Round Up
ROUND UP
JOE PARKHURST
FOR ME, THIS MONTH marks an important stage in the short, but successful history of CYCLE WORLD; I am stepping down from the Editor's job and converting my designation around here to Publisher & Editorial Director. Starting with this issue, Ivan Wagar takes over the reins as Editor of CYCLE WORLD. My new position does not mean that I am divorcing myself editorially from the magazine; rather, I will now have time to work at the large, overall picture. Placing the magazine in Ivan's capable hands will allow me more time to do the things magazine publishers are supposed to do.
Other changes have taken place, with the addition of Dan Stockton Hunt to the staff as Assistant Editor. Dan Hunt comes to us with a wealth of newspaper and other forms of professional journalism experience. In addition to several years of pursuing the motorcycle scene both here and abroad for CYCLE WORLD and other publications, his work has appeared in such august journals as the London Daily Mail and The New York Times. Motorcycle enthusiast for many years, he has pursued a bit of dirt racing.
Miss Carol Sims has left CYCLE WORLD to become the Managing Editor of Southern California’s motorcycle newspaper, Cycle News, edited by another ex CYCLE WORLD staffer, Chuck Clayton. Carol will continue to be a CYCLE WORLD contributor.
I am also proud to have on our staff as Editorial Assistant, Mary Lou Ofield, who has contributed to many national magazines (including Dell Publishing Co., Extension and True West Publications) as a fiction and article writer and also has an extensive background in newspaper journalism.
Our staff has now expanded to 15 people; five in the Editorial Department, two in Advertising, two in the Art Department, and the balance in Readers Service, Circulation, Mailing and the secretarial end of things, and, of course, let’s not forget CW’s super-competent Business & Circulation Manager, B. J. Parkhurst.
We are increasing the depth of our Editorial coverage by launching a new system when testing motorcycles, with the acquisition of our own timing device Chrondek (makers of the timing units in use at virtually every drag strip in the United States, most race tracks and at Bonneville, where they time both National and International record attempts) prepared and calibrated a quarter-mile
(Continued on following page)
timer for us that will also give us top speeds. We launched the use of our new system last month with the BSA Spitfire Mk II road test.
We will be using Riverside Raceway
almost exclusively now. It has the only straight-away long enough, combined with a proper place for us to position our timers and still have sufficient time and space to get the faster bikes stopped.
Riverside also offers the most complete
and elaborate racing plant in the West, with facilities unmatched in the area. We will continue to occasionally use Carlsbad Raceway and Willow Springs as well, but our testing efforts will be concentrated at Riverside.
Being the largest selling motorcycle publication in the U.S. (our monthly average is now well over 100,000 — subject to ABC Audit, of course) and fast approaching the leaders of the field in England, this is something we tajee quite seriously around here. The expansion of the staff and use of our own Chrondek electronic timers, I feel, are evidence of our intentions to earn and continue to hold this leadership. We take our editorial responsibility in dead earnest and I think our readers will continue to see this attitude reflected in the constantly changing and improving stance of CYCLE WORLD.
TEAM CYCLE WORLD DEPARTS
As you read this in early June, Team CYCLE WORLD is well underway. TCW comprises four riders from the United States, who will compete in the Isle of Man TT races. The whole purpose is simply to prove that some of the American motorcyclists are top caliber road racers and certainly among the best sportsmen in the world.
Our team, Buddy Parriott, Don Vesco, Ron Grant and back-up man, Gordon Jennings, their tuned-to-within-an-inch-oftheir-lives Yamahas, plus a few hundred
pounds of spare parts and tools, are, as of this writing, almost on their way.
Our race, the “Lightweight TT,” runs Monday, June 13th. Two of the members will stay on for the 350 and 500 events riding Nortons, but not as part of TCW.
Our third and most recently added team member, Ron Grant, came to the U.S. almost six years ago from England, where he had already earned a considerable reputation as a road racer. Since Ron is close to being the best Europeanstyle road racer in the country, I feel his presence on the team will prove invaluable, as he has already lapped the Isle of Man circuit at 92 mDh on a Norton.
earned a consider(Continued on page 8)
Yamaha International, a firm that is genuinely interested in furthering the cause of American motorcycle racing, is loaning us the four machines.
