Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

It's a bird l It's a planeI No, it's Sponsellermanl Camel Pro Team (Eaken-Sponseller Racing) sponsor Mike Sponseller tells Papa he's conquered the art of vertical f light. Sponseller, who makes his home in New Market, Maryland, earned his FAA private rotor craft card on January 1 4 and w ill now be spending t ime in the a ir in his Bell Jet Ranger helicopter, o r as he p ut it, " S po ns elle r's lo o s e w ith 450 Allison t u rbi ne horses." The 14th Ann ua l Idaho Vintage Motorcycle Show will be held in Caldwell o n Ma rch 17-18. H osted by t he Id ah o V inta g e M .C. , bikes ent ered must be at least 10 yea rs old or of a make no longer produced or im po rte d. No choppers o r custom ized bikes are a llowed . For more i n fo rmatio n, ca ll Ri chard Renstrom at 208/ 459-8786. American Motorcycle In s t it u t e (AMI) of Daytona Beach, Florida, is offering road racers dyno time at no charge , AMI recently received a prototype dynamometer that was produced by Precision American Industries of Edgewater. Florida , The dyno is capable of measuring and recording up to 400 ho rsepower at t he rear wheel, and has a computer acquisit ion system w ith 12 analog and 12 d ig ital in put channels. The system enables a collection of 24 p ieces of information to be recorded, p rinted a nd a na lyzed , o sched u le dyno t ime, call 8001 874-0645 (in Flo rida, 904 /255 295 ). mel P ro Series co m peti tor Ste ve Moreh ead is seeking a road race ride o r the Da ytona 200. " I raced in th e 200 last yea r a nd fin ish ed 19th, and eco nd to Jay Springsteen in th e Dirt 'rack Achievement Awards part of h e ra ce (a race with in the ra ce that .s open to top 20-ranked Camel Pro eries ra cers and which pays a total f $20,000 - $5000 to the highestlaced finisher ). I really en joyed acing in the 200 and wou ld like to o it again this year." If you'd like to provide a ride for Morehead, call im at 419/ 365-5456. . • s far as Morehead's dirt t rack lans for the year go, t hey're still p in the a ir. Morehead, who as memberofthe Mike Sponsellerl kip Eaken Honda team finished ourth in the Camel Pro Series last ear, said , " M y two Har ley R750 engines are at Hank cott's s hop no w getting p repped or the season. Hank doesn 't want o travel the ci rcuit. so I' m still not uite sure what I' m going to do . called Tex Peel the other day a nd told h im I' d sell my race car if he 'd put me in h is sprint car. but we'll j u s t have to wait and see what happens. " Although Doug Chandler's road race plans are firml y set, th e northern Californian is still tr ying to ge t a dirt track ride lined up. " I' m st ill try ing to figure o ut someth i ng for d irt tr ack ," sa id Chandler, who finis hed fifth in th e 1989 AMA G r an d National Championship/Camel P ro Seri es riding a Bob Donab ed ia n / Hank Scott Honda. ''I'm going to try Harley. I want to try a nd do so me th ing. I'd like to a t least run a co u ple (o f Camel Pro Series races )." Chandler will again ride a R ob Muzzy-prepared Kawasaki in th e AMA Superbike Series. Chandler finished fifth in last year's Superbike Series, winning th e la st two ra ces Mid-Ohio a nd Heartland Park Topek a - of ' the six-race series after having DNF the first four races. W orkben ch is a wee k ly co lu m n dealing with moto rcycle ma intenance, perform ance and equipment . Ha ve so mething that Workben ch can address? Th en drop a lin e to Workbench, Cycle N ews, P.D : Box '498, L ong Beach , CA 90801-0498. Knowing your chain: Chain care Las t week we discussed what happens to a chain when it' s abused and not tak en care of properl y. The bottom line was that a neglected chain will have a much shorter lifespan , and in som e cases, can leave you high and dry out on the trail or stranded o n a lo neso me hi ghway. This week we 'll discuss proper cha in care. Keeping a chain clean and well lubricated is very important. Never clean your cha in with a hi gh-pressure strea m of water, such as you wou ld find at a car wash, or even with a garden hose. Qu ite simp ly, wat er is bad [or your chai n; it will rind its way in side the chain and cause ru st. Don 't ever soak your cha in in solvent, either ; solvent will remove lubricati on and dry o ut th e cha in intern all y, allo wing corros io n to set in . If the chain gels covered in dirt and mud , you can use a wire brush and gent ly kn ock 0 [£ the gr it. But the best way to keep a chai n clean is to use a quality chain lube. Chain lube will £Ioat mu ch of th e dirt out [rom between th e bu shings, plates and rollers. T here's more to lubing a cha in th an meets the eye. Most chai n lubes come in spray cans with small pl asti c tub es that you insert into the spray nozzle to better direct the spray. To properly lube yo ur chain, yo u should prop th e rear wheel