Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

Cycle News 1973 06 05

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/141063

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'" LESS THAN A MANDATE " g' 0M .... ell '" " C :J .., CIl ;: w Z W ...J (.J > (.J I 'm so di sgusted. I cou ld throw up, D em o c r a c y is dea d a mo ng m o to rcy cl ists. Every grou p co n n e c ted w ith th is wo nderful sport h as be en bi tc hing about n o t bei ng re pre sen ted. b ei n g c h a r ge d too m u ch for m embership, being n eglected for this an d fo r that, "l'h cv h ave cla mored for re p resentati on on 'th e A ~ l A Execu tive Bo a rd, th e y demand a hand in guid ing the desti n v o f the ass o ciation. Well d amnlt , th ey had th is c h a nce . what h appens? Out o f o ve r 2 0 0 ,UOU membe rs. o nly sligh tly ' over 1 1.UOO took th e time to vote. Luckily it was th e smart ones wh o d id take th e time, The y selected the two most qualified men o n th e ball ot . But w hat a sh a me th es e Iwo wonderful guys h ave to go into battle w ith o u t a mmunition, o u tn u m b e re d bv people with backing, Mr. Sloan a n d ~I~, Ainsworth a re b acked by a puny . han d -full o f rid e rs. Wh en 18 9.UOO riders are not int eres ted e no ugh to take on e min ute to vote . sickness m ust reign. a sic kness th a t c a u se s b ig spou ti ng m o uths, b ut co n s tip ate d b rain s. I f I had be en elected under th ese 'ci rcu ms tan ces, I wo uld h e te m p te d to say . "Got T o Hell. you g uy s aren't w o rth it ! " . I ap ologize to S haro n C lay to n. S he h ad Faith in our gro up , tha t 's wh y sh e made th e p ro p o sal to h a ve two members fr om th e du es p ay er s elec te d . to the Executive Bo ard . G eez , did we let h er d own ! We also o we :'I r. Sl oan and Mr . A in sw o r th o ur apologies. Sligh tly o ver h a lf of o ne pe rc e n t voted. just how d o you figure it? G ue ss it's th e ol d " Le t john Do It ." Happy I los t . AI. H Ei'\~I1\G Cha tsw orth. Calii'. Voices of the West UNSA FE? I see th at ·th e Departrnen I of Transportation is investigating Yamaha /i5 0 's as unsafe. I als o see in o th e r publi c a tions that are less responsible than Cycle News tha t Yam a h a co n tin ue s to advertise their 650 as being a wonderfu l m a chin e. This co rpora te crim in a lit y is a disgra ce. I say bo yc ott Yam aha. the people wh o put do llars above the safety of c o n su me rs. V IR G IL T . CA I1\ Buen a Park, Calif. We say that is an absurd ide a, Virgil. Our test of the Yamah 6 50 found n o t hi ng unsa fe ab out it. T here are mach ines with more ground clearance , bu t there ar e plenty o f ' bikes with less. Both novice a nd expe rt rid ers at C y cle News never encoun tered any sit uat io ns where the b ike threatened to put them on their heads, One publica tion said it was unsa fe and so the good-hearted zealo ts at t he D.O.T. picked up the cry . The Harle y-David son Electra G lide ha s a go od de al less gro u nd clea rance , brakin g power , and precision in co rn erin g, yet ever y poli ce depa rtment in t he count ry uses th em , A fe w voices wer e ra ised aga in st th e Corva lr , .a car that many k n owledgable fo lks co nsid ere d to be o ne o f th e be st American Iou r-wheelers goi ng , and it went be ltv -up. Tha t oi fe w people d on 't get al o ng with oi p artic ular ma ch in e isn 't pr o o f t hat it is unsafe.r.Ed . A IN 'T GOT NO RESPECT GOLD STAR SENTIMENTS Do n 't kno w wh o w ro te th e BSA Gold S tar art icle (May 15 th issu e ). b ut th a t perso n an d I share th e sa me sen tim en ts . My BSA is a ' 5 2 B3 4 . Wh ile it is no t a race r it d o es q uit e we ll as a d ai ly co m m u te r. T he: e ngi ne is m ell o w e nough n o t to e ve n bo ther with th e ~dvan c e . reta rd le ver wh ile s tarti ng. F. G . BLAK E FUllerton. Calif. ~! \'~!il!a & I l••! 