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/126594
.' ~ . f.j ment? Jorg Muller, an individu al, has designed and built advanced two stroke engines which yield higher specific power than the Yamaha or Suzuki factory efforts . Likewise Rob North's fram ework com bine d with Ma rzocch i suspe nsio n un its a llowed th e sem i-disas trous "cost no object" NR500 H onda grand prix bike to a t least ha ndle respec ta bly , something t he company's own vast R&D de pa rt me nt seemed un a ble to a ~com~ lis ~ .. Clever engi neering by gifted individuals or small, creative com pa nies is a n Ita lian tradition much older than its mot or cycle ind ustry. An d , finally, I would suggest that Porsche, a small , crea tive com pa ny, ha s contributed mu ch more to what we now know about high performance tu rbocharger technology than Ren ault . a very large company whose efforts in th e field hav e been a nything but entirely successful. And guess what? Their pr oduction Turbo Carreras regu la rly return better gas mi leage in average driving than th eir normally asp irat ed brothers. B ~ WBST America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Sharon Clayton. Pu bl ishe r Caroline Gendry , Executive Secretary to the Publisher. Victoria Smit h , Advenising/ EditoriaI Assistant. Editorial D a ~ e Brown. Senior Editor. Mark Ka riya . Editor . Lance Bryson . Editor. Ka rel Kra mer. Assista nt Ed itor. Advertising DIC K HARNETT Sal es Manager. Herdan Corporation Port Clinton, PA Thanks from Hassay Skip Joh nson . Nation al Sa les Ma nager. Terry Pra tt , Sa les Ma nager. Du a ne Joh nson , West Sales Ma nager. Linda Brown . Ad vertisi ng Coo rd in a tor. nan Rod rigu ez. Advertisi ng Assista nt. Graphics and Production Krist in Cooper. Graphic Artist. Donna Shipman. Assi5ta n t. Mar ion Ha tashira . Typography. Dennis Greene. Labora tory. Accounting Mike Klinger , Ma nager. Donna Brya n. : ACClS. Recei va ble . Shelly Za io nz, Aut. ACClS. Receivab le . TnT)' Dailey, Credit Ma nager. Circulation Rheba Smith , Manager. Michelle: Berni er, Sarah Taylor. La Ne tte Vassar. Debb ie w alker , Lyna Hood. Assistan ts. Want Ads Jocelyn McMunn. Want Ad Sales . Services and Support Chris Aitcbescn. Reception ist . Gregory Hanson . S&S. . ~. West 2201 Ch erry Ave . • Long Bea ch . CA P.O . Box 498. Long Beach . CA 90801 · 0498 (2 13) 42 7·7435 ; L .A . Lin e 636· 8844 . East 4190 Fin, Ave .. Tucker. GA . P.O . Box 805 . Tu cker, GA 30084 ·0805. (404) 934 ·7850 . Cycle New . /West (USPS 141 ·340 ) is pub. lebed weekly excep t the first and last week of the ca lenda r year for $20 per yea r by Cycle News. In c. , 2201 Cherry Avenue . Lo ng Bea ch, CA 90801 ·0498. Second class postage pa id at Long Bea ch , CA . POSTMASTER : Send for m 3679 t o Cycle News. P.O. Box 498 . Long Beech. CA 90801-0498. Su becripnon rates: One year. seco nd class mail. S:ZO; two years . seco n d class ma il , S55 : three yea n . second class ma il. $53 ; 25 weeks. $11. Fore ign ra tes ava ilabl e on request . Cycle News welcomes u nsoli cited edi to rial materi al including stories. carteens , photos. etc. Such m aterial if pu b. lished. becomes the exclusive pro'peny of Cycle News. Su ch accepted material is su bject to revision as is ne cessary in the sole d iscret io n of Cycle News. Unsolici ted material which is not wed will be returned if accompanied by a sdf addressed stamped envelope. All un solicited material will be handled with reasonable ca re. ho wever, Cycle News assumes no respo nsib ility for the safety, loss or damage to such material. Re pr.in~ing in whole or . pan onl y by permWlon of the publishers. Advertising rates and circulation information win be sent upon rcqUOI. SeeS . R.D .S. Copyright'" Cyc le News. Inc. 1982. Trademerk Cycle News reg istered U.S. Patent Offica. All rights rese rved. ON THE FRONT PAGE: Bob " Hurr icane" Hannah ripped through the first two rounds of the Golden State Series with 2SOcc Pro wins. Entrants got more than they bargained for at tha Schreiber Cup trial s fmsetJ. Photos by M ike Klinger and Bruce Bernbaum . 4 Monza a winner After the ' production race successes of the-850 LeMa ns a cou ple of years ago . Moto Guzzi is back in the winner's circle again . A V50 Mon za , sponsored and prepared by Lone Star Cycle Mot ive of Austin, TX , and raced by owne r Da ve Milner , Max Brown Randy ~amiltim and , Roy- Shugan : won with supremacy th e 500cc Production class of the. eigh t-hour WERA/Continental Endurance Ra ce at Texas World Speedw a y on Dec . 