U.S. Trials On the Big Swing

U.S. TRIALS ON THE BIG SWING

Bultaco and Leavitt are Number 1

Mike Obermeyer

THE FIRST ROUND of the NATC-AMA National Trials Championship got off to a somewhat tentative start at Saddleback Park in May. Tentative because this was to be the first testing of the controversial “you can’t ride your own local event” rule promulgated by the NATC board, which is made up of delegates from all over North America. The results, and the effect of the rule, were promising. Top local riders turned out in force to set and score the sections, and the feedback was generally good. The event,

the toughest of the series, was won by Lane Leavitt (Bui) with 77 points over the modified CYCLE WORLD International sections; this in comparison to winning scores in the 20s for the remainder of the events.

Steven Darrow (Mon), who signed

this December with Yamaha, pushed Leavitt hard with 80 points, followed closely by Don Sweet (Yam) with 82. Some of the sections were extremely tough, extracting threes from even the top contenders, and most were dry and loose as compared to the wet-slippy seen at most of the later events.

After a very long, tiring drive to Northern California, the riders leapt into the second round at Red Dog, near Sacramento. Most didn’t hit bed until nearly one a.m., and then were faced with a slippery event on Tuesday that

abounded in elegant, Scottish-style sections. This “long drive” problem will be all but eliminated by the NATC’s 1975 policy of scheduling around three day weekends, wherever possible.

Leavitt was unable to ride, this being his local event, and Mark Eggar (Mon),

with his best ride of the series, narrowly eked out a 21-point win, in front of 2nd-place Don Sweet (23). Joe Guglielmelli (Yam) beat Bob Hopkins (Yam) on cleans, at 26 points, and Marland Whaley (Mon) was a tight 5th at 27. Sweet was beginning to look like a “comer.” Some of the cynics were muttering that Marland was tough on his home ground, but couldn’t cut it away from Southern California’s

peculiar dry

The Washington round, near Gold Bar, added fuel to the first theory, but dispelled the second. After a week of seaside R&R, the riders were beginning to adjust to the pressure of the series; the “local exclusion” rule had proved itself, and the beautiful scenery and sections fired the riders up. Whaley provided a convincing rebuttal to the badmouthing by winning with 23.6 points, a nice margin over Sweet’s 31.4. Darrow turned in another good ride to take 3rd with 35.4, and Leavitt, who appeared to be feeling the pressure, was 4th at 43.2. Eggar could manage only 5th at 52.1, and Kirk Mayfield (Yam) had his best series ride for a 6th-place 54.8. George Smith (Hon) followed in 7th at 58.5, with Hopkins slipping to 8th at 64.0. All of the riders incurred time penalties, apparently due to a miscalculation of loop time on the part of the trialsmaster.

Colorado’s Bill Schaaf (Suz/Kaw) had a bad collision with a car that was somehow being driven backwards on the loop. His only injuries were a trashed frame, some contusions, and shattered concentration. Nonetheless, Schaaf finished with fewer time penalty points than any other rider. The determination of all the riders in the Series was fierce.

By this point the “smart money” was betting on Don Sweet to take the Series, Leavitt had been put seriously off stride by his European tour and disappointing first-day DNF at the Scottish, and few believed that he could recover enough to pull it off.

In Rhode Island, the smart money took a bath. Leavitt pulled off a squeaker 24.5-point win, with the superbly consistent Darrow close behind at 29. Whaley was a distant third with 43, followed by Hopkins at 49.3, Marvin Heath at 50.2, and Eggar 6th, at 52.2. Minnesota’s Bruce Rhyti had his best series ride with a 53.4-point 7th place. Sweet was excluded from riding on his home ground, but still remained a favorite. The Rhody Rovers put on an excellently organized event, hampered only slightly by ground with little elevation change. This was the first exposure of most of the riders to really slippery Scottish-style rocks, and certainly their first exposure to sections laid out over crumbled pre-Revolutionary War stone walls. The trial was very challenging and difficult, and the club’s excellent radio link allowed a rider in trouble on the long loop to be quickly located. The Rovers took 2nd in the post-series NATC rider poll, based on their excellent organization and section quality. Lane Leavitt, who had been, in his own words, “off form” for several months, managed a distant 2nd with 39 points. Leavitt had come seriously prepared to do battle, with his machine in tip top condition and equipped with forward-mounted rear shocks (curiously sporting Téleseos mounted in an inverted position). Leavitt arrived in Colorado a week before the event at Cripple Creek and spent the week dialing himself and his machine in. Although Lane held off the other competitors, Whaley’s inspired ride was virtually untouchable.

The Pennslyvania event, held at the beautiful Roaring Branch Motorcycle Park near Williamsport, was the high point for many of the riders. The park is a converted estate that features a gracious Victorian mansion with elegant French cuisine. In addition, there are gorgeous moss-covered rock waterfalls, sometimes three or four in the same section. Sweet, with 25, edged Leavitt for 1st by only seven points. Darrow remained consistent by taking 3rd, but was far out of reach at 51. Eggar garnered more National points with a 54-point 4th place, and Washington’s Marvin Heath had an excellent 5th-place ride at 65.

