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/126287
Ii l1li • ~ t r-- Trans-AMA circuit after Pu yallup to return to Eu rope to hel p test an all new 400 KTM for nex t season's 500cc Wo rld Cham pionship where he will be fully backed by KT M. TH Gerrit Wolsink presently back in Holland, is expected to race the final Trans-AMA race at Sears Point. r-- The Ri ch mond Ramblers' 4th Annual World C h a m pio nsh ip - Mini Bike Grand Prix is once again happening on Friday night , No vember 20th , before Sea rs Point Trans·AMA. The top riders and hangers-on from the Trans -AMA series will be competing for over $500 in cash. Classes for Rid ers, Mechanics, Press and Co nt ingency Sp onsors , and Powder Puff. Ad mission is a $1 donation to see the world's best motocross riders, and J immy Weinert , make fools of themselves. Time 6 p .m. Location Richm ond Ram blers Clu b Grounds , Point Richm ond through the tunnel, near San Fancisco. O"l ~ ~ t.O ~ I-< ~ ..0 8 ~ > 0 Z Mike Hailwood returned to " serious" motorcycle road racing for the first time since 1972 and finished sixth overall in the CastroI Six Hour production race near Sydney. Australia, on October 23 aboard a Ducati 750. U.S. Suzuki Motor Corporatio n introd uces one of the world 's smallest motorcycles. the JR-5O Mini. Des igned for ch ildren of early school age . it stands just 19" high and incorporat es such safety features as rounded-off levers, large shut-off button and huge covers for chain and muffler. Simple to operate, sh ifting consists of neutral and one-speed forward. Speed can be adjusted to match youngster's skills. Suzuki dea lers will receive the JR 50 by early November, just in t ime for Christmas. Last chance to get your tickets to the AMA awards banq uet this Monday. The big fee d and ni ght wit h t he han dlebar 'stars starts a t 6 p .m . with cocktails at the Disneyla nd Hotel in Anaheim, CA Nov . 22. O rd er tix now, for $15 each fro m An nette Kerns , c/o AMA , Box 141 , Westerville, O h io 43081. If you 're a pro , it's ded uctible . Followers of the Maharishi say that Transcendental Meditation (TM) can teach you how to fly without wings. just by meditating. Heck, motocrossers have been hopping around in m idair for years. Just check some of the pictures in this issue. Anyone for Transcendental Motocross ITMX)7 Triumph Motorcycles of America , Inc , has appointed a "new" new pres ident. As of November 7, Jack Hawthorne took over t ha t post to direct the company's new marketing and sales program . Mr. Hawthorn e replaces recently appointed Robert Wells who had previously been assigned to the same task . Mr. Hawthorne comes to Triumph from Honda where he had held the post of Eastern Region al Sales Manager. All plans for marketing and sal es will continue as arranged . 2 Effective October 31. special fire restrictions have been lifted on the Sequoia National Forest according to Fo rest Supervisor John A . Leasure. Sp ecial fire restrictions w ere initiated on the f orest in early A ugust due to the Ca lif orn ia drought and high f ire danger. General fire restrictions will continue to be enforced, including the use of off-road vehicles in designated areas only. Mike Bast , Bru ce Pen hall and Kelly Moran will be among a number of top ranked U.S. speedway riders making their second appearance on Ascot's half-mile track, 8:00 p.m . , November I I , in Gardena , CA . Bast , the current U.S. National Speed way Champion will be trying to duplicate his 1976 victory on the "long track." So, as they say in show biz , " Be there!" Race team managers meeting with Michael Goodwin to inspect the fo rm idable A naheim. CA Supercross track say it's t he most exciting and competitive t rack they have seen yet. A starspangled lineup of fa cto ry and privateer riders from all over the world will be on hand Saturday night. November 12, for a first hand description of what stadium motocross and the Coca-Cola Motocross Finals are all about . Mark Ba rn ett , Moto-X Fox's 250cc Support Class rider in the Trans-AMA series is expected to sign this week with Suzuki to race the 125cc National circ uit for next year . Texan Steve W ise. Moto-X Fox 's other rider in the Int ernati o nal cl as s is expected t o si g n w it h another major Ja panese company for next year's 125cc Nationals, KTM' s Andre Ma hle rbe le ft t he UCLA 's Comm ittee on Public Lectures, along with the Earth Sciences Depr . , are presenting a multi med ia slide presentation , "Environmental Effects of Off- road Vehicles in the Desert ," at Young Hall , #2276 , No v. 14 at 4 p.m. John Wakata and Howard W ilshire of the U. S . Geological Service , Dept . o f Interior, will do the presenting. Papa wonders what the odds of a calm, logical , unbiased report are. We heard that a joint House/Senate committee passed H.R. 3454, which will enlarge the present Wilderness system. One affected area would be California's Sequoia National Forest. site of the proposed Golden Trout Wilderness. 