Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

--~----------------- IINSIDE ~ E e Trans-AMA ••..••••.•.••6 DiStefano and Eierstedt headline Saddleback curtain-closer DeZ .........•........10 leller to the editorial management o f While we chased Ducks, they chased points Double bill --- Cycle Cycle World Dirt Bike Popular Cycling 12, 13 . Baj a de-Saddleback and HSMX ':"l"apu ps Local . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Ellis ...•.....•.. : ....20 Modern Cycle Road Rider St reet Chopper, Easyriders, Rider, etc. etc. Can-Am 's mainstay at ease North 22 Ellie ....•......... ...24 Trick specs t ha t wo r k Central .....•.•.....•.25 Results Monothumper Espanol 28 30 31 These Sp ani ards speak your language Calendar 32 ON THE FRONT PAGE: Larry Ro eseler is all in the air over winning 1975 No. One Desert Lightweight. Photo by Dale Brown. Dear Gentle men, 1 think we are all co nvi nc ed that motorcycle riding, both off- road and on, is here to sta y. But are we co nc ern ed that opportunities for growth are too few and far between? Th ere is a magnificent opportunity offered to us now and th rough 1976, but it will probably tak e all o f our combined communication resources to win it for the sport. 1 am referring to the Century Ranch, 2,750 acres between Los An geles and Santa Monica. Cafe racers ride past it on the way to the Rock Store. Some of us remember it as "Paramount Ranch, when it was an SCCA road race pl ace. Century Ranch is the property of the California St ate Parks & Recr eation Department an d they hav en ' t decided yet wh at to do with it. The Sierra Club naturally wants it to be given "State Park" clas sificat io n . According t o California law, that would mean we cou ldn't even us e .a comer of the parking lot fo r a ro ad run checkpoint, much less do any dirt riding on th e 2,7 50 acres. Th ey 've flooded the state P&R Dire ctor's office wtih letters demanding park status for Century Ran ch . Plans are being dr awn up now by I andsc ap e a rc h i tec t G eorge Rackelmann that will serve as a basis for public hearings on th e fu t ure use of Century Ranch and ano th er larg e parc el o f prop erty next to it, that the st ate recently acquired fro m Bob Hope (not Hopetown), I think we would all like to see motorcycle recreat io n , both It S har on Clay to n , Pu bl isher Robert 1... Nor Veli e. General Man ager Edn a xtewton. Secretary to Publisher, Ad vert ising Linda Clark. Adve rti sin g Manager . Chris Kolbet , Advertising Assist ant. Editorial Charles Clayto n, Editor-in-Ch ief'; Lan e Campbell , Seni or Editor, Bolli Scott Edi tor & Da le Brown , Ass't. Ed ito r. Art and Production Ca th erine Lampton, Art Dire ct or ; Barburu Mizu n o , Ad vertising Art Dire ctor: Dennis Cox, Lab Tech nician; Mari on Hat ashlt a, Typographer. road and dirt, included in those plans. Century Ranch as a State Recreation Area would go a long wa y toward solving the land use problems we've been muddling over here in the LA area. It is a close-in lo cation that favors both road and dirt riders. It has trad itionally been used for recreation-like purposes (i.e . moviemaking, roadracing, fairs) and most importantly, the funding is alrea dy in place, than ks to the State ORV registration program which was providentially established t hree years ago, plus the recently enacted off-road gas tax rebate to ORV recreation, and a $1.5 million windfall from th e State Beach, Park, Recreational and Historical Facilities Bond Act of 1974. Through this ac t a one-time commitment of $1.5 million has been made for the acquisition and development of areas and facil ities fo r ORV use . I hope yo u 11 agre e that an opportunity like th at is worth working for, and I hope that you and yo ur publicat ions will all help the cas e in wh atever way your individual imaginations concoct. The first thing I would like to ask you each to do, as individuals and resident taxpa yers in th e greater Los Angeles area, is wr it e a pe rsonal letter to Mr. Herbert Rhodes, Director of Parks and Recreation, Box 2390, Sacramento, CA 95 811 and ask him to recom m en d R ecreat ion A rea classification for Cen tury Ranch. Please do that, at least. Then, if yo u wan t to help your readers secure Century Ranch for growth within th e sport, investigate th e opportunity in your own fashion, and urge the readers nationwid e to put pressure on th e state of California to " let it start here." If yo u are worried about yo ur lo ng lead-times, the hearings to debate Par k or Recreation status for Century Ran ch have not been scheduled yet, and apparently won 't take place until July , 1976. That should give you plenty of time . Please be advised, however, that winning Century Ranch 's 2,750 acres for the cause will not be quick or easy. Expect it to take years. Even then, there is nothing to prevent hikers, etc. from using a State Recreation Area. Our opponents are formidable and better organized for this game . which I guess you can call " p ower of the pressure. I t But we 've got millions of readers, collectively, so me o f wh o m may realize that Century Ranch is not just a local issue . We've go t a powerful mo