Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

At just a b o u t 6:00 a sm all trail appeared at th e top of the ridg e. I t was no car , n or th e Larry Minor that so much of th e crowd th ough t i t wo uld be . lt was a b ik e , an d the re was no one close b hi nd ! Mickey Quad e is so fast for so long in Baja a nd to day was no ex ception . He m ad e th e c hec k at 6 : IS. Mickey poured a large part of a j ug of wat er ove r his head an d perch ed on the edge of the Uusky va n, while the Husky c rew ch anged tires a n d chain s. The rear tire was in cr edibl e .:.. cord sh o we d o n al most a third of its circumference. Mickey h ad really bee n pushing, The pit stop neared an e nd , and How ar d Uts ey prepared to ta ke o ff. As the bike was kick st arted Mickey lea ned over t o Howa rd . "Howard , it's making a pin gin g . n oi s e . B e en doin g it sin ce th e pavemen t...j ust wick it: ' Everyone wa s anxious to see h ow the 450 wo uld fare , b u t it starte d fi rst kick and sounded as sharp as eve r. J us t as Howard blasted out of the p its, the unmi st ak abl e so und o f a big twin dron ed d o wn th e h ill: the Dempsey Trium p h . It d id n ' t requ ire a tire change an d afte r a fe w adj ust m e nts. so me lu b ricatio n , and the removal of ligh t cove rs th e T rium p h w as o u t , havin g picked up ma ybe five m in u tes on th e first p lace Hu sk y . Sa m Dempse y helped lub e th e chain an d on ly as Gen e head ed o u t di d he h ave t ime to mumble ove r and over, " I just die d at leas t 13 0 tim es...at least 130." Runn ing closely t o ge th er, Do n Bishop '(4 0 0 S uz u ki) and Mitch Mayes arrive d 20 min u t e s after the Q uade-Utsey H usqvama. A t ire change for the H usky saw Don Bohanno n and the S uz u ki back ou t of the pi ts fir s t. Mitch Mayes lay spread e agled across th e back of the H usk y van guzzling o ran ge sod as a t an alarming rate. Ly nn Wilson ca u tio ne d him against getting sick , "I already puked today," Mitch replied , "I know what it 's like ." The second thin g he sai d was almost th e universal se co nd ques tion among riders . " Wh ich way is the beach ?" Rolf T ib blin , famo us fl>r h is n ight riding, took th e 450 Husky a nd h ead ed out into the waning sunlight. T he sun headed below the h ori zon shortly afte r R ol f left, an d , as th e o ther bikes an d the firs t cars began to a rrive . everyone waited to see wh o wo uld be at San Fe lipe first. T h is is known as the rou gh est part of th e Baja 5 0 0, an d it was goi ng t o be mostly in th e d ar k. For th irty miles o u t o f Pun ta Final it is fast ' b u t trick y goi ng . R o ck s see m to hide , waitin g to leap in fro n t a t th e last second . D od gin g the m at sp ee d a t n igh t is an in cred ib le thin g. The ni gh t befor e Rolf h ad spoken abou t ridin g at night , " It is very t ricky , as you have t o b e very ca reful t o kee p the mo to r revvin g or th e ligh t will di m. You mus tn ' t brak e for a co mer unl ess you pull in th e cl utch. If you kill th e engine , tha t is it. It is also ha rd on mo to rs as th e engi ne m us t rev " '" 0: M .... Cl " .., " '" ~ e w Z W ...J U ~ U Preston Pett y and Dick Miller outlasted a rapid 125 Husky and got th e small bike win. \ TEAM USQVAR A SKSFOR PENNZOIL m ore. " T h ir ty miles ou t o f Pu nta Fin al th e co u rse winds over th ree to m r ock ridges. It is twen ty mil es that will take nearly a n hour for a reasonabl y experienced t rail rid er to negotiat e during the day . It is ful l of huge boulders , drop-offs, up hills, d ow n h ills, and thin gs lookin g to m a ke a' tire flat . Then 50 miles of fast di rt road lead in to San Felipe. Rolf T ibblin nego tia ted th e treacherous 100 m ile stretch in two h ours and th irty . two min u tes, passin g Dempsey and Utsey and a rriving fir s t in San Felipe. All we re - within a tw o mi nute sp read . , The dark had settled in at Pun ta Final and th e brigh t q u artz-iodi d e lamps cu t gla rin gly through the 2 0 foot deep cloud o f dust ly in g ove r th e pits. It was still in th e n eigh borh o o d of 100 d eg rees at 10 :0 0 I'M, and th e d us t was so th ick th at i t was d ifficu lt to breath e . -T be atmosp he re was eerie. n early impossib le to c o n ve y u n less yo u we re th e re. Radi o rep ortin gs fad ed , and th o se that came we re n igh tma rish . Don Boh annon had e n doed in Di ab lo Dry La ke . Some one had found h im b ut he was in c oherc n t. C onsci ous and n o t ex ternal ly inj ured b u t d escribed as 'delirio us' Bobby Ferro was o u t there so mewhere too , with a blo wn engine. havi ng been one of the h igh ra nking ca rs at the h alf-way point. Then so me thi ng cam e to ch ee r th e at mosphere. Mary McGee , wh o w as tak ing the first leg for the lady team o f McGee and Lyn n Wilson, arrived a t Pun ta Final . It m ade e veryone feel better, especially Ly n n wh o had been wo rr y in g. Mary h ad h ad trouble at the end of the p avemen t. O ther bike riders be gan to filte r in amo ng the car s, so me with fl at ti res , o thers without ligh ts, some just m aking su re they m igh t ge t to the en d. T ha t's right, Team Husqvarna Mo tocross an d Desert riders ask for and rely on Pennzoil 2 -Stroke Motorcycle Oil. Any knowledgeable ride r knows how im po rt a n t o il is. Without a quality oil, engine fr iction and heat wi ll soon pu t you on t he side lines. Pennzoi l Motorcycle Oil s, made f ro m 100% pure Pennsylvania grade crude oil, are tough , clean burning and stand up under t he gruel· ing strains of hard rid ing. Ask Team Husqvarna Motocross rider Bob Grossi or Team Husqvarna Desert rider Rolf Tibblin what oi l they use ... it 's Pennzoil 2 -Stroke Mo torcycle Oil. If you ' re jnterested in bein g there at the finish, take a t ip from Tea m Hu sqva rn a .. . as k fo r Pennzoil. Its exclusive hydro- cracked ba se o il assures cleanl ines s a nd en gine response at any RPM . Pennzoil is free flowing fo r inject o r use. has superior lubricity, extre me o iliness for extra clinging po wer o n hot su rfaces. except io na lly h igh viscosity index an d a n exclusive ad diti ve t hat provi d es extend ed e ngine life. Bob Grossi Tea m H usq varn a Mo tocross ,PEN N ZO IL COMPANY O il Cit y, Pen nsy lva n ia • Western Hea dqua rt er s Los A nge les, ca lifornia / '

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