Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126042
ver David Ernde an d Bo b Tigert rode a R9 0S in the top five - o nce reaching seco nd overall - on ly to be ham pe re d by minor p ro bl e ms. The b ike is th e same one Ron Pier ce rode to seco nd at the Lagu na Seca National p ro du ct ion race last y ear. It was bui lt by J o hn Ko kin o s an d hi s side kick , .. Red," of Bak ersfield. Kaming Ko pushed h is 5 50 Honda up from a fourth-row start through the early tr affi c. Gaining five an d ten p laces a lap , Ko turned consiste n t 2 :20 lap ti m es , passin g T on y Murphy o n a Lav erda 750, and in stalling himsel f in fi fth overall. Ko was unto uchable in th e 550 class, running several seconds a lap faste r than anyone els e. Bu t when pa rtner Rex Jense n to o k over the bike, a conne cting rod b ro ke e ntering Turn Te n , knock in g a gaping ho le in t he cran kcase . Riding a Yosh ima Racin g Service Ho n d a 400 in the 5 50 class (t he bike actua lly displaces 458cc), Pa t Eagan blas ted away from a st art on the same row as Ko, Eagan was seventh o veral l on the first lap , surrounded by I,OOOcc machines. He fell back in place as the larger bikes rea ched ' the straight, but st ill ran second 550cc. Unfortunately o ne of his riding partners crashed while leading th e class with 2:24 lap times after Ko's bike blew up - during the second hour. Bob Crossman and Scott Clough then led th e 5.50cc class, but Crossman was rammed b y a rider he was lapping. Jeff Steele and Ed Un in i won the 750 class last year . They d id well this year until trouble su rfa ced - a w-ire short, then a broken o il coo le r, finally a broken connecting rod in the last hour. Its just as well th at th e con nect in g rod broke. They had plugged the lines leading to th e re moved o il co oler with spar k plugs safe ty- wire in . One o f th e plugs had been almost forced out of the line by oi l pressure b y the time Steele coaste d in to th e pits wit h the b lown engine. Da le McCreary won las t year's 350cc class . This year, in the 4 1Occ class with teammate Whitne y Blakeslee (w ho rode th e Wally Karp y nec to wi n the 250cc class last year), McCreary had fo ur seiz ures, a d ead ba ttery, an d a lo st spark plug cap. The team sti ll finished second 41 Occ, eighth ove ra ll. But for other teams the race was be tter t ha n t hey we re expected. J o hn Glover and Clay Rice won the 4 10cc class wi th 2:21 lap ti mes on an RD3 50 tuned by T .J . Rice. They didn't have any problems during t he race , and ended up sixth overall, just behind Dennis David and Randy Davis (Kawasaki 900). Vance Breese a nd J eff Loughridge won the 550cc class w ith a s toc k Honda 5 0 0. Breese was o verjoy ed . "I've never ridden a J ap anese bike be fo re. They want to crash so bad. it scared me:" he sa id . ( Breese is kn own for his 500cc - BS A Victor, with which he do es well at Sears Poinr .] Curt Rellick and Gary Saunders didn't have an y tro uble, either, winnin g th e 2 50 c c cl a s s with a Scott-Clough-prepured e ng ine and list o f sponsors ND plugs, En gineered Mo t o r c v c l e Pr oducts , Suna rise Motorcv cles . Larry Lim a nd Art Friedman did well too second 2 50 espeically co nside r ing that their Can -A m had seized durin g a sprint race on Saturday. Me chan ic J o h n Stein used a file to reshape the damaged piston Saturday n igh t. And Chris Nuge nt had plen ty to be pleased with. Ridin g his first road race, Nugen t teamed up with 1I iark Hol mchick on his girl frie nd's st oc k RD 350 fo r third in 410cc class. T hat's not half bad. Of course, Holmchick's riding helped - he turned a 2: 25 o n the stocker. Results whenever A F:\I figu re s them o ut once and for all. • B ~ IW .-... .- 0.. -< :\lalcolm Smith RadII:': Prudnctv Int ro d u ces anothe r Gol d Medal p roduct Get booted. Malcolm Smith tSTAR' Gloves Designe d b y Mal colrn himself and test ed for o ver a y ear to develop the m o st ru gged glo ve possih le . T hese red , w hite and blue lea th er gloves a rc o f top grade leather with a th ickly p added palm and ba ck , Ava ilable in sma ll, medium , la rge, and ex t ra large at a pri ce yo u ca n a ffo rd . . . S19. 9 5 . Honcho Boots Touring Boots, black/bro wn The sa me d et ermin ation to be th e bes t , that goes int o Malcolm's riding, goe s into his products . Kawasaki Accessories let the good times roll. See I'ou r t.o cal Dcaler or w ri te fo r 10 4 p . catalog to : Ma lcolm Smith 16 89 W. La Cadena Dr . 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