April, 1967

April, 1967

"Legislators are working feverishly these days, bent on protecting us from our-selves...."

—from Roundup

IS TRIALS THE FORGOTTEN EVENT? Maybe so, now, but it hasn't always been that way. As evidence, we offer the fact that the April, 1967, edition of Cycle World contained a special section devoted exclusively to observed trials. This section was composed of an interview with trials legend Sammy Miller, three trials-riding features, and tests of a Greeves Anglian, Bultaco Sherpa T and Cotton Trialer, all in a memorable review of this interesting little corner of the motorcycle sport.

The cover bike, a beautiful BSA Spitfire Mk. Ill, was of great interest to me. By 1967,1 already had owned two BSAs-a 500cc Single and a 650cc Twin. The shiny new Beezer on the cover of Cycle World intensified my craving for another one, even if down deep, I knew my 250cc Honda Scrambler was more reliable and dependable than any BSA ever would be. Forget that this one, with its twin Amal carbs and a 10:1 compression ratio, went 117 mph, very fast for its day.

I remember wanting to install a roller-tappet cam in my Honda. A tech article on page 83 of this issue claimed that such a kit had lowered the quarter-mile E.T. of CWs Project Super Hawk by a full second and added all the torque that the 305cc Honda needed.

Mulling over the possibilities, I flipped to the back of the issue and read about Vetter’s new touring fairing. A touring fairing? Surely this was an April Fools’ joke, I thought. Who would ever buy such a cumbersome device? Just shows you how wrong a guy can be. Ron Griewe