Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

m.o.r.e. from file ca~ito l' By Russ Sanford HEADLIGHT BILL ADVAN CES Califo rn ia's "mandat ory headligh t" law m oved o ne step closer to becoming law last week when SB 126 was unanimously approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee. T he bill , co-authored by Se na tor Grunsky and Assemblyman La Coste , will now go before the full Assembly for voting action. If app ro ved by the Assembly , SB 126 will go to the Governor for sign ature. Our only chan ce of stopping this bill is for each of you to immediately write t o Governor Reagan, State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 95 814, and ask him to ver or SB 12 6 when it reaches his desk for signature . We certai nly d on 't want to dampen your en t h us iasm fo r wri tin g le tt ers in opposition to SB 126, but you should b e made aware of an am end men t to SB 126. Due t o our lobbying efforts, and a few letters which so m e of yo u wrote, Senat o r Grunsky has am ended SB 126 so th at it does not constitute a tru e mandatory headligh t law . In its amended form, SB 126 rea d s as follows : "Every motorcycle manufactured and first registered on and after January I, 1975, shall be equipped with a t le..st one and not more than two headlamps which au to m a tically tum on when the en gin e o f the motorcycle is started an d which remain ligh ted as lo ng as the engine is runnin g." Your first reaction to this amendment is th at it won't hurt anything becau se the burden has shifted to the manufactu rers. These arc some fa cts you mi gh t also wish to co nsider: I . The manufacturers will probab ly have added expenses in meeting the requirement of this law. A nd, if the manufac tu rers have added expense, who do y o u th in k wi ll bear this ad ded expense? That 's right! The consumers! You ! 2 . This bill is being p ushed by th e insurance com pan ies w ho insure au tom ob iles and n ot motorcycles. By th eir own te stimony, thei r au t omob ile drivers are ne gligent in 72 % o f the acciden ts in vo lving motorcycles. In ste ad o f ed ucating the ir ins ureds th a t they owe an exercise of d ue ca u tion and care to motorcyclists, the insu rance rep resen tatives arc advoc ating that their targets be ilIu n in a ted . Unfortu nate ly, o ur legis lators either can ' t see th at the real answer is to educate automob ile drive rs or they are afraid to buck the insurance industry. In any event, write y o ur le tter of opposition to th e Governor . Do it now! Time is sh ort! A nd what about competition machines? Yo u want a headlight on your MXer, wh ich w ill hav e t o be registered as a res u lt of another recently passed law? .. .Ed . What Does the AMA Really Want? By J ohn Huerter Cycle New s was in formed Wednesday th at th e 1973 ISDT, th e first ever to be sanc tio ne d in the USA, an d sch eduled for th e ' Ft . Hood military reservation has been ca n celled by the A~IA. Ber kshi re as an alternate sit e h as been ann ounced. Russ Mar ch, Don Woods and Ed Ames (Berkshi re promoter) visited th e fo rt last weekend an d , accord ing to o ur in fo rm a tio n , decided th a t Ft. Hood , wh ich has already be en desi gn ated h ost for the first U.S. ISDT was not an ap p rop ria te o r adequate site . John Penton, wh o visi ted the military reservati on at se lec tio n time earlier th is year, ap paren tly did not sh ar e th e opinion o f th e AMA . " It's great," th e ISDT medalis t was q uo te d as sayi ng . "C an't wai t to ru n th o se Czech te am s up and down these d ry st ream beds un til the bikes co me ap art. " It h as been a fact tb at n o co unt ry t hat b as h osted an IS DT has be en ab le to do so successfully with o u t th e cooperatio n of the go vernme n t. and p ar ticip at ion of some of th e gove rn me n t branch es suc h as th e army . It's true th at in most co u n tries th e go vern me nt and organ ize d sp ort are usu all y closely en twined an d m u tu all y supporting. Th is is tru e in the Eas tern Europ ean co untr ies and last yea r in Sp ain, and to a grea t e xtent , when th e ISD T has been held in Bri tain. In the US, th e gov ern men t and sport s are no t rel ated, but th rough a h app y coincidence, selec tio n of the F: .H ood VOICES ( e m l l .' . f ro m page .J) d th e o th er. The Northern Riders went on to receive several trophies in enduro events throughout the State of California while the Southern Riders co