Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

America's motorcycle newspaper Volume XXVI Sharon Clayton , PublishtT Mike Klinger , Co m ptrolln Skip J o h nso n. A jjoc i4t~ Pu blish tT l N ational S ales M4fU1g tT l ack Man~ s . A.uoc iate Pu blishn/ Edi tor Rheba Smit h . Ci1'cula lion ManagtT Ca roline Cendry. Ex uuliw: St'CTeta ry to the Pub lish n Ed itorial Jack Man gu s. Editor JGt Pa lm er, Associate Edi tor Paul Ca rr u th ers, Associate Edit or Nate Ra uba , Associate Edi tor Brian Ca tterson. As.s ocialt' 'Ed ito r Ken Faught, Assistan t Edit or Edw ina Man gu s, Calrn dar Edi tor Advertising Sk ip J ohnson. Nat'l S ales Man agtT Mike Ch urch , Se n io r Sa lt's M an ag" Terry Pr att . Senior Sales Mqnag ,.r M arlc. Thom e. Wl'stnn Saks Manag" Ron Davidson . Wt'stt'l'n S alt'$ Manag" Thom as R. Ooru er . Wt'slnn Sates Managt'T Ma rk Mitchel l, East ern S alt'S M anagn Gr eg Milchdl. Eastern Salt's ManagtT Joa n Russian , W('sinn Ad Coord inato r Carla Borden . Easl ~ Ad Coo rd in atm Holl y Cowa n . Eastern A d Coordinato r Graphics and Production R~ j ohnson. Produ ctism Su peroisor Man d y Loa. Prod ucti on M an a!{ t'r Denn is Gr een e, Lab. Teen. ' Sta cey Gu est, G rap hic Art ist j jmmi e O 'De ll, G rap hi c Art ist Mich a d G ruszka . G rap hic Art ist Carolyn Branham . T YP t'St'll N Arienn e T eli as . T YP t'St'Ut'T . Accoun t ing /Data Processing Do n na Brya n. Au ts Ru~iua b lt' Coord in ato r Ge neva Repa ss. A ssistan t Fran Hamw ev. Crt'd it Circulatio n Sarah Taylor, Assis tant Alma Angu iano. A nuta" t Madta Nelson. A ssistan t Her lane Rich mon d. A ssl.\ttJnt Ca rol Ma ggio. Auistant Dealer Sa le s Rear fenders? Please help us settl e an argument. Are th e new 1990 Suzuki RMI25 and R M250s going to have rear fenders or not (see pho tos o n page 20 of you r Augu st 23 issu e)? PA UL FLANDERS Pasad ena, CA Yes, th e RMs do have. rear fenders. Th e rear fenders were barely visible in th e photos Suzuk i sent us and, as you cou ld see, they weren 't visible at all once th e photos were reproduced in the issue mentioned . . . Editor. That's " Pro" I would like to ex te n d m y congra tu lations to Scott Zam pach on hi s back-to-b ack wi ns a t Mid -Ohio a nd Sea rs Point in th e Yokohama 600cc Su persport Series. Bein g both pro ud and gra tefu l to be m entioned (or sh o u ld I say mismen tioned?) a mo ng Scott's sponsors, I wri te to poin t o ut that th e nam e is C-l's Cycle Pro (pro as in professional , not products). In th e art icles by Brian Ca tterso n, it says, " C&J Cycle Products." M y ma i n " produ c t" is hi gh p erform ance m ach ine sho p an d engi ne building servi ces. T hi s is why I've been so happy to have such a talented rider showcase my " pro du ct" a nd put my logo on his bi kes. Any correction you cou ld offer wou ld be grea tly appreciated. "our spo rt of motorcycling " has given my famil y su ch wonderful years of happiness everywhere I go. T o top it all o £f, my granddaughter Staci H all and Chris Carr drove in from Peoria wh ere Chris won (Yeah, Chris!) and showed me a videot ape th ey took th e da y of the race. Thanks to everyone for a great five wee ks o f moto rcycle famil y and friends. MILLIE HORKY Ormond Beach, FL No snivelersl I was shoc ked to read Mark Little's le tt er co nc er n i n g L a rry Maiers ' ent h usiam for and th e a mount of motocr oss coverage on MotoWorld, which L ittle sa id was " twice as much as road racing." Little then asked th e u tterly ridicul ous questi on, " Does this gu y sleep with th e motocr oss gu ys or wha t?" Mr. Littl e, we have a sayi ng in motocross a nd it goes some thing like th is - No Snivelers! You sh ould be gla d th at Mo toWorld co vers all for ms of motorcycle racing during th e very limited amount of time that they have. As far as Mai ers' enth usiasm is concerned, let' s face it, motocross! supercross is more excitin g th an road racing. Period . G EN E BECK Villa Park, IL Kevin Beau bien . Man agn Wa nt Ads JEFF P UH EK C-l's Cycle Pro West Allis , WI Debbie w ell er . W an t A d Salt' s Service and Suppo rt Ch ris Aircheson. lIt'ad q uarkrs R ,.ct'p t ion i~ t Leo nard H err ing, Service arid S u p po rl Nat ional Headq uaners 2201 Che rry Ave., Lo ng Beach . CA 90806. P.O . Box 498. Lo ng Beach. CA 90801·0198 (2 13) 127·7133; 213/636-88H. FAX (2 13) 427·6685 Eastern Office 4190 First Ave.