Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

riders. Jeff Fredette (Kaw) finished second overall with 27 points, one better than third overall Darryl Kuenzer (Hus). Mike Melton, winner of the February 17 National in California, sustained a broken left forearm in a riding accident on February 22. Melton returned to his home base in Columbus, Ohio, to see a specialist about numbness in his thumb and two fingers. At presstime, Melton was being checked for nerve damage which may require surgery. Wh ile Suzuki a nd Yamaha didn 't field any factory riders in the 125cc class in ou tdoor National MX in 1984, the scene w ill ch an ge this yea r. Yama ha will send Keith Bo wen in to do ba ttl e while Suzuki will field factory rider G eorge H olland as well as Sup p ort ri de rs A.J . Wh itin g , Eri k Keh oe, Russ Wagem a n , M ik e H eal ey and Bobby Moore.' All of th e Suzu ki teammat es will be mounted on prepr oduction models oh he 1986 RM 125 a t th e G a inesvi lle Na tio na l, according 10 tuner jef] Cla rk. With the closure of southern California's Indian Dunes, the CRC motocross scheduled for March 3 has been moved to Perris Raceway; the March 10 event will be held at Corona Raceway; the March 17 event at Hungry Valley; and the March 24 event at DeAnza Cycle Park. For more information call CRC at 213 /830-7519. Th e Fram divisio n o f All ied AUIOmot ive. marketer o f Autol ire sp ark plu gs, h as a n nounced Aut ol ire 's three-yea r spo nsors hi p o f Hu sq varna 's o ff-road m ot orcycl e team. j eff Steph en , vice p res ident o f m ark etin g for Fram sa id "v. , We want to work with H usq va rna to develop th e in dustry's best spa rk plugs for orr- road motorcycl es, a n d want o ur plugs assoc iated wi th an o ff-roa d rnot orrycle that performs. " Goose fanciers should set aside . Memorial Day weekend - May 24, 25, and 26 - for the seventh annual Big Country Moto Guzzi Rally, to be held in New Cumberland, West Virginia. Last year's event drew over 300 people from 29 states. For more information write Merle Bush, 347 Glenn Ln., Follansbee, WV 26037. " II looks as though I'll be doin g strictly mile Nationals this year ," said Hank SCOll at Houston. " I've got a program with Dan Murrell to ride a H o nda RS750. I'm tied with Jay (Springsteen ) for mile Na tional wins at 12 and I'd like 10 add a few to th at tota l this year. SCOtl P ea rso n will be teamed up with m e a nd he 'll have a separate program to ride - th e half mile Nationals on a Harley-Davidson." BMW has announced the recall of some 2800 early-production K1 00 motorcycles, to correct a defect in the electrical grounding of the stoplight switch . As it is, when the switch is activated, electrical current can pass through the throttle cable and the arcing that results could cause the throttle to hang up. To date, there have been n o reports of accidents or inj u ry f ro m this condition . BMW dea lers will install a g ro u n d cable o n t he affected b ike s free o f charge to correct t he prob le m . Priva teer SC OIl Pearson, h ot o rr h is grea t showing a t th e H OUSlOn Astro dome Ca me l Pro Ser ies 'TT a n d Short T rack eve n ts. gave tribute to h is mech an ic, Dave Bird of Dave Bird 's Moto rcycl es, a So nora, California H onda a nd Yamaha dea ler ship. " He did everythi ng, " Pea rso n said, " the chassis , the engine , everyth ing. I want 10 make sure he gets a ll th e credit. A r i d e r c an 't do it with out th e mechanic." Midwestern British bike enthusiasts should circle June 29 on their calendars: The date of the fourth Annual British Bike-In, this year slated for Cherryvale, Kansas . The event has been moved from its former Independence, Kansas lo cation to provide indoor display facilities. Trophies and prizes will be awarded for most original, best custom, long distance, oldest bike, best competition and best overall. Contact Ron lewis, 1716 Highla.nd pr., Independence, KS 67301 . 