Cycle Round Up
CYCLE ROUND UP
JOSEPH C. PARKHURST
DEALER’S ASSOCIATION
The California Motorcycle Dealers’ Association is currently in the throes of a highly interesting promotion that should lead the way in inspiring other like organizations in promoting motorcycle sales. They have recently inaugurated a dealer cooperative advertising campaign in the four leading newspapers’ sports sections in Los Angeles and San Francisco (with combined circulations of almost three million). The advantages in this type of advertising are numerous, but the most important is that the dealer receives publicity in the large circulation, mass media journals at a much reduced cost over the expense of his attempting it alone without the ability to spread the large costs among other dealers.
This method is common practice in almost every industry except the motorcycle industry and I for one have wondered why for some time. The individual responding to one of the CMA’s advertisements receives a huge (2 to 3 pound) package of literature concerning the various machines of the member dealers, plus copies of the latest cycling magazines (including CYCLE WORLD, of course), for $1.00.
Not only is the CMA busy with this project but they are recruiting dealer members as fast as they can, and we would like to put our seal of approval on the project and recommend that any cycle dealer in California who is not yet a member should give it serious consideration. If you are interested you can write the CMA at Post Office Box 43128, Los Angeles 43, California.
BERLINER MATCHLESS APPOINTMENT OFFICIAL
In a joint announcement dated September 14th, Mr. A. A. Sugar, Group Managing Director of Associated Motorcycles Ltd., and Mr. W. J. Smith, Managing Director of Matchless Motorcycles, Ltd., of London, England, revealed that the full activities of Matchless in the U.S.A. have been assumed by Mr. Joseph Berliner, President of the Berliner Mtr. Corp., Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.
1963 models of Matchless motorcycles singles, twins and the formidable competition machine, the G-50, ranging in piston displacement from 500cc to 750cc, will be marketed by the J. B. Matchless Corp. of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., owned, operated and directed by Mr. Joseph Berliner.
YAMAHA HEAD TO JAPAN
Handsome is as handsome does, I believe is the way one of the old sayings goes, and it pretty well describes the recent award of a trip to Japan for the handsome couple examining a brochure titled “Holidays In Japan.” Yamaha International Corp. in Los Angeles, California, awarded the two, Mr. and Mrs. Skip Clark, Sales Manager for the firm, for outstanding sales achievement. Honda owners will be interested in the news that a new club has been formed just for them, to be called, for obvious reasons, the Honda Owners’ Club. Members will receive the club decal, registered membership card, and a monthly “Honda Talk” newsletter. Membership costs $5.00 per year if you are interested contact them at 3147 Hollyridge Drive, Hollywood 28, California.
Skip and Carol are scheduled to leave for a three-week visit to the Yamaha factory the end of October. Also, the trip is timed so that they will be able to take in the all-Japan Grand Prix road race scheduled for November 4th on the fantastic Suzuka circuit, where Yamaha plans on unveiling their new 250cc road racer, reported to be the hottest 15 cubic inch machine for 1963.
TRIUMPHS FOR 1963
Johnson Motors Inc., Distributors of Triumph motorcycles, sent me the accompanying photograph of what appears to be the darndest looking bike we have ever seen. Actually, it is the new 1963 Bonneville, and that isn’t a fully enclosed engine you are looking at. The photograph has been slightly doctored to hide the yet-tobe-announced features of the Triumph line. They tell me we will be able to see the rest of the new Bonneville, as well as the other members of the 1963 model line next month. I can hardly wait!
ANTIQUE COLLECTION SOLD
Shown here is a very small portion of the vast collection of motorcycles, cars, bicycles, buses, trucks, steam rollers, steam cars, model marine engines, railway locomotives and clocks and paintings that were recently auctioned off in Scotland. The John Cuthill Sword estate placed a large part of the collection on auction to raise funds for the estate near Irvine, in Ayrshire, Scotland. Sword was a Scottish business man who started the Midland Bus Service, pioneered air travel in Scotland, and generally had his finger in many of the transportation pies around the start of the first World War.
HONDA OWNERS’ CLUB
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HONDA CHRISTMAS ADVERTISING PUSH
American Honda Motor Co. is going after the Christmas market with the most ambitious season advertising campaign ever planned in the motorcycle industry, they stated. Starting in November, they will hit the general public with full-page national advertisements in Sports Illustrated, Playboy, Esquire and Outdoor Life, plus, in selected areas, double page color ads in Life and Look.
To whet public interest even further, each ad is tied-in with a national sweepstakes drawing for free Honda 50’s. They have also included a national dealer sales contest which offers such inducements to win as a ten-day vacation in Honolulu for two, a one-week vacation for two in Miami and'numerous other prizes.
Jack McCormack, Honda Sales Manager, says; “It may seem rather unusual for a motorcycle manufacturer to spend sizable portions of its advertising budget during a time of year when motorcycle sales are generally slow; however, Honda’s success has been largely due to its willingness to explore new areas of potential, and we feel that there is a real Christmas market for us to reach through the consumer magazines. Nevertheless,” adds McCormack, “Honda will continue to be a major user of the motorcycle dealer and trade publications, for they are vital to our entire line and to our dealer recruitment program.”
The two gentlemen in the photograph are Honda Advertising Manager Gerry Bruce, left, and Sales Manager Jack McCormack. They are holding a copy of the aforementioned two page spread.
MOTORCYCLE POLICEMAN ON MERCY MISSION
We occasionally hear of acts of extreme courage on the part of one of our motorcycle mounted police officers in the line of duty, such as the case of motorcycle patrolman John Russo in Bay Shore, Long Island. He recently sped a supply of serum to combat the painful effects of a dose of cobra venom through a violent storm from New York’s International Airport in Queens, to Far Rockaway, New York.
