Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

By Ron Schneiders NIXON'S GAMB IT Not t oo long ago Pr esident Nixon issued his now-famous proclamatio n regarding off-road vehicles . One of th e mos t signi ficant items of th e proposal wa s the t im e limit set : six .m o n th s for th e first act io n . T h is is a n ab su rd ly sho rt p er iod o f t ime in which to ex p ec t an y we ll-es ta blish ed b u reau c rac y to p roduce an y reasoned policy regarding any th in g. To ex pe ct the vario us bu reaucraci es that go vern t he nati o n's lan d t o co m e t o gri ps wit h the im mensely co mp lica t ed problem of off-ro ad veh icle us e is rat h er fanciful even w hen viewed as an election y ea r gam b it. Fo r tho se o f you who d on 't p lay chess , a gamb it is a mo ve in whi ch one o f t he pieces , usu ally a p awn , is o ffe re d as a sacri fice for later and more · - im po r tan t gains. It's very effec tive agai ns t in exp erie nced o p po sitio n, b u t used against a go od play er, it can backfire a nd b e very expensive . Pres ident Nixo n has ch o sen to use the gambit as p art of h is re-electi o n stra tegy. We a re the pawn that is t o b e offered as a sac rifice in t he hop es of w in nin g the co nservatio nist vot e. In c he ss it d oe s no t matter if th e gambi t pawn is ta k en o r no t . It is th e act o f offeri ng that gains. Pr esid en t Nix on has engi neere d a go od gamb it . His proclamat ion is worded in such a wa y tha t if th e co nservatio nists w ant our' bl o od, th ey can have it . If o th er th ings co nern th em m ore, or if th ey reali ze th at we're a very min or thre at, they can ign ore the " gam b it " pawn (us), b u t Tricky Dick st ill loo ks like a go od guy because he offered it . N ix on is playing a st rong if not very subtle game. However , we h ave a n option that m o st chess pawns don't have. We can let him know that we d on't lik e being offered as the sacrifice pawn, whether or not we're accepted, and we can cause him to lose th e game . Let's 'teach h im a bit about chess wi th our 5 million or so votes. I n the m e an time we have this proclama tion to deal with. Right now I'm going t o have t o get rather subtle mysel f and h ope th at m o st o f yo u wi ll st ay with me . Th e substance o f t h is p residential directive is not bad at all. La nd managers ar e directed - fo r the firs t time to rec ognize off-ro ad veh icle s as a fact of life a nd include them in the ir m anag em ent pl an s. What is wr ong with th e d ir ective is its tim in g (ni n e mo nths bef or e th e elect ion), its timetab le, and. mo st of all, its tone. Land m an agers h ave b een t old ess entially to make pro visions for off-road veh icles if th ey so d esir e , o r exclude them if it seem s preferab le. Th e Dire ctiv e implies that if th e land managers decide to ex cl ude o ff-ro ad vehi cle s, th ey won't be cens u red b y th e executive bra nch o f the go vernm en t. T he ti m e tab le en cou rages the m to excl ude us because it is so sho rt. Al so you wi ll no tice t hat th ere are abso lutely no funds, co m m it t ed , im p lied , o r even h inted . Suppose a manag er wan ts to acco mmo date us, to bu ild trails, o r eve n to p ut up signs designating rid ing areas. What can he d o with n o funds ? Fo rtunately, for the mo me n t at leas t , th is is a tw o -edged sword . While there are no fund s available to hel p us, there arc no funds available to enforce a nationwid e closure either. Let's lo ok more closel y at o u r ch ess-gam e parall el. Sometimes