Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

An Open Le t ter By Xlau rccn Lee lI'e have o ne mo re Elsinore story 10 tell. It 's so go od that we had t o put i t (Sportsman) riders. wh en yo u guy s ge t tra ns ferr ed up in ran k he good an d p u t in , an d shows, I thin k tha t th ere are still so m e de cent human beings a ro u n d . T wo yea rs ago I wrote a b o u t a li t tlc lad y w h o hel ped w ash u p and assis t a rid er w ho had bu st e d his buns rig h t in fron t o f h er fr o nt porch .md go t h im o n his way. ~I a \' be Elsinore is full of swee t little ol d 'ics o r maybe said la d ies we re taugh t other standards a n d val ues wh ils t g rowing u p . but any way , o n to this yea r. One rider blew up in a sec tion qui te a way fro m thc pi ts a n d sta rted the long' h i ke b .uk . \\'c11. :-.eein~ h e was a do wn-and-out par tici p an t peop le kep t giving hi m so me good cold b re w a ll th e time he was hi kin g a long. C on sequ en tl y sai d rid e r w as s ligh tly sn oc-ke re d b y th e tim e h e gO l h ac k to the p it s an d h is c re w . .\ f te l' the r...u -e , o ut th e y we n t lo o kin g fo r t h c bike bu t th e r id er co u ld u ' t remem ber wh ere h e'd left it. T hey se arc h ed all o ver. 1'\0 h ike . \Ve ll, o the r bikes wen: r ip p ed off th at week end so they sad ly wrote th eirs off. yo u r n ew p lat e o n an d sign up un d e r vour new classific a tio n. We won "t te ll the d ivi si on h ut one rider was tran sfe rr ed several mo n ths ago b ut h as kcp t on r~lcinK un der his old c l.rssificarion, and doing we ll too . Trouble is h e didn 't reali ze o u r Di st rict stew ards are on the bal l and re ga rd less o f \\'h ~1 1 yo u sign up as, when it CUIl1l'S time fo r y o u r p oints to h e p ost ed the steward sees ins tan tlv o n yo u r c aret wh at your t ru e c luss i fic a r ion is. S a id g-l'ntkman ha.., not been ~l, tting any points for all those r ides he thought he w as ~t.'lli llg: away with ! .\ cou p le o r wee k s ago l m cn tioncd certa in o dors dete cte d from machin es a t scr amb les . We ll . th ey a in' t any th ing co m p a re d to wh a t y ou ca n sm elt a t Asc o t o n th e tu rn s. In m y d ay, Triu m p h s d id n' t sme ll li ke th a t a n d the two-strokes h av e a we ird sm e ll to o. T a lk ab o u t the swec t sm e ll o f succe ss! I lope yo u 've b e e n d o in g so m e let te r a lad y called th e wri ting' ab o u t th a t helm et bil l. If th ey Cha m b er of Com me rce in q u ir in g a b ou t Nu m ber x x , Sh e h ad h is m o t o rcy cl e an d w ish ed to retu rn it. She saw th e bi ke m ake us we a r th em wh ile o n puhl ic roa d s then thev sh o u ld a lso ma k e h orsemen we ar " h a rd h a ts wh ile o n par ked in front o f her ho u se agai ns t t ~ e cu rb for suc h a lo ng time she was afraid so me one wou ld s tea l it, so sh e push ed it up the dri vew ay and locked it _in h er garag e! Bike and o wne r are no w happi ly pu b lic trails, an d for th at mal ter any mountain clim ber , back p acke r o r wh at ever whi le th ey are o n p ubl ic lan d . Stud ies show t ha t injuries ca usi ng d ea th usu all v in vo lve the head and th a t goes Come Mo nday, any re- u n ited a nd th re e c hee rs for th e litt le fo r ladi es o f Elsino re ! S ince we always h ave to ge t a b it of hath tub, Try tumbling o ff a th ree fo o t led ge so me d ay an d see wh at hap pens. 1 spor t or even fall in g in th e n os ta lgia in to e ve ry colu m n . w e m e t an j u m ped h orses, t o o , a n d a lway s w o re a o ld budd y at Elsin or e who su re bro ugh t hack memories: Bill R iley , wh o won the heavy weigh t scram b les nu m be r one back whe n scra m bles wer e scram b les cork hel me t becau se me an d th e h orse didn' t alway s arr ive on