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/125883
Dri ed Co ffee, lemonad e co ncentra te , and Marlb oro ciga re ttes. "They've got so me reall y great fru it he re , " in to nes Gene with a straigh t face as he eyes one of th e mo st inc redible pairs of me lo ns ever seen on earth. He 's quick to point out " Tve got a real dynamite girlfriend, Na ncy Heacox." lie shakes his head to one sid e a bit, and clu cks with his tongue . " Hoy, she's super:" Back in the car. "The old man getting wa sted is a drag. I'd kind of like to ra ce Friday night , but I'd hate to ra ce without him being there." The talk drifted from Powder Puff racers, both foxes and dogs - " Yeah , th~(the~p)aretheoneyou~th~k would be riding m otorcycles" - to vans - "Anymore th ese guys have so much stu ff bo lted o n a nd sq uirted on if a guy's go t a clean, st o ck van it lo oks neat be cause it's different" - to how hot it was running aro und all day - " I'rn hotter th an a 52 pist ol" - before we pulled up a t the apa rtmen t a nd co nc ern over Shell's condi tio n surfaced again " Boy , that 's rea lly something. He reall y blew his face up. " The telephone is a focal point in Gene's home life, and he owns a "Wat erg ate Spe ci al" a u t o m a t ic te lephone a nswe ri n g a nd recordin g tape ma chine so h e w on 't mi ss a ny ca lls. " Th ese th in gs are trick ," he says o f the electronic gadget . li e m ak es a lot o f p ho ne call s, referring to a long ski nn y p hone nu mb er /address bo ok, and get s just as many fo r himself and some for h is roo mmate, (wh o is in Indianapolis at another apartment th ey sha re), as wel l. UNo, th is is Burritto as in two T s, scrab bed leg and burned b utt," he tells one cal ler for J im m y who di dn' t recogni ze his voi ce. Ge ne is fr ien d ly to everyone o n th e other end of the mech a n ical talking m a chine, and people k no wing th at consta n tly call, wanting so m e t h in g. "Sometimes' get go of balls who as k m e 'Hey, remember me , I handed you th e ca tsup at a Ho ward Johnson's o n th e Pensy turnpike at 4 a. m , an d can yo u get me a pair of leathers at a discoun t?" Mome n ts afte r r e l at i n g th at information, Ge ne is pla yi ng bac k the taped ca lls that ca me in wh ile he was ou t. Two salesman have called , o ne wanting him to in vest in a restau ra n t and one wanting to sell him re al estate . "'11 be fiy ing down fo r O ntario ," say s - the sec o nd cal ler on the tape , "and you ca n either send the tickets or leave them at the tr ack." Burri tto is in credul ous. li e bac ks up the tape and listens once more , then turns a way in disgust . "What d oes he mean 'send th e tickets?' They jus t don 't know how it is. Later, as I gather up my assorted ju n k to leav e, Gene looks at my Bell Star . " Ho w co m e this face sh ield has two m e tal snaps o n each side? " "That o ne 's for tear-offs ,' , answ er. "Wow, the y 'r e pla sti c on the ones I'v e seen ." "Well. th is isn't a Bell shield." " Lo o ks like junk," sa ys Gene. , "Oh, it is. It crac ks and everything, but th e pl ace where I buy my sh ields doesn't carry Bell sh iel ds." Ro mero walks over to a cab in et stu ffed with jugs of A rmo r-all and other motorcycling paraphernalia an d pulls ou t a Bell shield. "Here , p u t th is o n." I ta ke off t he old shield and h e pu ts on the new one, He's that kind of guy. NEW FROM SPECIALIST IN MOTORCYCLE COMPETIT ION EQUIPMENT Penton J ackpine Chambers H A little poodle carrying an unopened bag of Fritos co rn chips in its mo u th wandered o ut the d o or of Gene's apartment. The sun was setting, th e "barbecue" starti ng. Insid e , Don Castro a nd Gene were battling it out in a putting duel on a roll -out artificial green with a n au tomati