a player offers a g-ambit p awn a nd then b elated ly realizes that he's up against an o pponent who is too stro ng. for h im. He wi shes h e co uld t a ke t h e move ba ck. This isn 't permitted, eith er in c he ss or in real life . The only optio ns open to h im arc to ign ore the situ atio n and hop e fo r the b est , or to defend th e gambit pawn. This la tter co urs e us ual ly wo rks ou t very b ad ly . Eve n if Nixon realize s he has m ad e a mista ke, m y guess is that he is enough of a c hess p layer t o choose th e former co urse and igno re the situ ation , b u t if he sh ows a weakness a nd attem p ts to de fen d us (the gam b it pawn ) we sh ould no t be ta k en in. He 's made a m is ta ke th at shou ld cost h im the game : let 's mak e sure th at it d o es . Remember we do n 't matte r t o h im. We're the sacri fice p aw n. He m a y d ecid e t o d efe nd us u ntil th e electi on, b ut t he n h e m igh t d ecide it is ad van tageo us to a ttem p t an o th er gam b it. A n ew p la yer migh t h ave a b it more respect fo r his opposition. Whatever c o u rse Nixon takes and regardless of whether or not he is reelected, we are o u t in t he middle , ca ught in the crossfire of election p o litics and co nservation ist fervor. We had better .d o so meth in g to d efend o u rselves . It 's reaso nable to as k what are our associati ons doing? The an sw er is By Ch ar les Clayton Jump ing t o confusions - th at co nsideri ng th e size of the in d ust ry , preci o us d am n little, as yet. I don't w ish to b e acc used o f o vers tating the case . T he Am erican Moto rc ycle Associatio n, the Mo t orcycle Industry Council, and t he California Motorcycle Industry Council have all done something. The AMA is initiating a political action workshop and has published some good articles in th eir m agazin e. T he CMIC is supporting Russ Sanford , at least p ar ti ally, a nd th e MIC has d one seve ral th ings o f some significance. one o f which was to hire m e to write a book on trail management wh ich is desperately needed by both la nd ma nage rs and cl u bs. They in structed m e to h ave it d o ne befo re th e Presid en t 's six mo nt h d eadlin e c om es t o pass. T hey've also go t so me ad vertising going, of t h e "l ess sound, re sp ect th e eart h " variet y . A ll th is is fine b u t it 's not nearl y en o ugh. A t t he roo t o f th e p roblem w it h all th ree organizatio ns we find som e cle ar sim ila ri ti es. Most appar en t is lack o f money. Many motorcyclists don't belong t o th e AMA and m a ny businesses don't belong to the MIC and the CMIC . And so me of those th at nominally belong don't pay t heir share. Without money n o th in g gets do ne. One of these days maybe Cycle News will amuse itself by p rinting a list o f all those businesses that either don't belong or haven't paid their dues. But that 's not the ' wors t problem. Even those industries and companies that belong do n't recognize the seriousness of the situation. They think that th e MIC staff and a few jokers like myself will fix up everything a nd they can continue bus ines s as usual. Gentle readers, suc h is not the case . To wit : First is the business of no ise . "Less sound , mo re ground" adve rtising is fine, but the manufa cturers are responsib le for the sound. You can 't ride a good qu iet dirt bike if y o u want. There aren 't any made. And yo u ca n' t reall y quiet the one you 've got with accessories be cause there aren 't any adequ ate accesso ries. You can "take the edge o ff " and that's cert ainly desirable but