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/141062
"' r - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---. " '" If. M e-, en en '"> '" ~ ~ w 2 w ..J U > U .. Th e youngster o n t he min i looks right fine sandwiched between t hose Husk ies and a Triumph . Colorado River Run b y R on Schneid e rs Ph otos by Ellen S chneiders PARKER. ARIZONA, May 20 - Ten years ago an even t suc h as th e SRA ' s Co lo ra do Rive r Run .co uld not have happened. Wh o, for instance , would h a ve driven over 5 0 0 mil es to p articip at e in an en d uro th at w a s adv e rtised as being " easy?" For th at matter, why would any promoter bother to go th at fa r away to pu t o n a run? Ten years ago it would have been difficult to say whether the rider or th e promoter would have thought th e idea mo re absurd, but no t today. A lth ough ad vertised as " easy " (A nd , in fa ct, by m o s t stan dards it was .] man y of the ride rs di d no t thi n k i t wa s easy," No t over seven miles fro m the start the re was a h ill which co uld have been made by a good 200-pound rider on a Yamaha mi n i-enduro . But, on that hill. seve ral rid ers we re han gin g over th eir bars gasping for b reat h . I' m sure that if I had stopped, one of the m wo uld have told me to be .su re to m e n ti o n the terrible push-up h ill that th ey had in what was supposed to be a family enduro. At the top o f an oth e r hill, th ere we re danger mar ks and th ree o r four riders were sitting on their bikes sta rin g st raigh t ah ead. It's a classic se t up , a nd it spells "horrible d ownhill !" When I go t th ere, h owever, it w as n ot a h orrible d ownhill, but a slope a ng led ab out th e same as a freeway off-ra m p. The only thing th at p reven ted one fro m shifting in to fou rth o r fif t h on the wa y down was that it wasn ' t lon g e no ugh . One fellow ' (May be he read on e of m y article s on "How to ride a n end uro. ") was trying to bull-do g hi s bike down th e horrible downhill" bUL th e hill was so shaJlow and t he sand was so d eep, that he was actually havin g to push it down, rather than h ol d it back! T here was ' o ne genuinely tough featu re to the enduro tho ugh, and it is called Deep Sand. T here we re pocke ts of it on the first lo op an d so me fair ly lo n g st retches of it o n the secon d lo op. It 's th e kin d o f sa nd y o u fin d on the edge of EI Mirage Dry La ke, su per d ry and powdery . If you st an d too lon g in one place y ou sin k out o f sig ht. Pu cher bushes grow in th is sa nd and every place there's a p ucker bush, there's a h u mm o ck whic h red uces y our bi ke 's forwa rd mo tio n to fall -over speed. It 's No, no . no t t he fr o nt b rake . -e- ~ .,.,., I XL 250 HONDA FORGED RACING PISTONS Ve no lia motorcycle pistons feature exclusive design and all the basic performance characteristics we build into ou r automotive pistons. SIZES: Std ., .020, .040, .0 60, .08 0, 77mm, 78mm & 79mm. Compression ratio; 10 , 11 & 12 to 1. Most s izes ava ilable for im m ediat e sh ipment. Oth er s izes upon request. SEND $1.00 for CATALOG ON ALL FORGED PISTONS FOR BIKES. DEALERS SEND FOR YOUR PRICES & DELIVERY. 88~ n81 IYI~I 1III WHY IT'S HOT Unaware to theaverage cycle rider, high speeds and hard driving can result in dangerously high oil temperatures, thus impairing performance, Other consequences of hot engine oil include: seal and gasket failure, increased wear onthebearings, pistons, crankshaft and valves, and emission pollution. HOW IT'S COOLEO CYCLE COOLERS ' reduce high oil temperatures with a highly advanced engine oil cool ingsystem that prevents oil breakdowns andcostly repairs. Whetheryou ridefor fun orprofit, your bikeneeds THERMO-CHEM'S CYCLE COOLERS ~ See your nearest Thermo-Chem dea ler orwrite for a catalog, T HeRMO-CHeMC ORP. po. BO' 45504 / TULSA. O KLAIIOMA 74145 \9191663·5151 2160 Cherry Industrial Circle Long Beach, California 90805 213·636-9329 • 531-8463 FORGED RACING PIST ONS "T.M. applied for