1 1 [:1 ",,1 America 's No. I Week ly Motorcycle Newspaper Sh aro n Cla yto n . . . . • . . . . . .• .• P ub li ~ h e r "r orn Cul p G en er al Manager Edna Mewton . . . •. sec re t ary t o P u b l i ~ h e r T o d R affer t y . . .• . .•• . , . M an a gin g E Ol t or A r t F ri ed m an . , , , . .. , , . , • , , . , , , , E d it o r D ave Schoon m ake r .. . . • _ A sststan t E d Itor How ie Fow le r , . • , . , . A d ve r t isi n g Manag e f w end y Bla n t o n ,. _ , , Adver ti ~ ing A ssistan t R he b a Sm it n , . .. •. . . Ci rc u la t io n Manager Mar la B oudrea u - , . , , , C i rc ula tio n A ssistan t Cn er y l S t ei n b e rg , . . , Ci rcu la t ion A ssista n t Mike Dillon , •• . • . . . . Pr o duc tt on Manager R os a li n d Quinn , , , •. Pr od uc t ion A ssi stan t Hec t o r A gui le ra . • •.. . . . , .La n Tech nician Mari on Hata sh it a " , •.. , . . . .T y pograph er M el v in Ph elps , , , _ • . A ssis tant T y pograp he r Dave Crowe , , . , " . . .Co llec ti on Manager Gr<1ce Ca m p , , , , , , , • .A cc o u r rnnq Manager Barba r a Beoeck . , _ • , Acc oun t ing A ssist an t C h rrs K olbe t •• _ .• _ • Accoun t ing A ss.is t a n t G a r n et Dun n . . , . _ , . A cco u n ti ng A ssts fa n t M ichael Colik as , ., .• .. Services & Support Ken Lee . . '. . . . , _ , , , . , S e r vic es & Sup p ort SQuee ky H aynes . . _ . , . S e r vic es & Su p p ort D a via Pau ll . " , •. _ , .. Services & Sup p ort Nanc y Good m a n . " . _ . , • • . . R ecep t io n ist , Na tional Adv t:rti sin)! Dir ect o r: Torn Cul p Cycl e New .. West and Headq ua rter s P.O . Ao \ 4 9 R, Lo ng Rl';.Kh California 9080 I (2 13) 4 27· 74 33: L.A. 636-8844 TELE X :-10.673-474 Cycle New v, Ea..t-Di xic Edi tion 41 9 0 l-ir..t Ave nue T urkcr. G",ofl! ia ' (40 4 1934·7850 C vclc News , Ce n tr al Edition I i 18 West Mh Street A u..tin . Te xas , 5 1214 76·757 1 v Subsc r ipt io n : One y ear, se co nd c lass rna il .. . $1 2 .50 2 yea rs . second c lass mail . . , . $ 2 2 .50 $30.00 3 years. sec ond c lass ma il Single copy price , $ .50 Pub li..hc d wee kly excep t the: firer ..nd 13... t wee k o f t he ca le nda r y ea r hy Cy c le :-.3"'' ' ' 's , In c., PIl..t O ffice Bo x ~ 9R, I. on~ He al.: h, California. !' econd C ia..... Po ..t agc p a id at I. o n~ He ..", , Calif. Edito rial ...tor i~ , · ·h "' ·an on n... photo.., e t c. ..rc wc k omc. ,\J .lrc:....."' stam p", envelope a..sures rct ur n oJ. -J o f ,-ditori.. 1 m att er . R epr int in~ in whole o r , part o nly hy prcmi....io n of thc puhli..hcrs. /\ d v e n i... ing r 'lfe .. a n u ",· ir c u l at inn in fo rm at io n w ill he:- ...em u po n rClJul" ... . Sl" C t S .IU l .S . Cy d c ~ c.'W .. , Inc: 1913 all r ighh r,-"'<.·rve:-J Co py righ t ~ I buy your n ew sp ap er every week an d feel it is o ne o f IWO bi ke pu b lica tion s worth spen ding m on ey o n . H ow e v er. I o bje ct to t he dis respec t ful ad vertisemen ts run th e las t fe w w e ek s. O ne was for ches t p rotecto rs . ano ther for nu mber p lates, and the th ird fo r t ire s, T hey are an insult to eve ry woman wh o reads your p ap er. It 's not just a ma n 's sport any mo re 50 p lease k eep in mi n d thai y ou arc ru n ning a fa m ily n ew sp ap e r. Ple ase d on' t prin t any mo re o f th os e ads , N ot b ec au se th ey are "dirtv " , but be c ause th e y reduc