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/126071
BY PAPA WEALEY The SuperBowl telecast, previously announced and then postponed, will be . ea rried on CBS network TV October 30. Check local listings for time and channel. Well, here it is election time - and no Giant Elect io n issue of Cycle News? [Booo, Sss!) Would you believe there are no giant issues? Unlike the earlier primaries, none of our correspondents have alerted us to crucial local contests. Is that because the bad guys won on both sides of the primary? Could be : . . Correction to the above - t he re are two issues at the Presidential level which candidate will spend us into ob livion fastest, and " t ru st in government " . . Trouble is, none of us trusts t he gove rnment beyond next week; and that's not likely to change w ith either party at the helm. What are the issues f rom the biker's standpoint? Cloudy. CARTER/MONDALE: Though their kids have dabbed in bikes, their Dads are not necessarily ou r . buddies. California cam paign coordinator Terry O'Connell has said Carter tends to be pro-helmet law, favors multiple land use (a good sign), and has not come down either way on motorcycle emission controls. Carter says he wants t o cut the cost of government, but he also wants gove rnment to do more. His zero -base budgeting policy may be a goo d thing if he can make it happen, an d if a strong motorcycle lobby can use budget hearings to put th e lid on excessive regulation. But there's no strong motorcycle lobby, is there? FORD/DOLE: All jokes about clumsiness aside, Ford's lack of inspired leadership may have already played into the motorcyclist's hands; to the extent that we've been chipping away at the vast bureaucracy from the bottom while they flounder without d irection at the top. You can 't .say he 's done anything br illiant for or aga inst us - except continue most Nixon pol icies , including E.O. 11644. He's least popular among our youngest and most liberal readers; though by the same token, if somebody could convince him that motorcycles were good for , bu siness , our world would come up roses. His running mate Dole voted against the he lme t law repealer, later explained he 'd thought he was votin g on something else. Gee , that's OK , Bob; some Senators don't vote at all • . . LIBERTARIANS: Like motorcyclists, thes folks are so independent-minded, they find it nearly impossible to get organized. Yet, of all American parties, thcy're the only one fully committed to cutting the guts out of Big Government and letting people run their own lives. Their Presidential candidate, Roger McBryde, is a guy who apparently comes on strong face-to-face, but has scant med ia ·presence and even scarcer bucks to get o n the tube in the first place. A genuin e und erdo g. If you're thou ro ughly disgusted with the Republocrats, a Libertaria n vote will at least guarantee th ese guys a spot on the ballot next time. ? ... In California, you 'ca n generally expect Conservative/Republican candidates to be on our side in the desert (though not always 100%). Try, in these last days be fore the election, to attend one of t hei r public appearances and che ck t hem out. SCOOP: While Harley·Davidson's Rocket Rex Staten was figh t ing the m ud at Mid-Dh io's Valvoline Trans-AMA this soon-to-bereleased 19n H-D 250cc MXer sat outside the factory 's truck in p lain view. Not a very bright picture, is it? Whatever; study the issues, vote your conscience, but ab ove all VOTE! Ride yo ur bike and/or carry your helmet to the polling place and be visible as a b iker/voter. In this year of ho-hum candidates, that alone m ight be the best th ing to leave y our ripple in the tide of history. Mendocino Nat'l. Forest's la nd use draft plan includes a (get t his) turkey . preserve. But the k icker is - they don't have enough native turkeys to populate t he area, so they are goi ng to have to import some. All you SoCal turkeys; now's your chance - the rid ing area you always wanted! Larry Huffman 's golden tones will be carried by a special sound system, to be installed on a one-shot basis for the Saddleback Trans-AMA by Stadium Sports. Hang on to your ears. SCORE says (even though the drawing's pas t) that entries are still op en fo r an Op en-disp lacem ent Over-38 motorcycle class in the coming Baja 100 . Km. Call (213) 999-2 250 for de ta ils. Bad vibes still corning fro m govern