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/126442
big pan in 'riding. There are riders who are already defeated if it is raining or the trails are slick or rain prior to the event has turned it into a mud·run. The challenge is in conquering the terrain. Bad weather makes you find out just how good a rider you really are. You must be prepared mentally as well as physically for bad weather because you multiply your mistakes in adverse conditions. "1 really believe." he continues, "that I'm not at my peak yet. There is 'Still room for improvement with my conditioning. I need to increase my upper body strength which I am going to work on during the winter." Of the rigors of contesting the championship he says, "The hardest thing to do is ride the ISDT and then come back and get right back into the groove for riding endUTO&. To ride the ISDT you must devote your mind and body to six days of discipline which is relatively different from, say, riding six enduros back to back. It's hard to describe, but you're out of sync a bit when you go back to riding enduros. What you need, realistically, is a com· plete layoff of two or three weeks before staning up again. Unfor· tunately, you can't do that." H o 00 ~ .- eca e 0 rea ness By Gary Van Voorhis ~varna is well aware that Dick Burleson is a unique asset to their company. He is not a contracted rider as many people think, but an employee of the company. "I have never had a contract," he says. The job title (off road) competition coordinator is a rather encompassing one which involves riding, appearances at dealer gatherings and other functions, responsibility for overseeing the off road effort (desen racing, Baja and MX are handled by others in the organization) and keeping an eye on Husqvama riders in the field. In addition there is constant imput from Burleson to Husqvarna. ("He is in contact with the factory almost every week," says product and technical manager Nils Arne Nilsson. Two weeks prior to the Swedish and West German ISDT's, Burleson was at the factory prepping bikes and doing other chores concerned with the ISDT effort. In 1978 Husqvarna was bought by E1eclTOlux - a giant vacuum cleaner concern. It was thought at the time that the motorcycle end of the business might be c1aled down. It wasn't. In fact there is now more autonomy and things are smoother than before. "Husqvarna now knows where they stand and they are committed to us and our efforts. Things are much easier than they used to be. .. , If you are a hero, sooner or later somebody will name something after you. Baseball's Reggie Jackson has a candy bar, road racer Giacomo Agostini has an after shave cologne and Dick Burleson has a line of riding clothing and accessori~. "The items are what I use and have evolved over the years from what I found comfor· table, what lasted and what worked for me. It's interesting seeing your name on an item." Burleson is very quiet on the subject of money. If you press him with high figures . sources indicate that he makes over $40,000 per year . he will only shrug, smile and say "Husky takes care of me very wei" Don't forget, there is a lot more to my job than just riding. Also, I've been with them for eight years... He is very loyal to Husqvarna and it shows. Still, other companies would be foolish not to try and tempt him away. "Sure, I've been approached by other companies," he answers. "1 have been for the past three years, but I haven't considered leaving. Their offers have been good, very good in some instan· ces. However, it would take more than money to make me change to another brand. I like' Husky and they like me. We have a good relationship. It extends throughout the company. They are concerned about the bike and our off· road efforts as well as other facets of the spon. With a Japanese company, they might be here one season and gone the next. You never really know to what extent their involvement is." K ing Richard. The press and many others refer to Burleson by that name, but he doesn't really like it. He doesn't really hate it either. Rather, it is an ambivalent stance that he takes. "If people choose to write about me as King Richard or call me King Richard that's fme. It's been done so much that I don't really see or hear it anymore... Perhaps it is because Burleson is so down to eanh that he disdains the title. Surely, he fmds it hard to look bad at his record of accomplishments and say that he is not deserving of the title. And what of the future? Like fine wine, cognac or scotch that gets better with age, so does Burleson. If he says that he has not hit his peak yet, that he is still improving. that he has no plans to retire, then believe him. It has been proven only too well by Dick Burleson that he is in a class by himself. Not one of a kind. he is too real for that. And yet he is one of a kind and perhaps this decade of greatness will be followed by another. • 31