Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

when the y can share their time to he lp all riders, not just t h ose sign ing u p fo r thei r race , w ell this is wh at dese rt ra cing is all abou t ! BILL BO WEN Wh ittier , Calif. INSIDE ISDT Qualifiers Keep it clean I go dirt riding a few miles no rth of the tow n of Mojave. Mo to rc y cl e riders have permission to ride in this area on the co n d itio n that they keep it clean an d pick up after themselves. Most people tha t k now abo ut th ese co nditions do keep the area clean. There a re so me rid ers, th o u gh , that leave their camps in a d isas ter. Trash and garbage are all over. If these people do not stop leaving su ch a m ess, this area will be restric t ed from m otorcycles al l together . 8 Bad, b a d Bad Roc k Kid d in Ko lumb us KA THY MARION Huntingt on Beac h , Calif. National 13 Nation al Trials 17 A lo n g drive North 20 Regio nal Champ s Desert 26 Winchell w ins Int'l. MX 31 Dirt from De n m ar k Nat'l. Road Racing 32 Low d own on Loudon Techni cal 33 Going fast Test 34 Kawasaki Kommuter Murchie vs. Spencer Draggin'toes T his is in resp o n se to both Tom Hudson and Terry Bu rr (j une issu e No. 23) . . Sure, I re ali ze you think desert and MX action is great, so do I. Bu t I dig draggin' my toes as mu ch as you do crossin' u p. So co me on. Don't be so preju diced. Anyways, everyone knows that road racing is bitchen . KURT NELSON Westlake, Cal if . Enduro man A couple of weeks ago t here were letters in "Voices of the West" about how Cy cl e News doesn't c over enough IT and road races. I'm an enduro man myself, but I think m o st people will agree that motocross and enduro raci ng are much m ore exciting than any TT race. I 'd like to thank Cycle News for pu b lish in g mo t o cross and enduro races. Hats off to Cycle News. SCOTT SWANBURG Hawthorne, Calif. Speed way outclasses? In reply to "A p ers o na l p rejudi ce, " Volum e XI: No . 2 1 , I do n't see w ha t th e bi g hangul' is. I m ean Sp e edway Motor cycl e Ra ci n g o utclasses all forms of motorcy cle com pe ti tion. Speedwa y rider s p u t 5 00cc's of the m o st explosive fu el b etwe en their legs and flat get it o n wi th a m a ximum o f exc itement. Fo r those of you that have never bothe re d to go to a speedway race before to see how bitchen and popular speedway is, Costa Mesa speedway is the lar ges t drawing weekly motorcycle ra ce m ee ti ng in North America! paid " b ig brother" Reagan fo r our greenie stickers. We we re p rom ised land set aside fo r motorcycles and du ne buggies, etc. Those promises have yet to be kept ; there is n o in dication they ever w ill be. My proposal is a bike-in or ride-in. There is a field, w hich over the years bikers h ave been using for their weeke nd riding. As o f S aturd a y , March 16 , the area was closed by the Sheriff Department on a complaint filed by the School District. This area is the field located behind the Southwest L.A. College at Imperial & Western in L.A. 1 will welcome any biker who is willing to take a chance on being issued a ticket or even being arrested, but I firmly believe that it's time that we stand together a nd demand that w hich we were promised. Only then will we receive what we have already paid for. GAR Y D. CHAPIN 216 W. Ply m ou th, No.8 Inglewood, Calif. 90302 213/677-9271 Dear people During the recent "Gringo 100" which my boy and 1 rode, m y bike b roke down 3 2 miles from the start. (timing slipped. . .no way to fix it there.) I asked my boy (I3, on Yammie 100 ) if he wanted to try finishing under tow. He said he didn't like to q uit. . .so . . . ~ Da d rides the 100, Matt on the Alpina under tow .. .off we go . ..it's I p .m . . . . 73 miles to finish . ..My God, can we do it ? We did . . . finished at 7 p. m . . . .including stops to rem ove jamme d bra ke shoes from fron t h u b, and inopera tive brake in rear. T h rew front shoes away, fixed rear brake for mar gin al o pe ra t ion. Tota l m i l e s und e r tow . . .79 miles. . .why di d we do it? My b oy learned ( I) n o t to give up (2) yo u can d o m an y t hi n g you di dn' t think possible. A great lesson in life fo r a 13 year ol d, p lus earning his dad's praise for a h ell u va job. .. DAVE PHELAN A protest 1 a m writing for e very rider in Californi a, especially for those who ha ve 38 Road Rashing 43 Go fast Calendar 47 . ON THE COVER : Photo of road rashing Honda 500 by Charles C. Clayton. Sharon Clayton; Publisher Thomas R. Cul p; General Manager; Edna Me-wtan ; Secretary to Publisher. Advertising Thomas R. Culp: National Director Trudi Culvert Assistant. Ed itorial A s a bi ke rac er and faithful _ subscriber I have decided the t im e h as come to give you a bi t of fee db ac k. I get ki nd of di sappo in ted sometimes a t the lack of coverage we get up here in t he N orthwe st. I think it's a fine ges ture of support for the racers w he n you offer contingency money for regional events. I think that your political enduro, where you again layout your own bu cks to protect us and the sport, is nothing sh ort of super! Far f- - g out! Right on ! Pass the roofer. Not only that but thanks a lso. LAN ER H ARRI S, PhD. N o. 19 5w T acoma, Wa sh. CURT JOHNSON Bakersfield, Calif. True Grit? My fellow