Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

Misano Mutineers awa ke at night. H o wever, I draw co m fort from the words of Edd ie Lawson, wh en asked by a journalist wh at question he would put to himself: ' 'I'd probab ly do your jo b a bo ut as well as you'd do m ine." Published letters do not necessariJ\ro re flect the posi tion of Cycle News. Inc. Send letters to Voices. P.O . Box 498. Long SeBch . C~ 90801 . America's motorcycle newspaper Volume XXVI Sharon Clayton, Publu hn Mi~e KJingn; Co m ptrotter Skip J oh nson . A jj()C te Publishn! ia National Sales ManaKtT Ja ck Man~5. ASJoclak Publishn l £.diten R heba Sm ith . CiTCULJlion MGmlg" Caroline Cnx!ry. E.x«utiw &c?rtary to 1M Publ isht'f Editorial Ja ck Ma n gllS Editor .. Kit Palm" . Associaie Editor Pa u l Carruthers. A.uociale Ed itor Nat e Rauba. A,SJociale Edit or Brian Cauerson , ASSocU1te Editor Ken Faug ht . Assis ttm t Edi tor Ed wina Mangu s. Calen dar Edi tor Advertising Skip j o hnson . N at' l Sales Managn Mi ke C hurch. Sen ior Salt!s Ma nag,., T erry Pratt . Sm io r Sales Manag,., Mark Thome. Westnn Sates MtJna gn Ron Davidson. Westt'Tn Salt's Managn Thoma R. Go me r. Westnn Sales ManagtT M ark Milchdl. Eestern Sid es Manager Greg Mitch d l. E.a.sl~,. Sales M anagtT j Nn Ru sian. J,'t stnn Ad COOTdirudor CJrb Borden, EQ.lttTnAd ComdinGlor H o lly Co wan. Etutnn Ad Comdi rnJIDT Graphics and Production R~ j ohnson. PTOducti on MarnJgl"T J\,f.;mdy Leo. Ii rt Director Dennis (;remc:. L ab. T ech : SLa G uest . Grap hic Artist cq jimmie O'Dell. G raphic A rtist Michael G ruszka . Gra phic A rtist Carolyn Bra nham. T YJW st!ttn Ari enne Telias, Ty~st!un Accounting /Data Processing Donna Brya n . Accts R t'Ceivabl e Coo rdin ator Ge neva Re pa ss. Assis tan t Fran Ha mwey, Cudi t Circulation Sarah T aylor. A ssistan t Alma Anguiano. A,SJi.,ta nl Manta Ne lson. Assistant Herlane Richmond. A ssist4nt Carol MalO:"io. A J. 3 tant u Dealer Sales Kevin Beaubien . Mana ger Want Ads Sht"IT Comer, Want Ad Saln i Service and Support Ch ri 5 Aitrheson, IItadqUGrftT s Rec~tion ist Leonard Herring. SnvIU and Support National Headqua~8rl 22()l Olerry A v(.•• Lo ng Beach. CA 90806. P.O. · Box 198.. Lon g Beac h, c..o\ 9080 1.0198 (2 13 1127·7133: 2 13/636-8lH1. FAX (2 13) 127·6685 Eastern Office 1190 FiB I Ave.• Tucker , GA. 30084; ma ilin g address P .O. Box. 805 . Tucker, GA 30085-0803. (101 ) 934·7850. FAX (401) 934-31 12 Cyd e News (li S PS 141-$iO) is published wttkly excepr the first and last week of th e calendar year for $50.00 per year by Cycle News. ln c., 2201 Cht"lT)' Avrn ue. Long Beach . CA 90806 . Second c lass pos tage paid OI l Lon g Beach , CA. ..nd ..dd hi ona l mailing officn. • POSTMASTER: S en d form 3579 to Cycl e News . P .O . BOK 498. Long S .ach. CA 9080t ·0498 . To determine the e:tlipiratio n da te of your s u bscript io n. check the four numbers on t he first line of your addre• • label. Th e first two digit.' indicate the la st iuue numbor you'lI reeerv e a nd th e la.t two ch aracter, ind icate the ye a r of the last issue. Subscripucn ra tes: Ra in for the Unit ed Sta res a nd its possessio ns for o ne year. (50 i!'i:\ut"S). $50.00 ; two yrol (IOOi ~un) . S95. 00; six. months u (25 i ~!o lu;,s l . S26JlO; u ial su b ( 15 i,,",u ). $ 19.00. n Ca na d.da nd For eign . a ile yra r (50 Iss ues ]. S90 ,OO; two yr-. r!o (100 i!io..un ). $175.00; ..ix mo n th s (25 . i!o!iouo). Si5.00 ; trial sub (15 inunl. $38.00 . Cycle News wel comes un sol icued edito ria l material incll;ldinf$: sllwio-.cartoons . phOIO\ . t"1C. S uc h mat eria l. If p u b fis he d. becomes t h e excl usive p rnprrty of Cycle ~ ~. ",. Such accep ted rnawri ..1 i ~ !oU bj~l 10 revision a10 i~ n ("(~r l in the ..oIl: discrerion uf Cyc1(' News, Unsolicited mar eri a t wh ich i.. mu u sed will J:Ho returned if ar compa rrie-d b y a se lf a dd ressed sta m ped e n velope. All nn sol ici ted mat er ia l wi ll be handled with reaso na ble ra re. how ever, Cycle Nt"w!'o ; l !'o" u m r~ no rl'"po nsibi l.ity for t l~ (" ~l f('t.Y ' 1cJS,!'o or da mah"" III !olU h m.; lrrl.11. Rt"pllnllllK In l ..... huh· IIr p;1fI o n ly by pl'f m issio n o f the puhl i..ht"L l\ d v(" r l i !io i l1 ~ ra tt"!