Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

ca use a harsher ride an d may a ffec t handling. CRAZY AWARD OF THE WEEK : California State Senator Petris has introduced a b ill to prohibit the sale of any motor vehicle capable of going over 60 MPH after January 1, 1976. Maybe the y'll yank three gea rs out of every bike over 100ce. Malcolm Sm ith is a n ice guy . A high school was hitting h im up for a little help with contingencies. When they came to the part of their pitch about wh at was in the deal fo r co ntributors, Malcolm said , " Lo ok, I don 't care what's in it for me . Just co me down and p ick up the p rizes ." Bravo ! If anyo ne gets a ny exemptions fr om the Califo rni a Green Stickle program, it will be Ro ad Racers, said Ron Rawlings of the California Department of Parks and Re er e a tion. February 22 . A bill mandating su ch a ch ange is go ing to b e heard in com mittee soon. Watch poop for det ails. If anyone wonders what t he husband of Cycle News publisher Sh aron Clayton is is up to these days, Chuck is putting t o ge t h er a week ly "motorcycle magazine of the air, " for television. It will be called "Cycle News Reel. " GREENH O RN NATIONAL: T he Greenhorn Enduro officially has AMA national status. It will be h eld (as usual) on Memorial Day Weekend. FASTER THAN EVER : As of Tuesday, February 27, the fastest Daytona lap times we re Rob erts 2:08, Castro 2: 11, Romero 2:13. Last year Paul Smart set the pace with a t ime of 2 :15. The Harleys at Day tona this year are running Goodyear tires, while th e European s and Japanese are using Dunlops. There w ill be free camping at Hangtown th is y ea r. Thi s is the only club sponsored event h aving a national AMA sta t us and th ree classes . An Eve! Knieve! Special will air on CBS at 9:00 p.m. on March 29th. T he show will be a pilot for the series planned for next Fall. The State of California specifies that an ORV registration is not, in sp ite of the name, a registration, legally speaking. It is only an id en tif icati on. That spe cified difference means that Green Stickie equipped bikes stolen from garages are sti II covered under homeowner's insurance policies. Anybody whose insurance company tells them different should get a lawyer and sue their brains out. Instead of Camp Win ne mugwump, sen d yo ur kids to a Motorcycle S umm er Ca mp at Cal Arts College this su mmer. Th e program is for boys I (}. I 6 an d begins June 30. Get th e poop for on e bu ck from Motor cy cle Su mmer Camp , 4 17 Ard en Ave., Glendale, CA 9 1203 . Starting March 4 the Long Beach Recreation Department w ill teach you all about y our motorcycle fo r free. Th e course is six weeks lo ng, two h ours every Tu esday n ight. The pressure is on Califo rnia to enact a mandatory helmet law again, and the State Office of Traffic Safety is pushing the legisla tion. The Verdugo Valley Star complains that the Bell Golf Course greens were torn up by e ither a small foreign car or a moto rcycle. They can't tell the difference from the tracks. Was it a four wheeled b ike or a two wheeled car? D· 3 7 Ultra Lightweigh t Scrambles Number One plateholder Ro n Erickson is considering hanging it up and getting marr ied. Awww. Just lik e my Dad d y to ld me , the m w omen critters m ak e ya do bad things if ya let them. Good luck , Ron nie. EXTRA CRUNCHY: Extensive testing indi cat es that Calendar Editors do not bounce : they go "CRUNCH." HAPPY BIRTHDAY. TURKE Y: T here are n o longer any teen agers on th e Cycle New s Editorial S taf f, since March I. Ever spend your b irth da y wad ing through hat e mail ? That's wh at it feels like to be twen ty. Cycle News hillclimb reporter Ann Powell won second place in the California Federation of Press Women writing conte st , sportswriting division. Not bad, not bad at all. school band and enthu sia stic cheerleaders will definitely be there. At last , the true potential of the h igh school MX spectacular may be rea lized. Far outl Glen Baumbartner of Media Max was n o t the d ude who foul ed up on the star ting line a t the seven high school MX. Glen was just d oing research fo r Media Max . It seems th e veteran S u p e r b o wl promo ters are p ut tin g together a d ynamite high school MX assembly pr ogram. In tested schools can co n tac t Medi a Max a t 2 13/944-3931. ON THE AIR IN STINK ING SMOG LAND: Meanwhile. Cucamonga Buffalo Breath distributor Rex Reese has lined up radio sp ot cov erage for the four sch ool MX he's putting to gether out near Ontario, Cali fornia . He 's already nabbed Malcolm Smith's K&N Motorcycles up as a sponsor. and is now working o n Husqvarna to come through with a little aid . CONSPIRACY: A whole lot of teachers are sitting down their students and having them write hate letters to Cycle News concerning ou r coverage of the seven school fiasco last week. The average letter goes like th is: " It wasn't that swell, but it was those other guy's fault, and you're turkeys for b elieving them, not us:' While on the other hand, the " oth er guys" are calling up and saying, "Yep, it was their ' fa ult, they were drunk and kept trying