it 's nowh er e near ad eq ua te . Bob Hi ck s, o ne o f o ur more aware journalis ts, suggests that w e aim fo r a maximum noise level o f 76 db and this seems reasonable to m e. But t hat's abou t 16 db lower th an wh at the industry c u rr en tl y h as in m in d . While we're o n the subjec t of noi se, District 3 7 has had it s nois e ' law operat ing for a lm o st a year now. It wo uld se em that it 's tim e to c reate so me sta ndards and start enfo rcing it. Wha t passes fo r a silen cer o n so me bik es is a real j oke. On the no ise question, I haven 't singled out any m an ufac t ure rs because th ey're all abou t eq ual in being a long wa y from ac c ep tab le. Ho ndas arc fairly quiet but they haven't got a n y real com pe t itio n b ikes . Of th e real co m pe tit io n b ik es o n ly Pe nton see ms to be ma king a real effort. On ano the r front, two companies see m to be doing the ir dam ndest to sec U N ITED ST ATES SENATO RS Wa shing t on Add ress A lan Cra n ston (D) of L os Ange les John V . Tunney (D) of Ri versi de RE PRE SENTATIV ES IN CO N G RESS that th e sport o f tr ail ridi ng di es right now, th is year. They ar e Suzu ki an d Kawasak i, b o th of which are ru n ning/ad ca mpaigns which are o ffensive to anyone wi th th e slightest inte res t in the earth we' re inhab iting. In the co urse of my resea rch for the t rails book at least 20 different people from forest rangers t o m o t o rcycle dealers h ave mentio ned th ese tw o cam p aigns to me . A nybody remember the Sh arps 105-45 ? Best gun in the world for h un t in g b uffalo . Th ey 're all in glass cases now and th ere 's a spot res erved for the bike that "conquers terrain" right next to them . So me of yo u m a y find campaigns like that to be refresh in gly ho nest. "Conq ue ring terrain ", yo u migh t say , "that's really what it's all abo ut, isn 't it ?" Well, y es and no. Can yo u see a di stinction betwee n th e group th at conquered Mount Everest and th e group t hat c o nq ue red the b u ffal o ? Co nq uering terrain is a ll right if you ca n d o it wi tho u t mutilating t he terr ai n in th e pro cess , but th at's no t a distinction that's easil y m ade t o a nature lov er wh o h as a t en-second exposure to a b illboard. In th e next Gambit w e'll see what can be done to save tra il riding from j o in in g buffalo hunting in th e hap p y hun tin g grounds. SPOONS' GAMB IT Last week one otOur rival newspapers chose to identify m e as one of their c o ntributors, specifically as a contributo r to a co lu m n called "The Hapless Spoon" o r some such. Now as most of yo u probab ly k now, this .£o lu mn is partly written, in a manner of speaking, b y Mike Jackson, General Manager of Norton Villiers , At leas t what Ass't, Editor of th at's afo rementioned rag Ralph Springer told me . Now Mike is a good sort, aff ab le wi t and all that and generally, I think, quite ho nest. So I can't im agine what would impel him to in vent a st ory like th at ab out me. Possibly a j o k e, but , as with m any British jokes , 1 fail to see the humor. At an y rate, I haven 't co n t rib uted to Mik e's co lu mn a nd sh an't until h is execrable taste in newspapers improves. But p lease d on't be t oo hard o n Mike. He's new to this gam e and might still b e co nsidered a n amateur. (In fac t com e t o think o f it , I believe the British a re co mmo nly co nsidered to be amateurs at eve rything . Mostpro fessio nal amat eurs in th e wo rld, th ey arc.) Any day no w I expect t hat someone will pass a ru mor to Mike t o th e effect th at so me o f us ge t paid t o w rite a nd I expec t sho rtly therea ft er h is co lu m n will start a ppearing in Cycle News. Wh en th at time come s , I shall be quit e llattered a nd h ap p y not o n ly to b e listed as a co ntributor b ut to contrib u te so meth ing in fact. Un t il such time, though, I wo uld ap preciate it if all aspiring jou rnalists, particu larly th o se incl in ed toward tea and c ru m pe ts , would keep t hei r co tto n-p ick ing h a nd s off m y nam e . where to write. 