Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

T ed Hunnicutt (Kaw) was the overall ., and 500cc class winner in round two - of the AMA National Championship Har e & Hound Serie s in Red Mountain, California, February II. Hun.nicu u finished a ppro ximately three minutes ahead of Dan As hcraft (Kaw), while th ird went to Danny Hamel (KT M), who topped the 250cc clas s. Larry Roeseler (Kaw) and Randy Moseley (Suz) rounded out th e top five. Defending National Champion Dan Sm ith (KT M) did not fini sh the race aft er breaking a chain earl y in the first loop. Hunni cutt leads th e series point standings over Roe seler. Mike ' Healey (KTM) swept the 125. 250 and 500cc Pro classes at round six of the CMC Golden State Nationals held February 11 in Sacramento. California. Pete Murray (Suz) won the Vet Pro class and Jeff Dement (Suz) topped the Mini Expert class. Tallo n Vohland (Kaw) topped both the 125 and 250cc Pro classes on Friday n ight, February 9, and the 250cc Pro class th e follo wing nigh t a t the Kawasaki/Budw eiser Indoor MX Champio nships in San Fran cisco's Cow Pal ace. Sat urday n ight's 125cc P ro cla ss victory went to Ricky Ryan (H o n). Held in conjunctio n wi th the San Francisco Intern ation al Mo torcycle Sh ow, the races dre w 7700 spec ta tors Friday night a nd 12,300 Saturday nigh t. Vohland also topped the 125. 250 and 500cc Pro classes at the final round of the GFI California Winter Series North held February 11 in Marysville. California . Eric McKenna (Hon) won the Vet Pro class. As repo rted in our coverage of the February 10 San Diego Supercross (see page 6), Damon Bradshaw injured hi s foot in the race. The exten t of th e injury, suffered when he crashed while leading the final, was still not known on Monday, February 12. " We're not 100% sure of wh at 's going on yet," said Yamaha race team manager Keith McCarty. " He's seeing more doctors toda y." When asked if Bradshaw would be back in action for th e February 17 Seattle, Wa shington, Supercross , McCarty said, " At this pomt we're not sure." Funeral services for Kolb were conducted at Hannibal, Missouri, on Friday, February 9. Memorial contributions ma y be made to: American Motorcycle H eritage Foundation, P.O. Box 6114, Westerville, OH 43081 , or Hannibal Hospice, 39 McMast er s Ave., Hannibal , MO 63401. Bertha "Bee Gee" Pennell passed away on February 6 after a long illness. Bee Gee. along with her husband Duke. devoted enormous amounts of time and energy to motorcycle racing. logging hundreds of thousands of highway miles in nearly four decades as an AMA race official. In addition to her duties as a race official. she was a full-time employee of the AMA for 23 years. serving as , an administrative assistant in the association's professional racing division. coordinating various insurance programs as well as the race sanctioning process. Canadian National Champion Ross Pederson was listed in serious condition in Sharp Hospital with a fractured pelvis suffered late in the San Diego main event. Cards and letters can be sent to Pederson at Sharp Memorial Hospital. 7901 Frost St.• San Diego. CA92123. Hazel Kolb , 64, of New London, Missouri , kn own nati onwide as "The Motorcyclin ' Gran 'Ma," died Februar y 6 after a long illness. Kolb was best kn own for her public relations efforts on behalf of motorcycli ng. In a landmark motorcycle ride in 1979 dubbed "T he Perimeter Tour," she rode around th e perimeter of the cont iguo us Un ited States; a total of 14,500 miles, o n her H arl eyDavidson. A second tou r that began in 1985 took her to all 50 sta te capitols , Sh e ap p ea red on T he T oni ght Show with Johnny Carso n and Good Morning America, promoti ng a positive image fo r motorcyclists. Pennell retired in 1987, but continued to work in th e field at a wide vari ety of AMA pro and AMA/ CCS road race events. Shortly aft er her retir ement from the AMA's professio na l raci ng staff, she and Duke were nam ed joint recipients of th e AMA's Dud Perkins Award, th e Associa tio n's highest h onor for outstanding co ntribu tions to th e sport of motorcycling. In 1989, she was presen te d th e Outstanding Achievemen t Award from the AMAI CCS. Contribu tio ns in the memory of Bee Gee Pennell may be made to th e American Mo torcycle H eri tage Fou ndation . In 1987. Kolb received the AMA 's Brighter Image Award. the Association's highest public relations award. In 1989. the award was renamed the Hazel Kolb Brighter Image Award ln honor of her achievements. Kolb was the first woman ever to serve on the AMA's Board of Trustees. was a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation. ' and was an AMA Life Member. The American Motorcycle Heritage Museum will open in August with an exhibit entitled. Women in Motorcycling. That exhibit. depicting the role of women in motorcycling back to the turn of the century. will be dedicated to Hazel Kolb. American Honda has announced that free motorcycle training will be offered to consumers purchasing a Honda street motorcycle or scooter. "This program is another step in our long-standing commitment to rider safety education." said John Petas. senior vice president for American Honda's Motorcycle Division . Basic motorcycle training or experienced rider training by the Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) will be made available at the more than 770 MSF training sites nationwide. as well as at Honda Rider Education