Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

.,. c "o 0" N .... Cl 0' N e ": " -, ;@ W Z w -' o >o Charl es Clayton Publisher Sha ro n Clayto n Business Manager Tom Culp Gen eral Manager Joh n Bethea Man aging Ed itor Joh n Huerter Ed itor Art Friedman Assistant Ed ito r Ed Drech sler Adverti sing Manage r Barbara Rich ard Advertising Assistant Rheba Smith Circu lat ion Manager Marla Tarbe t Circu lation Assistant • AI Du ke Circ ulat io n Assista nt Pau l Boud reau Producti o n Manager How ie Fow le r Produ ct ion Assista nt Larry Gro ves Lab Tdnician Marion Ha tash ita : T ypog ra ph er Bob i Culp . .... . . . ... . . . . • Assistant T ypographer Am erica's Num b er 1 we ek ly m otorc ycle Rand y Dietzel Bookkeeper n ew sp a p er . You 'll dlways see it fi rs t in Cycle Eleanor Du ke Boo kkeep ing Assistant New s Barb ara Bebec kBoo kkeep ing Assistan t Squeekv Hay nes . ... . . .......• . General Secreta ry Bever ly T own send Recept ion ist a'I~1 11\If. Nat ional Advertising Director (Cycl e News West, Cy cle News East , Cycle News Dix ie ): Tom Culp . Cycle News West , P .O . Bo x 498, Long Beach , Ca lifo rn ia 90801. (213) 427 ·7433 ; L. A . 636-8844. TELEX NO. 673474 S ubscr ipt ion : O ne yea r, second class ma iI 2 years, seco nd class mail 3 years, second class mail Sinqle copy price S10 Pub lished week ly except the first a nd last week o f t h e ca lendar year b y Cycl e News, Inc ., Post Off ice Box 498, Lo ng Beach, Californ ia. Also publishers of Cycle News East, and Di x ie Cycle News . Sec o nd Class Postage pa id a t Lon g Beach, Ca lif . Ed it o ria l st o ries, cartoons. ph o tos, etc . are welcome . Ad dressed , st amped e nve lope ass ur es retu rn o f ed itoria l matter . Reprintin g in wh ole or in part on ly by permiss ion o f the p ub lish ers. Ad vert ising rates and cir culation info rma t io n will be sent upo n req uest. See S.R .D .5 . [Mfic:J _iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~ MOTOR~~rgt"E I NDU S TR Y ~iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii;iiciiiiiiui;Ni;iCi;i'L~ o POLI T IC IAN WIT H GUTS S17 $21 '. S.35 Major Inside Reports Thank you for sharin g with m e your opinion, esp ecially from your persp ect ive , regardin g All 74 4 , th e ma nd at o ry helm e t legis lation . As you kn o w, it is p rese n tly pen d in g in th e Sen at e C o mmi ttee on T ran sporation. I find yo ur lette r le nd s ad dition al argumen t to the m an y le tters I h ave re ceived in o pposition to th is m easu re, I will oppose A ll 74 4 when it co me s be fore m e. GEROGE R . 1\I0SCO"E De mocra tic Flo o r Le ad er Cal ifo rni a Sen at e . Trial s : IS DT Qua lfi er at Ba d R ock • • • •• • . • . •. • •• .• . ••• • • • •. . ••• • . •. • • • • • . • , . .• 6 Column : T h e Latest ecce . . . . • • . • • .. .• • • . . . •••• • • • •••.... • •. • .. .. . . .•• .. . .• 9 Baja 5 0 0 . . . . .. . .... . . . .. .• . . . .... . .. .. . .. . . . ... . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . • • . . . . • •12 S peedway: V en t ura . • • • • • . • . . • • . • . • • . . • • • • . • • • • . • . . •.. . . . . . . • . . . . • . • • . . . •14 Road Ra ce : A F M Oran ge c o u nty • ..• .• . . .• . . .• ••• . . . . . .• .• • .• . .••• . •• .• •• •• .16 T echni ca l: H ·D 1 2 5 . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . ... . • .• . • . . . . .•. • ••. • • • • . . . . . • . . .20 Desert : Hill t oppers . •. • • • • • . •. . . ... . •. • •. . • '• • . . . . . •• . • • . .• . • • • . • ••• ••• • . ••24 T est : R ick man Zu nd ap p . . • • . . . • . . . . .. . ... . .. . .....• ... . ..... ... . •... . . • . •.2 6 N ati o n al : Roa d racing at L oudon . . • • . • . .. . • • . . . • . . • • • • . • . • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •2 8 WRITE THIS MA N M ot ocro ss: CMC L i o n s .