The drive to Michigan allowed the

riders to “weird out” a little and blow off some steam. Multiple moonings occurred on the Interstate, large gobs of peanut butter were spoon-catapulted from sun-roof openings toward van sides, and baggies full of 90-weight transmission oil were hurled in retalia-

tion. The M.O.T.A. had elected to move the trial from the site of its two previous Nationals in order to put some variety into their event. The new site was perhaps not as good as the old one, but had some very good “bony” sections (as our English cousins say) and some excellent hillclimbs. Leavitt got it together again to win with 42.9. Whaley followed closely at 49.7, with Eggar 3rd at 55. Guglielmelli was 4th with 62, Sweet 5th at 78, the “Old Man” (Bob Nickelsen) 6th at 81, and Darrow slumped to a disappointing 10th with 85.

There followed a brief hiatus before the final three Central States rounds.

These events started off with a bang. Marland Whaley—hurting badly for at least two wins in order to put himself in the lead—came roaring through with a stunning victory in the Colorado round. Whaley’s 24 points left little question in the minds of anyone that Marland was serious about winning the Championship and a reported $5000 offered by Montesa for a U.S. Championship win by a Montesa rider.

The loop was a tough one set on rugged property owned by the Golden Cycle Corporation, a Cripple Creek mining and land development company. Trialsmasters Bill Brokaw and Bob Nickelsen had intentionally set a long, rugged loop with some very difficult and varied sections. The cappers to each loop were close to the finish line and were set in a creek bed near the Cripple Creek Municipal Sewage Plant.

Although the effluent was not septic, it was rich in nutrients, and the smooth rolling rocks in the creek bed had become impregnated with a super-slick algal formation that did not scrub off of the rocks.

Traction, as attested to by many of the RMTA members who helped set the sections (and who went on their collective kazoo in attempting several), was virtually non-existent and required very aggressive, calculated blasts of power at the traction points immediately preceding the rolling steps. At least one rider, on a Honda 125, found himself skating backwards for 20 feet down one of these inclines and bidding a fond farewell to his lightweight machine, which was held in the clutches of a “hooker”

stationed at a crucial point in the section.

The higher-ranked National-caliber riders didn’t have too much trouble with these sections, but those in the middle and lower ranks sported, in the main, chagrined expressions. After a series of sections of this ilk, the riders came back up onto a secondary road and were faced with the penultimate challenge: section 20, an incredible dry rock waterfall that opened up with a step nine feet high at a near-45-degree angle. The entry to the section was short and studded with grabber rocks that could throw even the best riders off the correct approach line for this sheer face.

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On the first and second laps the section did not prove too much of a challenge to the better riders. By the end of lap three, however, almost all were tired and almost all of the better caliber riders were having trouble. The real back-breaker in the section was the fact that after cresting the step, one’s initial instinctive reaction was to shut the throttle off to bring the front wheel down. Mother Nature had provided a trap for the unwary in the form of a second step about a foot and a half tall, which was spaced almost perfectly so that throttle shut-off meant that the front wheel would slam into this step, producing an instant stop. If the rider did not set the front wheel down exactly on top of the step and then unweight heavily to get his rear wheel over, he was faced with either a spinning rear wheel stop or a severe kick that would throw the bike out of line. Even Lane Leavitt had to take two lusty prods to get over the second step on his third ride.

Don Sweet finished a creditable 3rd with 46 points, followed in order by Guglielmelli at 48, Eggar at 49, Hopkins at 54, Marvin Heath at 63, Martin Belair at 65, and George Smith at 66. Leavitt was obviously disappointed. His week of practice and machine preparation had not helped him to solidify the lead.

Whatever personal demon had been haunting Leavitt had disappeared by the following Saturday. But first a word about Texas, folks. . . .

Upon our arrival, we were instructed in the arcana of Texas trials riding; “Don’t ride up in those rocks over there on the hillside because that’s where the rattlers are, under the leaves; don’t ride off the trail on the loop because those mesquite trees over there—those little low ones—got these big long thorns on them and they’ll puncture your tires; watch out for these feathery looking little bushes along the edges of the trails because they got stickers on them just like a cactus; don’t leave your boots laying around on the ground and then pick them up and put them on because the scorpions and centipedes will crawl in there looking for warmth. If you forget, be sure and shake them out before you put them on.”

All of this tended to unnerve some of us more than a little bit, as did the heat and humidity that unfolded on Saturday after the sun came up. It must have reminded Lane of the Bay Area though, because he turned on with a splendid performance. He dropped only 21 points and, in his own estimation, had trouble only with section 19, the final section on the loop. This section was a maze of tight turns twisting up a mesquite-covered hillside and studded with large jagged rocks and steps that slanted from right to left and had a tendency to throw the rider off if his frame touched even lightly going over them. Striving for clean rides, Leavitt got fives on both trips through this section.