• Tucker . G A. 30084; ma ilin g ad d ress P.O. Box MOS. T uc ker. GA 3008$-08OS . (404 ) 934·7850. FAX (404) 934· 3112 Cvcle News (US PS 1 4 1 · ~iO ) is publis hed wr'rkl y ocept the (irs l a nd last week of the calendar year Ior $50.00 per year by Cycle News, In c., 2201 Cherry Avenue. Lo n g Beach . CA 90806. Seco nd class pos tage pa id at Lo ng Beach . CA. a nd ad d itio na l ma ilin g of~ices . POSTMASTER; Send f orm 35 7 9 t o Cyc le News. P.O . Bo x 498 , l o ng Be a ch . CA 90801-0498 . To de t ermine the ex pi rat io n date of your s ubscripti on. check t he four number. on t he first line of yo ur add reu Iebel. The fin t two d ig its indicate the last i• • u e number yo u 'll receive an d the last two ch ar aeten indicate the ye ar of t he last iu ue . Subscription rates: Ra tes for the Un ited Slates a nd i u possessions Ior o ne year. (SO i"Oesl. $50.00; two years ( 100 iuues). $95.00; six mo nths . (25 issues ). $26J)(l; tria l su b (15 iuues ). 119.00. Ca nada a nd For eign. one year (SOissues ), S9C ).OO; two years (100 issues ), $17S.00; six mom hs (25 issues ). 545.00; trial sub ( IS issues }, S~8.00. Cycl e New s wel co mes unsolicited editorial materi al incl udi nl; ' lories, ca noons. phot os, etc. Such mat er ia l, If pu bfisbe d . becomes rhe excl usive pro per ty of Cycle News. Su ch accep ted ma teri al is su bject to revision a!' is necessa ry in the so le d iscretio n o f Cycle News. U nso licited mat erial whi ch is n OI used w ill be retu rn ed if acco m pa ni ed by a self add ressed stamped en ve lo pe. All unso lic ited mat er ial w ill be han dl ed wi th reaso nabl e ca re. ho wever. Cycle News ass umes no responsibility for the ~ r(" IY . lo ss o r damage to suc h ma ter ial . Reprint in g in w ho le or p ari o n ly by pe rmi ssion o f rbe publisher . Advt"rtisi n,,; rat es a nd circu la tio n infcrrnauon will be sent u po n request. See S.R.D.S. ~BPA V AUDITED C IRCULATIO N Co pyrig ht e Cyc le News. Inc . 1989. Tra de mark Cyc le New s registered U.S . Patent Office . A ll righ ts reserved . Our family I rea lly need your help in th ankin g " our motorcycle fa mil y" for th e great month I spent in New Engla nd a nd Ohio. Making my base a t my siste r's hom e in Co nnec ticut, I attended th e Indian H omecomin g wi th Butch Baer a nd fa mily. I had a great weeke n d with dea r fri en ds a n d peo p le I worked with during the late 1930's and th e 1940's a t Indian. After that But ch a nd I atte nded th e Yankee Ch apter festivities in Stowe, Vermont. The weekend in cluded vintage runs under the di recti on of H arker Vintage Motor Co . and the Chapter a nd a dinner that ab out 150 a ttended. Thanks, Butch, for being my wheels, I stayed on with famil y in Massach use tts a nd Connecticut, th en flew th e friendl y skies to my fam il y in Columbus, Ohio, and a ttended o ur Over The H ill Gang gathering (fi ve years ago I was th e secretary when it first sta rted ). It 's co me a lo ng way in th ose five years a nd Dick a nd Bev Klamfoth are still doi ng a super job. T o wind up a grea t ti me " u p north," my gra nddaught er Ca rr ie H ork y drove me u p to th e AMA for a wonderfu l tout of our new American Mot orcycle Heritage Foundatio n Museum. Greg Harri son d id a great job in being our g uide and it was lovely seeing " my guys and ga ls" at the AMA. Sorry I mi ssed those who were o n va cation , li ke Ed Youngb lood. My heart swell s with pride in that AMA (Con tinued from page 2) AMA Cha ir m an J ohn H a sty reported th at th e Am erican Mo torcycle Political Action Co mm ittee has ma de co n tr ibu tio n s in excess o f 18,000 du rin g the curren t election year. AMA T reasu rer Bob P er k in s reviewed fina ncia l reports through J u ne and reported the Association in a sound fin a ncia l positio n. H e sta ted that whi le expe nses are runnin g 4% over budget, in com e is nearl y 10% o ver budge t, lea vin g a posi tive varia nce for th e year. Am er ican Mo torcycl e H er it age Founda tion Ch airman Dal Smilie reported on m useum co nstruction whi ch is o n sched u le a nd will be ready