Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

California gets combined-use highways A pro gram to designate segm en ts of Cal iforn ia 's highways for combined use by off-h ighway vehicles recently went into effect foll owin g the ap proval of appropriat e highway signs. The program will allow OHVs on designated portions of hi ghways, up to three mil es long, whi ch meet designated criteria. Such highways mu st provide a connecting link between OHV trail segme nts, OHV recreation area and necessary service facilities, lodging facilities and a n OH V recreat ion facil ity, and the high way must be constructed so as to safely permit th e use of regular vehicular traffi c plus the use of OHV veh icles on that highway. Proposal s to designate combined-use high- Signs used to designate highways. way segments will be reviewed by the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol. The CHP will th en determine potential traffic safety hazards, and if the proposal receives a favorable review from the CHP, then th e highway ma y be designated as a combined use highway. OHV users mu st comp ly with all traffic laws when using th e highways. OHV users can no t use the designated highways during darkness, without an operational stoplight, without a valid driv er's licen se app ropria te to the vehicle in operati on and an y veh icle without liability insurance as required by California law. by the Sage Rid ers M.C., th e event will consist of three loops totalling approximately 100 mil es. Two federal legislators from Idaho have introduced a bill th at would encourage sta tes to devel op and improve off-highway veh icle (O H V) recreation programs. Sponsored by Senator Steve Symms (R-ldaho) and Larry Cra ig (R-lda ho), the legislation , called th e N ational R e c r eat ion T rails Acts of 1990, wou ld provide sta tes with th e necessary funds to construc t and main tain trai ls, acq uire easements for public recreat ion and build trailside facilities. Under the provisions o f th e legislation, th e federa l government would be required to redistribute gasoline taxes paid by OHV trail users to a national trail development a nd ma intenance program. The bill would, for th e first tim e, make funds available for non-highway purposes. Defending National Hare Scrambles Champion Scott Plessinger was a no -show at the opening round of th e AMA Grand National Cros s Country Series in Sanford, North Carolina, March II . du e to an injured kn ee. Plessin ger cras hed while compe ting in a local hare scra m bles on March 3 and cut h is knee, whi ch required 10 stitc hes. Plessin ger says he'll be read y for the second round of the series in Cadiz, Kentucky, March 25. Dr. john Wittner 's Moto Guzzi finall y made its return to U.S. Pro Twins road racing at Daytona after spendi ng the better part of last year in Italy serving as the prototype 'for Guzzi 's new Daytona 1000 street bike. Wittn er's bike now sports a number of production parts (alth ough cast in magne siu m rather tha n th e street bike 's al u mi n u m) includin g the cylin der heads. The bike had difficul ties holdin g a straigh t lin e early in th e week, but Wit tner solved the problem by sh ifting the weight bias toward th e front; the week ended with rider Doug Brauneck su ffering a race-endi ng fiat tire. Still . Wittner said he was happy with th e bik e's performance. especially since the engi ne proved to be (for on ce) trouble-free. AMAlCCS will hold open pra c tic e and a new riders school on Friday, March 30, a t R oebling Road , in G eorgia , and Friday. April 13, a t Blackhawk Farms, in Ill in ois. In last week' s CMC Golden State National MX coverage from Gl en Helen Racew ay, winner Mike Healey in correctly stated in a quote th at one of his sponsors was F&L Fu el, when it is actua lly Trick Racing Fu el. Road racer Doug Polen , who lost fou r toes from his left foot in a testing acci dent at Willow Springs International Racewa y in southern Cal ifornia was a sp ecta tor at Daytona. " I' m hopeful that th e pl asti c surgeo n will give me the green light to start walking on it in 10 days," Pol en. who spent th e majority of hi s tim e touring the paddock area in a golf cart, sai d. "I'm going to go see Dr. Kieffer to get it worked out. I'm just going to have to work on it and see how it feels; we'll be able to tell what they have to modify, if anyth in g. I'm hoping I'll be able to make the second round of the japanese Ch ampionsh ip on April 22." Also on hand at Daytona was threetim e Camel Pro Champion Bubba Shobert. The T exan, who is under co ntract with H onda's marketing department, was on hand to do promotional work for Honda. " It' s really hard to watch th ese races," Shobert said. " It reall y makes you want to get back out