Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

British tabloid T rials and MX N ews ranks American Bernie Schreiber aa the rider most likely to win this year's World Trials Championship . American Scott Head is waiting on a decision from the FMI, the Italian ver sion of the AMA , to find out whet her he ca n ride both the Wo rld rounds and the Italia n cha m pionshi p series. At presstime it appear that he ca n onl y rid e on e. End u ro circuit along with j eff Fred ette. Fero has been opera ting a suspension repair service in Illinois, but according to john. "What I really wanted to do was ride. I could have ridden another brand and cC'r.'octed in local enduros and Nationals in my a rea . As it is now, I'm going to ride the entire National schedule. " Fero also said he would compete in the AMA One-Day Q ualifier series, but that it would be his own eneavor . Privateers running the AMA Superbike Championship Series on a Honda or Suzuki can expect a financial boost if they put in a good finish. Both Honda and Suzuki will post $2.000 per round. up to ten rounds. and pay-off will be made to the .top ten non-factory sponsored f inishers on each brand. The awards from Honda and Suzuki will not affect the distribution of the reg ular purse money at series events. Rocky Williams. former tuner for the late Gaylon Mosler. has opened a dealership for Maico sales and service at 16868 Stagg Street in Van Nuys. CA. Called Rocky and Guenter Cycle West. the new business also offers motocross accessories. race prep. UPS service. titanium BFI fork damper rods. and best of all. a racer rebate good for 15 percent off Malco parts according to Rocky. Scotty Parker,' who is going to ride the Pontiac Supercross round, said that he : races Expert class motocross in the off season a nd d oes well. He doesn't ha ve a ride yet for the Supercross but is looking a t a Suzuki. He could make mo re waves than Steve Wise did if he could get his Harley XR750 into the main! U.S. Suzuki Is continuing its involvment in Superbike racing through the AMA Superbike Contlgency Award Program. To be eligible for the $2000 per event money. you need to be among the top 10 non-factory Suzuki finishers. so take heart. privateers I T erry Vance made a cou ple of exhibition-type passes at Orange County In ternational Ra cewa y in Irvine. CA, on his Suzuki T op Fu eler on Feb. 27. His quickest pass was a 7.20, and his fastest run netted him 195.65 m ph. DG Performance Specialties. one of the biggest American aftermarket firms. has been sold after nearly a year of negotiations. The buyer is the San Francisco. California-based Altair Investment Co .• which specializes in recreation business investments. Former ow~er Gary Harlow will stay on board " f or some time" to make sure the new owners get situated. A tip of the Wealey d uckbill to Maico's Andy Sta cy for lending a spare pair of MX boo ts to the CN/West staffer doing Atlanta mudbath duty. There was rider dissatisfaction at the Atlanta Superbowl of . Motocross. stemming from the fact that the track was not covered in spite of forcasted rain. Warren Reid circulated a petition through the pits. and the riders signing it asked that the race be run on a non-points basis. or ba rescheduled to the following day. " I was just the one walking around getting signature. for the feelings everyone had." said Reid. " The biggest complaint was that they knew the weather front was coming in. and they didn't take precautions like putting plestlc over the track. Just knowing that they had put forth an effort. then we would be happy to put forth an effort." john Fero, the man who spent so much time developing Yamaha's IT line before he left last yea r . has signed with Suzuk i to ride PEI75s on the Nation al A second draft plan by the U .S. Department of Tra nsporta tion to restructure fed eral obligations in highway safety has " tot ally ign ored" inpu t from hundreds of motorcyclists , according to th e American Mo torcyclist Associati on . Spokesm an at AMA headquarters indi cate that projects wit h the required "demons trated effectiveness" ha ve been side -step ped in fa vor of volu ntary seat belt