Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1980's

up when you visit Atla nta and we' ll see ya'lI at the races. MIKE CH URCH Tucker, GA Publ ish ed len era do no t ne cessarily reflect the po sition of Cycle News. Inc. Lett ers are s u bjec t t o condens. t ion due t o s pac e lim itation •. Anonymous Ieners w ill not be published. Send letter to Voice • • P.O . Box 498, Long Beac h, CA 90801 -049 8 . America 's motorcycle newspaper .... (1) ..0 o ~ u o Volume XXVI Shawn CI ..Ylo n . Publishn Mi5..r Klinf{t'r, Cm .n pt roll n Ski p Jo hn!W.K1 . Assockue PublishtTl Na /ioPltd Sale s M an aJ;:n . Ja ck Man Jl;u!>. A ssoc iatr P bl ish er t E itor u d Rheba Smi th. Circ u latio n Managrr Ca ro liu e C.rndry , Ex t'ru titJr S«1t:lary to Iht' l~lI b lijh t'1 Ed itoria l jad . M anK u ~. Edi tor Kil Palmi" . Associate Eduor Paul Ca rru thers. A 5$odat t' Edit or Nalt' Rauba. Associate Ed itor Brian Ca ne -so n . Associat e Ed itor Ken FauJl:lll. A ssistant Ed ilOT Edw in a M ;II1 K U ~. Cn/n ldar Ed it or Advertis ing S" ip Johnson . Na t '! S~l,.s ManaKn Mik t· Ch u rch . Smior Snit's Managn T t" Pra ll . Senior !ialt'J Mana KN 1T)' Mark Thorn e, Wt'.strrn Sa lt's Mana ~n R Oil na v idso n, Wt'. lnn Salt's Afa n a.&tt'T \ Thom as R. Gomer . Wt'.~tnn Sal,.,) Mar'tlf{tT ~b rk M il thdJ. Eastern S4 1,s . fan agt'r l _ C: t~ M ill lu·11. Eastern SOIr.J Ma 'l a ~n joan RU'\!lo ian . W...litl" rn Ad CI)(Yf i natm . d (:' If I.1 Rm dr n. Easte rn A d Coordinat or 1-1( 11)'·C.o wa rt . Elut... , Ad C/HJ na'm " rdi Gra ph ic s a nd Production RtT j uhn\fUl. Prodli.rt ion S u pnt'Uo r Ma n d .,· LUll . Prod uction Alana. n e llf-n n ilo c.,""Ilt·, Lab. Teen, ( ; un l. ( ;,ap hir A rt;.!' jimmie- O' rk-II, G ratJh ir A r'u t Mil h art G ru\/ ~a. r.r apll ir ,h tis t (:'ullyn Br.mh.. m. T ypt'yltn SI~an"'Y Ac c o u nt ing / Da ta Processing D oun.. Bryan . A rc'.li Ht''rt'illObl...CUf}rdi 'laJor G('Ilt'\'a RrI M\'\. A.uutulIt h .m iI .l m wc~ . Cudit C ircula t ion S.ua h Ta" IUI, Au i.lita rlt Alina '\ I l~u i.. nl) . A~,i.\la'" Mal ita :\Irhun . As.\ uttml IIt-,J.IIlr- R ichmond. A.u i.li'anl C.u III M" m; il). A.u i.\ lan t De a le r S al e s Kt'\ 'in Rl.'a uh ir ll . lUat ll ' Krf W an t Ads llt-hb il' \\'rll(·I. Wa Ul A d Sa lf's Service an d Support Ch ri\ Ai h 'l lt·~ lIl. JIf'ad q u aTtl'Ts R f'rf'p l i o n i sl 1.....,IIt;Jrd H e-rring, Sf'n ',a' tm d Suppo rt Na t ional Headquarters 2' 0 1 Cluny Ave-.. I.tJl1 }k;11·h . CA ~JnH06. P.O . 2 K nu x -191'1. l.onJ: Rc.'~ldl . CA 90801 -0198 (2 13) 127· 71j3: 2 Ij /6j6· KM11. FA X (2 13) '127·66H5 East ern Offic e 1 190 t' iht Av e.. T ud.t'r. GA. 3001'4,1: lluilinR 5, ;ad d u "",!'> P.O . Bo x K0 T u d;, er. GA ' 008."·0805. (-1 (H I9~1·7K.r,o " F,\X ('10-119 3·I·j I 12 Cydt' New s (l IS PS 1'11· 310 , is published wee klv net'pt IIU' Iirsr a nd la!lol wf"l"'k u f the I" lt' o d a r a ;.lr le yt'a r fur S ~.OO I-Jt'l y(" b y Cv e- ~f'w s . In c., 220 1 C hrny ,h r ll u l'. Lo ug Be-a ch. C A 90806. Snllnd d;.l !'> \ pn~la ~ p' lid .at l ..AHlR Rc--a<,h . CA. POSTMAS TER: Send f orm 35 79 10 Cycle N ews. P.O . Bo x 4 98. Long Beac h. CA 90801·0498. To determine the expiration date of your subscription. check the fou r numbers on the first line of your addre.. label. The first two d ig its indicate the last issue number you'U receive and the last two c:hllracten indicate the year of the last issue . Sub !W.Tipl in n r;.lln : R.u n fo r the Un ued Sta tn a nd i t~ po!lo~lo i()ll!lo fur OI1C" yC""a r, (50 i ~un ) . $50.00; tWt l .,- OlU, ( 100 issun). $9:'.00; six months. r (25 i'\!lollC"!lo ). $26.00: "i.a) , lib ( 15 is~u("S ) . SI 9.00. C.rnallOi a nd Fo reig n. o n (" yr.u (50 inun). $90.00: tw o )'ran nOO i '\~un) . $1 75.00; si x mon ths (25 is~u n l . $'1:'.00; trial sub (15 issun). S3M.OO. C ydt" Nrws wel co mes u nsoticired ed i to r].. 