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/126033
fender an d mount makes an excellent vibration absorber to p reve nt cra cks. Sprocket bolts are replaced wi th longer ones; radiator overflows and catch b o t tles are fitted, lever ret urn springs are added, fork legs get reversed so the calipers trai l instead of le ad , th e kill button gets relocated from its stock mount so a rider can hit it without stre tc h ing, and stai nless steel brake lines replace the stock units fr o nt and rear. Those stainless lines don 't ma ke yo u go any fast er , but they are bullet-proof, they last race after rac e, an d they don't swell under pressure. La tely he 's be en ge tting them at " Mother' s" , a chopper sh op in Santa Ana whi ch turned out to h ave the odd sizes he needed when his • regul ar sup pli er didn 't. Rou ting the non-standard exhaust and rel ocating con tro ls per rider preference means lots of cut ting and welding on the frames, removing and adding mounts . Read and Romero prefer right-shift, while Ho ffman an d the other Califo rni an s prefer left. No ting th at none of these things are done (or expected) from the factory, I asked Don just how "pr oduction" the T Zs were, and h ow the tolerances were running. " The y 're very production " , he said, " Toler an ces are generally n o t to o bad, although we 've had a couple that had the cranks a ful l thousandth off on one sid e , and on e had ab out ten percent con tact on one gear pair in the transmission. We have to shim each gearbox different to get them rig h t ." On some of the late .on es, the cylinders are tigh t towards t he bottom, but rather than hone and rec hrom e them, Don prefers to relieve the bottoms of the pistons . "Unless you . do something wr o ng, there '5 never any reason to break a Yam aha piston " . He qu it trying accesso ry pistons in his Yamahas long ago . We happened to mention th at if the TZs were so standardized in production n ow, Yamah a could conc eivab ly detune th em , wire them fo r the st reet, an d produce an y number of them as production bikes . A genuine twinkle of mi sch ief came into Don 's eyes . "Yes, they co uld - an d they 'd sell every last one, too." Read's mono, however, is a bit of a different anim al. Yamaha sent over a copy of one of 'th eir European monoshock units, and Vesco 's shop modified a 400 MX un it t o match it. The bo t tom o f the tank had to be recontoured and the petCOCK relocated to clear the monoshock. The No . On e pipe's outer wall is severely bashed on one side to cle ar t he shock's rear movement. Romero 's bike has a Ves co swing arm, standard shocks. Hoffman 's still ha d t he stock sw ing arm. You can learn more in a couple hours I' at Don's shop than anywhere else connected with road racing. Vesco's " speed secrets" boil down to meticulous preparat ion, a few tricks he keeps up his sleeve , but mostly that concentration on ridea bility, and reli ability, and the provis ion fo r quick service if something does go wrong. In th is half dayDo n had been calm, quiet, friendly, totally unrattled, Bu t he 'd never st opp ed moving. He 'd poppe d out to get a haircut, returned to give a thread bare local ra cer a wasted chrome-bore TZ250 cyclinder an d ad vise him how to slee ve it so it can be re-used. " It 's no good to me - you migh t as well have it . . . " Pat Evans said of his boss, "If there's any th ing wrong with Don, it 's that he's The modified MX monoshock on Read's mount nestles into the wide TZ frame with surprising ease. too nice . Something m ight have to be done yesterday, but he 'll still stop and talk to anybody. He doesn't know how to be rude." Someone pokes his head in the shop an d hollers, " Hey Don, when , will the bikes b e ready ?" " Oh, abo u t next Friday , bu t what the heck , the race isn 't until Sunday. " Don't let him kid you. Don Vesco has repeatedly said of Daytona ' 76: " Roberts is the on e", but if Roberts doesn't win , what odds would you give th at so m eb o dy on a Ve sco -prepared TZ 7 50 will take his pl ace ? e Bob Hartley brazes on another pipe , hanger. Welded-on Skyway silencers on Rob Martin pipes are clean. sano, low restriction. and quiet. '7& CI RUFF COUNTRY SPECIAL An eco no m ical machine for the budget-minded who enjoy weekend playing in the desert, woods, or on mountain trails. CZ quality and re liab ilit y are emphasized with race bred features of prov~n sol idity and handling. Wherever you ride you 'll enjoy these features: • Lay down factory CZ air/oi l shocks • Wide ratio 5 speed gearbox • Polished alloy coffin tank • Mikuni carburetor • P. Petty unbreakable plastic fe nders • New style front hub w/Barurn knobs • Either hi or low pipe ava ilable and so many other features that we haven't room to mention them .. . ask your loca l dealer and when he gives you a rundow n, you'll ride out. 'RUF F COUNTRV"SPE !7 CI 0.P.M.250/400 MX & IH liThe fu ll fledged race mach ines that have carried more world champions I to victory than any other mach ine .. . updated with new features to baga in put CZ in its place of leadership . fu, 5Take a loo k at these : ' e Laydown air/oi l shocks with 7 ' in. of travel and air/oil front forks w ith 8 in. of travel eMikun i carburetor and Barum MX t ires. Preston Petty un breakable fenders (both front and rear). Highly po lished , beltdown, alloy coffin tank. Special fac tory chain tensioner :~nd all the suspension advances you've been look ing for . CZ for '76 is ready to ride and w in - stop in to see one today. .. they may se ll ' o ut tomorrow ! Dealers inquiries invitea. For more intormstion wri te: A ... ERICAM JAWA/CZ LTD. WEST, 11401 LAUREL PARK ROIO, ORIWER 15, COMPTON, CALIF '022' 17