'Th is would kill many miles of motorcycle trails near Kennedy Meadows, such as the ones to Casa Vieja. Trout Meadows and trails north of these points. At the tone. protest to your Senators and Representatives .. . Beepl CRC will now be promoting all races held at DeAnza Cycle Pa r k, near Sunnyrnead, Calif. American Tria ls Assn. w ill be hosting a free trials school the day before the Turkey Shoot Trial at Reche Canyon near Riverside. CA Sat., Nov. 19, at 10 a.m . The trials school will feature Marland Wha ley, Be rnie Schreiber and Mark Eggar as lntru ct o rs, free lunch and free overnight camping for those competing the next day. Call the ATA if you plan to attend: (714) 897-2962 or (213) 677-2300. The western town that the Dirt Diggers planned for their " Pioneer Town Grand Pri x" wasn't up for the race. The pictu re shown in the last issue of Cycle N ews was taken in the town's former Sea World location, before it was dismantled and taken to Racing World, Bu t th e local city council wou ld not permit the build ings to be set up . a nd the Dirt Diggers had no other choi ce than to cart them a way before they became Sa turday night firewood . Ma ybe nex t year. . Look for Swede Hakan A ndersso n to be Husqvarna's 500cc GP competitor next year. The 32·year-old rider .fi nished sixth in the 500cc World Championship series aboard a Montesa this year. Andersson last rode for Husky in 1971 when he f in ished second to Joel Robert in the 250cc GP class . Italy and Holl and will bid for the 1979 ISDT along with Canada . Canada has th e inside track a t pr esen t, but must get FIM approval before plans for the second North American (SOT ever get underway. AMA dirt track/road racing competition ma nager Mel Parkhurst won't be livening up any festivities soon. Parkhurst is spending the next three weeks or so in bed with monoucleosis. He's allowed to read. Cards and letters may be sent to theAMA. The FIM . after not granting a 500cc MX GP to the U.S. in its summer meeting. has changed their mind. In addition to our reinstated 500cc round , the U.S . will host 125 and 250cc MX GPs plus two F750 World Championship rou nds and a round of the tria ls World Championships. Bill Bell, Long Beach Honda 's former mechanic and four-stroke specialist. has just stepped out on his own in the motorcycle field. After considering t he thought for many years. Bell has created Bill Bell High Performance Cycles. His location remains the same. but as of November first. the division in w hich Bell was wor king is under the new name. ' In a phone con versa tion with Mr. Bell, we asked what he was going to be do ing at the new shop . "W e are doing everything just as we did before" he sta ted , "b ut it's mine now, not a division of Long Beach Honda." Plans included a stronger effort with the motocross and off-road tearns. Bell also plans on doing more racing with the machines next year. In their rush to declare Oregon's Umatilla National Forest "roadless wilderness," the anti-people people overlooked the fact that Amtrack operates regularly scheduled passenger trains through the place. Would a passenger train be considered an off-road vehicle7 The FIM recently ruled that a ll F750 championship venues m ust pa y a minimum 600 Swiss Francs (ap· proximately S240) to all event qualifiers. Negotiations are ,cu rrent ly going on with Da ytona Int ern ational Speedway for allocation of the monies. In the past the Speedway has resisted all demands for appearance money. Bill Burgener, 18, from Boulder. Co lorado. is the new Rocky Mountain Trials Assn. Champion, with five w ins out of eight events in the series. Bill rode a 350 Bultaco i n the f irst five events, before switching to a 348 Montesa. It appears that the top ten riders in the AMA Grand National Championship standings may be going to school. Charm school, that is. The schooling is an attempt to instruct riders in the fine art of pub lic speaking and d ress, a m o ng other things . We hear attendance may be a requirement for obtaining next year's license. Robert L. Rohrer has been named General Manager/Motorcycle Sales f or AMF/Harley-Davidson. Rohrer has served as Western Regional Sales Manager since 1975. He' s a multiple-y ear veteran of southern California dese rt racing.