torcycle press, if you choose to us e it . I don't know if Cycle News can swing it alone ; that is wh y I am asking. on behalf of all the motorcyclists in America , for yo u-all's help. For mo re information write for a co py o f "The Off-Road Vehicle - A Study Report," June, 1975 from t he Dept. of Parks & Recreation, Resources Agency , Box 2390, Sacramento, CA 95811. Thanks for anything you can do. Sincerely, Charles Clayton Preside nt , CN, Inc. Circulat ion Rh cb a Sm ith , Man ager ; Pam H ob b s and J an ct Phelan. Assist ants. Ga y len e Zaionz, Man age r ; Jud y Fou ts. :\Iike Klinger, J eanne Ham mon d . Assista n ts ; Tom Hun ter , Rh onda Van Do ren, Credi t De par tment. Services & Support Bill Run yan , To m Luehmann . Juan ita Blanton, re ception ist . West P.O . lIo x 49 8 . Long Beach . CA 9080 1. (2 13) 427-7433: LA. Line 636-8844. (Telex 656.33 0) East P.O . Ilo x 8 05. T uc ker. G A 300X4 . (404) 934·7850. (T e le x 542-777 ) Subsc ript ion One yea r, second class mail $ 12 .5 0; :! years, second class ma il. $ 22.5 0: 3 ye ars, secon d c lass mail, $ 30.00: Single co py pr ice , 5 0 ce n ts. Copyright Cyc le News. In c. 19 7 5. Trade mark registe red U.S. Patent Offi ce . All righ ts rese rved. Pu blis hed wee kly excep t the first and las t week of the c alen da r year by Cycle News, Inc.• P.O. Box 498, Lo n g Beach, California. Second cl ass postage p aid at Lon g Bea ch . CA . 90~ O I , Ed itorial sto ries, car to on s, ph ot os , et c. are welco me. Addressed. stamped en velope assu res return of un purch ased ed itorial matte r, Rep rinting in whol e or part onl y b y pe rm issio n of the p ub lishers. Adve rtising ra tes and cir cu lat ion in fo rma tio n will be sen t upon request. See S.R .U .S . 4 You too can be Number 1 19 76 0-37 end ur o rul es have changed. In the bes t in teres t of fai r the Competition c o m pe t i t i o n , Committee is introducing the 0-200cc class for lightweight m ach in es. Next year riders will eam points toward two number on e plates. If you ha ve a bi ke smaller than 200cc y ou won't have to compet e against the 250s and 400s. If yo ur bike is more than 200cc yo u will ride in the heavyweight class , 200cc and up . Rebuild that 175 Zzy zx and cleanup your circular slide rules, th e day of th e lightweight has returned. NAT SCIACQUA D-37 Enduro Steward Montrose, Calif. Where were you? The Rand Open Area cleanup was a fan tas tic success if you co ns ide r that only about 350 men, women and children did it all. Less than half the peopl e in a ttend a n ee were motorcyclists. What happened to all the co nc erned desert loving bikers? Only half of the planned wo rk area was covered because of the ligh t turnout. The DRA held a race in an adjace nt area on the same weekend. Man y would-be cleanup participants wande red in to their pits and had difficulty locating th e cleanup camp. Why was an y organizati o n ho lding an even t on th at weekend? 111 bet there were more race entries th an cleanup participants. I 'm a DRA member and I lo ve riding the de sert. This was a golden opportunit y to show how much we want the desert left open and our concern o f its well being. We blew it. I'm disappointed that the D RA didn't more fully support this even t. The article in Cy cle News made it sound like there were hordes o f DRA members helping out. Bull! I didn't see more than three or four DRA numbers all da y long, in or out of camp . But seriously Wha t's happened to you gu ys? I remember when my mail box had more dents than a Sachs front fender from fighting over who's going to ge t the Cycle News first. Your publication would keep me laughing all the way through a third gear replacement in a Hodaka. You've stil l got my business and my attention, all I need is something to perk me up after burning up my third Motoplat. We all like your great race cove rage and technical stuff. but it 's hard to fmd good cycle humor lik e yo u used to have. Is th e party over? DEAN POTTS Upland, Calif. GERALD W. WINDERS Rowland Heights, Calif. The part y 's no t over while any of us draw breath , but when y ou're up to your ass in alligators, you te nd to f orget you came to drain the swamp. If we can bury th e desert land use issue, helm et laws, emiss ion standards and out-of-control gouem m en t, we ma yb e can lighten up and have more fun . Ju st think how much ex tra room we 'd have in the book if th ese problems were laid to rest . . . . Editor The Rand Cleanup was scheduled for Saturday, No vember I. Sunday was left open for fu n and game s. Th e DRA race in qu estio n was held on Sunday , N ovember 2, th ereby eliminating any co nflic t with th e cleanup. It would have been great to see all the riders entered in th e I'lI CC on Sunday come out a day early and lend a helping hand . • . Ed itor The views ex pressed in this colu m n and o.th e r columns app earing on the following pages are solely those of th e authors and do no t ne cessarily reflect the official position of Cycle Ne ws West or Cycle New s, Inc. Q!lalified readers wishing fr ee and equal rebuttal space should contact the Ed ito r.

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