316/331-3347. Ash la nd Pet rol eum Compa ny has a nnounced it will tripl e its p roduction o f ge nera l-purpose car bo n fib er, droppi ng th e wholesale p ri ce into the ra nge of 5 10 per pou nd . Thisnew low p rice shou ld make the materia l attractive for h igh -stren gth , lightweig h t mo lded co m p o ne n ts li ke motorcycle fenders and fa irings. Ted Boody has resigned his position on the AMA p rofessional competition advisory board . " I spent over $1,000 of my own money attending meetings and fighting for rules which I felt would help the sport. I've resigned because one of the ru les adopted wasn't applied - specifically in my case. It doesn 't make sense to spend my own money to push rules which aren't enforced. When (referee) Duke Olliges talked to me the first time about riding tactics in my accident with Chris Carr he said I would get a citation and a possible fine - which is what the rules call for . I was called back later by Duke and he told me I was disqualified. If they were going to do that then some other riders including Bubba Shobert for his riding in the IT where he smacked Scott Parker but took himself out instead, should also have gotten the same treatment. It was a last lap, last turn desperation charge between Carr and myself. We didn't bump that hard . In fact, I didn't know he went down until I got to the pits." • ~RCYCLE INDUSTRYS CUANGE Born Shay Rya n Weaver , o n December 10 to speedway racer Mark Wea ver a nd hi s wife - former speedwa y racer - Pam " P in ky" Bennett Wea ver . Born- justi n Cody J ones, to Joe J on es o f J oe J on es Distrib u tin g in San Marcos, Ca lifornia , and his wi fe Ci ndy o n J anuary 28. Correction The ge nera to r of th e Suzuki GSX R750 is gea r-drive n by th e cl u tc h, not by th e cra n ksha ft as described in the phOIO ca p tio n o n page 13 o f the February 27t h issue; a nd th e bik e's Mikuni ca r bs hav e acce lera to r pump circ u its, n ot power jets . Married Bob H eidema n , Vice Presiden t o f AMCO motorcycle accesso ries (a n d tuner for Gary SCOll'S western din tra ck appeara nces), 10 Vickie Castleberr y o n February 2. Named Exclusive d istrib ut or of Mi chelin raci ng tires west o f the Missi ssippi , i nclu ding A las ka a nd Hawaii, In tern a tional Cycle Racin g Tires, 1845 Red ondo Blvd ., Lo ng Beach , CA 90804, 213/597-0339; th e company wi ll also attend club and selected national road ra ces; the program is being d irected byTim Smith , formerl y of Am erican Mugen and Ka wasaki. Formed Spencer a nd Space, by Lesle y Spencer, 10 produce new product releases for the motorcycle/ ATV industry: address is P .O . Bo x 7315, Laguna Niguel , CA 92677,7 14/ 6430468. A ppointed As importers and m aster di stributors for Ferodo h ighperformance brak e pads, Van Leeuwen Enterprises. In c. o f Arl eta , Ca liforn ia ; the com pa ny is o ne of severa l new d irec r-i rn por ri ng di stri butors set up by the En g lish co mpa ny. w h ich seeks a larger share of th e U.S . ma rket. Fired From R ider maga zin e upo n their return from a tum ultuous test and ph OIO assig n me n t during which person al a rg u me n ts allegedly en dan gered th eir ed itoria l m issi on in Death Valley, Californ ia , Feat ure Edit or J erry Sm ith, An Assistant Mar y Au stin and co n tri bu ti ng photographer V.V. H su, by Ed itor T ash Mat - s uoka: Sm ith had worked for th e m agazine for eig h t months. Austin for two yea rs, H su for five yea rs. Correction Only th e Californi a Chap ter of th e American AIIT errain Vehicle Associati on (AATVA) h as reorganized u nder th e n ame California All -Terrai n Vehicl e Associatio n (CATVA). CATVA wi ll con tin ue as th e Ca lifornia arm of AATVA, and AATVA wi ll remain intact as the nat iona l and sa nctioni ng organ ization for orr-road even ts, For informa tion on AATVA's ac tivities co n tact Roy Ja nson , Presidem , AAT VA, P .O , Box 6121, Westerville, OH 43081-6121. 614/891 -2425. CATVA can be reached through Sharon Bish op , President, CATVA, 3550 Foothill Blvd., Gl en dale, CA 91214. 818/ 249-2141. Appointed An Bagna ll , as Advertising a nd Market in g Director for R ich ter Motorcycl es Product s, Qwik P rod ucts, and P riva teer Perform ance Accessori es; formerl y Racin g Director for .Be ll Helmets, a nd co-p u blishe r o f Van , P ickup & orr Road Industry News, On the road again 1980 SupercrossChampion Mike Bell, as a representat ive for Oa kley Coggles a t a ll supercross an d National mot ocross events. In plaster Bria n Lun ni s, tuner for Hond a 's Bob H a n na h . aft er breaking h is rig ht foot in a gCI -off whi le ridin g in th e Ca liforn ia desert. Married Team Kawasaki motocrosser Bill y L iles a nd Cee Rivers in Atlanta, Georg ia. o n Februa ry 14; Lil es h as been recuperat in g from kn ee su rge ry. • 3

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