Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

ITC recommends big tariffs in H-D case California off-highway vehicle enthusiasts may lose another 81 3 million from the state's Green Stickie Fund. Assembly Bill 36X would transfer the money pa id into the fund by users int o the state's general fu nd. Currently, intensive lo bbying by CORVA and the AMA is going on t o incorporete langue98 into the billthat would specify that the money is a loan, w ith repayment procedure c learly defined. As we went to press. s uch la ng ua g e was not in t he bill, but our Sacramento sources tell us that they're not totally pessimistic. Governor George Deukmejia n made a campaign promise not to simply take such special use -f unds paid for by the use rs themselves. A call to your state assemb lyman and /or s t a t e senator couldn't hurt. Kawasaki's Kent Howerton had a broad smile on his face while preparing for the Miller High Life Supercross Kickoff at Anaheim Stadium. T he " Rh inesto ne Cowboy " spent some time in J apan over the winter testin g th e new wo rks bi kes, an d said, " It was great. They really listened to what I had to say. T he bi kes are capable of winning; it's up to the riders now." Howerton took a fifth in the final on one of the- new machines, which feature an orange seat with an "SR" designation. Whi le it's not unusual t o ru n int o lo ng -time MX tuner Bevo Forte at a Supercross event, it was unusual to see the " C za r of Motocross" not turning wrenches. Forte is representing Scott USA at the races. Bob Hannah, who finished fourth at Anaheim for Team Honda, was riding one of last year 's works bikes. As Honda's Roger DeCoster explained it, " Bob is still getting used to the machines after switching from Yamaha. He'll probably ride one of the new ones at Seattle." Vamaha's Ricky Johnson suffered a broken collarbone in the opening lap crash of the final event at Anaheim . He's expected to be out of action for about six weeks. Those get well cards can be sent to him careofVamaha Motor Corp., 6565 Katella, Cypress, CA 90630. Hos PITal STOP; Joe"Wilson from Product Research at Yamaha took a fall at the January 23 Winter Classic Hare and Hound and suffered a compressed vertabra and a fractured shoulder blade. Joe is known for his suspensiomtuning skills and by the ma ny riders he has helped during his years with the Yama ha Com petition Support program. Joe sho uld be back . at home by the time this is printed and should be ab le to return to work in about a month. In the meantime, you can send cards of cheer to him at 12662 Blackthorn , Garden Grove, CA 92640. Kawasak i, Jones gogg les and Metzeler tires are combining forces to back a National Enduro and ISDE Qualifier team in 1983. The t w o r iders carrying the (t ri colored? ) banner will be Jeff Fredette and Fritz Kad l8"C, competing in the 200 and 260cc c lasses, res pe ctive ly. The Bureau of La nd Management's California Desert District Advisory Council will hold a public meeting in Pasadena on Feb. 4-5. In addition to soliciting public opinion at the meeting, a brief report on the status of the 1982 Desert Plan Amendments and a report by the California Department of Parks and Recreation on the statewide O H V tra il system will be made. Statements can be filed in advance with advisory council chairman Clayton Record , Public Affairs Office, 1695Spruce St., Riverside, CA 92507. The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.rn, each day in the Pasadena Convention Center, Room 316, 300 East Green St., Pasadena. Peter Starr's film Take H to the IImH will be playing in the Colorado Springs, CO, area be-ginning Feb. 1 1. That area a lso incl udes the c ity of Pueblo. The British paper Speedwa y Mail reports that veteran Scott Autrey will not return to compete in England in 1983. According to the paper, Autrey is not retiring, but "taking a long look at his future." Rick Hocking is out of retirement and w ill ride the Houston Astrodome ST/ TT double-header Feb. 6-6, according to his sponsor, Terry ·Knig ht of Knight Frames. T he Motorcycle Safety Foundation announced the opening of its west central regional office in Sherman, TX. The office, to "be headed by Andrew Krajewski, will ha ndlernotorcycle safety education for the states of North Dakota, South Dako ta , Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. The address is 1303 North Rayburn Freeway, Sherman, TX 75090, and the phone n umber is 214;;868-2545. _ I _ ' 'J' . WASHINGTON, DC , JAN . 