••.• •. ... ••••• •.. • . •••• . .•• • • . • .• • ••• .• •• . . •• . . •. .• 3 0 I can well ap p reciat e: th e h orrors A II 744, the m otorcycle helmet act, m igh t ca use in th e mi nd s o f m o to rcycl e enth us iasts and I symp ath ize with th is anxie ty to so me d egree. A h e lm e t law clearly is co nstitu tional, just as scat bell legisla tio n is d eemed necessa ry for th e he alth an d safety of m otorists. Wheth er su ch a requ irement is desi rable and effective is the point in question. You m ay be assu red th a t I will keep an op n mind to all sides d u rin g hearin gs on this measure befo re th e Sen at e Transp oration Co m mittee . of which I am a m em be r. Yo u r in te rest in this legislation is comme nd able and I am most thankful for the ti me and thought y ou have give n th is m atter. JMIES R. ~lI L LS California Se nate Presiden t Pro Te rn What is so clear ab ou t the co nstit u t io na lity of the law l ... Ed. IF ... Legislati on req ui ring moto rcyclists to wear hel m e ts h as b een introduced an n ual ly . I have co nsiste n tly op posed th is requireme n t as an im p o sitio n on an indi vid ual's libertie s. As you are perhaps alrea dy aware, A B 74 4 passed the Assem b ly on May 2 by a vo te of 41 -19 . I did no t vo te on the mea sure as I was in Los A ngeles on legislati ve b usi ness: had I bee n present, h owever . I wo uld have vo ted u no". Fo r y our information, the bill is now in th e Se nate Transpora tio n Commi ttee. cha ire d by Sen at or Tom Carrell of San Fe rnando. \\l L LI E L . BROW. ', S R . 18th Assem b ly District THIS MAN CAN YOUR HEA D CONTRO L Your le tte r on A ll 744 joins many o ther le tte rs I have recei ved expressing opinions o n th is bil l. T he Governo r's Accident St ud y Commissio n Rep ort o f Dece m be r , 197 0 (pages 66 and 67), en d or ses th e N at ional Highway St andards and u rges th at Cali fornia legis lation be e na cted to co mp ly wi th fed e ral law in the area o f helmets and eye pro tecti o n for m o to rcy cl ists. On th e other hand , there are m any wh o fe el it wo uld be an in fringem e nt of th eir individ ual co ns ti tu tio nal rights o f free ch oice. of the Senate As C ha irman T ran sporta tion Cornmi tt ee, I can not tak e a st an d pro or co n o n a sp ecifi c bi ll un til testi m ony presentin g bo th supp o rt and oppo sit ion to th e bill is heard , bu t I can assure y ou th at I sh all fec p yo u r recom m e nd atio n well in mind whe n th is bill appea rs befo re me . I re gret th at I m ust an swe r you with a form letter, but th e: vo lume of m ail o n th is su bj ec t has b een so heavy tha t it is i m pos si ble to a ns wer each co m m u nicatio n individ ually, mu ch as I would like to d o so . TOM CA RRE L L, Ch airm an Senate Transportation Co mmittee EXCUSE FOR HARASSMENT I personally sell he lme ts and ( am opposed to laws making the wearing of helmets and other garb mandatory by AMX T Re p o rt L..- • . • •. .. • • .• • • .. .. . • •• • • • • • • . .• • • •". • • • • •• • •• • •.. • ••.••. . . .