Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

I hope Bob drops me a note when h e gets his class of Senile 70s. I will then gather up my crutches, hearing aids a n d false teeth. hold an auction for enough money, and then go south to compete on my trusty 125 Floater. My record for '8 1: one third place because there were only three Old Timers competing with the Vets . But I have finished every moto I was in. C'l 00 o 0') - LO U BOUSCAL Middletown, CA WIST Official help eppreciated America's weekly motorcycle newspaper A special thanks to Billy Hilton and Bob Nichols for handling AMA and Distri ct card sales for our December 6 Lilliputian Race held at Sacramento, California's Prairie City OHV Park. This made possible a much more organized and faster flow through the si gn-u p trailer. Bob is District 36 Cross Country Steward and Billy is OT and Vet Steward. II's good to see the officials serving the riders and clubs. Thanks fellas. DIRT DIGGERS NORTH M.C. Sha ron Clayton, Publisher Caroline <:endry . Executive Secretary the Publisher. Dan Rod riguez, Advenising /Editorial Aulstant. '0 Editorial Dale Brown . Senior Editor, Mark Kariya , Ed itor. Lance , Bryson, Editor. Karel Kramer. Aaistant Editor. Advertising Skip Joluuon, Narional Sales Manager. T erry Pratt. Sales Manager. Duane Johnson , Sales Manager. Steve W ilson , SaIea Manager. Linda Brown. Advertising Coordinator. Nancy Danger. Advertising Asoisun t , Twiples? Graphics and Production Kristin Cooper, Graphic Anist, Dave Mc Combs . Auistan t. Marion Hatashita, Typography. Dennis Greene. Laborato ry. Accounting Mike Klinger, Manager. Donna Bryan . Aceta . Receivable. Shell y Zaionz. Asat , Accu. Receivable. Terry Dailcy, Cred it Manager . Circulation Rheba Smith , Manager. Michelle Bernier , Sarah T aylor, LaNette V ...... r , Debbie Walk er , Lyna Hood, Lisa Mudd, Asa... Want Ads Gayle Wh eeler , W ant Ad Sales. Dealer Sales and Service Na ncy Bragger. Dea ler Sales Manager. Services and Support Ch ris Aiecheeon . Recep tion ist. Gregory Hamon . S&S. West t t OI Cherry Ave.. Long Beach. CA P .O . Box 498 . Long Beach. CA 90801 · 049 8 (ti S) 4t7·7455; L.A . Line 656·8844 . East 4 190 fin. Ave.• Tucker. GA. P .O . Box 805. Tucker , GA 50084·0805. (404) 954 ·7850. Cycle News/ Wes. (UPS 14 1·540) is pub . lished wttkly except th e first and last week of th e calendar year for 5tO per year by Cycle News. Inc.. t t OI Ch erry Avenue , Long Bea ch . CA 9080 1·0498 . Second cI.... post age pa id at Long Beach , CA. POSTMASTER: Send form 3li79 to Cycle News. P.O. Box C98. Long Beech. CA!I0801-&498. Su bscri pt ion ra tes: One yeu. K'COnd class mail. $20 ; two yc:an. secon d class ma il. 555 ; three yean, second cI.... mail. 555 ; 25 weeks , Sl1 . Foreign rates ava ilable o n request . Cycle News welcomes u nso licited editorial material includi ng stories, cartoons. pho tos. etc . Suc h material. if pub lished . beco mes th e exr lusive property of Cycle N~. Suc h accepted material is subject to revision as is necessa ry in the so le discretion of Cycle New>. Umolicited material which is not used will be returned if accom pa nied by a self addressed sta m ped enevelcpe. All unsoli cited mat eria l will be handl ed with rea sonable care , however . Cycle News :assumes no respo nsibility for the safety . lou or da m age to suc h materia l. Rep rinting in whole or part only by permission of the publishers. Ad ver tising rates and circu latio n info nnation will be sen t upon request. See S.R.D .S. Copyright'" Cycle News. Inc. 1982. Tredemerk Cycle News registered U.S. Petent Office. All rights reserved. ON THE FRONT PAGE : Yamaha's Vision looks ready to hop on and ride away. which is what we did. An impression on it begins on p. 16. Photo by Karel Kremer. 