Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1972 03 21

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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Rap id ly -r eco veri ng fro m a b roken hip , J im Co nnolly is now sufferi ng from a sever e case of frus tratio n . Work ing overt ime to catch up back-logged work , Jim has had little ti me to get h is bikes ready fo r the Viewfinders GP which he didn't race. He is now tryi ng to decide whether or not to ride th e Mint 400 on a Kawasaki sp o nsored by Dirt Bike Magazine. New rules issued for the Mint 400 specifically exclude " ch o pp ers" like the o ne J im and Rick Selman rode for six fu ll laps last ye ar. has 500 acres to p lay with and is mak ing a cycle pa rk out of it. T he long-range p lan is t o gradually red uce t h e riding area and b u ild ho uses , pools , and even a go lf course fo r dec rep it motorcyclists. Who kn ows? We might even appreciate it o ne day . • • • Superfast Austinite JACKIE O'LEA RY sa he's getting his b roken leg together slowly, so it11 be several months before he does any serious racing again. • • • • Leisuret ech 's May Natio nal Motocr oss ser ies p lo ppin g d own in three loca les in Cali forn ia d u ring May, has already lined up a list of notables su ch as DIC K MA NN, JOH N R ICE , J IM WEST, BILL C LE MENTS , JO HN DeSOTO , BILL SI L VERTHOR N, BRYAR HOLCO LM, TIM HA RT, LARS LA RSSO N, MART Y T R IPES , GE NE FETTY , R ICH T HOR WALDSO N , J I M WILSON, GUN NARD LI NDS TRO M, etc. Big shoes who may rid e is Europe doesn 't co me throu gh include BOB GROSSI, GARY JON ES , MA R K BLACKWELL, BRY AN K EN NEY an d B RA D LAC KEY. • • • The 1972 G rand Prix Motocross season will see Fi nish Champ Kalevi Ve hkonen co nt estin g on a factory Montcsa. Pe r m a n v e r S .A ., the Barcelona manufaciurer of the popular Spanish two-stroke, has formall y announced the signing of the flas hy yo ung Finn to a one year co n tra ct. • • • DO N CAS T RO was rec en tly observed picking his lines ab out t he speedwa y practi ce co urse at Sadd leback Park on a quick Jawa re po rt edl y o wn ed b y S U MNER M c KN IG HT. Seems as though Do n may w ish to p ick up o n some of the Tuesday nigh t actio n at Ascot this summer. The same goe s for DAVE ALDANA, who has also been seen lurk ing about the Speedway practice track . • • • Th o se n i n e o n-a -H o d a k a g uy s co n fro nted us at th e Vie wfi nders GP and said th ey plan o n mountin g 15 o n th e same ma chin e...says th ey : "Those guys fro m th e Housc o f Handlebars were stationary - we're go ing to rid e the thing do wn the street ." Having recen tly taken the written vers ion of th e Class 4 License test here in California , we understand they co uld get a ticket fo r d o ing th at so w e won't you w he re they plan o n doing it. If th ey get ca ugh t b y an ything , hopefully it will be by a camera. v • • The KASSO N MOT OCR OSS TEAM is ready fo r Eve l's $ 25 ,0 00 motocross in May. Captain Bill says he int end s t o bring at least ha lf the go ld back to Texas and donate to such need fuls as Gus Must acher and t he S harpstown Ban k. . • • • We recen tly co n fro nted JIM WILSON to f ind ou t the ca u se of his c omeb ack . " H e: j us t s m i l e d , "C o meback?" Several y ears back, Jim was the h o tt est sh oe on the Coast, locking h an d leb ars with De Soto and the oth er top racers around. T h en ca me th e yo ung 'uns (whic h doesn't m ean J im is o ld) and J im faded. Come ' 72 and Wilson 's name start ed h eading th e lists aga in. " Well, I've learned how to start b etter ," he explains. " When yo u start off 25th and wo rk up to seventh , you can't win . Bu t when yo u start o ff in th e top five , w ell, it's a lo t easier. " So he insi sts it's th e start that co u nts. Whatever it is, TED MOORE of Am eric an J awa is very h appy th ese da ys. II • • • - • • • \Vhile we'rc on the subject of th is new form of so-called enduro riding (th ey're not "endures", by any stretch of the imagination but they are fu n to ride) be su re to sign up to rid e the Benefit End uro for Larry McC lellan , a side ha cker who is in d ire need of m e d i c al care after a crash last Nove mber. Read Ro n Sc hneiders' column this week and find o ut h e does, after all have a heart. • • • MA LCOLM SMITH , the man who made Bruce Bro wn famous , or so met h ing lik e ~ ! • • • Husqvarna of Sweden is tightening up their U.S. market by taking all their stateside distributors with namby -pamby names ( li k e ;\IED-International) and giving them a more descriptive handle (like Husqvarna Motor-Corp West). M. Edison Dye, th e chap who is credited w ith the b irt h of motocross in the United States (and