A young airport worker had a close brush with blindness, and possible death, when a cobra squirted its venom into his eyes from a cage in which it was being shipped. He was saved by the joint efforts of a Bronx Zoo snake expert and patrolman Russo. While the injured man was being rushed to the offices of Dr. Milton Greenberg at Queens General Hospital, Officer Russo raced with the serum from Dr. Herndon G. Dowling, Curator of the Bronx Zoo’s reptile section.
We would like to add our congratulations to Officer Russo for a job well done.
ROEDER NABS INDOOR SHORTTRACK HONORS
As an added attraction to his two-day presentation of road races at Indianapolis Raceway Park, climaxed by the 120-Miler National Championship, promoter J. C. Agajanian appropriated the coliseum of the Indiana State Fairgrounds and had a dirt track specially laid for the purpose of holding a shorttrack event.
Measuring only 580 feet around the inside edge, the tiny 1/8 mile oval was taken in one big broadslide by most of the riders, and the raucous din of highrevving 250’s was pleasantly deafening.
Main event honors went to George Roeder (leading Digger Helm and Bill Jasper in the photo), ahead of Duane Buchanan, Gary Nixon and Joe Messaros.
INTRODUCING, MISS WOW!
Continued expansion at the Milne Brothers “World Of Wheels”, Pasadena, Calif., has prompted the firm to name a “Miss WOW” for the occasion. She is Miss Cheri Caffaro, a Pasadena model, who points to Germany, origin of her BMW, while Jack Milne spots Japan as the home of the Suzuki he stands behind.
The firm has recently expanded its wholesale motorcycle parts division into a new 38,000 square foot building adjacent to its main offices. The global slogan stems from the International racing exploits of Jack and Cordy Milne, as well as the wheeled products sold by their firm.
These include: Tohatsu, Vespa, Lambretta, U.S. distributors for Puch motorcycles, Renault, Peugeot, Sunbeam, Plymouth, Valiant, Jeep automobiles. Bob Feuerhelm, the firm’s General Manager, also is a veteran of short track racing and once competed in the Mexican road race as co-driver with world famed Piero Taruffi.
BAIRD WINS CAYUTA 150-MILE ENDURO
Bill Baird of Sterling, Illinois, fought his way to victory in the rugged 150-Mile National Championship Endurance Run held at Cayuta (near Elmira), New York. The successful, well planned, and injuryfree run was sponsored by the efficient Schuyler County Motorcycle Club, and
98 hardy entrants turned out for the occasion.
Grand Champion Baird, Triumph mounted, wound up with a total of 990 points to best his closest competitor by a wide margin. Other results were:
CLASS CHAMPIONS: LIGHTWEIGHT: Bill Decker, Butler, N.J.............984 mi. BANTAMWEIGHT: Roger James, Ashville, N.Y. . 914 mi. MEDIUMWEIGHT: Owen Christman,
Palatine Bridge, N.Y___________________________________976 mi.
SIDECAR: Harold Ward, Rochester, N.Y........... 67 mi.
SENIOR: Carl Bergman, Clarence N.Y.............962 mi.
CLASSES:
CLASS A LIGHTWEIGHT: CLASS A MEDIUMWEIGHT:
John Wright, 972 Bob Cole, 974
CLASS B LIGHTWEIGHT:
Howard Smith, 964 SIDECAR:
Harold Ward, 67 miles
CLASS B MEDIUMWEIGHT
Paul Larrabee, 972 SENIOR CLASS:
Kelly Bergman, 962
LOST CAMERA
Dashing Burt Munro, the amazing New Zealander who went to the Bonneville Speed Trials with his 1920 Indian special has asked us to publish the news that he came away from Bonneville with someone’s camera and he would like to return it to its owner.
It seems as though on his last qualifying run three helpful fellows gave him a push off and one of them, he thinks, left the camera. Bert has it now but if the owner will write to me at CYCLE WORLD we will arrange for its return.
GUNTER, DOVEL SHARE DODGE CITY HONORS
Darrel Dovel, riding a 250cc Parilia, posted fastest qualifying time, won his semi-final, and came from behind to take the Class A short track feature at the recent Dodge City, Kansas race meet. Dovel is shown being congratulated by Parilia mechanic Mario Proccacino after defeating Triumph Cub mounted AÍ Gunter in the short track event.
Gunter roared back in the Class C category, however, winning his heat, the trophy dash and the main event, to finish well ahead of Triumph riders Gary Nixon and Dovel in the final 10-lapper. The track, due to recent rains, was in its bestever condition.
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Amateur honors went to Duane Shadley (H-D) over Don Shiflett (H-D), while Dwight Ratcliff (H-D) took a nip-andtucker from Mike Van Ness (BSA) in the novice ranks.
NSU FIELD TRIP
Not very many motorcycle distributors can boast the kind of rig Joe Strifler, Western States field representative for NSU and West Valley Cycle Sales in Canoga Park, California, owns. It is an NSU, pulling an NSU; Prinz automobile and Super Max motorcycle that is.
Strifler recently covered 4,100 miles through 9 States driving a handsome new NSU automobile pulling a tiny single trailer with a new 250cc Super Max for display. His average mileage for the trip was just under 40 mpg, as good as some motorcycles not pulling anything more than just a rider.
SEE THE U.S.A. ON YOUR BSA
Left to right are: Ken Marshall, Edd Garno and Tom Polk, all of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The three enthusiasts are enjoying an extensive tour around the U.S.A. which embraces a coast to coast trip, a jaunt down the Pacific coast and a return trip through the southern part of the country. The BSA’s were furnished by BSA dealer Sholly Cycle Shop in Camp Hill. •