e w omen to a no n -human. non -person s ta t us . CAR OI.Yi': ~IITClIEI.1. V is la , C alif. It doesn 't see m d isrespe ctfu l to u s, bu t jus t t o keep "th ings eve n we are try ing to get a prom inent -rnale d esert ra ce r to p ose in th e nud e for Marcia Ho lle y 's ca mera .. . Ed . THA N KS TO ,THE ROV ERS M.C. I wou ld like to ex te nd a personal thank yo u to the R o ve rs for t hei r assistance a t th e Carls bad G ra nd Pr ix . Being fro m N ew York a n d n ot h a vi n g an y expe rie n ce in Grand Pr ix racing, m y p it c re w (w ife a nd 6 m o n th ol d bab y ) w as n ot u p to snuff. Du rin g m y p it stop some memb ers of th e R o ve rs saw m v p roble m an d jumped in to le nd a b ig hand. My thanks to t he R ov e rs. . BO B 1\ELSOi': Tustin . Calif. WEL L, WELL, WELL To LAPD Had gers I\I.C . Well m ar ke d. Well o rga n ize d . Well pl ann ed . Well d one !! Bes t rac e o f the year! O th er d es e rt cl u bs ta ke no tice th is w as their FI RST rac e. WOODY & Ui'\DA SC HA ME L S led R id ers :'I.C. HELP, HELP, HELP Help ! Help ! Lo st m y m ovie and instan t-rnatic cam e ras in a black case w/film a t the Badgers ~ I.C . r ace. Ple ase, please return , AM HEARTS IC K . Reward. C all colle c t i 14 / 5 9 9 ·54 5U. LI~DA SCHAM EL Sl ed R iders M.C . A HORR IB LE MISTAKE C heeze! I thi n k I finally cau gh t you guys in a goof! Re f. to yore article. "The Fantastic F ly ing Fi n n ish Feli ne F ights Fe ds Fo r F ut u re F un A nd Fre ed o m " . a lias ··:' Io tocross Cat" d a ted I\lay 2 2. T he " m ini ·bike" in q uestio n (? ) is ac tually a min i.cy cle . \\' o odja believe it ? :'I in o r point actually b ut it does hi t a sore spot. Yo u sec . I are th e Id io ter of a mag. e n title d . ··:' li n iCy cle ·· an d I otta kno\\' o ne wh en I see one , BRI C K PRI C E " :' li n iCycle" Aren 't yo u rat he r big fo r o ne of t hose L. Ed . WHAT HAPPENED AMB ULANCE? IN THAT In re gard to the letter enti tled " I t S h ould n 't H ave H ap pened " from Mr. j . Al s ton. I would lik e to set th e re cord straight abou t th e incident on :'I ay 5 , J9 i :l at A scot Park since I was o ne of the a m b u lan ce c re w me n th at wo r ke d . and I d o m e an wo rked. o n Ivan Sh igemasa . First. I d o agree th at hay bales sho uld h ave be en us ed in th e c o m e rs . n o t th a t th is w ould h ave saved Ivan . but it m ight h ave. S ec ond, the ac cide n t hap p ened in tum th ree an d as the ride rs p assed th e s ta rt-f inish lin e th ey we re given th e red fla g b y the s ta r te r , a t th e same lim e th e red lights o n th e track were turned o n, N ow, we of th e ambulan ce c rew arc n ot allowed to ro Il until the s ta r te r gives us th e white fla g with th e red c r o ss o n it. He will not d o so ' u n til the trac k is cle ar o f riders for o bv ious safe ty re asons. :\otr. Al st on c alled us in c ompet ent a n d ill t rained. T o set him st raigh t . all o f th e a m b ulance c rew s are E.:' I.T. ( Em e rgen cy :'I e d i c al T e chni cian s ) or thei r eq uiva le nt. As far as heing rescu e traine d, I h a ve e le ven years of fire re scu e expe rie n ce un de r m y be lt . T he r e a s on n o oxyge n wa s ad mi nis te re d w as th at Ivan w as still bre a thin g ; n o heart m a ssage w as give n be c ause his heart wa s s till be a tin g. It to o k us o n ly se ven minute s to clear th e trac k . The a m bula n ce did n o t stall in the pi t p ar kin g lot. I o rdered the drive r to s to p and assist m e in c h an gi ng Ivan 's posi tion o n th e gu rney. T he reason it to ok us " so lo ng " to re move Ivan fro m th