the subsequent sale of at least several dozen Hu sq varna moto rcy cles w hich just so h ap pen ed to co me from his company) is now presid en t o n Hus ky West. He will sti ll bring in La verdas and other products und er the MED-Inte rnat ional b anner , th o ugh . • • • Did you know that Husqva rna ma kes sewing mach ines , too? Wonder if Lars Larsso n p lans t o manufacture a ti tani um treadle fo r t he more sporting ta ilo r . • • • This is a scene from NBC T elevision n etwor k 's World Premier e m o vie , " Moving' On", to be aire d Friday, March 17. It st ars Geoffry Du el an d Pat Wayne as tw o fello ws wh o wander a r ound t he western U.S . raci ng mo to rcy clcs (Su zukis) and stock cars. It will be sh own in two parts and ma y b ecome a ser ies. If j umping o ne dune buggy sells te levision sh ows th en th ink what Evel o r Super Joe cou ld do in T.V . * • * LA T E ST JOKE F R OM THE CR EEP ING MEAT B A L L : The Department of Transpo rt ation has decided that as o f September 1 , 19 73, mo t o rcy cles w ill hav e t o h ave " eit h er a spl it hydrau lic system w ith a reservoir We ran across DOUG GRA NT at Esca pe Co untry, t his ti me just spectating since he injured him sel f two weeks ago . T h e cast should come off in abou t seven week s, but it will still be so me time before he is back racing. For th ose who mi ssed it, Doug broke his righ t leg n ear th e ankle and also a b o ne in the an kle. Surgery was mad e to p in the b re ak . He's in go od spirits and ca n ' t wa it to get back o n th e tr ack . • • • R ace promoters and part·t ime publishers Gavin Trip pe and Bruce Cox had t he gall to ask us to mention t hat their offices are now located at Suite 17B, 19 53 1 Airport Way South, Santa Ana , CA 92707. S uch bloody nerve . • • • Escap e Country will o ffer a class for b eginning dirt rid ers whic h b ears the copyrighted title, "Acres of Answers". The class starts March 18 and will b e hel d every weekend after th at, wi th things getting u nderwa y at 10 a.m. Each session is four h ours long and costs $4 per session. If y o u want to kn ow more , jangle them at (714) 58 6-7964. • * * Last year the Can-Am Challenge races, where loca lites racing under the ACE banner met with top Canadian shoes up there , were quite successful . Th is year th ings look better as the Canad ians will come down here in April to meet th e ACE team for the first leg of this year' s Can-Am Challenge Races . Second leg w ill be held in September same place as before - Aldergrove, B.C . • • • On e t ypo we 're glad we didn't mak e: "Prern a do na" fo r " p rima donna.. n • • • Poor Joh n Taylor, He worked h is padoobah off lay ing out the SRA Ca lico Ghost Run course and received nary a wo rd of credit . Shame on you, Ro n Vi ncell ette. • • • . are invited ." Bonanza . Thes e "fun run" enduros ar e • • • Two r a d i o stat ions in Southern Ca liforn ia broadcasted the Daytona 200 m iler Sunday . One, KFMB in San Diego, had it live wh ile KBIG , Los Angeles , was on an hours de layed tape. Writer Joe Sca lzo was seen at the Pacific·AMA ser ies wa lk ing about wo ndering how the an nouncer got th e fina l results so fast. Seems as t hough h e was list e nin g to KB IG and the an no u ncer was tuned in to KFMB . • • • AI Fe rman of the Four A ces M.C. te lls us that the FOUR A CES GRA ND PRI X will n ot be he ld at Willow Springs this ye ar . Yes, it was ad vertised as suc h, but at the last mo men t, it was learned th at permission couid not be sec ured to rid e the back section of t h e co urse. To mak e th in gs worse, the track owner ren ted the ro ad ra ce sect ion to the ACA o n the same dat e for o ne of their things. Al and the boys went o ut looking an d found a pl ace which is n ot only cooler, b u t ne ater. O nly 28 miles fro m the h eart of Lo s A ngeles is Muntz Cycle Park . The ra ce will be run ove r virgin lan d , th ro ugh th e Simi rive r (it's j ust a little thing) and over ro lling hills. No super up or d own h ills. A lso , n o o n e-b ike-at-a- ti me trail s. The same ro w-b y-ro w starti ng pro cedu re will be used, but best of all it looks like spe ctato rs will b e able to see mo st of the co urse, The Fo ur Ac es don't wa nt any p it racing, so o n ly silencer-equipped co m pe t it io n bikes will b e allo wed on the grounds. • • • • • • • • • catch ing o n lik e th e flu. PVDR will b e having an other in late Spri ng and th e S RA , whose recent Calico Ghost Run • • • E VE L KN I EV E L a nd L C. AGAJA NIA N' w ill be promoting a mo tocross up Sacra mento wa y next Ap ril. Yes , h e's go ing to ju mp. Right now he 's got a little ove r a week be fore h e has to ma ke a broken ankle heal so he can keep an engagement