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/126812
Desert coverage I would like to take this opportunity you on your excellent cov erage of desert and off-road events these last few month s. Larry Langley is doing a great jo b. His a rticles are accurate and complete, plus he always tak es th e time to include the many sponsors who make our sport possible. Keep up th e good work! DAN SMITH #1 Heavyweight AMA District 37 Visalia, CA lo com p lim ent l!') 00 0') WEST America '. weekly motorcycle newspaper K100 test After my cr itica l letter of a couple months ago, I felt it only fair 10 write again 10 compliment you on printing the first and most complete highmileage review of the new BMW Kbike. The a l l-st reet, s lick-stock monthlies should hang their heads in collective shame. BRUCE ARMSTRONG Ojai, CA Sharon Clayton. Publish er Mik e Klinger, Co m p tro ller Skip Johnson. Associate Publish." Nation al Saks ManagtT Caroline Gendry. Executive Suutary to th e Publisher Edlto rilll John Ulrich. Editor Kit Palmer. Associate Editor Matt Hilgenberg, Associate Editor Jim wclcou. Associate Editor Rex Ree se. Fta tuu Editor Advertising Terry Pratt. Salts Managn Mik e Spencer, Salts ManagtT Tim Ryan. Saks Mana~., No Laguna BoTT? Linda Brown. Aduenising Coord inator Nancy Wastell. Adoenising tEditoriat A ssistant Graphics .nd Production Larry Gill: Graphic Artist Ginger Devaul. A ssociate Graph ic Artist Mar ion Hatashita, TYPt!s~tln Sheila Larsen, TYi"sm., Dennis Greene, Lab. Tech. Accou nting /O_ Precea ing Donna Bryan. Accounts R t!crivab~ Coordinator Geneva Repass. Assistant Fran Hamwey. Credit Circulation Rheba Smith. Manag., Sarah Taylor. Assistant Lyna Hood. Assistant Deelar S.....nd Serv ice Bob Etlicn, Dealer Sales lIIanag., W.ntAda Stev e Gruner, Want Ad Sa If's Service and S upport Chris Aitcheson, Recept ion ist Gregory Hanson. S",S Wallt 2201 Cherry Avo.. Long Beach. CA 90806, P ,O . Box 498. Long Beach , CA 9080 1-0498. (213) 427·7433: L.A , L ine (213) 636·88H. Eallt 4190 Firs' Avo.. Tu cker, GA . 300&1. P.O . Box 805 . Tucker. GA 30085-0805. (404 ) 934-7850. Cyc le News/west (USPS HI-340) is published week ly exce p t th e Iirsr and last week o f th e ca lendar year for $25 per year by Cycle New s. In c., 2201 Chl7TY Ann ul'. Long Beach . CA 90806 . Second clas s po.". tage paid a t Long Beac h . CA . POS TMASTER: Se nd fo rm 357 9 to Cycle News. P.O. Bo x 498. long Beech. CA 90801-0498. Su bscri p tio n rat es: One year. second class mai l. $25; IWO years . seco nd class mal l. $45; three years . seco nd cla ss ma il $68: 25 weeks. 5 13. Fo rei gn rat es avai lab le on request. . , . C}'CIl" Nl"WS welcomes unsol ici ted editoria l materia l in clud in g S-tories. ca rtoo ns, p hotos. etc. Such ma terial. if published. bec omes th e exclus ive p ro JX "fty o f Cycle News. Suc h accepted materia! is subj~'Ct lO revisi o n as is necessary in the so il" dbcrerio n of Cvcle News . U nso licited ma terial wh ich is' no t used will be retu rn ed if accompa nied by a sell-addr essed sta m ped en velope. All unsolicited material will be hand led wit h reaso na ble carl'. however, Cycl e.' News ass u me s n o respcnsi biluy .for 0 the' sa fely . lo ss or dam age 1 such m aterial. Rep ri nt in g: in wh ol e or part o n ly by pe rmi ssion o f th e publishe r. Advertising rates a nd ci rcu la tio n in form ation will be sen t upon req uest. See S.R.n .S. Copyright® Cycle News. Inc . 19 85 . Trademark Cycle News registered U.S, Patent Office . All rights rese rved. 4 O N THE FRO NT PAGE: Ga sto n R. hie r .nd his mighty BMW on the way to • aecond c onaecutive Pa risDa ka r win. R.lly cove r.ge stem o n pa ge 14. with a R.hie r p rofile on PlIge 17. Revenuers After July I, 1985, all California street-licensed vehicles, including tra il bikes, must be insured. Operators unable to show proof of insurance upon a police officer's demand wiIl be fined and lose their driver's license automatically. One good thing: I've been paying $80 a year for my Husky licen se, When it expires in May, I'll switch to a green stickie, which is only $7.50 a year. I thought the DMV and CHP were revenuers. How did this money-saving law slip by them? WINSTON BEAUMONT Wrightwood, CA The old days The articles in recent issu es of Cycle News took me back to Sal em, Oregon in 1969. One was a bo u t Kent Howerton winning th e Super bik ers a n d the other was Bob Leach winning a Vet's motocross i n Alba ny. Oregon. H o werton had a fin e a n d welldeserv ed a rt icle written a bo u t him in . if I rem ember correctly, 1973 or 1974 when he fi n ishe d sevent