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/125888
MIC gives dealer associations go-ahead NOVEMBER 13, 1974 The Mo tor cycle Industry Council (MIC) acceded to the wishes of its dealer members to have an association of their own. Early in its hist ory the MIC created a class of Dealer Members, which has grown to 3,000 individuals organized into 49 accredited state dealer organizations. Has anybody seen "AMA News" lately? Th e mo to-association-monthly really looks good ... excellent p ict ures an d something for everyone. It may no t break even, but money isn't everything. Pat Russell , the L.A. City counc it-ladv, has taken a lo t of flack from the an ti-cycle types fo r favoring a motorcycle rid ing park in Playa Del Rey . They may have changed her m ind. The proposed area is between Pershing Drive and Vista Del Mar so uth of Dockweiler State Park. Check it out and th en write a letter to Pat Ru ssell , clo City Hall, Los Angeles if you'd like to have the ro lling hills near the L.A. airport for a green sti cky park. MIA has established a Medical Director to look out for safety and first aid training in 1975. Dr. Norman McSwain, medical director for the Sports Car Club of America will head it up. In 1975, racers ' AMA medical card. will carry a microfilm copy of their entire medical history (Dick Mann's will probably require two pages). Doctors and other medical personnel in terested in participating should contact the AMA. The AMA has declared Indi an a . commuters Ro lla Adams an d Harry Gaunt U.S . Champion s, based on their performance in th e International Sidecar Motocross Challenge . They came out t ied w ith California 's BelllRidyard on points, but got the nod on their bes t finis h , fifth at Ravenna, Oh io. TIlE RUMOR MILL: Suzuki team for 1975 : Sheene, Nixon, Aldana - Honda to road race a two-stroke triple next year - Axtell to tune for Romero in dirt track - Tim Witham to tune Roberts' tracker - Cosworth Norton riderless in U.S. as yet - Nixon dickering for a Harley 250 dirt tracker - Barkfeather to campaign Lambretta Monoshock, if they can get it homologated in time. Got y o ur C.O.R.V.A. T·sh irt and beer coolers yet? Honda's XL350 engine, punched to 410cc, is proving out as a potent four-stroke MX unit - has anybody done a cafe version? You can't keep hoarding Gold Star parts forever. Fifteen top Northwest pros will be traveling 10 Southern Cal ifornia for the December 8 CMC 51500 Carlsbad motocross. Now, if it rains ... . RIPPED OFF: A YZ 360 Monoshocker from Placerville MX November 3, Engine No. 484·00035 . Call (4 15) 456-0335 or your nearest CHP office. Reward $1 00 for recovery. 2 There are a lmost 255 million acr es o f BLM land be ing considered for Now MIC has fulfilled its fu nction of helping get the dealers o rga nized for the good of motorcycling in the U.S. and have released the dealers organizations fro m MIC's apron strings. MIC will rebate o n a pro rata basis dues advance paid to t he Ind ustry Co uncil by dealer memb ers and resolved to coopera te wh er ever poss ible wi th the dealer s ' ow n organizations. Not all dealer-me mbers were co nsulted about the MIC action, but it seems clear that a majorit y will pre fer to have their state associations co nduc t local affairs without paying d ues to, o r getting interference fro m MIC headquarters in Washington, D.C. Certainly the interests of th e o rgan ized dealers will best be served if they are not subservient to the needs of their major suppliers, and motorcycling will be better served by independent dealer organizations working in cooperation with MIC. in the wilderness classification continental U.S., of which 83 m illion may eventually be added to the existing 11 mill ion acres, accord ing to forest analyst R.M. Fredsall, Portland, Oregon. His analysis of the situation is ava ilable by wr iting him at 1500 Yeon Bu ilding, Portland, Oregon 97204. "Old Indians never die,", mainly because Sam Pierce keeps supplying parts for the "Springfield stovebol ts ," He 's also got original repair manuals, parts lists, riders manuals , etc. at 119 E. Huntington Drive, Monrovia, California 91016 . Give Sammy a call at (213) 358·8619 and hear him say. "Harley-Davidson, made of tin, ride 'em out and push 'em in. " It 's a landmark of sorts. The people of th is country , through their Congressional representatives, finally got sufficiently fed up to repeal a Federal safe ty standard - the one that requires seat be lt inte rlocks. It officially went out the window October 29. The Baja AII·Bike slated fo r January 