2 10 2 Se na t e Office B ldg . 2 0 5 1 0 623 7 Se nat e Offi ce B ldg. 2 0 5 1 0 - D on C lau sen (R} o f Cr escent C ity 1035 L o ngw ort h B ldg . Har ol d T. Johnso n ( D ) o f R osevill e 2 3 4 7 Ra yb ur n B ldg. Joh n E . M oss, Jr . ( D ) o f Sacramen to 2 185 Ray burn Bldg. Robert L. Le ~ e tt (D ) o f Va ll ejo 226 3 R ay bur n Bl dg. Phillip B urt on \ 0) of San Fr an cisc o 339 Cann on Bl dg. W il lia m S. Maillar d ( R) o f San F rancisco 2336 Ra ybu rn Bl dg. Ro nald D ell um s ( D ) o f Berk el ey ~ 14 1 7 L on gw o rt h Bl dg. Geo rge P. Mi ller ( D ) of Ala meda 23 65 Ray b urn B ld g. W . D on lon Ed w ar ds (D) o f San Jose 2 4 22 R ay b urn Bldg. Ch arl es S . C ubser (R ) o f G il r oy 23 73 Rayburn Bldg . Paul N . McCl oske y , Jr. (R ) of Por t ola Va ll ey 15 11 L on gworth B ldg . B urt'L . T alc ott ( R) of Sali nas 15 2 4 L on gw o rt h Bldg . Charles M . T eague ( R ) of Ojal • . • . • . . . • . . • • • . . • . . . • . • • • • • • • • 1414 L on gw o rt h Bl dg. .40 8 Can no n B ldg. Jer om e R. Wa ldie ( 0 ) of A n t i och Joh n J . McFall ( D ) o f Ma nt eca 23 4 6 R ay bur n B ldg. 22 42 R ayb ur n Bl dg. B . F . Sisk ( D) of Fresno .. •.. . • . • .. . • •. . . • . . . • . .• . . . .•. : Gl enn M . And erso l! ( D ) o f Torran ce 11 3 2 L on gw o rt h Bldg. Robert B. Ma th ias { R ) of Vi salia 102 4 L on gw or th Bl dg. 246 9 Raybu r n Bldg. Ch e t H olifield (D ) o f Mon teb ell o H . A ll en Sm it h CR) o f G len dal e 2 43 3 Rayb urn B ldg. August us F . H aw k in s ( D ) o f L os A n geles 112 4 L on gw ort h Bldg . Jam es C ~ Cor man (0 ) o f V an Nuy s 2 0 3 Ca nno n B ldg . D el w in M . C lawso n ( R ) o f C ompt on 22 7 Ca nn on Bldg. John H. R ousell o t o f Sa n M arin o 1706 L ongworth Bldg. Charles E. Wi ggins (R of EI M on te 22 9 Cann on B ldg. Thomas M. Rees (D) of Bev erl y Hill s 11 13 L ongw orth B ldg . Barry M . Gold water , Jr . (R) of Burbank 14 21 Longworth B ldg. Atp n o n zo E. Bell, Jr. (R) of Be verly H il ls 113 Cannon B ldg. Geor ge E. D ani elson (D) of Los Angel es 1513 L ongworth Bl dg. Edward H . R oybal (Olaf Los A ngeles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . .504 Cannon Bl dg. 104 Can no n Bl dg. Charles H. Wils on (0) of Los A ngeles Craig H osmer (R) of L on g Beach 2217 R ayb urn Bldg. Jerr y L . Pettis (R) of Lama Linda 427 Cann on B ldg. Richar d T. Hanna (D) of Fullerton 213 Cannon B ld g. John G. Schmitz (A. ) of San ta A na 1208 L on gw rot h Bl dg. Bob Wil so n ( R ) of San D iego 211 Cannon Bldg. Victor V. V ey sey ( R ) of Brawl ey 122 7 Longworth B ldg. (A.l All Co n gressmen may b e addressed by using the appropria te room number and off ice bu ildin g as sh own abo ve in Wa shin gt on , D.C . 