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/125885
Recommended reading from Cycle News Products ' ORDER THESE BOOKS' Motorcycle tuning for perfonnance How to Win Motocross "Uo yo u work ou t regularly , in a gy ln. o r r unni ng?" "Norm al ly, no , d uring the winter 1 stay b usy p lus p lay ing a few games of ha nd ball or tenn is a week. But th is year 1 have a specific objec tive ... to get rea dy . . ." lie looks d own at the plas tered leg. " Lo tt a th er apy there, " I remember from my wast ed kn ees . Gar y nods serio usly. You can sec he isn 't really looking forward to it a nd y ou can sec just as surely !.Ie will pursu e it until he is back to 100% alpin. " I do n't like to go o ut there a nd race when you're h u rt . Mo st of the tim e you're just goi ng to hurt yourself worse and p ro bably no t do much any how." 1 poke aro u nd in Gary's traveling van trying to pick up so me ideas on bu ilding a co m fo rtab le be d while retaini ng th e space fo r two o r three bikes. The internal mod ificatio ns are simple. di rect, and e ntirely functio nal. No fringe , no frills, no fancy paint job. The bike racks are built -in precisely rig ht and seem much stro nger than necessary. There is a space built for maybe 12 o r 15 tires a nd a roll-out toolbox under the bed. A yellow Sting Ray 3 ~ 0 sits in fro nt of the van. It will be qu it e a while before Gary can drive it again. lie talks about selling it. Th eir littl e boy , Dave , gets up from his nap a nd Gary Scott explains to me who reall y ru ns th e Sco tt h ouseh ol d: Dave , o f co urse. It's clear that this so n is much lo ved and a littl e b it indulged. li e is fascinated by my big d og a nd the smo ke co m ing o u t o f m y pipe and I ca n tell th at a ny bo dy offering this m a ny new diversio ns is welcome d as far as he's co ncerned. Gary never s to p s 'sm iling wh en Dave is a round excep t whe n he tries wi th mo c k seriousness to discipl ine him. 'II want ed to raise him to be a to ughie," grins Gary , "and no w ir's backfired . li e's plenty tough eno ug h bu t now you can't spank h im ; t hat doesn't work. Ru n n ing out o f ideas , I ha ve to brib e h im . You know: ' Be a good boy and I'll give yo u a cookie. " Gary suggests a Mex ican restaurant when I m en ti on dinner, a p lace where he knows the food is good. A t least, it was two years ago . Donna changes clothes, Dave puts his shoes and a sweater o n, I was h my hands . a nd Ga ry pu ts several pounds of cast up on the engine co mpartment of the van as we head off early so we Tl hea t the crowd. Sure we wi ll. The p lace is packed a nd fo r some reaso n. as we wal k in to Taxco "Real Mexican Food " the wh ol e place es quiet a nd every bo dy turns to lo ok t Gary on his crutches, " Go d . I felt lik e jumping up in th e air and go ing 'Yahoo ' or so m e th ing," he says as we sit a t t he last avai lable table. Gary orders a n all-bee f burrit o which turns o ut to be mon strous when it ives, alon g wi th so me rice . We mess ound in th e gua ca mole a nd Dave .learly likes th e chips an d th e gooey onsistcncy of the m ashed avocadoes, Donna h as a n e nchilada whil e th e igman o f rep orter s m an age s to st uff o wn a to sr ada, a cheese enc hilada, a sur rito, and mo st o f the guaca mole sefore ge tt ing to the bean s and rice . U\Vith Mexi can food. we should have Icx ican beer," Gary anno unces. lie ook th e word s right o ut of m y m outh so the harried waitress brings us some Carta Blan ca. Yum , y u m , slurp, ea t, munch . Dave d ec ides h e wants to stand up so he ca n better see and p oint o ut things of interest in th e ro om t o us. Gary moves his cru tc h es so tha t one of th os e o lder lad ies th at seem to inhabi t every Southern Cal if ornia su b u rb ca n m o ve into the next booth. You've seen her before. She is wearing a sligh t ly o u t-of-sty le p ants sui t wh ich barel y fits her, has blue-rins ed gray ha ir waved j us t so , a nd thick ha rle quin glasses wit h rhinestones in the corners. Sh e sits fo r ma y be 15 minutes swiveling her head owlish ly from t he hairy , bearded writer smearing enchilada sauce allover h is face to the nice family with th e you ng m an in a full leg cas t. A nice you ng family who actually seems to be en joying each other rather than barely mu ting the snarls and hopeless. end-of-day looks exchanged