programs, a pla n with limited scientific results in 'the United Sta tes. Pla ns supporting rider licensing and education may be in further jeopardy for 402 funding if all such programs are su bject to "evidence of prior funding," a criterion inserted in the second notice of Docket 81-12 ru lem aking . mark ing an ironic twist plans which have for rider tra ditionally been vastly underfunded . Sec tion 402 funds are fede ra l funds returned to states for selected highway safety p rojects . "We don 't think Co ngress mea nt for DOT to gloss over the opinions of citizens preferring rider training a nd licensing , in favor of a pet program of questionable effec tiveness in this cou ntry, " said Legislative Analyst Ga ry Winn of the AMA . "And adding 'pri or funding' crite rion ir onically adds insu lt to inj ury. since sta tes spent onl y 1.44 percent of all 402 funds on motorc ycle projects in 1981. It looks like DOT is j ust going thro ugh the motions and ha d no intenti on of introducing novelty , effective or ot herwise." AMA is urging DOT assert "strong leadership and advoc acy" of motorcycle safety programs to fullfill its congressional mandate of cost effective usc of 402 dollars. "Motorcyclists wishi ng to help ensure Congress receives an accurate picture of the public participation process should wri te to Docket 81-12 , Notice 2. and request immediate attention be paid to the previous comment reco rd, and that DOT acknowledge the effectiveness of its own studies on licensing and short-term training, " said Winn. "And don't forget to send a copy to your Congressman. in case DOT forgets to," added Winn. Interested readers should contact: Docket Room , Room 5109, Nasiff Bui ld ing , 400 7th St. , SW , Wa shingt on . D.C . 20590 . Papa has ' heard rumors of a new Open class Kawasaki in late '82 . and picture. from England .how .ome very production looking Open b1k.. In the opening raea of the Brltlah championships. Th.y look v.ry good. Britain will soon have their own ver sion of Supercrosa on a regular baals . It is doubtful th at we will be seeing any scnous head-to- head competitio n from across the pond since the Bri tish series will run a speedway-type program complete with staggered starts and team racing. The events will be run on modified speedway traclta and will probably be qui te smoeeh. Proposed forma t for the final haa all ri ders running head to ta il. When the flag drops, all will take off with every rider who is paucd dropping out until there is only one ri der left or there have been 10 laps completed. BMW of North Amar1c:8. Inc.. has announced plans for the BMW Twin Challenge/'82, an awards prog...m for BMW-mount8d racers In the 1982 AMA "Battle Of The Twins" Ama18Ur National ChampIonahip SerIaa. For each reca In the 1982 HUOn. BMW riders In aach of the four "Battle Of The Twins" c...... will be awarded pointe for c.... flnlahH through sixth place. At the .nd of the ....on, the top fly. riders will .ha... a .15.000 point fund dlvldad according to the final .tandlnp. As a epeclal bonus. the top rId.r ov....11 will aIao recalve a new BMW RIO GIS motorcycle. The Motorcycle Safety Foundation haa completed a study of motorcycle licenling rcxuIations throughout the country . The Motorcycle Operator Skill Test (MOST) waa adopted in five more states. bringing the total number to 10. The MOST test showed a 15 to 2 1 percent reduction in accidents d uring a five yea r stud y in California. PIg farmer D." Singlaton edmm-d In a recant IntarYlaw. "The pig has baan a good gimmick for me. but It'l alao cauHd m. lome huaIn. You gottB put up with ~klng him to a motal and carting him around In your van. .When I'm ...cJng In Europa. It'• . •vln more of a probl.m. Custom. won't let you go truckln' the aama pig all ov.r the world••0 you gottB tramp out onto soma muddy farm to find on•. You gottB find 01' Elmer wherever you can find him. Somatlme. I'll .nd up with the ugliest.. IIttIa old tarrlble pig. but people don't know the dlf· fa ...nca. I Just tall '.m. ·Y...lr folk• • thla her.'. Elm.r. and I tak. him everywher.'