1 mall'ria l includ ing Murin . r.lrll aun~ . ph ot os, etc. Suc h mut e s ial , if pu bfisbed . becom e s rbe t"xd u !lo i\ 'f' p ru prtl ), o f Cydro New s. Suc h aCTt'plrd m~urrwl is !'o ubj("(1 to r('\·isi on as i!o n ("{'f"S!'Oaf} in thr- ~ol(" d i!W.TMin n of Cydt' Nt'w s. l1nllo liciwd nla ll"ri;JI wh ich i~ IInl u!'ol"d will IX' rrolUrTW"d i f ;la umpanird h y a ~l'l f ad d rt"ssed na m pt' d t'",,'(·ln p l'. All un suli cil rod m at t' r ial will be handlni wi lh rro;J!l uablr Clrro, how Mir r. Cydr u N r w r. ,aSM e- no r~pon !'oibilit y for Ih t" ~fC"I Y . Hll r. 10000!lo u r damOlgt" 10 su(·h ma lrria l. RrpriniinK in w hole- or p ;lTI o n l y b y per m iss io n o f the publi!lollt'r, Advl'rli ~ ill K rales an d rirc u la tio n m£urrn;lIiOIl will bt' !>f'0I u pon rN.) ur-st. SeT S.R .ll.S. AUDITED CIRCULATION Copyri gh t Cycle News. Inc. 1989. Tred emark Cyc le News registered U.S . P8 tent Offtee. All rights reserved. 4 Fast Freddie fan I am disturbed by Randy Townsend 's co m ments on Freddie Spencer's 1989 season in his letter in the September 2i issu e. Townsend tells us that Spencer was furnished with a winning bik e and a lot of money, but betrayed his cha mpi o nsh ip status, his sponsors and the fan s by his lack of determination. T ownsend misunderstands motorcycle GP racing, and he mi sunderstands what Spencer was doing with a motorcycle when he was at his unbeatable best. Townsend is from the "fan" school that needs to believe that their cham p ions are basically regular g uys, just like them, a couple of whose body parts are unusually large. Today's spectacularly ca pable G P hikes were developed by rid ers who bring a lot more than grit to the sport. Spencer , Law son, Rainey, Schwantz, and others ar e individuals with extraordinary ath letic talent, intell igen ce, and judgement (a nd certa in ly determination ). Spen cer, for a tim e, stood a bove a ll o thers because he could consistently ride the motorcycle as no on e else before, or since, ha s been abl e to. He brought " push ing th e front end" from its beyond the limit status to some thing th at co u ld be done co rner afte r corner, lap after lap. Spencer, temporarily itseems, advanced th e state of th e art of GP riding. How he did it, when he could do it no longer , ma y sa d ly remain a fascinating mystery. I'd agree that Freddie Sp encer hasn't handled th e demise of his a bility as gra cefull y as we'd like. But Townsend's comments are cruel and do a great disservice to an individual who brought significantly increased attention and resp ect to motorcycle racing, and who, like all genuine racers, was prepared to give his life for what he loved do ing. BRUCE FINLAYSON Grand Ra p ids, MI As a longtime sport fan , I suff ered inside while wat ching on ce great athletes lik e Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Johnn y Un itas and Willie Mays continue to participat e in their chose n sp ort aft er th eir once great sk ills had deteriorated. Wh ile they were doing so, fan s and th e media didn 't pull an y pun ch es as th ey criticized th em over and over. But as time marched on, th eir pathetic " one more fight" or " one more year" performances were forgotten and all are now spoken of w ith nothing but resp ect. Years from now , I trust yo u' ll.lind th e same happening w ith Freddie Sp encer. . . Editor. Conflicting logos We, as manufacturers, spend considerable time and money to sponsor young up-and-coming riders who without o ur co ll ective s u p p o rt would not have a n opportu nity to compete. My complaint is that all year we provide suppo rt to a vast group of amateur racers wh o participate in sanc tioned local events throughout th e country. At the end of the seaso n th ere ar e a handful of races that garner national media exposure suc h as th e NMA Mini Nationals and the AMA Amateur National MX held at Loretta Lynn's. At these national events we look to capitalize on our rider 's winn ing results. The only thing wrong is that at the AMA Amateur Nationals the promoter has required and coerced th e en tran ts to wear bibs reflecting his event sponsors ' logos. Our amateur support riders have signed a contract, just like the professional rid ers, to exclusively utilize our product and exclusively' display our logo on their equipment and person. For a rider to be required to wear a bi b with conflicting logos represent ing products he does n 't use is false a nd m isleading to a consumer aud ience. T hese kids and the ir parents should realize that their body and th eir equipment is th eir product. Once they have committed to