Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Gary Scott continued from page 17 "We'd lake those road racers OUl and spend all the practice sessions fouling plugs or trying to start them . The stuff I rode in Italy for the factory test session was dynamite, but the guys over here just aren't up on them th e wa y th e Italians are. Before Laguna I tried to get them to take th e road racers out and track test them trying to get them right. They wouldn't do it. At Laguna Seca in 1975 they were doing the same old things - popping out of gear in the tight stuff. We got to Ontario and they're still popping out gear and overheating, wh ich is ridiculous for a big bucks factory effort, That's when I finally got to the po int where I thought that if they didn't want to make a decent sort of effort , the hell with 'em. I've got better things to do. " Bad feelings about machinery and the int ernal politics of th e racing department aside , Scott's decision not to sign again with Harley-Davidson for 1976 came after salary negotiations failed to go as he wished. Reports at the time had Scott demanding $100,000 for his reigning year as Number One , estimated to be what Kenny Roberts was paid by Yamaha for winning Number One the year before. " I was asking for less than half what Roberts was getting," complains Scott when asked about the contract talks . " I realized that Harley-Davidson doesn't sell anywhere near th e number of motorcycles that Yamaha does. I didn't feel that I asked an outrageous sum . In the Desert or On the Street... "They said they were too busy to pick me up, and airport is only ten minutes from the plant:' FILTRON DOES THE JOB! F ilt ro n 's moto rcycle filters with t heir pat ented pu lsat ing f oam t rap even th e finest d ir t p articl es to keep your engine cl ean. Tough en ough to tackle any end uro or mo tocross, Filt ron gives you ext ra pro tectio n for any type of ride . Ask for Fllt ron at yo ur favor it e m ot or cycle de aler flllRON,. AIR F I L T E R EL E MENTS d!!!JiiiL1!I> _ P.O. Box 390,Gardena, Calif. 90247 230 West Rosecrans, Gard ena , Calif. 90248 Chambers Lighlweighl Cycle Shop Shop early for the holiday specials Full line of new ltaljet cyles and go-carts Lay-away plan available 1319 W. Willow Long Beach, CA 90801 213-426-9694 SAf,lMY TANNEN DISTR IBUTINl; 30 lUBII-TECH 213 924 211 1 " I would have settled for $35 ,000 and they wouldn't even give me that. I had gotten $28 ,000 in 1975 , but had to pay all my own · expenses. They offered me $35,000 , with me again paying m y expenses. I asked for $50 ,000 , which I thought was realistic and fair , because I knew they had a lot planned for me promotion-wise. They turned me down . So I came back with an offer that they give me $35,000 and expenses. Doing promotional work would cut back on the time I had available to transport my equipment and drive to the races , so I wanted to fly to some of the Nationals and have Harley-Davidson pick up the tab . I also wanted them to work more on the short trackers and road racers. I think my saying they weren't any good hurt O'Brien 's feelings . We didn't get beyond those obstacles. "I knew something was wrong when I flew up to Milwaukee and called the racing department' from th e airport . They said they were too busy to come pick me up , and the airport is only ten minutes from the plant. I almost got back on the plane and flew home, but knowing O'Brien's stubborn attitude I thought, well, I had comeup to talk to him about getting something worked out, and it wouldn't do me any good to get m y feelings hurt and go back home. So I rented a car. I was at the racing department for half a day, and O'Brien just walked around and stared at me once in awhile, hardly said anything to me. "Finally he said 'Come on, let 's go talk.' I thought it was a really poor way to try to sign me up or work anything out. He told me what he'd pay , I told him what I wanted , and that was all that happened. I made my counter proposal later on, and that was thrown out, too. I was really disappointed. I didn't feel that they had seriously considered my proposals at all. " I knew that they were going to spend a lot of money promoting me, and that would have helped me a lot , too. But I've got to worry about racing as well. They could have said 'We know we don't have a road racer and you 'll miss Daytona , but we'll sure help you out in th e other areas. ' But they didn't. They just said 'Take it or leave it or else get you r butt the hell out of here: So I drove my rental ca r back to the airport and got th e hell out of there. " I waited around for them to contact me or for the deadline to pass. The deadline was in November, then they reset it in December. Finally, I called them up in late December and told them I couldn't do it, and started lining up my program for 1976. "If I had to do it all over again, I'd do the same thing:' " If I had to do it all over again , I'd do the same thing. There's no doubt in my mind at all that I did the right thing for Cary Scott. Riding for a factory team may be the hot set up sometimes, and it certainly was for me in the past - that's where all the money was . But we may be in for a change with the different machinery being so specialized." When word of Scott's falling-out with Harley-Davidson became public, people couldn't believe it. Many wrote off Cary Scott as a serious contender for the National title in 1976 . "So much for Cary Scott, " said one reporter. " People were certainly surprised ," says Scott. " I knew pretty much what was going to happen , what I could do. I figured I could be in the top three and have a chance at getting th e title, and that's exactly wh at I did. I think people's attitudes toward me changed during the season. "The first part of the year I had fallen off and had a little tough luck, but even a factory rider can have tough luck . When things st a rted coming together, some of the people started switching over to my side. But I think a lot of the racers wouldn't say anything for fear of Dick O 'Brien and not getting any parts from HarleyDavidson if they associated with me. I felt that even some of the journalists started to realize after awhile that it was possible for me to do what I was trying to do , and that I was actually helping competition and racing. I'm not trying to do anything cray. I'm just trying to make some money and to be better than everybody else at a particular racetrack during a particular season. I just figured I wasn't going anywhere with HarleyDavidson with the attitude that O'Brien had for me, and that I might as well break away while I was still competitive and able to work with other people in the industry. "A lot of racers wouldn't say anything for fear of Dick O'Brien." " Bu t at first after I left HarleyDavidson it was tough. Image makes a difference, especially in the third or fourth year ·of your career when you realize how much the people are either for you or against you. It makes a difference on your opponents, too. If they know the people are behind you, it puts pressure on them. Plus there are sponsors to think of. You get really conscious of your image. It makes a difference in how you want to appear to the spectators, like when little kids come up and ask for autographs." The most controversial thing Cary Scott did during 1976 was cla im

• Cover