fo r o u tfi tti ng a nd ex h ib it assembly by early Septem ber; H e repo rted tha t fund rai sing e£forts have been generall y di sappo intin g. So th at th e museum can begin legal opera tio n d uring 1990; the AMA tru st ees a p p ro ved a lea se ag reeme nt between the Associ a tion a nd the AMHF, providin g about i O O sq ua re feet of exh ibit space next O to AMA headquarters. The tr u st ees rev iew ed a n d ap proved an u pd a te to the Associa tio n's Stra tegi c P lan w i th th e understa ndi ng that p ublic relations po licies shou ld be further stud ied. Has ty named Bob Perkin s, Pau l Dean , and Ray Bla nk to a co mm ittee to undertake this study. The trustees heard reports from Memb ershi p Development Directo r Mark Mederski a nd Pro Racing Vice P resident Ron Zimmerman, both reviewing 1989 ac tivities a nd outlining bu dgeted pl ans for 1990. President Ed Youngbl ood reported o n gove rnment relati ons a ct ivi ty and des cr ibed h o w th e Asso ciati o n wou ld admi nister a $24,000 federa l gra nt to promote licen sin g, volu ntary helme t use, and alcohol awaren ess. He reported th a t AMA Government Rela tions Vice President Rob Razor had just comp leted productive meetings with th e sta ff of Sen ator Hatch co ncern ing federa l medi cal insurance proposals, a nd th at . motorcycl ists' views are being consi dere d. The tru stees gra nted AMA Brighter Im age Awa rds to New Ch oices magazine, T axi magazine, and Chicago Radio Station WGN. Details will be announced at a lat er date. Hasty rep orted on actions of th e in surance com mi ttee th at met in Westerville on Ma y 25, [989. The co m m ittee 's recommendation that th e AMA di scontinue its $2000 memb er AD&D covera ge but main tain an optional program o £fering $10,000 coverage was app roved. Mr. Youngblood reported that he did not foresee an y increases in insurance premiums for the co m ing year, and th at he will contin ue to work for increased coverages and no premium in creases. T he tr u stees ap pro ved a n d ado p ted a new bu dget for the fiscal yea r 1990. to tali ng $5.9 million as reco m mended by the fin an ce co mmittee. The trustees al so app roved and ado pted ope ra ting a nd ca p ita l ex pend iture budgets for th e Am erican Motorcycle Heri tage Foundation museum in excess of $350,000 aimed at a grand o pe ning by Ju ly, 1990. Youngbl ood reported on a success fu l intro duct ion of th e Fo r m u la DTX p ro gram design ed to help revitalize a ma teur dirt trac k racing, a nd tha nked th e industry a nd press for their sup po rt. He reported tha t th e am a teur dirt track cha m pionsh ip j ust cond uc ted at Peo ria had been a big success, wit h entries u p more than 50%. T he tru stees d iscu ssed proposal s to h ost th e In terna tional Six Da ys Enduro in 1994. After considering th e $300,000 costs of thi s promotion and th e sta te of the off-road motorcycle ma rket, they concl uded that th e Associa tion wou ld not assu me th e fin a ncia l responsibili ty for suc h a n even t. . Upon review of an actuarial study co n d uc te d by t he Asso ci ati o n ' s accounti ng fir m , the tru stees set Life Membershi p dues a t $350. The trustees reviewed a nd co nsi dered the AMA Amateur Mo tocr oss Na tio na l Ch ampionsh ip program. The presiden t reported that while he had requested proposal s from several promoters, none of them was co mpetit ive with the MX Sp orts program. The board a u thori zed th e president to contin ue negot iati ons with MX Sports, In c., aimed tow ard ren ewing its contract for th e productio n o f t he Am ateur Mo to cr o ss Na tio nal Championship a t Loretta L ynn 's Dude Ranch. The tru st ees re viewed a n d approved co rpora ted membershi p appli ca tio ns from en Motorcycle Mech an ics In stitute a nd Custom Chrome, Inc. T he tru stees disc ussed procedures for election of individual tru stees a nd di rected th e president to pro d uce a ca nd ida te's manual co ntaining rules a nd proced ures. T he trustees ratified a decision by Zimmerm an to repl ace Mert La wwill wi th Duke Oll iges o n th e professio na l dirt trac k adviso ry board. T he AMA Board of Trustees wi ll nex t meet in Long Beach , Cali forn ia, o n No vember 3, 1989. •

• Cover