in Det ro it. • • • • Alas , the hassle of being a professional racer. As yo u can tell, Bugs is thrilled posin g as a model fo r Champion spark plu g's n ew rider shirts. Champion is giving one to each o f the l Ou-or-so National rid ers with eac h rider 's numb er subtlety affixed to th e fro nt , as you see here. In ad d it io n, Ch ampion is giving t he top 10 pro fessionals a Champio n t ravel ba g, a Pan asonic electric sh aver (for Kenn y Roberts?) and a gif t " .. '" e, N .... '" • • • The final j udgeme nt o n the Rich mond Ramblers vs. A RCO case w ill be reach ed shortly . The Rambler s ha d filed a suit agai ns t A RCO after the big oiler had decided bikers could no lo nge r ride t he land they o wn at Point Richmond after d ecad es o f not caring. Could b e a landmar k d ecision. • • • M SHORT AND SWEET NOT E FROM ~ T H E 100'S M.C.: "As of Mar ch 7, 19 72, w any m ember o f the IOO's M.C . pi t racing Z will be d ro pped from the club." - w for each master cy linder o r t w o ind epend ent serv ice brake systems. Th e indep end ent systems w ou ld inco rporat e a hydrau lic service brake co mb ined with a hand -operated park ing bra ke ." Seems like every co un try we bombed soon ma kes a comeback in the motorcycle in du st ry. Hat ch Im p orts, Inc ., 14 622 Victo ry Blvd ., Va n Nuys, CA 9 140 1 is now imp o rt in g leathers fr o m Ko rea . H.F. Hat ch says, ''These leat hers are f ully lin ed an d attractively st riped . S uggested reta il price is $ 4 9 .95 and both dealer and d istr ib uto r inq uiries Dav id Ma rti n , p reside nt of t he Po m ona Valley Desert Riders, repo rts t hat his " Gr anny Ru n One" E-Z end uro came off w ell, with 222 e nt ries and 16 0 finish ers. To com pl ete thin gs, th e pit area was left "at least as clean" as t he way it wa s fou nd. The course was completely cleared by 3 p .m., meanin g everyone was safe at home in time fo r as if t he Forest Lawn con cept of f inancial coc oon fr o m birth to has zeroed in o n Te xas b ikies . Land in Houston (where else?) The San Francisco Chronicle, the only big daily on the Co ast that is fu n t o read, printed a ni ce , b ig picture of Evel maki ng t h e 15-car jum p at the Cow Palace on their front page. that, has b een ap pointed t o the illustrious positi on of " Co nsultant" fo r Husqva rna Inc orporate d . Just sh o ws what a little bit of publicit y can do for a guy . • • • Contrary to w hat a letter implied in the last issue, Rescue 3 w ill co n tinue to serve desert even ts . T h ey were not at th e Four Aces even t b ecaus e th ey wer e tak ing a course th at was o nly availabl e at th at time. Tom Burk e in Bars tow can answer any questions. Seems a nic e death Cycle • • • e otest The ap tly- n am ed Sand Sailors, a gro up th a t pu t s o n re g ular Euro pea n Scrambles at t he Po nd ero sa , h as st art ed a s ch o olb o ys class fo r th ei r every -t hir d- weeken d m eets. Also, Sat ur day meets will be for cas h . $30 for first, $20 for second, SID fo r third, an d $5 for fourth an d/or fifth . Ponderosa meets are a gas if you appreciate good family at mosphere. • • • mpio ri Spar k" I FOUR-STROKE MULT I LOVERS TAKE NOTE: Not only is there a large (circa 900cc) Kawasak i in the works, b ut no w it seems that there is a BENELLI SIX-CYL INDER 750 be ing t ested in preparat io n for product io n. If cyli nd ers k ee p mu lti plyin g and getting small er so me comp a nies may fin d t he mse lves in the mo d el a irp lane b usiness. • • • cert ifica te fo r eigh t C Plugs . ! f • • • In the Gads-Su-Zooks Department: JOHN DeSOTO was a wee bit upset about Buzz Baty referring to him as be i n'g R ICH T HORWALDSON'S teammate, o r v i c e versa . The competitive spirit is still there fo lks , and John st ill wants t o win , eve n if his closest competit ion does ride t h e same bra nd . - was a pheno menal success (Heck , three CoN staffers. trophied in t ha t one, includ ing one on a box-stock Suzuk i 12 5) w ill be hav ing an oth er "family end uro " , as th ey are call ed, next month . Lo ca l t elevisio n Station KNXT , Channel 2 , ca me o u t with an ant i-Ind ian Dunes/Moto r cycles " news report" Sunday n ight. If you saw it yo u know wh y ne ws report is p ut in quotes . If you hap pe n ed to see it , give th e statio n a call giving th em you r co mments an d feeli ng s; maybe try writing so me letters to KNXT. CN is attem pting to get a reb uttal time. KNXT is an affiliate of CBS, which recen tl y purchased Cycle World ...we wonder if the Mama Organization knows its Los A ngeles baby is cutting part of Mama's throat??? • • • LESS SOUND MO RE GR OU N D Off Road Vehicle Institute-SD j >U

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