the othe r side o f the j ump a t th e same time o r he sto p ped an d 1 did n't bu t n o o ne to ld me , "Wear an d yo u h a d to figh t your w ay to the top . At Pr ad o , every wee k h e'd h ave so mu ch competi tion in th e 4 0 -inch class o ne .' It's co m m o n se n se. like we ari n g a ski d lid a n d n o law enforce me nt is going to tell m e wha t t o w ear, that's m y basi c he'd alw ays run a heat an d the main , an d tha t Triump h of his was un god ly fast ! lIi s Num be r One reall y m ean t righ t as a indi vid u al, If we all stand toge ther o n th is th ing, we ca n tell 'e m to go to th e h ot p lace. o the r gu y s I w o nde r, to o, h o w many p olitician s equally as good in both th e 2 1" an d 500 so me th in g as the re were ha ve ever bo thered to count h ow man y classes a n d a sin gle d igit number m e a n t licensed bikes we h ave . S o m eth in g li ke alm osl as mu ch as the Number Om' . Some time s a t Asc ot when thc b ig b or es tak e off I ge t an image o f h ot sti ll morn ings a t Prad o and h ear th e so und 695,0 00 , I be lieve , and that mean s st ree t machines no t th ose j ust regis ter ed for dirt u sc. If th at h elmet law goes in to ef fec t yo u bet yo ur b ippy th at a t least aga in o f h o n est -to -G od motorcy cl e s com ing off th e lin e ridd en b y Hun ter, 100,000 bi ke rid er s w ill say " Ban an as! " an d st art drivin g ca rs in ste a d o f ridin g Durling, Ballard, R iley, Fakkeldy, Rice, their b ikes an d ju st th in k o f h ow mu ch \\'il b u rn e t a l. We c a n ' t bring those d a y s mo re smog th a t m e ans! Bu t th en a g-a in , back but it was a p rivileg e to have he en part o f ' em . While on th e su bjec t o f Ama teur just thin k h ow much mo re gasolin e will be so ld. Get m y p oint, o r d o I ju st h ave a susp icio us m ind ? IImmm . RED TAPE AND STICKERS Dea r Senat o r, Please vote nay , if and w he n AB 744 (Asse m b ly ma n Bidd le's manda to ry motorcycle Helm et b ill) co mes befo re y o u fo r co nsid er at ion. Cal ifo rn ia motorcycle rid ers are ove rw helmingly o pposed to the legislature tak ing th is so rt of decision out of our hands. Most o f us w ear so -called "crash helmets" most of the time a nd as a res ul t o f t h is enlightened self-p rotect io n an d certa in dependent fact o rs, Ca liforn ia has enjo yed a lesse ning of m otorc ycle injuries and fatal it ies in rela ti o n t o th e great increase of mo t o rc ycl e operators. Mr. Biddle's ow n f igures show an inc rease of. registered moto rcy cles in Ca lifo rn ia of 129% while fa tal ities rose o nly 75. 5% and injury accid ents on ly 40.2%. Acco rding to Mr. Biddle's sta t ist ics . mo torcyc le fatal it ies have decreased fro m 1965 t o 19 7 1 at t he same rate as other passenger veh icl es. Th e ex per ience of stat es lik e Geo rgia , which have o nly man da to ry he lm et laws fo r motdrcycl ist s, w it ho ut t he vit al factor of specia l opera to r licen se examinations, has sh ow n th at helm ets alo ne d o not measu ra b ly a ffect fa tality st atistics. Sin ce Cal ifo rn ia enac te d t he specia l moto rcycle op er ator license requirement s in 1968. both injury ac c ide nts a nd fataliti es have dec line d per capi t a at a t ime wh en m otorcy cle use has risen dr amaticall y . We kn ow fr om ex per ience a nd st ud y th at he lm ets a re a trad e-off in safe t y . When vol untar ily w orn , w e buy th e best helmets we can affo rd and compensate fo r th eir di mi n ut io n of visio n. hearing a na comfo rt . A lso, a September 14, 1971 a rt icl e in th e Los Ange les T im es po ints o ut t ha t injuries to the neck a nd spine are on the increas e, ap pare nt ly as t he resu lt of helmet wearing by m o t o rcyclis ts . We k no w that the ext ra five to nine pou nd