Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

ISDE events ridden: 4 ISDE record: 3 golds, I silver Class/M.C.: 25Occ/Suzuki RM250 Other accomplishments; Second in the AMA National Championship Enduro Series in 1986 and '87 Sponsors: O'Neal USA, Bel·Ray, Metzeler, Smith , Cycle Gear, Carolina Tool , Sprocket Specialist, RK Chain, Arai Cal ifornia isn 't kn own as a breeding ground for National Ch ampionship Enduro ri ders, but this year th ree riders from California have been named to the Trophy team, one of who m is Dave Bert ra m. Bert ra m , who hails from northern Ca lifornia , h a s be e n ri d ing the National End uro circ u it for many years, and fin ish ed seco nd o vera ll to T erry Cunningham in 1986 and to Kevin H ines in 1987. One o f Ber -: tra m 's fortes is the ISD E, and o u t of four tri es, Bertram has claimed three go ld medals a nd o ne silver medal , and the distincti o n of bei ng the top Ameri can ri der a t the Po lish Six Days last year. " I love th e Six Days because you get th e cha nce to rep resen t you r country as a team, com pe ti ng aga in st th e best end u ro riders in th e world," said Bertram. "Plus, it 's grea t to pull for each o ther for a change, instead of com pe ting a gains t each other. It 's a great feeling a nd I pl an on experien cing it for many years to co me." Ber tram m issed the entire 1988 ISDE Qual ifier series a nd a few ro u nds o f th e Nationa l Enduro Seri es after di sco verin g he had testicu la r cancer, which required two major opera tio ns in Ma y a nd J u ne. Following the successfu l ope ra tio ns, th e AMA wanted Bertra m o n the tea m if he felt he would be 100% for the ISDE, so Bertram began a n ex tensive training sch ed ule incl ud ing lo ts of ridin g, bicycling and weigh t lifting in prepara tion for France. H e feels he will be 100% for France. T he terrain in th e Men de-area will be to Bertram 's liking. " 1 like th e rocks, steep off-ca m ber and loose, pebbly grou nd, but more rocks th e bett er. I feel we ha ve a good tea m , as good as we've ever had before. It 's neat to ha ve Terry (C u n nin g ha m) back. But it'll be tou gh to win it , because in Eu ro pe, th ose guys ride ISDE- form at end uros a ll yea r long, and we had three. I mean, if th e . Eu ropeans came here a nd rode o ur style end uros , we wo uld win. " For us to win, it's goi n g to tak e everyo ne havin g the ri de o f th eir lives ." 500cc National Hare Scrambles Champ ion Sponsors: KTM, Dunlop, Arai, EK Chain, Malcolm Smith Racing, Whi te Bro s., Off-Road, Duralube After w r app i ng u p t he AMA Nat ional C ha m p io ns h ip En d u ro Series ti tle in 1987, KT M's Kevin H in es has had a so me what turbu lent year a nd sta nds a good cha nce o f losi ng h is n umber-one pl a te in 1988. Injuries, which included a broken collarbo ne , have slowed the New Engla nder down th is year. Nonetheless, Hines has proven his capabilities as one of the country's best end u ro riders and is a strong member o n the Trophy team. Hines' reco rd in the ISDE isn' t all that impressive o n pape r wi th o ne gold, one silver a nd three bronze meda ls in h is collection , bu t his last Six Days was his best. Last year in Po land he cla imed his o nl y gold medal in one of the to ug hest Six Days in recen t years. . Ridin g the Six Days is one o f H ines' greates t pleasures. " It's an honor to ride for the co u n try, a nd i t's a p ers onal th ing fo r me to co m pete agains t th e top guy s in th e world," said Hines. ' 'I' m determ in ed to d o we ll , an d I lov e th e com petition." H ines is kn own for his abili ty to ride any kind of terr a in well. "That's why I am th e Natio nal Champion, beca use I do n' t just ride o ne kind o f terra in wel l. The tougher it is, the better." But H ines does n ' t think the U.S. has a very good cha nce of winning in France. " It 's not th at th e riders going ar en ' t a ny good, bu t we don' t prepare p roperly. The Euro peans know the Six Days format a nd th ey know the trai ls in France - they're there righ t no w prepari ng, a nd we'r e here. It 's difficult, b u t I think we should do well." Larry Roeseler 31 Home: B l oom i n~lon , California Marital status: Si ngle ISDE even ts ridden: 10 ISDE record: 7 golds, 2 silvers, I bronze Class/M .C.: 25Occ/Kawasaki KX250 Ag~: Other accomplishments; Four-time Baja 1000/s ix·tim e Baja 500 winn er; Iive- time Las Vegas 400 winner SponsorstTearn Green Kawasaki , Malcolm Smith Racing, Dunlop, Scott, Ts ubaki, Renthal , Bell, CTl Knee Brace, Pro -Circu it, Acerb is, Troy Lee Designs . Charles Halcomb Age: 31 Home: Ontario, California Marital status: Married ISDE events ridden e 2 ISDE record: I gold, I bronze Class/M .e.: 250cc/Suzuki RM250 Other accomplishrne ntss 1986 Baja 1000 125cc class winner; 1982-84 AMA District 36 XC Champion Sponsors: American Suzuki, Acerbis, Alpine Stars, Answer Products, Arai, Bel -Ray, Enzo Racing, Fredette H andsavers, Pro-Circuit, RK Chain , Scott USA Kevin Hines Age: 27 Home: Weston, Massachusetts Marital status: Single ISDE events ridden: 5 ISDE record: I gold, I silver, 3 bronze Class/ M.C.: Open/KTM 350 Oth er accomplishments; 1987 AMA National Enduro Champion; 1986 reflexes he aquired in MX racing, co mbined with hi s love for tra il ridi ng, has turned Halcomb into a first -r a te o ff-reader. a nd he is i ex trem ely quick in th e special test secti ons, which is a defini te asset in ISDE co mpetition. Currentl y, Halcom b is the off-road raci ng ·services supervisor for Amer ica n Suzuki, and is a perfect io nist when setti ng up motorcycles for off road racing, includ ing the I SD E~ H a lcom b co nsider s himself as a " fin isher. I'll fin ish. I'll be th ere," sai d H a lco mb. " I know m y bike techn ically enough to keep it running th e whol e Six Da ys, and I' ve been tra ining hard for the past eig h t months, so I have alot o f faith in m yself." " I 'm used to riding in th e roc ks since I'm fro m southe rn Ca lifornia, so I feel I' ll have an adva ntage in France." Ch arles H alcomb began hi s motorcycle racing career in motocross and was a top up-and-comin g National ca liber rider eig h t years ago, but a neck injury su ffered at th e H angtown Nat ional MX in 1980 p ut a n end to a promising fu ture in MX. When H alcomb got back in th e sadd le again, he turned to off-road co m pe ti tio n a nd has since become o ne of Cali forn ia's to p o ff-road . mo tor cyclists. The speed a nd quick Many peop le cons ider Larry " L R" Roeseler th e modern da y Malcolm Smi th - Mr. Versatil e. Roeseler has won, a t least once, just abo u t every kind o f maj or off-road com pe ti tio n , there is - deser t ra cing, grands prix; h are scra m bles, ISDE qualifier s, motocross, en d u ros , a nd so o n . H e's ri dd en 10 Si x Days, earning seven gold medal s, a nd th ree times was to p American. " I li ke to think of m yself al ong the sa me lines as Malcol m Smith, beca use he was suc h a good allarou nd rider," 'sa id Roeseler. " I'm fri en ds with him a nd I've followed hi m throughout h is career. H e's got eig h t go ld meda ls a nd I've got seven ; I'd like to match him." Roeseler is perfect Six Days material. " I like hard , enduranc e type events, th e more technical th e better. All I've been doing latel y is tra ini ng and ri din g; I hope I can put everything together for six da ys." Roeseler is very tal ented on th e tra ils, and rarel y do ob stacles like' rocks, mud or hills get th e best of him , and he usu all y has one of th e fas test, if no t th e fastest, special test sco res. Some of hi s wins in 1988 incl ude one National End u ro , th e Da y ton a Cycl e Week All igato r Endu ro a nd the Virginia Cit y GP. He feels the U.S. T rophy tea m is a good one. " 1 th ink we have a good team; we' re more prepared th an we ever have been , and if we stay healthy A we'll be right there." Jr. World Team 00 00 0') 1""""4 Kurt Hough Age: 23 H omee New Palestine, Indiana Marital status: Married ISDE events ri dden: 2 ISDE record: I silver, I DNF Class/M.C.: 25Occ/Kawasaki KX250 Other accomp lish rnen tse Currently second place in the AMA National . Championship Enduro Series Sponsors: Tea m Green Kawasaki, Malcolm Smith Racing, Scott USA, Dunlop, Acerbi s, Renth al, T subaki Kurt H ough (p ro no unced Huff) is cu rre n tly th e hottest rider in end uro co m petition , but bad lu ck has hurt him in th e Na tio na l Ch ampionship End uro Series. H o wever , Hough cap tured th e overa ll victory in both ISDE Qual ifiers he's entered in 1988 - Michigan a nd Idaho ' - thus he d idn' t have to ri de th e third q ualifier in O regon. H o ugh first rod e the ISD E in 1987 in Ital y, but DNF on th e third da y after experiencing a seco nd-day crash on the pavem ent. H is bike a nd body were too beat up to stan th e third da y - chalk it up to inexperienc e. A year later and a year wiser , H ough cap tured a silver medal in th e wet a nd m uddy Po lish Six Days. H ough a lmost claimed a gold medal ' b u t a water-pump sea l gav e out on h is H onda C R250 which ca used him grief o n the fin a l day o f co m pe tition . H ough is a master o n th e trai ls a nd blazing fast in th e special tests. ' ~As lo ng as we have no major problems, I th in k we can win the J r. World class," said H ough. "Everybody's got to keep the ir head o n stra ig h t and ri de fast and steady. I'm real exci ted abou t it this year. " Aaron Hough Ag~ 19 _ Home: New Palestine, Indiana Marital status: Single ISDE even ts ridden: I ISDE record: I gold Class/ M.C.: 125cc/Kawasaki KXI25 Sponsors: Team Green, Malcolm Smith Racing, Acerbis, Scott Aaron H ough is Ku rt Hough 's you nger brother, and he's no slouch, either. The qu iet, sometimes sh y 19year-old started o u t as a motocrosser a nd has d one well a t the AMA Youth /Am ateur N a ti onal MX Champi onships but swi tc hed to end uros a nd ISDEs after watch ing his brother co m pe te in Ital y, (Con tinued to page 31) 29

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