me nt, according to MTA's news-sheet ; including "Non-degradation" provisions in Californ ia's CHP exhaust certification requirements, 85-m ph speedometers on bikes by 1980 if the DOTties have their way, and sealed engine emission control systems with t ough anti-tampering laws if the EPA has its way. Roll over," George Orwell. W/ERA announced the arrangement of a $5lk1eductible $10,000 D & D. $10,000 medical insurance policy fo r member-racers; premium paid on a per-race ba sis by a $2 to $3 addit ion to each rider or mechanic's entry . Call National HQ (215) 732-2128 for details. Kawasaki has picked up sponso rsh ip of. the November 21 Sean Point Tran s-AMA. According to the latest California "Registration Restricted" list on motorcycles, you can get a Green Stickie for your Munch Mammut, but not a street license. See ya' on the traiL . . Models wh ich now can be Green-5tickie-registered (Off Highway , 86 lib (A) noise limit ) wit h appropriate silencing kit are the Can-Am O/R Tn'Ts, all KTMs, all Ossas , and Yamaha's MX250/400B. We'll do a mo re complete updated list later. " The DRA Dura-Lube Grand Prix scheduled for Indian Dunes on into a Halloween is developing expert mo tocross versus desert showdown . Already signed up for th e $600 purse event a re motocrossers Rich Thorwaldson, the Col e brothers, John lIateley, Marty Moates and Dave Hau gh. Flying the desert banner are Bob Balentine, To m and Cordis Brooks, Morgan Mallocco, and Bryan Brecker. And- may the best man - er, ge ological preference - win, .. The Cycle World Trans-AMA at Saddleback Park on Nov.7 has a firm contr act with the AMA for sixteen , International caliber riders. Papa thinks this could be a re cord number. Prices o n the Suzu ki RG500 /4 will sky rocket if t he rumor that no mo re will be built is true. While not raced in AMA competi tion , the RG has dom inat ed the G P scene. Sacramento Co unty Parks & Rec has offered the Dirt Diggers North their OH V park for the Hangtown Classics. The motoeross sched ule fo r 1977, wh ich should be f irmed up in a matter of weeks, is said to contain over 40 events. The FL\l has mad e its decis ion regarding t he controversial, dis-organized Venezuelan Formula 750 ra ce resu lts. The race controversy centered around who act ually won it - Steve Baker or Gary Nixon. Hanging in -t h e balance was Gary Nixon's sho t at the Formula 750 World Cup. The FIM decided to throw ou t all the Venezuel an round resu lts. That means Victor Palomo is the Formula 750 Champion , with Nixon second. If Nixon had been able (0 pull it off, it would have been Kawasaki 's first world cup . The FIM also decided to make the Formula 750 a World Olampionship class next year, instead of just a "wo rld cup" class. The internatio nal race sanctioning organization will count every point from every race for the title next year. This year, one-half the races , plus one were totaled up for the points, counting t he best fin ishes of each contestant. The points change means that no ser iou s contender will be able to afford to miss any of the 19n Formula 750 races. Two Formula 750 World Champions hip races will be held in th e United States next year, Daytona and the Champ ion Spark Plug Classics at Laguna Seca, Im med ia tely fo llowing Laguna Seca on September II , the series moves to Mosport, near Toronto, Canada, for the first time. Thronson upsets IDBA World Drag Finals OKLAHO~lA CITY, OK., OCT. 23-24 It was one of the biggest upsets in a long time when Joe Thronson too k his double engined Top Fuel dragster to the number one spot over some tough competition. In the final of the hotly contested race Don Kummler's 9.02-second run cam e in close to Thronstorr 's 8.74. The two top contenders for the title, T.C. Christenson and Marion Owens were both taken out in the semi-final s. . Super-competition class finals found Mike Bruso in t he winner's circle after Floyd Thacker by taking out sixteen-h undredths of a second. Pee Wee Gleason earned his new title , o f Pro-c omp Ride r of th e Year by taking J im Berna rd in the final s of that • division with a 8.93 e.t, over Berna rd 's 9.65. Pro stock was a tough fight between Terry Vance of R.C. Engineering, Bob Carpenter, Mike Bruso and Sid Pogue. The final ro und, between Van ce and Carpenter, the o ld arc h riva ls, found Van ce the winn er, wh ich made him the • \DBA Pro Stock rider of the year.