> ;m d circula tion Iflform ...ti on will ht· MOnt UfKJll rrqurs t. Srt' S.R.D.S. W/BPA 'if 4 AUDITED CIRCULATION Copyrig h Cy c le Ne ws. Inc. 198 9 . T r.de~ mark C yc le News rGilistered U.S . Patent Offi c e . All right. reserved . Turn it off Following is a tip that needs to be di stributed to the public: If th e petcock o n your' bike is a manua l ~y pe a nd has an " off" positi on, use It whe n no t usin g the bi ke or whe n th e unit is bein g tra nsported. Fue l eva poratio n in the tank p rod uces a posi tive press ure tha t can force fuel through the fuel pump a nd past th e floa t valves in the carburetors. T his will raise the fuel level to a h.eight th at may start a sipho ning actio n through a fuel passagewa y a nd ca use gasoli ne to accum ulate in the intak e tra ct a nd co mb us tio n chamber. T he cons tant " bo uncing" that occurs d uring tra iler a nd truck transport ca n also cause the same phen om en o n to occur. Downdraft inta ke e ng i nes are pa rt ic u la rly susce ptible. As the engine is tu rned over to sta rt, the gasol ine in the co mbust ion cha mber, being in com pressible, can prevent the p iston from reaching th e top of its travel. lf th e engine " hydrau lica lly locks" or " hydro locks" during an auernpted start, severa l th in gs may hap pen. Starter co mpo ne n ts may break , a " built-u p" cra n kshaft may twist , a head gas ket ma y becom e deformed (allowing compression pressure to enter th e cooling system , causing overhea ting) , or, dependin g on the a mount of fuel in th e chamber , a rod may become sligh tly bent. T oda y's high rp m sport engi nes ca!1not tolera te ~ven a slightl y rnis'aligned connec ti ng rod and a rod may break after being damaged from a :'hydrolock" ep isod e. lf the engine WIll not turn over whe n usin g the sta rte r, do not a ttempt to push start. Chec k for fuel . in the combustion cha mber , if present. remove it before a ttem p ting to star t. . Us i ng a bit o f precauti on by turmng th e fuel "off' wh en not in use or whi le in tra nsi t may save your engine! MAR C SALVISBERG Wh eelsmith Racing Sa n Ansel mo, CA Papa burned a check I wo ul d like to clear u p a misprint that occurred in th e J une 14 issue. An item in In T he Win d sta ted, " BO RN : Mary J essica T a yl o r , dau ghter of Kevin Ta ylor, SERA overa ll end uro cha m p ion . . ." T he fact is I was cha m pio n in 1983. T h is was clea rly sta ted on the info rm a tion I mai led in. I wish bv no means to " stea l th e th un der:' fro m gr ea t - endu ro rid ers in SE RA, such as cu rrent cha mp ion Da ryll Bell. KEVIN TAYLO R Gu lfp ort. MS Papa lVealey wan ts to know if you ever bu rned a check or arrived late at one, Kevin . . . Editor. ISDE help offered I am assign ed to Span gdahlem Air Force Base in West German y a nd I would lik e to offer my assistance to a ny and all the U.S. rid ers co mpe ting in th e I DE. I live a p proxi ma tely two hours west of Frankfurt and approx ima tely three hours west of th e ISDE si te a t Waldurn. I have a p ickup truck wh ich could be used to tra ns port equipment and I have a la rge ga rage which cou ld store eq u ipment before, during, a nd aft er the ISDE. My assistance is available to any rider who wish es to take me up o n my offer. I ca n be reached a t the address or telephone nu mb ers listed below. I have been a member of the AMA for the last 16 years a nd I have a lso jo in ed th e German OM K so I can race here in Germany. I race an AT K/ Honda in th e O pen class in end uro a nd MX even ts. I have been fa irl y successfu l here in Germany as my bike a nd I both like the long, fast tracks th a t th e Germans use. DAVID M. ADAMS, MSGT, USAF Bo x 4838 APO NY 09123 Home Phone: 0 11-49-6562-1040 Wo rk Ph one: 011-49-6565-61-6131 Misano boycott rebuttal I note Mr. Ma tt Lewis's lett er in ~h<: J une. 14 issu e, critic izing editoria lizing III my report of the Italian non-G Po I am afraid in the torment of h is rage he has not read th e words carefully eno ugh to take on board ~h.eir overall implication. By criticIZlng. not th e boycott action, but the ~ay It too k pl a ~e ,. I was not exp ressmg my ow n o pm ron , but o ne wh ich preva iled a t Misano. Suc h riders' stri kes have happen