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/126303
,., jfI,' TH E Yoshim ura's son- in -law fr om japan . held third place on the Yoshimura 944cc Suzuki GS750 . . By the second lap , Mc Laughlin was fifth behind Cooley: Kato, Reg Pridmore (Racecrafters KZI OO and O) John Long (Udo Geirl/Tod Schuster BMW ). California club racer Billy "T he Bullet" Addington held sixth on a Yoshimura KZIOOO he tunes and owns himself. Ka to lost second place when his bike's CD! ignition fa iled on the third lap . Mc La ug hlin sho t in to seco nd place on the next lap , and passed Cooley for the lead at the start/finish line on the sixth lap. Cooley repassed into the lead in turn one and the race for first was on.· Bot h riders had a lready left behi nd a ferocious back-a n d -forth duel between Pridmore a nd Lon g, which was trai led by a lon e Mike Bal dwin (Re no Leon i Mot o Gu zzi) and the infigh ting , stuffi ng and wrestling ' pai rs of Pau l , Ritter (Aero -Un ion Duc)/Billy Ad dington a nd David Emde (Escargo 950cc GS750) /Eric Buell (Tesone Due). Cooley ' a nd 'McLa ug hlin new around the track with startling ' differences in cornering and straightaway speed compa red to the rest of the 37 starters. Both McLaughlin a nd Coo ley reached lap times of 2: 15. about three seconds per lap faster than the best time turned hy 1977 winner Cook Neilson (who ret ired from racing and sold his Ducati to Ritt er's sponsor). Then , later in the sixth lap - with McLaughlin leading Cooley disappeared with - a rock-caused oil cooler leak. Mc Laughlin was home free. periodically glancing back at the continuing, but distant , Long/ Pridm ore battle of infield versu s straightaway speed, Ritt er's Du ca ti suffered a crankshaft fai lure on la p seven , Bu ell retired on lap 10, David Emde's Suzu ki started leaking oil from the left sidecase and the finis hing order was set. O nly the Pridm ore/ Lon g d ice continued among t he front runners. " I m ad e th e wro ng ch oice of tire · com po u nd , 1 th ou ght it would warm up ," said Pr id mor e after fin ishing second. a head of Long by about a bikelength . Specta to rs looking closely at Pridmore's slick tire coul d still see the marks from a rasp used to scuff in the new tire before t he race - it had hardly worn in 50 ha rd mi les. "T he tire was too skittish . W it h the wind blowing and the tires slipping, it felt like the wheels were never on the ground ." . " It was like Prid m ore had an extra gear," said Long after the race. " Bu t my bike got out of the corners better nd every lap I could catch him by th e ast infield corner. He got away from me once, but I caught him again when he made a mistake in traffic." McLaughlin, feeling vindicated by his victo ry in front of his critics , sa id " I never let Wes by, 1 was go nna make a race out of it . The Yoshi muras wanted Gs as close as possibl e, just like when I rod e a BMW. " At a special weigh-in to check for com plia nce with new AMA Super bik e minimum weight rules , Mcl.aughlin's Suzuki weighed 425 pounds without gas, 18 pounds a bove the GSIOOO minimum weight. • Results 5O-MILE SUPERBIKE PRODUCTION ROAD RACE: 1. Steve Mclaughlin ISuzl. 2. Reg Pridm ore IKaw). 3. Joh n Long (BMW): 4, Mik e Baldwin (M Gt 5. Billy Addingt on tKaw ). 6. David Emde (S uz ). 7. Kurt Liebmann IMG) , 8. Freddie Spencer (SU1). 9. Richard Chamtier s tM GI.' 10 . Kurt Lentz lOuel. 11. Matcolme £ Tunstall fDuel. 12. Frank Mrazek (Kaw). ' 13. Garv Tompkins (Kaw), 14. Ed Powell (Suz). 15. Jona than White (Ouc ). SAC H S /Hercules 7 -.S PEED ...r. . ...... •.. •'.. . _ EN DU R O ' r , '~ ~ • E • ~ "We Can't Imagine You Getting Any More ,Fo r Th~ Money" t _ . _ . 00 t' 0') This is t he best pure e n d u ro offerof the ye a r, Take advantage of it now! To commemorate the medal winning performance a t t h e 19 77 : . IS O T . S ACHS is making a s pe ci a l o ffer on i " a Limited Edition oflSOTCommemorative GS Enduro models in 125cc. 175cc. 250cc. and 350cc displacement classes. Although priced like a Japanes e tr ail bike. the Ge rman crafted SACHS/Hercules GS mod els are built to wi thstand the - .. rigors of t he ISOT. These are t rue . professional q ua lity competition machines with 7- s'pe e d transmissions. primary kick start, c h rom e moly fram e and swing arm, .horizontally split cases , a nd di e-cast conical alloy hubs. All models feat ure top-flight, brand name c ompon- • ents like: Ceriani, Motoplat.Marzocchi, Akront, . Falk, Metzeler, VOO and Magura. Compare the price. Compare the fea tures. This is the best pure enduro value of the year. Ask your motorcycl e d ea le r about .t h e SACHSj Hercules ISOT Commemorative m odels. or write to SACHS for a FREE, full-c olor b rochure and in fo r m ation about t h e dealers in yo u r area. -. . . .. , 7·SPEEO SA CHS /H ercules ISOT CO MME MORATI VE DEALERS : Thereare only a few of each of the four . . ISDT COMMEMORATIVE Models still avail a ble. Order s are acce pte d o n a flrst-come. first- served basis. (R) MOTORS CORPORATION OF USA DEA LER SERVICE & PARTS CENTERS: 909 C ROCK ER ROA D, DfPT.F 14, W ESTLAKE. OH IO 44 145 . (21 &) 871·4890 • &401 REGIO AV E.• D EP1.f1 4. 8 UENA PARK, CALI FORNI A 90& 20, (714 ) 523-)480 moving? Well, HOT OOG! That means you've got another coupon to fill out, After all, we have to send your Cycle News somewhere and what better piece than your newaddress? 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