Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

... 8> " '" Cl c.. N .: '§. « ~ w Z W ...J U >U aJI~1 11111 Charles Clayton Sharo n Clayton Tom Culp . . Jo hn Bethea David Swift . Mfic: MX CLAIMING In professional road raci ng th e privateer doesn't have a chance thanks to super-fast, su per-light, one-of-a-kind factory specials. The same t hing is happen in g in p ro rna tocross, T he fir st thing th at co me s to mi nd is t he fa mo us Su zu ki 'crosser . These b ik es are valued at o ver $ 15 ,00 0 , ridden by so me o f th e world's b est riders (p aid th e world 's best salary), and mainta in ed b y the wo rld's best m ech ani cs. How abou t a cla imi ng rule as used in pro AMA co m pet ition? Ho w lo ng wo uld Su zu ki be sending $ 15,000 machines if yo u could buy one fo r $3000 o r so ? MARK HO LDEN Huntington Beach , Cali f. .Business Manager · General Manager · Managing Editor Ed Drech 51 er Barbara Richard Rheba Smith Marla Tarbet A I Duke . . . Paul Boudreau . Advertising Assistant · Circulat ion Manager · Circulatio n Assist ant · Circulatio n Assistant · Prod uct io n Manager · Prod uction Assistant Ho w ie Fowler . Larry Groves . Mario n Hatashita Do rothea Lang ' . Eleanor Duke . . Nat ional Advertising Direct o r (Cycle News West, Cycle News East , Cycle News Dix ie): Tom Culp . · . . . . . Edit or · Assistant Editor · Advertising Manager Art Friedman Am erica's Number 1 week ly mot orcycle newspaper . Yo u'll always see it first in Cy cle New s . Member ~ - MOTORCYCLE IND USTR Y C OUi;N;;; ' L l:iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Ciiii;; · . . . . Publisher .Lab Technician · Typographer · Bookkeeper . BO Okkeeping Assistant · .. . . Rece ptionist Beverly Townsend Bobi Culp . .. . . . .Cycle News Products V. Cycl e News West, P.O . Bo x 498, Long Beach , Californ ia 90801. (2 13) 42 7· 7433; L.A . 636-8844 . TELEX ~O. 673-474 Subscription : One year, second class ma il 2 y ear s, second c lass ma il 3 yea rs, seco nd c lass ma il Single copy pri ce $10 $17 $21 $.35 "EASY" RIDER What are easy Enduros? It seems like clubs do n't k now. I ro de the last Easy I Enduro and th e Family End uro. And I have t o say th at th ey w ere by no means easy . My mo m rode the Family Enduro alo ng wit h my dad and m ys elf. Sh e fe ll twice b ad ly . It 's b een two weeks and she is st ill lim ping. I realize everyone can fa ll and get h urt b ut I ca n't see putting in down-h ill tra ils of ro cks a nd expect a no n-ex perien ced ride r to no t be af ra id . We've been riding for about seve n years . So w e'r e no t new t o ridi ng. T hese clubs sh ou ld let th eir wiv es rid e th e co urse and see just how it is. Someon e co u ld get serio usly hurt . If it's no t going t o be easy, th en wh y adv ertise it to b e? GAY L E BEL L Lakew ood, Calif. Those endures are advertised as "easy" becau se they are easie r, supposedl y , than iii full-blown end uro . But , by no means sho uld they be u nderta ken by so me o ne 'wh o is just tearin g to ride , n o matt e r wh at the prom o ter advertises. Be sid es, since whe n is dirt ridi ng o f any kind " easy"?..Ed. S.O.S . very often . T he reaso n I'm writing is be cause I live in California and race mo to cro ss and desert (I use d to b elong to Simi Valley M.C.). Ar o und Si mi Valley peop le j us t do n 't d ig t he Army . A ll I can say is "Try it yo u11 lik e it " . The reaso n I an d fo ur others joined was to buy a new bik e and race the German motocr os s circ u it fo r two years . (We're getting 450 Huskies) . " Keep o n Tankin ' ". PV r. M.C. BALLA RD Fort Kno x , Kent u ck y T.K. TALKS TO TOM R ead er T om Stewart o f Yoma Li nda and sev eral others mi ssed the point o f BILLY CLUB For tw o years I' ve been read ing m y uncle's Cycle News and it 's been fun. 1 wo uld r id e over to my uncle 's farm every Wednesd ay and sw ip e the C·N fro m his mailbox. Two days later I'd put it b ack in place he'd never know th e di ff er en ce. (H e just figured it takes a while t o b e d elive rd. ) Anywa y, last Friday I got caught _ putting b ack h is Cycle News and he rode h is Hus ky o ver m y fo o t , h it me in the arm, and threat en ed me ! After th at scen e I h aven't visit ed his N ma ilbox and I haven 't see n Co fo r three weeks . Until yesterday. My u ncle saw an unre al subsc ription ad feat uring so me one ca lled Billy Bar k feath er and Lat rin a Snapsad dl e, My u ncl e was so It is d efin it ely a sad day in the rna torcycle fraternit y w h en a racer di es, and th er e is never a lesse ni ng of the p ain we feel . Eug ene, Or ego n was ju st b eginning