there." Shobert, who suffered head injuries a t th e U.S. GP last April, still has hopes of making a return to racing, and may compete in a dirt track or tw o in 1990. " I'd love to do DuQ uoin; that was always my favorite ," he said. . A letter of in tent has been filed by the reportedly bankrupt ho lding company Trans-Pacific and Tucker/ Rocky Distributing for the latter to purchase Malcolm Smith Racing. According to Team Green manager Mark johnson, T eam Green will no t be participating in th e March 17 Las Vega s 300. j ohnson sa id, " After spo nsori ng this event for the last two years, we cam e to an impasse with the promoter (Casey Folks) due to another manufacturer's involvement with the even t, According to Folks. he received pressure from another manufacturer to elimina te Kawasaki from sponsoring the event, It is un fortuna te as this race h a s been a good eve nt for both Kawasaki and the riders both on and off the trac k. We have simp ly chose n to channel our energy and resources in different directions for the 1990 season." The Las Vegas 300 is a team race and is a round of the Best in the Desert Series. Three-time World Champion Kenny Roberts wasn't pleased when the AMA tried to force him to put AMA Pro Racing patches on his riders Ri ch Oliver and Gary Cowan's leathers. and similar stickies on the Marlborosponsored Yamaha TZ250sat Daytona. The AMA 's Ron Zimmerman told Roberts that the bikes and riders were requ ired to have th e patches and stickers or the y wouldn 't be allowed through tech inspection prior to the AMA 250cc Grand Prix series opener. " Do what you've got to do ," Roberts told Zimmerman. " It's ridiculous," Roberts said later. " My riders leathers and bi ke's fairings aren't cluttered because the sponsors that are on them pay a lot of money to be there. If I'm going to start promoting organizations for free then there will be a WERA sticker next to the AMA one." The bikes breezed through tech without a word being spoken to Roberts, who was standi ng by set for an argument. CORRECTION: St eve Dr ew was inadverten tly omitted from the CMC Golden State Nationals l25cc Junior class final point sta ndings we published last week. Drew fin ished the series third overal l. M OVE D : Pro-Cycl e KTM / ATK/ Husqvarna to 2350 E. Orangethorpe, Ana heim, Cal ifornia , 92806, 714/ 4491271, FAX 714/ 449-1374. Tacoma grogram has city_y-ouths riding Y ouths in the T acoma, Wash in gton , urban area are never far away from a day of riding thanks to th e Metropolitan Park District of T acoma's Ready to Rid e program. Called Pi ck. Up and Ride, you ngs ters from 8 to 16 ca n sign up to be pi cked up at their home s by Read y to Ride guides for one-day tri ps to Washington 's off-road vehi cle areas. The trips cost $5.00 and are held every Saturday, weather permi tting, from September through May, and every Tuesday and T h ursday june throug h August, Pi ck Up and Ride participan ts mu st wear p rotective equipment, have an ORV sticker or licen se tag and U.S. Forest Service-approved spark arrestor on their mach ine to be eligible for the ride s. T he Read y to Rid e program is aimed at teaching safe, responsible riding, environmental prot ection and respect for o thers using outdoor recrea tional facilities not only to you ths but adu lts as well. In addi tion to th e Pick Up and Ride program, Read y to Ride also offers severa l schools to improve off-road riding. motocross, enduro and street ridin g skills as well as motorcycle mainten an ce skills . As a possibl e soluti on to illegal ridi ng, Read y to Ride was crea ted in 1986 by the Metropolitan Park District of T acoma with a grant from th e Washington Stat e Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation (l AC). The lAC is funded by vehi cle licen se fees paid by ORV o wners and from one percent of the Slate fuel tax revenues. .-------------------------------------------------------------------.I I SUBSCRIPTION ORDER FORM I I I I I I I I I I I I I I l I • I Name This is a renewal Pl ease bill m e 0 Bill 3 payments of $11.67 0 Enclosed is m y check or money order Charge my 0 Visa 0 Ma stercard ~ I I 0 0 Address City Stat e Zip Order Date Please start my subscription to Cycle News: 0 Every week for o ne year (50 issues) fo r $35.00 (can be billed 3 mo nthly pa ymen ts) 0 Every week for two years (100 issues) for $65.00 0 Six months second class (25 issu es) for $18.00 One year (SO issues). 2nd cia" Cana da or Mexia> and all other loreign cou ntries S75.00 (U.S. lunch ). Fin' cia. and airmail rates avai lable upon request . " M I l'lS< Signature MC /Visa # Expiration Da te Send to: Cycle News, Inc., P .O. Box 498. Lon g Beach, CA 90801-0498 213/427-7433 - I I I I I I I I I I I I ~ 3

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