Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

British'bikes ' ( Co n t in ued from pug" 2-1 ) Townsend. 20, a moped mecha ni c fro m Fu llerton. "You j ust go along wi th yo u r feet stretched out to ca tch yourself if you start tipping over." " It brok e th e boredom, " dea d pa n n ed Do n Madden , 52. a computer engineer from Moorpark. "T here wer e two sections th at wer e real deep and g reas y. bu t o th er than tha t there were o n lv a few water holes that weren 't too ·bad." Madden took in th e m uddv Old Ridge Route riding a n icel y re~tored 19561\1a tchless 350cc single. In cidenta lly, he is a lso chief organizer of th e AJ S a n d Mat chless O wne rs Clu b in North Am erica ; the cl ub ha s 100 members. Madden is in man y ways typical of th e British m otorcycle enthusia st. H e is middle aged a nd was weaned in hi s yo u th o n the the n- pop u lar Brit ish motorcycle. At th e ride. eac h fini sh er recei ved a BSA logo lapel pin . T he hos t. th e loca l BSA o wne rs branch. ha s 220 dues-pa yin g members. (T he ini tial s BSA sta nd fo r Birm in gham Sma ll Arms, an old Eng lish munitions man ufa cturer th at was th e wo rld 's largest maker of mot o rcycles in th e World War II era .) No entry fee was charged . The run wa s not in an y way co m pe ti tive or structured . Participants d rove th e prescribed SO-m ile loop a t th eir leisure. Though most were on British-made motorcycles, a few participants rode bikes from elsewhe re. They wer e welcomed, too, but non -British participant.'> did not qualify fo r pins. The BSA Club h as to tak e an ecu men ical view toward non -British steeds. The la st of the mass-produced British mak es folded in th e mid1970s and wha t's left o n th e road is dwindl ing. The si tua tio n is such th at o ne fiveyear vet eran o f th e local BSA clu b, George Roche, a club o fficer, didn ' t even o wn an English mot orcycle unti l a yea r ago. H e ro de a Yama ha. " Hey , every time I went to Th rifty and Sa vOn (the cha in drug stores), they were ou t of BSAs." jokes Roch e, 47. wh o lives in Mo orpark. H e is now half owner o f a 1967 A-65. a 650cc BSA twin , th at h e acqu ir ed for $400 a year ago. Th e BSA run is an a n n ua l event held o n the first Sunday o f April at . th e sa me location (excep t if Eas ter falls o n th at date, in which case th e event h appens o n th e seco nd Sunda y in April ).lt is part of a Tri p le Crown of British rides in th e Los An geles area . JRC Engin eering , a m otorcycl e parts compan y in Fo u ntain Va lle y. hosts a sim ilar kind of run in lat e J u ly o r ea rly August. J RC, by th e way, is th e U .S. dis tri butor fo r a new Trium ph mot or cycle no w being p roduced in En g land in low vo lu me . The third British roa d rallv event is h eld durin g th e first Sunday in November a t H an sen Da m Park nea r Pacoima . The di stinct ive bariton e rumble of British motorcycles co mes a live at th ese ga the rings. The Iounder of th e local BSA Club, Barr y Sm i th . 49. wh o is British bo rn and still ha s a rwan ge of a n English accent , u rged th e riders to restra in th eir enth us ias m wh en he ga ve fin al instruction s a t th e start of th e event. " Be ca ref u l in (the village of) Lak e Hu ghes," ad vised Smi th, now a Palmdal e res ide nt and aerospace en gineer wor kin g o n Ro ckwell's B-1 bomber. "There have been co m p la in ts abou t no ise from resid ents th ere and th e she riff is pa trolli ng that area closely. So let 's pussyfoot th roug h there." • New" CO" RoadRace Systems from Vance & Hines 1M C ••• .-..... t'"'I ~ Introducingthe new "CO" Series (competition only) exhaust system fromV ance & Hines-designed specifically for competition roadracers. This is the very same exhaust sys/em ins/ailed on our own Vance & HinesSuperbike. Measurable IncreaseinPower Computer-aideddesign,along with painstaking d ynoandtrack testing,enabled _ . us todevelop _ ~ the finest petition.com only exhaust system available. O urnew "C,O" design helpshighrevvingengines produce ameasurable increase inbothtorque and horsepow er. Amajorportionofthis increase is generated by the precision-machined,aluminum exhaust spigot adapters, which bolt permanenlly to the cylinder head. Inaddition, each header tube has been re-designed to create the ideal length for maximum exhaus/ extraction. Vance & Hines' own high-volume, bifurcated collectorpermits greater exhaust expansion and velocity. The result- more torque andmore horsepower! Q uickReleaseC onvenience Once theexhaust spigotsar einplace, the syslemiseasilyremovedby rele asing foursprings. Thisallowsinstant access to vitalenginecomponents. T hetail section of the systemcome: complete with spring mount ,too,forno-hassle megaphoneremoval s orreplacement. Completing the system isthe exclusive Vance &Hines all-aluminumbaffle and end cap, which provide maximum flow, whilemeeting allDb requirements for racing. Improve Your Competitiveness V ance & Hines "CO" SeriesExhaus/ S ystems w be availableinKal-Gard-Black ill for high-performanceSuzuki,Kawasaki, Yamaha andHonda engines.' So w hetheryou ride Daytona,Laguna Seca, oryour local road race circuit, a"CO exhaustsystem will make " your bike morecompetitive. . . instantly! 14010 MarquanJt Avenue Santa Fe Spring s.California90610 (21 921-1 3) 461 'C urrentlyavaila Ie10 lit Suzuki GSX-R1SOand 1100. t:lmalJa fl-1SO. and Kawasaki 6lXJ Ninja D .SySiems availalJ/e forOilier modelssoon. ~ ~ --- -----« .. {,e4"') /l'Q . First overall an dF t Irs S a nd LYNN MILLE~ Win nd at St. l ouis Int I. _ WENDELL PHILLIP U S Endurance Sene. rOU . nel S HOEI RIders MA Motoworld . . GTO Class at ~het~ . . he 1 4th Ann ual AMA Reg lo Raceway, Ap rIl 5 . h' S ho ei Helrnet to victory In ~A April 4t h . CHR IS CARR Wear~a\~~Mile , Asc ot Park Gardena. Gardena Gold Cup , Top ProS rely on . . • For comfort an d ConfIdence ' . ~ h Choice of Cham pions ~HDE' T e T CORPORATION . SHOEI SAFETY HE;~~les, CA 90064 2228 Cotner, los (21 3) 477 -605 1 35

• Cover