to feel a b righ t you ng st ar , when lat e Sunday Rick Andres, morning, Marc h 12 , 1972, o n his way to a T errito rial Mo to cr oss Rac e, h e was kill ed in an au to wreck, just a mile fro m th e track . p ar en ts were co nsta nt Rick's su pport ers as h e p ow er ed his 4 0 0 Maico to numer ous moto cro ss wins. He was beginning to sh ow a pro fe ssional consciousness and a forceful purposeful , st y le. We all will miss him , and o ur sy m p athies are extended to his fa mily . J ANIS RAND ALL Eugene, Oregon "KEE P ON TANKIN" In regar d in g your article (Feb ruary 22 , 1972 , page 21) "Motivatin' for the Modern A rmy": T hose guys are d oing a great j ob . I am in th e Ar my he re at Fort Kno x, Kentucky , and it 's no t bad at all. Pay 's no t too bad and they d on 't serv e th e state gets in gaso line taxes? We have five b ikes and drove abo u t 3 25 miles t o get t o the race, I feel we p aid abo ut $7 in gas taxes this we eke nd alone. Mult ip ly that by a th o usand o r more people that rode th e Vict o rs race and you can see how mu ch mo ney th e state go vernm ent w ill b e losin g if they su cceed in keeping us home . T hen there is th e sales t ax on th e b ikes and parts an d su p p lies. (Mrs.) PAT PEARSO N Haci enda He igh ts , Cali f. SRA KUDOS We just go t h ome fro m the S .R.A. R iversid e G rand Prix a nd would lik e to co ngrat ulat e S. R .A . for hold ing a fin e tw o days of racing. I was particu larly impressed on t h e amo unt of safety precautio ns taken. Wh at a b ig di ffe rence from last year when you risked yo ur life jus t by wa lking in th e pi t area. MR . & MRS . SANCHE Z Blue view M.C. LUMPS VOICES OF THE WEST ' -first- -- - -RA regarding the - - - - - - - - - - _.- letter to the S -- - - my Calico en d uro, namely , that th e speed ave rage was too h igh for an event wit h such a large proportion of women and ch ildren's entries . The reaso n they missed the point -is th at it was ed ited out of my first letter b efo re p ublication. Cycle News reader s sho uld be in fo rmed t hat many letters ar e edited for co ntent and length before publicatio n. My so n (age 12) crash ed t h ree times in th e last 15 miles and got lost once, but still we nt on to fin ish seco nd 250 B rider in the kids class. No t b ad fo r his fir st desert event of any kind. We didn't t h an k th e SRA fo r the fre e coffee and doughnuts because we d idn' t h ave any . A fter a secret ch eck, mo st enduro riders are smart enough t o go lik e blazes for the n ext 4.9 m iles knowing that th ere canno t b e another secret check wi th in five mil es . If he is still early at the end of the 4.9 miles, then is the time to res t . It is always best to stay ah ea d of schedule in any portion of the co urse where th er e ca n b e no secret check. Mr. Stewart will learn th is as he becomes more experienced. T HOMAS K. McGEACHlN Santa Monica, Calif. FUTURE SHOCK Please co ver the minis d o wn at In di an Dunes I an d 3 Sunday of every month. T hey are very in te resting . Some of t hose kids' are ex ce llen t , the futu re moto cross professionals. RUSS HO FF MAN Granada Hill s, Califf. REAL MC QUEEN. SO, you think that some teeny-b opper h as Steve McQueens ' nam e, taken fro m th e Matterhorn, huh? Speakin g as a 35 -year-o ld woman, I b et it was so meo ne from my generation. Darn, wish I'd th ought of taking it! MRS. JOHN HONEYCUTT Torrance , Calif. We tracked d own McQueen's plaq ue. It's in the office at Sadd leback, They heard you wer e co ming, Mrs . Honeycutt ... Ed. Sad but true ; mo st letters have to be e dite d RICK AND RES Cop yr igh t© Cycle News, Inc . 1972 all rights reserv ed 'iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~;;;i;;i;;i;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~ UP WITH ELSIN ORE I'm writ in g this just to say, I di sagree w it h Elaine Smith 's letter ab o ut t h e Elsinore Grand Pri x (3 -2 1-72). To me , it sounds like th e A .M.A ., the District and Gripsters are the only ones that should b e given any cre d it for th e G.P. Bu t , what ab o ut Tom Pascall? I've read and h ear if it wasn't for Tom, t here mi ght no t be any Elsinore G. P. and th e people of Elsinore, what ab o u t them? A lso, about p oints . This race is a o nce-a-year happening. You won't be losing that many po ints . So why worry ? Up with the Elsin ore Grand Prix! I REN E BYRNES Card iff, Calif. Pub lished weekly e xcept the first and last week of th e cal en d ar year by Cycle News , lnc ., Post Office Bo x 498, Lo ng Beach, Ca lifornia . Also publ ishers of Cycle New s East, and Dixie Cycl e News. Second