n tin ued to shout lou dl y abou t their improved proficiency in di rt riding. Re cently at a Natio nal Sales Mee tin g o f th e co m pany th e No rthern Ri ders presented th e S outhern R id ers with their long-aw aited t roph y wh ich we wo uld lik e to sh ar e with you an d yo ur readers . A p icture is enclose d sh owing th is 8Y. foot high trophy of rich gold color and sh owing a coup le of the happy Southern Rider recipi ents (o ne m ounted o n top). As o ne can see , th e fro n t end o f the mo torcycle at o ne tim e marri ed itself wi th so me thi ng like a brick wall dep icting t he un tiring effort of the So u the rn R id ers to im prove their skills . The troph y is insc ribed "M o st First Place T ie Improved Rid er 1971 -1972 " an d at th e bottom has the names of th e Southern Riders. On the back side of the tropby is ins cribed .. ~ on -returnable". We are sure the Southern Riders will ap p reciate th e recognition you are giving. them in your very fine " Cycle News" . KEN THOMPSON for The Northern R iders Ampex Corp. site made the fa cilities, officer's quarters manpower and organ izat ion of the US mil it arv availab le fo r the event. So far as co u rse - layou t and preparation , all of you e x-G .! .' s w ill agree th at n obody has m o re experience in biv ouackin g, dirt moving (by sh ovel ) and findin g strange routes through rough terrain th an th e U.S. Army. With the hel p of some of the U.S. IS DT riders from previous years , it lo ok ed like a pretty good se t -u p, If th er e's any th ing an ISDT requ ires, besides Expert riders, it's o rganizatio n and lo ts of unimpeded terrain . T hat 's wh at Ft.H o od o ffe red, AMA . Y ou 'll have to go some to top it. By Maureen Lee Two wee k s ago , rathe r tongue-in-cheek I th ought th at Jim Rice should charge BSA fo r u sin g hi s name in the advertising foll owin g hi s win a t th e San J ose mile considering h e is a privateer. Well, BSA di d n ' t bu t tha t idea, so J hear d fro m th em. When USA barks (lik e m y beloved go ld ies d o ) I listen because the' conversatio ns arc always enjoyab le an d th e con fro n tation is always face -to-face, not aro u nd the bac k alley and thi rd hand! An yway, so me of th e p oin ts we pi cked u p that I thought in teresti ng an d p ro ve th at alth ough th e British firm s d on 't h ave the money th at o thers did (Brit ain w on the Ba ttle but actually lost the war in terms o f finan cial rec overy) th ey arc st ill in th ere. BSA h as a p rivate en try program a rider m ay enroll in if he is a good rider an d ca n sho w that he d ocs well. Under th is program he rece ives hi s p arts at dis co unt and th ey have o ver 200 riders en tered in this program now. They even p aid off a gen tlema n for h is Elsin ore Grand Pri x performance . The only fully sp onsored rid ers they can afford a t the firm as full time em p loyee racers are Bugs and Ro mero wb en las t year they had eigh r. But that's the way th e biscuit crumbles, an d I can u nderstand why th e gen tle man I spoke with was a bit miffed becau se he th in k s BSA h as p ro b abl y pro vid ed mo re h elp an d m o n ey to more riders than o ther factories who p ut all their egg s in one b asket. I 've even heard a rumor that one chap won either th e ra ce o r hi s class at Elsino re an d d idn't ge t a dime from a co m p an y who ad vert ises th e bi ggest co n tinge ncy p ro gram of th - lot. If this is true , the y sure missed au t on a fine ad vertising advan tage. Who remem be rs wh o h olds Bonneville records the week afte r th ey ' re set ; b ut Elsino re b ec omes a lege nd fo r th e men wh o win every yea r, j ust as a Cat alina o r Big Bear win is still talked abou t. Wish I coul d check that rumor out but you see , I'm a privateer myself, just get p aid for writin g, not ex pen se money ...wh ich b rin gs u p an other p oint. What is a privat eer ? Some factories m ay th in k th at be cause th ey offer a rider parts at a racing dis coun t the rider is n o longer a privateer, and by the w ay these comments are meant for p rofession,,! MANDAT ORY H ELMETS A d ate h as n ot ye t been se t for A B 744, th e mandatory helmet bill , to b e he ard b y th e Se na te Transportation Committee. However, we are ce rtain th at it will b e heard b y J une 19 . . We h ave b een made aw are th at man y of y ou don't realize that if AB 74 4 becomes law, it will apply to all motorcyclists, including dir t-riders and kids on min i-bikes. This is the exact wording: SECTION 1. Section 53 7 is ad ded to the Ve hicle Code, to read : 537 . A "safety helmet " is a h elmet designed for the specific purpose of being worn by motorcycle 'op era t o rs and p assengers to minimize injuries to the head of the we arer. Se ction . 