Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

By Russ Sanford MANDATORY HE ADLIGHTS On J an. 24, As sem bl yman La Cost e , who represents San J oaqu in and S tan isla us counties, introduced Ass embly Bill 194. Two days later, Sentator Grunsky , who represents San Benito, Monterey, San Luis Obsipo, and Santa Cruz counties, introduced Senate Bill 126. Both AB 194 and SB 12 6 require that every motorcycle sh all be equipped with at least one, a nd not mo re than two, lighted headlamps which co n fo rm to the Vehicle Code, at all times th at the motorcycle is being operated on a highwa y. SOME DIFFERENCES Senate Bill 126, if enacted, becomes effective on, and after, Jan. I, 1975. Assembly Bill 194, if enacted, becomes operative on Jan. I, 1974. Senate Bill 126 also adds this n ew section to the Vehicle Code: "On and after J anuary I, 1975, no person shall sell a new motorcycle that is not equipped with at least one and not m ore than two headlamps which can be operated at all ti mes th at the motorcycle is being operated. DIRT BIKES TOO! The V eh icle Code defines a highway as away, o r p lace, o f whatever natu re which is open to the public and which is wholly or partially m aint ained by public fu nds. T his defi nition incl udes not only streets, highways, c ou nt y roads, and city roads, but can a lso be extended to forest trails, firebreaks, administrative roads, a nd any other p ath which is maintained by public funds and n ego t iab le by any form of veh icle, including motorcycles. Theoretically, then, the headlight provision extends to all motorcycles except those used solely m.o.r.e'.1 fr'Oim t~f1le,ca,~nol' ! on privat e lan ds or upon established, closed -co ur se race-tracks . OTHER RA?>fiFlCATlONSS We are aware that many sp ecial purp ose mo torcycles a nd m ost mini-b ikes are no t presently eq uip ped with lightnin g c o ils, b atteries , sw it ch es, wiring harnesses, tail lights, st op ligh ts , h eadlamps. Adding su ch and/o r addi tio na l equ ip me nt will naturall y increase the: price to th e co nsumer o n new bikes and mini-bikes. Even though yo u d on't n eed the equipment and would remove it followin g purch ase, SB 126 would require it to be insta lled before the sale. I d on't believe th at o ur legisla t ors really intend to saddle th e dirt-riders with this new headlight requirement o r the additional expense. I wo uld be more inclined to believe that they -are not aware of the involvement, either because they don't understand the mechanical principles of a motorcycle or because they are not familiar with the law enforcement agencies' interpretation of a " high wa y" . WilY INTRODUCED? AB 194 and SB 126 were introduced as safety measures . Federally-financed research by a private institute reveals a very definite reduction in motorcycle accidents in " st at es which have enacted mandatory h ead ligh t laws!! Senator Grunsky introduced a similar b ill last yea r but withdrew his bill when we pointed out that the small difference between motorcycle taillight and stoplight illumination would create a sa fety hazard in the daytime and mos t lik ely r esult in more instances of mo torcycles b ein g re ar-ended b y driver s wh o could no t d iscern th e di fference in dayli gh t illuminat io n. We also pointed o ut, las t year , th at mo to rcyclists should be ' ed ucated' t o t um o n th eir h eadligh ts an d to in st all bi gger and brighter sto plig hts. But , we exp lain ed, to mak e su ch a p ractice commo np lac e, will grea tly reduce the h eadlight pro gram 's effectiveness. Als o , it mi ght result in accidents wherein the o t her driver w o uld 'reaso n' th at, "It looks like a motorcy cle but it co uld n't be because it doesn't h ave its headlight on ". A nd th is could h appen through ele ctrical fa ilure , burn-out, o r a flying rock, which the motorcyclist wasn't even aware of. WILL IT PASS? You ar e no doubt wondering if this law will b ecome enact ed? My feelings are th at t he results of the federally -financed re search will lend heavy support toward passage of the bills . I can stand 4P and talk all d ay to the legislati ve c om m ittees ab o ut safety, exp en s e, dis crimin at i on, and anti-co nsumerism, but th e rese arch whi ch shows few er ac cidents with headlights will be o verpowering. ONLY ONE WAY OUT I believe that there is o n ly one way out! T his being an election y ear for all o f th e 80-member Ass embly and h alf o f the 4 0-me mb er Senate, it is logical to presume that 100 of our 120 state legisl at ors will be concerned about their cons titu en ts 'back h ome '. If enough of scramiDn'aroundr By Maureen Lee I still can 't quite get th e BSA-Triumph mergel, where in all the shops will carry the two brands. Yes, we know they belong to the same company but it Tl still see m funny walking into a Triumph shop and seeing a Beezer sitting on the floor. Next time I'm in the vicinity of our favo rite T riumph shop where we 've bought th ree of ours , I think I'd have a bit of fun with Norm Lee by asking for parts o n a 1956 Gold ie and watch his reaction. On second t ho ught , maybe I'd better no t .... . We had a p leasant surprise a couple of weeks ago when we ran into so me old ac q uaintances fro m th e m otor cycle world. Remember the Ascot starter Tony Drake and his wife Leslee? Poor Tony used to get his share o f "kill the starter" yells from t he stands, us ua lly prompted by his friends. Anyway, we took in a boxer show and couldn't believe our ey es . There was Tony in the ring with a beautiful little femal e and as he sh owed her for the judge it was hard work not t o y ell "kill the st arter" as he went by . One just doesn't do those things at dog sho ws. So we wa ited 'til he was o ut of the rin g and, b oy, was it old-home week. They are comp let ely in the dog business n ow, boxers being their breed (superio r d o gs and not for eve ry one) and they also have a boar ding kennel. So if y o u have a p ooch and ar e planning a trip awa y from h ome yo u can find Tony an d Le s a t Eager's Bo arding Kennels in Thousand Oaks. What do y o u thin k ab out Husqvarna's plans on having an American champion within three year s? Can they do it? You can bet yo ur nelly the y will . T he Swede 's are a very determined people when they set o ut to d o someth in g. Whether o ur boys can survive th e trai ning might be another story but th ey certainly will h ave an ed uca tio n as to ' wh at makes a motocross champion. Their seriousness is proven by Husky flying one of their top surgeo ns from , Sweden to operate on Bob Grossi's knee. They wanted that leg j o b done right. And what is Japan up t o? Well, we all know what havoc th ey wr ough t th is year with t heir Suzu kis when th ey got seriou s. Mai co isn' t aslee p and you can bet C-Z isn't dith erin g aro und either in th eir ques t fo r the Wo rld Champ ionshi p b u t what a coup Husky wo uld have, an American Worl d Ch ampio n o n o ne of their mac hines! As for us who like English bikes for one reason or another, what have we to look fo rward to? No t much. Greeves promises a goer of a machine but it wo n 't be ready yet , in spite of the fac t a Greev es co uld still wi n and always co u ld wh en properly riden ( no, don't giggle). Just try and fa ult the handling o f o ne and when properly cared for , as Gary Baile y and Jim Wilson have proved, they can do their stuff but alas , they are no longer fashionable to ride and heaven knows, one must ride what is fashionable (i.e., what the big boys ride and win on). BSA? Well, there's a company th at's eno ugh t o give a chicken the pip. (that's an English expression fo r feeli ng lo usy ). T here they are with some marvelous motocross 'eq u ip men t just sitting there mo ulderi ng away and th ey won't eve n field one man , not on e man, against the invading hordes. I get m ad enough thinking abou t it t hat I think I' ll boyco tt tea and when next in Boston throw some m y sel f in t he Harb o r ! For we Anglophiles we have one hope a