25 Years Ago October, 1974

25 YEARS AGO OCTOBER, 1974

The cover photo of Roger DeCoster stylishly wheelying his factory Suzuki at the 1974 U.S. Grand Prix must have had motocross fans roosting to their local newsstands for a copy of this month's issue. If that exciting image wasn't enough to bait mud-minded readers, then perhaps the "Win A Bike!" cover blurb set the hook. Honda's hot-selling Elsinore CR125 was Cycle World's bike-of-the-month give away. "There's practically nothing to do," read the promotion guidelines. "Just fill in the entry blank after reading the rules and mail it in on a postcard." Makes you wonder if any unsold issues were missing a certain page...

• Elsewhere in the magazine, we featured a 250cc CZ that was converted to street duty. Titled “Hatching A Highway Machine,” the story detailed Southern California CZ dealer Josef Kubicek’s project bike. Equipped with semiknobbed trials tires, a larger drum front brake and all the necessary lighting equipment, the ex-motocrosser provided the same wacky, wheelie-prone thrills as today’s supermotard bikes.

• Gracing the inside cover was a full-page advertisement for Norton’s Commando 850. Strangely, though, the ubiquitous Norton girl had gone missing. Whether her absence was an honest oversight or a costly marketing folly, it seems only fitting that a contemporary Norton girl emerged on the cover of our September, 1999, issue. Further proof that good things do come to those who wait.

Don Canet