Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Knocker" that New Zealander Rod Coleman rode to victory in the 1954 Isle of Man Yr. Roper and Coleman ' will race th e bike in a vintage meet a t Puckahoe o n Februar y 10-11. Iannucci will th en host an o pen practice day at Ro ebling Road in Faulkville, Georgia, th at will be limited to 10 ride rs. For more information on th at , call 718/596-0504. As for Daytona, Iannucci says Canad ian Yvon DuHamel will celebrate his 50th birthday during Cycle Week by rid ing a Team Obsolete Manx Norto n in the vintage meet on Monday, March 5. "I'm most excited about the factthat Bob Hansen, who headed up the Matchless G50 team in the States in the sixties , will be on hand to tune our team 's G50. He'll 81 o be the featured guest at 's Tuesday night's (March 6) AHRMA banquet." Following his stint with Matchless , Hansen was the head of Honda's road race effort in the late sixties and early seventies t hat led to Dick Mann's Daytona victory in 1970, and then took charge of Kawasaki's road race team. "When I started Team Obsolete, Bob Hansen so ld me his Matchless parts and tutored me. He's riever gotten the recognition he deserves," said Iannucci. Speaking of vintage road racing at Daytona, West Coast British Racing , tells Papa that Don Upshaw, a writer for England's Classic Racer magazine, will be campaigning a WCBR Ducat i 200 th ere in the 250cc G P class. Additionally, tea m owner Mike Gree n will compete in the 200 G P , 250 GP, 350 G P, 500 GP and 500cc Sportsman classes, while Bret Morshead will come out of retirment to race a Ducati 350 in the 350 G P, 500 GP and 500cc Sportsman divisions. Roll out those old B-29s, B-24s and B-17sl No, not qu ite, ' but that's what Papa first thought when he heard of a Bomber class being added to the Racing Enterprises-promoted Saturday ' MX program at southern California's Carlsbad Raceway. Carlsbad's Bomber class is for MX machines seven years or older and the new class will consist of two divisions, Bomber A for advanced riders and Bomber B for beg inners. There's no displacement lim it , it's open to all riders, membership is not required and the entry fee will be $1 O. For more information, call 619 /484-1441. A BMW spokesman told recen tly that production 16-valv e KIOORS will until th e fall of 1990 Cycle N ews of th e new , be delayed due to th e overwhelming worldwide dem and for K-Is. The KIOORS was originally scheduled to make its debu t in June. If your way to Daytona for Cycle Wee k in cl udes pass ing t hro ug h North Carolina on 1 5 on Sun -9 day, March 4, make note of the 2nd Annual Daytona Cy cle Week Coffee Stop, sponsored by t he . Rocky Mount M .C . The c lub w ill offer motorcyclists f ree cof fee and donuts from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the rest area j ust sou t h of Gold Rock, North Carolina. Qualifying riders wh o purchase a new Suzuki GSXR750 or 11 00 will be able to attend a new advanced riding school free of charge. Buyers will receive a certificate good for o ne of eight scheduled Team Suzuki Endurance Advan ced Riding Schools held nationwide by Team Hammer, Inc., in conjunction with WE RA P ro Series even ts. The schools will feature classroom and on-track instruction from two-time AMA Superbike champ Wes Cooley and WE RA F-USA champ Kurt Hall; bike setup tips from Team Suzuki crew chief Keith Perry; and sponsorshi p procurement and public appearance instruction from Hall and WERA National Endurance cham p Mik e Smith. Information will be available soon from Suzuki dea lers, or after Marc h I from Team Hammer, Inc., P.O. Box 964, Guasti, CA 91743, 714/674-0552. Team Suzuki Endurance Advanced Riding Schools are tentatively scheduled ' for Rosamond, California, April 26; Kent, Washington, May 18; Chandler, Arizona, June 8; Topeka, Kansas, July 6 ; Grattan, Michigan, July .27; Braselton, Georgia, August 10; Long Pond, Pennsylvania, August 23; and Millington, Ten nessee, August 31 . ' Reggie Jackson, who ranks sixth on the all-time major l eague home run list, will be the guest of honor at the American Motorcycle Heri ta ge Foundation's (AMHF) annual fundraising breakfast d u r i n g Camel Motorcycle Week at Daytona. The breakfast is designed to raise money for the new American Motorcycle Heritage Museum, scheduled to , . open in August at AMA headquarters in Westerville, Ohio. Voted the Ameri can League's Most Valuable P layer in 1973 and named to the All Star team 13 times , Jackson earned th e nickname " Mr. October " for his ou tsta nding performances in World Series competition . H is most memorable performance ca me in the 1977 World Series wh en. as a member (Con tin ued to page 50) Workben ch is a weekly column deal in g with motorcycl e maintenan ce, perform ance and equipment. Ha ve somethi ng that Workb ench can address? Then drop a line to Workbench, Cycle Ne ws, P.O . Box 498, L ong Beach, CA 90801-0498. Battery care Last we ek in Workbench we explained why batteries discharge: A chemical reac tion between the electrolyte and lead-coated p la tes creates electricity, and when the plates become coated to