s o f he lm et o n o ur nec ks can exacerbate such-in ju r ies as whi plash, sp ina l compress io n, etc ., but most of us ta ke th at cha nce wi llingly, as lo ng as it is ou r choice. Mandato ry helmet legislat io n is being ch a llenged in th e co urts of ne arl y fNery st a t e wh ich ha s m istakenly enacted it. Repealers have be en successfu l in Mich igan , Illinois, Connecticut and th e Prov ince of No va Scotia . A Massach usetts test case is be ing appealed to the Su prem e Court of the U.S . on the grounds th at it vio lates the Bill of Rights. There is no precedent for such a law whic h forces a m inority to "protect" themselves agai nst their o wn bet ter jud gment . Our founding fathers wrote that "the Un ited St at es is int e nd ed to be a nation where no m an could be told that he mu st wear a hat ." T here would be no benefit to society if the helm et compulsion passes , a nd it wou ld wo rk to the detriment of motorcycl e safet y , ind ivid ua l responsibility and self-control. Please vote aga inst AB 74 4 . T ha n k you. Sincerely, se nd m e. I b eli ev e th at a re gist rat io n stic ker on the rear fender of a di rt bike woul d be the ei ght h wo nder of the wo rld if it last ed six years. Is th e Lunar R ove r go in g to have a regis tra tion sticker? Everythi n g else is. ~I y ma in ob jection t o the dis tribu lion o f the m on ey is it's so urce . The w ay I see it it's five d oll ars fo r red tap e , fou r dollars to the co un ty wh eth er o r . n o t they are try in g to drive you to ex tinc tio n , an d six d o llars fo r u se o f sta te ac q uired , supported , and unde signed va can t lo ts. ~IARTI :'\ ~IA EDI:'\G GARY GO LDB L U ~ I Beve rly Hills, Ca lif. Virtu ally a nybody who has a street b ike a nd is a rea sonably pr oficie nt str eet rider has th e potential to be a ro ad ra cer. There are two org a nizatio ns in Ca liforn ia that do an excell en t jo b of promoti ng road racing with a minimum o f cost and has sle . The ACA hold s ab out t wo races a month . Their address is 106 No . Claudina , S u ite 312 , Anahei m, Ca liforn ia 9280 5. Or phone (714) 774-3222. They have a ra ce co ming up th is week end at Willow Sprin gs which is a n excellent course. You can pick up the cred ent ia ls you need at the t ra ck . The y h.. ve a n old o n the calendar page . The Lo ng Beac h , Cali f. AFM can be reached by calling (714 ) 979-8761. YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YO U In either case yo u will probably want to start in the produ ct ion cla sses whic h a re jus t clea ned up st ree t ma chines. You have to pull the sta nds . turn signal s, and license plat es. We wo u ld just like to o ffer our co ngra tu la t io ns to all the slobs (litter b ug is to o n ice a wo rd ) wh o thre w th ei r tras h all over th e p lace a t the Elsi n ore Grand Prix , Beca use of their fin e wo rk, it will p ro bab ly be impossible to have ano the r fine ra ce n e x t year ! Wh at arc they try in g to pro ve ? We w ere as h am ed to b e assoc ia ted with th ose peop le who saw fit to en hance the land sc ap e w ith th e ir genero us sup p ly of bee r an d p op can s. Yo u !(uys b ro ught it with you a n d y o u ca n ta ke i t h o m e . We n o tic ed so m e people w ho se eme d to h~I\T n lu-t tcr t ime se e in g h o w fa r they I ll u J rn ro w th ei r trash th a n \" ~I( hi n t! d u ' l'r.lt' , t!ot' ll' \\' h~ lit.n "l yo u pig:-. stay home nc x r ye a r? Th a t is, if there is a race ! I t' s ro o b ad th at such a g rea t ra ce had t o b e messed u p b y a Iew choice ci tiz e ns. Charles Clayton Pub lisher You also have to tape up the lights, add three n um ber pla te s, and safet y wire th e d ra in plu g. You ma y wa nt t o change th e tire s and handlebars a lso . Those ar e the only cha nge s a llo wed ot her tha n internal engi ne mod s. If yo u ha ve never b een to a roa d race , go t o one and ta lk to pe ople . MAJOR CRISIS FACE UP TO IT! OFF ·ROAD . V eh icl e o rie n ted recre ationists a re once aga in fac in g a m aj or cris is. T h e U.S . Forestry w ill, sta rti ng ~l ay Even ing i : 30 p .m . PROT ECT YOUR RIGHTS !! PROTECT YO UR FUT URE !! ATTEN D A l\lE ET I:'\G !! 