Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

ba ck in the District without a n y penalties to e ithe r m embers or th e club . Jim Honi ter was th e m aj or spo kes man fo r th e Ca ts and th e feeling was th at th e body of t he Sports Committee should h ave th e r igh t to de ci de the fate of the H ill t op p ers, not th e Board of Directors meeting secretl y. The H ill top p er s an d So. Cal. hav e b oth put fee s co llecte d from their runs aside. withholding th em from th e BDI until t h e Cactus Cats g o 10 cou r t a n d their su it ag ain st th e BL~ I is se tt led . Neither cl ub refuses to pay the BLl\1 the land u se fee, only to hold on 10 it until the co urts make: a decision. Ron' Sloan and Harry Wh al en. two o f the Directors. b oth spoke at length o n the subject. Whalen pointed out that o pen d efian ce wa s only going to m a k e J .R. Penny angry and he had the p o w e r to make it very d iffi cul t for us to use th e d es ert for racing if h e wishe d to . Whal en was all f or cl u b s tackling th e BLM but d oin g it th e right wa y , in a law s ui t agai ns t the Bureau, no t b y withh olding the fees th e BLM d emands. Sloan to ld o f the e nd less meetin gs an d hard work that had gon e in t o working wi th th e BLM to ke ep th e desert open for rac in g. H e d idn't like t he fees j us t like e veryb ody else but the fact remains th at Penny is given t he re sponsibility t o manage the desert by the Un ited States Congr ess, an d manage it he w ill. We will ha ve to get alo ng with him or risk lo sing it. Po st ing b onds ins t ead of the stan dard fee of one dolla r p er rider w as d iscussed . T h is h as b een c hecked in to . Unless a cl ub has m oney in the ba nk to co ver the b ond, wether it b e ca lled a su re ty or a faithful p e rfo rman ce, t he a mont of m oney w ill have to be avail abe eve n if i t require s a fi na l s tatement fro m every memb e r. T his co u ld m ean tha t ' an ind ivid ua l co uld lose p erso n al wort h sho uld a bond be forfeit. Ano t h er cl ub poi nted o ut that in a recent m ee t ing with the BL~ I go ing over plans fo r their .up c om in!: run, one of the Bur ea u ' s people sa id h e understood the D is trict wa s having int ernal ha ssles over the land use fees and made it reason ab ly clear th a t the Bureau cou ld, if d ispleas ed w ith the situation, tu rn th e des ert o ve r to an env ironmen tal st udy wh ich would close it completely. During the cou rse of the d iscu ssion which occasion ally m erit ed a bang of the gavel to get things un der co n tro l it w a s b r ou gh t u p by various representatives th a t t he Board o f Directo rs sho uld n't have t he po wer to be ab le to suspend a club , on ly m ak e a recommendation t o the body . T h e AMA had b een aske d for assistan ce on a legal level a nd Gene Wirw ahn, t hei r legal adv isor . had d ecl in ed. As to wh y th e Dire cf or s or so mebo dy h adn 't co nsid ered a nd p ut in to action a p lan for th e wh ol e District 37 o rgan iza tion to , ta ke legal action agai nst the BLl\( ins tead of leaving it up to the o ne cl ub was also m e n tione d . T he m o t i on to re -ins ta te the lIi1l topper s to the District finally ca m e to a r oll ca ll vo te and p assed 37 to 35 . Ron Hall of So. Cal. qu eried that if the Dir ec tors a nd officers of the District had been a llowed to vote, shoul dn't t h e Comp etit ion Co mmit tee also be allowed one. The rule book was searched . Treasurer McElroy said they should and ano th er roll call vol e was taken, ea ch person bei ng allowed a vo te being named ind ividually. This time the Hill toppers los t 44 t o 32 p ro mp ting o ne rep resen t ative t o call o ut that il the vo te didn' t go the w a y th e Board wa n te d it th e fi rst ti me t ha t was the wa y to d o it , re-vore so it wou ld . The m ee t in g adjourned we ll af te r eleven o 'clock, the laten ess of the h ou r sen di ng so me r c pre sen ta li ves eligible to vote home before th eir vole co u ld coun t. . As o f now t he lI illt oppe rs are s u spe nded a n d accord ing 10 th e resolution o f th e Board of Dire ct ors the S o . Ca l. cl ub susp ension wi ll n o d o ubt fo llow. D 'Political Enduro' esert We have bee n involved with th e B L ~ I in a rece n t legal ba tt le. and are se ndi ng you th is lett e r in an a tte mp t to cl ea r up the con f usio n ove r the p re sent si tua tion wi t h o u r duh , th e BLM a nd th e D istrie-t. This is abou t th e BL~I's req uest for S 1.00 pe r rid er rent al fee. We a re o n ly doing ~ha l ~ve -ha ve b ~en-advised by o u r co un se l is per fectly legal: namely putting th e m oney asi de pending th e o u tcome o f the court case. T he issu e o f wh e th er th e S 1,0 0 fee ca n be legally c ha rged was c hallenged by the Cact us Cats M.C. a nd is sched uled for Federal Court ~Iay 6. 