Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Through the late afternoon haze. we were glad to reach the relaxing open roads after spending much of the day riding on tig ht. twisty trails . What's happen ing? . CALiIDAB ~ ACERBIS PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT ~ .... ::I: FULL PLEX CHEST PROTECTOR o :::::i .... o Q. (J) - 1J ::> :::0 • Clean shoulders - fits under Jersey or Jadtet • LNge nedc opening fOr ftAl head movement • Foam padding doesn't absorb _at or water c o Q:: c o o n -f • Available In 6 colors + day-glow orange (J) • SUggested retaI $84.95 Q. -J O ACEIIIIIS PlASTICS are lqIartld by · ACEIIIIIS PIA5TICA lISA and all! ~utld by a- line IlIst11IlulI:n .( J) Q:: w ACBlIIlS PlASIlCA USA « • ( J) :::0 OJ •H inged, sprIn~loaded front/ball( panels fOr dOSe fit .... u 10911 HWIleatlandS Ave. santee, rA 92071 6191562-1440 u l> n m MAlCllIM SIITH PROOOClS IH'OM RACING HAllMAN RACING In C3Ilada STEEN IlANSIN RACING PROIlJCIS ACERBIS PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT 1J o . -f rCl - ::I: -f ~ the 45 m ph speed limi t on some o l th e long u phill straig hts, especially on the 250s, despite laying flat on th e mo torcycle s with o u r chests restin g on th e gas tanks for less wind resist an ce. Even Kinney, who was ridin g th e XT350, was poking al ong. The stra igh ts got p retty bor ing a fter aw hi le, but once the road narrowed down a nd becam e tight a nd twi sty, the fun began. By this time 1 had put on my jacket a nd had swi tched 250s with Mike, wh o was riding th e Honda. I th en led Kinney and Mi ke up the mounrain. With th e moo n sh ining overhead , o ur headlights were the o nly so urce of artificial ligh t as we began racing each o ther through the turns. Sq ueezing every o u nce of horsepo wer fro m the small -bore mo tor s, we wer e barel y reaching speeds fas t enoug h to req ui re us to back off the thro ttl e th rough th e corners. Because of the darkness, we ha d to react q uick ly fo r each turn wh en it popped into view o f the headli gh ts. It was like bein g in sid e a vid eo ga me. . Kinney was a lways in ch es behind m y rear fen der, a nd Mi ke kept close tabs o n Kinney. We freight-tra in ed . our way a long as we zig -zag.ged through tu rns for the next 20 mi les. Mike's headl ight cas t sha do ws of th e two front riders o n the mountain wa ll s. As we edge d closer tow a rd th e to p of th e mountain , it began ge tting colder a nd co lder, to the point wh ere it was beginning to get difficult just to tu rn the th rottl e. My a rms stiffen ed up and didn' t want to work any more. Not a momen t too soo n , we reach ed o ur $50-a-n ight lod ge, where we slep t the ni ght. Ea rly .next m orning, we hopped back o nto o ur bi kes and went search ing for some cha lleng ing dirt tra ils. We found o ne tra il that was tight, had switch backs a nd was fill ed with loose rocks a nd sta tionary roots, It was a trial I've ridden before on seri ous end u ro bikes, but I had never been on it on a dual-purpose bike. I thought it wou ld be a ser io us task o n the -DPs, bu t 1 soon found out 1 was wrong. 1 muscled the XL250 a long and was ha vin g a grea t time weaving th e bike aro und trees and boulders. The motorcycl e 's short wheelb ase , sm ooth power and plush sus pe ns io n mad e the Honda a pl eas u re to rid e. T he th ree of us regrouped at the bottom of the hill befor e we cro ssed a streambed a nd head ed back up a nother na rrow , tw isty tr a il · a lo ng the side of a mountain. Th is tr a il wa s m ore d ifficult, th anks to some well-placed logs, o ne particula r roc k section and three or four nearly 3600 switchbacks. Through this sectio n it took some tim e to get to the top. It was o n thi s trai l '1 began feeli ng th e H onda 's weight, co m pare d to th e li gh ter enduro bikes I'v e ridden here so man y tim es. Bu t 1 had to ad m it to m yself tha t tne bike wasn't a KDX200 or a KTM , but a dual -purpos e mot or cycle th at 1 had legall y ridden th rough the mid dl e o f to wn earlie r in th e mornin g to get to the trail. 1 could n't do th a t on m y KTM. With th a t in mind , 1 kept p lugging away over the roc ks a nd was reall y enjoying m yself, while Kinney was "tria ls-ing" u p on th e XT350. But Mik e fou nd him self on the side of hi s KLR250, pu shi ng and cl u tchi ng it over one nasty sectio n of sha rpedge d rock slabs, bu t he mad e it. It 's a tough sectio n on a ny bik e. We started down th e o ther side of th e hill, which was a pi ece of cake . com pa red to th e uphill. After a short break to ca tch o u r breath, way o u t in th e middl e o f no where, we switched bikes a nd fo u nd so me dirt roads to slide aro u nd on . The three o f us were trying to stuff eac h other thro ugh the tu rn s, p assing a nd repassing one a no the r in a co m pe titive but fri endl y fash io n. This went on for mi les until th e di rt roa d narrowed down ' to a . wide, bumpy and twisty trail. A sign leading in to the trai l said that four-wheel ed veh icles weren ' t recommended - no problem here. The trai l featured abo u t five mil es (Con tin ued to page 41)

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