h ove ra ll in a n Ame rica n National. as a p riva teer. Cycl e News sai d it was the best fin ish by a privat eer ever . and wou ld p roba bly rema in so. Togo back to Sa lem, O regon 1969, I attended an Intern'l tional mot ocro ss in which a ll o f th e best Eu ro pea n riders were in attendance. as well a s ou r best Am eri can riders. At that time we had two typ es of ride rs. Ou r fin e yo ung riders o f toda y a re p robabl y too yo un g to remember that they were th e "Eurpun s" and "Mer kin s." Every International mot ocross held in th e U.S . in th ose day s ga ve th e results as follow s - "First overa ll an d two-three-four-and-so-on " to 12 or soand th en we would trul y, proudl y cheer for "and first Am eri can " whoever it happen ed to be on th at particular da y. Gary Bailey and Barry Higgins were considered th e best Am eri can rnotocrossers at that time. However, on that freezing cold Oregon day I watched Bob Leach lap both Gary Bailey and Barry Higgins and whip every European except Ake Johnson, Bengt Aberg and Willi Bauer. This is not intended in any.way to put down any of the great riders mentioned above. I only wish, as I have for many years, that all of America could have been as proud of Bob Leach asl was that day, and still am. By the way, I am not related to Bob nor am I a personal friend. I met Bob for the first time at a motocross in Albany, Oregon on November 18, 1984. Watching him blow away the Vet class that day, without the aid of a stopwatch to help me , he looked faster, a t age 34. than any of the local Pros. VERN HAMILTON Cave Junction, OR Racing and sacrif ices T o G. Swan o f Pacoima, CA.. (Cycle N ews, February 27) I too enjoy Cycle N ew s and feel it's th e only p aper for mot orcycle ent h us ias ts. rega rd less of type o r cla ss. For th e past nine years, I have been racin g Oat track as a n Am ateu r o u t o f Ar izon a - a challe n ge in itself, to find races - and just recentl y turned Pro . You say going from L. A. lo Corona, Bak ersfield. or Perris is " j us t too far" for ama teurs. T ry going from Phoenix to Corona , Perris, San J os e a nd Ascot, o n a self-sponsored basis. just to be a ble to ra ce a t a ll. Nothing p ersonal , but I Ieel th at flat-tracking is suffe ring becau se o f peop le who don 't want to sacrifice any th ing to participate. I feel I speak for a ll serio us flat trackers, wheth er th ey be Am at eur o r pro fessio na l, from th e sta te of Arizona. What 's a two-hour drive vs. six, one way, with th e cha nce of gelling rained-out or breakin g , a nd having to turn around a n d co me home empty-handed. (Of our last five trips lo Corona, I have been a ble to race once.) KEVIN TODD Phoenix, AZ There is a strong rumor that the AMA will not have the Bailie of the ·T wins class at this year's Lagu na Seca Nationa l. The reason seems to be several accidents that happened during last year's race and the fact that the BaTT is not a " p rem iere" class like Formula One or Superbike. The AMA seems 10 have Iorgouen the fact that the BaTT class has been very safe in the past. at Laguna as well as other tracks. With the other classes being dominated by Honda-Yamaha battles, and with Daytona changing the 200 to Superbike for wider rider appeal, it would seem that they would welcome a class that has Honda, Yamaha, Cagiva, Harley. BMW , Norton, Moto-Guzzi, Triumph, MOIO Morini, Ducati, and even an occasional BSA or Match less to be on the track, at the same time something that would beappealing to the spectators. I[ you care about this class, please help by making it very clear to the AMA and Lee Moselle of SCRAMP that the cancellation of the BoTT part of the Laguna Seca program wou ld bea big mistake. Their addressesare: AMA. P.O. Box 6114 , Westerville, OH 43081-6114 . and Lee Moselle, SCRAMP, P .O . BoxSCRAMP, Monterey, CA 93940. DON CONKLING BoTT #59 Millbrae, CA In dian D un es Do es a nyone ca re a bo ut lo sing Indi an Dunes? When Sa d d le bac k P ark close d everyone tried lo bring her back . No w th at th e Dunes is closed, does a nyone ca re? H av in g a pl ace to ride is a privilege worth fighting for! I[ we g ive up so eas ily th e whol e sport will soon be ex tinct. CLIFF RANNEY Sa n Luis Obispo . CA Pub lis hed letters do not necessaril y ref lect the position of Cycle News. Inc. Letters f or publicat ion m ust be typed and do uble-spaced; short. concise letters stand a better chance of being published; due to the vo lume of mail no letters can be returned or acknowledged. Send letters to Voices. P.O . Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801 .