Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126808
Navy concedes, land-grab off SMiTTY By Rex Reese LO N G BEACH . CA. FEB . 1 8 In f ront of a near-capacity gathering - w h ich included representat ives fro m CORVA. AATVA. and D istricts 37 and 38 - at t he San Bernardino Hilton in Sa n Bernardi no. Ca liforn ia . offic ia ls of t he Bureau of Land Management (BLM I and U .S . N av y is su ed a joint press re lease announcing that both federal agencies had co m e to terms on the Navy's proposed withdrawa l of 315.000 ac res of land in the Im perial Va lley east of San D iego. Ca liforn ia . Based upo n a BLM staff repo rt. t he Navy has drastically modified it s p lans w hic h now invo lv e approximately 48.500 ac res . wh ich generall y in cludes lands t hat t he Navy is currently usi ng under leases from t he Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) . Basically speaking. virtually no land cu rre nt ly be ing used by off-road recreationalists. local industry and others w ill be lost. . " BLM D istrict Manager Gerald E. Hillier and officia ls of the U .S . Navy announced today t hat a tentative agreement has been reac hed providing forthe Navy's contin ued use of public lands in the East and West Mesa areas of Imperial Valley for Fleet air train ing. wh il e ma in tain ing public access to all but the dangerous areas. " stated th e j o int press release. "Access to heavily-used areas such as the Glamis Dunes . Anza Borrego State Par k . and the Gecko Park areas will continue." The ba lance of t he press rel ease provi de d t ech nical de ta ils of the agreement. inc luding the lo cati o ns of t he land s t o be withdrawn . Those areas include two sites west of the Coachella Canal already leased from BOR to the Navy. Western lo cat i o ns include the pa rachute test area north of Plaster City and three target zo nes. According to California motorcycle lobbyist Bob Ham. the BLM staff repo rt served as the framework of a tentative agreement between the BLM and Navy. The document includes inf orm atio n which is subject to review by the BLM's Ca lifornia Desert Advisory Board. which will make any amendments as required . After that. public hearings will be set for further inp ut and amendments. Even thoug h the major thrust of the Navy withdrawal has been blunted. Ham says that there are two parcels of land still up for grabs. One is the San Felipe Corridor which runs from Plaster City to Ocotillo Wells; the other is a riding area near the Superstition Mountains. Neither'the BLM or Navy have reached any decision on the fa te of these two areas. but Ham notes t hat the San Felipe Corridor has been proposed to receive California state Green Stickie funds . " T he way the withdrawal is currently structured: ' says Ham. "there will be some benefits to off-roaders in the Imperia l Valley. Because of the planned zones in these given areas. res idential developments will be minimal. So. even though the Imperial Valley may co ntinue to grow in the future. the withdrawals will keep off-road riding areas open. " The bottom line. " continued Ham. " is that if off-road users organ ize and w rite their elected officals. we can shape public policy and not get shut out," . Harley-Davidson has a n nou nced th e ava ilability o f lock-o n " p o lice-s tyle" turn signa l switch es. to repla ce th e stock push -and-ho ld sw itch es. R etail price is S12.95 for a pair. a nd th ey ca n be o rd er ed at yo u r lo cal H arl eyDavidson d ealer. Recent reports that Fred Fox. owner of Parts. Unlim i ted and recent purchaser of Californ iabased Milne Distributing. has also purchased Sure-Fire Distributing of Asheville. North Carolina. are apparently untrue . A Sure-Fire dealer letter says the companywhich had its warehouse burn down late last yea r-has " joined forces" with Parts Unlimited to form " Team Sure-Fire ," The new partnership has Sure-Fire employees working for Parts Unlimited until new warehouse facilities are built. The Sure-Fire le tter also states that service will be maintained to current customers. and that Parts Unlimited will bill pu rchases and