Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

killed . (Mem bers of th e Pi sm o Dune patrol who were a t th e scene lat er said that th e g irl was looking ove r h er sho u lde r a t so me boys an d rode stra ig ht into a was hou t ru t; as th e front wh eel dro p ped into the washou t, th e pa ssenger grab rai l ca me up a nd h it th e gi rl in th e bac k o f th e h ead; she had no hel m et; th e Dune Patrol m embers a lso rep orted th at they had some difficulty findin g Ms. Frisbi e a t th e tim e, an d th at she was back a t th e fa m il y' s ca mpsi te .) Fris bie a lso claimed th at rea r ax le run out exceeding 0.001 inc h co u ld ca use a crash. Fred Ku perstein to ld th e Cornrn ission th a t 3\2 years ago h is 14-yea r-old so n wa s " m urdered " by an ATC I85 . As Kuperstein to ld it , h e bought th e kid a nd himself ATVs wh en th e kid was I I. "We rode as a famil y fo rthree years," Ku perstein said. "It was grea t fu n a nd he loved it and ' loved it ." He said th e kid begged for a lar ger ATV, and h e boug h t hi m a 185; three months later the kid crashed while wearing a he lmet, th e ATV rolled on him a nd cr ushed his sku ll. Ku perstei n said he bla med h imself for three years, then saw the infamous ABC 20/20 report on ATVs; '" saw the light," Kupers tein said. "It wasn 't me . I was subliminally fool ed int o th ink in g it was safe. T h e damn ma chine just turn ed over a n d killed him. I'm not stu p id. How was I foo led by Ho nda? Honda killed my son and ' didn't." Kuperstein said he was supervising his son from 200 yards away and cha rac terized an ATV as " A let ha l, motorized ki lling rnach ine ," a nd told th e Commission to " Ba n th e th ing . Or at lea st put a big skull a nd crossbones on the ta nk w here every father ca n see when putting h is kid on ATVs." Under questionin g from th e Commissioners, Ku perstei n revea led th at he did not kn ow what brand helmet th e kid was wea ring , because h e bought it for $3 a t a swa p meet; Kuperstein was not as ked if th e helmet fit p ro perl y a nd he didn ' t volu nteer whe ther or n ot it was even a m ot orcycle h elmet. H e a lso clai med h e thought AT Vs were per fectl y safe and tha t h e rejected bu yin g a dirt bike beca use it look ed dan gerous, but didn't exp lai n why h e ins is ted o n hi s so n wearing a h elmet (suc h as it was) o n wh at h e viewed as a perfectl y-safe m achine. He a lso didn 't mention wh eth er or n ot h e o r the kid h ad ever tipp ed over o n th e smalle r ATVs th ey ro de before bu ying th e 185. Kuperst ein was lat er sig ned up d urin g th e hea rin g lu nch break as a cl ient by one o f th e a ttorneys on th e pane l. C he t McCall to ld the Com missio n tha t hi s u ns upervised fo ur -yea r-o ld so n tippe d ove r a n ATC70 a n d was ki ll ed a fter ridi ng every da y for a bout th ree mont hs, a nd was wearing a h el m et. " I' m not so sure myse lf the bik e was a factor. He died of brain hemorr hage and ' thin k th e helm et was th eprobl em. Fo r 12 years ' have use d ATVs in my work, I'm a fa rm er, a nd I'm not aga ins t them ," said McCal l. Wanda Weaver testi fied that her hu sband , J im, was killed when anot he r, erratic ri der cut in fro nt of h im on a dune; she said she an d h er fa mil y enjoyed ATV ridi ng an d tha t she di d n' t feel th e ATV was at fau lt . Fri end o f th e fam il y Don Bin gham test ifi ed that h e was rid in g with Wea ver and o the rs an d agreed that th e fata l cras h was n o t th e fa ult of th e ma chines, but of th e o the r ri de r who cu t in front o f Wea ver , ca usi ng a co ll isio n . . Panel four co ns isted of Ed Gl ynn from H onda , Doug Somers (an auor ney representing Honda ), Michael Schmitt from Yamaha , Roger. H a gie from Kawa saki, Ri ch ard Bowman (a n attorney representing Kawasaki) o ~ C'J ~ V ..0 8 V ;> o Z Lawson Teaches A-B-C's of Racing at ABC's Superbikers Nothing like a lesson from a former Moto -4 was the industry's first high500cc World Road Race Champ. Eddie tech off-road helmet, d esigned for serious Lawson proved it doesn't matter what racing en thusiasts. This lightweight type of motorcycl e h e's on, he's at the fiberglass helmet features Bell's exclusive head of the class. At ABC 's TV SuperForce Flow" internal cooling system bikers race, top racers from dirt track, which keeps the rider 's h ead cool, even road racing and motocross all gather on when the competition is hot. And believe a single track to d etermine who's the best us when we say it's hot at the Superall-around rider. Lawson and his modified bikers. A cloth-covered foam lining Yamaha motocrosser took the lead early wicks away perspiration while an ad and sent the rest of the class home. For justable visor h elps keep out mud and the second time. water. And like all Bell racing h elmets, Whenever h e's racing on a multi· . _ - - _ - . the Moto-4 is Snell '8 5 approved. terrain course, Lawson always Team up with the Bell Moto-t wears a Bell Meto-d h elmet. and Eddie Lawson. The choice The reasons are obvious. The of champions. A Dlvtston of Bell Sp0'1S- Inc. Motorcycle World w ith Larry Huffman' ~ is racing across California via satellite th is Sunday's specia l gues ts are: 1984 National Champion and Ro ad Ra ce T eam Manager for Honda It comes to you live , every Sunday night from 10 to 11 p.m. ~ j.~~~ ro~fi.'!,~o" . vo\~ -~ S"'~. ~~~'i>\~e ., ,,0 ,'~i-"~:,,~~~~~~"~p.::i~~::,,~t:~~t,~,,~~,,\ .,. ** RICK JOHNSON ** ** uno GIETL ** Topics range fr om street bikes to dirt bikes to su percross, motocross a nd drag racing. World -wid e ra ce resul ts with Warren Reid an d Dr. Carver's Sp orts Medicin e feature. Call in and tal k with all t he top per son a liti es , a nd be a part of motorcycle world. !!!!~ 1-(800) 228-5249 or (714) 661- 19 6 2 ::::; Sponsored by : .• ..• !!~ ~~

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