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/126052
would be readily denied by anyone who ever actually rode one, or by anyone who read a dyno test on it. Even the pictorial part of th e test would lead one to wonder what bike is being te sted. The largest picture on the page and two out of the three p ictures are of Hannah's factory OW 25. In the fut ur e, I think Mr. Gianatsis' talents should be reserved for y ou r April edition. RUSTY SPENCER West Covina, Calif. INSIDE USGP . •....•.•. •. ..•..6 Third time running for Dr. Wolsin k Speedway .•.... .•...•.•9 Loudon Nat'l. 10 Bak er doubles, Pearson upsets Novices , an d Baldwin gives 'em the shaft To each his own. Jim Gianatsis is an impartial, qualiF ied (former Nat ional M X circuit) rider who occasionally sends us his impressions and ex p eriences with various brands of motorcycles. But. Cycle News does not ex pect readers to agree with every thing he writes . . . Editor Michigan 125 Nat'l. ... .. 12 Hurricane 's No rt hern inc ursion Int'l dateline ..... : ..... 14 Island at a crossroads West ....•........ ....16 Dez .....•..••••...... 22 Hodaka 250 Test 24 Thunder.what ? North Results Central Calendar Cat Could have been worse 26 32 38 40 .' WA ON THE COVER : Cameraman: "Gerrit, how does it feel to be a hero? " Gerrit : " I think I'm going to be sick . .. " Photo by Chuck Burris. Inset : Steve Baker on the frin ges o f adhesio n : . Outright uptight Part one . As the owner of a 1976 Yamaha YZ250C I started reading, with much interest, your test in the June 15, ' 76 issue of Cycle News. My interest ended after two paragraphs and turned into outright rage by the end of the two page " test." It was highly unfair and must have been written by a jealous RM owner. Sh aro n Cla yton, Pub lishe r Ro bert L. No r V elt e , General ~ l anaJ::cr Edn a ~1 c w l o n . Secretary to Pub lish er AdvertiJing Linda Cla rk. Ad vcr t isinl{ Manager Chris Ko tbe t, Ad ver -tising AssiSlan t Editori~ Lane' Ca mpbe ll, Se nior Edit or, Juuy Weisel. Ed itor, Bo lli S cott, Ed ito r. Art and Production Bar bara Mizun o , Producti on Man ager: Pam Gr ant . Advertising Production Dire ctor & Assista nt Typographer ; Dennis Cox. Lab Te chnician ; M arion Hatashit a, T ypographer: Mike Klinger, Lab and Production Assist ant. F irst off, how can a racin g motorcycle such as the YZ250 be expected to perform even moderately well when the aircleaners ha ven't been cleaned after 20 hours of use. My o wn b ike in stone stock condition , with a stu ck piston ring cau sed by the use of an oil whic h .will remain nameless (it rh ymes with Ben-Gay ), was capab le of holeshots at local Expert ra ces in which I competed. More importantly it easil y pulls RM 250 Su zukis in de ep san d at tracks like Mary sville and .Hangtown. In its present condition, working piston ring and slight port work. I will gladl y race an y 250 Jim Gianatsis can co me up with. Last but not least, the huge silenCerthat Jim lamen ts about is something that is' lacking from most race bikes today. It does nothing to deter from the performance and the two pound weight dis advantage is more than offset b y the pleasing exhaust note that keeps the rider's ears and head in one piece during a ra ce. Thanks for listening and thanks for the great race co verage, but no thanks for your test and Jim Gianatsis. J. P. MORGEN San Francisco. Calif. P.S. Tell J im I hope to see him at the 125 and 500 Nationals this summer and if he asks nicely I might ju st let him ride "my " YZ. Part two After reading you r Yamaha YZ 250 "test," I fed it is my duty to co m m en t on su ch shoddy jo urn alism . Out o f 17 paragraphs , o n ly eigh t are even ab o ut th e motorcy cle being "tested." and two of the remaining eight only point up th e poor maintenance practices of Burgett and Hannah. The total qualifications of Mr. Gianatsis' co nclu sion s are based on