Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

REAR SHOCK DISASS EMBLY TOO L T he latest thing fo r dir t riders is t o purchase a se t of re ar shocks th at ca n be, rebuilt , providing the machine doesn 't already co me equipp ed with them. While there ar e m any diff erent kinds o n the m arket , they all see m t o have o ne th in g in com mo n: yo u can not u se a wr en ch to di sm antle th e inn er shoc k unit . They invariab ly us e a th read ed plug type u nit th at has a coup le holes fo r a sp ecial pin wrench wh ich no o ne seems to carry. Pictured here is a sim p le t o ol that I m ade wh en I had o ccasion to t ake a part a pair o f shocks fro m a Kawasaki Mach II I. This p artic ular piece o f ' chan nel ' is abo u t six in ch es lo n g a nd a bout a n inch wide, bu t a ny me t al b ar can b e u sed. I hap pen ed to use th is o ne b ecause it already h ad th e ce n ter hol e drill ed in it . To m ake you r o wn to o l, first drill a hole in the ce n te r about two drill sizes larger than the plunger shaft o n yo ur shock. Di fferent shocks h ave di ff erent di ame ter sh a ft s so yo u shoul d first remove the sprin gs from your shocks t o d e t ermin e what siz e yo u have. m e asure th e dista nce Carefull y between th e h ol es o n your shock p lug a nd cen te rp u nc h t wo centering h oles o n the bar ce n t er ed o n th e lar ge h ole and eq ual ly di st ant from each side o f th e big h ole. Now yo u ca n u se drill st o ck o r a ny harden ed p ins . I used so m e o ld ro ller be arin gs th at came o u t of a bad crank but m ad e sure th ey are hardened so th ey will not b end wh en pressure is ap p lied to th em. Next yo u should me asure th e diameter o f th e p in s w it h a m icromet er and obtain a numbered d rill bit that will give you a n in terfer ence fit for these pins aft er t he h oles a re d rilled. V ery. carefully drill a h ol e wh er e you h ave ce n te r-pu nc hed as b ein g th e co rr ect dista n ce fo r the pins. Afte r drilling th e h oles and b efore pressin g t he pins in p lace, se t th e b ar over th e shock a nd m ak e su re th e h oles lin e u p w it h th e h oles in th e shoc k plug. If they lin e u p correc tly yo u ca n go ahead and p ress th e pins in place, if no t , yo u will have t o start o ver again an d m easure a little more accurately. Meas u re h ow deep th e pins will go in to th e h oles in the plug a nd leave ju st en o ugh p in p rotruding so th at th e b ar rests o n the p lug but that the pins a re in position as far as th ey can go o r you ma y have t roub le with t h em slipping If y our scooter is t weaking your temper, co nsu lt Cycl e Ne ws ' own Mr. F ixit, Rod Bra ker. If your problem has enough general interest (or is just too juicy to pass u p) R od will give you the solution right here on these pages . Mail your plea to R od Brea ker , c/o Cycle News, Box 498 , Long Bea ch , CA 90801. referred to as a roller block) then he is in deep trouble. Not o n ly do es he have four p ins to remove (tw o o n eac h o f t he co n nectin g links on eith er side of the broken roller b lo ck) but he winds up wi th th e chain b ein g two links sh orter than it was. In the firs t p lace, h e sh o uld h ave one of t he new miniature to ol k it size chain brea kers similar to th e o ne marketed b y Bob Ba iley , t he expansion c ham b er manu facturer . T hese little c hai n b rea ker s a re c o mp act but d o a jim-da nd y j ob o f punching ou t p ins for in -th e-fie ld re pairs. The second im p orta nt item is called a rep air lin k. A re p air lin k consists o f tw o mast er links a nd a roll er bl o ck. With this se t -up, y o u can replace th e roller block w it h a m ast er o n ei ther side and h ave th e chain the sa m e length as before and you also h ave m aster links sh o uld you n eed them. If yo u a re go ing t o be prepar ed, make ~ure that yo u are prep ar ed to do the job righ t o r you m ay st ill wi n d u p p ush in g yo ur ma ch ine back to th e p its . An o u nce o f p re ven tio n is worth a p ound of c u re. Som e dealers even ca rry chain repair k it s which are su per good. Th ey have a cou p le o f mas t er links, a co uple