Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

The AMA is out for the betterment of the sport, the competitor, the promoter , and in this particul ar case th e television audience. CN: How do we get more brand competition in our Grand National Championship races ? DM : Dick O 'Brien from H-D put it very succi nctl y. He said t hat "i f Yamaha wa nts to spend the millions we've spent , th ey can win on d irt too ." I' m sure .if you spoke to Ken Clark a t Yamaha , he would say the same thi ng to anyon e else who wants to road race. I don 't know that brand competition is a solu tion . I think you will agree there is no wa y we can pass rules mandating manufacturers to join in or even influen ce m anufacturers to jo in in . We can pass rules that provid e for the best possibl e co m petition and trust that manufacturers will come in a nd take adva nt age of the rules to cr eate raci ng machines to m eet th e rules and go out to win . As fa r as the d irt track situation goes, we have had some testing done on H -D motors and N or ton motors with a restricto r plate . It 's lowered th e RPMs and lowered the ho rsepower to an equal level , to whe re th ey both put out exa ctly the same amount of horsepower at a lower RPM . T he problem with di rt tra ck racing is a one- brand domination and a lim it on th e supply. So if you can make the supply last longer by lowering the Rs and make it more reliable, perhaps now a No rton can go out and win an even t, maybe Triumph ca n come back, maybe a Yamaha will be more competitive. But this is something that must be approved by th e boa rd, althou gh in principle they approved it at their last meet ing. We feel confident it will help class C racing. CN: Some of the riders complain there are too many events on the Camel Pro Series schedule and that because of it we came close to not having enough riders to make a full program at some events this last yea r. Will the AMA cut back on the number of events in the future? DM : Not for 1978 but maybe for 1979 . It all depends on who you ta lk 'to . Some sa y 30 events are too many , some say not enough , some sa y it's just en ou gh. CN: Doesn 't it worry you that entries seem to be d iminishing on the n a tion a l circuit? DM : It does wor ry me and we have t a ken st e ps with th is insurance program to try to create m ore flat track raci ng, particularly at a local level on a weekl y basis . W e have become very aggressive with sol icit in g this p rogram j o local promoters. We ' are go ing to create regional and local m ot ocr oss p rograms , too . You h ave to h ave a base to feed th e top, and in th e Camel Pro Seri es we've got to re -crea te the b ase . . CN : How long have you been on the job now? DM : I was h ired in J uly (' 77) a n d worked part tim e from the mi d dl e of July up to the end of August. I've been workin g solidly at it now since th e m iddle of September. CN: What are some of the new programs coming up for 1978? DM : Glad you ask edl W e'll be placing more em p h a si s on r o a d r a ces , particularly Superbikes . We feel th is class ha s a great future. It h as more brands, this past yea r virt u ally each event was won by a d ifferent brand and different rider. Besides , I th ink we all like the thunder of those things. It will be physica lly rec ogniza ble. What we're trying to do is create m ore int erest in the cla ss from severa l p oints of view. We want to sell the class to promoters and to competito rs so we ca n create a set of rules they ca n live with and build racing machines at SPECIAL NOTE : If ou r prices lo o k hi gh e r. y o u 're rig ht . We d id n ot ra i se o u r M ikuni K it pric es for fo u r years. bu t because the cost of e ve rvthing has g one up so much. we 've h ad t o a d j u st o u r price t o y o u . W e hope you w ill unde rstand . If you ride a Husky. CZ or Pe nton , there's a V rian 's Mikuni Carbu retor Conve rsion Kitfor you , ale Our kits are tes ted ,They work.They fit. We have found they substantially improve gas mileage . horse power and torque , Vale rian's Mikuni kits re duce load ing up, Ease startu ps, And give more docibility, They co me with a co mplete range of jets good from se a leve l to 8.000 feet. They ca n be bolted on in le ss than an hou rr They look like they 're factory-installed . Orde r a whole kit and kaboodle. Or just the parts you need, (Including our very own man ifold kits.) Just fill out and mail the co upon be low. Or give us a call at (213) 475-454 1. " Special installat ion in st ru c t ion s w ill b e i n c lud ed fo r Kit s 17. 