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/126258
spcc ta tors a t a fever pit ch. While th e Novi ce and Am at eur rid ers continued on la nes one and two , th e 50 1cc to Open class too k over th e th ird lane. These bikes were big en o ugh to provide plent y of excite me nt . Thanks 10 t he ea rli er runs by th e sma ll bikes, lane three was relativel y clea r of b rush for nea rly 300 fee l. Tha t gave the big ger bik es a cha nce 10 reall y gct moving . Even so, when Ga ry Chandler of Texas go t his 890cc' Honda 10 458' 10". it was high eno ugh to give hi m firs t place in th e class. Seco n d went to C ra ig Mock of Ca lifornia with a 44'1'-1" on his 750 Tri um ph , O f the I I tro ph ies presen ted in th c. O pen Ex pe rt class, five went to Sout hern Cal iforn ia ns an d two 10 Tex ans : Before th e O pe n Ex p e rts h ad co m pleted their ru ns, the 201 ·250cc Ex perts were on the hill on lan e on e: T his lane was rea lly begi nn ing 10 open u p , a nd th e winner of the c lass, Ma rk Sch olz of Ka nsas, too k his 250 Bult aco a ll th e wa y 10 th e 757 -foot m ark , the first rid er to pa ss 700 feel. George McGra w of N ebraska . was n' t far behind with 750 feel. O n the cen te r lan e . the 371-500cc bikes were begin ni ng to run . What these lac ked in horsepower th eY'mor e than made u p for in light weig ht. T h ey' were a lso o n t h e fa st est . smoothest of th e three runs, and the foot age was begi nning to go h igher . The sponsoring Bees had quite 'a la rge pu rse for the firs t m an to crest th eir hill . and th e spectalOrs wer e ge lli ng so exci ted th at th ey a dded to th at purse . By th e end of th e day. t h~ spec ta tors h ad added $3.1 00 to th e purse for th e first rider ove r the hill in lane three . In th e meantime. others had said th at th ey would co llect a purse for an yone ov er th e top . regardless of th e lane used. It look ed .like the only on es with a cha nce at th e . purse would be the 500 class . After one run . th e 500 class was waved off th e hill and everyt hing came 10 a halt for th e run ning of th e, Exhibiti on cl a ss. Th ese we re th e big gest o f th e big bikes. th e most. exotic of th e modifi ed bike , th ose s with fa ncy tire treads. pa ddl e ti res and chains. These were th e bikes with pum p gas . with spec ial add it ives. with nitro , In th is clas s it was a . m a il er of "a nything go es," an d these rid ers wer e serio us a bo ut winn ing . especia lly wit h more th a n $3000 possib le for a r ide of only 1 '500 feel. Vincent T ho mas of Arizon a thoug ht that tir es inc ased in steel ba nds with plea ted paddles would tu rn the tri ck for h im. But his 450 Honda j ust didn't have what it too k a nd he end ed ju st 100 feet fro m th e sta rn ng lin e. ' The lone fem a le in th is class (who sha ll remai n nameless) d id well 10 hit th e 10 foot ma rk . Ad ria n Ne be ke r of U t a h had publica lly issued a challenge 10 th e Ca lifo rnia ns . promising to do all but ea t th em alive . found tha t h is 750 Honda was just not th e match he thought it was , He ende d his run well out of th e winners' list at 300 feel. It was th e California gro u p that domin at ed th is exhibitio n class . First p lace went 10 Ron True with a high mark of 657"10" , good enough to collect S750 , but well below th e top. H is brother , Jim . who had topped th e hill in 1976 . had to settle for a second place and 583'5" , The-Trues are both from California . as is th e third place rid er. Vin ce Vinson. . Th e h igh est non -C aliforni an t o pla ce in t his class was Gary Ch andl e r of T exas who p laced fou rt h . Mel Kimball o f Ut a h placed tenth , and all THE NEWEST FROM HI·POINT ... 'HE ALL NYLON LIGHTWEIGHT ENDURO· ISDT -RIDINGJAe'KET .. _ - ..... HARD TO GET ~ A ~YAMAHA PARTS AND ACCESSORIES Largest stock in U.S. DEALERS ATTENTION ~, \~O(a...,t.t; {~\111~ "'~~O~O(Cl o",(\S "C\e'> NOW ORD ER ." \, . DIRECT (D EALERS ON L V I HERCUL ES DI ST . LIST . 9827 Mason A ve. Chat sworth . Ca. 9 13 11 e (21 31 882 ·82 72 24 Hour Ma il O~der Service Dealers We lcome DONELSON CYCLES, INC. 3141427·1204 3328 Woodson Road St. Louis. Mo. 63114 r·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·, ...... ._._._._._._._. · · . . . CBII.." • • - L Co m petition Service Cycles (213 ) 831.1279 . 1244 N. Gaffey St.. San Pedro. CA 90131 • • .J • p ..... ats MOTORCYCLE-KNOBBY •• .,a ... 213-693-9608 KENNY ROBERTS RACING SPECIALTIES 9600 Pioneer Ave . Oa kd a le . Ca 1536 1 Frames Swing A rm s Shock s 209-847 ·2572 Wheals , 25