Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Despite a Virg in ia cou rt decisio n saying motorcycles should be permitted in h igh -occ upancy vehic le (HOVI lanes, t he state attorney genera l's office ha s a dvised polic e t o keep on ticketin g motorc yc lists fou nd rid in g in t h e Wash ingto n area carpool la ne s, the A MA re ports. Arl ington C ircu it J u dge William W inston a c q uitte d motorcyc list Ma lcolm Wa lker of the HO V violation in J u n e . The judge 's decision was based on inf o rm a t io n supplied by the AMA which showed that a 1982 federal law ordered states to open HOV la ne s to motorcycles unless a state cou ld provide evidence that the action wo uld jeopard ize safety . Of seven states w ith HOV la n e s , only Washington has complied with the federal law, reporting no safety problems by opening the lanes to motorcyclists. The AMA urges riders who live in states with HOV la rie s t o write their state transportation department or the Federal Highway Ad ministration (in care of Adm inistrator Ray Barnhart, Nassif Bldg, 400 Seventh St., S .W., Washing ton, DC 205901 asking for the is sue to be resolved . Gary Rabe Int erna tional P roducts has a dded two new members to its Roc k O il T eam : 125cc Na tiona l MX co ntender R icky R ya n a nd end uro rider Scou Taggart; G . RJ .P. is loo king for o ther P ro and Ex pe rt riders i n a ll aspects of motorcycling to add to th e Roc k O il Team; i nformation is ava ila ble from 408/356-42 19. Among the m issing at the Peoria IT National was Randy Goss. "I decided to skip Peoria and a lso the upcoming Hamburg Nat iona l Ha lf Mile to give my le g a rest. The healing process is n't com ing a long like it shou ld , " said Goss. " I wa nt to be ready for t he Indy M iles a nd the rest of t he Na tio nals. " Goss broke h is lower left le g in an accident a t la st September's Sa n Jose Mile National and suffered a hair- . line fracture of the same le g at the Ascot IT Nationa l o n Ma rc h 30 . A 40-wee k motorcycl e m ec h ani c trai ni ng co urse wi ll begin Sep tem ber 9 at West Valley O ccupat ional Center i n Woodl and Hill s. Ca liforni a . The tra ining prog ram will co ver a ll p h a ses o f m ot or cycl e repair a nd maintenance ; registra tio n o pe ns o n August 28. fo r more in formation ca ll 818/ 346-3540. Florid ian Steve Martin, w ho has been living in Japan and contestin g that co untry 's 250cc National MX Series, has a 15-point le a d in the series a t the halfway mark. Martin, who is riding w ith support from Ho nda , h a s a lso been doing development work fo r C" ', lop in Japan. Martin has been r&~,"g w ith tubeless motocross t ires; the tires mount on specia l rims and don't require the use of rim locks. O ver I i ,000 o f copper hea d gask e ts were sto len from IBCO o n Wednesday. Augu st T. T he gaskets were ma de fo r various models of J apan ese mo torcycles ; if yo u have a ny informat ion regarding th e th eft co ntact IBCO at 2 13/ 435-0660, " W he n you ' re rea lly fee ling s ic k, 25-la ps is a lo n g w ay, " said Camel Pro S e ries Champion Ric ky Graham abo ut his s low s lip from fou rth to 12t h in the DuQuoin Nationa l. Graha m was weakened wit h t he flu . J ohnn y O' Mara won hi s fir st MX GP inl 980. andn ol in 1981 as weprin u-d in o ur re port o n th e Unadi lla 250('c MX G P two weeks ago . O' :\lara' s record sti ll stands a t th ree ca reer (;1' w in s : t h e M id-O h io ( L e x i n g to n ) 125cc G P in 1980: rheSwi ss I 25cc GP in 1982: and th e Unadilla 2!iOcc GP in 1985. The Belgiu m Motorcycling Federation (FM BI has announced t he cancellation of the World C h a m pionship Formula One IT road ra c e at Zolder. While the Form u la One race schedu led for September 1 has been cancelled. 