nd that's in AJS . They, thank God, are still interested in seeing the British flag displayed and are wa ging a go od campaign in this country with th eir Stormers. Have to warn them though.. .if they ever get complacent th ey will be visited one dark night by a little old lady from Long Beach who will bl ow up their warehouse. Keep swinging! In th e h appy news d ep artment, the Jim Connoll y 's (h e of th e 1971 Distric t scrambles Heavyweigh t Number One pl ate and she th e Heavyweight Scrambles Stew ard o n th e Comp et iti on Commi ttee) h ave presented the Distric t with a new rider, James Andrew , wh o eve n managed t o mak e it to th e checkered flag on dad's b irthday . If th at wasn 't sandbagging I d on't k now wh at is. James Andrew's gift fr om Dick Kouns is his Ultra-ligh tw eigh t Exp ert n um b er 0 wi th membership in th e Tidy Did y M.C. Co ngr atulations y ou tw o , and especially you Jim, aft er livin g with Diane, y o ur three lovely little girls and even a female d og. You needed th at male support! N ow to serious business. Please , if yo u th ink any th ing o f th e way I write, agree or disagree with wh at I say or whatever, please tak e something That's the Pre sidential seri ously . Proclamation about th e use o f Public Lands . Even d o me a favo r an d go t o last week 's Cycle News an d read Writin ' Aro un d and related articles. If all yo u ever look at is the articles yo u personally were involved in , please, just this once, for the sake of thi s o ld grey head, read t hem. We are up against it in a way we've never b een before. We've battled in in d ivid u al states for motorcyclists' rights and won but now we're up against the Panzer divisions, the Federal Government, and they mean business. It is up to us to direct our officials whom we elected in the first place, the way we wa nt th ings to go, or else as Russ says, "gold plateyo ur b ik e fo r b ookend." R e-re ad these articles and t ake just those few minutes to writ e t o yo ur officials. Yes, I know yo u think th e other gu y will d o it and you'll sluff off, but if we all wait for the other gu y to d o it, we've plain lost it. Look at it this way, as I do, nastily . Presidenl Nixon isn't exactly the most p opular chap aro u nd right now what with th e price freeze, Vi et Nam war, and h aving aid s making st at ements t o th e effect that if you're aga ins t the war you're givin g "aid and co mfo rt to the en emy" (which means I, sir, am close to being guil ty of treaso n myself but I'll damn well d ro p my soap box on y our head fo r dari ng t o say th at ) so Mr . Nixon is looking for something popular to pop on his p latform. What is one of th e most popular words in use today ? Ec ology! What a nice flat plum for a Pre sident to be able to point out with pride, thal he has saved vast st re tch es of American for the people from th e ravaging h ordes. If you sa w last Sunday's Los Angeles T ime s, th ey act as th ough those o f us who use Public Lands ar e A tilla the Hun an d Gen ghis Kh an rolled into o ne . (O f co urse, great ca re will be taken not to mention t o o much about h ow th e Government gran ts rig hts for big busin ess to strip m in e or d o anyt hi ng they please o n Public Lands.) They will appeal to the grass roots of A m erica, ge t th e folks in Kansas and Iowa stirred up as t o dam ages done to California d esert an d how it h as now b een " saved ". We in California k no w ho w we care for th e desert we use. It is up t o us that the rest of the co untry kno w we care and this can o nly be d o ne b y all th e rno torcy c1ists. N EV ER GOT PAID , YOU SAY? If y ou sent in st ories and / or photos t o Cycle News during th e past year and never re ceived p ayment for th em, maybe th e reason is that we misplaced your address. Ch eck o ut the following list o f names and if y ours ap pears , send us a letter giving us you r address and we'll send you yo ur ch ec k soo n. Write Cycl e New s West , P.O. Bo x 49 8, Long Beach , California, 9 