Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Cranston bill threatens California desert riding areas By Paul Carruthers LO G BEACH, C...A, MAR. 17 U.S. Senator Alan Cranston, D-Calif., has introduced the California Desert Protection Act of 1986 - a bill (Senate Bill 52061) that would establish three National parks and 85 In the last issue of Cycle News (number 1 O. March 19) Kevin Hines was incorrectly identified in a photo after winning the Daytona Dirt Riders Sportsman Hare Scrambles in Flagler Beach. Florida. This is the real Kevin Hines accepting awards for the win. The January 26 round of the CMC/ Skoal Golden State National Motocross Series held in Carlsbad, California, will be shown April 13 on the Nashville Network's American Sports Calvalcade. The go-minute show will feature the 250cc Pro class and the Suzuki-sponsored Quad class. A second 90-minute show will air on May II featuring three-wheeled ATVs and I25cc Pros. Southern California's United Sidecar Association has scheduled eight events in 1986. ranging from tours and rallies to barbeques. More information is available from Jim and Sue Lrautz at 818/3663179. Take two: As reported in our last issue, Sears Point I nternational Raceway in Sonoma, California has cancelled its AMA Pro-Am road race originally scheduled for August 3031. But contrary to our garbled explanation, the reason for the cancellation was the restructuring of AMA road racing to pay Camel Pro Series points in Superbike events; to get an AMA sanction for Superbikes, a promoter must run a full Camel ProSeries event. With Superbikes unavailable for Pro-Am weekends, Sears Point officials felt there was no viable class for the Professional pan of a Pro-Am, and decided to cancel. The May 17-18 Camel Pro Series Road Race scheduled for Sears Point will be held a scheduled. More information is available from 707/938-8448. England's Brands Hatch has passed FIM inspections and can now stage World Championship Road Racing events. The approval now means that three English tracks. (Brands. Silverstone and Donington Park). are now eligible to stage the British round of the World Championship. Nogaro. a French track boycotted by most of the GP riders in 1982. also passed the FIM inspection after the rough surface was improved; in 1987 Nogaro will host a European Championship round. A new 350cc Four-S troke class will be introduced to the International SixDays Enduro and the European Championship starting in 1988 at the request of the West Germans, according to reports from recentFIM spring meetings. The President's Commission on Americans Outdoors has extended until May 15 the deadline for con- separale deserl wilderness areas in California.• Off-road vehicle users oppo~ ing lhe bill say il would oUllaw off-road vehicle use on an additional 9.4 million acres of desert, reducing the 12.1 million acres now available for multiple use to less than 2.6 million acres. Passage of the bill would outlaw use of the Barstow-to-Vegas course and also eliminate courses used for such desert-racing classic as the Check Chase and the Parker 400. S2061 is the largest arid-land preservation bill in U.S history and would affect more than 14,000 quare miles of federal land in Imperial, Inyo, Riverside and San Bernardino Countie . The bill will expand the Death Valley and Joshua Tree national monuments and make them national parks while a new 1.5-million acre Mojave National Park would be created in the region east of Bar tow, California. . In the February 6 Congressional record, Cranston said, "During the past year I have worked with California conservationists to determine the highest and best use for each area within the California desert. Our goal has been to establish in law the most appropriate pattern of protection to assure that all Californians and visitors to the desen will have the full value of these lands." Cranston claims the bill leaves 4.6 million acres for hunting, mining, grazing and "motorized recreation." He ays, "I have been careful to exclude major areas enjoyed by offroad vehicle enthusiasts and areas with known commercial resource conflicts. I believe the natural values of these areas justify their inclusion in this proposal. onetheless, I look forward to working with user groups to accommodate justifed boundary changes." The con equences of the bill for oU-road vehicle users will be immense. according to opponents. They claim many open riding areas will be closed cept papers which outline new ideas for recreation policy. The short papers can be submitted by members of the general public; for more information. contact the President's Commission on American Outdoors. New Ideas Working Group. P.O. Box 18547. Washington. DC 20036-8547. 