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/126278
Don't believe ev8rything you hear It i; very disturbing for me to hear of the closing of several local motocross tracks . Irwindale will be shut down soon and I have 'hea rd that Indian Dunes is going to be bought and closed by a movie company . I 'have heard that Saddleback is in trouble also . I have spent $60 on green sticky fees and I have yet to see on e cent of it used correctly. I now refuse to waste any more money on the green ,sticker fiasc o . Could you print , an itemized report on green sticker expenditures? We have a right to know exactly where our money goes . JOHN LARSON So. Pasadena, CA Irwindale is still negotiating with a beer sponsor to continue MX , speedway, and drag racing at th e same site, so don't write them offyet . 'Indian Dunes is not being sold , says manager Walt James , although th ey will ,continue to rent portions t o movie and , T V companies for location f ilming. You can still ride at the Dunes even when they are shooting. Saddleback is still in business . ' We published an accounting ' of , gre en sticky ( OR V registration) expenditures in 1976 and will pr?bably do so again this year. The 'm on ey has helped secure a numb er of off-road riding rracing areas in communities around the stat e of California, and more are in th e offing. N earest to where you live,is th e propsoed Wh ittier Narrows Dam OR V recreation area that Los Angeles County is putting together with gr een sticky funds . There has been some waste, but on the whole, results have b ~ en positive. Also, part of your biannual f ee pays the unsecured property taxes on your bik e, which could run as high as 150 a year were it not for th e OR V registrat ion program . . . Ed it or, , Thanx. CRC! A giant thank you to CRC for picking up the pieces of ORA. W e -rode the first CRC desert race Su nday and it was a super well-marked and fun ra ce . For you ex -ORA riders who couldn't make it , come on out for the next race and check your place in the p oin t standing, as it has been completely updated. My son beat me to Nov ice class and we are very thankful we don't have to start all over with another racing organization. All points a n d transfer rides earned under ORA wer e carried across to CRC. RICH & KEN HANSING Lemoore, CA , , Donne r Trial School My son (age 13) and myself (age 43 ) a re recent beginners in the sport of cycling. Always looking for som ethi ng new , we attend ed .t h e Donner , California, Ski Ranch Trials School for on e week. I recommend , it to your readers , both advan ced and . beginners. They will be amazed ' a t what can and will be done on trials bikes by some of th e top riders in th e world, and better yet , they will be amazed at wha t they will learn in bik e handling . I fe el that what. we accomplished attending the Trials School in one week was equivalent to several years of riding and possibly a few broken bones. We in tend to return every year to sharpen our biking ability a nd hope other riders will take ad va nt age of this excelle nt , fa cility. BILL) . COELHO, D .D .S . Merced, CA . . We hope you liked the feature we published last week on Marland Whaley and th e Trials School . . . Editor. " That de clivity '" ,. Having had th e good fortune to witness and r eport 'o n the first motocross held at the Unadilla Valley Sport Center in June 1969, th e dubious distinction of titling "Screw V" rests on my aged and'sagging shoulders. Now , alas "Screw V " will be no more (as a descriptive title, that is) , but I sincerely hope that Cycle N ews . will continue to send scribes of th e ca liber of Gianatsis and Morey, whose reportage ha s been comprehensive, complete and consiste n tly informative . Our app reciatio n cannot be . overstated, so perhaps one small cavil will not be misunderstood . "Screw-U" was not referred to as "tha t V-shaped gulley" but rather - for want of more ingenuity at the time - "the Ll-shaped declivity ." . . Rest assured , however, that for the Trans-AMA event a new surprise . description will be .used for th e famed section . W e'll be ' looking forward to your readers' response when we unveil it at the Trans-AMA two-day event on October 8 & 9 , 1?77. See you there. MORRIS ALPERN ' New York City , N .Y . Racing World s ucce eds The Tran~ -AMA Qualifier at Racing World on August 14th was ' a success, and has presented the So. Ca lif. region with a new breath of motocross. The Qualifier was just a first step in bringing big time outdoor motocross , back to its American roots. Thanks are due to a great number of conce rne d individual s and companies . DG Performance Specialties pitched in firs t. Duralube became th e-official oil of the event. Circle Industries came on board to help the sport. With the organizing efforts of MX West , th ese sponsors were joined by Southland Cycl e , Chain Gang Chains , and