Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Triump h unvell ed.two new model s at the recen t. Interna tional Motorc ycle Show in England. The most stunni ng was the TS8-1 750cc Bonne ville featuri ng a totally restyle d body compl ete with full fairing . The engine now sports an eight valve head and Bing·A mal consta nt vacuum carbur etors. Other changes include twin front disc brakes, gold anodiz ed wheels and dual headlig hts. Be sure to watch CBS' prnent ation of the World Speedw ay Q.ualifier on June 21. Check local listings. Bob Sirkeg len will be instruc ting a six·we ek summ er ....Io n on multicylInde r motorc ycle engine dlag· nostlcs and repelr at LA. Trede Tech. CJesaea start June 22. More Info can be had by calling Trade Tech at 2131746-0800 ext. 209. Accord ing to.prom oters of the ori~al Superb owl of Motocross in the L.A. Coliseu m. Stadium Motors ports, there's. a potenti al new AMA Super· cross Series sponsor waiting in the wings. Datsun , sponso r for this year's July 11 Superb owl of Motocross, will pay $6,250 to riders to fly farthes t off the track's Sandy Ridge jump. If this event goes well for Datsun , they'll con· sider a full series sponsor ship. HosPITal STOP: Kirk Bigelo w, the' oldest of the MX racing Bigelo w brothe rs, was seriou sly injured while racing in Canada on May 31. .Bigelo w broke his left leg in a first tum crash, and at one point stoppe d breath ing. He will spend two to three month s in the hospit al and anothe r month or two at home recupe rating. Send get well wishes to Kirk at 52711 Fayette, Rochester, MI480 63. The New Hamps hire Senate threw the propose d "pay for police" bill out of their chambe rs with a 22 to I vote against the bill. The bill as had passed the state's House of Represe ntatives was obviously aimed at the annual Laconi a Classic. While a few though t the bill would pass the Senate, the sound thrashi ng it received gives a green flag to the June 20·21 road race round of the Winsto n Pro Series at Loudon , New Hamps hire's Bryar Motors port Park. Junior class pro dirt tracke rs who wish to compe te in a Junior Invita· tional race in the Syracu se Mile progra m on Septem ber 13 should write the promo ter. A metho d to determ ine who gets invited and who doesn 't hasn't been formul ated yet. but will be soon. Write: Syracu se Mile, P.O. Box 11, Loudon, NH 03301. There have been almost more Grand Nation al Champ ions than one can count on both hands at recent Winsto n Pro Series events. In additio n to defend ing champ Randy Gass, the following former champs are compet ing: Steve Eklund , Jay Springsteen, Gary Scott and Gene Rome~o. On hand in various roles have been Mert Lawwill, Dick Mann, Bart Markel and Gary Nixon. Lawwill and Mann are getting their hands dirty workin g on the bikes of Mike Kidd and. Jimmy Filice. Markel and Nixon have opted to spectat e. "I will be back." That's the word from Cycle News Motorc yclist of the Decade John Penton. Penton underw ent surger y for torn muscle s recent ly and will be off two wheels for at least six weeks . You can drop him aline at Hi-Poi nt Racing Produeta, 3709 W. Erie Ave.. Lorain, Ohio 44053. Freddie Spence r's Winsto n Pro Series Nationa l win at the May 31 event at Road Americ a marked a milesto ne of sorts for the Louisia na rider. He has also taken wins in Superb ike, Expert Lightw eight and Novice road racing events. Rumor has il thaI Spence r is looking for a good sidecar ride and would also accept one for Ihe Battle of Ihe Twins in hopes of comple ting a sweep of all forms of AMA road racing in grand style. Got a video tIIpe set-up In your home? Yamaha now off-. severel excitin g tapes that yi,,: al pur· chase Includ ing At , the story of King Kenny Rober ts' 1980 World Champ ionship Roed Raca title winnin g ..-on . The film fee. ture8 .ome slow·m otlon close ups of corner ing, and It ends with a tribute to PetrIck Pons, the French Champ ion who lost his life during the 1980 racing seuon . At Speed Is availab le in both VHS and Beta Max torma t. for $36. Other films such .. King Kenny lWorId Champion 180 minute s), Grand Slam 140 minute s) which I. 10he story of Yamah a'. 78 motoc rou runaw ay Six Days veteran John Fero has resigne d from Yamah a and will be moving to Spring Valley, Illinois, where he will be starting a suspens ion modific ation and rebuild ing service center. Fera has been riding for Yamah a for six years and has spent five years perform ing R&D work with. the IT line. "I learne d a lot in my recent trip to Europe for the GPs:' .said lone Kawas aki road race team memb er Eddie Lawso n. "The only thing that didn't happe n was makin g any money . I don't think I'll be going back this year. I saw the KR500, but didn't get a chanca to ride one. I figure I'll haye one next season for the Formula One races here in the U.S." A May 30 meetin g among AFM decision·m alters ruled that the A-Trai t (or ATK) system will be conside red legal for use on Produc tion and Box Stock classes at their events. Dirt track motorc ycle racing will return to the Spring field 1II1inols) Mile on Octobe r 4. Bikes have been given a cold should er at the Illinois State Fairgrounds track since 1966 when Gary Nixon rode his Triump h to victory In a SCknIIe Grand Nation al Champ ionship even~ a A1moat meka ye WIInt to en/lst... Pen of the promo tion for the SIx-How, the 1111 ~Ion of the AFM ~ endura nce roM Budwe l• • , Is the "Take e lap with Mias HoII)w oocl" cont88 t. 8IIcIIy, WII cIvI can't em.r; It'. only for the mlllW y person neJ at eight . . One COII8011!11on: There '. e KawIJ .akl GPz11 00 loll . . In the 8oCeIgJveew ay. yeeh. the bike) Poet. n explain ing the ..... of that contM t will soo n.~at 1IucI.... ,... outlets .. well a • Knwa ukl cI•• I...... . ln southern CeIIfor nIe. probeb ly eround the first week In July. The Budw. ...r SIx-Ho ur Is achecIuIec/ for July 25-21 at RIvwaIcIe. Can-A m Team rider Arnaud Bernar d debute d his compe ny's new 12Scc water- cooler in Quebec, Canad a, on May 17. Accord ing to Bernar d, the bike was compe titive and handlin g was good, but top end _ Jacking. The next time the bike was raced a new engine was bolted in. Be.". d won the first moto that day and had the rear tire go flat in the second race. The prototy pe Can-A m has six speeds and case-reed induct ion instead of Can-A m'. usual rotary valve engine. Thoug h water- cooled , cylinde r fin. were ratalned. I e ..... ..... ClO 0')

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