5 , I9 i 2, review all und eve loped n at ional fo res t areas of 5 ,0 0 0 acre s o r m ore an d a reas of less tha n 5,000 ac re s if th ey are c o n tig uous t o w ilderness areas for p ossib le incl u sio n in to the n atio n al w ild e rn ess p re se rva tio n sy ste m . This review will encom p ass 2 ,99 2 ,2 13 acres o f na tio nal forest lan d in Cali forn ia . . If ever th ere was a need for all vehicle use rs o f public d o main lands to u nite in a com m o n ca us e, i t is n ow! Regardl ess of in d ivid ua l differen ces, moto rcy cle, d une b uggy, Irail b ikes , 4 w h eel dri ve, and othe r u ser s o f fore st service land m ust sta nd u p a nd he co u n te d as o ne . Publi c Do main Land belo ngs to the ci tiz e n s o f th e Un ited Sta te s and anv de c isio n affec tiug th ose lands shou ld co me fro m a ll th ese ci t ize ns n o t jus t a sele c t fe w . WOUL D·BE MoOo Ro E, MEMBER We re ce n tly re ceived a n ote sign ed ··B. Sexton" as ki ng fo r o n e of o u r free legislative an d Un fo rtun a te ly , le tte r-w ri ting the req ue st guides . didn 't indic ate a return ad d re ss . \l' e are sincerely ple ased t hat B. Se xton hold m ot orcycling in suc h h igh es tee m tha t he is will ing to wri te to h is elected represe n tative s in o rde r to sa ve hi s sp ort. Therefore, we would tru ly ap p rec ia te h is ad dress. Can any of yo ur reade rs help us ? On Sund ay, .\ l arc h 12, 19 i 2, th e 7 pm . news segmen t o f CB S Tele visio n in th e Los Angeles area (Ch anne l 2. K:'\XT) T he U .S. For est ry will h old five public meetin gs so th at individu als an d ca rr ie d a very de ro ga to ry p ort ray al of that d ay 's m ot o rcy cling even ts a t Ind ia n o rganiza tio ns ca n expre ss t h e ir views. I t is imperati ve th at y ou a tten d th e me e ting in your a rea and express your u p i rn o n. .fpi n lh l' F izh t . . «i n h .md s 10 l-.('t=p Illlt. h .J IH.. !l)! tlll' t ub lu -. b ~1.1\' :.!~, I Y7~ F res no Ot.' l " 'cbL Dunes Mot orcy cle Par k. Si nce th a t d ate . our office has b een flo o ded wi th le tte rs MIKE ~ 1a v 24 , 19 7 2 S acra m e nto R c s o u rce A u dit ori um, . R e sourc e and tel eph o ne c alls fr om mo t o rcv rl ists asking. "Wh at ca n be d o ne 10 show o ur d l~p : ~.lSl.ll' " lilt n e w sma n 1.;:1 St OUt wh o narrated the segment c n tirc lv o u t of con tcx t ?" T h e re is a ve rv effective means o f , co m b at ring this SO'Tt of unfair treat men t of m ot orcy cl is ts a n d mot orcycling, wh e th er it occu rs in the nev.. .· sp ap e r. o n th e radio, or o ve r th e ' b oo b tube ' . \ \'ri te a le tte r to the ed it o r if i t is a newspaper . I w ould li ke to go ro ad rac ing bu t kn ow n o thin g a b o u t th e spor t. 1 w ou ld ap p re ci a te a ny in fo rma tio n th at y o u can Build ing, 1:3 0 p .m. to 5 : 00 p.m , Evening i ::; O p .m. ~ I ay 24 , 19 i 2 Redd ing - Civ ic Audi t o riu m, 1:3 0 p.m. to 5:00 p.m . n ewsp aper, r ad io, o r T V sta tio n. In fo rm the ge n e ral m anager of yo u r displeasure w ith w i th th e n ew s cove rag e. S II ElU1A:,\ and CO:'\:'\ IE Q UA l. LS HOW TO BE HAlLWOOD LIK E Town' lIouse , I :JO p .m . to 5: 0 0 p .rn. Evening 7 : 3 0 p .m. Mav 23 , 19 i2 Oakl an d - Kaiser .\u ditoriu m, 1:30 p .m: to 5, 00 p.m , E\'ening i :3 0 p .m. o r teleph one the ge ne ra l m anager o f the o M > :;: '" ~ w z' W ...J :..J > :..J

• Cover