Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Desert ar are ....... Senator A Ian Cranston's environmentalist-backe d Senate Bill 2061 would close most of the California desert to m ot orcycles and ot her OR Vs fo r no goo d reason; . it's California ridin g and racing areas threatened tod ay, and it'll be somewhere else tom orrow. So do so mething to stop Cranston 's push to close th e desert, or fo rever regret it, Fill out the form below (and m ake copies fo r your friends to fi ll out) and sen d it to Cranston 'today! Sen d a copy to Sen ato r Pete W ilson at 720 Senate Hart Off ice Bldg.• Wash in gt on, DC 20510, an d do it now . . . Editor. American Honda Motor Co. used a VFR750F to break the 24-hour Motorcycle World Speed Record at the Uniroyal test track in Laredo. Texas on ' April 26-27. A team of FIM representatives supervised the record attempt. which saw a total of 14 riders take the VFR750F 3436.3 m iles in 24 hours. at an average speed of 143.18 mph; the old record was set at 128.23 mph by Cycle World magazine with a Suzuki GSXR750 last September. A Honda VFR700F also ridden by the team 'o f 14 pilots averaged 138.90 mph for 24 hours. Other records broken during the 24-hour period included the six and 12-hour and 100 kilometer and 1000 kilometer marks. Riders involved in the record-setting spree inclu ded Kiyoshi Aizawa,' Christine Baur. M itch Boe hm. Dave Bush. Dain Gingerelli. Tom Hicks. Nick lenatsch. Gary laPlante. Phil McDonald. Rick M itchell. Brent Ross. Mike Spencer. John Ulrich and Dirk Vandenberg. The photo above shows Baur taking the checkered f lag on the VFR750F. at Willow Springs In ternationa l Raceway in Rosamond. California; the new five-acre f acility in cl udes a 300x400-foot asphalt sk id pad surrounded by a 1 OO-foot sp in -off area on all sides. Red LaGrand o f LaGrand 's Racing , a racecar fabrica tion shop loca ted next to Willow Springs International Ra ceway in Ro samond, California , thinks a spec ta tor a t th e April 27 AFM race a t th e tra ck walked off with his daughter' s pomeranian dog named Liza ; LaGrand's daughter is h eartbroken , a nd anybody with information should call LaGrand a t 8051 256-3571. Bell Sports is considering moving its major manufacturing facilities from Norwalk. California to a plant in Rantoul. Illinois. According to a company source. the move is beyond the study stage. but no commitment has yet been made. The source says that the state of California's emissions laws make the state unattractive for manufacturers utilizing large amounts of fibergla.. in their products. On the oth.r hand. Illinois welcomes the busin.... which could help the area out of a economic slump which it is currendy .xperi.ncing. If the move happens. the ......rch and development. marketing and hom. offices w ill remain in Norwalk. A recent advertisement in this publication incorrectly listed a phone number for VIP Cycle and Sport Center , Inc. of North P lainfield, New Jersey; the correct number for New Jersey calls is 201/753-6373. April 25 marked the first of 15 amateur AMA TTs at Hinsdale. Illinois' Santa Fe Speedway. The speedway recently discontinued weekly professional racing . Dirt tracker Dave Hebb finished fourth in th e Apri l 4 Gardena Gold C up Reg io na l Half Mi le a t Ascot Park in Garden a, California. Du e to a n unfort u na te typographical error, Hebb was referred to a s Dave Webb in our coverage of the event. p-------------------------------. Senator Alan Cranston U.S . Senate 112 Senate Hart Office Bldg. Washington. DC 20510 Dear Senator Cranston: I oppose S2061 because it subverts the mandated-byCongress BlM desert plan. which took 10 years. millions of dollars and considerable public in put to develop. The ' Bl M plan provides for balanced management and multiple use and protection of resources. and provides for the expanding recreational needs of all groups in southern California. S2061 puts the interests of a small group of radical preservationists over the broad public planning process which in clud ed them as well as others. I am outraged that S2061 was developed with input from radical preservationist groups only. w ithout giving responsible off-road vehicle user groups an opportunity to comment, The La Carrera classic Mexican Road Race. which w ill beheld on public roads between Ensenada and San Felipe in Baja Ca lifornia. Mexico on Saturday. May 10 will see journalists representing American motorcycle magazines compete in a battle of writer / riders. in cl udin g Tony Murphy. Steve Anderson. Nick lenatsch and Rick Mitch.lI. Mexican Road Racing Champion ·J esus Rodrig uez will compete on a Suzuki 650cc single ,and the race will be video taped by World Satellite News and broadcast to 20 countries . • 1 My f amily's current invest ment in ORV use of the California desert incl udes: _---'Motorcycles at a tota l cost of $, MQ'!:0RCYCLE INDUSTRY _---

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