Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

eSCUDERIA HUSQVARNA PENTON LAVERDA SALES . S ERVICE -. AND MAIL SPEO ALlSTS (213) 542·1695 T he Fin est Select ion of Parts and Accessories For Bike and Rider We Of fer Expert Repairs Port ing and Compet ition Tu ni ng R eceive $50 Worth of Parts and Accessories FREE When You B uy a N ew Hu sk y or Penton. This way to Xanadu We . spent the holidays lavishly, reckless of time if frugal with money, riding our rusty motorcycles around Baja in our dusty jean s. Every U.S. cinzen is a rich American o nce across the b order, th ough he b e as penniless as Bronson. A to rt illa and a tank of gas w ill ge t yo u where yo u're going in Baja , an d that 's plen ty. This year th e Motorcy cle Lady learned to ride sa nd . It 's a b uo yant, airborne feeling wh en yo u get up th e grit to ju st h ang off an d let th e motorcycle try to Oy. You don 't get as tired and you go faster. You use less gas. I tried to explain this with all my wit, but how she fin all y dis covered it in her way was. we 'd ridden 1 7 miles in the desert from camp. She, feet down, almost walking all the way. She was mad and tired. "I'm not going ano th er step," she panted, glaring at me . ''0 kay, let's take a break and he ad bac k." "I don 't think I can m ake it back, " A dirt road led to the Sea of Co rtez , a surface that was n ot hard to ride . It charmed us to the beach, where the Motorcycle Lady revived her spirit. The hard tidal sand beckoned us up the coast to the next arroyo , m u tt er ing (what would the Sierra Club say ?) an d motoring (whoopee! ) love lines on the seagull shore. At the river where we turned inland I -, would have waited for the Motorcycle Lad y to catch up before heading across the sandy dunes, but she was not too far behind and still lo o kin g fresh. No rest needed, we co vere d the sand in third and fourth speed. Glancing at her, riding on my minute, 1 knew how Professor Higgins felt. " By George, she's got it!" 1 uttered. Baja (literally "lower") California is a huge hunk of nature with a simple civilization like we had up here in the early century. Habitants only now aspire to owning shoes, perhaps a car, in their lifetime, much less a recreation vehicle. Yet the contrast of mixing mechanized droves from this side of the border goes almost un-noticed. We are creating a middle class in Mexico's Cali fo rn ia island , based on a recreatio n economy. Old ways change slowly in lovely Baja . We are mechanized C a s t enadas acknowledging the desert spirits on o ur journey to Ixtlan. Do n juan, the Mo torcycle Lad y's Ossa, is a cunning 'm ast er . He seduces you in to his desert and then takes the co ntro l away from you (or so y o u think) and gives it ba ck to yo u hi s way . The d esert h as no t changed , o nly your perception h as b een altered for all tim e. My Triumph Arth ur hasn't the wisdom o f Don juan y et , nor the rang e , but h e is a wil ling ac oly te to the sorcerer of the de sert. · .. ~. ' . - .... -, .-::::::: ;;. ';~ '" . / . 24 19 Artesia Blvd . Redondo Beach . California 90278 As lo ng as Baja rem ains an island fro m th e lana o f the dollar b ill, I will iove it th ere. On ce I saw an eagle perched on a cac tus clutching a snake , but th e darned bird fle w b efore I co uld ta ke a picture. The Az tec s would have built their city there if th ey 'd see n wh at I saw. I gave th an ks to th e gods of Do n juan th at it h appen ed to me and no t to them. THERE'S NO HOLDING HIM DOWN ON THE SALT... , Once more onward and , we hope, forward A t this tim e of y ear my frien ds in th e industry often as k each other, "how does it look for the comin g y ear? " Meaning, wh at d o you think the motorcycle sport and business is co m ing to? . l" I think 1975 will be a boom year for . the sport be cause there are m ore participants and promoters an d more co mpet itive motorcycles n ow than eve r before . Gate reven ue an d p urses increased faster than the cost of living last year an d will continue unab ated for several years to come. Our sport usually thrives during depressions. The new racing motorcycles are enough better th an the old to justify their higher prices . Whether very many are so ld or not depends a lot on the market for used racing bikes. 1 can't predict what will h appe n to the used bike market be cau se so much depends on dealers' reluctance to handle tr ade-ins and th e skill o f th e speed merchants at keeping old iron. c o mpeti tive . But if an avera ge race rid er can ge t a fair price for his old scooter, I think h e will trade up to th e better equipment on the de aler's floor-front this year. Also , I look for a stro ng uptick in transportation sales by summertime. We'l be seeing the effect of beginner rider safety schooling for the first time this year and a stronger demand for economical transport as wo rkers grapple with high er fuel prices and fewee, farther jobs. I think this may be the last year we 'll be able to get sensible two-wheel transportation so cheaply. The era of the und er- S 1,0 00 m o torcy cle is going the way of the u nder· S2 ,000 car. In sum , I think the mo to rcycle sp or t and business will h old onto wh at it 's got thro ugh 1975 and probably add to it a do ubl e-d igi t percentage.' Plus , wh o can say what surprises th e seasons have in sto re ? Maybe Chrysler will start m anufacturing motorcycles? Maybe gasoline ra tio ning? Maybe th e Sierra Club will see th e light ? Onl y President Ro ckefeller ca n say for sure! Charles Clayton ~onL'nOnCn')n,)ncn,)nononono~ f !!~THE~~MAHA t, r 'i f SPARK PLUG SALE t CHAMPION GOLD PLUGS REGULAR ~RI C E $2 .50 N.G .K. P LUGS (std] REG ULAR PR ICE 5 1.25 ~JJ ~ ~ SA LE PR ICE 5 1.75 SA LE PR ICE 5 .79 at T 0 ,.. 24020 Narbonne Ave ., Lo m ita , CA . 907 17. Phone (2 13) 534-2311 ~ ~O T""'f"(.(.''''~c.) ,..", t l.C' "'f;U re o r « Tf;U re o r eo 't£.(,l '(£ less sound more ground BOOTS Top Gear B uck le H19'" lace Cyc le Acme Cowboy Largest Selection $59 . w lue $44 .95 35 . value 25 . value 26.95 17 .95 Durango Harneu 27 . value 19 ,95 O~npost Logger Engineer Dress Zippers 60 . value 25 . value 25 . wlue 25. value 34 .95 17 .95 17 .95 13 .95 Work Shoes 20 . wlut! 12 .95 Add 52 .00 Mai l Order p lu s t ax Wor k Sho es Unlimited 12086 Broo kh urst . Garden Grove 714 -537 -653 5 1712 No . Tusti n Ave., O range 12522 West mi nst er at 17 th St. , Sa nta Ana Distributor f OT Vend ramini Bouts Expansion Chamber Cone Sets 2 0 Ga . st eel rolled an d seam sp ot we l d ed ready t o des ig n your own chamber. 3 Pc. sets , $12.0 0 . 4 Pc . sets, $14. 00. 5 Pc . sets, $16.00. Pos tpa id. Plus sates Tax. Q uantity di scou nts ava ilabl e. Send y o ur dimensions t o A lreD Sh eet Metal. 15209 Grevillea Ave. Dept . W. Lawndale, CA 9 0 2 6 0.2 1 3·6 7 5 · 529 0. 19

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