Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

I method. MIC says they're planning to put together another one, probably to run in conjunction with the Motorcycle Dealernews Motorcycle Expo in Cincinnati, and probably on Feb. 13. Stay tuned for more details ... It's time again for the annual Laugh-In Trials. Started 11 years ago by Norton Villiers, the invitational trials event is kept flourishing by the efforts of Joe Parkhurst and Brian Slark who describe the competition as "just a lot of fun." Although the entry list is by invitation and limited to mainly to the industrY and cycling press, spectators are welcome to come out to Saddlebeck Park on Fri. Dec. 12 and watch motor· cycling's movers and shakers dab their way around the medium difficulty course. New race dates mean new show hours. Since Pace Management rescheduled their Winston Pro S'eries opener to a Saturday night/Sunday afternoon show, the Motorcycle Dealernews Motorcycle and Accessory Trade Show also got a rebuild. On Fri., Feb. 6, trade hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and consumer hours are 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Then, on Sat., Feb. 7, consumer hours are 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (No trade hours on S~turday.) Finally, on Sun., Feb. 8, trade hours are 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and consumer hours are noon to 2:30 p.m. Works Performance has moved. They now reside in a !iO% larger facility at 8730 Shirley Ave., Northridge, CA 91324. The phone is 2131 701·1010. Skip Hollister of Fox Distributing has been chosen as one of the top eight motorcycle riders in the U.S. by the American Motorcyclist Association. Skip, an eight·year Fox employee, was also recently elected lst Vice President of the Texas Motorcycle Roadriders Association. Scott Head IBull captured the Nov. 23 Last Chance Trial, making, it seven wins on the year and taking the American Trials Association's number one plate. Head, number two man in the nation, will have an Ital-Jet factory ride next year for ATA events, U.S. National rounds, and some European competition, with teammate Bernie Schreiber. Hey all you enduro ridersl If you won an AMA Regional Enduro Champion· ship, and did it with a Countdown En· gineering clock, then jerry Counts has a free T·shirt for ya. Give him a call at 213/348·8381 if you qualify. Kawasaki's MX team has shaped up for 1981 with Jeff Ward and Tom Benolkin contesting the 125cc Nationals, Warren Reid the 250s and Goat Breker handling the 500cc class. How about a proposal for 19B1? With the AMA National sched· ule about 99 and ~oo% confirm· ~ at this time it would appear to be logical to decide on a much talked about matter now, instead of on a hit and miss basis once the season starts, We refer to the 500cc topic and what, if any, will run in '81. During the past season some 500cc events were run but often with little advance notice and as confusing to the potential entry as it was to the fans. They had 500cc junior/Expert invi· tationals, they had 500cc junior·only invitationals. They had 500cc invita· tionaIs limited to single cylinders and still others where you could ride a twin or a single. So now is the time for all promoters who have been granted Winston Pro Series events for '81 to make up their minds as to whether or not they are going to have a 500cc event of some type. After all, if the AMA sets a dead· line now it would certainly help riders, tuners and potential owners alike get with the program and make it better than before. The individuals and companies who have been pushing for a 500cc ruling of some type should get behind this and force the issue. They have to if it's going to grow. Each National dirt track promoter should be given three or four basic rules and then a deadline to decide: (1) Should it be Experts and/or juniors? (2) Singles and/or twins? (3) How many laps? (4) Who is eligible to be in invited? (5) Purse to be paid for this single event within the National pro· gram? To gain popularity it must be the same at every track. Official or un· official points can be kept for the in· dividual riders who compete. Honda sponsored several of the 500cc events last year. How about the AMA contacting both Honda and Yamaha this time around and getting some type of commitment, awards, etc.? High point Honda rider? High point Yamaha rider? The 500cc events I was at last year at National events worked out very well. One big factor was when they were run between the heat races and the semis. This gave the riders from the last heat race time to get ready for the semi. In general, they were also good crowd pleasers, even though many of the entrants were of question. able talent, or lack of same. It has more or less officially/unof· ficially been proclaimed that Yamaha ~ill have some 750 V·twins in competi· tion for '81 but that one factor does not guarantee nor mean instant suc· cess and a total revival of 750cc dirt track racing. The rumor says that there will be about two dozen engines floating around for use next season. But the first big one is in early February and the second one in early April. Hardly enough time to design, create, tune and perfect the machine, let alone get proven riders to give up their proven H·D 7505 and go challenge for the title. About a decade ago when Yamaha first introduced their 650 twins, they cut it so close that the ships actually brought the machines to Houston and they were unloaded there and hauled over to the Astrodome for the National TT just days before the actual race. (They did not win.) When Harley·Davidson converted from flathead 750s to overhead 7505 it took them a full season· plus to get them sorted out. It is certainly a plus to see Yamaha rumored to be coming back into half mile and mile track racing at this time but let's be fair to Yamaha and most of all, let's not forget all about the 500cc effort that did get off the ground to a degree in '80. Many of us feel that if some type of organized and pre·determined 500cc event can be slated for many of the National dirt track events, there will again be Honda and Yamaha involve· ment of some type. If the program continued to survive, with assistance from the right places, then it is a matter of time before Kawasaki and Suzuki will join in. Who knows, H·D may even bring out the 500 they have been working withl Down the road there is no reason to think that the current dirt track format for both National and non· National racing could not be changed [0 have both 500 and 750cc events. Change is something that often times comes very slowly in the realm of cycle racing and the 500cc c1assifica· tion is just one of the la test innovations that has been a topic of late. For those that were speaking out all of 1980 and part of '79 - don't let it die down now. just get it confirmed if you want it to be bigger and better in '81. It can get off to a good stan by know· ing where. how and who will be involved in 500cc racing next season. The time to decide that is now, not the week or two before the event. • Roxy Rockwood Mont888 introduced two new machines for '81, the 200 Cote Ishown) and a 380He Enduro model. The little Cote weighs in at 204 lb. and $2.089 list. The Enduro features tank. seat. shift lever and countershaft sprocket that are removable without tools, a 250 lb. weight and a price tag set at $2.399. 488cc Here's Maico's 1981 Mega 2 Type 352. the "490" MXer. The engine churns out a claimed 53 horsepower. The powerplant is housed in a new lightweight frame and features include a longer swingarm, 12.2" front and rear wheel travel via new adjustable and rebuildable Corte & Cosso piggyback shocks and 42mm fork. new lightweight clutch, new front hub, a redesigned primary chain. new air filter box, quick change rear wheel, and bigger spokes with a new lacing pattern. The total earth-moving package weighs in at a claimed 224 pounds. The biggest of the big. KTM's 495 motocrosser claims 53 hp DIN at the countershaft sprocket and a weight of 228 lb. It's the 4.3 hp per pound that makes those eyeballs grow ... 3

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