· ... Am eri ca 's most prestigious motocroll race, the U.S. Grand Prix at Carlsbad Raceway on june 19· 20. will be spo n sored by Nissan U. S. A. • distributor of Nissan and Datsun can and trucks. "This is our rust auociation with the sport of motocroll racing on an interna tional level. and we arc pleased to . be associated with an event that gar· ners so much worl dwide interest." said Ro bert B. Kent. Vice Presi dent of Marketing Services, Nissan U:S.A. Papa t..d a little mora Information about the TT .nd MX races thet Cliff Carr and Gavin Trippe itre gattlng togathar at Carlsbad. Apparently. all avante will ba AMA District . . . .nctioned and will pay District poIn... AMA card holders will ride for ....... v.rsua 11. and D-38 will be giving number one platH In all c....... Including ATV.. Race. will be run on first and third Sundays. For more Information contact Cliff Carr at 7141741-8li17• Suzuki will have four new motorcycle shows airing in the Loa Angeles area , The airing dates arc: DaytOfllJ Super- bikers on Mar. 20 at 2 p .m.• Duel in th e Dirt on Ma r . 27 a t 2 p .m. , Seattle Supercross on May 2 at I p.m., Drag Racing.. . On T wO WheelS on May 2 at 1:30 p.m. All shows will be on KABC . Sounds like the tube m ay be the ho t spo t on those daysl The y_ 2000 G...nd NationlIl Champion w .. born to Illnois Ex· pert PhIl o-cy and hla wIfa Diane on Feb. •. Papa wIahu the new champ the beat of fun In hla training. o ..... Up in the state of Washington , Six Pence M.e. founder and former AMA Class A Trustee Bill spencer has been named Sla te Motorcycle Safety Coordinator by the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. In 198 1. Spencer held a safety fair in Washington. and he has implemented seven rider safety courses around th e Slate. It's approaching the starting time for the annual TrailBlazers banquet• and this year's 40th annual edition will take place on Saturday night Apr. 17. The theme thil year is a tribute to the officials bahind the scenes. It will take place at the Brookside Country Club (next to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena) and tickets ar. $14 apiece. B.nch racing - with various 1 00 octane fuels available - begins at 5 :30 with prime rib dinner at 7. For tickets. send your check (m ad e payable to TrailBlazers) befora Apr. 12 to Earl Flanders. P.O. Box 2297-0. Pa..dena. CA 91105. The TrailBlazers is a frat.rnal organization of pioneering motorcycle enthusiasts. A new company was. recently formed by Lee Chapin. previously general manager for DG Perfo r ma nce Specialties. This new company will specialize in international trade. and service the domestic dealer network as well. The company is called DC Pro-Motion Cycle with emphasis on the professional in motion. Products currently offered incl ude specialized "Super Flow" panels a nd airboxes for MX and off-road bikes. exhaust systems for current model two- and . four-stroke motorcycle and un iq uel y . styled wea r ing apparel. Contact DC Pro-Motion Cycle at 1010 N. Ba tavia #j , Orange, CA . 92667,714/639-7480. Kawasaki'l Team Graen has released Its van schedul. for the month of March. All three vans wi" be In Atlanta on Feb. 28 for the amateur Suparcross race. Then the western van then gon to Blythe. .CA"f or an NMA race on Mar. 7. followed by a vlait to Arroyo Cycle Park on Mer. 14. Rio Bravo Cycle Park IMar. 19-201. the Houston Astrodome IMar. 211 and Prairie City OHV Park for the Hangtown MX Classic on Mar. 28. The Central van will hit Mo.ier Valley (M ar. 71 . Chlpola. LA (M ar. 141. Rio Bravo and the Astrodome on the prevlou.1y mentioned dat... and to the 69th& Douglas Motocross facility on Mar. 28 In Oklahoma City. Since there was no practice speed way facility in Ora nge County, local speedway ri ders reached an agree· ment with Saddleback Park to bu ild such a tra ck. with the riders supplying the wood and the labor. We're told that the labor poses no tro uble. but spokeswoman Ann McCasland asked for donations of wood. particula rly sheets of 5/8th and 3/ 4 inch plywood and 4 x 4 posts for the fencing. If you ca n help, call one of these th ree nurnben: 714 /875 -2365 , 714/ 6460327 or 71417 51·433 0. • ~ 7

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