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/127189
'That I rode 'into the night on something new, and found my way to Eden. Still asleep I rise and feel through the room, no hint of dawn yet at the window. Three hours ago I was awake, reading. Now I tiptoe about, trying not to bother my wife and daughter. My bod telling me to go back to bed, my mind saying "Time to Ride!" The argument within totally detached from sane judgment. Nothing short of self-torture will do - to hurl myself into the cold night on a motorcycle still burdened by the caveats 01 a New Owner's Manual. Thus are the pains and passions oj, yes! - that irrational term when the machine owns you, not you it, not yet. That desperate period of Breaking-In. Ah! What else compares! What equals that anticipa o tion, that hunger and impulse! That slavery to the need for putting 'on First Miles! Not even a shower and breakfast can delay me from this lust and locked garage. And there, there is my new motorcycle under this ceiling light, its showroom aura so rich in fantasy that I wrench my back lifting the door, while the owl swoops.away into dark silence. When I wheel out the bike, I can even hear its new tires tickling driveway pavement. That, and my own heart pounding. Starting the motor - so tight only the choke keeps it going! - I no doubt wake the whole neighborhood. Then! Once on the road, reality steps harshly on my treasured hope. Suddenly, the Seven feels way short of flawless. The suspension is too stiff, the throttle weird. The seat too hard, or too flat, I'm not sure which. The overall seems alien, damn near threatening. And when I reach the canyon, that emerging spiral in this gray first light, I wonder aloud if I made a mistake. Did I buy a bike that wasn't me~ It can happen; I've done it before. But, with the rising sun, something clicked - and changed. The odometer turned its first 100 miles, then 200, and the appetite that consumed me was not for food now, but for more road, more time, for a riding day that would last a week, a month. I had in my grip the best sport motorcycle I have ever ridden. More than enough to make my Dream come true. William Edgar MOTOCROS'S: Bradshaw, Stanton sweep Lake Sugartree National ..... 6 ENDURO: Hawkins cleans up at the Little Muddy National 10 HALF MILE: Carr cruises to win at Manzanita HM 12 DRAG RACING: Mafaro motors to Southern Nationals victory 16 TEST: Suzuki's revamped RM250 hits the track : 18 LOCAL RACING: Race action heats . up around the nation : 20 CALENDAR: Dates, times and 32 places to race RESULTS: Where they finished 17,38 WANT ADS: Stuff for sale 39 ON THE FRONT PAGE: Team Suzuki's defending National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins scored his second overall win in three rounds at the Muddy Creek National in Illinois. Coverage begins. on page 10. Photo by Merle Acord. r-----------------------------------------------------------------, SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM I I I I I I Name--:::7-;:-:;-;-;:=~7:':=:__----------------- o This is a renewal (PLEASE PRINT CLEARLY) Address _ City _ _'-O~rDM.: --"-_ _State' ~Zip,------ __ OK, please start my subscription to Cycle News and send me the newspaper o every week for one year (50 issues) for $35.00 o every week for two years (100 issues) for $65.00 o six months second class (25 issues) for $18.00 0 ... '/ft, (IiO i......I. 2nd c.... Canada or Maxico and aU otha, foreign countri.. 875.00 (U.S. fund.l· Firat cI... and aitmllil ,.... avai..bl. upon req....t. ~ Send to: CYCLE NEWS, Inc., o o Please bill me Enclosed is check or money order Charge my 0 Visa 0 Mastercard .~ . Signature _ MC/Visa# Expiration Date P.O. Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801-0498/ _ ---=~ (213) 427-7433 _ ~3