Premier Yamaha . To all of these people and to the 80 professiona l motocrossers , everyone who enjoys motocross.shou ld join us in extending our gratitude and thanks. TED MOOREWOOD Tri -Cross , Inc. Trabuco Ca nyoa , CA Har ley MX fa n .' Areyou serious, Papa ? You r August 24 comment, re : th e ~' serious ness" of the new HD MX250 , is incredibly inconsistent with CNW's (a nd Mike Bell's) own ob servations on that machine; CN 's tester Mik e Bell noted: "Every thing is in th e right place . The footpegs are just th e right height , th e rear suspens ion work ed. " CN noted : "T he com pa ny has firml y com mitt ed . itself to the motocross market. " And : " H a rl ey-D a vid son 's G rand National horsepower is carried over to th e MX250 . The b ik e is ve r y fa st. " ... " Fo r the first ye a r o f production the H ·D MX250 is rema rkab le . AMF has introduced a bike fast enough to win any 250cc rider class . . ." Trip e's '77 Superbowl hea t win over DeCoster and Ellis ; Ogilvie's '77 Baja Internacional 250 win : etc: Serious? You betl C 'rnon anonyn:'0us Pap a ; g et . consistent with Cycle News , willya ? Will the rea I Papa get off his tiddler and come forward , plea sel ,BIL L DVTCHER Stamford , CT Papa says he will believe Harley is serious when he sees a v-twin engine in the ir dirt bik eframe . . . Editor. Frame-up In Volume XIV , Number 22: June 8 , 1977 , you showed a Ducati flat tracker on page 2 . The bike was ridden by Kenny McDonald at the O kla hom a National. You stated that the bike was built by Eddie Wilbanks. Do you have his address and/or telephon e number ? I am very . interested in this type chassis for my Ducati twin . Any information will be greatly appreciated. . DAVID W . SAYLES Rt. 3 Box 825 'O dessa , T exas 79763 (915) 381-3745 Kenny McDonald can be reach ed through K&N Engineering in Tulsa . We ' are pnnting your address and p hone in case Wilbanks wishes to contact you direct . . . Editor. Superflow 110 The popular Superflow 110 is used by more than 200 racers around the world for accurate testing of engine cyli nder heads and intake manifolds. Complete instructions permit even a beginner to measure flow differences as small Claim to fame, but not to frame as 1%. I wonder if you would be so kind as to explain the claiming rules to me . . It says Vrbanowski claimed Roberts' engine. Does that m ea n the whole bike or just the engine? • • --Fo;-free-brCich~re. -;riie-oriih~~e~- -- - E'~ T.jo~ • 35 12 M N orth ~ Co lorado Spr in gs. Co lo . 8090 7 (3 03) 471·1746 I JiM ZAGRODZKY Laguna Beach, CA A recent change in the AMA claiming rule allows a fellow competitor to claim a race winner's engine and .transmission unit, exclusive of th e fram e, whe els, seat , tank, et c. The claiming rule exists to keep high-II factories and individuals from dominating AMA racing. But it was argued that one's frame, · handlebars, etc . are p ersonal ite ms, like helmet, or clothing, and not likely to constitute unfair advantage . . . Editor. Why wasn't it stopped? While watching the Terre Haute ra ces on TV we were appalled and amazed at the ineffectiveness of AMA offi cials on letting our professional riders take such a risk : We know people will sa y "you had to be there. " Well , be that as it may , it seems there ' wer e enough AMA people from the home office to have had the gumption to stop it when they saw the dangerous track conditions devel op, inlcuding th e new Czar of professional racing. MIL HORKY Columbus, Ohio Roger DeCoster story I have one question a bo ut th e Ro ger DeCoster sto ry. . Where can I get th e book ? Also, how mu ch is it? . I d on 't subscribe to you r paper . ( I will soo n) bu t I go t eve ry issue of th e seria liza tion of th e ' Ro ger DeCoster story . You've g9 t the right id ea - mor e profiles - Like t he on e on Gerrit W olsink an d more pictures from Eu rop e . JOE REED San An ton io , TX Unfortunately, auth or J ohn Hu ett er has not ye t signe d a contract with a publishing house f or book rights to th e R oger DeCoster story. Wh en (and if) he does, we 'll publish th e info rmatio n in Cycle N ews . .'. Ed. Published letter s do not n ecessarily reflect the po sitio n of Cy cl e News. In c. Send letters to V oi ces. Box 498. Lo ng Beach, CA 90801. Cu st om h ig h q ua li ly nylon race je r s ey s . w ith padd ed el bow s . for d eal e rs . c lu bs . tea ms . etc . Any col ors in any quanti ty . Send drawin g & quant ity for quot e ~ . .~~BI LL . . 0 0 . , WALTERS ' LEATHERS . . I 7359 Varna Avenue INC. , NO' klllywOod .CA91605..,i2' 31982-3738 'Don 't liberate me. I'll handle it f , K ENNy' R :O BERTS RACI NG SPEC IALTIES 9600 Pion eer Av e Oakd ale . Ca 95361 Frames Swing A rm s Sho c k s 209 -847-5934 Wh eels p resent . MOTORCYCLE KNOBBY .lifV al¥'1iJ 213-693-9608 fi'!jJ!JJO@@ 13 .IDT .MDURO _TARnRI 13 GOLD & I.LY.R MIDALI 110 E. SIatI Anita A • Burbonk. CA 91502 ft. 41