Early indications were that Team Cycle World would receive the support of an American oil and spark plug company, but apathy prevailed, and, consequently, the team will race fully-financed by CYCLE WORLD, using European products.
Next issue will carry the results of the TT, and the following issue will carry a complete story with full details.
We hope to have a happy conclusion to the story.
50TH YEAR FOR BMW
Fifty years ago, the Bavarian Aircraft Works began production on airplane engines, little realizing that one day the firm would be building one of the most popular touring motorcycles ever to come down the freeway. Celebrating this anniversary in Munich, members of the firm’s staff filled the Bavarian State Opera House, listened to speeches and the Bavarian State Orchestra, and generally had a good time noting the passing of quite a span of years.
Alfred Bondy, president of Butler & Smith, U.S. BMW importers, was among the speech makers. He was joined by the Prime Minister of Bavaria, Lord Mayor of Munich, and other dignitaries. We add, tongue-in-cheek, that Mr. Bondy’s speech w?s probably hinged more than anything on the increase in demands for their products, and the lack of abilities to deliver due to the high demand. People keep trying to squelch the new 750 BMW rumor, but I feel pretty certain it is fairly eminent. Automobile production occupies most of BMW’s time and facilities, but it was the famous horizontal twin motorcycle that gave them their reputation, one they richly deserve. Happy Birthday, BMW!
MOTORCYCLIST REIGNS IN SPAIN
Spaniards seem to get a great kick out of idolizing and lionizing their sports champions, such as bull fighters. Take the case of Pedro Pi, the current motocross hero and Montesa rider. From Barcelona to Madrid, his fans go wild, as only Spanish afficinados can. Pi holds the national championship in motocross, reason enough for the smile of satisfaction and the gleam of silver in his eyes.
DOCTORS AGAINST CYCLES
A group of physicians who should know better, operating under the title American College of Surgeons Trauma Committee, have apparently decided to wage war against motorcycles. Why they chose our sport, which is, of course, among many that contain certain risks to participants, I don't know. But, war it is! They call it an “epidemic,” and profess to not be impressed with the fact that motorcycles are fun, convenient and cheap transportation. Rather than recommend a program of safety education, driver training, and a public relations effort of sufficient depth to create a wholesome atmosphere for bikes, the committee calls them “the most lethal weapons on the streets,” and encourages parents to “get your son a motorbike for his last birthday.”
(Continued on page 10)
Motorcycle mishaps are naturally on the rise; this is only normal, considering the rapid growth in number of users. The team of doctors points out that a considerable number of the fatalities could be reduced with the use of safety helmets, something we have been shouting about for some time. But, rather than try to influence parents and educators, who are prone to listen to such groups, they condemn the sport and talk of banning it.
It cannot and will not be banned. The accident and death rate is indeed something in which we are all deeply concerned. It will not stop people from using bikes; it merely points up the shocking need for public education, safety instruction, proper licensing and better understanding of the overall problem. We can do without total condemnation, it solves nothing.
As an example of the kind of constructive work that can be, and is being done, I recently was invited to speak at the Burbank, California region of the National Safety Councils’ monthly meeting. I was asked to talk about motorcycle safety, and addressed members of business and industry from the area, in addition to a number of law enforcement people at the local and state level. They were all profoundly interested in what is being, and can be done, about the motorcycle safety problem. They did not condemn motorcycling. Realizing that this growing situation needs attention, they set out to do something intelligent and constructive about it. It is with civic groups like this that the future of the motorcycle in public use lies.
COLORED LEATHERS IN ENGLAND
A recent note from D. Lewis, Ltd., leading maker of racing leather in England and a CYCLE WORLD advertiser, tells me they now offer racing leathers in red, blue, racing green, or in black with colored panels. Perhaps this does not sound too revolutionary to some of my readers, but they haven’t heard the conservative English comments on the costumes of some of our American riders, who have been ' sporting the handsome colored leathers made in this country for several years. Times change.
