Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Dirt Track Roundtable are overlooking that want a 500cc rule is that the people who are making the rules don't have any idea what it costs to build or maintain a 500cc bike. We're not going to go back and run Triumphs and BSAs or production motorcycles. It's not going to happen that way. Now we may stan out with a production motorcycle, but if the other manufacturers are serious and they want to come in with a 500 then we are going to have rocket ships out there with an excess of 80 hp that turn 11-12,000 rpm. They will come apan real easy and wear out a lot quiclter than the engines we run now. . 0') ,..-4 M V ..c 8 V ~ fr "What I would reaUy like en to see is a true professional class and do away with the Novices and Junion. We could have a Formula 500 and a Formula 750 cI ass... " Norm McDonald Sure. the rider weight will also enter into the effect. but the cost of maintaining a bike like that will be so far out of the ballpark that whatever privateers we have won't be around for long. If they (AMA) are going to set up a 500cc class sometime in the future and/or keep the 750cc class, then I think that some son of restrictions have to be put on the engines NOW on what you can and can't do rather than wait until you have somebody coming in with one of these exotic motorcycles. It will be real easy to build $10,000 . engines. Are you going to expect a privateer to maintain one oj: these $10,000 engines? What will happen is that you'll have more people out than you have in. It will stan out that you'll have a lot of production type motorcycles, but Honda, for example, is not going to put out an effon unless they are going to win. If they want to win it will mean spending money, designing a brand new engine and going to the wall. Certainly that would be what we would do if we felt it necessary to go to a 500cc e~gine. We would build an engine to WID. 22 . . . . by the top riden - both factory and privateer. As it is right now. we have nothing to say about the rules. The rules are madt' today and at any time the racing czar can change them. To me this is a very. very serious situation. No one person should have the power to change all the rules on a whim. especially with the number of dollars and people involved. The people wbo spend the bucks should have a definite piece of the action. DK: Let me preface my panicipation in this by saying something about myself. I am not in the motorcyck business or the racing business, I'm in the cigarette business. So. with that in mind, I'll give you our situation. The till about rules - specific rules - isn't of that much concern to us. I believe that you can't ignore what has been said here about racing. We look at the racing as a solid promotional product. It is doing the right things for us. One thing you can't argue with is that the competition this year has been fierce and it appears that it won't let up soon, It is still a great show and I don't think anybody is saying that that is the problem. At this point it would be en· couraging to see a definite aggressive, progressive step forward by the AMA. The potential for growth in the spon is enormous - there' is no doubt aboul that. More brand identification would be great, I think everyone would agree on that. It would definitely add to the show to see a bunch of factory transports roll into the races. But you can't take anything away from HarleyDavidson because we wouldn't be where we are today if it wasn't for them under the existing format. It seems that it would be rather unfair to make any change in the rules that would penalize that effon. NK: I think that we all have to be careful in that none of us here want this session to come out as making a statement that we think that we have a poor show and that the thing is about to fall in. We've still got the greatest commodity going, but I am con· cerned. Take DuQuoin. The event drew the biggest crowd ever to the facility, yet only 44 of our Experts "I wasn't shocked that the restrictor rule wasn't passed. I was shocked that nothing was done. Nothing." Neil Keen There is no way that you can build a 500cc engine and go out and race it for what it costs with a 750 today. No way. It will be probably one and one-half to two times as expensive for the privateer. If we are to consider the privateer in chose to enter. Something is wrong. racing, things have to be changed. G..: I think that we have to get to the Rules have to be' established. The root of the problem. Right now, every people making the rules right now body is talking about things but we have no idea of the COlIt5 involved in a aren't getting any action as far as the 500cc rule. If they could sit down and AMA. We JXed more say in tbe rule talk sensibly about it, fine. but they making. However, I am a bit at a loss have no knowledge in this area at all. as to how we can go about it. I don't You don't have to take my word for it, know what the answer is. ask the people involved. I was sbocked that the board didn't I don't think that any cha~ will be paIS the restrietor rule. From all the easy especially when it comes to feedback I got. I felt sure that the rule figuring out a program. Nothing is would pass as I believe a lot of other easy when you come down to it, but at people also did. NK: I wasn't shocked that the restricleast we have a lot of people with a lot of knowledge that can be pulled tor rule wasn't passed. I was shocked together and should be able to come that nothing was done. Nothinjt. up with some good, sensible rules for G..: As far as I'm concerned Class C the future. racing as we now know it is dead on NMD: It seems to me that if the AMA the vine and if we don't get a shot in is truly interested in getting this from the arm real soon it will end up like an expensive sport to a profession then some forms of auto racing have. We we need a rules committee that really needed help not today, but yesterday, understands exactly what the rules will Lf we are going to leave it up to the AMA it won't work, They walk down do to racing. We need a couple of privateer engine builders. factory repthe middle of the street and whatever '. ·Q7. p.