of roller bl o cks, a half link and usu all y a few spare master link sp ri ng clips, should yo u lose o ne. T hese com e in a small co ntainer abo ut th e size o f a small m atchbox a nd can b e carried in the pocket if you d on 't hap p en to have a tool b o x. Before you take th e next long ride ou t in the middle of nowhere, you b etter chec k yo ur chain repair situation. It is better to h ave to o much repair eq u ip me n t t han n ot e no ugh . By R od Breaker - out. With th e b o ttom of the shock clam ped firm ly in a vise , m o st shocks have the plug 's t ak ed' to avoid it co m in g ad ri ft so yo u will have t o us e a sm all p u nc h t o 'unstake ' it. Th en slip t he tool d own over th e shan k of th e shock an d pl ace the pins in p o sit ion and pro ceed to disassemble the unit. By havin g th e hole in t he middle o f the bar, you will have a firmer grip by using b oth hand s a nd be a b le to keep it from slip p ing aswell as being able to exert mo re pressure by using b o th h ands. SUPERBIKE CHAIN DESERT BIKES FOR How m any t im es have y ou been o u t in th e middle o f th e desert o r way o u t in the Bo onies a nd h ad a rear chain sn ap ? Brings b ack the o ld saying, "For want of a link, th e race was lo st. It is rath er ir o nic t hat so mething tha t wa s d eveloped fo r the street rid er sh ould b ecome a boon for the off-road en th usias t. With th e ad ven t o f t he Honda 750, th e Kaw asaki 750 a nd th e Yamah a 750, it was fo u nd th at the normal N o. 53 0 rear chain j us t wouldn ' t take th e t errifi c p o we r th at these "Superbikes" 'p u t o u t an d the results wer e broken chains and sometimes bro ken cas es . Ther e were tw o solu ti ons; reduce t h e p o wer (thi s wa s th e suggest io n of th e S ierra Club) or, m ake a better ch ain . Wh ile h aving the sam e pitch a nd rolle r di ameter as th e No. 53 0 chain , th e su p er bike ch ai n had much h eftier link pl ates an d lar ger di am eter cen t er pin s wh ich make for a stro nge r a nd longe r-lastin g chain . Most of th e chain co m panies are now p roducin g such a chain . Whil e it is more expens ive , the advan tages com pensate for th e high er tt p rice. Whil e it is refe rred to as N o. 5 3 0S or No . 5 50 chain , it is in te rchangeab le w ith th e No. 53 0 chain as is used o n mo st o f th e larger m achin es so ld in the Un ited States. If yo u r machine uses a 5{8x3 {8 rear ch ain , this im p ro ved chain jus t m a y be wh at yo u are lo o k in g for. Ch eck wi th you r local dealer as m o st sh ops are handlin g t his c hain now a nd if yo u co m pare . it with th e regul ar No. 5 30, yo u will eas ily see h ow it c o uld b e a n advantage t o eq uip your m ach ine wi th it. MORE ON CHAI NS While o n th e su bj ec t of rear c hains , I w ould like to bring up a no th e r p e t pe eve o f mine - th e rid er who go es way o ut in the mi d d le of n owh er e to ride an d figures th at he is reall y p re p ared in case so me th ing happens to his rea r c hain because h e h as an ext ra mast er link in h is t ool kit. If h e sho uld h app en to b e st upid en o ugh to put h is m ast er lin k cl ip o n backward s an d it catch es o n th e b rush and flip s off, allo win g t he lock plate to co me ad rift and th en pull th e link a part, h e is d efinit ely p rep ar ed b ecause all he will h ave t o d o is install the new mast e r link an d be o n hi s way. But, as y ou m ayor m a y n ot kn ow, the ch ai n d o esn't alwa ys co me apart a t the mast er lin k (so me ti mes ca lle d th e co n nect ing lin k ). The chai n is liabl e to b reak at any o f th e links (a no ther o ld saying , t h ere) an d boy is he in trouble. If he sho uld happen to p ull a link ap ar t , h e ' will have th e p roblem of get t ing the o ther pin o u t of th e lin k pl at e as they sel do m p ull b oth of th em at o nce . If h e sho uld h appen t o get it o u t , agai n h e is in prett y good shape as it then ca n b e repaired with th e m aster lin k. Howev er , should he brea k o ne of th e in ner co nn ec tin g lin ks (co mmon ly BOAT & BEE-EMS A leaflet d esc rib in g cost a nd pro ce dure for o verseas d elive ry of BMW R 75 {5 7 5 0 models is now available from Bu t ler & Smith, In c ., Box H, No rwood , N. J . 