2. Se ction 27803 is added to the Vehicle Cod e, to read : 2 78 03 . (a) No person shall drive o r be a p assenger o n a tw o-wheel m otorcycle with ou t we ar ing up on hi s head a securely fastened sa fety h elme t at all times th e m otorcycle is b ein g driven. (b ) On and afte r J ul y I , 197 8 , no pers on shall d rive or bc a p assen ger on a tw o-wheel motorcycle with out wear in g up on h is head a securely fasten ed safety helmet of a type ap p ro ved under Sect ion 27802 at all times the moto rcycle is being driven. Th is section sh all become op era tive July I, 197 3 . SEC . 3 . Section 2 78 04 is ad ded t o the Veh icle Code, to read : 27804 . No person en gaged in the ren tal of motorcycles for peri ods o f 3 0 d ay s or less, shall ren r, lease o r o th erw ise allo w th e ope ra t io n o f any motorcycle under bis control unle ss a safety helmet of a ty pe ap proved under Se ction 27 802 h as been provided o r o ffe red to the opera tor of the m otorcy cle for his use . An agre ement shall be signed b y th e op era to r of th e m oto rcycle which sahli include the name of th e perso n to wh om the motorcycle is ren ted, leased or delivered, the ad d ress of th e pl ace of business in th is sta te where it is rented, leased, o r delivered, and a st atement o f the op e ra to r 's refusal t o accep t a safety helmet if thi s be the case. The cu rr en t status o f AB 744 is as foll ows: 1. AB 744 w as ap p ro ved by the Ass embly Transporta tion Comm ittee o n 20 April and by th e en t ire Assembly o n 2 May. 2. AB 744 is now in the Sen ate aw aiting h earing by th e Transportation Committee. 3 . We are presently fo rm ing argume n ts and comp iling statis tics fo r presentation to the Transp ortation C ommittee in opposition to AB 744. T hese statisti cs reveal that helme ts may reduce bead injuries but d o not lo wer fatality ra tes . 4 . I have spoken to the au th o r o f AB 74 4 , Assemblyman Craig Biddle, on several occasio ns . He states firm ly th at he is only ca rry ing AB 74 4 o n behalf of the C aliforn ia Highway Patrol. He h as st at ed furth er, th at he will drop the bill if the CHI' sh o uld withdraw it 's sup po rt. 5. Based on this info rma ti o n, I h ave met with appropriate officials of the CHI' , including a lo ng session with CHI' Commission er Sullivan, wh o ada man tly believes th at h elmets will save lives . In th at me etin g, I asked Commissioner Su llivan wh y , if he beli eved th at helmets would save lives , the CHI' had remained neutral o n p revio us man d at o ry helme t b ills. He replied th at he had never before been ab le to co nvince his b oss , the Governor, th at m an d at o ry helmets we re no t a viola tion o f the moto rcyclis t's constitu tiona l freedo ms . But, th at this year, he had o b ta ine d th e Govern or's so me wha t rel uct ant approval. Now , you can see why I feel it is important that we convince the Governor, through a letter-writing ca m paign , th at AB 744 is a viol ati on of co nstitu tio na l righ ts . Other than th e CHI' an d a few in su rance compan ies , no o ne is asking th e Go vern or o r any one else for a mandat o ry helme t bil l. A big vo lume of letters should co nv ince th e Go vern or to d ire ct th e CHI' t o dro p it s supp o rt o f A B 744 . A ssem bl ym an Biddle has already sta ted th at he wi ll d ro p AB 744 if the C HI' d rop s out. And remember, helrne t-wearing motorcy clist s through o ut 4 5 sta te s lo o k to th e California moto rcyclists as the last maj or h o ld -o u ts against mandat ory helmets. In th at w ay, we o ffer th em some d egree of h ope th a t their helm e t law s will be rep eal ed or found un constitution al. Don't den y th em of th at. We can lick AB 74 4 if each of yo u will wr it e Governor Reagan , State Capitol Building, Sacramento, CA 958 14 , an d voice your op posi tio n. Also, ask the Go vern or to veto AB 744 if it shoul d re ach h is desk fo r signature . Please add ress all co m men ts and/o r inqu iries regardin g thi s article to the au thor, c/o ~IOR E , Bo x 26062, Sacra men to, CA 95826 . racers, not amateur s. 