Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

tion will also be a welcome clarification. M. BONNY Director of Public Relations Michelin Tire Corp. Lake Success, NY Unfair WEST America's weekly motorcycle newspaper haron Claylon, Publzshn Mike Klinger. Comptroller Skip Johnson. AssoClat~ Publlshu. National Sales Manager Caroline Gendry. Exuu/;ve Secr~I(lTY to tht! Publisher Editorial John Ulrich. Editor Oale Brown. St!rtior Ed,tor Kit Palmer, Assistant Editor Mall Hilgcnbtl'g, Assistant Editor • Advertising Terry PrJll. Sales Manager Mike pencer. Salt's Ma.nagt!T Linda Brown, Advertismg Coordinator Tina Bowell. Advuti,ung Assistant Nancy Danger.lldtlt!Tllsmg Editorial AS.Slstant Graphics and Production Lance Bryson. Mallagn Cene Bennell. Graphu Artist Lori Tyson. Graphu' Artist Ma~ioll Hatashit3. T)'pograph\' 11('113 Larsen, TypotfTaphy Dennis Greene. Laboratory Accounting/Data Processing Donna Bqan. .'Iuounts Rut!tvablt: Coordinator Cene,'a Repass. Assala"t Tt'Tf) Daile\. Crt'dll.\Janag~T Circulation Rheb.. Smith. Manag~T Michelle Hanna . .4snslanl S;uah Ta} lor. A.u-Islanf Debbie Walker. ASSl!illwt L} na Hood. A.fJutant Dealer Sales and Service Tim R\an. Df'oln Sal~s Alanagt'T Want Ads Robert Elhol. l1'ont Ad Sales Service and Support Chris Ailcheson. R~apllonisl Gregory Hanson. SbS West 2201 Cherry Ave.. Long Be-deh. CA P.O. Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801· 0'198 (213) 427·7433: L.A. Line 636·8844. East 4190 Firsl Ave.. Tucker. CA. P.O. Box 805. Tucker. GA 30085-0805. (40'1) 934·7850. Cycle NewslWes, (USPS 141·340) is pub. lished weekly exceptlhe £irsl and lasl week or lhe calendar year ror 25 per }car by Cycle News. Inc.. 2201 Cherry Avenue. Long Sea h. CA 90806. Second class postage paid al Long Beach. CA. POSTMASTER: Send form 3579 to CydeNeww. P.O. 80.498. Long s.ch, CA 90801-0498. ubscriplion rales: One rear. second class mail. $25: :'0"0 }'ears. second class mail. $45: Lhret' years. second das mail $68; 25 weeks. Sl~. foreign rates available on r('(luesl. Cycle News weJcomes unsolicited «IiLOrial mau~:rial including stories. canoons. photos. eLe. Such rnalerial. ir published. becomes the exclusive propeny or Cycle News. Such acct'pled malerial issubjecilo revision as is necessan: in th sole discrelion or Cycle cws. U'nsoliciled material which is nOI used will be rcturned if a companied by a seJr addressed ~ilamped envelope, All unsolicited material will be handled Wilh reasonable care, however. Cycle News assumes no responsibility for lhe sarely.lossordamage losuch malerial. Reprinling in whole or part only by per~ mission or the publisher. Ad\'eni~in~ rales and circul~llion inrorrnation will b{' !tenl upon requ("sL Sec S.R.D.S. Copyright (!) Cycle News, Inc. 1984. Tredemark Cycle News registered U. S. Patent Office, All rights reserved. ON THE FRONT PAGE: Honda's Fest Freddie Spencer is caught streaking to the Italian GP win by the photographer Michael Pons. Complete coverage begins on page 4 six. Riverside fiasco I'm slill ill ,hock on:,r the fi,hCO durin~ the firsL heaL of the Superbikc I ace aL Ri\'er~id(' Ruccw(.t\. Ridel' were LOld bv Lh(:.\i\l'\·s Bi II Boy ce during, he rider' meeLing-1 hal Lhere would be red f1a~, ,LaLiolll'd in (CI Lain corner . inciudin~IU' n ,(',·en. fhere was no red f1a~ol; ,e\('n. Why' MOSL nders seem LO ignore the wa,ingycllow f1a~\\'hen di,played. Nine nders crashed because Lhe, had lillie or no regard for bOLh the ,;,'" in~ yellow and the oil f1a~. Maybe Ihe red would ha'e ,Iowed ,hem down. RICK MITCHELL AMA #213227 Huntington Beach. CA John Beuencourt told us aJter the crash, "I was going as slow as I could without stopping, maybe 20 mph. I .11111 Jell down." The race should hlllle been red flagged the instant crashed bikes blocked the race track in this blind tUY1l ... Editor. Husky four-strokes This is in response La Mr. Brian Meyette's advertisement about H usqvarna four-strokes. Not everyone who called had the same problem. orne may have experienced ignition £ailure. I had one in the 3500 miles I've put my Husky since August 6, 1983. I also had troubles starting my bike when it was hot, until I learned how to start it. Now, hot or cold, it will fire up within a couple of kicks. UpTite Husky has a carb fix for Lhose who insist on starting the e neat bikes like a two-stroke. They are four-strokes and mUSL be started as such. Mr. Meyeue staLes thaL they catch on fire easily. NOI any more Lhan your basic dune buggy with a foam air filter and Lwo-stroke filter oil. (There's that word again, two-stroke.) Use a K&N fi Iter. It supports the back of the