1974 . What we are hoping to accomplish b y o ur ac tio n of withholdi ng the m oney is twofold : I , To for ce a d ecis ion in co ur t. (T h e BDI co u ld appea l to a higher court if they lo sl a nd d rag t he case o u t for years.] 2. To keep the B L~I from using our m oney that may later be judged to be illegall y collected . (O th e r d ubs co uld also put the m oney asi de.) The BL~I has not indicated that w ha t we a re d o ing is in a ny way illegal. In stead th e y have e mployed wha t we feel is a "scare tac tic" by threatening to requir e a cas h b ond or payment o f th e rental fee prior to iss ua nce o f the permit. Wh ether th e y co uld d o th is w ould see m to be ano ther issu e that should b e tested in cou rt. A res trai ni ng order mi ght be imp o sed pending th e outcom e of thi s co urt case. We ch ec ked into the difficult y of obtain ing the cash bond and co n tac te d numerous bonding co m pa n ies, all but one in d ica t ed they would issu e the bond. The cos t for a $1000.00 ho nd ranges from $1 5 to $50. It is real ly a " fa ith ful pe rform an ce - bond," th at insures the go vernment that t hey w ill ge t th ei r mone y for fees and/ or damage costs. We in tend to refund the S 1.00 fee to each rider if the Cactus Cats win th ei r case. Once t he BL~I has th e m one y in th ei r hands, it may be months o r eve n years b efore the red tape is un tan gled and th e m oney is re t u rn ed to th e riders. Muc h of t he m one y would be impossible to return and probably will go bac k to t he BLM . Here are so me qu e st ions to consider : I. Wh y d o we have 10 pay th is $ 1.00 pe r rid er? Other racing o rganiza tions suc h as S RA ha ve stated tha t they d o n ' t charge or pa y t he fe e. 2. Is it le gal F t h e BLM to cha rge or this fee ? Isn ' t the governmen t us in g a a rcha ic law intended for u se of th e land for gra zing sheep a nd ca tt le? 3 . A re we gett ing any t h ing for o ur money ? Wasn 't the BLM supp o sed to u se th e m one y to mak e so me improvem ent s in racing lo catio ns suc h as gra d ing ~oad s an d p roviding pi cn ic areas and san itary facili ties? . 4 . Why a re th e individual cl ubs required to ac t as co llec tio n agents for t he Governmen t ? Most co llec tio n age ncies ge t a percentage of the fe es. 5 . Why hasn 't Distr ic t 3 7 exp lo re d th e legal it y o f wh at BLM is d oing . Why d o in d ivid ua l cl ubs ha ve to figh t thi s in cou r t ? S ho u ld n't eithe r t he AMA o r Dist ri ct 37 h ave cha lle n ged th e legal ity o f the re strictions and fees as the y w ere inst itut ed ? 6. Wh y di d it ap pear ce rtain officer s a nd influent ial m ember s of D istrict 3 7 op posed th is lette r b eing se n t to all o f th e cl uhs? Is th er e p o ssi bl e collusion or con flict of in terest in vo lved w ith BL.~ I, AMA a n d th ese persons? DAVE OA KLEAF President, Hilltopp ers M.C. Lo ng Beach , Ca lif. Boyce, Youngblood named AMA Chiefs LOS A NG ELE S. CA L., APR. X The Board o f Dir ect ors o fficia lly co n fir med Bill Bo yce as Com pe t it io n D j r e c to r and Ed Youngbl o od as A dministrative Direct o r of the A1\I1\. Boyce is we ll k. nown as fo rmer l\tanager of Pro fession al Racing fo r th e A ssocia tiu n and Y oun gblood was A c ting Execu tive Director , a po st w h ich has heen a holishe d in the A~I t\ 's recent re orgni zat ion. 'Simon Set 1step·back District 3 7 had ad d ed an o th e r blockbuster t o their now long line of ap a t he tic blunders. At th e March 7. m eetin g a very smoo th talkin g emi ssary of B.L.l'l., A ~IA. a nd o t he r _s el f . s e r v i n g o rga n iza t io ns lulled th e m aj ority present for this so -call ed Distr ict meeting int o believin g th a t the Ililltoppcrs ~I.C. had duped th e poor mot orcyclists o u t o f S 1.00 per ride r to en te r th eir De cember 21 Ha re Scrambles. By this I m ean th at the IIill t oppers had decided, as ha d th e Cactus Cats ~I.C.. to withh old th is $ 1 per rider from payment to th e now shrinkin g Bureau of La nd Manage ment. To bring you up to date, an d m aybe to get yo u off yo ur apathe ti c rear end, the B.L .M . is levying $ 1. 