'V ,ell, to me and o thers th at is n o t th e de fin itio n of a privateer. A privateer usu ally owns his own m oto rcycle . If he d oesn't and tit le is ret ain ed by th e fac tory bu t he still has to p ay so me su m o f mon ey for h is parts, an d receives n o thing else, th en he's s till a privateer. Bein g ab le to buy a new set of cases or a pis to n et c. at de ale rs o r dist ributo rs cost does not give him gas mo ne y to get to a Na tional o r a ham burger when he's h ungry en ro ute (in th e case o f Aldan a it's a stop a t T aco Bell!). Or pay m o re im p ort an t bills. But , sho u ld a facto ry o r a dealer hand ove r so me ac tual m o n ey eithe r fo r a wi n o r ex pen ses (and so me have. I kn ow T riu m p h u sed to because a no w-gone friend, Pa t G osch , used t o get help when he w ent back East to rid e) th en he's not really a p rivateer. Pe rh ap s w hen a nam e rider who is a privateer now travel s a dist an ce to a race if he co mes to the line, a factory should give him X number of dollars as sta rt money, j u st to keep a few wolves fro m the d oor. But since BSA and Triumph had to withdraw mo st of their support to riders , and Norton is in the same bag, too, although they are still trying, th e day of the priva teer is here. T he Orientals can 't sponsor everybody, tha t's fo r sure, so it's ac tua lly quite a serious si tuatio n fo r a profes sion al race r, T he m ore o ne th in ks abou t th e situa tion, the w orse it gets. Like opening up Pandora's b ox ! T he n wh en gripin g to Rod Break er about th is he restored my sense of humo r. A pri vateer o wns a nice bo at and goes o u t and hi-jacks o ther boats o n the high seas jus t as Sir Francis Drake used to, and he en ded up with a title and lo ts of Spanish gold. On to o ther th in gs. A man is curre n tly sue ing a ride r, the AMA and th e G ripsters MC fo r arou nd a q u ar te r of a m illion bucks becau se said man lost his balance an d fell o n the rider a t th e 197 1 Elsin ore G.P. Would n' t th at ring your chimes t o be h anded a sum mo ns with that amount on it? In a rap session th e o ther d ay we cam e up with these fa cts. Remember the Honda Super Hawk? That was the bi ke (p lus th eir advertisi ng ca mpaign used a t th at tim e) th at really p ut th e Ho nda o n th e map. The Bul taco Me tisse w as ano ther m iles to ne fo r a co mpany , so Was the Yama ha DTI En duro. Now we have a suspicion that the ne w G ree ves Griffon Enduro wi ll do it. It 's a rno tocrosse r that's stree t legal and in these day s, that's imp ortan t. You can p op to th e beac h o n it or tak e it out to Raw hide for a day s racin g. Yeh, I know , I like Grcevcs but uur Griffon of Th u nder sle y is on h is way to b co m ing a pappa, m ated to " Lo ve Bu g" bel on ging to ex-Asco t starte r Tony Drake . If we get a pup py we'll name h im Mert o f T h un de rsley b ecause if y ou saw "On An y Sunday " you k now what :\lert's cowtrailer is, even if he di d pu t a Har ley decal on it! Our Griffo n is banking b on es fo r th e fu lure o ccasion. Got a minute ? Drop a card to our he avy weig h t scrambl es number one , Jerf Sexton wbo b ash ed the wall in sp eedway . He's at the Glendora Community Hosp ita l in Glendora, Bcd 56 -B. And while you're at it, don 't forget Rex Barrett who was in that acc ide n t at Ascot is still a t G ard en a Hospital recovering from b ums and he'll be th ere fo r a tim e yet. I kn ow yo u guys listen when you fi nd ou t th a t someone is h urting as you we ll proved when I wen t under last ye ar, so keep it up, h uh ? We 've all go t to stic k to gether. To end th e co lu m n on a chee rf ul no te , how d oes this gra b yo u .. .I went fo r a rid e o n a chop pe r th e o the r ni gh t, yep, o ld dirt rider Maureen Lee ac tu ally got aboa rd one, sissy b ar an d all , rid den by ano ther d irt rider who keeps it fo r fun and off we wen t. \\' on 't tell where but H ap Spoons co u ld have made hay over it if he' d see n the p erformance! A bobby eve n showed u p b u t we tactfully eluded h im. Kn o w wh at? Leaning back on a sissy bar w as a lo t more com fo rtable than h an ging on to friend husband on h is Bonneville bu t th e B onn i e w as s m o o t her than th e...er...weI i... l d on ' t want an y phone call s fr om Milwaukee if I menti on the name and b esides, I th ink H-D is going to be the number one this year. Now Jim Ri ce, make a liar out of me ! '" ;: w z w -" U >- U

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