Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

M Every tim e we go o ut of town to cover a big race , we always pick up the local dailies to see what/if they are think ing about us. Too often important events are ignored or the paper will run a small press rel ease. But what seems to be worse is wh en th e p apers go ah ead and cover the event. The reporters are invari abl y b or ed with the racing and th e pi cture ed ito rs can n ever find an ything better to run than crash shots. • • • 1IU H ' ENDED 1H! PLl6HT Dr . THE RRT PAC K \lJH£~ WILL THEYE'VlR U ARPiI MOTORCyCLE S Mr roR ruN AND lJOoD I-lO NE'$ T - SPORTJ I'IEN Daytona winner, Don Ernde. T he Bri t ish team will ri d e BSA' s and Norto ns. T h e th ree meetings are sc he duled fo r Brands Hatch, Mallory Park, and Oulton Park. The A mericans leave March 27 and the races are to be held Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of Easter weekend. "o g e, N I"- en ~ • • • '" ::< Vietnam Veterans at th e Vetera ns Adm in ist ration Hospita l in Va nco uver , Wash ington recen tl y received some 2 ,500 bac k issues of fo rty differe nt motorcy clin g pe riod icals. In ad d it io n , t he peop le at Pac if ic Basi n Tradi ng Co mp any (PA BATCO), Im p orter of Hodaka mo torc yc les , ma de arr an gemen ts t o f orward c urre nt issu es of the pub licat io ns to t h e Vet s on a mo nthly bas is. ~ w Z W ..J U >U • • • Noticed STEVE McQUEEN's name plate is missing from the Conquering Heroes' Plaque atop the Matterhorn . Probably trans-planted to a position ' neath some starry-eyed teeny-bopper's pillow. Sweet dreams, Babe. • • • • • • Well , here's the latest scoop on the manufact urers' points stan di ngs . The AMA figures it out by giving each brand the number of points t h at their h ighest-finishing rid er in each National gets. Just for fun, we h ave accu mu lated all the points the bikes earned. You can see that Triumph is blowing everybody else into the weeds . Except for Yamaha. We definitely feel th at Yamaha has the upper hand at this moment. One more thing. Next time you see Don Twigg, pat him on the back. He finished 19th at Daytona o n a BMW, thus putting them in 11th place. Stop laugh ing. You don't see CZ or Maico down there, do you ? T he AMA radi o network of mo re t han 500 stat ion s will go o n the air for t he first time on April 16 w it h the ru nning of t he 125-M ile National Road Race at Road Atlanta. Some 15 or 16 Nat io na ls are being p lanned for live coverage th is yea r so be on the looko ut for yo ur loca l AMA Racing Statio n. When availab le , we shou ld be ab le to pass o n all the statio ns invo lved . • • • MORE FROM THE CREEPING MEATBALL : H ere's an innocent-looking press release that wandered into our mailbox. "WASHINGTON, D.C . - Four mill ion motorcycle riders will soon join the nation '5 automobile drivers with their ow n set of federal safety standards. "Although au to safety currently Alas , perhaps we were premature in o ur claims to record number of people on a motorcy cle. Micky Hubbard of H & H Cyc le Sales in Chico , Calif ., was ki nd eno ugh to d rop th is photo in t h e mai l rece ntl y . It sh ould rep lace all the rum bli ngs. Th is wee k we a re not go ing t o t ell you h ow many were rid ing (?? ?) th is Lambretta 12 5cc. No , we a re go ing to give yo u a chance at countln' and guessin' - ne xt week w e'll give you the answer . Meanwhil e, we Americans have been sn ubbed aga in in our record break ing attempts ... perhaps, ou t t here, there ar e people hungry for glory that will attempt to brea k t h is reco rd (o r b r eak t he bik e in t he process) . What ever, have fun . ..... ;.....;... .....;.;. Highest Fin ishes Total Plac ing W ith in Points Points Pas . Brand 1. Yamaha 2 . T riumph 3 . Kawasak i 430 210 140 108 96 95 76 '50 40 11 2 4 . SUZUk i S . Norton 6 . Harley -D avidson 7 . BSA 8 . Ossa 9 . B ultaco 10. Honda 11. BMW * * 19 8 2 2 1 3 2 2 3 1 1 Pts . gec'c 1130 4 54 140 108 96 95 76 59 60 11 2 * Dick Man n, well·known fr ame designer, has signed up f or the Pacif ic·A MA motocross t his Sunda y at Ca rnegie Cycle Park in Live rmore , Ca