•4 0 VOICES OF THE WEST law . I h ave d isc ussed h elm et laws with helme t man ufacturers and o ther distribu tors an d most of them arc o p posed to th is legislat ion . Really, in the fin al a na lys is tha t is n o t how any bo dy wa n ts to sell a product. \Ve are m o re in ter ested in seeing more m ot orcycl es o n th e road th an to have m o torcycl ists curtailed by legislat io n , such as laws making th e we aring of helm ets m anda to rv . It h as beco me 'p re tt y obvious to me in Eastern States, and especially in the S tate of New Jersey wh ich has been one o f th e firs t ones t o j ump on th e ban d w agon, tha t this law does not serve i ts main purpose of " in creasing the safety" of mo torcyclists (because if that were so then wh y should n' t laws ap ply to au tomobile drivers and passengers as well). b u t that it p rovides an excuse for police harassm en t. New Jersey , in my opinion , had a n ex cellent automobile inspection sy stem operated by the: State ~I o io r Veh icle Departmen t. T hen a Senator Pa rsek ia n (sinc e voted out) in tro d uced a bill to include m oto rcy cles fo r inspection . T he b ill m ad e no p rovisions for th e es tablish men t of stan d ar ds an d proficiency for inspectors. A ll moto rcyclists mu st have their moto rcycles inspected at least on ce a year in an automobile inspection stat ion. " 'h at this reallv amo un ts to is the ign ominy of h avin g their helmets in sp ect ed . T he ins pec tio n lines are longe r. T he rid ers have to wait ou tside an d can eas ily ca tc h p neum o ni a in the m id dl e of the winter , b ut the sta te b u rea uc racy goes on . T he re a re , t o m y know ledge , no records avai labl e to sh ow th at an accide n t in volv in g a moto rcycle was caused by a mechan ica l fai lu re of the mo to rcycle . - T he p o in t I am m akin g is tha t helmet law s, head ligh t laws, m irr o r laws, bo o t laws , an d goggle la ws (an d I d on' t know what will be nex t) se rve as an excuse for police harass men t of motorcycle riders ! l\UC HEAL F . 110 ' DY lI aworth, New Jersey FAN M A IL SCHNE IDERS FOR RON Ron, you have got to be the b iggest SOli th at ever stood on the ea rth. In y our latest "Greenhorn" article yo u sta te d (a b o u t Ridgecr est , Calif.) that _ "fo r th e o ther 363 days a year it has an ins ta n tly forge ttable existence ." Le t me rem ind you, Sport, that in last year's Greenhorn , a ce rt ain Ridgec re st p erson by the n am e of Roy Fra nich , hap p ily loaned you so me parts for you r bi ke. If i t w asn't for Ro y you mi ght still be lo o king fo r your way o u t of th e d ese r t , For the o the r "363 days " the peopl e of Ridgecrest/China Lake are very ac tive in desert and motocross a nd what have you. Ridgecrest is a grea t to wn. Ron, and \.. ·e d o n ' t e ver wan t yo u to live h er e . So . Big Ron , before you p ut you r foo t in your mouth again , you should apologize to the people of Ridgecres t. You. Ron , are th e one who fo r 365 days shou ld be a "forgettable e xistence ". So watch your rema rks. wise guv , it's peo p le like yo u , th at put a had name o n motorcycles b y just existing. ~IA R K SLAY Sand Blasters ~I C Ri dgecrest, Cali f. SPEEDWAY SU E I, along with several others I kn o w of, would like t o t hank the p romo te r, J ohnnie Man tz , track officia ls , Larry H uffman, the annou nce r , an d last b ut not leas t, the riders that ride sp ee d way here in Ven tura. If yo u haven ' t watche d speed way , co me wa tch th ese riders. It takes a lot of hair t o tu rn on SOOcc like they d o o n an eigh th -mi le tr ack. " S UE" Oxna rd , C alif. CLASSIFYING CLASSIFICATION There has been so m e disc us sion rega rd in g rider' s classi ficatio ns. Sinc e th ere are m an y o rgan iza tio ns and so me trac ks wh o keep p o ints and classify riders , we would like to ta ke th is opport u nity to cla rify o u r p o siti on o n this. II RA is not subject no r de pe nde n t upon any o the r organ iza tion o r tr ack rules or classificatio ns . ...\:11 ne w m ember s and all renewals w ill be required to sign up in his h ighest o rgan ization/ track racing classification. All rider classification is subject to review by the liRA Competition Committee. In instances where a novice rider who joins and rides co n siste n t' v with liRA is m oved up any a no t he r o rgan ization/ track , his move in liRA is Co p y righ t@ Cycle News, Inc . 