20515 . When is a "world record" not a world record? When it involves jumping motorcycles over ca rs , dis tances , canyo ns, wh atever. Mo t orcycl e jum ping > as p ra cticed for pro fit by th e c u rr en t crop o f sho e b iz att ractio ns, is a courageo us c u rio sity, lik e rid ing th e h igh t r ap eze w it h out a net. Entertainment. it is, but it canno t b e condoned as a sport , re plete with world ti tles , champ io ns a nd aspirants. Las t month, ABC Wide World of . Sp orts was co n ned into an no unc in g o ne entertainer's act as "a new world 's record" d istance fo r jum pi n g a moto rcycle. T h e netwo rk aired a retraction one we ek lat er, afte r hearing fro m th e AMA , bu t th at , I fear, will not end the co nfusio n. As long as trick jum p ers and shady promo te rs keep advertising these "wo rld record holde rs", the p ublic is b ei ng misled a nd th e great sport of m otorcy cl in g is b ein g degraded . How m an y kids will have to b e p ar al y zed from impossible attem pts en gin eered by greedy managers befo re th e governme nt st ep s in and bans this kind of show? .T ho se d aredevils who aspire to Evel Knievel's tax b racket should follow th e example set by Bobby Gill, his first proselyte . Gill m akes no claims of phony reco rds, and doesn't allow his promoters to , either. He ju mp s ove r objects cars , m o t o rcycl es - and w orks o n "cl eaning up his act" as they say in showbiz. Over the years Gill's audiences inc rease and his incom e rises steadily. He is a real cred it t o the sport. Davis and Blackwell have worked out a fine variation in their act , by j umping sim ultaneous ly fro m opposite directions. T h ey d o n't need the p ress agen t hypcrisy that Life magazine swallowed c redi ting them with "breakin g th e world record". Warld record for jumping cars? Ridiculous! Now I read that t hat th e man wh o started it all is jumping over pois onous snakes. No, J o e , w e w o n't t ell y o u how many sn ak es. En ough is eno ugh . scrrJamlliil~iii'; arr1ournd: By M ~ ure e n Lee ' ADELANTO , CAL. , April 3-4 , 19 72 A m o t or cycl ist was lost fo r a t o tal o f 5 2 hou rs 52 mi nutes, and duri ng the whole t im e it was p o ssibl e t o be searc hing, h e was b ein g searc hed for. Phil Nyla nd, a member of the S tu m pjumpers M.C . an d a mo to cro ss rider , h ad started riding t he co urse backwards over t erra in just used b y h is cl ub to t hro w an enduro with p ro ceeds benefiting one of their inj u re d m emb er s. He ne ver ca me back . The first co ntac t was made as soon as it go t d a rk a nd so meon e could make it to a p ho ne . Bob Ha yes who h ead s Dist rict 3 7's Sear ch an d Seck T ea m p u t s it th is way, " Wit h in 3 0 minutes I had twelve riders w ho were ready t o co m e at th at mo m en t. T h e respo ns e was terrif ic . We co u ld h ave used m ore m en , b ut now we 're working on a larger plan to b e able to co ntact m ore p eo ple m ore q uick ly." T h ey p lanned to me et in o ne are a nd start searchi ng as so o n as it was light en o ugh to se e. T he She riff's De par tme nt , head ed by Sgt. J im Hi cks a nd h is dep uti es we re th ere al o ng w ith Jeep Po sses from t he lo cal ar ea a nd wh en th e O.S . Mari ne s h ear d th e call , th ey sent o ve r a j e t c ho p p er. The She riff 's ch op per is q ui t e small and vib rat ed badly hamp ering clear gro u nd visibility but th e big searc h and res cue Marin e jets can "spo t a jac krabbit in brush". T he Res cue Three team went o n to a twenty m in u t e alert when they received the wo rd, and when it was decided their ser vices were definitely needed they were out and in position wit hin one ho ur, big Co mmand Post a nd all . Hayes said t he co-operatio n between all the u nits was fan tastic. 'rhe S heriff's (Please tu rn to pg. 34) co 0. « Ul ;:: W Z W ..J o >o

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