07648 . It contains in formatio n on in sur ance, re gist ratio n , etc . . D ue t o the stro ng d em and for the 500 cc and 600 cc mo dels h er e an d ab road, 19 72 overseas d eliver y a rra nge d thro ugh Bu lt er & Sm it h , In c . is limited to th e 75 0cc m o del. MCDOUGAL- TRIPLES AT EL TORO MOTOCROSS By Lowell Stol ze EL T O R O , CA L. , Feb . 4 , 1972 - Bruce McD ougal fo u nd the r e-arra n ged EI Toro Speed wa y m oto cr o ss c ourse t o h is liking Friday nigh t a n d responded with a sweep in three cla sses : 12 5 Int ermedia t e{E xp ert , 25 0 Ex pert , and 500 Expert. Br uc e rode hi s n ew Pen ton for th e firs t time at El Toro and in t he 125 class , h ad a third a nd two firsts t o ed ge Chuck Bower (Pen) a n d Don Wee ks (Pe n) in th e o verall list. A light ra in began fall ing prio r to th e last 125 m o to and t he co u rse becam e greasy in spots causi ng Bower to d um p 50 yard s from the fin ish line but h e recov ered to nab the runner -up slot. T h e rain ceased a ft er a fe w minu t es an d p ro blems were m inimal th er ea ft er, al t ho ugh th e d amp n ess did chase so me sp ectators to their cars . In the fi rst 25 0 Ex pert m o t o, McDoug- 1 (Yarn) spilled o n th e o pening a round a nd fi nis h ed fi ft h , but cam e back to win th e remai ning tw o handil y o ver Morris Malone (AJ S ) and Bo wer (Mai) . Malone won the first race easily and th e h ighl ight o f the seco nd was the spirited battle between Mike Causey (Yam) and A MA OK 'S 125 EXPERTS According to t h e 1971 American Motorcy cle Asso cation Comp eti tio n Congress, p rofessional m otocross riders were p lace d in two categories : No vice and Expert. Novice riders were allowed t o enter th e 125 cc an d 25 0cc clas ses while E xperts we re allo we d to ride 25 0 cc and Open class m ach in es. Following numerous opin ions tha t this legislati on p laces h ard sh ip upon b oth rider and promoter, Executive Director Russ March , actin g in his cap acity as Ch airman of th e Comp etit io n Congress provided for in . Articl e VI o f th e Standing Rules , has ball o ted the C on gress fo r re considerati o n, The result o f th e m ail vote changes previous le gislation, allo wing b oth No vic e and Ex p er t m o t o cross rid er s t o enter three classes: 12 5cc, 250cc, and Open . T his basically m ean s that a promoter may app ly for a sanction for as ma n y as six classes, or an y com b ina t io n thereof. Dave Boydstun (AJS). wh ich went to Mik e b y a few fe et. McDo ugal's victory margin in th e third was so me fi ft y yards a nd Malone wa s o ut o f it as h e fell on the firs t ro und. Overall it wa s Mc Dougal , Malone, and Bo wer. Bruce was n ever seriously th reat ened in t he 500 E xpert runs an d h e c aptured al l three b y b ig m arg in s. The third m oto saw a great duel d evelop b etween Glen Lund (H us) a nd Boydstun (AJ S) and Lund h ung on t o gain sec ond spot. Ken Smith (Yam ) w on the o verall honors in the 10 0 J unior class (d ivision o ne) over Cla y Musolf ( Ya m). Smith ca p tu re d t he fir st two heats a nd se t tle d fo r second in t he th ird a ft e r h e b o bbled o n the last lap wh ile leadi ng. In d ivisio n two , Ken Pie rcy had a bi g n ight a nd won all t h ree m o to s. USM R C is con tem p lating a class for the girl riders - a " powder p u ff" class with b ik es u p t o 125 cc allo wed . Several gir ls have shown an inclination to ride an d if th e in te rest ca n b e c ult ivat ed , the new cl ass will be form ed. Six riders are need ed for a class and those in terested sho uld con tac t Karen Bo o kou t at ( 7 14 ) 892 -246 0 a fte r 5 p .m . ( R es u lts o n p age 3 2) Who Can You Turn To? Lookie Here: In a n effo rt t o es tablish the best possib le lin es o f comm u nication wit h th eir p eopl e in the field , t he Am e rican Motorc ycle Asso cia tio n 's Dep artment of Pro fe ssional R acin g me t re cently with regional referees a nd st arters t o r e -defi n e and standard ize th e resp onsib ilit ies o f all AMA track official s. He ading th e chain o f com ma nd will be th