Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

SCORE/ Pernod Parker 400 ..... Chester/Sparks defy the cold, whoops and s: u "- CO ~ en ~ z ~ pres.sures By -Lance Bryson PARKER, AZ, FEB . 6 Team Honda's Mike Chester and Curtis Sparks wicked their ATC Performance Factory-tuned Honda 250R into the cheering finish line to -place first overall Class 33 three-wheeler, with a time of 5:13:46:35 in the SCORE/Pernod Parker 400. The Parker. however. did not make things easy on the 13 threewheeler entra n ts. Second overall went to team J- Wheeling Magazine's Harry McDermott , Tracey Dickson and Mike Coe, with a time of 5:19:18.40. By 6:50 a .m. the moment of truth was about to come. The temperature ranged from 52 degrees to 25 degrees with the bone-chilling wind factor. The three-wheelers sat idle - nervous yet anxious, anticipating the start. Nothing was really said . It was as if some type of emotion had taken them over , some form of bondage between them. Rumors had been flOliting around that some of the Class 1 cars had let it be known that they did not like the three-wheelers and were ou t to get them . Jealousy entered into the picture. Somethi~,~o 'the effect that these toys were . g away some of their glory. Plus, the three-wheelers were moved from the last starting position to the second, ri~ht behind the bikes. Safety falls in this category, as they end up passing them anyway. First off the line was the Class 45 th ree- wheeler, of which there was only one. Dean Sundahl and Mark "W ax" Weixildorfer were aboard Team Honda's 550R. The rest followed suit in 50 second intervals on 250Rs Class 55 . Thunder Alley was the 55 -mile mark where som e of th e trading off of partners would take plac e. Sundahl pulled in a t 8:00 a.m , with Sparks two m inutes behind. This was not bad, considering Sparks didn't sta rt until 6:48 , almost three m inutes beh ind. Sundahl turned his bike over to Wax while Sparks turned his over to Chester. Dickso n came through but didn't change. Dickson, however, was eight minutes behind , followed by Tom Gildea, who turned it over to Wes Arnold , who was six m inutes behind Dickso n . As the front-runners were on the gas , Dickson was having his share of problem s. First his shock sta rt ed going , which hurt his back , th en th e ATC seized twice only four m iles ou t. "After it seized it was locked so I roll ed it back and forth until it broke loose , - th en went for it ," Dickson commen ted . Bob Briggs got off hard , breaking his arm and shoulder . His corider, Dan Chittender , took over and finished fifth on th e Cal ifornia side . Wax finished the rest of the l Hl-mile Cal ifo rnia loop , com ing in at 9:45:56 . Chester was not far beh ind, comi ng in at 9:46 :17 , with Mike Coe, who took over for Dickson at check two , following in at 9:55:50, and Arnold at 10:00:52. Matt Sweeney of Team Shrew nailed down fifth 250 at 10:18 :55 . . Down time was one hour from the time you clocked in at the finish. This gave you just enough tiine to load up, travel 27 m iles to the Arizona side , check your three-wheeler out and have at it again. But this time the course was 85 miles long. While everyone else went two loops back to back, the threewheelers only went one loop. Sundahl, who elected to run the Arizona side all alone, took off like a bolt of lightning, followed by Sparks three minutes later. Sparks ran in to trouble right away. " I think I was only about a mile out when I came to the big four whoop section - I cleared the first two. Mter that, the party was over. Next thing I knew, somebody was helping me up. I .really thought I bought the farm . You talk about being dingy, man, I didn't know if I was coming, goin~ , or already been there. I got on my bike and flat went for it. 1 wanted to catch Sundahl. All of a sudden I pulled into this big pit area. As it turned out, I was back at