1972 all righ ts reserved no t au to m atie. Li ke w ise o ther o rgan iza tio n / track novices may be m ade H RA Experts if hi s p erforman ce a t lIRA d emands it . Rider classificatio ns at HRA will depen d on rider's p e rforman ce at 395 Cycle Par k wit h liRA co mpetition . In ' all in st an ces, common se nse, good sports mans hi p and safe ty shall prevail. 1I0P E EN G LA ND ry Secreta lIuntingt on Racin g Asso ciati o n DISCRIMINAT ION REAR S IT S UGL Y HEAD T h ank y o u for your nea t art icl e on th e Dese rt Daisy s !\I.C . I have read of th em for some time bu t neve r see n a feature: a rticle. A rticle and p h o tos we re grea t. It did my h eart good to see th e women get some deserved c re d i t fo r a change. H oweve r , I am afraid it will sti ll be some time before th e pi cture is change d to f ully acce p t w omen in the: m o torcycle sport. I do not ride, b ut am a m ech an ic by choice and na tural insti nct, it see m s. But , also being a w oman, th is lead s to certain problems wh ere m otorcy cles are conce rned. I rep aired and m ai n ra in ed my o wn ca rs befo re 1 m arried my m o torcy cl ist -sp ortsm an husban d. Fr om th e cars I graduated to b ikes, bu t fou nd I was defin itely nol wel come; n o wome n in th e pits regar dl ess. Sacramento's o ld EI Dorado was th e on ly track tha t treated m e d ecently . I was allowed to help se t up the bike and be in the pit area. T he rid ers seem to accep t me , no sweat. It is the ha rd -no sed cl ubs that make it d iff icult. Some say if I joi n A l\I A it will ma ke a differen ce. Othe rs say un o di ce" regardl ess. So, just colo r me re tired . I have n o t gone to a race now in a bou t tw o years . nor been in vol ved in an y o th er moto rcycle o rien tated d o in gs. Pe rh ap s in so me fu ture issue yo u could give so m e in forma tion o n what , if any th ing, co ul d be d on e to help female mo to rcycle en thusias ts like myself. Do yo u th in k w omen will eve r be ab le: to actively p articip ate in thi s now biased sport? O r wi ll we be fore ver be su bjec te d to th e a rchaic laws whic h no w ex ist? MAXI N E PERR Y San ta R osa , C alif. POIN TIN G THE FINGER On l\(ay 27 , while riding a CRC l\IX event at Runnin g Spri n gs, I caught my hand in the chain of m y h ike, resulting in a cu t up hand a nd one less finger. The acc ide n t was no body 's fault b ut m y o w n, but th at's not the p ro b lem. After p utting th e chai n b ack on th e bike , I had to ride a t leas t on e h un d red yards through th ree di ffe rent co rners, w he re flagme n sho uld h ave been , to ge t some help. The p oint is, if so meo ne w as seriously inju red , h ow lo ng wo uld it take to get m edical atte n tio n t o him. Safety p lays a maj or ro le in an y ty p e o f raci n g. R unnin g Springs is a fan ta st ic tr ack , an d I hop e to rid e there aga in soon, b u t ple ase , CRC, get with th e safety aspec t o f racin g before it is too late . SCOTf SPR ING 1'\0. 2 8 Pasadena, Ca lif. TH E COMPETI T ION IS FIE RCE A fc, v years ago i t was discove red that amo ng st th e emplo yees of o ur lar ge electro n ics firm th er e we re seve ral enthus ias tic di rt rid e rs. It evol ved th at the Sou thern Ri de rs o ut of o u r Gle ndale fac ility met the Northern Riders out of our Re d wood Ci ty facility for several enjoyable weekends in the Mojave desert wherein the competition was h igh with both groups claiming to have out-performed [Please t ur n t o pg. 5)

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