Round Up
ROUND UP
JOE PARKHURST
COMPLAINT AT SADDLEBACK
Saddleback Park is really doing it these days. The first motocross has been run on the Joel Robert designed course. The accom-panying photo shows Gunnar Lindstrom and Larrsen, the two young Swedish motocross riders employed by the Husqvarna distributor to ride in western events. Saddleback’s first event was a California Motocross Club sanctioned race and was a smashing success. Orange County Motorcycle Club has staged a sportsmens TT on the Saddleback TT course, so the park is well on its way to becoming a permanent fixture in western racing.
Early in the park’s opening days, we had a bit of trouble with some distant neighbors who complained about the noise carrying several miles into a very expensive residential district. Result of the complaints is that the motocross course will be farther back into the park, and that the former track will be converted into a “mufflers required” area.
Things worked out well in the long run, the park goes on, but the Robert course can’t be used. Bad luck, but it won’t hurt things. The new course will be laid out with the assistance of the Motocross Club and some of the better riders in that group-Walt Axthelm, Preston Petty, Ron Nelson, J.N. Roberts-and a lot of others.
Saddleback’s/Cycle World Motocross Grand Prix, Nov. 23 and 24, will have official teams from the CZ and Husqvarna factories, with Torsten Hallman, Joel Robert, Roger de Coster, Ake Johanssen, Dave Bickers, and, if things work out, East Germany’s Paul Friedrichs. We are trying to get permission for Russia’s Victor Arbekov to be allowed to come for the series as well, but politics are hard to fight. All of the Europeans will ride at Pepperell, in the Midwest, Kansas, San Francisco, a date to be announced in Los Angeles, then San Diego, finishing the round at Saddleback. What a month that will be for international racing.
MOTORCYCLES IN ART
Two separate events occurred a short time ago, wherein motorcycles were treated as objects of art. One was at the Milwaukee Art Center in a display of objets d’art of the 1930s; a 1930 Harley-Davidson stood out prominently. The show was full of works by Picasso and Renoir, and one we can all understand, the good old Big Turn Harley. The other occasion where motorcycles were treated as works of art was in Pasadena, Calif., where two of my Hondas, the fabulous CR-93 road version of the racer, and CYCLE WORLD’S CB-77, made into a 350 and customized, were displayed. Bud Ekins owns the Triumph Metisse road racer in the scene. Pomona College held an “art” display of machinery that had been “personalized,” not customized, to suit special functions, that retained a certain type of mechanical beauty. Their selection of machines included cars and motorcycles. It’s really nice to see bikes in such handsome settings. Makes me wish I had more room in the L.A. Sports Arena for the CYCLE WORLD SHOW.
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NEW BMW QUARTERS
The exodus from the congestion and foul air of the cities continues, this time with the moving of the BMW distributors, Butler & Smith, from Manhattan to the wilds of New Jersey. BMW dealer meetings highlighted the activity, showing the new telescopic fork models. Norwood is the name of the town. The mayor, John L. Falkenstern, helped Butler & Smith's Michael Bondy break ground for the handsome new building which will feature several innovations in stock and inventory control. Hermann Boensch, director of BMW, came over from Munich, Germany, for the occasion, and heaped additional honors on BMW enduro and Six Days riding ace John Penton for his cross-the-U.S. sidecar record set some time ago. Dealer meetings and a party were held at Tammy Brook Country Club, in Cresskill, N.J.
OFF THE ROAD, BIKES ARE BEST
Revenge, ah sweet revenge. How sweet it was to be in Las Vegas in early April to hear the incoming results of the Mint 400. Del Webb runs the Mint, among many other enterprising western real estate projects. I’m told he has become fascinated with crosscountry racing for buggies and other vehicles. Webb put up a lot of money, over $2000 for each of four classes. The 400 started in downtown Las Vegas to the accompanyment of the mechanical clinking of thousands of slot machines in the casinos that line the main street. Several hundreds of bleary eyed gamblers, off-duty dealers and stickmen, curiosity seekers, hustlers, and the like couldn’t believe the sight of more than 100 vehicles massed for the parade to the starting line.
Elsewhere in this issue Ed Orr reports the details of the event. I can’t resist some crowing, because I’m one (among many), who knows, absolutely, that motorcycles are superior off-road vehicles and can beat anything. But, a buggy driven by my good friend and partner, Vic Wilson, won the Mexican 1000 Rally (CW, Jan. '68). Bikes were right behind Vic. Motorcycles trailed Vic only because they became lost in the vast Baja desert at night. My earlier predictions were proven to be somewhat inaccurate. I took a hell of a lot of ribbing after that. I kept pointing out how J.N. Roberts whistled into El Arco, half way down the Baja peninsula, almost six hours ahead of the first fourwheelers. And, as I kept saying, his time, combined with the fastest time for the second half of the run set by TEAM CYCLE WORLD’S Vern Hancock, beat the four-wheel stuff all to heck. Like they say, and as I was constantly reminded, “Well, that’s racing.”
Well, like that’s still racing, but the bikes blew off the buggies and four-wheel-drive stuff so badly nobody in Vegas wanted to talk about it. Nobody but us dirty old motorcyclists, that is. The 1st place bike was ridden by J.N. Roberts, the same. He shared his ride on the 360 Husqvarna with Gunnar Lindstrom from Sweden. Another cross-country desert ace, Larry Burquist, riding Long Beach Honda’s special 305, was 2nd, co-riding with Gary Preston. Burquist absolutely shattered the opposition in Baja by arriving at the first check over two hours ahead of anything, and led the 1000 until his battery failed, just before the half-way mark.
Bud Ekins shared his Triumph with another desert ace, Max Switzer. They finished 3rd.
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The winning time for the 400 rough and tough desert miles was only 12 hr., 30 min., 30 sec. The odds makers estimated the fastest time possible would not be better than 20 hr. Of course they had never seen a hare and hound run or they wouldn’t have labored under this gross misconception. Course marking was shoddy, organization was wretched, and one long, rocky section was by-passed entirely by the four-wheel boys. The bikes, I am told, rode every inch of the course, and still beat the buggies, which had spent a good deal of time on the pavement.
I haven’t learned my lesson about making rash predictions. However, I say now, a bike will win this year’s Baja Mexican 1000 Rally, and you can make odds on it. The bikes that are being readied will have better lights. The long trail will be much better marked. Preparation will be more thorough, and the odds will improve because a lot more riders plan to enter. Ooooboy, I can’t wait. CYCLE WORLD will sponsor the Platt/Hancock combo again, and we’ll fly down ahead of the race and set things up properly. It’s going to be an interesting day for motorcycles.
PROVINI MANX
Exotic Japanese and Italian machinery has dominated the world road racing championships for years, but still the most famous racing motorcycle ever is the Manx Norton, the single-cylinder bike that has won in the neighborhood of 40 Isle of Man TTs.
The Manx now joins other well-known race machines in CYCLE WORLD’S range of models. Its stablemates are the fabulous Moto Guzzi V-8, the Gilera Four, MV Four, MotoMorini, Benelli Four, and Mondial Single.
The real-life Manx Norton is outdated and, in many cases, outpaced. But, with the G50 Matchless and 7R AJS, it still forms the backbone of 350and 500-cc road racing in many European countries.
The model Manx has been created by former Italian racer Tarquinio Provini, who is also responsible for the other CW models. His work is delicate and detailed, and has faithfully captured the classic, thoroughbred lines of the Manx.