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The evening before the trial had produced considerable hilarity, broughton perhaps by the intense pressure on the riders. One noted young Expert was streaking the balcony of his motel in Mineral Wells when his teammates (friends??) locked him out. The trial apparently came close to losing one of its better-known luminaries when the landlady went by on the sidewalk beneath and narrowly missed catching the young gentleman. One of the other riders remarked that he’d been standing over by the pole beans and had gotten mooned by a streak in a purple spotted bandana.

Mark Eggar (27 points), edged Whaley for 2nd place, Marland having to be content with 3rd (30). They were followed by Guglielmelli (36), Bernie Schreiber (41), Bob Hopkins (45), Don Sweet (46) who slumped badly off the pace, Darrow (46.8) Bruce Ryhti (47) and Mike Griffits (47.8).

Debuting the new Kawasaki 250 Trials, Bill Schaaf managed a creditable 21st with 103 points, following a two day bout with stomach flu on the road from Colorado. The Kawasaki, seen in Texas in a “pre-production” version, is very impressive—strong and tractable. It’s quite light and the geometry is such that the front end resists plowing. Altogether a really excellent first effort.

The Texas event, set on short notice on new ground, had more of the flavor of traditional U.S. “club” events, with its tight turns and nadgery, as opposed to the wide-open, slippery rock climbs favored by the more European-oriented event setters. The N.T.T.A. is not to be faulted, however; after the Kansas club lost its ground, Texas stepped into the breach, and saved a National round.

The Oklahoma round held near Tulsa was an appropriate culmination to the National Trials Series. The N.A.T.C. poll of the riders who rode the National rounds rated Oklahoma number one overall in terms of terrain and organization. Only the extreme summer heat and the location, rather remote from the East Coast, prevented the Oklahoma club (known in various guises as the Northeast Oklahoma Trials Teams, or the Tulsa International Trials Societymake up your own acronym), from being awarded the July 20th, 1975 International round. Because of the climate, the remoteness of the area, and the preference of the European riders for an easily accessible Eastern Seaboard location, the round was awarded by the N.A.T.C. Board of Directors to the Rhode Island contingent.

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The Tulsa event was a trials rider’s delight. The Oklahoma club has almost everything going for it: leased land that allows spectator control and a gate fee to help defray the considerable cost of the event; incredibly rugged ground, which allows very challenging sections to be set; excellent organization that makes it fun for the riders; and terrain that is compact enough to allow spectators to see virtually all of the sections that they desire.

We pulled up to the control gate at the entrance to the club’s riding area and were immediately and courteously directed to a special parking area set aside for the riders. Parking was handled by volunteers equipped with walkietalkies so that there were no lashups in this regard. The starting line was immediately adjacent to the rider’s parking area; it was thus possible to take care of last minute fettling and still keep track of your starting time.

Although the loop itself was short, the ground between sections was quite rough and it was warm enough that those who finished all three loops showed up extremely tired at the finish line. There were several DNFs, some caused by fatigue and some caused by the extremely rough terrain that really tortured machinery. Several of the sections were notable, including those called “Stone Mountain” and “Tire Grabber”.

“Stone Mountain” was no less than a typical Scottish section: a wide, pickyour-own-line, super-steep rock pile, which intimidated hell out of almost everyone. Spectators (an estimated 800 total), lined the sides of the section and cheered everyone, even the “turkeys.”

“Tire Grabber” was a bummer, there’s no other word for it. Half-way up a long, narrow, rocky gully was a canted slick slab that required a perfect combination of aggressive blast at the slab, unweighting to keep the rear wheel from kicking sideways, and then a throttle-off coast up the incline to the next traction spot. From there it was on to the final stunner, an almost impossible abrupt right-hander up out of the narrow gully over a vicious rock pile. A miss on any of the required slabclimbing moves meant that the rear wheel would head sideways into the infamous grabber slot. Mike McCabe had surreptitiously imported some haggis from the Scottish Highlands to hide in the groove; more than a few of the contenders felt it clutching at their Dunlops, and few made it past this point without dropping marks.

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Leavitt cleaned the entire section—to the delight of the spectators—on his way to a very convincing fifth National win, clinching the National title. Lane’s final score was a brilliant 28. Bernie Schreiber picked up 39 points for 2nd, followed closely by Joe Guglielmelli (40), Don Sweet (42), Martin Belair (43), Bob Hopkins (45), and Marland Whaley (46). Bob Nickelsen trailed this tight cluster at 57 points, for 8th place. Schaaf, on the Kawasaki, finished 21st with 103 points, an acceptable placing for this young expert on a new and untried machine. There was no question that Lane had put it on the rest of the pack. Thriving on pressure, he had run away from the best riders in the country.

Lane Leavitt’s Championship is deserving of special note because of the conditions under which it was acquired. Lane is salaried, but the salary is not large. He spends a large portion of each year on the road, often by himself. Hours are spent lifting weights and keeping his Sherpa in first class condition. Still more hours are spent helping struggling riders across the country learn the sophisticated techniques he has mastered. He gets no appearance or win money, although it is rumored that Sr. Bulto sent him a handsome gift following his win. He does all this without a fancy support team or tuner. On top of all this, he’s a decent bloke, don’t you know? si

1974 RESULTS

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