Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Longer and Milder ~ w Z w ~ U >- U Assembled , t his rig just fin ishe d t he Ba rstow-to-Veqas. b y Tosh Kon y a T he d esert racing fraternity is conserva tive b y na tu re an d ri ghtly so since a 50·m ile loop isn't q ui te th e pl ace for testin g yo ur new 5 2mm carb that should in creas e y o ur h orsepower b y a t leas t 75%! In th e lonely world of th e d esert ra cer o n ly the tried and tru e are acceptable as the pits can sometimes be a good day 's w alk a way. Of th e fe w bikes b agging victories in th e m aso ch ist ic AM A Dist. 37 weekly races. Husq vama see ms the . most p revalent of th e ~i g _ re . m achm e'l:" !,o S ince its in dtroduction In t h is country It h as been rela tivel y con serva tive an d su pe r-relia ble. Re lia b ility is th e first scale used to m e asu re th e wo rth of a desert b ike and , for this, the H usky is generally ' ac ce pted as fo re most. One of the most ap pealing aspects of ow nership of this m e chan ic all y con se rva tive m o t o rcy cl e is the fa ct that you get th e exact same bike as th e "big name" sponsored desert race rs, Fac to ry " Wo rks Specials" are a fac t of life at H usqvama but these are extremely rare an d exclusively limite d to Eu ropean motocross. The sh owroom stock H usky h as all the ingredien ts for th a t first overall victory in th e deser t wars. No tri ck fra mes or suspension units are required . . . . T he attention paid to small d eta ils IS often th e divi ding factor be tween the a lso- tans and win n ers. an d one suc h detail is the swi nga rrn, One inc h o f extensio n does w ond e rs fo r the h andlin g a n d r emo ves alm ost e n tirely th e in fam ous "Husk y H op ". This turns Husk y pil o ts into th ose wh o love th e l on g, long sections o f murder ous wh o op-de-docs tha t Dist, 3 7 cl u bs use to break th e "m on oton y " o f ro cky h ills. Th is modificati on will als o help th e m oto cr o sscr f rea k as b ouncing o ver ro ug h te rr ain is slo we d to a con tro lla ble level an d a ride r unde r con tro l is a fas ter ri der. Few h o me worksho ps h ave the n e cessa ry to o ls 10 perform this mod so it is best left to professionals such as Jere Kir kp at ri c k. Bes ides a he ll-a rc weld e r, su ch tin gs as a n a brasive c u to ff sa w, alignme nt jig, an d hyd raulic p ress are req u ired . Husk ys are mad e of a Swedish alloy very cl ose to SAE 4 130 Ch rome Moly Steel, so welding by m e th o d s other than heli-arc : aren't reco mmended. After the swi ngarrn is remo ved the ends ar e marked so that m ix u ps can be avoided. The cut is made as close to th e cro ss b ra ce as possible. Bo th surfaces, along wi th the extension p lu gs, are b evel ed to increase weld p en e trat ion . The brake torque a rm and brake rod must a lso b e exten ded th e sa me a mount. The e x ten sio n plugs a re pressed into th e swi ngarm an d t ack-w elded while the alignment is checked. By th e way, th e pl u gs are m ade of SAE 4 130 so yo u need n't worry abou t th e st re ngth of th e n ew p ie ces. T he a lign me nt r equir e s s pecial steel b ush in gs, as u sin g th e stock rubber bushings w ill result in a st inky lit tie fir e. Ali gnment is che cked o f te n as the wel d is co m p le ted . J er e uses OxWei d 65 rod, 2% T u ngste n , 15 in ch es Mercu ry of Argo n , and a 15 se cond p ost purge after we ld iing. Na grinding is d one to the welds to insu re full s tre ngth . F o r riders wis h ing to further "bu lletproof" their mac hi nes yo u ca n h ave your brake torque arm m oclified as pictured. By welding on the three pi eces shown y ou ca n ride over an d through ro cky sec tions with no fear. T he to rque arm i s vulner able be cause the low-hanging c h ain guide seems to a ttrac t eve ry ro ck within 2 5 y a rd s! Hit a lar ge one with enough force and, if you're lucky, y ou'll have only a slightly bent t orque .a rm , If un lu cky, the ar m will hav e be n t enough to d erail th e ch ain After car ry in g out th is m od yo u can ride over rocks that would pretzel a stock a rm! Once the job is done , th e affec te d a reas sh ould b e wi re brush ed an d p ain t ed to restore th ei r o rigi na l appearance . T h e color closes t to th e ori ginal is "Dupli -Colo r 1uto T ouch-Up". Look for DS -GM 10 9 on th e t op wh ich means a G eneral Motors me tall ic silver o f arou n d 1966 vintage for vari ous cars. Small spary ca n s a re available at m o st a uto p arts stores . T h e rid e will n ow b e smoo the r be cause of the ad de d wh eelbase an d the in creased angle o n th e shocks. Cran k in g the spring adjus ters u p a n o tch or two Disassemb led , extended pa rt s are ready for pain t ing. should re store the origi nal tension alt ho ugh m o st ride rs will we lc ome th e softe r ride. T he chain requires a " half-link" ( th ree p in s). T he n yo u 're read y to ride. You n ow h ave a bike ca pable of runn in g with th e best an d a ll it t ak es is a little lu ck an d a bunch a t pr actice . T he pr ic e of all th is go od work is very r e as on abl e. Th e s wingar m extensio n k it is $ 10.5 0 "if yo u trust you r wel di ng" o r, if no t , j ust m a il th e th ree par ts (swingarm , to rque arm, 'a n d brake ro d) an d $25.00. T he roc kb us tcr torque a rm is S 12.50 e x t ra if yo u d ecide D istrict 3 7 desert racing is yo ur bag. This can al so be don e to - st ock (non-ex te nded ) torque a rm s. When y o u d ecide . how "bulletproof" you want yo ur scooter just mail the parts and a c h ec k or money order to : Jere Kirkpatrick, 6 3 5 Crcstmore PI., Venice, Calif. 9 0 2 9 I. If you wi sh to talk to h im p e rso nall y about this or an y other m odifica tions h e can b e reached a t ( 2 13) 8 2 1-369 3 b etween the hou rs o f 9am an d 6pm. G ood luc k a n d good racing! . , ,, ~---------------------------------------------_.~, , I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I' I I I I I I I I I I • Orange County's newest. finest. and most "with it" cycl e deal ership op ens its doors grand ly Saturday Feb . 24 I Get a preview showing of the new 125 and 400 MX Huskys. And a p remier showing of the '73 Yamaha 500 MX. Door Pr izes ! BELL & KRW Helmel s-Lealhers CheS Protectors - Boots - and many more l I Yamaha GTMX Grand Prize! Mota-Cross Movies! Yamahas and Husqvarnas galore! I See the c omp lete '73 Yamaha line from the 80's to the 750's. Tour t he most mode rn parts, accessory. and service fac ility you've ever see n I ------------------------------~ ..- ~~--~~~:~~,~::~::.~~~~~:~.:~~:,:~~:- Wi n t his 80cc GTMX l Fill in thi s fo rm to register I \~ No pur c hase n ec ess•l f y . .' Wmne r ne e d n o t be presen t at drawmq . 2 110 E. Mc Fad den Ave.. sa n ta An a . Californ ia 92 705 · (714) 558- 1511 Nome A!Jc _ Add re ss _ C,ly State Do yo u o w n a l11o'orc:ycl c? tt so , what ' vpo? I I Stmd I I Yes I I Dut Z.I' _ I I No I I S " cd & 0 '" I " , ,-------------------------------------------------------------------------------,------------------------------------------------ "

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