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/126290
THE LATEST P BY PAPA WEALEY Ja y Springsteen and Dia ne Cox film ed a segment fo r the C BS program "Challenge of the Sexes" at Ascot on Novem ber 22. The pair were Harley' Davidson mou nt ed in a best of three sh ort track c ha llenge . T h e show should air som et ime in Februa ry. We won't tell you who won . Negotiations are underway .t o telecast the July 31 DuQuion, Illinois AMA ' Grand National Championship/Camel Pro Series mile live. Stay tuned. AMA re leased its fina l pla n on ca rburetor restrictors , All F7 50 m ach inery except fou r -st rokes will be required to use restrictor pl ates. The AMA may ch ange the inne r diameter from time to tim e. No changes in th e following sizes will be made prior to March 13: 23mm in ner d iam ete r for 4 cylinders, 27mm 1.D . for 3 cylinders and 33mm 1.D . for twins . "W e left it wide open for 750cc single cylinde r two -strokes," joked AMA T ru stee J ohn Wyckoff. Mouth-of-the AMA Banquet-award went to Tony DiStefano' for his academy award speeches every tim e he got to the m icrophone. DiStefano thanked everyone from his Mom and Dad to t he guys w ho prepared t he tracks. However, he was almost speechless when he receiv ed the AMA Sportsman of the Year award. DiStefano did have e nough wit left in him to comme nt that he "thoug ht th at they saved the award for th e old guys who had paid thei r dues." Environmental fanatics act like they believe God would if He knew all t he facts. On Mar ch 19 1,300 a mateur motocrossers will get a cha nce to ride the sa me Ho uston (Texas) Astrodome track as t he Su percross Series pros di d the day before. The event will be the ' seco nd annual Gra nd National Championship MX. Qua lifying f or the G.N.C. has already begun, but there are still events to be run from w hich a rider can qua lify. A ri der m ust compete in a district event to be elig ible to race a regional qualifier. The top eig ht finishers in each reg ional event receive i nvita tions to the G.N.C.MX. Camel Pro Series compe titors can save thei r dimes · the AMA hasn't released the Gra nd National numbers list yet. Q uit callingl Husqvarna will merge w ith the Swedish company Electrolux, subject to okay by shareholders. No change is expected in the U.S. distribution of Husqvarna motorcycles, but more strengt h is anticipated in product developing and marketing, accord ing to Gustaf Rooth, ' U,S. General Manager. 6 Califo rnia is ' starting to plan for developme nt of Can d lestick Park in Sa n Francisco. An y group intereste d in presenting id eas about the development m ay call Ca rlos Espinosa or J udy Chan, architects, at (916) 322· 7564 o r 322 -7533 in Sa cr am e n to . 'Twould m ake a fine cycle site! BlM lands on Muddy Mountain, Wyoming are permanently closed to motorized vehicles except for designated roads and trails, as of Nov. 16. Cal if. Recrea tional Trails Committee will hold a public wor kshop Dec . 5 and a business m ee ting De c. 6 in Sacram ent o to talk of many things brought out in our recent interview with sla te Parks & Rec Director Russell Cahill. Call Ron Rawlings (916) 3227384 for information . A m oped set a new 50cc land speed record of 137 .38 mph, accord ing to a press release from Kreidler Import ~orp. Laverda rep ort ed ly unveiled th eir new V·6 1,000 'a t th e Milan (Italy) show last week. T he en gin e is a watercooled, na rrow angle, cr ank in-line number with a five-speed gearbox and shaft drive. Former Bultaco rep M ike Hannon is currently inv olv ed in testing a new off-road bike for Kawasaki. Sources say the bike i s " an extension of the 1T400 concept, " and is a two-stroke single w ith a yet·to-be decided eng ine size of between 380 and 4OOcc. Hannon , a recognized top line en duro/reliability trials rider, ' is expected to join the Hon d a effort in '78 . He and Texan Don Sanford . ru mor has it , will launch a serious AMA National Championship Enduro effort riding 220 lb. 500 cc single cylinde r four st roke ma chines. Speaking of the Kaw asak i folks, Jimmy We inert r en ew ed h is co ntract with them. "I like to let the good t imes roll as Kawasaki's slogan says," grinned the Jammer. "Kawasaki and I are look ing to get down to business aga in in 78." W edding bells will ring ou t on Dec. 9 when movie sta r and all-a round good gu y Malcolm Sm ith and his lon g-time companion Ma ry Witte will be married. Kenny Roberts has aga in signed w ith Yamaha Motor USA. Roberts said he was paid " en ough not to rac e dirt or t hi n k about it." Questio ned on the amount of the co ntract, Roberts (who was reportedly paid $80,000 last year) commented "Yamaha doesn't really want me to mention the amount because it upsets all those motocross racers. You could say I got a substantial