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/126343
(j) CN M ~ ..0 S ~ > o Z BLM, Phantom Duck update The following is a press release fro m the Cal ifornia Bureau of Land Man age ment dated Nov. 16 issued by the Riverside District Offi ce. 1695 Spruce St .. Riverside, CA 92507 . District Court halts "Phantom Duck" event The United States Attorney, los Angeles, CA, today obtained a Temporary Restraining Order from United Statas District Court Judge Warren J. Ferguson to halt the unauthorized "Phantom Duck of the Desert 4th Annual Barstow to Vegas 'unorganized ' trail ride ." The Court order was requested by the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management. Gerald E. Hillier, BlM Riverside District Manager, said the United States is seeking a permanent court order prohibiting the event without compliance with Federal law. The court ordered the defendants (PIta"tom Duck 's lIam. withheld,.,£dlfor} and others in active concert or participation with him, in their own names or under the pseudonym "Phantom Duck of the Desert" to restrain from promoting, organizing, sponsoring, or participating in the trail ride during the 1918 Thanksgiving weekend. Hillier noted the American Motorcyclist Association and its member clubs have not been involved in promoting the unauthorized event. The proposed trail ride would have followed the route of the old Barstow to Las Vegas motorcycle race held for several years on Thanksgiving weekend in the late 1960's and early 1910's . BlM allowed the last 155-mile race in 1914 after preparation and public review of an environmental impact statement. The post race evaluation showed sub.tantial natural and cultural rescuree damage. As a result in order to protect the desert environm!tnt BlM has not allowed off·road vehicle events over the route. Although this particular race is no longer allowed, BlM .till issues approximately 150 approved off·road vehicle event permits annually in southern California, involving some 60,000 participants. BlM has worked with paat .pon.ors, including the American Motorcyclist Association and member club., to provide alternative area. for smaller scele races that would not have the major impacts of the Barstow to Vega. race. Wh ile the BLM seems confi dent that the Phantom Duck and his friends will not ride. the Duc k and frien ds do not agree. As this is being written. Rick Sieman_of Dirt Bik e Magazine is orga nizing a lega l. defense fun d. !he Pha nt om Duck, by the time you rea d th is newspa per, will ha ve appeared m a Nov. 21 hea ring with full legal counsel , thanks to Siema n an d a large nu mber of ind ustry people who either ind.ivid ually ~r throu~h their . firms have contributed to the fun d . And this, accordmg to Sieman , IS only the beginni ng. Send a buck, save the Duck 2 "We have a lawyer with his canines .harpened, and we're giving him a Iicen.e to killl The Duck is _t going to be .hot down! After the hearing, the legal d.fensa fund will be converted to a legal attack fund. They've indicated that the Duck I. to be u.ed a. an example, and we're not going to let that happen," said Sieman in a Monday telephone call to Cyd. News, "We've found a lot of financial suppert in the indu.try, and now we're going to .ee whet kind of support the riders are willing to ~!ve. We're going to ask anyone who wants to help to send one dollar, he concluded. ' Donations to the Phantom Duck of the Desert Lagal Defense/Attack Fund should be sent to the Flame, Sanger, Grayson and Ginsburg Client Trust Fund, clo Rick Sleman, 11619 los A1imos St., Granada Hills, CA 91344. Make check. payable to F, S, G&G Client Trust Fund . "The ride i. onl " Sieman nid ju.t before the conversation ended. There will be people, riding legally on BlM de.ignated roads, between Barstow and La. Vegas on Saturday, Nov. 25, regardl.s. of the Nov. 21 . • hearing's outcome. An Air Q.uality Management Plan which recommends more than 100 an ti-pollution proposal for the California South Coast Air Basin has been prepared in response to future federal and state air quality standards. In cluded in th is plan is a measure to apply very stringent exhaust emission controls to off-road motorcycles begi n ning in 1985 (1 gram hydrocarbon and 12 grams carbon monoxide per kilometer). The proposal, if adopted, would have the following im pacts on the off-road rider: I. Virtual elimi n ation of all two-stroke , off-road mo torcy les; 2. Som e models, and even c entire brands, may not be available in Cal ifornia . Em ission-con trolled , fourstroke models still available after 1982 would be affected as follows: I . Increased costs of $200 or more; 2. Increased weigh t and decreased performance; 5. Prohibition of modifications to regain lost performance, or to suit your riding needs (for instance, changing sprockets or rejetting th e carburetor). Your at tendance is ur~ently needed at an y of the public hearmgs listed below . If unable to attend, your written or verbal comments should be addressed by Dec. 15 to Mr . David Di Julio , Program Manager, AQ.MP, 600 South Commonwealth Avenue. Suite 1000, Los Angeles , CA 90005 , or by ca lling 215 /572 ·6277 or 215/585 ·1000 . Dec . 