Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

"~ 1982 World , " 'O iJt' MX" ai'll! ma l ' eompames ~~ CN 00 0') ...-4 August 28, 1982 at the Los Angeles Memorial Stadium VIP GOLDEN TICKET PROGRAM Guaranteed tickets to the 1982 World Finals in the preferred seating section • A grand evening at the fabulous Costa Mesa Track • Roundtrip transportation from selected points in Los Angeles to both events • Local sightseeing in Los Angeles • Official Souvenir Pack which includes a 75 page Souvenir Program, Quality T-Shirt, Offidal Arm Patch and Official Decal. Cost per person: $135.00 Plus four addition al tour programs to choose from. Prices st art at $225.00 for 4 days. OIson-llavelworld, Ud. Official Worldwide Agent Mail your coupon today [or a fr ee brochure. CN For more informat ion, mail this coupon to: 1982 World Speedway Finals Olson-Trave lworld, Ud. P.O. Box 92734 Los Angeles, CA 90009 Nam e Michele Bian c hi. secretary ge neral of the Association of It alian Motorcycle and Accesso ry Manufacturers. . _ Address _ C ity State ---,-_ _ Zip RIDE AWARE _ Italian • • companies vie lor American dollars By Tom Mueller " T h e Italian Trade Commission will promote its products from an export standpoin t to try to create a balance of trade with America. We pay for our oil in U.S . dollars, and w e w ant u.s, d oll a r s b a ck " said tu r in g so me o f the m a rket . T he effor t 38 M i che l e Bianch i , secre ta;y gen'1 f h A . . f I' e ra 0 t e ssocia uo n 0 Ita tan M o torcycle and Accessory Ma n uIacturers. Bia nc h i, in cooperation with the Ita lian Trade Commission, is spearheadi ng a n effort to bring Italian bikes and accessories before the American public in hopes o f ca p- i s entit~e~ ':The Ital ian ~on ne~!ion." T he irri ria l m o ve o n Bianchi s part was his group's involvement in the Da ytona '82 Ex po Show hel d o n March 4- 7 in Daytona Beach, Flo rida, d uring Cycle Week . A spacious d isp la y represe nt ing Cagiva, Faruic, Gilera. Ttaljet, SWM, Apri lia, P irell i, Buzzell i and Reg ina was o n hand, we re invi ted to th e first show, " sa id Bia nch i. " We m a y hav e more sho ws in th e future, but we a ren ' t sure. We are co n vinced our product s a re good. They h av e been proven in Europe, and th e o n ly wa y to p ro ve them in Am erica is to show th em for man y wee ks ." Italian machines hav e proven th emselves in Europe, Gilles Burgat rode a SWM to the World T rial s Champi onship in 1981. Ital y topped thelSDE in France last year o n th eir o wn eq u ip memo a nd Michel e R in aldi piloted a G il eral o th irdinthe '811 25ccWorid Championsh ip MX Seri es. " If yo u see a bik e in fir st yo u' ll bu y it. To rea ll y show a p roduct you need a winner , beca use o nce yo u sho w a bi ke is co m pe titive yo u ca n sell it," sa id Rom an o Pi si, wh o wa s a t th e s ho w re p resent in g Vespa o f Am eri ca. No t o n ly d oes th e as so cia tio n plan 10 sho w th eir wares in a sh owroom, they pl an to ge t directl y invo lved with ra cing o n a Na tional level in America . The Ita lia n Sports Commission p lans 10 a r ra ng e a n It al ia n / Am eri ca n match race, where a team o f U.S. MX ers would compete against a n It al ia n group of riders, both here a nd in Italy. An Ital ian en try in th e "82 Trans-USA MX Series is in th e works, and efforts are being made 10 p ut an American rider on Italian machinery in America 's National MX Ser ies. Am erican riders at last year's MidOhio I 25cc USGP were taking a close look a t Gilera 's works en try, and former Yamaha factory rider Do n n ie Camal oupi d id show in terest in ca m pai gning a G il era in th e '82 125cc National s before he sig ned with KTM. By th e end o f '82 G ilera will be producin g production 250cc MX ers, a nd th e co m pa ny hopes 10 br ing th at m odel to Amer ica . T o o w n a Giler a , or o ne of the other It alian MX ers, a buyer would hav e 10 put o u t a co ns idera ble amount o f d oll ars. A 125cc w ill ret ail for aro u nd $2,5 00 in Am eri ca, a bo u t $600 more th an a J apan ese bike o f th e sam e di spl acement. As far as rechnol ogv , the Italian bik es s tay in th e same league with th ei r J apanese counterparts. The Ca giva a nd Aprili a models have si ng le shoc k rear sus pe nsions, a nd most have kepi up with modern impro vem cn ts such as wat er cooling and o ther rcf in emerus. "Our tr ia ls sa les a re ex pa nd ing g rea tly," sa id SW M USA presiden t Ronald L. Saum . " We' ve had hea vy sa les in th e ea st a n d o u r sa les a re growi ng in th e west. We've sold 50 trials bik es si nce J anuary, which is qu it e a few . " S W M e nd uro bikes are made just for th e U.S. Ther e were so me problems with th e European models over here in th e past . but th e new models are better su i ted to handl e th e mud. " Saum pointed out that a I 75cc SWM was ridden 10 th e class win in th e '8 1 ISD E. " T h e U ,S. is th e only place the Japanese ca n sell an enduro bik e," said Saum. " In Europe they're almost a joke. SW M is re-appearing in th e market. a nd so far we 've seen a good acceptance." SWM 's compet itive in vo lvem en t in '82 wi ll center aro u nd Gart h W illiams , w ho wi ll ride a 175cc in the One-Da y Quali fiers backed by th e fac tory a nd Ro n Lamastus, who will ri de eve n ts in the Indiana a rea . T he Ita lia n T ra de Co m mission sponsored the inaugural Ital ian Con nectio n show, but i t w ill be u p to each indiv idual co mpany 10 br in g their products in to America a n d promote them . O n ly time wi ll te ll if Americans are ready 10 cl ean sectio n s, bus t berms and zero checks the Ita lia n way. •

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