in t he to p ten and stop ped to render aid to Larry. We wo uld als o like to than k the m an y other riders that stopped to assist. And the clubs that have donated money to the Pfutzenreuter fa mily. It is people like these that make d eser t racing the great sport that it is. SLED RlDERS MC The Checkers M.C. will assure you a special starting spot in the Check Chase so you will not have to look at such illegal actions by other riders. C HECKERS M.C . Look The Other Way Your response to Haz lewood was one of the best I've read. Imagine a peace officer writing an article like that to Cycle News! I feel the way you do, Ed, some 0 f our laws co uld use a lot of changing, such as sec. 3 14 of the penal code. I'm not saying all of our laws are bad. Some of them we need, but this one is utterly ridiculous. If certain peo ple don't like what they see, all they have to do is look the other way. What's so hard about that? Regarding your comments to 1\-1r. Hazelwood and h is objec tions to a wea k bladdered desert race r "wa tering d own the course " . While he migh t ha ve over-reacted, I do agree that this type of disp lay has little place in public. We in motorcy cling co nstantly refer to the sport as a family type of activity . I, for o ne , don ' t care to ex p ose m y wife or chil d ren to that ty pe of " dus t co n trol." The question o f image is also men ti on ed in your paper from time to time, usu ally it is crying o ut aga inst those that soil th e moto rcyclists. It would see m to me that y o ur ill th ou gh t ou t and rude reply, as well as, th e race r's ques tionable beh avior have in no way im p roved it. DAN D1NSMO O R Going Places In your issu e of December 18 , you suggested that tourers feeling the eve r increasing distance between gas stations m igh t inquire at their dealers about larger gas tan ks. All BMW m o torcycles have been offered for years with a "touring tank" option, and the 1974 BMW m od els are no exception. The touring mod els are available with a 4.8 gallon standard tank or an o ptional 5.8 to uring tan k. The new BMW su per-bike, Model R90S , comes only with a su per-tan k h olding 6.4 gallons. RI CHA RD L. KAHN Norwood, N.J. Green Stickers For Golfers? Here's a questi on to ask your local DMV: Ho w d o golf carts get away wi thou t b uying green stickies? CARL PRICE Chaparrals M.C. Ne wb ury Park, Calif. Th e ·"'acer's q uestionable behavior" was no doubt motivated by nature and directed by modesty. If he had gone back of the lin e h e would be where all the spectators, like your wife and children, are likely to be. The one place that they won't be is in f ront of the line so that is where he went presumably behind a puckerbush... Ed. Got A Feeling Although I have been here in San Quentin for the pas t nine years, rea di ng your newspaper gives me the feeling that I've never be en off my choppe d hog. Almost like it's right here in my cell with me. Some years ago, b efo re I fell, I read a couple of issues of a bike magazin e of which even today I'm not sure of the correct title. I hope yo u can help me find how to subscribe to it. The title that comes to m ind is "Colors", " Colo rs " , if that is the correct ti tle , le t ' s you know what's happen in g on the real bike scene. It co ntains in fo rmatio n on the eve nts, pleasures, hassles, and etc. o f the I %ers of America and t he wo rld. Any in fo that you can give me would be greatly appreciated. DORMAN TALBOT ' Tarnal, Calif. "Colors" is long gone. You might try "Eary Riders" though. They seem to be the closest thing still going - if they're still going... Ed. ' Round And 'Round I can't understand your dislike of the Wankel engines. On page 13 of the Jan. 8 issue under "Can't tell" you say, "Rotary engine mtc'«. Yamaha, Suzuki, and Hercules all have them, but they bum too much fuel fairly dirtily, are heavy, hot and seem to have a number of other drawbacks." While I have not ridden either the Yamaha or Suzuki rotary, I have rid den th e Hercu les an d I liked it. I'm 5' 6" and I ,could put both fee t o n the gro und an d be nd my knees. T hat bi ke only weig hs abo ut 350 which means it handles in traffic. T h e lon g wh eel b ase mak es it co mer like a road racer, an d the low cen te r of gravity ma kes it track on the freew ay like a far heavie r bi ke . My mechanic an d I rode it two-up for 280 mil es in six hours, going from sea level to 800 0 feet in all ty pes o f rid ing. A t the end of the d ay we wer en ' t exhaus ted by vib ra tion o r b ad handling. Ad m ittedly, 45 miles per gallo n isn ' t good, b ut I've seen worse. Ad m ittedly, it 's no su pe rbi ke, but you can't go o ver 55, so if a bike d oes 85 or 90 in a pinc h wh y do you need mo re ? America's No.1 Weekly Motorcycle Newspaper Sharon Clayton; Publisher Be Mng. Ed. Tom Culp; General Manager Edna Mewton; Secretary to Publisher Catherine Lampton ; Art Director Art Fr iedman; Editor John D. Ulrich ; Assistant Editor John Huetter; Feature Editor Lane Campbell ; Calendar Editor Rh eba Smith ; Cir culation Manager Pam Hobbs; Circulation Assistant Cheryl Steinberg; Circu lation Assis tant Hector Aguilera; Lab Technician Marion Hatashita; Typograp her Melvin Phelps; Assistant Typographer Gaye Zaionz; Accounting Manager Twila Whee ler ; Accounting Assistan t Chris Kolbet; Accoun ting Assistant Rosemary Chandler; Accounting Assistant J im Squires ; Collection Manager Mike Coliltas; Services &: Support Ch ris Andrews; Service. &: Support Dav Pauli; Servjces &: Support Bill Ru ny an ; Services & Support Jeann ie Du nivan ; Receptionist National Adv ert ising Director; Tom Culp Wendy Blanton; Advertising Assistant Trudi Cu lver ; Advertising Assistant Nancy Gray; Advertising Art Dire ctor West : P.O . Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801. (2 13) 427.7433: LA 636-8844. Telex No. 673-474. East·D ixie: P.O. Box 805, Tucker, Georgia, (4 04 ) 934-78 50. Central: P.o. Box 13245, Austin. Texas 78711. (5 12 ) 444·7548. Subscriptio n One year. second class mail. $12.50 2 years. second class mail . $22.50 3 years. second clas s ma il. 130.00 Sin gle co p y price. 504 ~ ~. Published weekly except fo r th e firs t and last week of th e ca len d ar year b y Cycle News. Inc . Post Office Box 49 8 . Lo ng Beac h. California. Second clas s postage paid at Long Beach. CA . Editorial sto ries , cartoons. ph o to s. etc , arc: w e lco me. Ad dressed, st amped envelope assu res re turn of edit orial matter. R ep rinting in whole or pa rt only by p ennission of the pu b lish ers. A d vertis ing rates and circula tion infonnation will be sent upon re quest. See S.R.D.S. Copyright Cycle New•. Inc .• 1973. All rights reserved.