a one da y observation of two fa ctory riders' semi-weekly practice session. If Mr. Gianatsis had spent any time with scientific test equipment he would have known his poor horsepower statements were ridiculous at best, and My wife crashed at the DRA Snake Chase bomb run and was off the course about 300 yards. If it hadn't been for Dick Milbern No. 1510 seeing her lying there, th ey would not have found her until after th e races. He stayed with her till medical help arrived. She received a broken back, but is doing very well in the hospital. Thank you Dick. PATRICKM.JONES DRA Ex. 871. Fullerton, Calif. Order in the pits Gary Van Voorhis' picture of the Harley-Davidson wrecking crew on the . cover of Issue 22. June 8, was terrific. In all th e Nationals I've been to they never seemed to pit together like a team should. Remember the Yamaha team of Ken Roberts. Gene Romero and Don Castro? Now that was a team ! They were really together. What the heck is wrong with Dick O'Brien . T he big boy (racing chief, so call ed) should m ake a team the team. DENNIS McGUIRE Hayward, Calif. Glad y ou lik ed the picture Dennis, but the ph otographer was Lane Campb ell rather 'than Van Voorhis .. . Ed itor Tribute to Ben Mattoon The Old timers Motorcycle Association _of Oregon ~st Ben Mattoon, of Portland, Oregon, in the Old Timers National at Wenatchee, Washington, Sunday, May 30. Ben fell and was hit by an oncoming bike. He never regained consciousness. Ben was a sportsman in every sense of the word. He rode to win ! Yet he never wanted to win a race so bad that he would intentionally hurt another rider. A true competitor and a racer first class. We miss Ben and hope th at th e of sportsmanship and ex am ple friendsh ip that he showed us will be remembered and practiced in the Oregon Oldtimers Asso ciation and make us better people for it. Circulation Rhe ba Smith. Man aK : Pam Green a nd cr Callie Sm ith, Assist ant s. Accounting G . ylenc Z3ion z , Man agcr :J ud y Klinger. Ken Lorin . Jeanne , Hammond. Assist an ts : Dave Au ld. Rhonda Van Oo-:"en . Cre di t Department. SeA'ice and ~upport ~ li chacI Co li Ius . Dennis w a rt s , J uan ita Blanton . recep tionist . We st P.O. Bo x 49 8 , Long Bea ch, CA 9080 I. (~ 13) 4 ~7 ·H 3 3 : L.A . Line 6 36 ·8 844. (Telex 6S6 ·330) East P.O . Bo x 8 0S , Tu cker . GA 30084. GA 30084. (404 ) 934·78S 0. (Telex 5 42 .777) Subscription On e vear seco n d class m ail $ 12.5 0 ; 2 ')'c.-ars : S«:'~on d class ma il. S2 2.50 ; 3 years , second cl ass m ai l. $ 30 .0 0 ; CHARLES IKE N Salem, Ore gon Absolutely not Sin c e L arry L an gle y i s stri ctl y a (4 ) fo ur-st ro ke m an and the Reverand is no longer with Larry 's club (U EA), co ul d you put this carto on in Vo ices on Larry's behalf? BILL ANDERSACH • Lon g Beach , Calif. CLASS. Ml1 MEMB!R Copy righ r Cycle News . Inc. 1976. Tr ade mar k rc.- gistereci U.S . Pat ent Of fice . All righ ts reserv ed. Pub lished week ly excep t th e first an d last wee k o f the calendar yea r uy Cycle .News, In c.• P.O. Box 49K . Lon g Beach. California. Second cla ss postage pai d a t Lon g Bea ch . CA. 9 0HOI. EJi to rial sto ries. carto o ns. pho tos . et c. arc welcome. Ad dr essed . sta mped envelope assures return of unpurch used edi torial ma tt er . Reprin ting in wh ole or par t o nly by permis sio n o f th e p ub lishers. Ad ve rt ising nates an d ci rcul ation inform ation will be sen t upon requ est . Sec S. R.l ) .S. Sorry, we aren 't allowed to run " God rides a f our stroke " ads in Voices. Amen to y ou too . . . Ed. "B y God , that is you in that desert start!" The views expressed in this column ana o th e r columns appearing on . the following pages are solely those of the authors and do no t necessarily reflect the official position of Cycle News West or Cycle News, Inc. Qualified readers wishing free and equal rebuttal space should contact lhe Editor.