Round Up
ROUND UP
JOE PARKHURST
ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS of Speed Week in Daytona each year is the Webco radio broadcasts. Each night Roxy Rockwood interviews riders and other motorcycling personalities on a local radio station that covers most of central Florida. In 1971 the broadcasts were made from the Hawaiian Inn, located on the famous Daytona “strip.” The nearby photo shows Rox interviewing National No. 1, Gene Romero.
I'he scene of the broadcasts each year is the social center for most of the after hours fun. Current plans as announced by Webco’s head, Tom Meininger, call for the popular show to be held during the running of the Ontario. Calif. 200, October 15 through 17. Rockwood will be the announcer for the show, which will be heard all over Southern California during the running of the largest motorcycle road race evei held, with the largest purse ever offered: $50,000.
MOTORCYCLE IMPORTS UP 44.7%
According to the reliable and well respected Ward’s Automotive Reports, motorcycle imports for “domestic consumption” increased by 44.7 percent over the 1969 figures. Japanese brands, of course, led the way with an 87.1 percent share of the market or 808,223 units imported. Note: this is the number imported, not sold. Many are still in warehouses and on dealer showroom floors. England’s 4.3 percent share was the second largest portion; the balance was spread among Spain, West Germany, Italy. Sweden, Austria, Czechoslovakia and l ast Germany.
Most significant shift was in the over 290cc classes, which, with Japan’s domination of 248,803 units against a total of 299,086, vs. only 140.649 for the similai period in 1969, showed a gain of a whopping 1 1 2 percent. Italian imports rose trom 1582 to 8327, along with considerable increases for West Germany, Czechoslovakia and Sweden. Ninetyto 1 00-cc bike imports rose by 65.9 percent; 190to 290-cc rose by 20.3 percent; 90to l 90-cc rose by 65.9 percent. Leaders by nation changed
somewhat; Taiwan dropped ter fourth place with 10,626 after being in third last year with 1 2.8 28.
NEW PROTAR MODELS
Hard on the heels ot Protar's two most recent additions to CYCLE WORLD'S model collection, the BMW sidecar and serlo kits, comes an all new, 250-cc, four-cylinder Yamaha model. This makes a total of 18 beautifully made, perfectly scaled plastic kits masterminded by Tarquinio Provini, a retired Italian road racing champion.
England’s Phil Read rode the 250 Yamaha Four to world championship victories, and Bill Ivy was clocked at over 153 mph on the Isle Of Man. The water-cooled original employed rotary valves, had an eight-speed gearbox, weighed about 254 lb., was (of course) a
two-cycle, and developed about 60 bhp at 14,000 revs.
It was Yamaha's answer to the Honda 250-cc six-cylinder bikes Mike Hailwood rode in 1965 and, to this day, Read feels the Yamaha Hour was quicker than the fantastic Honda. Nineteen sixty-eight was the last year Yamaha competed with factory-built and sponsored specials like this. The new Protar kit is a perfect memento of an era in racing that is gone forever.
NEW YORK TRAIL RIDERS GROUP
A pilot organization called the MidHudson Trail Riders Association, headquartered in Saugerties, N.Y., is attempting to organize all motorcycle riders in their area. By so doing, they hope to create a force that can reckon with such problems as: places to ride, loss of riding areas, finding riding partners, entering enduros, etc. Members of MHTRA are working toward the formation of a larger group, to be called the New York State Trail Riders Association, at which time the MHTRA would become a regional chapter.
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Anyone in New York State interested in joining should contact Robert Fahnestock, 5 Appletree Dr., Saugerties, N.Y. 12477. New York trail riders, as arc their counterparts all over the country, are faced with extreme problems concerning loss of riding areas and anti-motorcycle legislation. Organizations such as MHTRA and the future NYSTRA will ultimately prove their value, if properly supported.
MODEL MOTORCYCLE CONTEST
The Reveil company, the largest manufacturer of miniature cars, airplanes, boats, motorcycles, etc., has announced a contest for model makers with marvelous prizes for the winners in each of three classes. The classes are Best Street Bike, Best twoor threewheel Chopper, and Best Dirt or Racing Bike. Over 300 prizes are available. First prize in each class is a new 100-cc trail bike; 2nd prize is a $60 Drexel modeling tool kit; 3rd through 10th are $30 safety helmets; 11th through 25th, Carroll Shelby or motorcycle racing jackets; 26th through 50th are subscriptions to motorcycle or modeling magazines; and 50th through 100th are motorcycle patches.
Winners of each of the special awards (original design, best workmanship, most realistic, best bike built by boys under 12 years of age, and the best photo submitted) will receive a minibike. Contingency awards include a real Yamaha for the best Yamaha kit, a real Kawasaki for the best Kawasaki, a real Harley for the best H-D and a real Triumph for the best —you guessed it — Triumph. The contest is open to amateurs of all ages, excluding manufacturers, builders working for magazines, or anyone deriving a living from the model kit business. 1 have been honored by being asked to serve as one of the judges. The models will be evaluated on workmanship, detail, originality, paint, and realism. For full information write to Reveil Inc.
The contest closes December 31, 1971.