Centers in Colton. California. and Arlington. Texas. The course can be completed six months prior to or six months after the purchase of the motorcycle. The offer is limited to actual tuition costs. which average $120 for the beginner's ' c o ur se (called the Motorcycle Rider Course Riding Street Skills). and $60 forthe Experienced Rider Course. Riders will bereimbursed by Honda after completion of the training course and submission of a school receipt. More than 2000 people attended the final HR780 field hearing in Beverly Hills. California. February 10. the majority to oppose the controversial federal bill that would drastically alter management of over 9 million acres of the California Desert. A panel of six congressmen - . Subcommittee Chairman Bruce Vento (D-Minnesota). HR780 author Mel Levine (D-California). John J. Rhodes (R-Arizona). Jerry Lewis (RCalifornia). AI McCandless (R-California) and Ron Marlenee (R-Montana) listened to seven hours of testimony. Attendees. although boisterous. conducted themselves in a manner above reproach. It was estimated desert users opposing the bill totaled two-thirds of the attendees: "I'm very proud to see .t he concern the off-road community demonstrated by their attendance." said AMA District 37's Legislative Officer Dana Bell. "I definitely want to thank our national AMA office and the Motorcycle Industry Council for all their support." :---..,.-- --..,.- - -..,.-..,.- - - - - - - - - .r-l a: w ::!: ...J s I- ;;;: • j'- ~ ' 0 I- o :I: Q. 2 Texa n road racer Kevin Schwantz recent ly returned fr om a T eam Lucky Strike Suzu ki test sessio n in Sha h Ala m, Mal aysia , wher e he cras hed ' the tea m's 1990 Suzuki , RGv500 when he ran into the ba ck of team mat e Kevin Magee. " I hung a brake lin e on his chain adjuster bolt and it broke the line," Schwa ntz said fro m his Aus tin, T exas, home o n Mo nd a y, Febru ary 12. " It knocked me a li ttl e goofy, but I'm okay now." Schwantz said th e Suzuki 's chassis is unchan ged for 1990, but its engine has a wider powerband. " We've also worked o n the suspension some," he said. " Last year it was a little fu nny; a lot softer than everyo ne else's ." This wasn ' t Schwa n tz' fir st ride on th e 1990 Suzuki as he had tested the same RGv500 in November. H is next test session will be at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan. Belgian road racer D idier de Radigues broke his collarbone on the first day of the recent threeday IRTA test session at Jerez. Spain. when his 250ccAprilia seized. De Radigues finished 12th in the 1989 250cc World Championship. Mert Lawwill, the 1969 AMA Grand" Nat ional Champion, and longume d irt track team spon sor" Charlie Gardner have team ed up for the 1990 Camel Pro Series. Gardner-Lawwill Racing will field Harley-Davidson XR750s for Steve Morehead. The veteran Camel Pro Seri es competitor fini sh ed the 1989 season as th e fou rth -ra n ked ride r , scorin g o ne Grand National win at the Louis-. ville H alf Mile. Morehead brings long-tim e friend and helper Denny Laube to the team as well as sponsors KK Motorcycle Supply, F&S HarleyDa vid son and Bell Helmets, and s u p p o rt from Harley-D a vidson Motor Co. Moreh ead will ride Gardner-Lawwill bikes in all Camel Pro Series half mil e and mile events, and will be aboa rd J&M Racing 600s in other races. The Diamond P Sports production of the March 11 Daytona 200. and yet to be announced Camel Motorcycle Week supporting races. will be televised on April 1 3 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (Eastern time) on cable television's The Nashville Network (TNN). The March 10 Daytona Supercross wm be telecast on June 17 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.. (Eastern time) on TNN. T he top guns of the AMA Superb ike Series were testing o n Friday, February 9 at Willow Sp rings Internatio na l Raceway in Ro samond, California. Vance & Hines Yamaha 's David Sadow ski was among th e qu ickest o f th e tester s, running, a lon~ with team mate Thomas Stevens, 10 th e low 1:27s. Also on hand for th e test were Commonwealth H onda's Randy Renfrow , and Muzzy Kaw asak i's Doug Ch andler, Scott i Russell and J ohn Ashmead , Sadowski was also a spectator at the San Diego Supercross the following day. The New England native recently purchased six acres of land near Road Atlanta in Georgia and has been spending a lot of time in the saddle of a motocross bike. "It's do or die this year." Sadowski said. "I've got to win a championship this year if I want to prolong my career. so you'd better watch out." The 1990 American Historic Racing Mot orcycle Association (AH R MA) rulebook is now available. According to Ex ecutive Director Matt Benson , th e r u les have b een revamped significa nt ly to make th e easier to use and understand. In additio n, the rulebook contains rules for a new roa d race cla ss, Classi Sixties, and a new MX class, Prem ier Lightweight II. For copies of the rulebook, contact Sherry Winn, 26 Morris St., Morgantown, WV 26505, . 304/ 291-2253 betw een 1 and 5 p .m. East ern time. AHRMA will host two vintage MX meets during Daytona Cycle Week. The first will take place at Gatorback Cycle Park in Gainesville on Sunday. March 4. and will run in conjunction with that day's AMA National ' Championship. 125/250cc MX. On Wednesday. March 7. vintage racers will share the track at Ocala MX Park in

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