Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

The woods will resound, the desertsshudder they're doing in those last few days is little nit-picking stuff instead of the months of work everyone else is trying to stuff into l5-minute sessions. They're changing shock absorbers or rebound damping to make them qualify beller, because by then they know if the shock is going to go bad or if their fork oil is not right or the spring rate is stiff enough. By the end of the third or fourth day practicing consecutively for maybe five hours a day, they know. Tl]e privateer guys are trying lO just get their motorcycle to run down the straightaway, let alone carburete to the middle of the corner and down the straightaway' without seizing up. Everyone has problems during Speed The new Can-Am ASE's are here! Never with the best shock unit in the Week. The ones who don't have the problems are the ones who have the business: White Power's single damper before have our Rotax engines lebugs worked out before they get there gendary power and reliability been unit with 12 rebound and 6 comand that takes money. wrapped in so impressive a package. pression damping settings. And more! Having new machinery is a huge advantage, too. The night before Bring on your fallen trees, your rocky Magura controls, Grimeca hubs, Akront qualifying last year, the hotel manriver beds, your high-speed sand rims, Metzeler tires. A new Quickager came 'down twice to tell us lO quit making so much noise because washes. The new ASE's will swallow release rear Wheel, snail cam chain people were complaining and he said them whole. Their adjusters, narrower the third time he was going to call the frames are the 3D-inch bars. A safety police. We were trying to warm up the. engine cases with hot water, trystrongest and the seat that'S integral .ing to reach a certain temperature so lightest, their susWith the plastic gas we could use Devcon epoxy to patch a hole where a rod broke in Tuesday's pensions the most tank. And rotarypractice. We couldn't buy any cases responsive and prevalved Rotax engines because there were none availalile. So that develop more dictable Can-Am has we're trying lO knock out bearings and warm the cases in the hotel room ever designed into muscle and tractorbecause after you pay $400 a week to an enduro bike. up torque than ever. The rent a garage in the pits they won't let you work in it after 8:00 p.m. I figure, front, 40 mm Piffero . new Can-Am airif you' rent a garage you should be ~ cooled, single shock Marzocchis. At the able to sleep in the damn thing, it's rear, a masterpiece of Enduros. Pronounced yours. Unless you drive to the race in an 18-wheeler like Honda does, you enduro engineering "ACE". See them at don't even have a place to work. combines Can-Am's your Can-Am dealer. Honda just drives lO a restaurant parking lot and sets up a camp with progressive-reaction And unleasli a storm electricity and parts and components. Quad Link suspension of your own. Privateers don't have that chance. I don't think the privateers have a real chance at winning the race. But that guy from Canada, Steve Gervais, could be in there ifthings don't go in another d.irection. He fin ished fourth last year and if he has the same kind of ride he had last year I think he could even be in the first three, if Roberts and some of the top guys I mentioned already break. Rich Schlachter has an RS500 bought by Bob McLean, but Schlachter hasn't been riding far a while. I'm not sure how people come back after a year off and I'm not sure how he'll do in the 200. I think I'll be one guy in the hunt for first privateer. Richichi could do it. His bike would be better if he wasn't prepping it between fire runs and on weekends off from his fireman job. I think the guy who may -Trademarks of Bombardier Inc. be the sleeper is Miles Baldwin. His bike got going last season and he is definitely running much better. He's got the combination together and he's got it figured out. He's made modifications to update his bike and keep it together and he may do good. Thad Wolff rides good, he's a good, safe rider, doesn't do anything crazy. I ran with him for a while last year, pressuring him just enough to have his motorcycle start blowing blue smoke out and I could tell it wasn't going lO finish and it didn't. Thad B. Sur. To W.tch Th. Excitillll eo..r••• Of TIl. doesn't try to stuff himself in between BEll SUPERBIKE 1DO. Th. DAYTONA SUPERCRoSS ADd TIle DAYTONA 200 a bike and the white line when there's no room. He'll wait and get 'em Eesllro TIm. P.cific TIm. when it's safe. 12 Midnight. Evening of March 12 9 p.m. March 12 Not like that time when (Randy) 8 p.m. March 21 5 p.m. March 21 Mamola fell down in the first corner. 12 Midnight. Evening of April 1 9 p.m. April 1 His bike bumped me and I thought, CABlE NEJWOIlIC well, that was real stupid. You know? Brought To You In Part By Bell Helmets, Inc. I thought to myself, you're world class, huh? To me, it's a 2oo-mile race and to fall down like that or get knocked down because somebody else had to bump into him, whether somebody else started it o)l'rJhtl'e~d.!.

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