26, 1975 will have a Powder Puff class and Champion Spark Plug contingencies of $150 for class winners and $500 for ove rall, according to BRA honcho Bill Martin. Look fo r the ad s her e soo n. Clover Field Motorcycle Park is permanently closed, according to the owners Mr. and Mrs. Brown . Dec reasing rider and spe ctator revenues are to blame . How come no District 37 clubs a re throwing trophy presentations? The Rovers M.C. say they are read y for one. MIC racing news and information will broadcast Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:10 p .m. and 9:10 p.m, for six and one-half minutes over Orange 106 FM. That's 106.3 on the FM dial if yo u live in Orange County. California. 1974 was the 21st year of t he AMA Grand National Championsh ip se ries. Some 390,000 spectators attend ed for a record average of 17,000 per event, up slightly from 1973 figu re s. A nylon motocross jersey makes a fine emergency tow-rope. Tie one sleeve to the rear of the tow-er, wrap the other sleeve around the center of the handlebar cr osspiece of. the tow-ee and ho ld it with one hand for quick release. The shirt stretches and contracts to take up slack smoothly. and it won't tear if it's made by ~Iotion Sports. Motorcycle publications are hard put to equal some of the motorcycle factories in design innovations, but Cycle News has a new thing we think you'll like. Look for it December 20th at your mlc dealer's. It will cost a buck and you 'll want two - one to keep and one to sell later as a collector's ite m. For so me good dirt riding this lime of year, try the dirt dunes and sand washes north of Tecopa, California, 45·miIes north of Baker on Hwy. 127. Then jump in the free mineral spring baths to wash off thc dus t in natural hot water. Ahhh! A Bultaco p it too tsi e sh o uld look as good in t he gallery as her hero does on the track. These "one size fits all" halters come in four spiff y colors: powder blu e , Kelly green , maroon and wh ite. Guaranteed to look extra neat when we t, f rom Miu ra Products at your Bultaco dealer . OOPS! Cycle Guide's not number th ree moto-monthly as Papa thought - Dirt Bike is, they say . Maybe we were premature? Latest European dream engine is a 750cc twin-cam four being (slowly) built by Austrian engineer Michael Schafleitner. So far, the engine is "just a hobby," as he's doing a booming business in six-speed gearbox conversions. Weslake has decided to sell replicas of its ei~t·valve twin in Europe, and hopes to get the speedway engine into limi ted production by March , 1975. English silly-season has started in earnest. Wor ld ' Champion Phil Read is flyi ng to J apan to ta lk to an unnamed factory, after holding off on a final decisio n wh ether to re tu rn to MV. Barton Engineering, an English firm, is working on a water-cooled Suzuki 350cc Three, still looking to build the privateer rid e to beat the Yamahas. The water at Puyallup carried superfine wet sand into everything. Rick Burgett's fo rks were so packed up by the end of the second moto the crew had to pound on them to get them to move. Cycle News East staffer Charles Morey won first prize in the black & white sports category of the FIM photo judging . Americans pla ced one-two-three in the judging, a first on all co un ts . Monday, November 18 has come and gone . Know what that means? Tha means Pap a's going to be nice and as ou r list o f clubs to PLEASE get thei Club Guide response cards back to u next week. We miss you. Rich Eierstedt required first aid for eyes packed with fine sand at the Puyallu Trans-AMA. Hope he's OK, that grit ' nasty enough to do pe rmanent dam age OK, wh iners , they've asked us - the U.S. Forest Service has asked for publi " d esires and ideas" on off· road vehicle use in the San Bernardino National Forest. Write Forest Supervisor, 144 N. Mou ntain View Ave., San Bernardino, California 92408 before March 1,1975. Better yet, do it now. If you didn' write, don't bitch. Three dates are set for the American Indoor Championship Series by AMA and additions are possible. Each rac will carry a $3 .000 purse and contribut $1,000 toward a point fund. Opene will be January 17. 19 75 at Cobo Ha l in Detroit, then January 25 at Indian State Fairgro unds and February l Oa Omni Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. AI on concrete, of curse, ArJlA is looking for motocross manager, following dismissal of Dave Welsh last week. We didn't hear o f any giant rip o ffs a Puyallup this year. Must have be e raining too hard. Bruce Baron has been given Nationa MX number 13 for 1975.