between the other early eaters. Finally, she turns to Gary all solicitous-like and asks, "How did you hurt your leg?" li e doesn't hesita te a se cond, just says , "I was riding my motorcycle and ran into a post." She goes tsk, tsk sha k ing her head, "Those motorcycles . . . " BU I Gary smiles rig ht on, "No , it's that post. It d idn't m ove. " I nearly gag trying to keep from laug hi ng. She tri ps over his crutches again on the way out. At ho m e again, we tal k about kids, families, brothe rs , a nd ho w we 'd prefer to define those re lationships. Dave want s to read to me bu t a t tw o -and-a-hal f, hi s vocab u lary is p re tt y small. Ga ry wa nts to wa tch TV. I promise to meet hi m at Ascot before th e Na t io nal . lI al f-m ile, and get up to make my goodbyes. "O K. I'll be up in the bo x beside th e a n nou ncer 's boo th. A bou t seven. We 'll watch the hea ts." They have just finished q ua lifying wh en 1 ge t there . Gary sits alo ne in hi s yellow "Goodyear" jacke t in the pressbox, He informs me that lI arley rider Rex Beauchamp has aiready set fast time. People co rning in and out of the press-announcing stand all smile at Gary and ask how he is. Everybody looks at me suspiciousl y, undecided whether they should try to throw me out or not. When ever Gary re plies. " p re t ty good. " or "fine. " to the inquiries about his health, I grin along stupidly and so metimes nod m y head like I'm the re to co nfi rm how good he Ieels, Actually he's a lillie concerned because his " tempo rary" cast now see ms to be o n th er e perman en tl y a nd has gone so ft on the boll o m an d he ca n ' t put any weigh t o n h is leg o r it swe lls up painfull y. "I 'm supposed to go down there an d sta nd arou nd with th e rid er s." Gar y says ru efully. "I'm not too happ y ab out everybody seeing m e in this cast an d on cru tc hes." But he ge ts u p and go es down to the pits where, a f tc r a while, Ro xy Ro ckwo od an nounces all th e past Ascot winner s the re tonight. Fo u r o f t he m : Gar y, AI Gunt er , T om Ro ck wood , an d Samm y Tan ne r , are no t in leat her s. They 're not racing. Ro xy co mes on wi th a b arrelful of anecdotal stat istics as each rider is announced. Gary's ova tio n is bigger tha n anyo ne else's ... except fo r Kenn y Roberts! Continu ed 011 page 42 Tells you every· t hi ng taught in Gary Ba ile y 's racin g schools. A n sw er s all t he qu est io ns a bout eq ui pment, start s, corne rs a nd rough st uff, whoops a nd downh ills, mud and pass ing , a nd ex pe r t t r icks. A confidence-bu ilder. great $6 17 6 The Boonie Book New, second edi tion ex p lains how to ride the dirt, make your bike work for you , tri c ks of maintenance, safety and wha t to do for many happy tankfu ls of trail rid ing joy. Cov ers $ 6 everythi ng ex cept ecology. up -to -da te pages, over 300 ilIustrations showing how to get the max im u m speed, torque an d gearing out o f your prese nt setu p . Also advice on trick mod ifications. This book plus your owner's man-$ 6 ua l is all you ne ed to go fast. ~ l..'"') ... C.J ...0 E IlJ > o Z How to ride Observed Trials Read this book a nd refer t o it for everything needed to excel and have fun in the " rid e anywhere" spo rt of trials. Rid ing t echniques, bike modificatio ns, o rgani zing trials ' $ 6 rules, c harts, everyth ing . Absol~tely the finest book. on off-road motorcycl e riding t echn iq u es ever o ff e red. Bill Brokaw, Expe rt rider, tells how to ride the ha rd stuff, easy. Illustrated , latest edition. Escape by Trail Bike • only $3.75 HANGUP-GUARANTEED CAFE HONDA wi th Holly wood H ills signs in back gro u nd . 1Y. x 2', full color, matte fini sh . Mail ed in t u be. $2.75 Mail order is fun . Send check or money order to Cyc le News Prod uc t s, Bo x 49 8 , Lo ng Beac h, CA 90801 Please rush m e t he items I have ch ecked below . I am e ncl o sin g a c heck o r m o ney order for t otal price plus 50 cents shi p ping. (Cali fornia resident s please ad d 6% sales tax .] [ 1 Ho w to Win Motocross _ [ I Mo torcycle tun ing fo r per fo rma nce I _ [ J The Boonie Book [ J How to rid e Observed T ria ls [ J Escape by Trail Bike 3.75 [ J Cafe Honda poster Name 56.00 6.00 6.00 6.00 2.75 _ ~ Address Cit y _ State Zip_ - r _ Allow 3 weeks for delivery. - ADDR ESS: - Cy cle News Products, Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801 37