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/126982
a B "The tests in OTORCYCLIST and DIRT RIDE are excellent." ~ -Ben Cheatwood here, but when you leave you can have an' acre of th em.' And I'm working on it real hard. I have about 35 bikes, including 17 M B5s, a Nighthawk S, the eighth Honda 350 twin ever made; and a Super Hawk. I built a separate garage for th e bikes, so if the house bums down, I won't lose the good stuffl" PHOTO: BERT SHEPHERD PHOTO: DAN McCAU LEY Name: Ben Cheatwood Occupation: Eastern regional motorcycle parts and accessories administrator, American Honda Motor Company Preoccupations: AMA announcer for roadrace, motocross and dirttrack events ; formerly the motorcycle editor/announcer for "Motornet Motorsports Report," a daily motor-racing program carried by 300 radio stations nationwide; promoter, North Georgia Mountains 50cc Road Reliability Run. Memorable event: " When the MB 5 came out in '82 it wasn' t selling too well, so as distri ct sales manager for Ho nda, I came up with an event to help dealers sell it-the 50cc Reliability Run. It's pure silliness whose only point is to prove you can have fun on any kind of motorcycle. The big reward is guys like John Penton, Bob Hannah and Gary Bailey, plus average fun-loving riders, keep coming back and say it's the best time they 've had on a bike. In ' 85, Penton and Hannah fought it out all day and were tied in points, so we got out the bathroom scale and weighed them, and the fat guy won. So many big names in motorcycling tum up that we've created a class called Nationally Entertaining Riders Division, or NERD for short. The whole thing is just a hoot." Riding history: "I had my first ride on two wheels, a Montgomery Ward Silver Pigeon scooter, at 15. The next summer I shoveled rnanure on my uncle's mink ranch to buy my first real motorcycle, a brand-new $600 CBI60. I worked in a motorcycle shop arid rode desert until I graduated from college. When I moved to Georgia in 1973 to work for Honda, I started riding Eastern enduros. I try to ride every day, if I can . G ive me a trail ride or a good street ride in the mountains., eith er-or. Motorcycling is fun! It's something I enjoy doing with my family, and I like every aspect of the sport." Magazines: " As close as I am to the industry, th ere are still lots of bikes I can 't get my hands on and ride. The tests in MOTORCYCLIST and DIRT RIDER are excellent alternatives to riding hardto-get motorcycles. DIRT RIDER is something my son and I share together. He enjoys the riding tips by Malcolm Smith and Bob Hannah, and my favorite is Hertfelder's 'Duct Tapes, ' .because he has fun regardless of his riding ability . I like the 'Trail Tips' and 'Street Wise' sections that let readers be part of the magazines and share . their ideas for making riding better. I also read MOTORCYCLIST's 'Sport' pages because my involvement in announcing requires insight into the racing scene and there's stuff in there you just can't read any place. else." This endorsement is purely voluntary. No fee or other consideration is paid. AT NEWSSTANDS FOR $24.00 PER YEAR OR BY SUBSCRIPTION FOR $15.94. FOR . SUBSCRIPTION ORDERS CALL (213) 854-2470:. Bikes currently owned: " When I lived with my parents, my mother said, 'You can only ha ve one motorcycle while you live 17