take orders for SureFire. For more information call Team Sure-Fire at800 /43B -5821 or 704 /255 -8096. Lillie kn own fact : S uzu ki's first fou rstr ok e e n g i n e , th e 1977 GS 75 0 . weigh ed 209 p ounds with oil. ca rburetors a nd ai r c1eaner/ai rbox. T he 1986 GS XR 750 engin c, un der th e same co nd itio ns weighs 161 pounds. Work is underway on a new grand stand at the Isle of Man TT. to replace the existing structure that was erected in 1925. The future of short track raci n g in Monroe. Washington . is in questi on. For th e la st 15 yea rs. track maint enance co sts have been sp li t with a local equestrian group - which has now secured other fundin g a nd wants th e bikers ousted from th e publi c facility. A pol ite letter o f su p port would help the cau se. a n d sh o u ld be d irected to : County Executive Wi llis Tu ck er. clo Snohomish County Courthouse Evereu, WA 9820 I. The Arizona Desert Racing Association (ADRAI is hosting a volunteer p roject weekend February 23-24. An abandoned gold-mining project near Gila Bend. Arizona. has left behind a 1 5.000 water storage tank which will be converted into a water source for w ild animals in the area. Vol unteers are requested to help out w ith this project. to promote goodwill for the off-road users in the area . For i n f o r m at i on call the ADRA at -t=a -~ m:rc:r--;@_~-'--B--'" '~ , . ,,', J ,..",-," ".. · . ... ~..... '" ... . t., ~-+ I. -. . ... ." fl A,. tv . . I' ~. ~.Io c C . , ~:: . +~ ··:!:":> A A . /f,. I_ I• ; "I,· ~~~ ;. ., f. I I ,",. '" ~ S 6 , .0 I Ii- '" . "' ' . O f/~ -. II ~. I COULD DIE OF EXPDSU RE O UT I-lE~E I I 'L L MAt'E A (3oNFlR.£ OUT OF TH E elKt! r SAW IT IN A MOVIE. v ! / '. ~. I' ..; . If .. fh- "s Suzuki has announced it s 1985 drag racing Superbike Championship Series road racing and endurance road racing plans. Terry Vance will contest NMRA and IDBA Pro Stock champ events on a Suzuki GS1150ER. j o ined by Bob Carpenter. another top Pro Stock t itle contender. Suzuki will field a Superbike entry through Yoshimura R&D to be ridden by Kevin Schwantz. The team will contest the Daytona . Sears Point. Laguna Seca. and Willow Springs rounds of the series. In addition. Suzuki will continue ' it s sponsorship of Team Hammer. the 1983-84 WERA Endurance Road Race Champion• sh ip Series titlists. ( ".., -. l- , I. ,o· ( . I~ . fA. r: -. » ",. Wadded A 1985 Yamaha Max im X. by Yamaha Northern Ca liforn ia Distri ct Servi ce Man ag er Rob Do rulla . Dorulla went down durin g a ride th rough Sa nt iago Can yon . and wa s subsequently treated for pulled mu scles and released on crutches fro m Saddl eback Community Hospital. A ppointed by U n ited Sidecar Association President Doug Bingham. Winston Beaumont as ed i tor ofrhe a ssoc ia tio n's nine-year-old monthly, The Sidecarist. Beaumont replaces fo rm er ed i to r a nd freelan ce-writer Dorde Woodruff. Correction: 602 /252·1900. Riders p la n ni ng on ridin g the Int ent class in th e ISDE Qual ifi er Series must send a letter sta ting so a long with a $ 10 fee-wh ich goes into th e fSD E Rider Fu nd -to Hugh Flemin g . AM A Ama teur Activities Dept. , P.O . Box 6114. Westerville. OH 430816 114. All ri ders co mpe ting in th e In ten t cl ass must use th e FI;\1 mandat ed "ecology " rea r tire. Metzeler has a stock o f the tires. bu t si nee they do not se ll di rect to th e p ub lic. ride rs needin g sa me sh o u ld ca ll Garry Ga llag her a t 800/433 -3900 for informatio n o n ho w to o bta in th e tir es. ! MQTORCYCLE INDUSTRYS CflANGE Crashed Two-tim e Dayto na 200 w in m-r Dak- Si ng leton . in his first stork ca r rae" 0 11 a super speedway. th r Feb r uary 10 ARC,W200 a t Da ytona . Th e GSXR750 weighs 388 pounds dry. not 368 as seen in o ur February 13 issue. and th e G SX R tach om eter starts to read from 3000 r pm . not 4000 rpm as seen in o ur February 20 issu e. Married ISD E/ endu ro ace J eff Fredetrr and Pa ll y M u lk ey on th e isla nd o f Oahu in th e H aw ai ian Islan ds on February 5. Seen An " I Loved Bein g N u m ber One" b u m per Slicker on th e ba ck of Ran dy Goss ' motorhome at Houston . • 5