Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Why did you leave Husky? Well, basically Honda ga~ me a better offer but I felt I wasn't gelling the suppon that I thought I should be gelling from Husqvarna. I did have a couple . of injuries and was kinda at a low point after huning my knee but I think they should stick behind you .strongly. I didn't feel that there was anybody behind me and I like to have a strong team behind me. I felt that there just wasn't any enthusiasm; that nobody cared about me and I need to know someone is interested. They pretty much said that I had to prove myself and I didn't think that was fair at the time. I e~n had to pay my own ex· penses to ride the Nationalsl Why did you pick Honda? Well, they approached me in the Trans-USA. I almost signed with Husky again but I held off and thought over the Honda deal. Husky said they were going to go for it and they were aware of the problems they were having but the Honda offer just sounded a lot better. Did you know DeCoster was going to ride for Honda? That was one of the main reasons I decided to go with Honda. I know DeCoster is going to help test the bikes and set them up so I know that they are going to be very good. He really knows his stuff. I've heard he's even been testing a different front end and they've done a lot of work on it. I don't know where they're at with it right now or if he is going to use it but it wouldn't surprise me if Honda came out with something like that. Were you concerned about Honda's lad. of recent success? I was wary of their problems but I saw that there was really potential for improvement. and they were trying to iron out the problems. Honda has had a weak team the last couple of years and they are really tired of losing. Ha~ you seen all the Japanese around the Honda pits? That's because they are going all out to build this bike to win. They went out and hired all new .riders and they are out there now solving the problems. They really want to win bad because it's like the Japanese have a thing going with each other and it's kinda like a slap in the face these last couple of years. I think we have a real strong team spirit right now and everybody gets along really well and is aware of the past. Everyone is working to/tether more. How do you like the new Pro-Link? The Pro-Link is really excellent already and there is a long way to go. We've only had it for testing for about two or three weeks and we've already gotten it working as well as Kawasaki and they've had theirs for'a whole year. It's got good potential and I know there is a lot more that can be had out of it. You rode the waterpumper at Anaheim but notat Seattle .... We had them at Anaheim just so they could see how they would work and they didn't really feel that it was necessary for stadium racing. I thought they worked really well and I'm not completely sure why they aren't using them but they said they want to do some more work on them. They have the same porting as the aircooled bikes and the same power but they are about five pounds heavier and that makes a difference. They are more trouble to work on because they are more complicated but I did like .them. Has the transition from Husky to Honda affected your riding? I haven't gotten used to the power of the Japanese bikes. The shifting and the steering and a lot of other things are different and it's making it difficult for me to find my rhythm. I haven't been riding that much either because I really like to stay off bikes during vacation and it takes me a few o 00 0') weeks to get back into it. I'll just keep building up until I peak for the 500cc Nationals at the height of the season. How about the switch from outdoor to stadium tracks? I've been happy with my results but I . really didn't have a good feeling for it. I haven't ridden many stadium races - it was over a year from the last one until Anaheim - so it's taking me a little time to adapt. I don't want to go out and ride over my head and take a chance at the stan of the season. You need good conditioning to ride the stadium races because the race is so intense. You only race for 20 minutes but you have to be in really good shape for those 20 minutes. I i).aven't yet found out what my specific needs for training are to be able to relax and be. comfortable for the 20 minutes. I'll have to look at what I did before the race and see if I can find that loose and relaxed feeling I need. Do you feel satisfied with your career 10 far? I feel good about how far I've come. When I first started racing I didn't think of it as my future. Even after I turned Pro and I was making money at it I didn't really know what I had in mind. I was number one in Oregon for three years and then I started looking at the Nationals. You know there isn't a direct connection from Oregon' to the Nationals lrke from California. It was like starting all over and it was lough but once I decided it was what I wanted to do then I just stuck it out. What's in the future for Chuck Sun? I've got kinda a three year outlook and I have a three year contract. I don't like changing in midstream so I've got three years to build a good strong foundation. Like Mike Bell was really strong last year and now with no changes to his bike. or his team, he can carry it right on into this year and have a good year again. It's that kinda thing I want to do. I don't want to race as long as DeCoster or Mikkola; maybe about six more years because I'm 23 now. Of course a lot of that depends on what happens in the world and if there is still racing. Right now I'm going to stay in the U.S. and ride the 500cc Nationals and if I get a break in the schedule I should be able to go over to Europe and ride a few GPs. I definitely feel that I have to return to Europe and retaliate. People really expected me. to do good and I didn:t because of my brokt"n wrist. Is Europe important to you? The most important - evt"r since; I started racing it's been my ambition to ride over there. The GP circuit is defi· • nitely the true racingl 29

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