18 & 19 , KIT a '" rea lly believe most problems are opportunities in disguise." fa irl y reasonable cost. An d to the ma nufacturers, because this is ex ci ting racing for wh ich virtually everybody makes a bike . The rules are 1025cc's, you've got to run the stock forks , frame . ta nk and seat . You can either sleeve it or bore it to get to I025cc. We'll allow slick ti res , not DOT tires , reasonable engi ne modifications, a fterm a rke t exh au st systems , aftermark et car b u re tor systems (th e only restriction there is that th ey hav e to be th e same bore that came on th e bike). The overa ll po int is we're trying to creat e a class simila r to NASCAR racing or funny car racing, wh er e it looks like a stock bik e but it goes like hell. CN: How do the promoters feel about the Superbike class? DM : They seem to like it very much . The crowds like , it and seem . to be demanding more of it . CN: What are the chances of a Superbike national points paying event? DM : We're look ing into that for the fu ture . W e al so have another ap p roach - a one day nation al road r ace similar to a dirt tra ck or motocross national. We will be do ing that at severa l road races th is year. I think we'll be eliminating one clas s, but we'll ha ve one full day of enj oyable racing for spec tators , much like they do in Europe. Plus, su bject to board ap prova l, th e option of being able to run th e ra ce in ' th e ra in . Virtually everyone else runs in t he ra in and if will bring us more in line with th e rest of the world . W e have a b rand new raci ng pr ogr a m called " P r ogressive Professi onal," des igned to get promoters and tracks into th e AM A . This will be lim ited to juniors a nd novices or advanced amateurs . If you are an amateu r and you want to take a sho t at being a professional , we sell you a low-buck license , you ra ce in th e Progressive Pro class and try it ou t. You get half points or quarter po ints, I don't know wh ich. If you like it you can become a pro novice and if you don't , you can go back to being a n amateur . Pu rse money is involved a nd a lso a very in ex p ensi ve insurance program that prov ides ex ce llent benefits at a veryreasonable cost to the promoter. We will do this for flat track, motocross and IT. For the cost of the license , which will be $10 or ~15 . plus an AMA membership , he 's m. The AMA will be hiring assistants for Mel Parkhurst and Mike DiPrete to go out to sell and establish these programs in a very aggressive manner on both local and regional levels. CN: What's the word on helmets? DE SCRIPTION 1 . . 250 CZ 32mm 2 . 250 CZ 3 4mm . 3 360-4 00 CZ 34mm .. 4 360-4 00 CZ 36mm . . ,. 5 250 H usky 3210 rep lace 32 6 . 250 Hu sky 34 1 repla ce 36 0 7 250 Husky 32 to replace 36 . 8 . 360 Hu sky 32 1 rep lace 32 0 9 , 360 Hu sky 3 4 to repla ce 36 10 . 360 Hu sk y 32 to repla ce 36 11 400 Hu sky 34 to repl ac e 32 12 400 H usky 34 to repla c e 36 13 . 250 H usk y MJ '" M K 32mm 14 . .. 250 H usky MJ '" MK 34mm 15 .. , 400 Hu sky MJ + MK 34mm . 16 . 450 H usky MJ + M K 34mm PRIC E S75.95 S8 1.95 58 195 586 .95 577 95 S8095 S77 95 571 95 S8095 577.95 580 .95 580 95 577 95 S80 95 580 .95 S8095 KIT '# 17 .. 18 19 . 20 .. . 2 1 .. 22 . 23 24 . 25 . 26 .. 27 28 . 29 . 30 . 31 . . 32 . 33 . . . DESCRIPTION 125 Pento n 32mm . 125 Penton 30m m 125 Pento n 28mm . 175 Pent on 32 mm 175 Pent on 3 4mm . 125 CZ 32mm . . 125 H usky 32mm .. 360 Husk y 36 10 replace 36 360 Hu sk y 38 to re plac e 36 400 Hu sky 36 to repl ace 36 400 Hu sk y 38 10replace 36 400 H usk y MJ + MK 36m m 400 Hu sky MJ + M K 38mm 450 Hu sky MJ ... M K 36mm 450 Hu skyMJ +MK38mm . 400 CZ 38mm . 250 CZ 36mm . PRICE 573 95 S69 95 568 95 5 77.95 580 95 578 .95 5 7895 589 .95 593.95 589.95 593 .95 589 .95 593 .95 S89.95 593 .95 S90.95 58695 Special supe r t e flon smoo t h ca b les are avai labl e for $4 .25 an d a M i kun i t u ni n g info rm a t ion b o oklet for 52 .20 . P lease inclu d e a ~ 3 .00 shippin g & .h an d l i n g f e e . Cali f orni a re si d en ts add 6% sa le s ta x . Prices su bject to c h a n ge WIt h out n o t ic e . Ple ase s h ip C .O .D . 0 Pl e ase charge to : 0 B ankAm eric ard My accou n t nu m ber is 0 M ast er C ha rge Expiration date Bike Make/Mode l Yr._ _ F rame N o . _ NA ME _ A DDRESS _ CITY STATE ' " TELEP HO NE _ - -- -- - -- fuse area code) thl VU~(1W" !:~p~~~!a~-~!!!~Ltd. ~ j MAIL TO : I i>,,,jLll!,tJ ZI P Los An g eles. C; li fo rn ia 90064 - Telephon e: (213) 475-4541 a sales - Service - Accessories - Parts - Leathers H U S a VA R N A. CZ . S UZ U K I . P EN T O N. M IK U N I C A R B U R E T O R KI T S #1. Suzuki of Van Nuys #1 Invites you to stop i n £3 see 'What 's ne'W for '78! We!:t Coast 's : 1 Vo lume Suzuki Dealer 16141 S hprma n Way, Van Nuys, CA 213-994-2800 213-994-2882 3 Bloc ks West of t he San Diego Freeway HARD TO GET CHAMPIONSH IP ----~ ,, 'JA ENDURO lfOiitOID YAMAHA Brian Palormo * 200 photo s 24 Hour Mail Order Service Dealers Welcome * 12 8 poges DONELSON 3141427·1204 CYCLES, 3328 Woodson Road St. Louis. Mo. 63114 INC. ~ On ' y $5 .50 p aid ostp lc.lif. R-. 8dd 8"1 PARAGON PRODUCTION 5 3106 Sweetbrier Ci rcl., lafaye tt. , CA L. - ~~~~L~X CAMPBELL. CA 95008 (40 8 ) 371 -1 22 1 Steve Booth New Book By PARTS AND ACCESSORIES Largest stock in U.S. ~ Mik e Patr ick s ~ YAMAHA af CORONA , _ !10 1 E. 6th St reet , Corona , CA (714) 735 7721 I~U'CKO~.l ¥'®!ru[P)®!k,w Van Suspension Kit 1:mJ S.W. Tualatin Valley Highway Beaverton. OR 97005 503-646-8600 15

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