80, 250 and 500cc c lasses will still be held. H arl ey-D av idson Beer was a .big h it du ring the 1984 and '85 Da ytona Cycle Weeks. so wh y not a win e coo ler ca rry i ng th e H arley nam e? Ha rley p lan s to test market a win e coo ler so o n a t a regi onal level a nd. if a ll goes well . go na tio na l with it in 1986. • MOTORCYCLE INDUSTRYS CNANGE Appointed Advertising Ma n ager for C ycle World magazine, Greg Bla ck well , brother of H u sq va rn a Ma rketing Vice President Mark Blackwell. Wadded A 1986 Ka wa sa k i Ninja G PzIOOOR . by Cycle Magazine Road T est Editor Ken L ee; L ee wa s unhurt wh en th e front end wa sh ed o u t whil e rid ing o nth e stree t. a nd th e bike sus ta ine d moderat e damage to th e fa ir in g a nd bodywork. Wadded A FireAero stree tgoing th ree-wh eeler, by Cycl e World Magazin e T ech n ica l Editor St eve Anderson. The ma chine high-sided a n d fli pped over wh ile m ak ing a Uturn a t Carlsbad Racew ay; Anderson was not wearing th e vehicle 's sea t belt but esca pe d with minor scra tches: th e body o f the FireAero was destroyed . Named As advertising director for K&L Supply of Santa Clara . California, David Matthew . Changed The name of J R P h o tog ra p h y & Design. a n ad vertisin g agen c y based in Chat sw orth , California, to R och a & Ass ociat es. Adv ertising/Des ign, Promoted T o Vice P resident . Senior Accou nt Pl anner fo r C h ia t/ Day Advert isin g o f Los An geles. Ca lifornia . Ti m O 'Kenncdv , 24. a rider fo r two-ti me \VERA Natio'nal Endura nce R oad R a c in g- C h a mp io ns T eam Hammer : acco u nts O 'Kenn ed y is in volved with for th e awa rd -win ni ng agency incl ude Nike, Porsch e, Pi zza Hu t a nd App le Co mpu ters , Named Cr ew Chief an d mecha ni c for Tea m H ammer. Vic Faso la , 32. o f Clarkston. Georg ia 's Cycle Nuts & Bolts: Fasol a replaces Ken H oogl and . who left to p u rsue ot her interests, Scheduled A tw ice-mon th ly. 25- times-a -yea r printing sched u le fo r A T V News. starting O ctober I; A T V N ews. a ta blo id newspaper p u blished by Cycl e News . In c., is cu rr ent ly a m o nth ly. Hired As Sales Mana ger o f Cagiva North Ameri ca . George Huebner. form erl y of R.C. Engineering; Huebn er will handl e Cagiva 's deal er relations. sales a nd ma rke ti ng. • mile racer o f a ll tim e. Sp ringfield w ill also ho st H onda 's R icky Gra ham . wh o is th e o n ly rider since 193i to win there fo ur straight times. H a rley has not wo n a m ile in a year a nd this wi ll be th e firs t time Roberts ha s ever ridden o ne. The od d s are g rea t. but th en. "Kin g Kenny" ha s beat en the odds before li ke n o ot h er ride r before him. • THE NATIONAL PAPERS By Roxy Rockwood Su nday, September 1. A da y of in teres t to all m o torcycle rac i ng fan s - " Ki n g " Kenn y Roberts is co m ing o ut o f di rt track raci ng retir ement as a n offici al en tr y for the Camel P ro Series Spri ngfield Mil e. Ro berts last raced a mile in 197i a nd won hi s last mile in 19i5. In hi s long and outstandi ng-ca reer o n ra ce tr acks a ll over the wo rld from 19i2 to 1983. he proved again and aga in th a t hecould master a ny trac k. dirt or pavement. If R o berts had a weakness it was o n th e miles wh ere h e won o n ly three times. O f the five types of racing on the Class C Nationa l circu it each season. h is wi n tota ls were th e sma llest o n the miles. Bu t Ken n y will be remembered as the only rider to ever win a m ile on both a two- and four-strok e machine. H e is also" remembered as the only rider to ever wi n a mi le an d then sta te that the motorcycle was dangerous and should be banned - which the TZi50-based mi ler was th e fo llowing season . It happen ed in hi s fi na l m ile win a t Indiana polis wh en he powered th e Yamaha 10 a co me -from -beh ind win o ver J a y Sprin gsteen an d Corky Keen er. Th e competiti on q u ick ly jum pe d on th e sta tement made in th e winner 's circle and us ed it to ban not o n ly two -strokes. bu t a ll en gines with m ore than two cylinders. in clud in g four-strokes. It was a move th at . accordi ng to so me . m ay ha ve set Camel P ro GN C rac in g back a few yea rs. Robert s broke into th e National ra n ks in 19i2. lo n g after racing had ceased a t Springfield in 1966. By th e time ra cing had resumed a t th e