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/125876
WRITIN' AROUND REX STATEN Team Honda's Rex Staten sprin ted t o vict ory in the 500cc Open Class at the recent Superbowl of Motocross. His factory prepared Honda Elsinore gets winni ng eng ine protection fr om Pennzoil 2-Stro ke Motorcycle Oil, mi xed 32 to 1. Take a ti p from Rex and h is Honda teammates, get lasting engine pro tection, the ki nd it takes to be a strong finisher ... ask you r motorcycle dealer for Pennzoil. o ~"f1" PENNZOIL COMPANY Oil City, Pennsylvania Bike owners-get what car drivers have enjoyed for years: easier starts, smoother-running engines, better mileage and cleaner exhaust! Do it with GUMOUT, now specially formulated for bikes-ideal for 2 or 4 cycle engines. GUMOUT Carb Cleaner added to the gas tank absorbs moisture and dissolves gum deposits as you ride. Jet Spray GUMOUT zaps off carburetor gum and exhaust grime. . .also cleans chains right down to the metal in seconds. ~ Your bike needs these other pertormance aids as well: GUMOUT CHAIN LUBE penetrates fast to all points. Protects, lubricates. GUMOUT DEGREASER quickly cuts through heavy layers of oil, grease and road dirt, washes clean with spray of water. Get all.GUMOUT products wherever quality motorcycle supplies are sold. . ~~~,~ "~ "",.,.to ~ Learn how to "\\\'" tune bi kes at the BURAK TUNING SCHOOL fo r performance, fu n & economy. ,,~~ montesa • MAlCD VOO. . . . Evel's the one Whatever fate does to his im itators, Evcl Knievel is not to blame. The King of Stuntmen perfected his act over the last nine years. Eve! wasn't th e first to sell tickets t o see him jump things on a m otorcycle and won't be the last, but he is the greatest moto rcycle performer that the wo rld has ever seen . Before making this Sund ay 's can yon a ttem p t, Kni eve l made sur e tha t the re ward is equal to the risk. Eve l warns young motorcycle jumpers against risk ing too m uch, too soon, fo r t o o little. Actually, young sh owm en who aspire to "beat" Evel by jumping more ca rs or lo nger distances th an he are m issin g th e ch ief a ttrac ti o n an d poin t of his ac t. As David Swift so acc urately pu t it, in a pro fil e of Evel so me years ago, "Evel Knievel d oesn't sell motorcycle jumps; he sells a feeling," Evel is our her o in th e cla ssical meaning of the wo rd: He risks the dangers for us an d suffers th e fa te instead of us. One doesn' t have t o be crucified to be a Christi an , nor do any of us have to dare death o n a moto rc ycle to lo ve Evel Kni evel. When arrogant, ego tis tical, ro man ti c Knie vel defies violent extinction by climbi ng in to the cockpit of his ro cke t bi ke an d pulls th e trigger , he is no t showi ng disrespect of death. Rather Evel is mocking o ur fear o f the unknown " fr om whence no voyager returns. to Evel Knievel lias become t he folk hero of adolescents and p ost -ad ol escen ts and maybe just ab o ut all of us because we felt that if we stuck with him fa ilure could succeed ; this was , in a sense, his pact with us to ge t o ur loyalty, an d it wo rked. We don't want t o ha ve to go t hrough failur e ; we want to watch him go through it - an d come out the o t he r side. T he "greatest act on ea rth" could no t have been bette r ti med. We have al l been threate ned by death we co uld not co ntrol for many years. In 19 72 th ere was an election, and we were asked to choose between the croo ks and the nuts. Naturally, we ch ose the cr ooks, for nobody is willi ng to trus t a nut with the nuclear trigge r. Re cently we voided that election when T ruth suddenly took precedence over Security. Now we can turn our attention Evel's so lo so rtie against th e Grim Reape r and witn es s o n e American's courage , confidence , s kill and especially will, in the "Moment o f Truth," Whatever happens o n September 8 , we will kn ow th at there are some things worth risking o ne's life for. Whether Knie vel co mes down in th is world or th e ne xt , he will have proved for t his cen t ury t ha t de ath has no dominion over th e human spirit. So yo u yo ung jumpers, who aspire to Evel 's glor y , give y o urs elf time for us to get to know yo u. Knievel is 35 an d knows exa ctly wha t he is doing. If you want to be a her o , d on't die a fo o l. Char les Clayton BURAK BYE-PRODUCTS 15170 Ray mer Sl. • Van Nuys , CA (213) 780-1768 Goodyear is Carroll Shelby .1 40. '" N . KR A e ....ER 14 ....,........ lE l!'lo' . C A • • a . 06 171 t4) 0 30 -5720 2 13-538 -2914