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/126400
Sand Canyon and .in to Rock Creek proper . As you mo tor a long, take no tice of the roc ks. You are now on a mo raine caused by a la rge glacier as it pushed and scraped its way down the canyon . At 7.8 m iles you will come to a jun ction . It was very faint , so a sharp eye is need ed . Go ' righ t. W e'll come ' ba ck .ro this junc tio n late r, so remem be r the loca tion . If you follow th e left fork , you will cross the full leng th of a m eadow , and tha t's a no-no. When we arrived at this bea u tiful spo t, a fou r- by-four 'had gone throug h lea ving two wide tracks a ll the way across. It was the only th ing that spoil ed the view. Continue to the righ t' around th e me adow a n d head so u t h for approximately a mil e to 8 .7 m iles to another fork . Look to the left and pick up th e road , it goes up a ste ep pitch through the boulders. It do esn 't look like the ' right way, but it is, so gas it and go. It was rocky and ra ther tri cky but a lot of fu n . You can go to the right as the roads rejoin in a whi le, bu t the tracks are fa int , very rocky, and there's lots of over ha nging brush. W e used one going in and the other coming out, just for variety. At 8.9 m iles , a John Muir W ilderness sign appears. This is as far as you can go with a motorized veh icle. Please obey th e sign! If you run your scooter past t he sign and are spotted by a ranger ,- and they do patrol up here - it's a trip to Bishop and a meeting with the Federal Magistrate. There are no alib is, and the fines are very stiff. You can pa rk th e bikes and walk 100 ya rds or so up the trail to a beautiful u nna m ed lake. The fish were ' jum ping. bu t u nfortunately we ca rried no gear. As we took some photos a bill ion mosquitos enjoyed a free d inner on us, ' bu t th e sight of th is lak e with . t he snow-covered Sierra as a backgr ou nd was worth a few bug bit es. , The lake will grad ually disappear , th e water plants are taking over , and probably in a hundred years it will become a lush meado w. Ret racing the rou te back to th e big m eado w at the 7.8 mi le m ark, go right. Start across a nd just as you enter the m ead ow p ro per , you will see a n illdefined two- track road going eas t , or to th e left. Foll ow it across and sta rt u p the hill. This road up to the top of Wheeler Ridge was a little d ifficul t to s pot . T he recen t rains, hea vy snow a nd downe d tree b ra nc hes _ had almost wiped out th e first 200 feet. ' T his last wirier was the most severe -since 1969 , and on some of our rid es we r an int o some ra t her strange condi tions. . Close to Ma m mo th there was deep sno w at 8 ,000 feet . th en non e a t 10 ,000. On t his ride , there, was no snow anywhere even at 11,000. Near Deadman's Pass on nor th facing slopes there wasn 't eno ugh for snowcon es. One some pumice flats nearby (n o trees and lots of su n) th er e would be huge snow banks. Some, of th e roads , were, quite dusty, but on e in ch down in many places you cou ld almost make mud balls. We started up Wheeler Ridge , and for 1. 7 miles it was a very twisty , narrow climb. It was a continuous series of turns, some sharp 90-degrees and, some 180's. These turns were through large boulders and snaggy tree roots. A trials rider would fall in love with this sect ion! . W ith some 40-degree slope , constant right 'and left turns , and in one spo t, a 270 -degree turn up a solid set of rock steps made it a bit puckery. It was tough going up , but coming down I think it was even hairierl, Finally, it levels out and the crest is reached. You are at 11,000 feet and on the top of Wheeler Ridge. This is one .' _•• (Continued to page 47) In '79, The World's. Fastest Big Bike Gets Even Faster 450MBico' Magnum II 'Maico 's undisputed domination of the Open Class in the first year of the Magnum continues for another year. In 1979, new porting unleashes more of the Magnum engine in both' the 450 Magnum II and the slightly less awesome 400 Magnum II. There's a number of important refinements in the '79 Magnums that deliver more raw power ana not at the expense of Maico famous stability and handling. It's another example of how Maico - year after year - builds on its success. And the bigger the bike, the more you need . Maico's handcrafted workmanship to come through with the performance you want. The big bore Magnums for ' 79 are 'better than ever . . . better than last year _. . better than any other bike you'll line up against in this country during the '79 season. Get to your Maico dealer fast and see the bike.that'll rule theOpen Class again in '79. ' , , He's well-stocked with the big Maicos - but they 're going fast. MAICC: 1256 Ptog~s Rd.• Suffolk. VA 23434 _ Rt. 1, Bol( 211. Antioch,"IL 60002 _ 110 E. Santa Anita Ave., Bu~nk. CA 9 1502 - CanlKlll·64 Healy Rd.. Bolton. Ont. Subscribe and get your name on the front page of Cycle News~ ·Complete line for 'racin g bikes ,· Requires no oiling ·Smoothest pulling cable "Flexible throttle wire gives long life ·Heavy duty housing. resists stretch and abuse Write for Free literature Terrycable PO Box 1321, Hesperia, CA 92345 (714)247-2646 Out of state call toll free 1 854-4691 8001 DMG MAICO Electronic Ignition Wide Ratio Gear Box 1505 S. Pacific Ave. San Pedro, CA 213-832-6844 NeW 1978WR400 ~~=~:~ Desert Specials $1495.00 + ~'&11c. Service , ,Parts Sales , " 15 .