carburetor beuer, breathes more and eliminates any chance of a fire, bike- or rider-induced. About slipping lutches. Yes, mine slipped too, after 2700 miles. I abu e Lhe hell out of a clutch in corners and hills, and I run a 100 miles a week- end. I repla ed my clutch plates wiLh Barnett springs and plales and that was Lhat. "They leak oiL" Hu kys u e "0" ring'S around the kick tart and shift shaft area. They will wear and need replacement. I've gone through one set 10 date. Four-strokes will run haLter Lhan two-strokes, period. Does Mr. Meyeuc u e a good grade of aiI'I use a good brand of 20w-50 and I also run premium ga because it will burn slower and cool r. The ignitions do not. I repeat. do not fail conLinuously.1 went through one in the firsL week of December. Mr. Meyeue's is the firsL multi failure Lhat I've heard of. Ignition failures are never convenielll, but Lhen neither are f1al tires. Husky made good right away and I have another 1500 miles on my bike. The mach ine seem to be like good wine, itget better with age. DICK WEST Penryn, CA Radials Tbere is so much talk these days about the radial motorcycle tire. There i also a lot of confu ion. This short leuer has but one objective: regardless of some competitor' bragging, the only radial that has ever been used in motorcycle road raci ng and even esta blished a speed record, i a Michelin-made radial. The race was the Daytona 200, last month. Both the team, Honda, and the rider, Freddie Spencer, have accepted the challenge to run a new-concept tire because they expected to learn and eventually benefit from the experience. And so did we. Michelin will continue to race radial tires. Our technological edge, as well as our decades-long experience in all radial fields, should help us to stay ahead. Currently we are working hard to get this advanced technology into the everyday tire. In facL, a Michelin radial is already fitted on production machines. As you may remember, the media introduction of our motorcycle radial tire was held in Italy late last year. We hope thai this pieceof informa- I am writing as one of thespon ors of David Wasden and Ed Pierce wbo competed as a team in the recent Las Vegas 400. Their names will not appear in the results as finishers but as far as I'm concerned they are winners. .The promoter of the race disqualified them at the finish line for towing the race bike approximately one quarter mile and then pushingao'oss the line. There iscontroversy as to whether or not Ed Pierce was told by Casey Folks not to drive down in a truck to help get the bIke in. Apparently it is all righl to lOw with a motor ycle but not a truck. We asked Casey for a copy of his rulebook and were told that he did not have a copy available. Then we requested that he mail us a copy. He replied Lhal the rules were in his head and he did not belong to any associaLion which required him La have written rules. This would lead any logical person to wonder if in fact the rules are subject to his whim on any given day. He told us thai at the riders' meeLing he made it very clear that any "ehicle going backwards on the course lO aid a racer would be disqualified. I personall) observed bike #909 bringing in an injured rider, ba kwards on Ihecourse. LO his pit crew. To me thi wa,a very sponingaet, but according to Casey'srul heshouldbedi qualified. I also saw the winner of the 250 clas ride backwards on the course to his pit crew, (a distance of abouL a q uaner mile) to repair the race bikeat the alternaLe pilon the second loop. WhaL is the definition of a vehicle in Casey's mind? WhaL if he should be incapacitaLed at some point during a race? Who would handle disputes at the finish line? Not having a wrillen set of rules for professional races is nOL very professional. Thank you for listening. PAT GRIFFIN President. P&G Equipment Rentals, Inc. Rosemead, CA We contacted Casey Folks Jor his side oj the story and Casey said, "I do have a wrillen rulebook. It's very basic, only three pages long. As Jar as what I said at the riders' meeting, I said, 'Do not take any vehicle out on to the course, be it a four-wheel drive, threewheeler or other motorcycle.' Three people told Ed Pierce that he would be disqualiJied iJ he took the truck backwards on the course, including Tom Mattox, who was driving the truck. I would hrwe disq ualiJied Scot Harden Jor doing that, I would hrwe disqualified Daryl Folks Jor doing that."... Editor. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Inc. Send letters to Voices. Box 498, long Beach, CA 90801,

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