c golf ball ret urn mach ine a t the end. Don was winning, and Nancy was baking potatoes. When Dave Ald ana arrived with his date, ho t from running 100 practi ce miles on the new On ta rio course . the pu ttin g stopped and th e talk turned to business. '" tho ught Nixon's bike wou ld handl e, b ut it isn't that good. I don't see ho w he gets aro u nd," say s David. "Nixon's bike? Did you hear that. Bu rritto?" asks Do nn y. The ta lk tu rn s t o the course its elf, especially its slo w tu rn s. " That 's whe re the Yamahas will win, Gene. On the Suzu ki I've got to slip the clu tch in two tu rn s. ,. ·'H u m me r . Bu uuuuuuu urn mmm m e r ! O h, that 's terrible , David. " At thi s remar k , the insu lts st art fly in g. " Davi d goes th ro ugh a utom o bi les lik e m ost peopl e go throug h shoes ." " Yeah , Gene thin ks he's Parn ell i J o nes hal f the tim e, " "Oh, listen to this guy . lie 's the Santa An a Critic . Wri te th at down." " All yo u do is get fatter every winter. Fatter!" "You 're the Ro na Barret of th e M IA. Ha , ha , ha. Write th at d own. " Gene and Do n leav e to "dyno th e steaks" on the co m plex 's gas -fir ed ba rbecues. " Na nce " and David tal k about Gene 's co m m it men t to racing. "lie's the m ost d edic ated o f the Yam ah a Team , " says Nan cy . "Gen e sp ends more time at Shell's th a n an y body. He th inks ab ou t racing 24 hours a da y . " '" d on't like to th ink abo u t it al l th e t ime. That's why' do o t her th in gs li ke water ski an d sno w sk i. I try to get him to try it - all it will t ake is o nce and he 'll d o it bu t he won't go . lie's a fraid he 'll brea k a leg and won't b e ab le to race ." advises Dave. "He misses being in vo lve d, " Nan cy ad ds , "Yeah, once you've worked on y our m otorc ycles. yo u wan t to be involved." Ge ne 's bikes are all attended to b y T eam Ya maha. David 's date loo ks lost. T he steaks co m e bac k and th e nig h t gels loose . Ge ne Ro mero and frie nd s loo k no di ff erent than most a ny o n e wh e n the y par ty. Nancy keep s say ing "lie r e all y isn 't like th is a t all," a nd Ge ne keeps sayi ng " Do n 't pri nt t hat" or " Pri n t it like you see it, " depending on what he's do ing. The ta lk always re turns to racing, sometimes taking sid e trips, $65 ... ~ Competiti on Tested 1st in Class District 37 Desert Lt. wr, Ex, DIV. II July 28 A ug 18 Aug 25 Sept 8 Sept 15 July 8 ..0 o .... u o Doub le Crossers MC • Dean Modesett Dustmakers MC • Dean Modesett Dusters MC • Dean Modesett Stump Ju mpers MC • Dean Modesett Prospectors MC • Dean Mod esett D.R.A. California City 1st a .A. • Dean Modesett P.O . Box 49 8 4832 Eu reka Street Y o rba Lind a , California 926 86 (714) 5 28·122 6 BEAT THE RUSH FOR XMAS AND '75. DON'T WAIT FOR YOUR LEATHERS! It tak es time to mak e a good set of custo m leathers. They are one investment in style, safety and co mfo rt that you do n't want to rush. That's why no w is a good time to plan your leat hers for the 1975 season and get them on orde r. Write to " Leathers" ABC /BE LL Dept. C 9802 So uth Atl antic Ave, Sou th Gate, Ca. 90280 Send S3 .00 f or 256 co 10 rfu l p ag e ca talog w ith mo re t han 5500 it em s, ~on~ngnon,)ngnonon onononon f !!~TH,!£,MAl-fA r .' VENTED MOTO·X JERSEYS o 8 1L L WA LTERS VI KIN G Yama h. " MOLY" r f: ~ REG . PR ICE $10.95 REG . PRICE $1 2 .95 R EG . PR ICE $ 13.95 , SA L EPR ICE $ 7 .95 SA LE PR ICE $ 9 .95 SALE PR ICE $1 0. 95 t r. 0 f 6 1'," 'tl.O 1"£0 'ti;"'ttC) 1"£0 'ti;"'ttC) 1"1:(.> 1"£ 24020 Narbonne Ave., Lomita, CA. 90717, Phone (213) 534·231 1 ",,0 t'i;Ot'(,(.''t,c.) EULTIMATE IN I' RFORMANCE-HANDLING ~ . COMPETITIVE PRICES I ~ " 61 11 100th Co n t in u ed on page 42 C'J C\J Paulson 's sr. S.w. , T acoma, WA 984 99 206-588 -18 73 15