Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

TMI, the U.S. Fantic importer, announced that a pending contract with National Trials star Jack Stites had failed to materialize. There are no plans to replace Stites with another rider at this time, according to TMI. A couple of weeks ago, we ran a Latest Poo p item about road racers appearing on the Mar. 6 episode of CHiPs. H ere is the fu ll list of riders wh o participated: David Aldana, Dave Busby, Keith Code. Dan n v Coe, H a rry Klinzman n , Richard Lovell, R ick Mitchell , Francois P ietri, Tom Sera, Sammy Tanner and Thad Wolff. We 're also tol d tha t the California Su perb ike School provided th e majority of th e motorcycl es. Maico West has announced that Ulrich E. Schuenemann, 29, has been promoted to president of that company. Schuenemann, better known to his friends as Rich, came from West Germany in April 1980 to join Maico West as sales manager. He was promoted to general manager in 1981, and takes over his new post from Rainer Schultz, who left the company at the end of 1982. T wo more me m bers of th e n ew O ffHi ghway Vehicle Co mmission have been na med: Mike Bishop is a COR VA member who has bee n highl y ac tive in th e figh t to keep Pism o o pe n, a nd Jim Li vermore served as president of the recentl y-di sbanded O HV Advisory Cornmiuee, Bo th appointments were made by State Senator David Ro bert i of the Senate Ru les Committee. Assembly Speaker Will ie Brown will mak e the la st two appointments. Classic bike enthusiast Rob Iannucci of Brooklyn, New York's Team Obsolete will field an impressive road race team at Daytona. Dave Roper will ride the ex-AI Gunter Matchle.. G-60 in the Vintage Heavyweight class and the exCal Rayborn Harley-Davidson 360 in Lightweight class. Don Vesco and the ex-Mike Hailwood' Manx 600, Phil Mahood and the ex-Gary Nixon Triumph 600, and Jeff Blghanayan and a Matchless G-60 are other team members/machinery entered in the Vintage races. Roper will also contest the Battle of the Twins race on a Rob North Harley-Davidson XR909, and Rick Ranno will compete in the Amateur program's Open GP class on the iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiWhat ex-Scott Brelsford Harley-Davidson XR760. Former Grand National Champion and two-time Daytona 200 winner Dick Mann and Jim Belland, who wrenched for Mert Lawwill and Mark Brelsford some years back, will handle the team 's tuning chores. The Team Obsolete Daytona assault is being sponsored by Accessory Mart, the Cincinnati based supplier of components for British bikes, vintage to modern. Rod Bush , KTM 's national sales mana ger, h as announced co ntingency awards for the '83 AMA/ Hi-Point National Championship H ar e Scrambles Series . If a KTM -m ounted rider is th e overa ll winner of the series, he will be furnished a new KTM o f his choice to use in '84, p lus a trip to th e KT M factory in Austria. KTM ri ders who sco re ove ra ll series wins in th e fo llowi n g classes will a lso receiv e a KTM of th eir choice to use in 1984: I 25cc, 250cc, Open , Sen ior, Su per Senior a nd Four-Str ok e.' Two-time Daytona 200 w inner Dale Singleton, who skipped the last half of the '82 road racing season, will not compete at Daytona t hi s year. "I' would like to have celebrated my tenth yearof motor- you'll new Duca tis' cycle racing at Daytona by com . p et ing in this year's 200, but I've decided to devote all my energy to stock car rac ing. My mother told me two heads were better than one, and a lot of people are telling me four wheels are better than two. I'll miss all my motorcycle rac ing friends and fans, but it appears my best interests lie with car racing ." Ken n y Ro bert s con firme d a t Housto n th at th is G P road ra cing seaso n in Europe would be h is last. " I want to siop racing whil e 1 kn ow I ca n st ill bea winner," said Ro berts. " Ho nestly, 1 feel 1h ave at least three or four m or e good seaso ns left. H ow ever, th e racin g , testing and travel tak es up so much of m y lim e that it 's just ge lling to be to o mu ch ." Ro berts a lso sa id th at th e Houston Astrodome dirt track ra ces would be the " las t time you 'll see me on dirt." Asked about th at statemen t after h is TT hea t race wi n, Ro bert s said, " O h , 1 don ' t reall y kn ow. Ma yhe I'll come back," Frank Stacy, the top American in the 1981 IS DE, will be trying fora trip to Wales for the 19831SDE.ln a deal involving Husky and his own employer, Dunlop, Stacy will campaign a 250WR Husky. • see in'83iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii The riew DerbisJ r-( I (Above) The new Ducati 900 S2 Desmo features 863cc V-twin angine, gear-driven cam:40mm carbs, five-speed gearbox and triple discs. (Above) The lowest-priced Ducati now imported is the 600 Pantah TL Desmo. Its 683cc engine breathes through 36mm carbs. (Above) The new Derbi 260 MX CRX83 features reed-valve, air-cooled engine, single shock rear with White Power shock for a claimed 14" of travel. (Below) The water-cooled 126 MX CRS83 also has single shock and Marzocchi front suspenders. Both have Brembo discs up front. 3

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