26 Following it s fi ndi ng that im po rt e d motorcycles are a t hreat to the domestic motorcycle ind ustry, the Int e rnat ional Tre de Commission recommended a five-year tariff plan to President Ronald Reagan. The proposed tariffs, covering a ll im po rt e d assembled motorcycles over 700cc, wou ld raise the existing import duty fr o m 4 .4% to 49 .4% in the first of the five- years. The duty level would drop each of the followi ng years. going from 39.4% in the second year to 24.4% the t hird, 19.4% the fourth and 14.4% in the fifth year. After the fifth year, t he tariff would revert to the existing level. Exempt from such tariffs would be motorcycles assembled in t he U.S . Currently. Honda and Kawasaki a re t he only major im port e rs to have U.S . assembly plants. The recommendation. which passed by a 2-1 vote, w ill be sent on to the president. He then has 60 days in which to accept, modify or reject the proposal. "We're very encouraged. " said Harley-Davidson Director of Public Relations Bob Klein, adding, "This recognizes the terrible imbalance that exists in the American motorcycle market and recommends the steps t o remedy the problem." Kawasaki, one of the manufacturers with a U.S. assembly plant, issued a statement through public relations director Rom Lovil: "Our position is that the imposition of tariff penalties is not a realistic solution to Harley-Davidson's difficulties. The president will recogn ize that the increased tariffs recommended by the ITC would depress the motorcycle ind ust ry at large, penalize the consumer unduly w ith higher prices, and punish the many thousands of Americans employed in distributing, retailing and servicing im po rted motorcycles from all countries. " Lovil a lso said t hat Kawasaki was pleased that the ITC did acknowledge their Lincoln, NE, plant as a domestic manufacturer. Honda spokesman Cliff Schmillen said. " Our company is considering what effect the tariffs would have on our company and on the consumers. " Thomas McGurn. t he public relations directorfor BMW, said, " We are ph ilosophically opposed to any fo rm of trade restriction. If we have to pay 46% more duty, we m ight be out of business. It m ight h u rt BMW more than anyone else. because our bikes are more expensive to begin w ith. We 're extremely concerned, especially for our dealers. " McG urn said that BMW had written to Reagan . A spokesman for Suzuki ha d no comment, and Vamaha d id not have a statement ready at presstime. o Seattle International Raceway had its Conditional Use Perm it revoked by county zoning officials on Jan. 26. However, we're told that the track management has appealed the decision and will operate under the appeal. The process can take up to a year. IBCO Gaskets' Rick Mitchell and fellow road racer Harry Klinzmanri will appear on a segment of CH iPs scheduled to air Mar. 6. Results from the Jan. 23 CMC / Petty Products Golden State MX Series round at Sand Hill Ranch s h o u ld have lis t e d Kawasakimounted Texan Darren Rhoten in seventh place in the 260cc Pro c lass. Following that, all positions move down one place. Honda's road racing team at Daytona will include Honda Great Britain rid er Ron Haslam. Freddie Spencer, Mike Baldwin and Steve Wise make up the rest of the factory sq uad. Honda conducted test sessions at Daytona in October and on January [0-12 with close attention being paid to gas consumption and tire wear. Tire problems with the I,OOOcc FWS V-4 four-strokes in last year's Daytona 200 were the only thing that kept Honda from taking the win . Sources indi ca te Honda has set aside plans for a four -cylinder two-s troke version of thei r NS600 GP road ra c e r for t his season . The three-cylinder. two-stroke model used last season by Team Honda w ill have a new frame and uti lize 17 in ch w heels f ro nt and rear. The GP team w ill aga in u.e Michelin tires.. If , l '" J • 1.1.. » ., . p rI Club Weekenders is back with four two-week MX "holidays" to England and Holland this summer. Included in the $2595 price tag are air transportation to and from either Los Angeles or Atlanta, a motocross school taught by Bryan Wade , the use of a 125,250or 500ccYamaha MXer maintained by a staff of mechanics, and four races, two in England and two in Holland. The organizers have also included plenty of free time for sightseeing. Two of the tours leave from Los Angeles on June 18 and July 30, the other two leave from Atlanta on July 9 and Aug. 20. For more information, write Club Weekenders, 10959 Via Abaca, San Diego, CA 92126, 714/ 578-7606. One California Racing Club enduro this year will be part of the Hi-Point sponsored Golden State Enduro Championship. It will be the Hobo 1 00 0 " Mar. 13 and visiting riders will need to know the CRC rules as there are minor difference from the AMA and District rules. The Hobo 100 will be a three-loop enduro and the two and three-loop riders will be able to ride the first loop w ith their famil ies as they won't be penalized any late points for this lo op. The scoring is one point for each minute lost and two for each minute early. For more information on ru les orthe enduro. contactCRC. 7601 Arlington Ave ., Riverside, CA 92603, 714/6896114. Speaking of CRC, they will be holding their annual awards banquet for their enduro club members at the Elks club in Hawaiian Gardens at 8 p .m, on Feb. 17. For more in formaI. tion, call the number listed above. ..,e __ •__ ._ , ;. ~

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