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/125865
MOST CHAMPIONS DEPEND ON WRITIN~ 'THE MATCHED SET' AROUND ••• Crystal-balling th e next stage of th e art LPS #1 For Motocross and Enduro. ..or just street riding... this new performance-rated greaseless protector has to be used to be bel ieved, Dries out ignitions. , .protects the entire electrical system.. .protects the cable mechanism . , .keeps chrome sharp. ..even protects yourvinyl. Fantastic? You said it! If yo u read every moto rcycle pu bl ica t io n t hat 's pri nted In English , lik e I do , you've no ti ced that th ey 've mostl y co me to look a lot like "Dirt Bike" maga zine. This is becau se market resear ch says th at t he typical bike m agazine buyer is a tee n-age squid who likes pi ctures sh ow ing gr ea t explos io ns of dirt and d oesn 't mu ch care . to re ad. Further research in d ic a tes th at the average non -buy er of magazines wh o is a rider of motorcycles , is in his tw enties and h as just taken up rid in g for transportation. So y ou'll find a picture on the c over o f most bike b ooks showin g a violently d irt-di st urbi ng, motocross-cos turned squid, an d inside them, y ou 'll find features o n com m u ting and stree t riding and sa d dl e b ags an d su ch . Market rese arch h as been kn own to miss th e target by as far as th e Edsel and di ld o-sh aped fem inine hy giene spray s. I h ave do ne my o w n ma rk et rese ar ch, wh ich tell s me no t what is cur re ntly popular (e veryone kn ows tha t) b ut what is go ing to be, as the y say, Big. I le arned th is crystal -ball te chni qu e w hen w o rking for t he m onthl y m agaz ines, where yo u ha ve to an ticipate m otorcy cling trends by as much as six man ths j us t t o b e timel y. Prophesies m ade in print som e times h ave a self-ful fill ing p o w er . The Zen explanation fo r this p he no m enon is tha t on c e a thing is " cry s talli zed " (st a t ed, de fi ned ) it is explo itab le . An othe r, pragm ati c, reaso n is tha t p eriod ical s h ave a powerfulinfluence on sty les . All the ind ica to rs agree th a t w i thin our little h obby , motorcycling, four " n ew " spo r ts a re ripe for crystallization . Th ey are , in o rde r of magnitude ; Speedway, Bicy cl e-Cross, Ro ad Rashing, and something new w ith an old n ame S teeplechase . What does this bode f or the currently popular sports ? N ot b adly , ce r t ai n ly, for more fa vo ra ble a tte n tion wi ll be turned o n th e spor t as a w hole while m o re outl ets will be o pen for cre a tive sel f-e xpress io n . O f th e four, Speedway promises to be the bi gges t. T h ere n eeds to b e N ati onal League Speedway, a re al Czar an d team franch ises. With tele vised m eetings, it co u ld sw ee p th e n a ti on, filling the vacuum left b y baseball durin g the dull summer se ason. Fr ee o f manuf acturer interest and the sma ll-tim in ess of AMA, Speedway cou ld be w orld class racing fo r the masses . Bicycle-Cro ss is d es tined to sweep the country like the hula-hoop, replacing the lugubrious ten-speed in the esteem of twelve-y ear-olds, Manufacturers will push B-X because it fills a profitable niche in their product lin e. Harley -Davidson should lend a pencil to their AMF bicycle designers. Ro ad Rashing is what used to be ca lled cafe racing, but a st ra w b er ry by any n ame smells as sweet . This is a solid trend that will redeploy a lot of o ld m o t orcy cl es as well as move a moun tain of new equipment o n to th e st reets in the gap between the touring cy cl e and the ch o p p e r. Moto cro ss ' is about re ady to into some thing less tran sm ogr ify stren uo us, p hysically , ye t mo re exciting in some ways, the way' scrambles be came IT's . I don' t know what to c al l this new, high -speed m otocross, so let 's j ust cal l it Steeple chase for now. S te e p lec ha se w ill be so met hi ng li ke moto cross on p re pared , sta d iu m- ty pe tra cks, with progr essiv e pro gr ams, like n at tra ck, a n d p erhaps Handic ap rac es. Exce p t for th e sco ring sy ste m , the "Supe rb owl of ~I ot o cross " is a Steeplech a se . Charles Clayton SO CAN YOUI ...... LPS # 3 There has never been an all-weather chain lubricant and rust inh ibitor like this. Its complex formula will protect your chains whether the course is wet or dry, hot or cool, smooth or rough, And it won't sling off. No wonder it's the West's hottestseller. ... Write for free co py of ., Mike Ca palite' s test repo rt on LPS #1 in " Cycle Guide." Write for free co py of ~ Kend ick Perfo rm ance Prod uct's evaluatio n of LPS #3. If LPS is not yet available through your dealer, write: LPS RESEARCH LABORATORIES, INC. 2050 CoIner Avenue, Los Angeles , Calif. 90025 • (213) 478-llO95 -= ~ =' fCa R~"' ..: -=- = -=.. 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