e t ra c k are as fo llo ws: Firs t, Ivan ' s n ec k was b ro ken and hi s head h ad to be immobilized : ne x t , his b ack was broken in tw o pl ace s: third. h is chest w as c rushe d . We a re n ' t Key st one Kops , we don't just run o u t , throw a m an o n th e gu rne y and h aul h im to th e h o spit a l. \l' e are o u t 10 save live s and n ot c rip p le the rid ers. I m en ti oned t h a t We st opped the amb u la nc e in th e pi t parkin g lot . This was bec au se Ivan had h ad a c a rd iac a rres t (h is h eart st opped beating) an d w e had 10 tak e a c ha nce on tumin g h im o n hi s b ac k to sta r t m outh-t o -m o ut h rescuscitati on and heart m assage , I h o p e that th is lett er will clea r up so me of the w ron gfu l s ta te m e n ts m ade by :'lr. Al st on . A s eve ry profe ssion al kn ows, th e uni formed are al wavs the firs t to c r itici ze. ' Th e last th in g I h ave to say is w e all did o u r b est, as w e d o fo r a ll rid e rs. But . (van 's in j uri es were lo a m a ssive for anyone to h ave sa ves h im, j .xr. STRAD ER 4 145 Irving PI. C u lver City . Ca. 902 3 0 Thank you for your letter, We tend t o take emergency per sonnel far too much for gran ted unt il we need them, Ambulance drivers, IRRC, 4IInd Re scue are some of the people to whom mo torcycle racers owe oi great deal. Have you ever thanked them for being there ?... Ed. KIM CLARK I am writing in regard to the tr agic dea t h o f Kim Cl ark o n :'I ay 13 a t Carlsbad Raceway. when h e lost c o n tr ol of his b ik e o n th e uphill and collid ed with the steel c h ai n link fen c e borderin g th e tra ck. Commen ts were made th a t the fe n c e was to o clo se to th e track for sa fe ty , and that the use o f th ick steel poles was unwise . We feci th at if th e fen ce wa s moved b ack fr om th e track or that a different st yl e o f s up p o r t wa s used. it mi gh t h ave m ade a difference fo r Kim. We reali ze th at th e fenc e is th ere fo r crowd con tro l. b u t the fe nce it sel f is a ha zard to ride rs. \l' e h ope tha t the ra c ewa y m anagement co uld gi ve th is so me th ough t be fore ano the r trag edy occ urs. Kim wa s a close frie n d of min e wh o I h ad sh ared ' m an y exciting ra ce day s wi th . He was a ki n d . happ y p erso n who loved raci ng. an d wa s well lik ed by ever.·one wh o h ad m e t h im . lI is loss will be great o ne to all. a nd we send o ur d e epest sy m pathy to the Cl ark family . ST EV E ROACH La :'lesa , Cal if. a FED UP I finall y go t fed up en ough with the I FOA to send th em the following lette r. I th ought y ou might be Interested : Gentlem e n: just rece ived m y lat est co py of th e " l n FO UR m er " and was in terested in th e article on th e fro nt page concerning the N ew j ersey Park wa y ban. In th.e art icle, yo u st ate, in referen ce to th e IF OA case being d ropp ed and th e A MA case being pu rsu ed, "Th e Neui j ersey Case, as w e ca me to call it . was a pitif ul and prime example of motorcycle infig h ting and lack of coop era tio n. " Th en, 0 11 th e ve ry next page, y ou ha ve letters co ncern ing yo u r support of th e Sie rra Club. and 011 page 3 y ou ho ve an ed ito rial by t h e Presid en t en titl ed "Dirt R id ing, Sierra Club and things". w h erein h e states "l t's nice to k nou: we d on't n eed th em ". ref erring to Cycle N ews a nd oth er pu blications that arc pro-dirt riding. It seems to m e t hat you are in th e p ro cess of setting a doub le standard w hic h somchoui gices mi' the im p ression that ro ad riders art· be tt er p eople t han dirt rid ers. I h app e n to enjoy