4' Opan letter to American Honda motocross department I would like to take this opponunity to tell everyone that a united group of people you are. By united, I mean together, as one, a team . And I'd like to thank Team Honda - they know who they are - for their support and confidence in a boy who's had a lot of good luck , but for the past couple of years , has had a lot of bad luck. H e knows h ow to repa y yo u , a nd with your co ntin ued su p port , he will ! KAY LARSON Bremerton, WA Who was that lady? In regard to your article, "T he Gale Webb Story, " in the Mar. 3 issue: Well , now I know who that special lady is! I was at a motorcycle park several months ago with my two step-children with two borrowed motorcycles , and as a newcomer, was lost to even starting the machines . .Seeing this problem, this lady came over and helped us . She not onl y helped us get started, bu t loaned us some safety gear, gave som e stickers to the kids and spent practically the whole day work ing with the children, showing them how to' ride and the safety aspects of motorcycles. She never once got down on them and always encouraged them . I myself have not been able to take the children back, but they always watch for the motorcycle lady that they idolized that day. Thanks again, Gale, for all your help. MARY MERKEL Orange, CA P.S . Enjoyed the article very much. Gale is a very unique young lady. number plates no longer meet required standards. During a tel ephone co n versa tio n w ith the one of the leading number plate co m panies I was told th a t it was not until December 31, 1981 tha t AMA had contacted th em regarding the new number plate ruling. By this late date in December hundred s of plates had been so ld and man y dol lars spent. Even though the co m pany h as agreed 10 c ha nge i ts design work to meet AMA sta ndards, with no help offer ed by AMA , this ruling, li ke many o th ers adopted by th e AMA in the past on a last minute basis, dearl y refl ects a no n -p rofessional and ver y unorganized associa tio n . I think it only fair that the AMA "side lin e" this rule until J an. I, 1983, and that in the future AMA give us all ampl e warning of a ny cha nges to co me. STEVE MONGER AMA National number 54 More or Wise I propose that the BOT!" rules be prompOy arnmended to permit pushrod triples with a maximum displacement of 875cc. This would permit the ex-factory Triumph/BSA triples from the early '70s to return to the track. Although these machines obviously are not twins , they have similar characteristics .. their sound is a growl rather than the scream of an OHC four ; they are British, with a dated appearance; and they occupy the same performance bracket as the twins. When they were current, the " Beezum p hs" competed against Harley and Nortons twins . "Beezumphs" are crowd pleasers, and have also become very desireable as collectors items. My ex-Dick Mann BSA Rocket III (winner of 1971 Daytona 200 and featured in Cycle Guide magazine , 1981) is now on display at AMA headquarters. Many ot hers have been reconditioned to . race-ready status. Jack Wilson will dust off his triple. Gary Nixon's Triumph is race ready. . If my proposal is approved , BOT!" and the sp ort will benefi t. Noone will suffer. ROBERT T . IANNUCCI Brooklyn, NY I think that Steve Wise sh ould h a ve been d isqual ified a t th e Houston "IT for del iberate. unnecessary roughness...in shor t. dirty riding. I speak not as a specta tor but as a former sp orts man dirt tra ck ra cer . Sh ould we allow Pro dirt track racing to deter io rate to the level of ice hockey a nd roller derby? I th ink n or , A.SU M MERS Bell , CA A MA officials on th e scene kep t a close rye on Steve Wise, and it is th eir conclus ion that Wise did no th ing illegal. In fact, in th e op in ion of th e AMA officials, W ise was the victim of an illegal move by M ike Kidd...Editor. Number plate bummer Sp rin g chicken D urin g the recent Feb. 6-7 Winsto n Pro Series eve nts h eld in H o uston , TX, I, a lon g w ith many other riders, was in for med that my n u mber p la tes wo ul d no longer meet AMA sta ndards. The pla tes u sed , to m y knowl edge, h ave been AMA approved fo r yea rs; h ow ever , we are no w told , with no acce tabl e ex Ianation. th at our I read Bob All o y' s pl ea fo r 40-yea ro ld rider s. I h ope h e has more luck tha n I did with m y pl ea for so me 70+ rider s. H e is definitel y o ut of tune when he refers to ba nzai- hap py k ids . Whether it's i n a m ix ed pract ice o r when I'm down in th e mud , it is a lwa vs so me voun ster read to hel . Published letters do not nec essarily reflect the po sition of Cy cle News, Inc. Send letters to Voices. Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801.

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