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/126003
cent, the ' National Hillclimb was
xpected to be won with a ti me in the
igh five-second bracket.
The major problem faced by riders
as keeping traction on the hill, which
ad a deep cover of loose soil and rock.
Keith Grooms of La urelville, Oh io ,
o k th e Formula B co mpetition on a
SA wi th a 6. 15·second ru n. Grooms is
e de fending AMA Grand Na ti o n al
illclirnb Champion in th e Formula B
lassificatio n. Formula A grand Natio nal
amp Te rry Kinzer of Pikeville,
e n tucky, ended t he day a
isappoin ting fifth.
•
Resul ts in Results Section.
ould
orton-Triumph
saved?
UA RT E, CALIFORNIA
e sign on the offi ce wall says
'Ban krupt Auction." Somebody
ut it up there in Norton-Villiersriumph-Top Gear headquarters
a gag. Nob ody takes it down.
his morning th e Wall Street
oum al an d th e Los Angeles
imes ran lon g stories declaring
VT a good example of wh at is wrong
it h British industry. Parliamen t vo ted
sink the jury-rigge d com pany rather
an co n ti n ue to float it on a sea of
elicit pounds.
The Vice-preside nt in charge of
arketing lay back in a side chair
lki ng with his chief aide. TItles do n't
ean much here anym ore. There is
othing to do but talk of old times in
the de sert, four-stroke single days.
Executives and clerks add up personal
fin an ces a t their desks. Everyone is
waiting for o ffi cial wo rd - a telegram?
A man in a bowler with a brolly? tellin g them their services are n o longer
re q uired.
Every one is aware than an er v,
co me to an en d .
There was no way to re scue the
British bike in du stry fro m fail ure. Seeds
of its death were planted decades ago by
in transigent labo r guilds, improvident
m anagement, and greedy inves tors. The
end was h as tened wh en its last Pres iden t
begge d th e govern men t to bail them
o ut. That m ove added po li tics to th e
m anageme nt problems the factories
al read y had.
There isn ' t much to salvage from the
wreckage. Tools and dies whi ch wo re
o u t long ago were still bei ng used to
produc e m otorcycles. Manufacture
w ould hav e to h ave been sh ifted to the
U.S. in any case, wh ich the workers
wo uld have pro tested.
What happens next will be , the
harpies of busine ss will p luck the corp se
of. NVT . T he p arent co mpan y,
Manganese Bro nze Holdings, and Top
Gear are profitable by themselves, and
might continue, or the whole works
migh t be auctioned off to the highest
bidder. NVT will default on its loans,
stockholders m igh t sue, a scap egoa t may
be 'in dicted .
But the demise of NVT sh o ul d cause
no more than an em o tional rip p le in the
m o torcycle industry. There co me s a
ti me wh en ca pi tali sm has to dump its
p rove n losers. NVT, despite the best
efforts of an enthusiast manageme nt,
lo st.
Hope Springs eternal
" The actio n of t he British
gove rn men t in refusing to give fu rther
finanacial suppo rt to No rt on ,villiers
Triumph Lt d . co uld tum out to b e a
bl essing in disguise ," stated U.S. Norton
Triumph Corporat ion Pres iden t, Ro ger
E . Stange , toda y, "p art icularl y if th is
m eans we can operate in the future
without govern me n t in terference .
" We have absolu tely n o intention,
however," co n tin ued Stange, Ut a go out
of busi ness . We're presently developi ng
coherent p lans for the res truct uri ng of
ou r m a nufact urin g an d marketing
p r o gr a m s which will ens ure no
in terruption in the sales and service of
Norton s and Triu mphs to our dealers
and customers."
•
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The N740
A Great Motocro" Tire with
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The N751
Looking for
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Supe r cor nering perfo r ma nce
0
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The N74 1
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The N753
T Q uo i't'! original equipment.
op
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Thi. is the fo rooos kno b by de '
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Here is the or igina l eq uipment ·
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All of these NA N KAN G Tires are approved fo r AMA racingl
Riders: See Your Beck/Arnley Dealer Soon.
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8ft5l Arn ley Corp
548 Broo d Hollow Rd
M~I ... , II~ . L!., NY 117
46
KK Motorcycle Supply Co.
431 Ecv n·."d Snee t
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3 130 E o ~t MorlO Street
Compt