TRIUMPH PHOTO CONTEST
Triumph Corporation in Baltimore is at it again, with their photo contest. CW contributor Jerry West won the Professional Class last year with the shot of Bill Kennedy reproduced nearby. First prize in the Professional Class is $50.00, with $25.00 going to the winner of the Amateur Class. Awards are given to newsworthy motorcycle photographs with Triumphs the predominant theme. The winners’ shots will be used in their magazine and catalog publicity. Consolation prizes of cash are offered through three places. Entries need only send their shots to The Triumph Corporation, Towson, Baltimore, Maryland 21204, and everybody is eligible. Let’s see, where did I leave my Instamatic?
YAMAHA SPONSORS GURNEY AT INDY
All American Racers, headed by Dan Gurney and Carroll Shelby, held an announcement party a short while ago. This gave me the rare opportunity to sit in. an Indy car, and to talk to former A.M.A. Grand National Champion, Joe Leonard, who is also driving one of the Eagles at Indy.
(Continued on page 12)
MEETING OF THE MINDS
Motorcycling licensing procedures and traffic safety are important aspects of the task being shared by my old trailriding friend Bill Berry, governmental relations director of the Mortorcycle, Scooter and Allied Trades Association. Bill showed me one of the finest times of my trail-riding career a few years back, when as head of the Motor Scooter Association, he dragged me screaming up into the wilds of Utah, to prove that trail scooters really could go where bikes couldn’t.
He didn’t prove the point too strongly, but it was a lot of fun anyway. Bill (extreme right) is shown here at the recent Motorcycle Licensing Workshop with members of the American Motor Vehicle Adminstrators, listening to an explanation of the operation of a motorcycle. The MS&ATA staged demonstration offstreet road tests, to assist the administrators in reaching recommendations toward standardizing licensing procedures. Betcha’ it wasn’t as much fun as riding in the Wasatch Mountains!
So that my friends won’t think that I am anti-doctor or something, let me tell you what some other medicine men had to say about motorcycles. White haired, 65year-old, Doctor Robert Wallis is a New York physician who keeps his bike near his mid-town Manhattan office. A skindiver, skier, golfer, airplane pilot and motorcycle rider, he prefers the latter to the former.
“It gives me that feeling of freedom, speed and power that I get from flying solo,” the doctor claimed. “The engine responds so quickly, it’s a thing of agility. It’s like a dance, when I take a curve; I must have a certain balance of body, similar to a perfect dancer who has good equilibrium. As with a ballet dancer, you must have rhythm — the coordination of muscle and nervous systems. I also get a deep sense of excitement on a motor-
cycle,” Dr. Wallis said, adding, “You can compare it with bob-sledding or skiing, because on a bike you get the impression that you create your own road. There’s elation too, from the fresh air and from the power of acceleration, rather than the speed, when I leave a pack of cars behind. Yet I’m excited at even 50 miles per hour.”
In Chattanooga, Tennessee, another doctor, Dr. Foster Hampton, puts it this way: “Riding a motorcycle is one way to be absolutely alone. You are closer to nature, get the full view of sunsets, the wonderful smells of wooded areas. You don’t get that when you’re hemmed in a car.”
A psychologist with whom I talked maintained that motorcyclists are extroverted individualists. “If this were the day of the horse and buggy,” he observed, “motorcyclists would be the people who went everywhere on the back of the horse, not behind it.” Are you listening, doctors?
WISCONSIN TRADE ASSOCIATION FORMS
Mr. Edward D. Schneiderman, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Motorcycle Trades Association, Inc., dropped me a line not long ago to tell me about the formation of the group. Needless to say (as one of the more familiar cliches goes, but I’ll say it regardless), this type of association is badly needed in every corner of the country, and I’m happy to note the progressive attitude existing in Wisconsin.
Officers of the Association are members of the motorcycle trade, naturally, and one of their goals is the promotion of safety. Thirty-eight dealers make up the group, who are concerned with the fantastic growth of motorcycling in their state and their role in the problems facing this group. About 35,000 motorcycles are registered in the state, 15,000 of which were new 1965 registrations.
A guarantee of success and cooperation of the association was offered by Dan F. Schutz, safety director of the Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Department, who added the support of his organization. I’ll be happier when I receive notice that every state in the Union boasts such an alliance. ■