ed befor e - but always one or two da ys before the event, givi ng fans a chance to stay away. The rai n in Ital y was forecast four days before th e race th e riders have been aware of th e da ngero us surface for almos t a decad e. Fu rt hermore, th e rid ers were already p l~ n n i ng so me so rt o f bo ycott acnon . . . they were alrea dy "organ ized ," a nd co u ld ha ve m ad e th e decision in advance. There are arguments o n th e o ther side as well, which were reflected in my report. But wha t he took to be self-ind u lge n t editorializi ng was in rea li ty a reflect io n o f track side opi nion, fro m around 100,000 ardent Ital ian fans wh o fell th ey had been treated with co n tem p t. As my rep ort sta ted: the drivers chose the one issu e on which a nybody argu ing with them co uld be accused. of ca llously sendi ng them out to di e. But as Kenny Roberts sai d th at eve n i n g: " We mu s t b lame o urselves. We sho uld never ha ve . co rne here in th e firs t p lace." There' s anot her aspect to th e effects of this precipi ta te action (a frie ndly p un, Mr. Lewis). Motorcycle GP racing is presently tryi ng to make th e jump onto th e TV screens . to secu re a pr ofitable future. o rne 10 European ne tworks had been persua ded to tak e th e Ital ia n G P. Instead of a race, th e program co nt ro lle rs were sudde nly left with a n em p ty ho le in th e midd le of their sch ed ules. I feel justifi ed in choosing the wor ds: " bungling, big-money amateurs." MIC H AEL SCOTT Wi mbledo n, Engla nd P.S. Not th at it is releva nt , but Mr. Lewis might like to kn ow th at fh ave ridden a 500cc G P bike, although a t insufficient speed to keep a ny of th e Wind (Con tinued from page 2) road races a t New H ampshire International Speedway in Loudon, New H a mpsh ire, o n July 7-9. For more information ca ll 508/ 699-7494. A public, hearing concerning the proposed Palm Springs International Raceway will be held before the Riverside County. California. Planning Commission at 2 :30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 28 . The hearing is described by J im Guthrie. the project developer. as being "critical to the approval of the race track." Concerned parties who cannot attend the hearing are urged to write to: Mr. Paul Clark, Riverside County Planning Department, 46-209 Oas is St. #304. Indio, CA 92201; Mrs. Kay S. Ceniceros, Riverside County Board of Supervisors, District 3, 4080 Lemon St., Riverside. CA 92S01; Mrs. Patricia Corky larson, Riverside County Board of Supervisors, District 4, P.O . Drawer 1330, Indio, CA 92202. For more information on the proposed raceway, contact the Guthrie Co.• 647 N. Main St. #2C, Riverside. CA 92S01. 714/ 781 -0640. Fo r th e 23rd stra ig ht year, West Va lley O ccu p'ational Cen ter i n Woodland HIlls, Cal ifornia, wi ll offer a co urse in mo tor cycle mech an ics. Regi stration starts J une 22 and th e co urse begins July 3. Cost is just $ 18. For more in for ma tion, ca ll 818/ 346-3540. Brad Lackey. 1982 SOOcc MX World Champion, was spotted spectating at the June 18 SOOcc U.S . SOOcc MX GP in Hollister. California. Lackey became America's first-ever SOOcc MX World Champion. but never defended his title. H onda 's newl y-crowned Su percross Ch ampion J eff Stan ton a nd KTM 's Kees Va n der Ven cele brated birthda ys during th e U.S. GP a t Hollister. Sta nton would ha ve liked to have celebra te his 21st birthda y by winning his first G P, but a seized motor prevented that from hap pen in g. Frenchman Jacky Vimond and American Brian Myerscough were aboard the most exotic machinery at the U.S . GP; Honda CRSOOs bu ilt by Innovat ion Sports. makers of the CTi knee brace. The bikes. which · reportedly cost $SO.OOO each to construct. feature many carbon-fiber parts such as the sub-frames, silencers. twopiece fuel tank with fuel pump. airbox and a few other items. Unfortunately, the bikes didn't have enough track time and the resin that holds the fiber together melted and resulted in broken frames on both bikes. The crack in Vimond's frame was caused by hot exhaust from a silencer broken in a turn-one crash in the first moto. (Continued to page 59)

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