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/126455
Behind the scenes at the AMA Four-Stroke National Jeff Jennings wes the smoothest and quickest of the Pros In the Open class, making the 500cc Franks Racing Products Honda look Hlte the best bike on the track. Goodies on the bike included SR Products upper fork tubes and clamps mated to modified Malco sliders to give a front end with 12.4 inches of travel. Rear travel was 12.0 inches thanks to Ohllns reservoir shocks. Tricks in the engine included a Row-Rite head, Kenny Hannon cam and Basseni pipe. The complete Franks framed bike weighed 246 pounds. By Jim Gianatsis The AMA Four-5troke National at Carlsbad Raceway, sponsored by PDQ and promoted by Knobby Shop International, proved to be quite an exciting event. It was my first opponunity to ICC one of these annual compctitions, and it certainly won't be my lastl I don't think I've ever seen anything quite as exciting as Jeff Jennings, "Rocket Rex" Staten and Pierre Karsmakers among others in the Opcn Pro class fighting their monster machines side--by-sidc up the hills and then leaping them off the top of the big Carlsbad downhill at full throttle, swapping and quaking all the way down to the bottom. Iverytime their huge machines contacted the crest of an adobe whoop the ground would shake and vibrate 50 feet awayl Pierre Karamaken pulled off the overall win in the Pro class in what was his only U.s. . . - ~1C8 aI .,.... The bike he used to do it was Ken Combs' Pro-Tee Yamaha with 600cc monater motor by wrench Mercos Martinez. Re. shocks were Works Performance reservoir jobs, then Yamaha YZ legs up front. providing about 11.0 inches of travel at each end. Horsepower: 56 + . 12 Jennings certainly was the star of the day as he ran off with the win in the ICCOnd moto and might have wrapped up the overall win instead of Karsmakers if Jeff hadn't suffered a flat tire midway through the first round. Four-strokes won't be compctitive with two-strokes on the same: track until the same manufacturers really get serious about building lIOIDe ultra-light motors with ultra-quick powerbands. But when racing against their own kind, the four-strokes put on a show that is as exciting as a National class full of works two-strokes. The machinery at Carlsbad was as interesting as the racing itself. Most of the bikcs' owners spend the entire year just dcsigning and then meticulously handbuilding their beauties. You won't want to miss this year's event, and in case you did miss it this past year, here's a quick look at some: of the top bikes and stars who were on hand. • Winner of last August's CMC-sanetioned "other" Four-Stroke National at Carlsbed was Rex Staten out to defend his title with a new Aberg framed Pro-Tee bike running a "little" 500cc Yamaha motor. The bike sported Fox AirShox and Yamaha factory OW forks for 11.0 Inches of travel at each end. Other goodies included factory OW magnesium hubs and Pro-Tee's piston, cam and exhaust system. Claimed weight 242.5 pounds exaetly. Horsepower: 50 +.