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/126517
Millillippi and south of Oregon, ~ and shut off his bikl!'s I!nginl! lIO hI! could takl! in thl! vil!W from onl! of thl! highl!r points on thl! cou~ on Sunday morning. "I was trying to I'mt a pair of 18-yl!ar-old I~ to UR on Sunday aftu Saturday's ridl!" jokm Davis. "I had a su~r timl! do:spitl! falling off thl! railroad traclts (thl! path URd to ~ thl! rid~ in and out of TKatl! this year) I!arly Saturday morning. I had a timl! ~ting back up thl! bank, and I'm surl! no timl!k~, but it was an 6ttUmt .... 00 0) run." A fl!W ridns fl!lt that ~ ~t this year was "too I!asy." It did not rdlKt thl! challmge th~ had coml! to associall! with thl! TKatl! 500 which has a Wl!1I-dauvm ~utation for ~g one of tM most tKhnicaUy difficult and sotnl!timel brutally tough mduros in ~ northun hemispMrI!. It is one of ~ fl!W ~ta Malcolm Smith emously com~1!S in nch year on a motorcycll!. Smith, who took thl! Oftrall win several timl!S in tM past dght ~nu ~ tM TKate for tM fint timl! this year but fl!lt it was a tough choitt ~ tw~n TKatl! and a fully paid, spansorm rick in a Dodge pickup in thl! East African Safari! Thl! Safari barl!ly 1-0 s:l. < ~atout. Ridns normally anticipatl! a skirmish with na~ and ~ demmta, Iplmdidly chor~pMd by ~ Los Ancianos with flair, imagination, a bit of scheming and a pinch of ~chft-y. And that's on a good year whm tM weather isn't too bad. Saml! riden felt it was a plot with intmt to DNF c:om~ton who ~ not p~, alert, and very good motorcyclista. For ~ put ~ yean ~ TKall! 500 has oecupim a lpot on tM opparill! sidl! of thl! ~trum from ~ ubiquitotts "family mduro. " ~ mtry form early sta~ "for 6~rimced riden only." 1'baIe who weren't ~ enough usually found out rathu quickly on thl! fint day, particularly in thl! yean whm Mothu Naturl! jumpm into thl! act with rain or II~t or mow or all of thl!a~. lTop) 5mBln' Bob Popiel lind TMm Husky riding penn_ Greg D.vIa reID efter the ride. ThIs y.r'. Tec:ete covered • veMty of .,.In - aome tough. aome -.y - providing. good rid. for fun ~.nd "pro" .11k•• Tecate 500 Enduro Popiel's second Automatic win By Suzie Mann This year's prestigious and demanding Ninth Annual Tecate 500 Two Day Enduro, voted "the best one ever, super course with perfect weather" by 90% of the riders, reflected a major change in attitude toward the event by the sponsoring Los Ancianos M.e. That attitude change combined with a lot of timl!, planning and plain old hard work with pll!nty of attmtion to cktail raul~ in a first class. national-calibc:r com~ition. 16 Tl!am Husqvama rickr Bob Popid, who b«aml! thl! fll'St l!astUll rickr to win thl! ~t last year, pullm a ~at of thl! ovuall win with his Husky Automatic. Tall, lanky and Yl!ry fast, Popid (who now livl!S nl!ar San Di~o and worb for HUICjYU1I& running thl!ir Rrvitt schools on thl! Wl!St coast) said, "I chOR to com~1! on thl! Automatic again this yl!ar, fint ~UR I likl! it, and SKOnd b«aUR a coupll! of guys at a gas stop last year didn't ~ to ~Ii~ you could ~ succ~ul in thl! T Katl! with onl!. "May~ th~'rI! bdil!Vns now" hI! smilm. Popil!l accumulatm a m~ fiVl! points during his winning ridl!, fl!Wu most com~iton pickm up dthu day of thl! dl!lDanding 400 mill! ~t. BaRd in thl! northl!m Baja bordu town of T Katl!, known for its ~r and loeatm about 40 mill!S I!ast of Tijuana, thl! cou~ runs onl! major loop I!ach day through !OIll1! brl!athtaltingly ~au tiful and lIOm~o:s trl!achuous t~. It snakl!S through and around a lot of high sa~brush, pinl! forl!St, along dl!composm granitl! trails and OVl!r roeks. Onl! RCtion this yl!ar ran along for a coupll! of mill!S ovu smooth round golfball-t9-grapdruit-siud rocks. ISDT ridu G~ Davis, who was com~ing for thl! fint timl! wet of thl! Thl! motto "Old a~ and trl!achl!ry will oVl!rcoml! youth and skill" was mthusiastically adoptm by tM club aftu ml!m~ Jiin Hjalmanon and Km Hl!aring noticm it in Jim Huntu'l BSA/four-ltrokl! rl!pair shop a fl!W yl!an back. Sl!Vl!ral of thl! most difficult, tough and truly arduous I!nduros in modl!m history wl!rl! TKate 500 I!vl!nu. Back in 1974, almost half of thl! fidd was out by thl! noon ch~ on thl! fint dayl Thl! 1978 I!Vmt had just 20 official finishns from 240 ItartBSl Hl!avy rainstorms just prior to last year'l ~t caURd much of ~ ~ to ~ rl!routm and saw only 52 official f~ from weI1 ovu 200 startenJ TM word got out, no mattu how good thl! ridu, ~ TKatl! could ~ you if you didn't watch out. Many ri~n fdt duty bound to vubally rUl! Los Anclanos mem~ Oftr the coals in tM put, in rl!turn for tM punishtnmt thdr bodies and motorcycles rI!mvm out on tM infamous cou~. A TKatl! finisMr pin is a COVI!~ award. Some ridns haVl! ~ trying as long as seven yean to gain one without sua:as. But thl! ridl!n ~ rl!turning in s1ighdy I~ num~ thl! past coupll! of yean and tM club rl!aIizing that "tM winnl!n woUld win ~rdIess and that ~ ~ was rally for ~ majority of thl! mtranu," so this year ~ URd all of their considl!rabll! skill and imagination to put on a rl!ally good I!nduro that thl! avua~, 6~ril!nCm ridl!r could at Il!ast finish. Thl! ~ulu Wl!rI! spKtacular. Th~ ~ just ovu 150 finishns out of 215 lta~n. TM club achi~ this miracll! by running a 24mph aVl!ra~ throughout, instead of their normal timl! cha~ which ranged from