Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

doesn 't recogn ize his or her responsibility o r views th e machi ne as a toy. T he n, no doubt peo ple ge t hurt. Of course education becomes the key. T he deal ers do have th e task of advising a parent against the purchase of a high -performance three-wheeler for too small a child, and advising the parent in properly equi pping the child, or adult fo r that matter, in the use of safet y equipment, etc. All manufacturers (most of them Japa nese ) that I am aware of supply all th e information necessary to beginners to safely learn to operate their vehicles. Some manufacturers in my opinion su pp ly more informatio n than they are required to - for exam ple , American Honda is con ducting a vigorous safety campaign concerning pro per safety gear, no drinking, parent supervision. etc., etc. All this, o f course, should be co mmon sense , so I applaud Honda's attitude and approach. In closin g I wo u ld like to say tha nk yo u for ta king your time to read th is letter a nd please leave o ur sport alone. WEST America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Sharon Cla yton . Publish" Mik ("KJingtT.Complrolkr Ski p j ohnson . Associate Pu blish,., ' N ation al Sales M anagn Caroline Gmdry . Executive S,.cu tary to t he P ublish er Editorial John Ulrich. Ed itor Kil Palmer, A ssociat e Editor Mall Hilgen berg , Associat~ Ed ito r Jim wolcon , Associate Editor Paul Carruthers. Associate Ed it or ROBERT L UNDI US, M.D. Marion, IN Advertiaing T f"IT)' Prau Soles Mana/{t'f' Off-road riding T im Ryan . Salt's ltltl.no.g n' Lin da Brown Advt'Ttising Coordinator Na ncv \\'01,,((,11 . Advntis inK IEdilor;a l Assis tant Graphic. end Prod uction Larry Gill. Gra p hic Artist Gi nger Dev aul , G raphic Artist Mal col m Wilso n. Graph ic Art ist ~I.a rion Hatashita. T Y!Nst'Un Carol)'" Branha m . TYfH'.~~rtn • Dennis Greene, Lab. T ech: Accounti ng /Oem Proc e..ing Dismay Donna Bryan, A C'CounLJ R«t>;vo.b" Coordinator G eneva R epass, Assistetu Fran Hamw ey. C,,.dit I am writing 10 voice my dis may o ver two thi ngs : T he closi ng of riding areas. and the abuse of priva te propert y a nd public land as ridi ng areas by my dirt-riding peers . First, let me sta te tha i I am , a nd have been for 10 years, a n avid motorcyclist. I own an open-class mo tocrosse r and a middleweight street bike an d love ridi ng both, Second, I grew up in th e Sa nt a Clara Val ley of Ca liforn ia a nd kn ow abo u t urban cro wd ing and police enforcement. The CHP en fo rces th e letter of the law. You know just where you stand in their eyes. If they catch yo u brea kin g the law, they will write you u p ; whereas local and county officers mayor may not cite you for the same-offense, Third, it is your responsibility to know the la w, a nd kno w if it is legal to ride where you intend. In my region th ere is more legal riding area than I can ever hope to cover. There are two motocross tracks within 20 minutes of my house. I can be out in th e open desert in less th an five minutes from my garage. Despite all this open space, I still see my dirtriding peers riding with in I()() feet of houses, on co nst ructio n sites, etc. Whenever I get th e chance, I sto p th em and let th em kn ow that wh at th ey are doing is ill egal and th at what th ey are do ing is hurtin g all motorcyclists by re-i n forci ng th e notion that we a re outlaws wh ich crea tes further ill will. To all th e off-road riders who ride legally, I thank you and feel good to be a mo ng you. To all you outlaw s, you a re lik e a bad dream I can' t wake from and I feel nothin g but contempt and anger when I encou nte r yo u. We _ motorcyclists need to pull together or th e law will put an end to our favorite sport. JEFF P EST KA R io Rancho, NM Circ ulat io n Rhe ba Smith. Managrr Sarah Taylor. A ssi.s14nt Lyna Hood. A ssi.stanl Rebecca -Braak, Assistant Alma Anguiano. A.s.sulanl Deeler Sale . end Service Bob Elliot t. Dealer Sales Ata naKn Went Ad. Steve Gru ner. Wdnl A d Sau-s Service end Support Chr is Aitchesc n, R t'l'~ptio n ;s ' C rel(Or)' Hamo n. SirS West 2201 Cherry Ave.. Long Beach . C.A 90806. P.O . Box 498. Long Beach . CA 90801-0498 (2 13) 427-7-133: L .A. Line 636-8841. East ·B OO First Ave.• T uc ker, GA . 3008,1, P.O . Box 805. T uc ker. G A 30085-0805. (40-1) 93-1-7850 . Cycl e New,/ Wes, (US PS 141·340) is pu blished wee klv excepr the first and last week o f the calenda r year for $25 PM" year by Cycle News. In c.