Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141022
.- You ought to see the paths the C'l > ~ ::;: ~ w Z W ...J U >U By Ron Schneiders OA KHURST, CAL. , April 2 3, 1972 Nearly 800 riders journeyed up h ere to Allen's Mot o rcycle pl ayground to rid e one of th e finest b ottlenecks ever engineered b y a motorcy cle cl u b . Un fo rt u na te ly , the y th ou ght th ey were coming to compe te in th e famous Chicken Enduro, so th ey we re reall y unable to ap p rec ia te some of th e fin er aspec ts o f b ottleneck engineerin g th a t were o n ex h ibit today. . When y o u wan t to en gineer a trul y superior bottleneck, y ou first have to ensure that every rider in the run mu st go through it. Thi s the Pa thfinder s did , by th e sim ple ex pe d ien t o f discu ssin g it at th e rider's meetin g. When we go t to the bottlen eck, w e were told. we were to line up single file an d wait our tum. Any on e who cu t the lin e o r went around th e bottleneck w ould b e disqu alified . Next y o u have to have a situation that n o on e can possi b ly rid e and thaI will take lots and lo ts of time . Now this gets a bit tricky because there are some riders w h o can ride just about anythin g. Bu t the Pat hfinder s showcd . co n sid e rab le in genu ity in solving this problem. They found a deep V·gr o ove slippery yo u cou ldn' t walk down it w ithout fall ing, even w ith ou t th e bi ke . I was lucky. I had an early num ber so I on ly had t o w ai t abou t 12 mi nutes fo r m v tum and, to the Path fin d er' s cred it , the y di d have a ni ce lo n g st re tc h in which to make u p time between the b ottlen eck and the next ch ec k. But it did n ' t help the later numbers. S ome o f th em h ad to wait up to 4 5 m inu tes for their sh ot a t the bottlen eck. You d on 't make up 45 minutes in an SO m ile run. Sin ce th e b ottleneck occu rred o n ly tw o mi les from th e st art , so me of these guys we re p re tty bitter. They we re out o f th e runn ing throu gh no fau lt o f thei r ow n be fo re their e ngines even got proper ly w armed up . Th e res t o f the ru n, afte r th e b o tt len ec k, I fo u n d to be ve ry enjoyable. The re w er e good, fas t forest trails, so me in terestin g, make-up -t ime fire roads. ju st en ough mud to be fun, and four or five strea m c ro ssin gs. A t o ne point we had to d rag our bikes under a log an d several places the b ru sh and branches were low en ough to make fo r c h in-o n-th e-gasta n k rid in g. We rode down Chicken II ill w hi ch is lots of fu n and maybe a bit scary for th e n ovi ces, since tractiun is qu ite limited an d th e tr ees a re fairl y close. Th e in a ro ck hill wh ere there w asn't ro om for both the rider an d th e motorc ycl e a t the sam e lime . It was steep e n o ugh and slip p e ry en o ugh so that riding d own an d sloppin g a t the bottom w as o u t o f the question . Riding down wi th out stop p ing was als o o u t of the question becau se there was a ve ry large log abou t handlebar h eigh t ac ro ss the path. Some gu y s tri ed to b ull d og th e ir bikes d own and ge nerally wound up pin ned underneath, between the bike and the wall. Once they got loose, th ey and the bikes wen t d own in a n a iling medley o f legs, arm s, han d leb a rs an d w heels. Two Pathfinders were st ationed at the top with a long rope an d if th e rider desi red , they wo uld loop the rope aro und the sh ock o r fr ame and prevent th e bike from getting away, but it didn't help m u ch b ecause th a t V -crotch w as so Photos by Ron & Elle n S ch nciders sch edules ( 18 a n d 24 mph ) were qui te rea so nab le for an y ride rs in the fir st 30 . numbers bu t h o p eless b ey o n d that. T he Ch icken h as a 10 ye ar his tory . Origina lly it was p u t o n by the Boy Sc o uts of Oakhurst bu t tw o y ears ago it w as take n o ve r b y th e Pathfinders ? I.C . It's a lw a y s been run in a postage -st amp size area w here the trail s pass one an other at spitting distan ce, bu t you 're no t aware of it when y o u're riding be cau se o f th e th ick brush a n d fo rest. The run cou ld be m ad e b oth lo nger and m o re enj oy ab le if th ey cou ld ge t out o f the small a rea , but it ap pears the o n ly way they co u ld do th at would be to ma ke it a street- legal e n d ur o . Maybe that's the dire ctio n to go. T he Pathfinders w ould lik e their en duro to be come a cl ass ic like th e II i Mo un tain a nd the Greenhorn a n d thev really ha ve all the ne ce ssa ry in gred ien ts. T hey have a very h ard wo rk in g and enthusiastic cl u b , b eau t iful, beau tifu l riding territory and c o o pe rative lo cal officials and fores t servi ce. T hey do, however , have some proble ms to Puttingan ordinary tire on a superbike is sending a boy to do a man's job. Today's super bike rider needs the kind of tire that wi ll handl e his mach in e, not handic ap it. Co nt in ental 's K111, K102 and RS mo d els ar e design ed to get that jo b don e. Ther e are 4 Iul l p lies in every Con tin ent al ti re - ex tra ass ura nce of qu ality, safety and pe rform anc e. Also , fac to ry balanc ed for sm ooth ridin g . , The Kl11 : The. Hi gh Performance Tire . Shown a bove. Features a low -profile racing tread patte rn and zig-zag wrap-a round trac tion tread. Formed of non-cn unk mq . high- hys teresis rubbe r. The Kl 02 : The Unive rsal Tire . For tront and rear use in on and off-the- road ridmq _Deep (1 1/ 32") trea d for extra mileage. Outstand ing all-wea ther traction . . The R8 : The Front Tire . Ribbed for pre cise steer ing. Cross grooved lor ins ta nt stopping. ~ You COu!d say , we offer you a supe rman to do a man s Jo b. @D'iDeD'at @ F S blk or uper I es Cont i Rub be r Prod uct !> Inc .. Ca rt eret . N J. 01008 ; Tel . (201) 969 2200 . W e st er n OffIce 49 00 Ma n no" e r P la ce . Frem on t . Calif . 9 4!>38 : Te l t4 1!J) 657 8080 Ch icken H ill offered a f ew probl ems for the novices. Where do yo u thi nk thi s guy is going to put hi s foot ne