25 Years Ago June, 1981

25 YEARS AGO JUNE, 1981

ROUNDUP

Bikes—big and small, dirt and street—were, as always, the backbone of this month’s issue.

Tests of the new-for-1981 Honda CR250R and GL500 Silver Wing, Maico 490 Mega, Suzuki GS650G and Yamaha 750 Seca filled a large portion of the 122 pages.

• The tragic death of racing great Mike Hailwood in a car accident was reported in Roundup. “I can’t think of him now without being glad of the way I saw him for the last time,” wrote contributor Pete Lyons. “He was half sitting up in the saddle of a racing bike, slanting away in his easy, graceful way around the corner they call Brandywell, on his way down the Mountain to his 14th TT victory. The power came on; he whipped out of sight; the heavy yowl of the motor chased after him into the Island air. When it had faded, there was left a good, bellypit feeling of happiness for him. Mike Hailwood. Fourteen TTs.”

• Goings-on from Daytona, from the competition at the Speedway to the view at the beach, were compiled by Executive Editor John Ulrich and Technical Editor Peter Egan. The winners? On pavement, it was Dale Singleton in Formula One, Jimmy Adamo in Battle of the Twins and Wes Cooley in Superbike.

Darrell Schultz topped the Supercross race. As for the street scene, Egan noted, “Oscar night in Hollywood doesn’t attract show business people as thoroughly and completely as Daytona does motorcycle people. Anybody who is, was or would like to be something in the motorcycle firmament is there.”

Matthew Miles