5 , 1981. Second place went to th e WE RA 1981 champions on a Suzuki , 20 laps behind the Monza!! That little Guzzi just circled arou nd at high speed, lasted almost a n hour and 30 minutes on a full tank and a ll it needed then was ga s and a fresh rider. The bike never failed and after eight fun hours (eight cr ue l hours for a lot of other teams) all the bike needed was a ca r wash and it was ready to be used for commuting again . The onl y changes that were made to make th is Monza ready for end ura nce ra cing were Kon i rear shocks (it is hard to find a compromise if the lightest rider weighs 135 pounds and th e hea viest one puts 185 pounds on th e bike), and of course a d ifferent set of tires; it successfully ra ced on a combination of Metzel er and Michelin tires. Oil was supplied by Bel -Ray . It is also very int eresti ng to know that th e team (a ll No vice riders) fin ished sixth overa ll. tha t means it Ic:ft a bunch of larger displacement bikes , stock and modified , behind its littl e Italian tailll It takes more than quarter m ile performance to win an endurance race ; it takes reliability, excellent handling and braking, economy and speed to be classified as a winner. The Monza has it all . FRANS de WEERS Austin , TX Co leman hangs it up Wh en th e green flag drops on th e road ra cing season thi s yea r. thi s ra cer will ha ve a scoring sheet in his hand i nst~ad of a throttl e. Aft er 12 yea rs of semI-p ro and professional sidecar ra cing I have decided to hang up th e 01' leathers. It is very d ifficult to name every one who has helped my racing effort over the yea rs. In a nutshell I would sim ply like to say I hope they are as proud as I :tm of my three nation a l titles: numerous amat eur titles and severa l intern ation al fin ish es respectable both he re and overseas. . W ithout sponsorship a nd a whol e tr ibe of unsung heros it is im possible to do well in professional motorcycle racing. I hope I ca lf repay this wonder: ful spon for all th e joy a nd pleasure it ha s brought me by being as active as I can on the "opposite side of pit wall. " Thank you one a nd all , and see you at th e ra ces. LARRY CO LEMAN U.S . National Sid eca rs Champion , 1976·77 -79 Morini Turbo defended In the past few years I've read several articles by Alan Cathcart and ha ve always been impressed by his apprecia tion of individual achievem ent and th e Italian mo torcycle indust ry. So, I was surprised by his crucifixion of Moto Morin i's new 500 Turbo in his Milan show repon (Cycle N ews, Jan . 13, 1982). Your readers sh ou ld know that the Moto Morini Turbo is real! The show bike was not a runner. Few show bikes are . (Re: the original Honda CX500 Turbo.) But turbocharged Moto Morini motorcycles have been running under strictl y controlled test conditions since 1976 , and the production model . which will appear bo th here and in Eu rope in lat e June of th is yea r, will be very close in design and appearance to the prototype displayed at the show. One departure will be the fitting of an Ita lian built turbocharger designed specifically for th e motorcycle rat her than the Japanese IHI unit displayed on the show bike. Incidentally. the Morini Tu rbo is la rgely the work of long time chief engineer Franco La m be rrini , no t Paulo Zecchi as was reported. Questioning why Moto Morini . a small company, would undertake the com plexity of designing a turbocharged motorcycle seems strange too . Isn't it still possible for new ideas and original solutions to be born outside som e giant compa ny's R&D d epart - Now that 1982 is upon us. and even though I'm late, I would like to thank all the people who helped with my raci ng program in 1981 . My Carlisle tires gave me su perior tr action th roug hout the season. Ni pponde nso spa rk plugs kept my engine firing, and Kal -Gard lubricants protect ed it , my forks and my D.LD ch ain . Excellent Shoei helmets and MXL gloves, boots and shields protected m e when I inspected the racing surface up close. Mulholland shocks soaked up all the bumps along the way. When you spend four months alone going from race to race around the country. you come to appreciate the many people who help you along the way. Som e of th em were: Don W affle, Sa m and Willis Schaefer, Sean L:ipold and Vivian , Ron n ie Jones and hIS mom . Dusty Behrman and Will Jenner , Dave Brewer . the Carrolls, and of co urse my mo m and da d and Think Positiv e Ent erprises. T hank one an d alii See you at Da ytona! ROBHASSAY # 129E Fountain Valley. CA Correspondent correspondence I would like to thank Alan Parks, manager of Jim and Jim's Yamaha of Sonoma , for his support in helping me reach m y goal at enduro com petition during 1981 . I would also like to thank Cycle N ews and a ll th e enduro club members that helped me put together th e articles that covered District 36 enduro com petition in 1981. Probably the best ben efit received. as a Cycle News correspondent, was the opportunity to meet and work with a lot of j ust-plai n-decent folks who really care about the spo rt. Last, and most importantly. I would like to thank my wife , Ca rol , for the patience and understanding she provid ed when I spent long hours in the darkroom . at the typewriter and at the shop. It was really great to have Ca rol and my brother. Steve , join in at some of the events. Here's to another great yea r in '82. J IM BO W MAN Sonom a , CA Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Inc. Send letters to Voices. Box 4911. Long Beach. CA90801.