Class Postage pa id at Lo ng Beach , Cal if. Edi t o ria l stories , cart o ons, ph otos, etc . are welcome . Add ressed, stam pe d enve lope assures re t urn of ed itoria l matter . Reprin t in g in w hole or in pa rt on ly by permissio n of the publ ish er s. Advertisi ng ra tes and circu lation info rmation will be sent upo n request. See S .R. D .S. for both length and conten t. We try to hold letters down to one spec ifi c poin t because o f the number of letters received . Probl em is, the writer always feel s sligh ted when , in fact, the sho rter a letter is , the more likely it is to get published and read...Ed. BROWN NOT ES I would like to th ank you for th e co n tinge ncy check which I receiv ed for winning the Junior TT event at the Ho usto n Astro do me . I have appreciate d y our continuous supp ort o f the m otorcycle sport. Ke ep . up th e good work! JOE F. BROWN Paso Robles , Calif. DOWN ON CLETE Mayb e t he reason Clet e Robert s seems so d own o n b ikes is th e fac t th at he frequen ts th e r oad th at go es t o Indian Dunes h imself. Yo u see, he h as th ree private airplanes t hat he hanger s at San ta Pa ula Airport d o wn the road fr om In dian Dunes. Have to p ut up w ith the tr a ffic th e sam e as us b ikers , eh, Cle t e? TERRY MICKE LSO N Garden Grov e Calif. BUZZ BUZZ 1n rea di ng about t he Co ro na MX th at to o k place o n March 18 I noticed th at Bu zz Baty d idn 't ge t his facts straight. He wrote " In all six motos for the tw o classes, R ex and Bob would race wheel to wheel behind the fast d isappearin g La ck ey". Not true. lf you had looked Bu zz you would have noticed th at Brad Lackey wa sn 't doing an y o f his fa ncy wheelies in the first 500 Expert mota. You know wh y? Because he was trying t o catc h R ex Staten. He never did catch him in that mo ta. A lthough Lack ey d id d isap p ear from Staten an d Hershey th e oth er five rnotos, I think Rex sh o uld get cre d it wh en it 's d ue. EDDI E MEYERS Rubidoux, Calif. LESS GROUND, MORE T AXE S I had a th o ught (I do have a few every now and th en ) as I was dri ving home fro m the Victors race at R ed R o ck. Have any of th e p eople that are trying to get us o ut of the d eser t eve r t ho ught abo ut th e am ount of money I'd like to thank t he Western S ta t es Racing Assn. fo r a num ber of we ll ru n moto crosses this past season. I had th e pl easu re of rid ing th eir three races at th e Fernley track and was gratified t o see that their organization and track prep ar at io n improved every t ime. Wow! - that was so m e slipp ery mud t he . last t im e o u t at Fe rnley. And n o w for the lu mps! At th e recent Ma rch 5 th Hare Scrambles he ld near R en o , Nev. b y the WSRA, you gu ys kind of b lew it. I've d o ne a lot of ridi ng these p ast fe w years , a number of cross-country races and many motocross but th is nasty little non co untry put the in famo us " Cherry Creek" in Utah t o shame for ru ff 'n t uff bo d y bruising pu nish me nt. Of the 280 riders starting I believe o nly abo ut 10 0 last ed th e 10 lap s o f 11 miles each. J.N . bette r loo k ou t as it lo oks lik e Carl Cra nke t o o k th is one and is loaded for b ear. DAVE RIK ER EI Mont e, Calif. COLD HATS? I sincerely enj o yed yo ur "Billy Bar kfea th er" and "Latrina Sn ap saddle " and also enjoy "Voices o f the West". We here at Grand Junctio n will b e su bscrib ing so on to y our p aper. Our club the "Snow Rates " is o ne of the first motorcycle clubs in our re gion with Cycle News hats. We also hope to see more . of Billy Barkfeath er . I also hope to see a sp eci al o n th e new Kawasaki ' s. PAT NICHOLSON Gr and Junct ion, Col o . NO PAT FOR CLET E, I'm writing in regard to th e lette r wri tten b y Mr. and Mrs. Malfitan o to Clet e Roberts o f KNXT. Beautiful! I reall y en j o yed reading it. I didn ' t ac t u ally see th e report o n T .V ., b ut I have b een reading abo ut it in Vo ice of the West. I've seen other "sh ining ex amp les" of th eir " unb iased rep ort ing". I'm glad you were th ere. A p at on the b ack to both o f y o u. ST EVE BROCKINGTON Costa Mesa, Cal if. WEEK OFF T o all yo u great fo lks that attended o ur Mar ch 12 Novice and Beginners Hare Scramb les n o rt h o f Adelanto: Our ride rs' instructions stated th at trophies would b e award ed at o ur next race o n Ap ril 2 at Fo ur Corners. Ai th e time we were no t aw are that t he Larry McCl ellan Benefi t Enduro was sched uled fo r th at date. As a result we have ch anged o ur race date t o April 9 , same place, same time. T h an k you, DINGUS Des ert Racin g A ssoc iat io n

• Cover