Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Spectro Oils of America will be on han d June 3-6 at Ameri cade '87 in La ke Geor ge, New York , to do mo torcycle oil changes. Due to the huge demand in past years , oi l change facilities will be upgraded to redu ce the waiting lin e. Look for the Spectro oil change facility at Roarin g Brook Ran ch under the S pectre balloon. Georges l obe (Hon) was the overall winner 0 the May 10 Finnish Gra nd Prix, the fourth round of the World Cham p ion sh ip 500cc MX Seri es which was held in Helsinki. Jobe fini shed third in the opening moto and won the second moto, Kurt Lj un gq vist (Yam) won the opening moto. Kees van der Ven (KT M) finis hed seco nd in bo th mo to s. .Defending World Champion David Thorpe (Hon) remain s on top of the poi n t standings with a total of 108 point s. J obe is now second with 96 and Hakan Carlqvis t is third wit h 85. America n Bill y Liles (Ka w) fini shed eigh th in the second moto in Finland . It looks as if AMA-mandated intake manifold restrictor plates for 750cc V-twin dirt track machines in the Expert class are here to stay, at least for the remainder of the 1987 racing season. The AMA Dirt Track Advi sory Board voted 5-4 at a meeting in San Jose, California, May 4, to retain the restrictors. The action was taken following extensive discussion on the controversial issue after veteran tuner Tex Peel proposed a resolution to remove manifold plates from all Expert class 750cc motorcycles as soon as possible. The restrictor rule generally is disliked by riders on the National circuit. Kevin Hines (KTM) was the overall winner of the May 10 AMA National Championship Enduro Series round in Roselawn, Indiana. Hines dropped 15 points on his way to the win over runnerup Dave Bertram (Hus) who dropped 20 and third place finis he r Jeff Fredette (Kaw) who dropped 21. Defending National Champion Terry Cuningham (Hus) suffered a broken le g in the event. race site by ambulance to nearby Ridgecrest Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:44a.m. Bennett was a wellknown desert racer who will be sorely missed by his contempor- . aries. RESIG NED: Mike Webb, as associate editor of Hi-Torque's Dirt Bike magazine. " My plans for the future currently involve the p u rsuit of hap piness in a ll it s sha pes and forms ," said Webb when asked about his career plans. Several ru le changes discussed at the AMA Dirt Track Advisory Board meeting in San Jose, California, May 4, will be implemented in time for the May 24 Springfield (Illinois) Mile, according to AMA Dirt Track Manager ].B. Noms. The starting procedure at professional dirt track races will be changed to reduce the amount of time riders have to wait for the green ligh t - the tiine elapsed after the starting card is rotated from a verti cal to a horizontal posi tion will be reduced from between five and 10 seconds to between three and seven seconds. To create parity between 600cc singles an d 750cc twins in the J un ior class, the board voted to increase the allowed opening in manifold restrictor plates on 750cc twin s from 29mm to 3l mm. The action was taken to offset a reported power ad vantage held by 600cc singles. The action will be studied through the June 27 Lima (Ohio) H alf Mile and is subjec t to review . T he AMA is researching possible ways to seal the carburetion systems on Expert 750cc dirt track motorcycles in order to reduce the nu mero us race-day inspectio ns now req uired to insure that intake manifold restrictor plates are in place. Research is still underway bu t AMA Dirt T rack Man ager ].B. Noms said, "as soon as we can mak e it happen, it will happen." Team Suzuki's Peter Carroll an d Mike Harth (Suz) won rou nd fou r of the WERA/EBC Brakes Nati onal Enduran ce Ro a d Race Series a t Blackhawk Raceway in Beloit, Ill inois, on May 9. T he win ners turn ed in 199 laps , 358.2 mi les. Genesis Racing (Yam) fini shed second and H uman Race T eam was th ird, both two laps behind T eam Suzuki. NAMED: Kathryn B. Moiling as manager of public affairs for Harley-Davidson; Moiling will be responsible for the firm's corporate public relations programs; Moiling replaced Bob Klein, who left Harley to join a Milwaukee law firm. In our coverage of the Apri l 19 road race meet at Alabama 's Talladega Grand Prix Raceway which appeared in last week's paper, we not only failed to name the track but a lso erred in part in listing the sponsors of Thomas Stevens.