00 per rid er fo r th e p urpo se of providing facilit ies fo r the d ese rt rid er s' b enefi t. A t t he lim e o f th is wri t ing, n othin g h as b een d o ne w it h o ur th ousands of dollars, excep t t o buy m o re ran ger s t o p atrol and con trol th e orga nized m otorcycl e d ubs . By n ow it sh o uld be e viden t to even a moron tha t wh en the y get e no ug h policemen oop s, sorry - ran ger s, it will be easy for them to con trol us; in th e di str ict. in to wh at a rea t o ri de (w h ic h w e a ll h av e experienced), h ow to rid e an even t , time limit, an d m ost likely wha t type of m achine t o ride. T he se will be th e only service th e B.L.M. will o ffer , so I would advis e you slee ping referees, representatives. and cl ub m e m bers . to get off your b utts an d m ak e you r voice heard least you be silenced fo reve r. If you , the body , let yoursel f b e d ic t at ed to , by o ne sing le voi ce at th e dis trict mee tings, y ou have fall en in lin e lik e sheep. and will go d ow n the t ubes with your leade rs. He openly re ads a letter from B. L.~I. that in essence says, pay up or else - o r else what ? That is t he same ploy used ove r l!l m o nt h s ago wh en the p re ssur.e from th e B .L .~I. st arted t o increase on t h e clubs. We were p ushed into limited areas . we we nt, We w ere assesed S 1 per rid er per race, we pai d . We w er e h a r ra s s e d p ro c u ring per mi ts, we co o p era t ed . To shorten the story, we ben t over ba ckwards from the B.L. l\I. , trying 10 co- ex ist w ith th eir n ew policy. J t has bee n two years and I am still p ay ing S 1.00 per race fo r the pri viledge of rid in g in a d ese rt th at the law h ad d etermined t o b e public land. If we sho u ld p ay any body, it ,h ,.",I ,l !oe th e American Indi an, but th at is an o the r st ory. N ow this sa me person . wh o was goi ng t o lead u s t o th e prom ise d land, is handing ou t the sa me coc k a n d bull story that n ow so un ds like h e' s go t it reco rde d on tap e. A ccordi ng to h im , the H.L.M .. if n ot p aid. is goi ng to shut the desert down to ou r district clubs. Well I say its abou t tim e th a t th e B.L.l'!. d id so me t hi ng d efinit e. But th e real cr ux of this letter is that all of th is time h as passed an d in th e space of this one evening . one m an single-handedly has so co nvinc ed the distri ct body t ha t they hand down an ulti m atum , in the form of a m o ti on, to expel th e Hilltoppers from District 37, if th e B .L.~ !. ha s n o t been paid within seven days of t his decree. This m otion passed unanim ousl y ex cept for the lo n e d isse nting . vote from th e referee of th e Cac t us Ca ts M.C. No co m m en t was hea rd from So-Ca l M.C., fou n de r of th e Save th e Desert Fund, H ill to ppers 1\I.C ., objec t of the m o tion, or a ny o ther cl ub sy mpath ic t o saving our desert ridi ng area s. Where a re all of th e clubs th at su p ported the Cactus Cats M.C., El Cajon 1'1.C. , and So- Ca l 1'I.C. ? Why arc th e cl ubs being so w ea k ly rep resent ed a t the dis trict ? A re we, the large st d ist rict in AM A , go ing to h e d ict a ted to b y ano the r so urce be sides our gov ern me n t ? T hese q uest io ns ca n o n ly be ans wered by support ing th e d ubs th a t think the ass essm e nts levied on us arc unfai r. Yo u cann o t rid y o ursel f of a p i bb le m b y vot ing a club out of a district. If this tren d c o n tinue s , ther e will only be one club in the d istrict , and I can only add that, 1 hope, th is remain ing cl ub , the B.L.1\ . an d t he 1 d istrict Bo ard o f Dire cto rs, lives happily ever after. DAL E COAT S Corona, Cali f. SALES SERVICE Welding Po rt ing Accessories 1352 Centinela. W. Los Angeles Corner of Santa Monica Blvd. & Centinela - Open 9 to 6 Tues-Sat 9 to 9 on Thursdav S-linta Monica Blv d . ~ N ~ S .. ~W+E ~c e ~ lD ~ n t il Monica Frwy. ~MAICO ~VOOP• • Par t s. Service . Fra me Mod s , Accesso ries WHEEL SMITH MOTORCYCLES 3641 W. Mc Fa dden . Sa nt a A na , CA 92704 7 14-839 -0150 WHITTIER HONDA Motorcycle Trailers Bell Helmets Full Bo re Products 14324 E. WhIttIer Slid. (213 ) 698-0065 Complete stock of parts and accessories for street and dirt. DSS~ FINNED ALUMINUM Shock Housings Fits 12 .9 & 13.4 Konis $35.00 Write or call: Cvcle Mods. 468 So. Lake St . Forest Lake. Minn. 55025 (6 12 I 464-6330 HOK ON RT 340 ENDUR OS Save $200.00 - Limi ted offer. Carnes Cycle Shop 8459 - Foothill - P.O. Bo. 60tl Sunland. CA 91040 213·352 ·1458 17

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