Cycle Round Up
CYCLE ROUND UP
USMC DAYTONA PROGRAM SCHEDULE
The United States Motorcycle Club tells CYCLE WORLD that four different races, highlighted by the second annual Grand Prix of the United States, are planned for their Daytona International Speedway program, February 3rd and 4th.
Tom Galan, President of the USMC, and Bill Tuthill, board chairman, stated that World’s Champion Mike Hailwood is expected to return to Daytona for the event. Hailwood’s running mate, Tony Godfrey, of London, England, won the 200 kilometer Daytona race last year riding a Matchless.
In addition to the 200 kilometer event, scheduled for Sunday, February 4th, to be run on the 3.1 mile course, a 125 kilometer race for 250cc machines will be held on a shorter, 1.66 mile course along with two 25 mile pole position qualifying events for NASCAR late model stock cars over the two and one half mile course. The two winners will earn the two pole positions in the “Daytona 500”, February 18th.
Saturday, February 3rd, will see a 60 kilometer event for bikes up to 50cc’s and a 100 kilometer for machines up 125cc’s.
Short track races will be run at Memorial Stadium on Friday and Saturday nights, February 2nd and 3rd. Practice starts Monday, January 29th.
Last year Tony Godfrey won the* 200 kilometer (124 miles) Grand Prix as Moto Kitano, of Tokyo, Japan, came through to win the 100 kilometer lightweight race. Finishing second in this event was Mike Hailwood, riding a Mondial.
In the lightweight feature of the summer races presented under USMC sanction, Jim and Kenneth Hayes of Johnson City, Tenn. paced the field of entries, and established themselves as top entries for the February, 1962 event.
40 CYLINDERS, 500 HP!
Rumor mills, being what they are, grinding away, usually exceedingly fine, produce some interesting information. The latest has it that one of Southern California’s leading Indianapolis car builders is toying with the idea of building a car for the Speedway with 10 (TEN) Honda 4-cylinder engines as power. Quick addition produces the phenomenal numbers of: 40 cylinders, 160 valves, 10 crankshafts, 40 rods, and the Lord only knows how many more moving parts.
We aren’t naming anyone, primarily because at present it is just a rumor. But the 500 horsepower to be gained from such a lash-up, assuming it would run and stay together, is a nice round number and would certainly put it in contention at the Speedway.
CYCLES ON TV AGAIN
Motorcycling got another TV boost recently, though only in the local Southern California area, when Los Angeles’ KRCA presented a wonderful show on motorcycles, particularly the hare and hound racing facet.
The main segment of the program dealt with the 1957 Checkers Club Desert Championship won by Buck Smith. KRCA’s Tom Frandsen told his audience a great deal about cycling; we wish more National mass entertainment media would recognize the entertainment value and interest in motorcycling on a nationwide scale.
HAILWOOD CHECKS OUT THE YAMAHA
The bare chested gentleman in the picture on this page is none other than England’s Mike Hailwood; he is seated astride a new Yamaha YA5. The scene is the recent Rosamond International Grand Prix, the bike is the first commercially manufactured rotary valve motorcycle in the US. The gentleman behind Mike is Jimmy Jingu of the Yamaha International Corp., who supplied the photo and pertinent information.
Mr. Jingu told CYCLE WORLD of one problem the makers of Grand Prix machines that also make road versions have that we hadn’t thought about. They recently circulated a brochure containing speed tuning data for Yamaha machines that gives details for obtaining a 50c/c power gain, but not quite the 26 hp (a 10,000 rpm that the Isle Of Man GP bikes develop. Which, it seems, is what some people would like.
HARLEY-DAVIDSON STAFF CHANGES
Charles A. Siler has been appointed Chief Development Engineer of the Harley-Davidson Motor Co., Milwaukee, according to an announcement made by William J. Harley, Vice President of Engineering. Before joining the motorcycle firm Siler was project Engineer for the Twin Disc Clutch Co.. Racine, for six years. Prior to that he spent five years as Design Engineer for the Massey-Harris-Eur^uson tractor firm, also in Racine, Wisconsin.
At the same time, Wm. H. Davidson, President of the motorcycle firm, announced that Richard A. Gaedke, Manager of the Kilbourn Finance Corp., has been elected Vice President of that wholly owned subsidiary of Harley-Davidson. Gaedke joined Kilbourn in 1960 and was appointed Manager of the firm last spring. Prior to that he was with General Electric Credit Corp. for 10 years in various supervisory capacities in that Company’s offices in Milwaukee, Peoria and Chicago.