a sponsor yo u plaster hi s logo over everyth ing! To do otherwise breeches business ethics and is subject to litigation. As an event sponsor I seek trackside signage, announcer copy, titl e recognition, etc. A rid er should not be co mpelled to display a product logo contrary to hi s spo nsors. I urge riders and manufacturers wh o ar e involved in furthering our sport and industry to join me in this. In Ameri ca we have " freedo m of choice." JOHN M. LINDEN Manager, Motorcycle Divisio n U.S. Tsubaki , In c. City of Industry, CA Hugh Fleming, the AMA's director of amateur competition, responded this way to Linden: " W e fully understand and appreciate your position . . . T he p roblem is not unique just to our races . . . FIM sanctioned Wor ld Championships have similar situations. T heir solution and one that we try to follow in most cases, is to allow the rider to cover up the non-contracted logo and / or replace with th eir own contra cted p ro d u ct log o." Linden responded to that with: " 'In most cases' is a cop out!" . . . Editor. Movin ' on It seems like such a short time ago that I answered a h elp wanted classified ad in Cycle News offering a position in advertising sales at Cycle News. Now, almost 12 years later, I realize how hard it is to say goodbye and move on. I'm staying in the motorcycle business in the Atlanta area to develop commercial sales for my family 's dealerships. A special thank you goes out to Chuck and Sharon Clayton and jack Mangus for the opportunity to work with what (at that tim e and still today ) I believe is th e single best pub lication in our industry, Cycle News! Than ks as well to th e top flight crew both here in T ucker, Georgia, and out in Long Beach for th e past support and interes ting worki ng rela tio nships. I hope my clients feel that my efforts have been progressive and ' wis h ·a ll of you the very best of luck and contin ued success . There simply isn't the time nor does space allow me to say thanks to each and every one of you, so I' ll just say loo k me (Continued from page 2) eq u ipped Suzuki support vans with facto ry mechan ics wiII be on hand at m any of th e maj or even ts to p ro vid e trackside assistance, and members of Team Suzuki will also be conducti ng ra ce semina rs thro ughout th e yea r at selected events. Riders purchasing a 1990 R M will also get a free course in the Tony D. Motocross School. Hi-Point Racing presented Jeff Stanton with a special commemorative T-sh irt at the September 24 Binghamton , New York, National honoring his achievements as 1989 Supercross and 250cc National Champion. Stanton isn 't sponsored by ' Hi-Po int . but chooses to wear Hi-Point boots. Larry Huffman says he'll once again host hourly radio reports on the Nov ember 10-12 Baja 1000. According to Huffman, " T he stations lined up to carry th e reports have not been fina lized, but will probably include the stations' that carried my reports last year. " Huffman says he also expects that last year's sponsor, ' th e Ca lifornia j eep and Eag le dea lers, will again sponsor the reports. Contrary to a statement made in a recent Wind item (issue #38) based on a press release from the AMA, all age restrictions have been removed for riders who operate off-highway motorcycles on private property in Illinois. The press release incorrectly ' stated that riders under age six were prohibited from riding on private land. Riders under age six are only barred from riding on public land. The johnson & Wood Suzuki GSX R IIOO did not blow an engine as we reported in our coverage of the September 9-10 WE RA 24-Hour West at Willow Springs International Raceway. Rather, the bike's right-side engine case was damaged in a crash caused by a stuck throttle. When the team re-entered the endurance road race, the machine leaked oil, resulting in the firs t of two red flags. Our apologi es to jordan Engineering, who built the motor. Ken Maely's Corona, California, practice track will be closed during the month of October. Mr, Steel Shoe will be away, returning on November 1. Motocross instructor Ru ss Darnell has formed a new organization called Crossers for Christ. For more information call il4/658- RDMX. (Conti nued to page 46)

• Cover