rea d er , W.H. Spencer of Fremont, suggests that I am agai nst motorcycles and motorcycling (Voices of the West, ~ay 28). Not so. I'm an advocate of all two-wheel vehicles, whether motorized o r not. They're economical and co m p ared to cars have little affect o n the ai r we breathe. They're also fun and a good way to get to and from the desert (altho ugh not as efficien t as towing them behind a pollu ting car or camper). What I am against is the use of motorcycle - and all other motorized vehicles - off th e road in the desert. There are hundreds of m iles of roadway in the Mojave and Colorado deserts for vehicular travel. Enjoy them, utilize them as a means of transportation. But please, let's spare the fragile lands in between . T he r ip voff continues, weekend after weekend. One of these days the bikers are going to come complaining, "Where do we go now? There's no d es er t left." I will read Michener's "The Source" if Mr. S pencer will get off his motorcycle and spend a quie t wee ke nd in the beautiful Mojave. Maybe we'U both learn some thing. Results Done with DONA LD MU RCHIE Santa Monica, Calif. Mr. Murchie is a professional writer and a very active member of the Sierra Club's Dese rt Conse rvat ion Subcommittee. .. Ed. Except for Liza I, Stuart Herreid, who have never written to an yb od y in my life, wrote to Roone Arledge asking, plead ing for more cove ra ge o f m y fav orite pastime , (e xcept fo r Liza, o f c ourse ), mot orcy cl e racing. C'rnon people, it only to ok m e four m inutes t o find so m e pa per, w rite th e letter, and se n d it. How e lse w ill w e see Mark Brelsford wax everybody nex t year in t h e national ci rc u it? STUA RT H ERR EID Reddin g, Ca lif. Just mainta in He y Bu tch, just t ry to main rain. Eve ry t h ing ' s bound to tum up cool, but you just gotta have fa ith and maintain abov e al l. As fo r ge ttin g better. ..gas it ! VIRGIL CAI N E Lombardo, Calif. I love the Masterlinks I read the letter to the Editor in Cy cl e News about what a Masterlink supposedly did to the Greenh orn End u ro . Well I would lik e to add my two cen ts , I rode th e Greenhorn Enduro and broke my machi ne . I fou nd a road an d h ea d ed down it. Wh en I reached the Masterlinks camp I though t I h ave found a mirage. Those fant astic people took me in to a trailer an d had me lie down , gave m e water, and took a lo o k a t m y b ike . A couple of Masterlink members said it would never get me to the h igh w ay , so they loaded my b ike into a van and took us both to town, and when I admitted n ot having a dime for a phone call one fellow loaned me money. Now there might be one b ad ap p le in the bun ch on the whole I think the !\lasterlinks are a fantasti c club and Th e address is R o one Arledge , c/o ABC Wid e World of Spo rts , 41 51 Prosp ect. Los Angeles. CA . . . Ed. Charles Clay ton ; Editor. John D. Ulrich ; Associate Editor, Joh n H uetter ; Fea ture E dito r, Lane Campbell; Cale ndar Editor. Art & Production Ca th eri ne Lampton: Ar t Dire ctor. Nancy Gray; Advertising Art Director. He ctor AguiJera; Lab Technician. Mario n Hatashita; Typographer, Melvin Phelps; Assistant Typographer. Circulation Rheba Smith; Manager. Pam Hobbs & Chris Andrews; Assistants. Accou nting Gay e 7..aion z ; Manager. Chris Kolbet & T wila wheeler: Assi,.. rants , Rosemary Chandler ; Colle ction. Dary l Christ ian; Assistan t. Services & Support Mi k e CoJikas, Randy Davis, Bill Run yan, Jeannie Dunivan ; Receptionist. West P.O . Box 49 8 , Long Beach, CA 90801 (2 13) 4 27-74 3 3 ; LA 6 36 ·8 844. East How to write I t h o ug h t th a t a newspaper's func tio n was to in form it s re aders o n cu rre n t events. John Ulrich's article on the SRA Spring Fling c e r tai n ly feU short in this respect . Instead, readers .w ere treated with a description of Ulrich's ride. I, for one , wou ld appreciate an article on the event rather than th e author's ride. PATRICK E. FIEDEKE El Segundo, Calif. A sso ciat e Editor Ulrich's co verage of m ot ocross, road race. and enduro even ts wh er e th e winn ers ar e known before deadline ( 10 a. m. Monday) do not d escribe th e author's ride. (Se e lIa ngt own MX co verage, AFM 3 00 miler report, and CRC Gring o 100 story). But wh en no winners are known for a week. and all three loops are basically th e sam e. what do you want ? A weather report ? . .Ed. r,o. Box 8 05, 9 34 -7850 . Tucker, GA (4 04) Central P.O. Box 13245, Austin, TX 78711. Subscription On e year.. second class mail. SI2.50: 2 years, second class mail, $22.50; 3 yea rs, second class" mai l, S30.00: Single copy price, 50 cents. Co p yr iJeht Cycle Ne ws, Inc. 1974. Tr ad e mark ft'gi stered U.S. Patent Orrice. All rilhtl reserved, Published w«k1y exc ep t me fint and bat week o f the calen dar ynr by Cycle New i . Inc.. P.O. Bo x 498. Long Beach , ul jfom ia, Sec ond class pOitage paid at Long Beach . CA. Edi to rial st ories, car too ns, pbcrcs , e tc, are welcome. Addressed, 5tarn ptd en velope assurel re turn of unp urch ased edi tor i al ma tter. Reprinting in whole or pan: only by pe rmiss ion of th e publisherL Adw:r tiainR nte. and circ ula tio n information will be . ent u pon eeqeest. Sec S.R.n .S. 5

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