202/ 634-7310. The National Handicap Motorcyclist A sn. publishes a newsletter entitled "The Gimp Exchange" and is looking for handicapped motorcyclists to join. More information is available from Bob Nevola, The National Handicap Motorcyclist Assn., 32-04 83rd St., Jackson Heights, NY 11370, 718/565-1243. while designated trail areas will be reduced. On March 4, The California Desert Coalition was formed in an effort to fight Cranston's bill. The Coalition is made up of the National 6utdoor Coalition, AMA 0-37 and 0-38, California Off-Road Vehicle Assn. (CORVA), California All-Terrain Vehicle Assn. (CATVA), California Association of 4-Wheel Drive Clubs, Association Blazers of California, United4-Whee1 Drive Clubs, National Inholders Association, Western Mining Council, National Rifle Association and the California Ri£Je and Piston A sociation. Cranston's backing, meanwhile, reads like a who's who of preservationists. The Sierra Club, The Wilderness Society, National Parks and Conservation Association, Ecology Center of Sou thern Californ ia, Desert Survivors, Desert Protective Council, Citizens for a Mojave ational Park and the California Wilderness Coalition are supporting S2061. Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Bureau of Land Management is in the proces of determining whatareas are best sui ted for wilderness protection and is required to submit a list of wilderness areas to Congress by 1991. Cranston's bill seems to take that option away from the BLM. Hugh Riecken, an associate district manager for the BLM, told a San Bernardino newspaper, The Sun, "We want that system to work and this would actually circumvent that action if this bill was passed." One thing off-road vehicle users may have in their favor is that california Senator Pete Wilson has said that he will not take a position on the bill until the BLM can study it and make recommendations. Reports indicate that the bill will have a struggle being passed without the approval of the conservative Wilson. Off-road vehicle users can express upport for the California Desert Coalition by writing to The Honorable Pete Wilson, United States enate, Washington D.C. 20510. • The AMA has put together a program with Seals Communications (the producer of USA Network's MotoWorld) to offer same-day satellite news feeds to television stations and networks throughout the U.S. The feeds will be sent after each of the 10 Camel Pro Road Races as a straight sports news story and will be about a minute and a half to two minutes in length. For more information Nobody's perfect department: Team Yamaha had a slight mishap while returning from a higWy successful Daytona 200. The trailer carrying Eddie Lawson's Daytona winning bike plus the FZs of Mike Baldwin, Jimmy FiliceandJohn Kocinski, lost cagiva 'Motor Italia buys Husky TORRA CE, CA, MAR 13 Cagiva Nonh America Presidem Gianfranco Casliglioni announced on March 7 lhal Cagiva MOLOr llalia has purchased the Husqvarna Motorcycle Company in its entirety. The acquisition by the Cagiva Group will provide Husqvarna with needed capital to pur ue a more aggressive research and development program, according to a Cagiva press release dated March 7. The rele-ase goes on to say that the capital, in conjunction with Cagiva's technology and HusQvarna's experience. will serve to make Cagivd/Husqvarna a more dominant force in the worldwide motorcycle industry. Asked in a March 13 telephone interview what effect the purchase has had on day-to-day operations, Husqvarna'sJim McIlvain told Cycle News from Husky's San Diego, California, base. "There has been no change at all. It's business as usual. The reaction from our dealer group has been very positive. They think it's nice to have a parent company that' really involved in motorcycles. We will be sharing some expertise, but will remain separate as far as the dealers go. For example, a Husky dealer can't all of a sudden start ordering Cagivas and vice versa." Husqvarna motorcycles will continue to be produ ed in Sweden with Cagiva production remaining in Italy, according to the press release. The present company management will remain on staff and will handle both brdnds in their respective areas. Cagiva also announ ed that an upcoming, yet-to-be-scheduled press conference will be held to release further detail of the purchas . • two wheels in Indio, California, while en route to Yamaha's home base in Cypress, California. After grinding down the axle bol ts, the rig came to a stop; a crane was needed to lift the trailer onto another trailer. The English newspaper Motorcycling Weekly has ceased publication due to a dispute with its printer. and parent company Fleetmail ltd. may go into liquidation. according to Editor John Nutting. MotoWorld and Seals Communications will produce the exclusive telecast of the Daytona Motorcycle Week '86 on USA Network on Thursday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern/Pacific time. The two-hour telecast will feature the Daytona 200 uperbike race, the Daytona Supercros , the Battle of The Twins, the Formula Two final, plus highlights from the week' activities. Two repeat telecasts will follow the premier. MotoWorld host Larry Maiers, producer Denis Torres, former Superbike Champion Wes Cooley, former Grand National Champion Gene Romero, former National Motocross Champion Bob Hannah and Cycle News contributor Tom Mueller provided the color work for the two-hour telecast (watch for Cyt:le News commercial starring Kenny Roberts). The 1986 AMA Historic Cup Series of road races for vintage machines started at Daytona and will include four other races starting at Road Atlanta in Braselton. Georgia on March 29·30. More information is available from Lyn Garland at 203/646-6382. (Continued to page 22) 3

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