1970 Cycle World Show
1970 CYCLE WORLD SHOW
IF ATTENDANCE FIGURES are any indication of the state of motorcycling in this country, then we can only conclude that it is booming (but we already knew that). More than 140,000 people filed past the turnstiles at the Los Angeles Sports Arena for the 1970 CYCLE WORLD SHOW, an all-time record. It was not even the industry’s year for sweeping model changes. But interest is there, more than ever before, sparked perhaps by the new waves of super roadsters introduced in 1968 and 1969 and the continuing upward trend in sales of street-and-trail motorcycles. This year at the show we saw some remarkable new approaches to customizing motorcycles. Winner of the pure “show” bike category, for example, was not the usual chrome and epoxy wonder to which we are accustomed, but something more akin to a rough, primitive sculpture of the sort you would see in a museum of African art. It was Dan Shepard’s 1955 Harley-Davidson FLM, based on the actual motorcycle. Photographs do not do justice to its rough-hewn textural qualities. At the other extreme was Norm Grabowski's whimsically titled “PP & Vinegar,” which won the street custom class. The heart of this low-slung, smartly chiseled two-wheeler is a beautifully chromed Corvair engine. In the mainstream tradition was the street-show category winner, a 1955 H-D by Bob Richie, called "Doin’ It” —which it did. It is a great privilege to see the great old classics which enthralled riders of yore. Largely responsible for the big display at the CW show is a devoted group called the Classic and Antique Motorcycle Association. Winner of the classic-antique trophy was the fully restored 1937 Brough Superior, owned by Austin Munger. Eddie Arnold’s 1939 Velocette KTT Mark VIII, a 350-cc road racing Single, won the classic-competition award. In beautiful condition was the unrestored antique class winner, a dohc Moto-Guzzi ridden at Daytona Beach in 1948 by the late Ernie Roccio, now owned by John Cameron. Scattered throughout the show were other distinguished competition machines: Dick Mann's Daytona-winning Honda 750; the lightning-fast BSA Three which qualified at 157-mph at Daytona this year; and Don Vesco’s remarkable double Yamaha streamliner, which topped 220-mph at Bonneville last year and set a class record. Competition category winner was Boris Murray’s Class A fuel dragster, a clean, functional looking double Triumph which has topped 165-mph in the standing start 1/4-mile. This year there were two Sweepstakes awards given to a fantastic pair of three-wheelers. One was "Big Twin” by AEE Choppers. It is driven by two H-D engines coupled to four gigantic drag slicks at the rear. Its "interior” features black pleated upholstery and built-in hifi. The other machine was Dick Allen's fierce looking "Cobra Trike”, powered by a big V8 Cobra engine that goes rumpetyrump. It was all quite impressive, and to be expected from what is now the world’s largest motorcycle show.