dirt an d road riding, a nd also porticip at e in TT racing, and I fe el some w ha t let do w n b y an o rgan izatio n w ith w ho m I ha ve b een asso ciat ed fo r 2 y ears, It is my o pinion that th e o nly p urpo se that th e backing of th e Sierra Clu b serve. is to f u rt h er ' d ivide ALL mo to rcy cle riders. Th er ef or e . p l eas c a cccpt my resignatio n from th e club and let it b e knolL'1I that f urt her mailings from you will b e ret urn ed marked "R EFUS ED ". Sincerel y . ' Pat Sandh am I wo uld encourage all members of the I FaA to give se rious cons ide rat io n to th e implication s of th e o rga niz atio n's be friendin g of th e S ierra Club. \\'h en it ge ts to th e p oint of te lling o ther cy cl is ts "we d on ' t n eed yo u", it is time to hi t the road - o r trail as the case m ay b e. PAT S A ~ D H A ~1 Boulde r. C o lo . THAT WAS NO LADY \l' e of th e Red Do ts ~ I. C. w ish to p ro te s t th e grossly unfair. sla n ted. inaccurate an d in c omple te co ve rage of o ur race provided b y yo ur c o n trib u to r , Ali ce Rh ea. Certainly wh en th e hard work of more th an nin ety p e ople is termed "th e w orst ra ce o f the yea r." bo th th e re aders an d th e cl u b a rc e ntit led to kn ow just w ho it is that is m akin g th e acc usa ti o n. If th e p erson making th at accusati on prefers n ot to be n amed, he des erves n ot to h e qu oted. We have n o d oubt th at so me c hea te rs did indeed th ink it was th e w orst rac e th ey h ad eve r run . Th e co urse -wa s d esign ed to preven t c he a tin g and c he a te rs go t lo st an d m issed che c ks. Sorry about that. Mr s. Rh e a m ade a m ist ake th a t even a novic e jo u rn al is t would n ot h ave m ade: Sh e didn' t unders tand se veral aspec ts of th e c o urse la y out and she di dn ' t ask an y o n e in th e sponsoring o rga n ization abou t the m. It was qui te h o t , o ve r IOU d egr e e. 50 several mil es of th e secon d loop. so me d eep. h ard-t o -ride sa n d. was eli m inate d fro m th at loop, T he Novi c e s ta r t was d elay ed bec ause R esc ue T h ree w a s o n the c o u rse b etw een th e s tart lin e and th e sm oke b omh. In st ead of sa yi ng as s he d id th a t " fo r some reason the cl ub c u t fi ve mil es o ff th e cou rse ." sh e could h ave sim p ly as ke d th e re as on and presented a m ore balanc ed acc ount an d . in ciden tall y , e a rned h er rep orter's fee. . Sharoo Rosen our, a lady wh o rod e th e ' co u rse . ' h ad n o tro ub le wi th th e " p ush- u p hill li tt ered with n ovi ces. 1I0w was T om Br o oks. ridin g 2 0 :'IPH faster than anyone else. "rammed by a n ovi c e ?" Wh y did Mr s. Rh e a fail to mention t he more than 5 3000 worth of co n tin ge nc y prizes which on ly o u r club has managed to secu re an d p resent ? Last but n ot least, a Red D ot d id n ot push a "stalled bike an d rid er into a lad y w ho .... • That was a wo man w ho wa s in terfering with th e o pe r ation of the race and d ir ec t in g profanity at both riders and cl u b m embers a like . Was that a lady ? . . I think you r repo rt er an d , yo ur newspape r o we o u r cl u b an apol o gy. JO E BL U~I ENKRANTZ Pr esid en t , R ed Do ts :'I.C. Apparently our reporter fel t the c lu b had enough to do without e xplanoit ion s at tha t t ime. The sto ry requires no apo log y... Ed , HOW ABOUT THE SOUTH ? All of u s dow n h ere in San D iego County sure wo uld like to h ave m ore co ve raRe of Dis tric t :IS even ts if a t a ll p o ssi bl e. MIKE POLZ Send us some stu ff ...Ed. Escond ido. Cal if.

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