in crease." " W e'r e happy to have solved our • problems ," said D aytona Spe edway's executive vice presid ent Bill France, Jr. in announcing that the 200 Mile Classic will run as sc he d u led . However , the event will not carry F750 World Championship sta tus as it d id last yea r. It will be a non ch ampionship AMA /FIM F750 event. Castle Rock TT is reinstated on the AMA Camel Pro Series schedule. The club-run event has one more year in which to upgrade its facility to meet AMA standards. This week's "relia ble sou rce" repo rt tells us that Honda's new su pe rbi ke is a five valve per cylind er, DOHC, two stroke V-5. And th ey are also releasing... And may we ask - " Hav e you hugged your motorcycle today7" Some of the headliners in the Dec. 4 U.S. National4-stroke Motocross championship are pictured above. From left to right. Danny Steele, Rolf Tibblin, d Merty Moates, Marty Tripes and M ike Tripes. The AMA-sanctioned event .Ii includes Open, 151·360cc, 0-1SOcc, Sidecar, Dinosaur and Oldtimers classes, plus semi-pro events. Call (714)455-5865. Promoters will reta in the television rights to even ts at th eir fa cili ties . The promoter will have to pay a larger percentage to th e riders next yea r, b ut he ma y (wit h AMA app ro val ) nego tiate h is own cont racts. AM A 's voluntary rider public relations clinic prior to t he awards banquet drew only about a dozen riders from GNC and MX ranks. Those in attendance were not the riders who needed it most. Announce r . lar ry Huffman presided over the school. His most practical advice on how to become at ease while speaking was to spend 10 m inutes each day reading aloud. A special meeti ng prior to th e AMA Awards Banquet was attended by most of the top 20 riders from th e AMA Gr and National championship circui t who agreed to go ahead wit h a plan to form a rid er's organizat ion. W ork has al ready begun on a n initial draft of pr oposed object ives, by- laws an d othe r legal aspects needed to set up a non profit organization . On one of his many trips to t he m icrophone to accept an award or point monies, Tony DiStefano j ok ed about having to low er the microphone when the Class C riders got their awards because they were " all little guys," Ted Boody, at six feet two inches, cautioned DiStefano to keep "his ,jokes for the motocrossers." Bob Ha nnah played his ro le to the hilt when acc ep ting the Numbe r One pla te for Su p e rc r oss. Jimmy Weinert pr esent ed th e award and also gave H a n n ah a pa ir of outrageo us ly oversized sunglasses. "You're a bout the only gu y with a head big enough to wear these," commen ted Weinert. Over 200 riders attended the Phantom Duck of the Desert Barstow to las Vegas trail ride, held each year in loving memory of the point-to-point desert race. Many people made it all the way to Vegas this year, and one of them is the author of a report on the momentous j ourn ey, to appear in the next issu e. . One of th e Duck's compatriots, EI Coyot e, said he was th e last on e to leave camp. "There were two pieces of paper , and one of th em was left on my windshield . All the fire rings had been filled in and the firewood stacked by [he sid e of t he road . T he a rea was fa nt astically clean ," he said . Saddleback Park had to shut down trail riding th is week until its insurance policy is renegot iat ed. Race tracks and scheduled events are still on . If you plan to tackle the trails at Saddleback, call fi rst (714) 558-1584 for 24-hour information, iJ Racing World (Esca pe Country), j~1t u p the road from Saddleback, is still ope n for trail riding and overni gh t cam ping. Plu s th eir - new speedwa y track op ens for practice th is Saturday. Bob Hannah was gifted w ith a new Ferrari by Yamaha for winning the Supercross Championship, On ly one stipulation attached to driving the ca r, commented announcer larry Huffman: " Hannah must pull over and let Broc Glover pass anytime he sees h im in the rearview m irror: ' It was a joking ref erenc e to their team tactics which won Glover the 125cc National Championship. Money. That's the big word from recent AMA awards banquet as bot h Camel Filters (R.J. Re ynolds T oba cco Company) and Mr . Pibb (Coca-Cola) announced continuing sponsorships of pro fessional raci ng. T he Camel Pro Ser ies will again ben efit from a $100 ,000 rider point fund in 1978. Professional m otocross riders can look forw ard to a $10,000 rider po int fu nd in eac h of t he three cham pio nship MX classes. e A one-year trial period for road racing in the rain emerged from recent AMA meetings. The referee will determine when the weather is too wet for racing . Atlanta 's Su perbowl South will tak e pla ce on Ma rch 4 (tha t' s Satu rda y prior to Daytona's Speed Week) and will once be sponsored by Mr. PiBB. •