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/126307
; Da III: s t ..- 00 I:"O'l 1"'""'4 O'l .... 1"'""'4 ~ 0.. <. z i: o a; w '" ... <[ o > '" 22 .:L:!.....tL! L / ~ ..J~ Jack is employed as an Operating Engineer for M&S Concrete in Las Vegas. His boss, a rider and racing enthusiast himself, has been most cooperative about giving Jack the time off he needs for the out of town races. Over the years he 's had his share of bad breaks , not only of bikes, but of bones. He's broken his leg , ankle , collar bone, wrist , foo t. But, true racer to the core, as soon as he can ride again , he rides . His job helps keep him in shape, but before a big race or one he knows will be particularly strenuous. he runs and does the standard exercises. Husky has ยท sponsored Jack since 1976, and he, Larry Roeseler, ' and another top Nevada rider, Scot Harden, make up the d esert division of Team Husqvarna . It works out well for Jack because he personally prefers Huskies. I " If I had to go out and buy myself a new bike tomorrow, it would be -a . Husky ," he says. He is exceptionally happy with his current bike, and is enthusiastic about the new suspension. Except for the money races, when Husqvarna's Dean Goldsmith does the tuning , Jack does all his bike preparation himself. He does little to the stock bike to make it race ready. He gears it up a little for more top end. As he says, you don't always need it , but when you do you want it to be there . Bar height, grips , shock pressure (He uses Curnutts) , tires and tire pressure, are all a matter of personal preference which , he points out, each rider has to determine for himself, based on his own experience. ,Jack loves to race , He loves the desert , particularly the Nevada terrain . which he feels is more challenging than the California desert. He likes to spread his racing around . He likes to see how he can compete i'n other areas because, as he says, it's always easier to compete in your ~~n ballpark. '{ He is competitive: He says it's easier 'in a desert race to just get out in front andsettle back; you're going fast, bu t there's no tension. He prefers competition. The thrill of dicing it out with , ~meone and winning ,is "really neat! . ' Leading can be lonely. Sometimes, when he pulls into the pits he just wants to sit and talk for a few minutes, because he 's been on .rhe motorcycle for so long, and h e hasn't seen anybody. . He feels that leading is much more difficu lt than following. The first time you find yourself leading is a re;"1 shock. You 've been following for ~o . long - and you know how to do th at - out suddenly you're leading, and you realize you don't know what to do . It 's so~ethi.ng else you have to learn by experience. Johnson's riding style has been.the