08 0 1, attention: A CCOIDITING . Correspondents who have checks coming: Ken Benson, Richard Bu ngay, Ann Ca rr , Ed Chesnut, Desert Productions, J ames D unn, Sherri Ellis, Don Graham, Stuart Hawkins, Craig lIunter, George Hurlburt, Walt Iberti, Tilman Kreft, Ken Kusterman, R.D. Lewis, John Little, Ro cky Mandeville, Kris Mitchell, Donna Newby, John Pavich, Judy Roberts, Joe Salvo, Norman Stone, Leo n Wilb anks, Owen Willia ms an d Ri ch Yarb er . us express our concern over this d iscriminatory legislation through letters, telegrams , and telepho ne ca lls, I am certain that ou r elected repr esen tatives may h ave second tho ugh ts about offe nd ing us by vo tin g in favor o f somethi ng we are so adamantly again st. L EITERS NECESSARY In 1971 , we had ano ther very su ccessful y ear with o ur motorcycle lobby in Sacramento. That happened becau se yo u , the mo torcyclists, resp onded with letters when w e as ked for th em . We d idn't as k fo r letters unless we felt it was ab so lu tely n ec essary. 1 am now as king for let t ers. It is ab so lutely necessary that yo u let yo ur elected representatives know your feelings o n this subject. If yo u still d on 't k n ow wh o yo ur representatives are, send a self-ad dr essed st amped envelope for one of our FREE legislative and letter-writing guides. Address requests , co mments, and/ o r inq u iri es to M.O.R.E., P.O. Box 26062, Sa cr amento , Calif. 95826. BLACKWELL NI PS JONSSON IN 3rd WINTER -AMA M EET FT. PIERCE, FLA., F eb. 6 , 1972 Mark Blackwell p owered h is Husky to firs t pl ace ah ead of Euro p ea n Tore J onsson to win th e 5 0 0 clas s of th e th ird round of th e Florid a Winter-AMA series h ere today. Blackwell, Gary Jones, and J onsson each won a mot o. Jim Weinert h ad the 25 0 class se wed until hike refused to start in t he last moto, h anding th e win to Gunnar Lindstrom. P R OVISIONAL RESULTS 250 Hus Gunna r Lindstrom Dave La ngcor Joh n Bard CZ Bul 500 Hus Ma i Hus M ar k Blackwell Tore Jonsson Billy Clem ents WEINERT , BLACKWELL WAIL AT WINTER -AMA ORLANDO, FLA., Feb. 13,1972 - J im Weinert rep eated his performance of the first \Vinter -AMA o n the same course run backwards, and posted another three-heat sweep of th e fourth in the series aboard his Maico in the 250cc Class. Gunnar Li ndstrom fell in the final heat after scoring two strong seco nds against Weinert. The Open Class saw a fantastic race -long duel between Mark Blackwell (Hus) and Yamaha ace Gary Jones, with Mark on top of th e roughest and most d ifficult rac e co urse yet. RESUL TS 25 0 cc Jim We intert R on S tockman Je rry W illiams D on Smith O PE N Mark B lac k w ell Gary J ones Bill Cl em ents Ba rr y H iggins Mai Bul Bul cz Hus Y am Hus CZ Weinert, Blackwell Wail On- Again TA LLA HASEE, FL A ., Feb . 2 0, 19 72Ea st Co ast's J am es Wei ne rt and th e West 's o w n Mar k Blackwell flat o utran eve ry body at th e fifth of eigh t motocro ss m eeti ngs of th e Florida Winter-A:'>IA series o n a savage co urse that had even th e few visiti ng Europeans ho ld ing b ack. " When they co me h er e in th e fa ll, I think we can hang in th e fir st five," said Weinert, quaffing one o f his three bottles o f ch am pagne awa rd ed for heat wi ns by th e DiffBrak e pe ople. DiffBra k e' s traveling rep air shop welded J im's fra me before the first moto and he cre di ts them with h is win. Gary J o n es ro de a fu ll two hours to ta k e second in b oth classes. Both Wein ert and th e DiffBrake crew plan on b eing in the w est for th e coming mo to cros s series there. R ESULTS OPEN Mark B lac kw e ll Gary J ones Bill Cl e ments Sonny Defeo Bryan Kenney Jim West Dave R ob i nson Rick Graszl Glenn Vincent Barry Higgins 250cc Jim Weinert Gary Jones WymQn Pr idd y Gary Bailey Davt d L on gco r Gunnar Lindstrom Jerry W illiams John Bord ers Ron St oc k m an Tony Wy n n Hus Yam Hus CZ Yam Hus Hus Hus Hus CZ Mal Yam CZ Bul CZ Hus Bul B ul B ul CZ '" ~ ~ ~ CI) ~ Z w d ~

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