lif. * * * Went d ow n to see "T h e Thrill Is On" at a nearby fish ho use in a no t-so-sneaky preview. The film lack s d ir ectio n, tends to be red unda n t , b ut has so me outstanding hal f-mile fo otage t h at ought not be missed. In fact, the hour-lo ng film is nothing but half-mile footage. Go see. Find the ad elsewhere to find where it's playing. * * * George Johnson of Rawh ide Park in Elsino re is being given a bad time by the City Fathers. They keep hass ling h im about where he puts his signs , which puts him in a bind because the place is not all that easy to find the f irst time out. Rawhide is a super place to ride, with one of the finest motocross courses in the state and lots of watercrossings everywhere . Best th ing is, the place is never crowded because no one knows how to get there. It 's just east of the 71 ·74 juncti o n in Elsinore. Jt e otest holds th e news sp otlight , t he go vern me n t is also hard at work investigat ing a variety of ways to improve t he operation, crash protection and handling o f the two-wheelers . "Under a contract awarded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a lead ing independent Ia boratory has alt er ed several motorcycles for federal evaluation. The alterations, performed for the government by General Testing Laboratories, changed conventional machines to conform to experimental control, vision and lighting systems. "Examples of equipme nt under development at the General Testing Laboratories in Washington include a combination turn signal and running light system, three different types of rearview mirrors, and higher-in tensity headlight systems. Ge neral Testing Lab orat ories is also conducting human engineering st udies to d eterm ine the safest location for all operating controls. "Results of these tests will b e part of the basis fo r a new set of mo torc ycle standards which the government has scheduled fo r early 1973 . T he impact of these standards on the world's 25 motorcycle ma nufacturers is likely to parallel t he impact that th e first round of safety standards had on the auto indus try five years ago ." • • • * * * Don Ernde had tro ub le wi t h hIS van on the way back fro m Day tona. No rear br a kes. • • • Get that garbage out of the garage and your wife off your back, all in one swell foop . Mark your ca lendar - watch for April 28 fo r the opening of the speedway season at Orange Co unty Fairgrounds and , more im po rta nt another Cycle News-sponsored Swap Meet. This isn't a second-rate affa ir, nosirree. Th is is the one that dra ws only t he very best junk. More details as it manifest itself. Ca ll (71 4) 63 7· 1835 if y ou want t o deal. • • • T he An glo-Am erican Ro ad Rac es are abo ut to happen. T he Suzuki team o f Ron Grant, Art Baumann, and J ody Nicho las will mak e up hal f of the Am erica n ef fo rt and th e o ther riders will b e Cal Rayb orn. Dick Man n, and ALL IT TA KES IS MO NEY, HU H? : Duri ng Speed Week , a horrid-look ing chopper. adorned with gold leaf was on d isplay at the Daytona Plaza Hotel . The fellow who bu ilt the thing, Frank Stankovich , modestly says that the bike " was ju st a p ile of junk before I spent lots of money and converted it int o a piec e o f kinetic art !" • • • Lovely, vociferous desert correspondent Alic e Rhea got her wallet ripped off at the Viewfinders Grand Prix. All that's missing is ten bucks, her driver 's license, and her CoN press pass. If you were th e one wh o happened to accidentally swip e the things, kindly send them bac k to us . • • • L o ve Iy, vocif e r o us " pro fessional am ate ur " George Plim pto n is do ing a TV sh ow on Th e Mexi can 1000 . A BC , wh o will air his sh ow on Mon day, April 3 , call s Plimp to n's entry into the Baja race " his most da ngerous adventure yet ." Unfortunat ely, Plim pt on will drive a car, but if y ou watch you may catch By Papa _ _ _ _ _ _--:::.Wooley _ some of th e real ex citem en t. • • • Th e International Four Owners Association has presented funds to th e San Diego County Safety Council for the purchase of an educational film o n motorcycle safety. The movie, titled "Mo to rc yc!e