CN
III VOICES
W H A T Y O U A R E S A Y I N G
"All that is talked about is lowering seat height, bigger
windshields and softer seats. Well, here you all go."
Archives:
Motocross 1973
I really enjoyed this week's Ar-
chives article. 1973 was an amaz-
ing year in the history of moto-
cross. Not only were Americans
beginning to come into their own
as respectable competitors, but
also the nature of the motocross
bikes changed with the advent
of Yamaha's monoshock and
Maico's shade tree mechanic
response—forward-mounted
shocks. It seems to me that con-
tinued development of improved
rear suspension configurations
and front forks that could keep
up, dominated development for
the next 10 years. It was a tough
time for local competitors who
could watch their bikes become
obsolete in six months' time over
and over again. (It pretty much
priced me out of competition as
a high school kid who is attempt-
ing to pay for it himself), but it
was an amazing time to be an
observer.
I was at Rio Bravo the day
that Jimmy Weinert finally beat
the Europeans at a Trans-AMA.
Ironically, it was at an absolute
mud bath where you would think
the Europeans would've domi-
nated. If I remember correctly,
not only did Weinert win but also
Americans filled seven or eight
of the top 10 spots that day. Lo-
cal kid Kent Howerton finished
in seventh, I believe on a private
Husky, his first significant result
(outside Tex-AMA races; do you
remember those?).
I still distinctly remember
helping Sylvain Geboers over
the snow fence after his Suzuki
gave up the ghost. In 2006, I
was at a Belgian national race
at Neeroeteren to see Stefan
Everts race at his home track
for the last time. I had the good
fortune to speak with Sylvain
who was surprised that I re-
membered him from Rio Bravo
in '73 and graciously invited me
into the Suzuki pits to check out
the bikes. It was a magical day
for an enthusiast like me.
Well, thanks for letting me
ramble on for a while. It's re-
ally, really fun to dig into these
memories sometimes.
Jack Martin III
Harley-Davidson
Pan America ADV
I belong to a few different ad-
venture bike groups on Face-
book. All that is talked about
is lowering seat height, bigger
windshields and softer seats.
Well, here you all go.
Corky Madsen
The Buell Ulysses was their first
ADV bike that they should have
rebranded when they killed
Buell.
Ryan Kosanke
Roger Hayden
Retirement
Great career. Congrats. Going
out on your own terms. Nothing
wrong with that, RL!
Jacques Bernier
Best wishes to you, Roger Lee.
Thanks for the show. Best of
luck in whatever your next jour-
ney might bring.
Ricky Main
Letters to the editor can be sent to voices@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Letters
should not exceed 150 words and are subject to editing. Anonymous letters won't be considered for publication and each letter should
contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number… Editor
P6
