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/127141
them as for Orioli, Stodulka and Ed H au , th e German Six-Days and Baj a 1000 rider. And wh ile drinking pisco so u rs befo re di n n er, they could bench race with Malc olm Smith a nd Scot H arden ab out the raging str eam they cro ssed because th e bridgewas : down. The pros powered th rough it , with so me difficul ty; th ose who trailed th em pushed sta lled bik es then rode with wet, cold feet, T o make the rally more accessible to those wit hou t factory support, Franco Acerbi s purchased 40 mo torcycles from KTM in Austria and rented them to th e rid ers, a first fo r any rall y. KTM painted th e bikes in Camel trophy colors - bright blue frames with yello w Acerb is plas tic a nd especially p repped them to end ure th e lo ng ride, with steel sprockets and wider transmission ratios among the changes. The 350cc two-stro kes received 7.2-gallon gas tanks. Looking like overfed cows from behind, th e 600cc four-strokes cam e fitted wi th side tanks in th e back for a total gas capacity of eight gallons. Riders purchased th eir own gas so needed to carry intis while riding. A gallon of gas cost 300 intis or about 20 cen ts. Commenting on the quality of the ga s, th e riders said they got wh at they paid for. Harden originally signed up to rent a KTM 600 but ended up riding a 350. During th e flight from his home in San Diego to Los Angeles to catch th e flight to Lima, his lug~ge was lost, a nd it didn 't arri ve until the fourth da y of the ra lly. (H e rode for four days in mism at ched borrowed gear.) In hi s bags he had carbs and o the r par ts he wanted to insta ll o n the 600; wit ho ut being able to make th ose changes, he decided to race the 350. The three-time Six Days medal ist finished thi rd overa ll (the first Am erican) . and had no mechanical problems, excep t for a fading rear brake. On the fourth da y, without mu ch use of th e rear brake, Harden rode cautiously around the tight, curvy 74-mile special test , comi ng in 10th. Anxious to make up lost time, he sped off th e line on day five .and charged up th e switchbacks leading to a l 4,OOO-foot crest. In a right-hand turn, he enco unte red a patch of ice. "As soon as I hit it ," said Harden, " I was down: I was lucky th e bike slid inio the corn er and not over th e edge. I would have needed a helicopter to recover the parts at the bottom of the lOOO-foot drop. " Instead of g uar d rails, wooden memorial crosses bordered m any parts of th e o ne-la ne dirt road. That road , barely wide eno ugh for o ne car, accom modated two-way traffic and was typi cal of many of the specia l test sections - sh eer dropoffs o n one side and ma ssive rock wa lls on the other. Around each turn th e rider could encounter a bus or tru ck co mi ng in th e o ther di rection. Most da ys th e racers contended with th e same tra ffic as th e locals. Along with th e KTM s, !1 variety of motorcycles participated. Usually just ahead o f th e sweep, a 125 Yamaha sputtered and wheezed up the moun tain sides. Its diminuitive pilot Frenchman Philippe Sarazin , while last in th e overall standings, won hi s class by being the only one in it and finishing. At the other end of th e spectrum, a 650 Moto Guzzi, ni cknamed th e ' Buick by its Au stralian rider Alan Cunynghame, pow ered across th e sands. The " Buick" self-destruc ted on the sixth day o n the ride fro m . Cuzco to And ahuaylas. The fra me broke in half, and the bi ke was shipped back to Australia in two crates. Riders's ages ranged from mid-20s to mid-60s. At 64 th e oldest rider in AMi1 THIRD ANNUAL . FRIDAY, JULY 15 . SANCT IONED DEVOL'S CYCLE CENTER 600Cc National and Pro Am GlI M €,(. Gates 31 Practice 4:30/ IT 7/ Race 8 p.m. 00 00 O"l CHALLENGE SATURDAY, JULY 16 ....... CAMEL CHALLENGE CAMEL PRO GRAND NATIONAL Gates 31 Practice 4:301 rr 7/ Race 8 p.m. RAINDATE: Sunday, .July 17 Two-day Ticket good . Friday/Saturday: 520. WE ST VIRGINIA MOTOR SPEEDWAY Parkersburg, W.Va. Just South of Parkersburg Take Mineral Wells Ex it Off 1·77 Call (304) 489-9125 CAMEL PRO GRAND NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE CHAMPIO NSHIP Tell tb ern you saw it in 2 nd An nua l SATURDAY JULY 30 SUNDAY JULY 31 SHORT TRACK T.T. I. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. . 14. 15. 16. 5750.00 $600.00 5500.00 $425.00 $400.00 $350.00 5325.00 $300.00 5275.00 $250.00 $225.00 $200.00 5175.00 5150.00 5125.00 5100.00 I . $750.00 ' CHAMPIONSHIP 2. $600.00 S10.000~O TWO DAY PURSE 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. II . 12. 13. 14. 5500.00 $450.00 $400.00 $350.00 $3Z5.00 $300.00 5275.00 $250.00 $225.00 5175.00 5150.00 5100.00 CREEK COUNTY SPEEDWAY . SAPULPA, OKLAHOMA . . EMMETT HAHN 918/838-3777 Full Professional 81 Amateur Program Call For Information! 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