~ ~ioP •• 1 J ,si,de, cpks good, the lean that 't1 Y· r They don't want to get into a situation where they really have to make a decision. We have to corne together as a group to reach these people and get their attention to formulate some kind of pacltage where everyone survives. I have mixed emotions about a 500cc rule because the Japanese will go all out to get involved in sOmething and go wide open and then suddenly stop and you don't hear from them again. "I'm not going to kiss the Japs' ass to continue racing. If they want to come in here and play this baUgame then by damn they are going to play by our rules." DiCk O'Brien So instead of having an obsolete $6,000 Harley you'll have an obsolete $12,000 piece ofJapanese iron. The real point is that we aren't getting enough entries at the races, and we need more money in the sport to keep up with escalating costs. The AMA is brand conscious and I don't feel that it makes any sense. Promote the riden, not the brand of bike they ride. Sure, that will take time. But isn't it about time that they staned doing it? Create rider loyalty like they do in other sports. Richard Petty switched from Dodge to Chevrolet in NASCAR racing, but the fans sti1I come to see him race, They don't care as much about what he drives as who he is. ML: I don't think that we have any established stars big enou~h to use their names as a draw, I think that it would take five yean to see that. Now we have Kenny Roberts who has established himself and he could ride a pogo stick and people would come to see him race. However. what we need is an instant shot and not something that is four or five years away, G..: The point I'm making is that we have to stan doing something. ML: I don't like the thought of restrictors. However, you have to look at it as which is the lesser of the evils. I believe that we've backed ourselves in a corner where by we have to do something to get the different manufactuen to participate. Granted. if the Japanese wanted to go 750 racing they could do it in a minute. The point is they are not. So it seems to me that we have to take the racing clear on down to the bacltyard level where everyone gets back into the show again. It's bacltward thinking, but it would gain involvement, I've always thou~tlt that the Nationals should he limited to some son of factory participation. but if they aren't going to play then you have to take it down to the dealer level. That is, if every brand had a bike that could become competitive. But that is the problem, nobody wants to commit themselvei to a din program next year, although Honda and Yamaha have expressed an interest while Suzuki and Kawasaki want to take a look at it. I've talked with the people at Dunlop and they said that they were interested in getting back into din track, but now that a 500cc rule isn't in the works they've shelved the project. They aren't ready to commit themselves. The only way things will work is if everyone becomes involved and I don't know what we can do to jtt't that to happen. OB: I'm nOI going to kissth..Jap" ass continue racing. If they want to come in here and pia this ballg'!;me •• •• •• • ••• • • to then by damn they are going to play by our rules, What you're saying Men is screw Harley-Davidson and 'all the privateers because we've got to have theJaps or we're going down the tubes. That's what you're really saying. ML: I didn't really want it to come across like that. The point is that we need more people besides Harley. DB: Then let them come in, Nobody is stopping them, ML: But they won't. OB: Why won't they? It's because they want to come in for nothing! You know damn well that's right. I get really irritated over this thing because there are too many penonal gains trying to be made by too many people. They want to make a buck and to hell with everybody else. You're one of them, Mert. NK: Wait a minute. Now, if they have any rule changes I'm going to. make some money out of it because I manufacture racing equipment and I'm going to manufacture whatever they need. G..: Why can't the AMA go to the Japanese factories and say we're going to .stay with unrestricted 750cc machinery and it's going to stay that way for. let's say five yean. Tell them that we aren't going to change our minds and ask them to build a 750. I think I know what the answer would be, but at least we would have tried to get them involved. Sure it would cost money, but any change is going to cost something. NK: Everybody is saying lets get the Japanese factories involved, Wen, the last thing I want to see is their involvement, If they do, they'll spend whatever it takes to win and we can't match that. Hey, Harley-Davidson runs on a budget. They don't have unlimited funds to go off in any direction they feel like. Gil: We've got a formula (750) that is already successful and works. Why do we JXed to cha~ it? It's an American deal and let's leave it that way. NK: I believe that there is one thing that is critical that we do at this time and that is bring the Junior class riders back into the Nationals. Previously, back in the early '70's, when they raced in the National prograDJ it didn't make any sense. but now I think it does because the promoters and the spectatl~n are being shan changed on theentnes. I feel that we should include the Juniors in the Nationals for next year and do so until we get so many entries that we can't handle them anymore. Then we can worry about something else. On some tracks there are Junion running 28mm restrictors that are only a ticlt or twO slower than the Experts without them. "It seems to me that we have to take the racing clear down to the . backyard level where everyone gets back into the show again." Mert Lawwill G..: I think Neil has made a really good point because if you have the Juniors at the Nationals it will bring them rota the limelight and give them a taste of what it can be like. I believe that would bring even more Novices into the system and make them compete even more so that they could earn points to become a Junior and get a chance to be in the Junior National. That would maybe help us where we are hurting most - in our farm system. Something like this would fill the J 1j I "

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