to put their slob hands on my precious white body." Th en in comes the killer letter: "Fire that toad - even though he's wr itten ten million great things, we d idn 't like this one, so can his ass. Af ter all, the world will end un less we save face :' Honest, people, we know the tr uth hu rts, but ca n't ya wai t to try and cover your t racks un til afte r a guy ' s birthday? Unda un te d, Vic Wilson is asse mb ling his High Sch ool MX League. He pr om ises s mo o t h pro gr am s a n d goo d organization . You can get him at 714/63 9 -5832. TWO BUCKS: It see ms th at th e AMA is refund ing the $2 overpay me nt in d ues to people who ren ewed at the $12 rate at the beginning of th e year - before th e new $10 dues we nt in to effect. That's good PR and long-term b usiness sense if all who wrote $12 ch ecks get their two bucks back. The residen I pregnan t pit tootsie, wh 0 happens to be a Honda freak, rep orts that her mini -Elsinore, who has been operating in a two-stroke mode for nearly eight months, is starting to four-stroke almost every night. T hump , thump. UPPING THE ANTE: Mike Thatcher, the young promoter putting together the Walnut High School Challenge MX has lined up the f irst full factory support in the h igh school MX f ield . Yamaha is picki ng up the tab as a pu blic relations mo ve. Vic Wilso n, owner of bo th Saddleback and Orange Coun ty International Racewa y, is ha ndli ng th e mechan ics o f th e program. Winners will be getting he lme ts, sweaters, boots, an d a whole bun ch of Yam aha accessories. There's more - Mike reports that th e OUT IN THE BOONIES : Yucca Valley High School in Joshua Tree, California (in th e m iddle of the desert) is putting o n its own motocross March 9, at 10. a.m. " Co me one, come all, " their flyers advertise. Hot d iggity. Motocross is taking over as the national spo rt. The number of schools putting on motoc rosses is mushrooming. T he following radio sta tions will carry live spot co verage o f th e Day ton a 200 Sunday , March 10. Che ck in y our local are a for ex act broad cast times. T ime zo nes an' all thaL If yo ur local air -wa ve radiator isn' t on this list, h oller for ne xt ye ar ! Arizon a Phoenix KRDS KHYT Tu cson California Fresno KEA P Lo mpoc KKOK Lo s Angeles KBIG Ontario KSOM Re dding KRDG San Diego KO ZN-FM San ta Maria KSMA San ta Rosa KV RE Taft KTKR Ventura KBBQ Col orad o Craig KR AI KEXO Grand Junction New Mexico Silver City KNIT Washington Tacoma KMO The Yamaha Baymare $1000 GP event was cancelled "due to rain" - the sign at the gate said. It might rain? Had rained in the past? Could have ra ined? All we saw was excellent traction, and white fluffy clouds in a blue sky. It is rescheduled for March 10. Only in Southern California motocross/cross-country type be cancelled be cause of rain. since it never rains in California, that's OK. would a of event But then. So uthern Last week's rain cancelled CMC Road Race at OCI R has been rescheduled for Sunday, March 10. Jim Ko lbuss No . 1035X Amateur, wishes to apologize to the spe ctators , and members . present at the last Deser t M.C. H&H . JI m wants yOll to know he did h is b est n o t to hit an y on e whil e cras hing a t the finis h line . There 's nothing qu ite as f ine as a coa sti ng race down a big hill. They save gasoline as well as be ing fun . Pick out a long, win dy, downhill road , come to dead en gine sto p at the crest with your competition, pu sh lik e mad, an d go ! Watch o ut for road liza rds, because coasting downhill wit h y o ur engi ne killed is illegal in Californ ia and so me other states. NATU RAL SE LE CT ION : What ever can be said about OR V dam age to wildlife habitat, the ground squirrel p opulation a t Sad dJeb ack is booming. Mo torcycle noise drives o ff their natural predat ors. and they have adap ted to th e noise an d hung aroun d . Not all animals are dumb. Goody ear t ires is getting into the High School MX con ti ngency act with ti res for the grea t Yamaha High School MX spectacular coming up soon . Mike Fol me r, st ude n t o rgan izer of the Arcadia/San Marino Interscholast ic MX, is n ow putting together th e first High Sch o ol Drag Race. We'r e waiting for th e first IIigh School Road Rac e, the first High School Trials, th e first High School Flat Track , th e first High School TI, th e first High Sch ool Wheelie co n test, the first High School Pick le Ea ting con test, the first High Sc hool Nucle ar War. e tc. , e tc. , e tc. The fou r school MX near Ontario, Califo rn ia needs a water truck to bor r o w . Go t o ne ? Call Re x at 714/982-1440. Taking the rear sh ocks o ff y our bik e will lessen th e uns p ru ng weight, b ut will Daytona: Romero's record Handicap hints Voices: Much ado about Test: Norton 850 Interstate Harley Sportster 1000 Technical: Don't ask E.C 7 27 8 .24 .30 29 He's no t here Personality : Ken Roberts 35 Watch him grow Products: New ones Ones we've used And: I can steal your bike 42 26 28 By a p olice man no less COV ER SHOT : J ohn St ein ge ts i t up on th e funniest looking Du ca ti we've ever seen. Photo by J ohn Ulric h. 5

• Cover