Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

., . (Continued[rom page 17) ra cin g like Harley does th e din tracks , is widely acclaimed in the off- roa d , d in m arket. Peculiar , no ? O ne of AMA 's big decisionS th is wint e r is how to p u t brand competition b a ck into ' t he Gra n d Na tional Series. T his is where it is h and y to ha ve th e b ra ins of th e indust ry sitti ng on- the bo ard. Can Harley-Da vidson live wit h a 650 rule? Joh n Davidson ca n a rgue his side, the J a p a n ese bra n ds can h int a t t hei r plans, t he ri de rs a nd afterma rke t spo nsors ca n we ig h the cost of equippin g a new ra ci n g sta ble to re main co m peti tive un d er t he proposed rul es. If they fail to reac h agreement , presu m ab ly t he n ew Comm issioner of Raci ng can make th e decision on beh a lf of the associ a tion , aft er conside ri ng a ll the sides. Pan of AMA 's prob lem in th e p ast was m isplaced prior iti es . Mr. Best put "get more members " a t the to p of th e list. W ith a new administration in th e hea d shed, perhaps the emphasis of t he AMA wi ll re tu rn where it .righ tfu lly belongs , " Do better for th e member s we've go t. " • -Pit racers must :.be stopped :Pit racing is a fool's pastime. .Many times th e only way a person ,will notice the dangers and disasters caused by the squirrels ~ the sport is when someone is \ e r io usly in ju red b y fools ra cing hrough th e pit area . 11 At a race last week end , a high .. chool motocross, such a n incident &:cu red . I, a long wit h som e school peers, were out to start racing. It was 'ou r first race , a nd we were really ':stoked for th e occasion. We all went Ihver to the sign -in and too k ca re of !>t h a t business and headed back to our fpi ts. O n the way some of us were wa tching riders al ong a small ca nyon in the m id dle of the pits. Four jumps 'a n d a steep exit out onto the main roa d were the center of all the .att ention because this spot made for ~ea t between-mote practice . Rid ers were flying through the ca nyon and ~out int o the m id dl e of the road wit h heir wheels seven feet in the air. It was $rea t fu n for the guy ge tting h is th rills ' on the ragged ed ge of loo pi ng it , but the pits were not the place fo r this actio n, as a rider o n ou r tea m soon foun d ou t. o I As he retu rned the a rea where we 'p itt ed that morning , he cou ld not have ha d any idea of what was to happen in othe nex t few feet. The unlucky guy this day happened to be our friend , the ~nnocent victim of someone else 's fool ishness. At the exit of the ca nyon, ih e passed the steep uphill j ump th at ca ught many riders' attention. As he t reached the middle, out of nowhere , a ' rider came flying full th rottle out of _the canyon. In a cloud of d ust and a p ainful moan , I sa w my te ammat e .cat ch a Suzu ki 250 with the side of his head. Gouges were cut deep into the rhelm et. And the rider? W ell , he d idn 't know whe re h e wa s, wh at h a d ha p pened, or who had done it . As he ,stu m bled like an a ll-tim e drunk, he ' b ega n to b e n a useated and feel !hea da ch es. When we asked how he \was feeli ng , all we go t for a reply was a b la nk stare of pain . I At the riders m eeting just a couple I'i nin utes prior to the crash, what do oyou think was the main topic? Pit , r aci ng . It was talked about and ~stamped into th e m inds of th e riders as a thing not to do. But d id talking ~ about it cu re t he problem? No . This t ime t he ri d e r who got centerpunched came out lucky. A concussion was all th a t he suffered , due to the fact th at he was sm art enough to wea r a helmet , even while touring the pits . Bu t worse things have happened . Why is there p it raci ng in the first place ? I' ve talked with many people tha t I ha ve see n pit ra cing right in fro nt of me and asked th em the same question. Their answers va ried . Some say they do it to warm up th eir bik es and thei r bodies. There are hund red s of unused acres o n a motorcycle park tha t make better warm' u p grounds. O thers do it to show off. For this a wheelie down the fro nt straight is quite sufficient to get oos and ahhs fro m the crowd . T he rest , well , to ta ke a guess, I' d say it's all stu pid human error. A sma ll park in sou thern California has come up with quite an in te resting solution . It 's a sign th at reads "W a lk it or loa d it" . Sure , they hav e had m any riders com plai n about ge tting kicked ou t for pit raci ng. Whose fault is t hat? Cert a inl y no t the park's. If you get someone to enforce the rul es , pit ra cin g ca n be stopped , And next tim e you see so me one flying th rough the pits tap ped out in fift h going W FO , do us a ll a favor , sto p hi m an d mak e him listen . It is a matter of life or death. best... ~ ~ R e-f ormul at e d to penetrate moving parts quick er an d e xte nd chain life throu gh more efficient lu br ication. Now the pr oven selle r is bette r than ever. New formula, dramatic new can. You can't beat Petro chem 's Chain Life for c lean smoot h ch ain operation or as a preanemble lube, drilling and tapping lube, open gear ayatema an d a hundred other uses. Brian George Street is neat the We Spark Plug Con tact .. Cha in Klean cleana everything f Nonflamm able, nonc ondu etive. Remo ves oil, wax or grease in minutes. Once you've used It you'll never be without it! New 20 oz. shop size is a bette r buy. No F=/uoro_ carbons PETROCHEM Manufactured by Champions Choice, Inc. P.O. Box 596B, Orange, california 92667 By Bob Bitchin. editor of Biker newsmagazine If you get off on bouncing aroun d the berms at some m o to cro ss course, or crashi ng over wh oop de-dos in the desert, then you bett er not read this column. You see , this is being written for th e majority of bikers, t hose who know that the rea l fun of biki ng is on the open road , wh ere you ca n feel the wind (not to mention a n occasion al bug) on your fa ce , and hear th e healthy drumming of your tires on th e pavement. T he first th ing I h ave 10 point out , if it isn 't a lready clear , is that I am a total bigot . Dirt riders are all a bunch nerds. They ha ven't got th e sense th ey wer e born with , beca use most of it has been knocked out of their ha rd heads by mu ltiple concussions c a used b y falli ng down a lot. I have never met a d irt b iker who hasn't hit th e sod at least once , a nd in m y way of thinking, any sport that says you have to fall down a lot is only practiced by the feeble of mind . Street riders have the right ide a , ask any of m y loyal (?) readers. When is t he las t time you wer e out ridi ng in th e di n a nd some fine looking low mileage p it woofi e flashed her body at you and ask ed to go for a rid e down some dea th -defying hill? Never, rig ht ? W ell , if you ro de the street, it just might happen . From now on , every week, right here in your own rag Cy cle N ews, I will be filling in those of you who ha ve enough sense left to do some street ridi ng as to what is going on on the street . If you like what you read , there is su bscri ption information on the comer of this page, so you won't miss one leg wett ing issue. Bu t enough com m erciali sm, bad to the point. Street is neat because you get hurt in the d irt . In case you d idn 't know it, the price of gas is going up , and with it , the registrations of street bikes . More of you dumb di rt types are ge tt ing some smarts and trading in your ring-a-dings on good ro ad bikes. I would like to welcome you to the land of th e sane. Nex t issu e we will get int o some of the mo re humorous aspects of street riding , like la ws and suc h , but until then , keep one thi ng in mi nd : If man was meant to ride ri ng- a- di ngs, he wou ld have been born wit h cotton in his ears. • HUSQVARNA CLEARANCE SALE 75. 76. 77 models must go immediately to make room for 78 models. Prices reduced to sell fast while they last . Any reasonable offer accepted. TERR1'l(11' 1111 II{()\ I 1.\1> I> \\11 '1.\ 1\(. \ II I lll{ SI .l{lll\ .... C()\IPI.III lll{ x 250/370 RM SUZUKI 9" 0 f Travel 8" o f t ravel for Betor, Ceriani, Kawas aki, CZ, S u z uk i , Yamaha, Montesa, Pen ton, KTM, Hodaka. T&OYamaha 24020 Narbonne Ave. Lomita. CA 90717 213-534-2311 (Torrance-Redondo area) Designed for au or sp r in g bette r dampening - smoothe r actio n - more c o n trol - longe r t ra ve l. The fr ont e nd kit t hat beats them all, ou t oC state call toll Cree' 800 -854-4691 90 day m on ey back guaran tee Dealer or Direct TERR rLAIJLJ:' PO BOX 1321 Hesperia. CA 92345 714 -2472646 H~~ :JOE. ~umph -\ a-r/;u.J. M otorcy cl es T r y u s to r T r iumph na-r s BM W U PS same d a y 2509 Bro adwa y Sacr amenro, CA 958 18 £) 16·452·5491 & • ~ Sam m y Tanner Distributing l firu,cl(o~ . ~~ [fj) IP~~.. Van Suspension Kit 1392DS.W. Tualatin V<*y Highway Beavenon. OR 97005 l HI-TECH 213 9242111 503-646-8600 WRITE FOR FREE INFORMATION P.O. 1Iox5023 "N". SonIa _ . CaI~. 93108 Smart b ikcrs do it in the street. If you're smart, you'll read BIker, the "Bible" of the street rider. One year (25 Usua) j ust $8. O r , if you're not too sure how smart you are, send $1.98 for a three-month trial su6sc:ription. 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