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/126410
Claim ing rule: View from the inside We are feeling bitter today. This morning I watched Jon "R" pack his personal belongings to go off to th e next AMA National MX . He feels bitter. " W ho is go ing to get th is m onth's work ? Ma yb e I sho u ld get ou t of ra cing . I put th e last three weeks int o this new bike , What for? So som e nerd can take it apart to see why it works? It works because I have put a lot of time int o it , and because I have on e of th e best riders in the country to ride it. What else do they need 10 know ? What d o th ey want from me? My soult" These words coming from m ild manner ed Jon " R" make m e tremble . All you people out th ere who think the claiming rul e is ri ght , put yo u rse lves in t o the shoes o f the mech anic and ri der who ha ve put th eir heart a nd sou l in to th at e xo tic machine , It wasn't a n exo tic ma ch in e when th ey obtained it from J apan . It became a n exo tic machine a fte r 16 hours a d ay, seven d a ys a week of work and testing. These mechanics do not ea rn more money for putting ext ra time a nd heart into a machine. They ea rn th e sa me sa lary as a warehouse employee (wit hou t the bene fi t o f overt im e pay). T he exot ic machine is th e me chanic's ch ild a nd not for sa le. ' W h a t makes the factory ? Th e people that work there and put their hearts into it , They altempt to produce the perfect machine so we, the public ,' will buy th a t machine. If the product is reliable, the factory will ma ke money. If the factory makes money th ey can pay the m ech anic a higher salary and make a profit for their stockholders. If the stockholders make money , they will allow the fac tory to invest more into the ra cing depart ment , which m e a n s t h e mechani c will bui ld an even better machine . T he public will la ter benefit by t his improvement and the factory will make m o re money . And the professional racer will immediately hav e better tracks and b igger purses. Who are these stockholders? People that ha ve tak en the time and efforts to re view th e fa ctory and th en invested their own hard -earned money into the factory. This is a risky wa y to inv est you r own mon ey. But it is th e publ ic that are th e invest ors , and you are the publi c . You co u ld be mu ch more secure keeping your mon ey in a savi ngs accou nt and ea rn a gu aranteed yield. But these investors a re willing 10 take the risk in hopes th e Facto ry will be a b le to sho w a profit . Th ese stockholde rs control th e act ion of a factory a nd require each expe nse of the fac to ry be justifi ed. Ca n a fa ctory ju stify throwing a way mon ey on raci ng if th e bikes are cla im ed at \1,. of the cost of building them? T he mechanic then ha s 10 si an a ll over in a n attem p t to build a winning b ike j ust to ta ke anoth er risk of having t he new bik e cla imed . How long d o you think th e stoc kh o ld ers ( re a l honest-t o -C od people) will allow that to go on ? For ever ? I th ink not . If the AMA professionals want 10 pre vent exotic mac hin es from com peti ng in races, then the fa ctories will be ob ligated to have their exoti c machines raced within another club. There is no alt ernative. Perhaps the claim ing rule could be put into AMA Amateur racing, it does not belong . wi th.. professionals , _WI!.a,t. . .~~i' l professional would stea l (and for $3 ,500, it is stealing because the owner d oe s not want to sell ) another professional's work ? The factory riders, the privat eer a nd the mechanics are a ll real people. N on e were handed th e ir "goa l achievement " on a silver platter. It tak es work , tim e , investment , heart and dedication to stay in th e field of profession al racing . T o be a winner ta kes more . Just a little m ore , but it does ta ke m ore. Do you othe r real people thi nk you would want to stay in a field of professional racing , if every wee k you had to wonder , "W ha t nerd is go ing to get m y ch ild (ra cing bike) th is week ?" T he exotic machine belongs in p ro fessional racing. Because the more exotic machine is not necessarily more reliable . It does take reliabi lity to win . What other way can one prove th e work ings of a n exotic machine? If th e exo tic m achin e actua lly does win a rac e , the other factories and accessory people try to improve on it and make their own m ach in e better. That means a better product for th e p ublic just as soo n as the fa ctory ca n get it on th e assembly line . "O h," you say, "W here will it a ll end?" Hopefully, it won't end. W e need progress; no other industry is st anding still. Can United States motocross ra cers a fford to sta nd still wh ile Europe progresses? "W e hav e had th e claiming rul e for over 20 yea rs. Why cha nge now?" you say. W ell , maybe that is why U .S . motocross has been laggi ng behind Europ e in winning World Events , " We need the cla im ing rul e 10 prevent the factories (who are not people but some secret organization ) from winning everything and being unfair to the poor prioat eer!" you sa y, Why? It 's the goal of almost every privateer to obta in the coveted factory ride , so he ca n obtain the best. Who deserves the best , he who ca n afford it (the claimer) or he who has worked up to it (the fac tory rider )? Rem em ber , the factory rider was once a privateer, . Furthermore, it is the factories, accessory co mpa nies and shops that sponsor m ost of t he p rivateers in professiona l raci ng . It is the factories that invest big money into racing , so th e racers have the opportunity to obtain t he b igger p u rse. If the claiming ru le causes the stoc k ho lders 10 pull the factories out of AMA racing, where will the poor p rivat eer be? Think hard a bout these questions. Then , if you de cide that because you hav e $3 ,500 and an entry fee in you r pock et and want an exotic bike , go claim on e . Pu t an end to AMA ra cing as you know it now . We can all go back 15 yea rs, where the mechani c gets half of every t hi ng th e ra ce r earns (beca use there is no one to pay him a sa la ry) , and th e fac to ries will just send you stoc k parts (perha ps at a reduced cost ), a nd th e exotic ma chines will be go ne from th e Un ited States ci rc u it. The o nly problem with th is is when th e exotic mach in es a re gone, so will th e spe cta to rs be go ne . The on ly ones left to watch you ra ce wi ll be yo u r mechanic , girl fr iend and p arents. Ar e th ey go ing to front the pu rse , so you ca n win enoug h 10 m ak e a living , pay you r mec hanic or eve n ge t you eno ug h to pay you ba ck for th e cost in gett ing to the races? Read this again! T hink about itl And let your opin ion be known to t he magazines , papers , racer s a nd th e AMA . Let's get together and sa ve AMA motocross. Let's stop th e non productive peopl e from legally stea ling from that hard work ing , goa l oriented, productive mechanic , /I 'h . 1 " '0 I• •, , ' qar!?I.r:Jo-f.. n~ti~1 ? ~ UKE FlGHTI G A LO I TILE There isn't 0 dirt ride r who likes cha ng ing tires. It's a ha ssle . Metze lers, Yaka hamas, Goodyears, Dunlops, they 're a ll tough. That's why I'll ne ve r forget the day I found Lubri-Tech . Tire Moun ting Lub rican t. DON'TP CHATU E I spray plenty of Lubri-Tech Tire Mounting Lube an the tire beads and that knobby slips onto the rim witho ut damaging the tube or the tire. And when you 're ra cing - punishing tho se tires - the tire lubr ica nt stop s tube pinching a long the rim. ",,'... '" RUS E DO I found a nother reas on why Lubri-Tech Tire Mounting Lub rica nt belongs in a d irt rider's van . It sets up a seal between the tire 'a nd the rim grea tly reducing slippa ge of the tire on the rim. So I race a t lower tire pressures. 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