Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126974
"MOTORCYCLIST says it the way ·it is; they aren't biased in what they prlnt," I -Kevin Schwantz IT" PHOTO: PAUL BUCKLEY Name: Kevin Schwantz Occupation: Suzuki/Yoshimura factory road racer Riding history: "My parents own Hurst Yamaha & Marine in Houston, Texas, and I was always around the shop , so I rode my first motorcycle when I was three years old. Later, I rode observed trials and .then got into motocross. In 1984 I got a bike from my parents' . business and roadraced for the first time in a club race at the amateur level. I had done just about every other type of racing, and roadracing was just something I wanted to . try. At the end of '84 I got a tryout with Suzuki and Yoshimura." Track record: "I never did too well at other kinds of racing-I'd always fall down. In 1984, my first year of roadracing, I won the AMA Championship Cup Series . Middleweight Superbike title. In 1985 Lraced part-time but repeated the Middleweight Superbike title and won the Yamaha RZ Chal- lenge. I also won three Superbike Nationals. Then in '86 I qualified third for the Daytona 200 and .finished second . I was also the highpoint scorer at the Anglo-American Match Races in England, finished second in a IT Formula One World Championship event in Holland , and tenth in World Championship GPs in Belgium and Ital y. I fell 'and broke my collarbone at Brainerd, Minnesota, and missed the next three races, but I came back to finish third at Pocono and second at Mid-Ohio." Views on roadracing: "Roadracing is what I'll probably do until I can 't do it .any more . I like it mainly, I guess, because of the . speed, but also because it' s very, very precise. You have to be able to think instead of just going out and riding crazy, like some people can do on a motocross track. The more precise you are with the bike, the more rewarding it is and the faster you're able to go." Magazine: "MOTORCYCLIST does really interesting road tests on new bikes. Since the kind of racing I do is based on production motorcycles, it's neat to be able to read how the stock bikes perform. I like knowing how the editors feel a .: bike works. And every time they do anything in the magazine about the bike i ride, the opinions are right on. MOTORCYCLIST says it the way it is; they aren't biased in what they print. I guess my favorite feature is " Lawson' s Lines" because I like to hear about .the racing (especially if there's an event I didn't get to!), but I like to read the whole magazine." This endorsement is purely voluntary. No fee or other consideration is paid. AT NEWSSTANDS FOR $24.00 PER YEAR OR BY SUBSCRIPTION FOR $13.94. FOR SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS CALL (213) 854·2470.