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/126246
from / But ch Darling (7) pulled away f rom Scott Sheedy (100) but lost t o Rodney Brand in CRC 's 125 Pro race at DeAnza. - CRC (Conti nued f rom page J 7) Motocross Montesa's VB series Cappras stay abreast of the suspension revolution with longer,. more sophisticated "legs" while the d iecast , cum pact -case engines undergo continued refinement. Leading-axle forks (Telescos on the 125 , Marzocchis on the 250 and 360) are now standard. On th e b igger rnodels. . that means magnesium sliders (these are th e " T ipo PA lzti" Marzocchis) and 9% inches of front travel. Forward -mounted gas shocks handle th e rear. On the bigger bik es, inverted Betors with attached reservoirs yield nine inches a t th e rear axl e. For 1977 , all three engines (12 5, 25 0 , 36 0) feature a r edesigned. st re ng t he ned connecting rod and , interestingl y enough , all three breathe through a 36mm Bing ca r buretor with appropriat ely-tailored m et ering . The 250 / 360 Cappras match a center-port exh a ust with a silenc ed up· pipe in a double-d owntube fram e , whi ch is a new -for-'77 configu ra tio n . Ga s tanks are a tad higher in capacity (they d idn't say how much ) and the seat more artfully-blended to the tank to facilitate acrobatic styling. 30 All you need now to go like Hakan is.his ability. Enduro Joining the existing VR -derived 250 is a 125 Enduro wit h a chassis that looks suspiciously like that of the early-series . 125 C a ppras. Like all the Montesa line, it features left-shift and top-oft he-cases clutch actuator. Both enduros are eq uipped with off-road ' lig h t i n g , sma ll t o ol k i ts . and occasional-use buddy pegs , Trial Montesa continues its trials line in three sizes - 123, 247 . and 348cc Cotas. The detail- improved 247 is now an "V If Karlsson" version , sa id to be a replica of the machine which the Swedish rider campaigned in the 1976 season. The 348 is unchanged and th e neat little 123 is redecorated . A 247 "Trail" Cota, with bigger tank. taller gearing and emergency -onl y buddypegs is offered for the non speci a list playrider who's learned to a pprecia te the feel of a trials bike. Montesas are distributed west of the Mississippi by Viva Distributing, 10625 Vanowen , Bu rb a nk, CA 91505 , (213) 766-6101. The motocrossers will start appearing at dealers in February; the other models are available now . moro . The overall victory , however, still went to Brand. The 250 Pros held some excitement as well. Montesa star Doug McGowen took top money from Danny McDougal (Suz) and Bultaco-rnounted Keith Patten. From the very start, McGowen grabbed the lead and ran away with it. McDougal , who hadn't raced in over a month, had a solid ' secon d with Patten and Scott Smith (O ssa) battling for third. Eventually, Patten crashed , rekindling an old knee injury. He still managed to fin ish fourth in the overall standings. • Results in Results Section. Zahrt triumphant atAMEMX By Lee Taylor VALENC IA , CA ,JAN . 23 The 250 Pros and the Shadow Glen course were meant for each other. Mud hole and a ll. Ken Zahrt (Bul) set up a great lead for himself through most of the race with John Hateley (KTM) and Mark Gambetta ( KT M ) battling for third. Gambetta and Hareley wer e side by side, crossing down th e tr ack in front of the tower. Mark White (H us) was running in second with Gambett a pushing hard, trying 10 g~1 a ro~.md White anywa y he co u ld. eithe r SIde , Dave Haugh (Ma i) was moving up through the pa ck a nd closing . in on Hateley. The fight was on betw een White , Gambetta , and Harele y for second . White started narrowing down Zahrr's lead and there was less than a bike's distance betw een Gambetta a nd White as they headed down into the sand wash. On the next to last lap , Zahrt start ed lapping riders and Gambetta finally got by White . White ' stayed in tight to Gambett a however , and closed to on e and a half bik e lengths by the end of the race . The checkered sa w first overall going to Ken Zahrt, second to Mark White and third to Mark Garnbetta . The 250 Intermed iate race saw a ba ttle going be tween Rick Cavish (Suz ) and Eddie Armstrong (Bul) . T hese two kept trading first p la ce like it was a hot spark pl ug . In the m eantime , Mike Coss elaar (Su z), who had taken a second in his first m oro , was in third push ing hard to take sec o n d . He p ushe d a little too hard , sliding o ut, a nd al m os t lost hi s po siti on . Joe Blancha rd ( M a i) wa s right on Gosselaar's tail and got by him . The ra ce between th e top three was unbelievably tight. Blanchard . had a fantasti c ride and managed to pick up second over Armstrong on the white flag lap, putting pressure on Cavish. Cavish held on to the checkered for a first overall. Second went to Gosselaar and third to Armstrong. The side cars gave everyone quite a show , especially in the mud hole. They also helped out the other races considerably by opening up new lines around and through the mud hole. There was some fine racing between Ralph and Pete Whitney (NortonEagle) and the team of Joe Gardner and John Pa lfreyman (Wasp) . These guys really got to flying, especially through the mud where most of the other races of the day bogged down . The checkered 'n ag waved t he Whitney team home to a first overall and ' th e team of Gardner and Palfreyman to second overall. • Results in Results Section. Duckworth Chain becomes major Camel Pro Sponsor Putting its money where it should be, Rexnord's Ro ller Cha in Division - makers of Duckworth motorcycle chain - has become a major sponsor for the American _ Motorcyclist Association sanctioned 1977 Camel Pro race series. " T h e division is putting u p a contingency award of $8.400 for the 28 race 750cc Expert class series. It is our way of showing support for motorcycle racing, the sport of m otorcycling and the activities of the AMA ," Paul Cohn , Roller Chain President, said. The prize is broken down to $300 per race, going to the first place finisher in each race if the rider is using Du ckwort h chain, An additional $1 ,500 in series posting will also be put up by Duckworth . "A $500 prize ,will go to the rider finis hing h ighest in the top 10 using Du ckwort h chain after 14 Cam el Pro races. Anot her $50 0 prize will go to the rider finishing hig hest in th e to p 10 d u ring the sec ond half of the circu it . and another $500 to 'the overall top fin ishe r a mong the to p 10" , , . Co hn explained , Duckworth support was a m ajor factor in the - 1976 revival of the Laconia Classic road race at Louden, N.H, •