4: LOS ANGELES CO UNTY : Board of Supervisors Hearing Room , 500 W . T em ple St ., Los Angeles, 9:50 a .m, to 4 p .m. Dec 6: SAN BER NARDINO CO UNTY : Chambers of the Board of Supervisors, 175 W . 5t h sr., 2nd Floo r (use rear entrance), San Bernardino , 9:50 a. m . to 4 p .m . Dec . 8: LOS ANGELES CO UNTY : West Covina City Council Chambers , 1444 Garvey Ave., West Covina, 9:50 a.m. to 4 p .m. Dec . 14: ORANGE COUNTY: Board Hea ring Room , 10 Civic Cent er Plaza , Santa Ana , 9:50 a .m. to 4 p .m . Dec . 15: RIVERSIDE COUNTY : Board of Supervisors Hearing Room , 14th Floor, 4080 Lemon s., Riverside , 9:50 a .m. to 4 p .m . Maywood M .C:s Toys for Tots GP has lIot been cancelled, despite anything you may have heard or read in Cyde N.ws dez correspondent Gary Laudig's report. The event will run. Apparently Gary's mention of the possibility of the event's cancellation helped get riders off their you·know·whats and send in those entries. That's the Toys for Tots GP at Sunrise Valley Cycle Park in Adelanto, CA on Dec. 2·3. Check in at the grade school just north of High De.ert Casino on Johnston and help some kids enjoy a brighter Christmas. Post entry is .15, and you can phone-in before the clo.ing date of Nov. 24. ICheck the Calendar s.ction for more info.1 Note on the Nov. 25 trail ride from Bars tow to Las Vegas: Som ewhere on this page. big as life, or two columns at least, is a copy of a BLM press release outlining the tempora ry rest raining order placed on the Phantom Duck. It should be not ed that the restraining order does not prohibit John Q.. Public from enjoying a trail ride in the desert over the Thanksgiving weekend, say . from Barstow to Las Vegas. The Third ' Annual Suzuki Gold.n State Serl••, a ••v.n-ev.nt Contln· .ntal Moto.port Club-aanctloned MX program, kick. off with the first tw0-d8y det. at Saddl.beck Park on Jan. 8-1. Thet'. a Saturday AmateurlSunday Pro alate thr0ughout the aerl... Guaranteed purs. total for the •• prom.... to .xceed .24,000 for the Pro. whlla U.S. Suzuki h.. off.r.d ov.r .1,000 worth of prlz•• for the Sportsman rI.. cia..... Arat and aecond p P flnl.h.rs In the Junior Mel Intermediate cIau overall ..... point at8ndlng. will rec.ive SUZUki Motocro.. School Gift C., tlfk:llte Scholarship., and the ov.rall top Sportsman rld.r out of all the cia.... will receive a new RM2!iO Suzuki. Dial 1141667·3323 to pick up more detail. from CMC. A bel ated congratulations to J. Robe rt Ha yes, the desert racing candidate for the 59th Assembly District . Ha yes won th e election by a 49·47 percen t margin over incum bent J im Kaiser. Ou r prayers go with you Bob as you sta rt your two-year hitch in Sa cram ento, and we kno w this is just the begin ning of a successful political ca reer. Note to other motorcyclists in ot her political districts: It's been done now . What are you waiting for ? King Richard repeats I Dick Burl.. son, a Iik.1y candidate if HuaqvM1ll! .v.r build. its own hall of fame, i. the 1918 AMA National Enduro Champion. It cam. down to .the final ev.nt the R.M . Wh.eler. National Enduro, where Suzuki'. T.d Worrell had to win whil. Burl.. son finl.hed fourth or lower in ord.r for Burle.on to lo.e the crown. Anal point .tanding.: 1. Dick Burle.on 1168 pointsl; 2. Ted Worrell 11441; 3. Drew Smith 11231; 4. Bob Popiel 11111; 5. Jack Penton 11141; 6. Iti.1 Mlk. Hannon, Herluf John.on 1911. Thi. I. Burl ••on'. fifth National Enduro title. Ma rt y Moates will cont est the 250cc World Championship MX Series in '79 under full sponsorship of LOP. The firm , under the leadership of La ure ns Offner . will also field an im pressive American team in the National, Super · cross and Trans·AMA circuits. Papa has ju.t completed n.gotiationa with Steve Booth and Brian Palormo to .erialize th.lr book Champlollshlp Ellduro in Cyde N.ws, Watch for ehapt.r one in a feww.ek• . Suzuki has announced it's '79 National Motocross team. In the 125cc battles, Mark Barnett and Brian Myerscougf will carry the banner; Kent Howerton and Da rr ell Shultz will do the honors in the 250cc wars ; and Danny LaPorte and Scott Gillma n will represent Suzuki in the 500cc class. All six riders will compete in Supercross events. In addition to algnlng Darrell Shultz.: Suzuki aIao signed his fether, Orville Shultz. to prepare Darr.II'. machln· ery. In a phon. conversation, Orv said, "They IMalcol made a very .Incer. .ffort to keep Darr.ll. It aurprlaad u., really." But Suzuki, wIttt Ita gl'lNltW reaoun:ea, won out. "You' ll see it first in Ca lifornial You 'll see it first in Cycle N ews." "The Best Go West. " "The West is made up of the best people th e .East ever had." Those three slogans, recently emitted from the warped mind of Papa Wealey, are slated for production in bumper sticker form. The first two, in fac t , are already being made. The third is still under consideration . What's your opi nion of them ? Keep your .ye. and ears op.n for 011 Any 5ullday II, an upcf8ted feature length film on motorcycle racing. Papa, a. you know from .xperlence, tell. ell .. soon .. he known It. Sometlm. even before. U. " news win be no exception. Announcer 18rry Huffman mede the announcem.nt at the AMA Profe..lonal Awnrda Banquat on Nov. 12. e