ca p ita l ci ty track. Ken n y wa s devoting full time to road racing in Europe . Th e S p ri n g fie ld Mi le had run a n n ua lly since 193i. a nd for yea rs was th e o n ly place a rider cou ld gai n the number o ne p lat e. Wh en th e wea the r - before a n d during - a Sp ri ngfield event is right. there is per ha ps no be t ter tra ck. Ro berts has teamed with a nother former m ile w inner . Mert La ww ill , to try a mi le comebac k a fter an eigh tyear layo ff. Laww ill was a n exce lle n t m iler in h is da y. win n ing o n two occasions a nd leadin g Springfield o nce by a wide m arg-in before he ran o u t o f gas. L aww ill retired in the ea rl y ' i Os a nd turned to engine bui ld ing where he fo u nd sho rt succes s wi th Gart h Bro w . wh o wo n bo th San J o se M iles in 19i8 and ret u rned in '8 1 to become the firs t three-time win ner th ere. Of lat e. Wayn e Ra iney has been the La wwi lt-Ro berts test rider fo r th e m ile machine that Kenn y wi ll ride a t Springfield . Wa itinl?; th ere o n th at da te wi ll be no less tha n 14 riders tha t hav e wo n mi les in recen t ti m es. in cl ud ing Bubba Shobert. wh o is o n h is _ wa y to becoming- perhaps th e grea test ~y 15K John Ulrich When I ro lled thro ugh the gates at Ohio 's Nelson Ledges Raceway two weeks ago, I hadn't been at a 'W E RA N ational Endurance Race since winning th e 1984 Championship with Team H am mer at Road Atlanta last November. A lot o f thi ngs surprised me a t Ne lson Ledges. incl udi ng ho w hap p y I felt to see myoid enduran ce raci ng frien ds and to be part o f nat ional -level long -d istance raci ng aga in . even if I was only a guest rider. I felt rusty in practice. then increasingl yexh ilara ted as th e sca les of rust began to fla ke off a nd th e lap times sta rted to come down despi te shonsh ifting to save th e engi ne a nd taking it ea sy o n the brakes to break in th e pads . I'll never know ho w I would have done in th e 24-Hours of Nelson Ledges because the bike broke early o n - before it was my tum to rid e - and th e deci sio n was made to park it and sta rt prepping for the September 7-8 24H ours West a t W ill o w Spring-s Raceway. since eac h team ca n only count o ne 24-hour event in their championship points tota l. Bu t what impressed me most about N e lson L edges was rediscovering just how much a soc ia l fun ction a n en d uran ce rac e is . rem embering the enormous logist ica l effo rt needed to make a n assa u lt o n a 24-hou r race. a nd again seeing how efficient a n d acc u ra te t h e sc o r i n g is a t most WE RA Nati on al End ura nce Seri es even ts. H o u rl y resu lts were posted a t Nel so n Ledges, about 30 minutes aft er th e en d of each hour. every hou r. At th e end o f th e race th e fin al results were issued and trophies and purse ch ecks were h anded to th e overa ll a nd class winner s in a winner 's ci rcle cerem o n y, Th e Fabulous Speed Boy s won the 24-Hours of Nel son Led ges o n th eir Yamaha FZi50 Superbike, a nd th ey deserved it . Everybody who en d ura nce races deserves accurat e sco rin g a nd results issued in a timel y fashion. And anybody who didn 't go to Nel so n Ledges can see how a n en d u ra nce race sh ould be run a t Wi ll ow Springs o n September i-8. •••• • An o th er or ganizati on doing a good job is a n on- p rofit cl ub (America n Fed erati on of Motorcyclist s) es ta blishe d in 1954. R iders a t AFM events held at Willow Sprin gs face th e consistent lytoughest co m pe tition in so u the rn Ca lifo rnia. a nd sco res of AFM riders hav e gone o n to fame a n d fortune in National a nd Worl d Champi onsh ip co m pe t i t io n. inclu din g R and y Marn ol a, Eddie La wson . Wes Cooley. Fred Merkel. Don Greene. Wayn e Rainey a nd o th ers . Riders a t AFM even ts can w in exce llent co nt ingency mone y fro m Yamaha . H onda . Kaw a sa ki. Su zuki a n d Kerker . a nd ca n win savi ngs bonds fro m NO . AFM has its ac t together and IS worth che ckin g o u t. • 7

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