the start," Sparks reflected. There was another problem , Sparks had a flat . By the tim e it was fixed and he was back on the cou rse , Coe was 15 seconds behind. Sparks turned it over to Chester at th e-control monitor check, which was 55 m iles out. Coe , on the other hand, d id n't switch riders until check poi nt two, then handed it over to McDermott. "McDermott got ou t of checkpoint two ahead of me. Things started to fall together after that. It took me about four miles to get by McDermott . Ma n , that was fun ," Chester commented after crossing the finish line. What about Sundahl? Well , tha t was a good question. "You m ea n nobody got the message? Sundahl holed a piston about a mile before checkpoi nt two. He must still be ou t the re," Ch ester said. McDermott pulled into th e finish line six minutes after Chester , for a total time of 5:19 :18. T hird went to the team of Wes Arnold a nd Tom Gildea , for a time of 5: 25:51. "I could n't believe it. T he bik e was running so good, then . .. nothing. It must ha ve been at least 45 m inutes before th e next th ree-wheeler ca me by," Su ndahl comm ented la ter . .fTI' Th e new ATV s ec ialt catalog from R ~ k y . t he largest _ _ _ _ _ _. d istri!:!utor of M /C pa m an d accesso ries:.. _ __ _ _ _ _ _ __ ....:. hi~...~ ol o r f u l 16 =p~!l.e ca ta log fea t u~.~ T~ s _ __ ...;..--Jpo e.u l a r and hard·to-find items! a loni, ~ . with some items available fo r the first ay-bY .t im e. Order yo"ur ca ta loU .!!d ~ sendi ng $1 in check or m oney order t o: _ .. ROCKYATVCAT~A~L~O~G...;.._ _ Dept. SC·2 '-- ~ add ress prin1ed clea rlv . and vour c heck . Ro c ky sells on ly Its cata lo gs dIrectly t o - - - - - -..-----:,.:::;:::::lm ers =-r. em s - in them are available co n su ::-:::::. It;:;~ : from dealers every Where. • •a . B:OO'.29. B.Jerry Bretheny Rick Mecleen. lHonl7:14:43. l MFG.CO. EL.ECTRIC STARTER KIT For TheHONDA ODYSSEY GOKI Mfg. Co . is now producing an Electric Starter Kit for th e Honda Odyssey. The GOKI Electric Starter Kit features th e fo llowing: • Kit comes complete w ith all necessary mounling a da pters. ha rdware, electrical connections, ba tt ery box (ba ttery not includedl. and de tailed insta llation instruct ions. • Can ba easi ly installed by purchaser at home. • Rts all Honda Odysseys • Works in conjunction with stock recoil starter. • Built in charging circuit for the battery. GOKl's Electric Starter Kit (Part No. 05-1001 sells for $179.95. and can be or dered direct, or see your local dealer. GOKI Mfg. Co.. 9525 Cozycroft Avenue, Unit F, Chatsworth. California 91311 U.S A (2131~ COM PETmON POW ER UNIT SUPP UER MUGEN ATe 360R ENG I NE KITS Ir-----:----------...., 0 Results 1. Mi ke CheIt.lCurtis Sparks. lHonl5:13:46. 2. Harry McD-monfTracey DicbonI Mike Coo, IHonl5:19:1B . 3. W". AmoIdITom Gildoe, lHonl5:23:31. 4. Men S_ /M ike Bioetli IHonl5:46:03. , n 5. Bob BriggsIOen Wilmer1lJoh Briggs, IHanl =-:-:-_ . 10-- - - USA-CO.. LTD. - MUGEN 844 Sa"'" ~ Av...... H ~ CoIlfomle!l234li m4J 244-114a o o o o o o o o o o o o -' 0 o O..... lnquIrtee Invited '81, '82 ATC 250R Performance Parts 1liO.00 310 Stag. I Kit 1liO.00 Engln. ClIO. M.chlnlng: Crank R.bIILoncing 1150.00 250cc Pro Porting 136.00 250cc Blueprint Porting 110.00 250cc Heed Milling & Polish 25.00 250cc Piston Boost Porting. • . •• . • . . •. . • .. . . 20.00 Duel· Fiber Reed Petal 24.96 ReedBIock.TorqueSpec.r 21.96 J4.31tnm I""'k. M.nlfold 21.96 J4.31tnm _r.Jet Mlkunl Corb .96 Gun_ ~ Throttle & Coble • .• • .• . . ••• . 'D.96 K&NAlr_lStd.orKltlFrom 11.96 2IiO-3IOccMugen Alloy SIencer• ••• • ••• .• • • 42.96 Racing Fork Spring lOt 24.96 3IOcc Stage II Klt lPictur-.lJ 0 Louver Vented Front F.nde<• • . .. . •... •... •• _ 0 LouverVentedAlrBo"eov• . • • •• . • • • • . • • • • 15.96 N_MUGEN ·ATC_Only·.,...,Iog .. .. .. 1.00 o 9

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