Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Randy Skiver. Others, such as, Randy SCOll. Mark Williams, Charley Brown and Emil Ahola, were expected to but never quite pulled it off. If Fay can win it all, win it on a 500cc, win it on a Honda, he will be king of the hill - at least for !Wo weeks. because that is when the National TT comes to Ascot and the longest. toughest and fastest TT track on the schedule this year. Even Eklund, now in his prime. and Kenny Roberts, when he was in his prime - on dirt, dared not try and ride into the main event and the overall win on a 500cc. But Mickey and Ric will tryon July 21. Dick Mann did it once years ago but time and equipment have changed since then. So say the ads and the magazine test riders. It's dangerous to predict winners for any event but the devil jumps up once in awhile and the fingers on the keyboard keep wanting to mention the name of Randy Goss. Most of you know Randy as a half miler and a miler. But I think Randy's first National win. which has been a long time coming, and is long overdue. will come in a TT event. Castle Rock or Ascot should suit him just fine and neither are far away. An even darker horse is SCOll Pearson. He won his first TT up at Boise and even the sponsor's publicity man refused to believe that a non-TT'er could win and the local TV announced a different rider that night on the tu be. Scott, like Fay, would like to prove that each of their TT wins earlier this year were not in any way a fluke. Can a lonely little old 500cc find happiness at Castle Rock? Or will one of those bad guys from Michigan invade the northwest domain of TT and zap them for the second straight year and third time in the wild wide open history of the race? Roxy Rockwood Big change for motorcyclists at Bonneville The Southern California Timing Association is a group of clubs originally formed to sponsor car racing on the state's dry lake beds. In 1948 SCTA began to hold the annual Speed W~k m~ting on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. Motorcycle participation, missing at first, gradually became more important. Following problems with the American Motorcyclist Association for the last few years, the SCTA Board of Directors voted unanimously on April 6 of this year to drop AMA sanction and support of S~d Week. Only May 11. SCTA President Gordon Hoyt met with interested motorcycle owners and riders at Bonneville Nationals. Inc., headquarters in Fullerton, California, to discuss the change. Motorcycle competitors have always had a different status at the worldfamous meet than car drivers. After' not being a part of it to start, 10 motorcyclists a year were invited to join the ~meet as guests. This was brought on by the interest of the Vesco family. including present motorcycle Land Speed Record holder. Don Vesco, and a group of ~ex~ .~ders. The bikes w~re not a regular part of the meet and got a timing slip; that was all. After a few years the AMA started running a separate meet during S~d Week. Matters pertaining to the course were under the jurisdiction of the SCTA. Course stewards, entry fees and such were the same as for the cars. Rules for motorcycle classes and tech inspection were the concern of Earl Flanders, the AMA referee. For a long while this arrangement was satisfactory. In recent years it has deteriorated. The SCTA traditionally has b~n a conservative organization, especially slow to move in issues concerning personalities. In this case the issu'e centered inevitably upon the personality of referee Flanders. The AMA headquarters in Westerville, OH consistently refused to take responsibility for or consider appeal on mallers pertaining to the Salt Flats. Letters addressed to Westerville were referred back to Flanders in Pasadena. As Earl in later years became capricious in enforcing the rules (this bike could run a certain tire, that similar one could not), rigid in some interpretations (a well-built motorcycle with a Ford motor could not run, even in an experimental class and for time only) and loose in others (the Jammer streamliner's non·production cases and car parts were okay because Flanders said so), some of the motorcyclists became ever more unhappy. There were many discrepancies between riders and rules. Some racers ignored safety rules (riding in tennies instead of boots). Some wanted stricter safety. rules (one-piece leathers required). not only in the books but enforced. A fad began, to get the number of records during the week, and one Bonneville aficionado suggested covering up a fairing's handholes to throw it into the streamliner class by simple exclusion from the fairing class. When this principle worked. it was exploited. One bike ran last year with an old·timey pith helmet taped to the front for a fairing. Another source of bad feeling' -wa~ the $20 that Flanders collected personally for each record qualification. He claimed that he needed the money (about $1500 in 1978) for his week's expenses. SCTA officials grumbled. They worked hard all week for a $I2.50-per-night share of a room at the Westerner and a baloney sandwich at noon. Motorcyclists grumbled. Why should they pay $20 for a shot at a record when the car guys didn't have to? Although the motorcyclists paid the same entry fees as the drivers, they never had gotten trophies. In 1977 one of the riders, Yale Camp, went around drumming up industry sponsorship for motorcycle record trophies. His efforts apparently were not appreciated by Earl. who had steadfastly refused to involve himself in such efforts. He told Camp he wasn't needed. For several years the SCTA had been trying to continue to work with Flanders on these and other issues. but almost no compromise seemed possible because Earl didn't want to play. The meet was changed from dual SCTAAMA sponsorsliip to SCTA sponsor· ship only in 1977. but this was a minor concession. Earl still had the game. Formally, the mantle had been passed on to his son, Paul, but it was noted that Earl still called the shots. Not all the motorcyclists were unhappy with Flanders. Some aspects of his cooperation, and Paul's were very good. and he was kind to his friends. It was the lack of consistency and consequent loss of credibility, and the lack of appeal procedures, that were irksome to many. (Continued to page 31) I11III1'. A LOT 0' '1M I used almost as many chain lubes as chains. And a lot of them do more harm than good. You know what I'm talking about ... lubes that attract everything on the track. W ....TICIIIS soalTH 0 lUI When I first used lw,ri-Tech Off-Road chain lube, I - for the first time in my life - became a fan of a chain lube. I got back to the pits and my chain was free of that gooey build-up so familiar with other brands of chain lubes. W ....nCH 0''''00 ....lTRAftS The part of the--chain you see never wears out. It's inside the chain at points of metal to metal contact where wear can shorten chain life. lubri-Tech Off-Road Chain lube penetrates to where the action is - cleaning out grit and leaving a layer of amazing "Moly" to minimize wear. 1IIY,I'aIlOlAWN CIIA8IW I just use the stuff, lots of it. like after I wash my bike. I spray on lubri-Tech IT-22, a really good moisture displacer to get rid of the water. Then I apply lubri-Tech Off-Road Chain lube. Think about that every time you buy a chain. Shouldn't you be using the chain lube mode for dirt bikes. lubri-Tech doesn't call it Off-Road for nothing. SERIOUS NO. 1 T.shIrt. Send $5 and size 5, IlI\ L or XL Serious No.1 cap,_ adlustable size, $5. Lubrl-Tech Products, 1251 N. Kila-wne Rd. G _ , III. 60031 Always follow the recommendations of motorcyde and equipment manufacturer$. Always use lllbri-Tech lubricants and performance chemicals 01 recommended. lubr~ Toc!ll'rodul;ls, 1251 N. Kilbomo!d.• ~.Il ~~. 5

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