the degree th at they no longer have opposite charges, the battery is dead. . Fortunately, this chemical reac tion can be reversed. In a car ,the alternator sufficiently recharges the battery on long drives, but a motorcycle's alternator merely rep len ishes the existing charge. Not only does th at charge diminish with use , but an idle battery will a lso selfdisc harge. So if you've stored your bi ke for the winter, you'll need to maintain the battery. Keeping the battery charged prevents the electrolyte from freezing and, perhap s more importantly, lets you take advantage of the first warm spring day by going riding, rather than driving to the shop for a replacement battery! In order to fu lly recharge a motorcycle battery, a charger must be used. A battery charger converts househol d alternating current (AC) to the direct current (DC) required for recharging a battery . Current, measured in amperes (ampsj.js usually indi cated with an ammeter or m u lt im eter. When the battery is firs t connected it will accept a large amount of current from the charger, and as it becomes more charged the charging current decreases. Although there are a number of different types of chargers, Scha uer, a battery charger manufacturer, says that only a few are suitable for charging motorcycle batteries: A manual charger may be used only if it charges at a rate not greater than two amps, and must be turned off by hand when the ammeter shows that the battery has been fully charged (usually indicated when 'the m et er shows about half of the charger's rating). An au tomatic charger may also be used, and is preferable to a manual unit since it has sensin~circuits built in to reduce the charging current as th e battery becomes charged. According to Schauer, dual -rate chargers are probably the best choice for charging amotorcycle battery. A dual-rate charger is a manual charger th at can char ge at either of two rates, making it useful for your ca r as well. Trickle chargers are another good choice for keeping your ba ttery in a charged condition, particu larly on a motorcycle that's being sto red for th e win ter . The output of these chargers is acceptable since it is less than two amps, but be warned that cont inuous trickl e charging can destroy th e positive plates within th e battery. (T h ere are some trickle chargers on the market which shut off automatically when the battery is fully charged.) Schauer recommends using a timer and trickle charging for on ly a few hours ~ day. Never charge your battery WIth an automotive-style fast charger. These chargers recharge the battery in less than 30 minu tes, but the heat generated by a quick charger wi thin a small motorcycle battery can buckle the charged plates and dislodge the lead coatings so that they fall to the bottom of the battery and short it out. They can also produce vio lent gass ing within the battery - a potentially explosive situation. When charging a battery, add water only to the level indicated on the side of the battery. Do n 't overfill: expansion during charging can force the electrolyte back out the filler hole. Leave the filler caps loose so that the gasses can escape. Corrosion may 'form on the term inals of ol der batteries due to gas escaping from openings at the terminals. This can be cleaned by brushi ng th e terminals with a sol ution of baking soda and ' water. Be sure to keep the solution away from the filler caps, as it can neutralize the electrolyte. When the solution no longer foams, wipe th e term inals dry and apply a thin coating of light grease to help prevent further corrosion. Felt pads are also available which fit over the terminals between the battery and the ba ttery cable connectors. Check the battery's electrolyte level once a week; if it 's low, add water to bring the solution up to the recommended level. Don't overfill, for when recharged it wi ll prod uce a solution that is too strong. If a battery discharges quickly or uses excessive water, the rest of the electrical system should be checked. A battery should last up to three years with th e proper ch a r gi n g and maintenance. Nate Rauba r----------~------------------------------------------------------, I - SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM ' I I I Name I ,I I , P LE A S E PR' IIIT CLE A R l Y I Address i City I I 1 I I I l I State Zip . , v~ I I I i I I I Order Oate: 0 K , please start my subscription to Cycle News and send me the newspaper 0 eve ry week fo r one year (50 issues) fo r $35.00 0 eve ry week fo r t w o years (100 issues) for $65 .00 ,0 six months secon d class (25 issues) for $18.00 L Send to : CYCLE NEWS, Inc., P.O . I I I I Sig nature M C /Vi sa# • l O ne yee r 15 0 i.. ue,). 2 nd cle.. Cenede or Mexico e nd en other foreign co un t ries $75,00 (U,S . fun ds ), 1 First clals a nd air mai l rates avail8 bl~ upo n req uest. I I I I 0 This is a renewal 0 Please bill me 0 Enclosed is chec k or m oney o rder Charge my 0 Visa 0 Ma st ercard I I I Expi rati on Date Box 498 . Long Beac h. CA 90801-0498 / (213) 427-7433 I ~-----------~ 3

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