Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

!.NORTHERN DATELINE ~ t , .-. ',. . .. .' .. Crossing some of the Sawmill streams often meant an immediate bath f or yourself and others . .. . - "-_ .. • Many bikes went be lly-up after some of the Sawmill water crossings. This is t he way a duc k earns his feathe rs. paddle and squat. Rapid Rick Burgett is about to get swooped u pon by Clay Azar at Mt. V iew motocross. speed average was 24 mph and th en , wh en th e trai l go t tigh ter , it was dropped to 12 . A few of th e better rid er s missed th e speed cha nge sign a nd burned th e first chec k whi ch was locat ed a t 11.6 mil es. As th e m orning passed , th e da y grew warm er a nd a bit o f dust appeared a t places a long th e route. Most of th e terrain was shrub -covered , with pat ch es of pine in the higher spots. so wh en th e su n began to beat down hard . th ose who wore th eir Belstaff jac kets were soon roas ting as th e trail twisted throu gh th e shadeless manzanita . Numerous , difficu lt wat er crossings were welc omed . A particularly interest ing sec tion was between the first a n d sec o nd ch ecks. A lo ng down hill dropped off into a creek . paralleled it for a short d istance through a tight thi cket , then recrossed sever a l tim es. T his had the rid ers working overti me. At one pla ce . th e water was inching up to gas tanks where a t th e sa me moment riders had to du ck under a hu ge log th at had fall en across th e cree k. The grou nd beyond th e water was a jumble of rocks and 'slippery logs. just th e kind of th ing an end uro rider likes to ride up on the pegs . An other some wha t d ifficult sect ion had to be negotiated before th e gas check. but so fa r the enduro had been m od erat el y c ha lle ngi ng. no t th e normal Sa wmi ll with its tradition of mud or snow or ra in (a nd usuall y all three a t once). Check four ca me a t 68 .2 m iles a nd th en things began to ge t a lit tle stiffer . T he speeds see me d to rem ain a t 24 mph a nd th e trail b eca me ti ght er a n d t ight e r. Hea t became mor e of a problem , and in more for ested la ndsca pe of th e second loop . th e pat ches of light a nd sha d ow on th e ground made it hard to read th e terrain a hea d . . Man y riders discover ed th at th e la te model . lon g. base motorcycles were not a ll th at trick in th e tight stuff. Some t ime cou ld be mad e up on th e fir e roads . many rider s coul d hook it at 50 or 60 mph . but a lways had to be on th e lookout for th e occasiona l dee p ruts th at ran down th e roa ds ; th e pr?ducts of th e frequ ent a nd hea vy themselves watered ou t midstream and fairly decent scores were fritered away pumping a nd cha nging spark p lugs. The d a y ended well for mo st , fini sher pins were gi ven out . trophies awarded and the wat er kept on flowing. Resu lts in Resu lts Section . rains. Toplieff tops D·36 Sawmill Enduro By M ike Ki nsella UPPER LAK E, CA , APR . 9 32 Maico-rider Glenn Toplieff returned to District 36 Enduro co mpe titio n .a nd too k first overall with a score of three in Sun day's '78 Sawmill Enduro , J ohn Ellis (KTM) a nd Art Bu rkha rt (Hus) we-re with in seco nds of each ot her in the race for seco nd with sco res of five eac h. Hea vy sno ws postpon ed thi s eve nt last February but the d ay da wne d sunny and warm . From th e sta rt, th e With nearl y 90 mil es com p lete d, th e rid er s ca me wit hin sight of th e finish. It laid way down bel ow. a t th e end of a deep ca nyon . The route to th e ca nyo n floor was a perilou s, cliff-like . gu llied out down hill th at was better su ited as a launch pad for hang gliders. Below waited five crossi ngs of Middle Creek , which , swolle n with sno w melt . was no longer a mere creek but a veritable Mississippi . Frustrated ride rs fo u nd Burgett in his own backyard By Jan Newman SANDY . OR. APR. 9 The season opened at Mt. View Cycle Park and Sunday's wea ther was as great as the raci ng, A lo t of loca l fans turned out to watch ----' Rick Burger t in his own backyard again. Ra p id Rickey gave them a show as he battled it ou t in both Open Pro mot os with Cla y Alar. Clay p layed th e g ame well , but Rick rul ed a t th e flag in both rac es. The on ly Open Pro not rid in g a Yamaha was th ird p la ce fini sh er Ba rn ey Newman , o n a Montesa . T he first 250cc Pro moto was led a ll the wa y by. Troy Folc k (Hus) but he goofed himse lf out of content io n in th e second mote , Lee Voss (yam) wound up seco nd in moto one and led th e second moro until Barney Newm an (Mo n) took co m ma nd . At th e fin al pa yoff it was Newm an 3· 1. Voss 2·2 a nd Folck 1-3 . Cl a y A l ar ( Ya m) dominat ed th e 125ccs, wh o ra n wit h th em . Rob Mosbrucker (SUI) a nd Kennv New (Ya m) exc ha nged wins in t h;' 125cc Intermedi a te class . New got t he nod for top b rass. but Mosbrucker got the big win in the 250cc Intermedi at e clas s. Cri sman (SUI) was R and y unt o u chab le in t h e 12 5cc Jun ior , actio n. with Cla ude Meyer (Ya m) a firm seco nd . Behind them there was a real scra m ble for positions. Nick Evans (Ya m) fini shed 4 ·5 for t hird overa ll a hea d of Doug Arnet (Ho n) , with a 7-3 record . Co le Ch a nce llor (Ya m) a nd Ron (KTM ) led th e Open Lon g Intermedi ate class a nd Cole wuund up ahead . Results in Results Secti on '. 200 try O.C.A. I . , meleeMX By Maxie Abernethy 11 OGDEN , UT. APR . 9 Menacing m o toc r oss melee th rea tened to disrupt the calm .

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