Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1972 02 22

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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N N . 0> a- ... N Cl ~ ~ uJ Z uJ ..J U >- U "T h e average motorcyclist is infamous for his complacency and apathy. It will be interestingto note his reaction to the President's Proclamation. If this doesn't arouse him, he might as well bronze-plate his bike and use it for a book-end." --Russ Sanford SACRAMENTO, CAL., Feb. 7, 19 72 ' Not to be outdo ne by t he Sierra Club , Presiden t Nixon today issued his own u lt im at u m levied at off-road vehicles. In case you ar e no t familiar with the term, O RV's in vlu d e motorcycles, trail-bi kes, mi ni-b ikes , and that little 0 1' Ho nda you use for h unting an d fish ing, Grand ma! Y est erday , in San Francis co, t h e Sierr a Club urged t hat strong res train ts be p laced upo n t he use o f o ff-road veh icles - du ne buggies, snowmob iles, and all th eir kith and kin (to quote th e Francisco Chro nicle). "These San veh icle s which ho ld a special p lace in the hearts of hun ters and recreationists, cause excessive noise in wil derness areas , alo ng wi th physical damage to th e environme nt , th e club 's d irec to rs decid ed at t heir q ua rterly me eti ng he re yeste rday ." T he direc tors , me eting at the Jack Tar Hotel, co ncl ud ed that th e off-road veh icles would cause: "Excessive no ise whic h, in close p ro xim it y , may resu lt in p hysiolog ica l effects on animals and hum ans, or may induce anxiety altering animal behavior (a nd) ...se rio usly d egrades the so lit ude of wild areas for o ther users." Physical dam ag e to th e enviro nment includ ing "ero sio n wi th consequent d estru cti on of fish h abitat ...destruction THE ~lfJ@~~D~@&RJTllfJr; STREETSTER! What 6Gold Medals and one Silver in the 1971 ISDY mean to the Western rider: The Pentons ridden to fourth place in Wo rld Championship competition at the 1971 International Six Days Triill by U.S. Trophy Team riders were a new breed from John Penton's original concept. Longer, lower, lighter and stronger, they reflected the lessons learned in that toughest challenge, the annual Olympics of two-wheeled motorsport. The Six Days of the 'seventies demands the best motorcycle ever built if Gold is to be won; road bikes that can hold their own in motocross thrashing, dirt racers that challenge dragsters yet quietly glide through suburban streets and all for nearly a week without failure of basic parts, holding a strict schedule each day, exposed to cold and rain each night to be started within a minute each morning or lose valuable points. What does it mean? A Penton is built for the demands of western enthusiasts: Long enough to give stability at high speeds in desert going, yet light and agile as required for climb ing through heavy woods. Chrome·moly tube frame, six-speed box for flexibility, enduro kits for converting from motes to road goi n ~ " 1OOcc to 175cc 2.cycle , • • ." engines, and price tags as competitive as the bikes are! n . •• Distribu ted by ~~ I , PENTONWS ET E 95827~~ 9604 OATES DRIV El SACR AME NTO, CA. S /. Gold Medalist Gen e Cannad y 125cc Pen ton or serious adverse impact o n flora and fauna ... " Dest ruc tion of flora, and of "archaelogical , scientific, hist orical and o ther significant sites ..." Har assment of wild life "leadi ng to weakened physical condition, d eath and possib le extinc tion of some species..... " Illegal h unting, fishi ng , and t he taking of game an d no ne -game sp ec ies: " Competi tion with other fo rms of r ec reatio n. T h e O R V operator, b ein g much m o re mo bil e is capable of greater infringement on the recreat ional opport unit ies of oth er land use rs and uses a grea ter q uantity of scarce land per recreational user .,. A ir an d water polutiori, litter, and va ndalism . T he d irect o rs of t he influential, 135,0 DO-member c o n s e r va t i o n organization declared it th eir policy t hat t he operation of off-road veh icles sho uld b e " presumed to be detrimen tal to all ar eas and should accordingly be p ro hib ited o n all public lands u nless proven otherwise by competent, imp art ial in vestigat c rs. " T he very nex t th ing , President Nixon issued the Presidentia l Procl amation. A t first glance, the Presidentia l Proclamation b ecam e a portent of doo m. Needless to say, t elephones were ringi ng off the wa lls clear across the la nds. As soon as peop le had a chance t o read the Proclama tion a second time. the tu mult began to die down. A t hird reading a nd a hu rried call to Ray Lobbyist in Lu ccia , the MIC Washingt o n , D. C., revealed th ese facts : T he federal agencies have six mo nths in which to d et ermi ne th os e areas and t rai ls on pub lic lands whe re off-road vehicl es will b e allo we d o r prohib ited. T h ey must also set a da te b y wh ich th e designatio n 0 f suc h land must be com p lete d. , The federal ag en cies m us t develop and publish' op erating r egulations within one year. Russ Sanford, the California mo t o rcy cle lobbyist told C ycl e News in an exclusive interview, "Some of the people I have spoken to feel optimist ic because the Presid ential Proclamation allows public participatio n in the development of regulations and in th e des ignation of areas and trails. Perso nally , I feel as though the judge has just declared the death p enalty . b ut has smoothed it over by allowing th e victim to st ate whether he prefers hanging, drowning. e lectrocution, or terminal sodomy." Sanford , all uding to the 1972 electio ns, further sta ted, "It app ears that President has chosen a very unpopular platform in a yea r when it wo uld seem prudent to be popular. I truly wo nder if th e Sierra Club 's claim ed 130,000 members will pull more we ight at th e p olls than motorcycling's kn own five million enthusiasts , It is my o pin io n ," said Sanford, "that a man can be pretty undecided about which cand idat e to vote for on 'bread and butter' issue s, b u t w hen y o u indulge upon his sp ort and p leasu re, it is quite a different our st ory." . ; . ... .... . ... .... . . . . . . . . . .. . In closing the in t erview. Sanfo rd said. "The average motorcyclist is rather famous , or should I say infamo us , for h is co m p lacency and apathy. It will b e int eresting to no te his reactio n to the Proclama tion. If t his doesn 't aro use h im. then h e m ight as well b ronze-p late his b ik e and use it for a book-end." , • f ~ • ~ • ".. r I' • ~ . "" I > ;:.l .. . .

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