Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

iTH E DA Y THE MATTERHORN D N r-. '" ,.... . ~ ::; ~ w Z W ..J (.J >(.J Over she goes. gang. Another o f t he man y mak es a has-bee n of th e infa mous Matterhorn. By Davi d Swift Ph oto s b y Swift a nd Sand ra Heide IRVINE, CAL., Feb. 27, 1972 - Bo y, The dang things ju st wouldn't get o n th e they just made a molehill out of a pipe. Either y o u would loop it o r kill it. mountain. Used to be, Vic Wilson's Still, Evans took first in th e 4 0 0 class and Shaver in the 360. f am ed Matterhorn wa s a Mo st outstandin g p erforman ce was highly-respected lump of dirt, so much by motocrosser Dave Si zemore. Brave so that a monument was constructed at D av e be a t the m ost o p ti mi st ic the top listing the handful of people, predictions as he made it to all but t he elite group that they are, who h ave ", last se t of eliminations o n an o ld 3 60 co nq uere d the hill. Well, that list was CZ. Took second in his class, t oo . nearly doubled today has scads of You don't have to sign al when making ' U ' turn on this h ill. (R esult s on page 40) entrants in today 's hillclimb gouged, claw ed , O f , in some cases, c ru ised o ver the top. No doubt the handwriting was in th e dirt tw_oweeks ago when tin y minichamp Jeff Ward mad e it o ver the t o p o n a Bon a n a z a. It was a 1 00 c c h ist o ry-m aking event and th e publicit y he lped mak e t o day 's ev e n t a w ell-entered and well-at t ended o ne. But it also p roved th at eve r since so meo ne k nock ed th at sh eer. wall off the to p with a bulldozer, th e Matterho rn could be had by anyone with a good clutch and a lot of patience. First p erson to go over to day was eve n t ual 250 class w inner Frank Durso . A s h e st rad d led h is tricked-o ut Ka wasaki, he told th e guy with th e walkie-talk ie t o te ll th e fo lks ups ta irs to clear the area at the top o f the hi ll he's co mi ng through. Just like Babe Ruth . As the sp ecta to rs slo wl y wandered o ff, Durso pulled th e trigge r, . The remaining specs leap ed o u t o f the way as sure , enough, Fr ank wen t over Derek and Don Ric kman have won the top. M oments later, Malco lm Smith, enough Motocross championships to forever handsome i n h is silver Bell Super know what makes a bike a loser, or a Magnum wi th matching duck bill visor and co-ordi nating blue m o to cro ss jersey winner. For over 10 years, they've been (now the stan d ard un iform for m any learni ng fr o m the othe r moto rcycle rid ers , by th e wa y ) , pulled his 250 Husk y within a cou pl e fee t of the top. makers' mistakes-and building the most Next, Darrel Loew m ad e it on a perfect Motocross compet ition bikes in Bu lt aco trialer with a pipey-sounding motor . T he n Kerry Peterson, a the world. The Rickman-Metisses are the yo ungs ter on a Yamaha. Then the riders results of learning from others' mistakes. started p ic kin g it off w it h reck less ab an don, so me of them crashing spectacu larly, so me killing their engine Unique Ric kman Frame: The Brothe rs b efo re th ey got started, b ut too many realize that a frame doesn't have to be lo ft ing over th e top b erm like no th in ' was h appen in '. A nd th e big b ik es h ad n ' t heavy and bulky to be strong. They make even start ed yet. their own frame of a lightweight. alloyAs it t urned o ut, D urso won th e 250 class afte r a seri es o f eli m inations , each steel. Thenthey hand-weld it with almost set sta rt ing h igh er up th e hill. Lowe indestructible bronze welding. And coat hung in th ere for second w it h Pe te rso n thi rd. Malcolm came b ack and cleaned it with nickel. The Rickman frame is unth e h ill on his sec o nd attem pt and m ad e a coup le m ore to ta ke fourth. Wh en we matched for superb balance . strength , rec eived the official results, th e first and handling. th ree names in eac h class were listed ex cept in this class , wher e th ey wen t Horsepower vs. Weight: With the frame d own as far as Mal colm's nam e. Bu t we are n 't go ing to print it , weight cut down, the horsepower/weight Th e b ig b ikes - 3 60cc a nd u p ratio becomes higher. That means you t opped the Matterhorn lik e it was part of a TT course. Eliminations dragged can go a lot faster, a lot longer. late in to th e afternoon. After each round, those who mad e the t op w ithin 3 Ideal Mode/s-3 Ideal Engines: The tw o tri es had to t ak e an oth er shot at it Brothers are offering a 125cc Motocross with the st arting log mo ved up to a steeper p ortion. In the final ro und, it and a 125cc Enduro, each powered by a was N eal Ma ckel, o riginal co nq ue rer o f th e Matt erhorn way-b ack-when, Wes different single cylinder, piston port, 2Evans on a 5 0 1 Maic o a nd Ed Shaver on stroke Zundapp . The Enduro develops a len gh y-swingarmed Kaw asaki Big Horn. max. h.p. at 6500 rpm; the Motocross at Mack el was th e first to go . His re vs 7500 rpm . The th ird model is a 250cc went up a nd d own as th e b ik e swaggered th e width o f th e course. As Motocross. This is driven by a 250cc he to o k on th e ste ep es t p art of th e single cylinder, piston port Montesa with co u rse his 750 Triumph Special fo und the cam. Like he had been d o ing for th e a compression ratio of 12:1. Each engine earlier part of the day , he motored o n up w ith a steady beat, gently shutting is ideal for its purpose. off the throttle as he lofted over the top. Next uP. c~e Evans and Sh er, ....h o . ... . . . .. AN ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS COMPANY, INC. EXCLUS IVE DISTRIBUTOR OF TRIUMPH , BSA, AND NOW RICKMAN-METISSE MOTORCYCLES IN THE U.S.A. The Rickman Brothers learn fro The results are nearly perfert ..' "'_~~iiS. asl!.Wi..fil1Sf.-'illiiil~ ke·iiti·IS:.--I...=--~-~-------------------------::------......:....-----:-11 I

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