Driving Tactics," was produced In cooperation wit h t he Long Beach Safety C ouncil, Long Beach Po lice Department, t he Automobile Club of Southern Californ ia and the University of California (UCLA). Funds for the fifteen m inu te film were raised by local so uthern California members at a recent benefit - the Rio Colorado R i d e. IFOA is h ighly intereste d in p ro mo ting motorcycle safety instruction because of industry repo rts i n d i c a t i n g the novice motorcyclists' most da ngerous period is the first 400 mi les of road travel. Those wanting to exhibit the film should contact : the San Diego County Safety Council phone number 224-3533 . • • • A recheck of the lap charts at Daytona showed that GEOFF PERRY of New Zealand never was in the lead at the 200·Miler , as was p ublicized on the rad io. Seems as though he had troubles on t h e starting grid, pulled int o the pits, got the mach ine go ing and joined the leaders as they headed int o lap 2. putting h im a la p beh ind ...PAUL SMART, after do ing a bit of brand ju mp ing over the winter months, took one lap in the National , then pu lled int o the p its, got off the bike and shoved it at the reta iner wa ll and headed for the garage a rea where he changed clothes a nd l ef t the Speedw ay (h umm m) ...WALT FULTON , SR . took ove r the jo b of Head Sc ruite nee r of AMA roa d races; he replaced TOM C L A R K and d id a mighty fi ne job ..,lnst ead of just o ne wo ma n at Dayto na, t he re t urned out to b e t hr ee; JIN NY DURFEE d id n't get t o race , th ou gh, as she was dis q ualifi ed fo r havin g n o n-a pprov ed b ra kes..Lota Wilson d id quite well in her debut, moving from 2 1st t o sixth in her Amateur rac e...T here were actually two Harley -Davi dson riders in qualifying (LA R RY DARR and BA RT MARKEL) , but Markel withdrew after a poo r qualifyin g spee d . • • • 1 The ann ual Ascot Park 100-Lap IT, originally scheduled fo r Mar ch 26, has b een postponed indefinitely . Remodeling hasn 't been comp leted yet at th e Gardena, California plant, so th e regular season opening date of April 7 will kick off the half-mile season. • • • Expected to race a b it more on the West Coast is JIM RICE. Without a sponsor still, the bucks play an important role in ma ny of t he racers' lives and Jim is just one of 'em . He'll hit probably all the West Coast Nationals but cou ld possibly rema in o ut here whe n t he c irc u it res ides in the East . • • • DON BRYMER'S Hialeah, ns., Mile National, set for April 29 (which was a relocation from the Phoenix Mile). has again been relocated this time definitely. It 's now set for Co lorado Springs, Colo ., and is called the Pikes Peak Turf Club Mile . The two-day event has Junior and Expert practice and time trials on Sat urd ay and the heats, semis and mains on Sunday. In addition , Novices have a chance with their races on Saturday. It's the first National ever held in th e Rocky Mountains. Bring along a lot of leaner jets. • • • We tip 0 ur porridge-pot helmet to CHUB KELLUM , who was recently named the AMA's "Referee of the Year." Ch ub came to our own backyard from Minnesota back in the '4 0 's as a r~ad rider , p icked up a few amateur races and became Chief Steward for Dist rict 37 in 1958. He became a referee in 1969 and two years later took over DA VE WASH's position as Reg ion 3 Referee when Dave moved behind Tom Cla rk 's vacated des k in Ohio . For those of you who t hin k Chub's ridi n g days a re lo ng gone , we pass this litt le p iece on . In th e last two fam ily·type enduros Chub has entered , he has t rop h ied in each . We ca n't t hi nk o f anyon e m o re d ese rving of t he ho nor. • • • Reportedly tied fo r the win at the ACA Motocro ss at Saddleback Park on March 12 was Richard Fr anklin a nd David Bo ydstun. No t so , we find out. Fra nklin won with Bo ydstun seco nd . T wo weeks ear lier , Fran klin put it to Bo yds tun at Coro na's mo to cro ss, too. Richard . a 15 -ye ar-o ld CZ rid er see ms to be making a n am e for him sel f a nd should be a to p co ntend er soon, if he isn't one alrea dy .

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