·Stevens, who broke the counter-clockwise lap record previously held by Doug Polen, is sponsored by Speed and Sport Cycles of Naples, Florida, Metzeler Tires, Arai Helmets and Vanson Leathers. RESIGNED: T om Webb, as editor of H i-T orque's Dirt Bike magazi ne; Webb accep ted a position as test editor for Peter sen 's Dirt Rider magazi ne. President Ronald Reag'an visited the Harley-Davidson motorcycle plant in York, Pennsylvania, May 6 and pointed to the facility as "living proof" that his trade pol icies are working. Reagan, pictured above with Vaughn L. Beals, chairman and chief executive officer of Harley-Davidson, and Robert Miller, vice president and general manager of the York facility, said the tariffs he imposed on imported motorcycles in 1983 to protect Harley-Davidson have made the last American motorcycle manufacturer competitive again. The company announced in March that it no longer needs federal tariffs to re ma in competitive with Japanese imports. 2 NAMED: Bob Carpenter, as associate editor of Petersen's new magazine, Super Motocross; Carpenter will report to editorial director Charles Morey; Carpenter is the former test editor of Petersen's Dirt Rider magazine. NAMED: Dennis Cox, as the new editor of Hi-Torque'. Dirt Bike magazine; Cox i. the former editor of three other Hi-Torque publications, 3 & 4 Wheel Action, Dirt Wheels and the now defunct Motocross magazine. NAMED: Tim Tolleson, as associate editor of H i-T orque's Dirt Bike magazine; Tolleson is the former associate editor of H i-T orq ue's 3 & 4 Wheel Action magazine. Deland, Florida's Jackie McCue was named the new Ms. HarleyDavidson in Daytona Beach during Cycle Week. Jackie, 22, is currently employed as a seamstress at an upholstery shop. She's a member of the Harley Owners Group and Ladies of Harley. She rides an 883 Sportster and has completed two Motorcycle Safety Foundation rider safety courses. Jackie will be appearing at a variety of events this year as Ms . Harley-Davidson, including shows and rallies. Jackie will also appear at special events sponsored by Harley dealers. Dale Knapp, riding a 250cc Hu sqvarna, came awa y with the win a t roun d five of the AMA Nationa l Championship Hare & Hound Series, held by the Lost Angels M.e. on May 10 near Red Mountain , Cal ifornia. Second place was claimed by Open class rider Dan Ashcraft (Hon), and th ird went to Open pilot Paul Krause (Ho n). First 125cc honors were taken by Ron Jen nin gs (Yam), who finis hed 12th Overa ll. Series poi nt leader Dan Smith missed the race to compete in the Rall y de Atlas, a 14-day rall y a ro u nd the Atl as Moun tains in Moro cco, Africa. Open class Expert, Paul Bennett, 38, from Phoenix, Arizona, died May 10 from reported head and chest injuries suffered in a solo crash on the bomb run dur.ing the start of the Los Angels M.C .! AMA National ' Hare & Hound at Red Mountain . According to a spokesman for the Kern County (California) Coroner's office, Ben nett was transported from the Readers report they have received a lette r from National Marketing and Research , Ltd . of Los Angeles, California, that says the firm is " ple ased to permit you to claim ownership of the revolutionary new Yamoto Super 250 GT Moto r Cycle ." The le tt e r also says, "But before making it available to the general public, Yamoto wants to obtain an evaluation on the performance and handling characteristics of the (sic) Yamoto Super 250 GT from a representative select group ot qualified drivers." Readers say when _they've called, the firm refuses to provide any information on the Vamoto other than to say it is an "enduro bike." We contacted National Marketing and Research, Ltd. and were told that the Yamoto has an engine d isplacement of approximately 50cc, lights, 18-inch wheels and "semiknobby" tires, and that it is made in Taiwan. Larry Roeseler (Kaw) won the 17th Annual Virginia City GP cross country race in northern Califo rnia on May 10. Jim Holley (Yam) finished second and Pete Postel (Hon) took third. Local favorite Duke Dowell (Hon) fini shed fourth. ENGAGED : Curt Comer, publis he r of Trials & Enduro News, and Dewanna Gardner; they'll tie the knot in Tennessee on Saturday, June 6 . Check out next week's Cycle News for coverage of the Road Atlanta Ca me l- P ro Road Race a nd th e Southwick Nationa l MX. The Gary Bailey Motocross School of Axton, Virginia, has announced that Dr . Dennis Medsker has jo ined Gary Bailey and will be le ct uring, teaching, and demonstrating his methods of how to get the body ready to ride, how to prevent injuries and how to handle injuries if they should occur. Dr . Medsker will also provide treatment and examination services. Gary Bailey Motorcross School sessions in Axton will be held May 18-21 , June 23-26, 'J u ne 29 -July 2, July 27-3 (Co ntinued to page 2

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