e p ro fessional d ep artm e nt consisting of Bill Boyce, direct or of professional racing and Dave Welsh , coordinato r o f pro fessional racing. Next will be th e three regional referees a nd the three regional sta rters. The regio nal referee will b e the senior referee fo r"all districts within h is region a nd i t will b e h is job t o so lve a ll com petitio n-relat ed p roblems within th e region . H is resp onsibiliti es will a lso in cl ude refereeing all National Championship events within the region. Aside from flag ging all Na t io nal Champion events within his re gion, the regional st arter will b e responsible f'.)f training a nd ass istin g all starters within th e region Ea ch district will have on district referee wh o will ac t as the AMA representative on th e lo ca l level. It. w~1l b e his job to referee lo cal events within his district an d t o coordinate th e activities of the o th er local o fficials at events. Districts will also have d ep u ty referees who will be assistants to d istrict referees a nd{or in training for a d istrict referee positio n. Dep uty ref erees will help cover all racing activity in a d istrict. Last in th e chain , but eq ua lly importan t , wi ll be the scorers, timers and cle rks , who will answer d ire ctly to the refe ree in cha rge. Accord ing t o Welsh, th e professional de partment hopes t o c om m u n icat e mo re effectively with th eir officials in the field i n o rd er t o d o th e m o st efficien t j ob p os sible. Annual ly, re gio nal referees a nd st a rters w ill travel t o th e home office t o ac q uain t themselves with AMA st aff functions, t o analyze t h e ru le book for u niform in terpre tation amo ng all par ties a nd to d isc uss a ny p roblems th at may h ave a rise n. Th en, o n a quar terl y basis, th e regi onal o ffici als will meet with district o fficials to dis cuss th eir mu t al problems . A p eriodic o ffic ial's b ull et in will b e mailed fro m th e p rofessiona l depart me nt to keep everyone along the line informed of n ew p olici es a nd o th er vital in forrna t ion . " Our p rime o bjective is unifo rmit y," states Bill Boyce. " In th e fu ture, wi th capab le o fficials o n all levels , all ru les will b e uniforml y in terpreted a nd all races will b e ru n the sa m e." 1972 REGION A L OFF ICIALS EAST ERN R EG I O N , R e f eree Ch arli e Watson Sta rter • •• . • .• .• • • • • . • . • .• .• • • Duke Pennell C ENTRAL R E GION , Ref er ee • ..•. • • •• •. . .• . . .• . . .• . • Dul e 01 1lge5 Starter • .•• ••. • . • . • .•• . • . • •• • Sonny D evore W EST ER N R E GI ON , R ef er ee . . . . • . • • .• • • . • . • ••• • • . . . •Ray Ke llam St ar ter . • . . . .•• • • . • . • . . •. .• . . • . • B ob Malley NAT I ONAL M O T OC R O SS R E F E R EE J oh n L ancton e SCOOp on El Toro TT./ST By Lowell R ichard Ga n n a nd J ohn Cali c chio were th e big winners Sunday afternoo n as th e USMRC flat track and TT ento urage moved b ack to EI Toro Speedway after a month la yoff. Gann powere d his Yam ah a t o top h o no rs in th e 125 Expert sh ort track and TT divi sions wh ile Ca licch io (Y am) garnered victories in the Open Expert short track and TT ev ents . 'R ich ard Swean ey (Yam ) was sec ond to the hard run n ing Gann in both classes and Ty Scott (Yam) grabbed t h ird position in t he two divisio ns . In the best ra ce o f th e day, Dejon Sowell (B ul) edged Bill Cain ( Kaw) as t he duo crossed the line inches apart in t _ a S t ol ze th e 250 Expert short t rack Main Even t. Bobby Butt (Yam ) was t he winner of th e 2 50 E xp ert TT feature and Danny Hockie (Ossa ) finished in the runner-up slo t some 50 yard s b ack. Gary Coffm an a nd his Yamaha had a b ig day in th e Junior class , winning both th e 250 ST a nd orr Main Events and Greg Ferguson was th e sec ond place man in b oth . Tom Costa (Yam ) ca p tu red the Open Junior TT feat ure and ran t h ir d in the ST Main. Robert Crecelius wa s busy on his Ya maha a nd th e Santa Ana ac e took home seconds in th e 125 Junior TT, the OpenJuniorST and a third in the 125 J u n io r ST battle . (Results on page 32) ~ ' 1!> ~ N :;; ",' .ci Lf g? i:U z ~ o ~

• Cover