• 220 1Olerry Avenue. Lo n KBeach, CA 90806. Seco nd class pcsaage Paid 3 1 Long Beach. CA . POSTMASTER : Send fonn 3679 to Cycle NeW1l. P.O . BOll 498. Long Beach . CA 90801-0498. Subscr'iprion rates: 0rK' year . second class ma il . $25: two yean. second class mail. S45; three years , K'COIld ctass mail. $68; 25 weeks , SIS. Foreign roues available 00 request. Cycle :"l ws we lcomes un solicited editorial e material includinK cories. cartoons. photos, (1 C. uch mater ial. if p ub lish ed . becomes th e ex clusive p ro pert y o f Cycle News, Su ch acc epted material is subject to revision 3\ is necessary in the so le discretion of Cvcle New s. Unsolicitrd. ma teria l which i!i. not u se d wi ll be returned if acco mpa nied b)' a S('I£ addressed sta mped envelope. All u nso licited materia l will be handled with reasonable care. however. Cycl e Sews assu mes no responsibil ity fo r the salery. foss or da mage to ..uch materia l. Rep rint in g in wh o le or pan only b)' permission of the-pu blisher. Advnti~i nK rates a nd circulauon in formacion wil l be sen t upon request. $('t'S.R.D.S. Copyright@ Cycle New., Inc. 1985. Trademark Cycle New. reg istered U.S. Patent Office. All righureMrVIKI. ON THE FRONT PAGE: The new Yamaha YZ260N is more than just a pretty face. Test begins on page 16. Photo by Kim W . Palmer. .4 Northwest Nationals We are motorcycle racing fan s here in the northwest. We enjoy all types of motorcycle racing. The northwest has o n ly four Nat ional races here this year. T o our d isa ppo intment two of th e na tio na l races have been sched u led o n the same weekend . T hey a re the motocross races at Wash ou gal and the road races at Po rtl an d. I'm sure we are not th e o nly fans wh o wish 10 see both of th ese races . Wh at can we do to get the schedu le cha nged? We have read Cycle News for severa l years. II is th e most info rm ative readi ng pu t O U I on mo tor cycles and races. We ho pe you can help in making so me sch edu le cha nges, so the people here in the northwest can see both of the na tional races. If there is an address we co uld write to, to do some com p la in ing, pleas e let me know. T hanks again for a top-notch job on keeping us fans informed. C.STEWART Pacifi c City, O R Conta ct Wayn e Moulton at th e American Motorcyclist Assn., P.B. Box HI , Westervill e, OH 43081, 6/4 / 891-2425 .. . Editor. Doctor to CPSC It is with great di spl easure and conce rn that I am writing yo u in reference to your crusade to ban ATVs. My son (15 years old) and myself ha ve owned and operated th ese type vehicles for four years now wit hout injury. Our father-and-son relationshi p has been greatly enhanced by a mutually-enjoyed sport' and we have been pleased to see other famili es in o ur area recently purch ase and enjoy their three-wh eeled vehicles along wit h us. As a licen sed physician in Indiana I, too, am concerned a bo ut a ny activity that may be un safe or inherently da ngerous. Please let me assure yo u three-whee ler ridi ng is co nsiderably safer than many other spo rt-rela ted activi ties an d to portray them as inherent ly da ngero us is foolish . A certain responsib ili ty goes along with th e operation of an y mo tor veh icle. T he problem arises (even wi th . • ihree-wheelers j • the operator when I have been reading th e a rt icles in this paper about all th e people up in arms over the government clos ing the deserts and other go vern ment lands to off-road veh icles. We th ink th eir p lan is imagina tive but un enforceabl e o n at least two counts. Perhaps th e average citizen will respect th e closed area, bu t th e kn owledgea be need not. T he General Mi ni ng La ws of 1872 provide th a t vaca n t p u blic lands (includi ng forests) are ope n to th e p ubli c for prospecti ng a nd on discovery of a m ineral , to locate and purch ase. So a ll you two- a nd four-wheeler o wne rs just put a pick a nd sho vel, a pi ece of2x4. a hammer, nail. a tobacco ca n . so me paper . a pen ci l with you a nd a way you go prospecting an y p lace on vacant public la nds. The ra nger may hassle yo u a bit, but tell hi m to get lost , you are lookin g for mi nerals and he will understa nd your . ded ication to the na tio nal defense . Until the Gen eral Mining law is repealed th ere is nothing th ey can do. Look up th e law and then tell them to loo k it up them selves. They will see you are rjght. The General Minin g Laws of 1872 are still in effect, as th e mining lobhiests a re too stro ng in o ur go vern ment to ha ve it repea led even by th e Si erra Club. An y ch ild's tool kit wi ll work for most of th e tools yo u need. Have fun. We will probabl y see you ou t th ere some time, looking for minerals. of co urse. E.W. BO L E, J R. La s Vegas, NV Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News. Inc. Letters for publication must be typed and double-spaced; short. concise letters stand a better chance of being published; due to the volume of mail no letters can be returned or acknowledged. Send letters to Voices. P.O . Sox 498. LQng Seach. CA 90801 .

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