Round.Up
ROUND.UP
ULTIMATE Z1 CONTEST WINNER
CYCLE WORLD’S Dale-Starr Engineering Kawasaki Z1 has at long last been given away. The winner is Ernest Shipp of Ravenna, Ohio.
Bob Rudolph, president of the American Motorcycle Association, drew his name out of a barrel containing more than 12,000 entries. Contest rules required that a post card be mailed in with the entrant’s name and address only. Those under 18 years of age and employees of either CBS or Kawasaki were not eligible.
Mr. Shipp’s Z1 will undoubtedly be one of the hottest bikes in the state of Ohio. The only thing keeping it from being the hottest bike is the fact that Mr. Shipp wanted a detuned version instead of an all-out racer. Thanks to the kindness of Graham Kirk, vice-president of marketing at Kawasaki, the winner need only pay for freight, tax and license. Pretty cheap for one of the fastest street machines around.
FOLLOW UP
Tl complete HE USUAL a motorcycle procedure when test we at CYCLE WORLD is to return the bike to its distributor. Many times the machines continue to be ridden and things crop up that didn’t during the road test. “Follow Up” will feature post-test trivia as it happens, for your information.
YAMAHA XS500C/TESTED JUNE 1976
Once the amenities of the CW road test were completed, the XS500 Twin found itself in an unusual situation. With the AFM’s Annual Six-Hour Production Race coming up at Ontario, we contacted Yamaha about entering the bike in the event just to satisfy their and our curiosity.
Rather than modify the engine for more power as allowed in the rules, the Twin was left totally stock, with the exception of changing to ND spark plugs. All safety-related changes madesuch as removing turn signals, centerand sidestands and taillight —were required by the rules. For more comfort at speed, Dick’s Cycle West low bars were installed, along with a Camber Company seat. Dunlop K81 tires were fitted front and rear, Torco supplied oil for engine and forks, and S&W shocks replaced the stock units. And that was it.
Suffering slightly against the fullblown Production bikes in the 550 class because of a lack of speed, the Yamaha nonetheless circulated the 20-turn Ontario road course continuously for six solid hours. Because our resident card-carrying road racer was already busy piloting a Dale/Starr Z1 with Mike Devlin, the 500 Twin was ridden by Dain and Alan Gingerelli, both very competitive AFM Production class riders. Dain is a contributor to CW and was quite impressed by the Yamaha’s rock steady handling at 100-plus mph speeds despite its near stock state.
Aside from collecting a fair share of bugs and grit on the front number plate, the 500 used just under 1 qt. of oil in 640 miles of wide-open running in practice and during the race. The Gingerelli Yamaha 500 Team wound up 4th in class and 11th overall, which is quite a credit for a near box-stock, totally streetable motorcycle. We liked the bike after our test and like it even more now.
BAJA SAFARI IN NOVEMBER
OVER ceived THE hundreds YEARS of letters we have from rereaders living all over the country, and even in Canada, asking about riding in Baja. Because we have always covered the Baja races and have talked about the beauties of riding in that relatively unspoiled and uncontrolled country, CYCLE WORLD has become a sort of clearing house for news and tips on the peninsula.
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Now someone has decided that some of our readers living far from the border might like to take a nice, long ride down that way. Thus, the Baja Safari was born. It will be a trail ride conducted over about 600 to 800 miles in seven days. Three nights will b e spent at different El Presidente Hotels, two at Mike’s Sky Ranch, and another camped on one of the beaches of the beautiful Gulf of California.
A sweep truck with tools, spare parts, a mechanic and even a spare motorcycle will meet the group at specially designated spots along the way.
Riding conditions vary from a small amount of pavement to well-graded and smooth dirt roads, rough trails, lightly maintained farm roads, some wash beds, just about everything but cross country.
The ride will be led and supervised by several experienced motorcyclists who have accumulated thousands of miles of riding in Baja over a 13-year span of time. I have been asked to take part, and, of course, eagerly accepted the invitation. Many details remain to be worked out, but as of this writing, plans call for the tour price to include a new motorcycle, all food and lodging, and such details as getting bikes and riders to Ensenada, Mexico, for the start. A buy-back plan on the bikes will be offered also.
Since many people not from the West might like to see the SCORE Baja 1000, the Safari date is set at November 8th through the 13th; the 1000 runs the 10th through the 13th, so one day of the ride will be spent watching that fabulous event. If you are interested, write my old friend Jerry Platt at 3361 Alabama Circle, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.—Joe Parkhurst
HONDA GL1000 DONATED
AMERICAN i tion general Motorcycle manager Ed AssociaYoungk blood has announced that the 1976 Honda GL1000 that was intended for distribution at AMA Amateur Awards Night on March 4, 1976, in Daytona Beach, will be donated to the National Hemophilia Foundation for fund-raising purposes.
Youngblood explains, “Following our drawing on March 4, it came to our attention that the holder of the winning ticket did not qualify according to the published contest rules. It was not possible for us to turn the motorcycle over to this individual, and unfortunately a large portion of the audience had departed, making it impossible to conduct a fair drawing.”
At AMA’s suggestion, American Honda has decided to donate the motorcycle to the National Hemophilia Foundation.
Youngblood adds, “We appreciate the understanding and generosity of American Honda in this matter, and feel that their contribution to our Ride Against Hemophilia is a most fair and commendable solution.”
CALIFORNIA OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE LAW CHANGES
T| inclined HOSE CALIFORNIA to operate their motorists dune buggies on their own private beach or transport their motorcycles from one racing event to another without proper Department of Motor Vehicles identification plates or transportation permits, may wind up spending more money on traffic tickets than on gasoline this year.
Legislation which became effective Jan. 1, 1976 (AB 1864-Chappie), deleted the previous fee exemption for off-highway vehicles (OHVs) operated solely on property owned by the vehicle’s owner, or of which the vehicle’s owner is a tenant. Owners of such vehicles now must purchase OHV identification plates. Plates expire midnight June 30 the second year after the year issued (plates purchased this year would expire June 30, 1978) and cost $15 for all or any part of the two-year term. The identification sticker must be attached to the vehicle in a clearly visible area.
A special $3 transportation identification permit is required for any motorcycle transported upon California highways and used exclusively for racing in sanctioned events within the state.
Violaters may be cited by the California Highway Patrol, city police or county sheriff departments.
The legislation does not affect nonresident motorists visiting California, provided they hold licenses valid in their home states. They may operate their vehicles without California registration for the period their licenses are valid, after which they must either renew their licenses or obtain California OHV registration to continue use of the state’s off-highway facilities.
Each $15 OHV sticker sets aside $5 for DMV administrative costs, $4 to cities and counties as an in-lieu property tax, and $6 to the State Department of Parks and Recreation for development of local and state OHV recreational areas.
