| December 15, 2024
Cycle News Archives
COLUMN
Wish List
By Kent Taylor
According to the Beach Boys, “Christmas comes each time this year.” Motorcyclists don’t need any reminders from any pop music bands; we know to get our lists out to our families and friends early, ’cuz every rider needs something new for their two-wheeled obsession. And even if we don’t really need it, we still want it! Fifty years ago, Cycle News didn’t publish an official Christmas Buyers’ Guide, but thumb through our December 17, 1974 issue and you can still find plenty of good buys for the holiday season that was!
Got a tough kid? Get him a tough bike—in this case, a pedaling bike! The new Yamaha Moto-Bike. The kid provides the power, but Yamaha does the rest, thanks to a real “swinging-arm” suspension and telescopic front forks. Handlebars featured a crossbar and waffle-style grips, making the Moto-Bike a great stepping stone to the real motorcycle scene. $130 at your local Yamaha dealer.
Motocross boots have evolved from leather to plastic to a combination of the two materials. In 1974, you could still choose one or the other. Hi-Points were the “Choice of Champions,” and guys like Roger DeCoster and Marty Smith were sporting the all-leather boots that featured the metal plate up front for extra lower leg protection. Meanwhile, Harry Everts, Jim Pomerory and Gaston Rahier went plastic with the Heckel boot. The Heckel looked like a ski boot and offered plenty of protection. Plus, they were on and off and back on again in just seconds. Heckels ran $74.95 from Buddha Enterprises.
Be stylish like Cliff and Lisa. Vented jerseys from as low as $5.95. Cycle Parts has them in all sizes and colors, and if you can’t come up with the $5.95 in a lump sum, they will even do layaway!
First, we had bicycle motocross from Yamaha and now bicycle road racing from Newport Design & Manufacturing. The Monotrack Cafe Fairing turns a regular Sting-Ray bike into a ’70s style racer. The kit includes a handlebar, fairing, and mounting hardware. $49 gets the young Gianfranco Bonera in your house, ready for the Grand Prix season.
To win in motocross, one must first go slow in order to go fast. Nope—that’s not a line from the 1974 ABC television show “Kung Fu.” That bit of sage advice comes from motocross professor Gary Bailey. The early MX star took the script from his own motocross schools and put it into book form. Gary and his son David will demonstrate how to straighten out corners and offer up the best advice for how to navigate whoops (avoid them, if possible). Bailey says his method will slow you down at first but will eventually make you faster than you used to be! $6, young grasshopper, from Cycle News Products.
She woke up and took me by the hand—and showed me her Taylor accessories custom Chevy van! In 1974, every cool racer had a customized van, complete with lights, carpeting, mag wheels, stickers on the back windows and a funky mural painted on the side. Taylor Industries in San Diego, California, would have sent you a complete catalog with all their tricks for just $1. And that’s alright with me!
There weren’t many race bikes that were truly ready to ride “out of the box,” but Husqvarna’s 1974 Magnum came pretty darned close. Team Husqvarna said the only thing Kent Howerton did was “adjust the handlebars.” Together, the duo wrapped up the 1974 Trans-AMA Support class over Honda’s Marty Smith. See your local Husqvarna dealer for a bike that has “quality that inspires confidence.
Finally, as we said last year, why pay for something that you can get for free? Because it was a different world in 1974 and journalism that you could trust wasn’t free. For $10.50, you received 50 issues of Cycle News, printed on real paper and delivered to your door. Weekly news, not monthly history. Hurry! Offer expires January 10th, 1975! CN