up 0[£ the ground, spin the wh eel care£ull y (don' t get your ringers caught between the chain and the sprocketl), and spray a healthy dose of chain I ub e on th e bottom secti on of chain (belo w the swingarm ) from the to p . Aim th e sp ra y into th e ga p between the inner and o u ter pl ate s o n each side of the chain and then douse the rolle rs. After a couple of revo lu tion s, repeat th e process on the upper sec tio n o f the cha i n (a bove the swi ngarm). It is best to lube you r cha in after yo u 've been riding. First of all, th e chain is warmer and the chain lube Ma lco lm Forbes will serve as grand marshal and guest of honor at the grand opening of the Motorcycle Heritage Museum on Thursday, August 16, in Westerville, Ohio. The museum opening will be part of the AM A's Heritage Homecom ing n a tio n a l conven tion, s lated for August 15-19 in Athens, Ohio. The Homecoming , w ill feature dozens of activities. in cl u d ing an industry trade show, motorcycle demo rid e s, scen ic tou rs and a dual-sport ride. Forbes, an AMA Lif e Member, will le a d a la rg e delegation of riders from the Homecoming site on the camp us o f Ohio Un ivers ity in Athens t o the Motorcycle Heritage M useum in Westerville, a suburb of Columbus, FORMED: Rock Oil of Texas, by former p ro motocrosser Mike Lambert, to distribute R ock Oil a nd Wulfsport products in T ex as, Arkan sas and Oklahoma; 6921 West creek Dr., Ft. Worth , TX 76133, 817/2926404. The Permian Basin Motorcycle Association (PBMA) will host the opening ro u n d o f the 1990 AMA Nationa l Championship Hare Scramble Series on February 4 in Crane, Texas. Terry Maxwell of the PBMA says. " Te ll t he riders to bring paddle t ires because t h e course is all sand , no ro c ks. Anyone who'll be competing in the Gold Strike race in Las Vegas the day before and wishes t o fly in to compete in our event should call us, We can arrange transportation from M idland to Crane." To a rrange that pickup or for more inf o rm a ti on, call 915 /367 -3961 . (Continued to page 42) will seep into tlie gaps easier. Secondly, if the motorcycle isn't ridden right away, the lube won 't fly off the chain as much when the wheel starts spinning. The lube will soak in better if it' s given a chance to sit for awhile. Even though Ovring ch a ins are sealed, the y do need lubing. Use cha in lu bes that are specia lly-des igned [or Dring chai ns; th e lube is th inner and pe netra tes better. Although O -ring cha ins have grea se built in to th e chains, they still need to be lubed to prevent external ru st and to keep th e rubber seals p lia ble. Ca re£u lly read th e label s o n the chain lube cans; there are differences. The correct chain adjus tment is very important for long chai n life. A loo se chai n wi ll put too mu ch of a peak load o n th e chain wh en th e throttle is applied, or under braking, especia lly if th e wh eel begins hopping. If the chain is too tight, it crea tes an overwhelming load o n th e internal transmi ssio n gear s, as well as th e chain itself. All motorcycles have different Iactory ' recommended cha in adjustmen t slack , but if yo u don't ha ve your owner's manual , yo u ca n still eas ily find th e cor rect slac k [or yo ur mot or cycle. You do this by com pressing the rear suspens io n until you reach the cha in 's tightest po siti on. At this point, have a tie-down stra p o r ro pe wrapped around the swinga rm and the seat to keep the rear sus pension com pressed. No w, you can adjust the cha in to wh ere the slack is approximately one-q ua rter of an in ch , measured at the half way p oint between th e two sprocke ts. Be£or e you cinch every thi ng down , make sure the chain is aligned properly from th e co unte rsha ft sprocket to the rear wheel sp rocket. Don 't rel y o n the alig n ment markin gs o n the swingarm . It 's best to stand beh ind the motorcycle and eyeball the chai n's align ment, to see if it 's straigh t. Then , spi n th e wh eel and make sure that th e sproc ket teeth aren 't con tac ting the in side of th e link plates. Also , check that the o utside of the chain isn 't rubbing agains t the chai n g uide. When you' re satisfied, tighten down th e nuts and bolts carefully, ensu ring tha t you don ' t kn ock anything ou t of alignment. If you just purchased a brand-new chain [or your motorcycle, keep an eye o n it dosely for th e first few rides. If you ride in the dirt, it's a good idea to chec k the cha in's adj us tmen t often . A cha in will "stretch" sign ifica n rly wh en it 's new , but after a couple of rides, it will seat. O vring cha ins stre tch less than convent io na l chai ns. - If yo u foll ow th ese simple do's and don 't 's in cha in ma intenance, you r cha in sho uld give you trouble-free performan ce fo r a long, long ti me. 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