Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127291
eINTERVIEW e Superbike National Champion Doug Chandler couldn't 'take th e chance o f pushing a motorcycle that wasn't set up correctly, and the race went to Miguel DuHamel with Chandler 's teammate Scott Russell finishing second. It wasn't a wasted mistake - Chandler filed it away and will no doubt benefit from the experience. "It was a shot in the dark and we got beat, but that's how you learn stuff, " Chand ler adds. " It was a battle the whole race, but we had the front up in the air wi th no weight on it and the thing just wanted to p ush. " But the championship was secure, six months after what he calls his most frustrating race - the season opening Daytona 200. "I wanted to be ab le to run with everyone right at the start (at Daytona) rather than just going for the points, " Chandler sa id. " Daytona is such a big race and I'd lik e to win there more th an anywhere else." So if Daytona was his wor st race in '90, what was his best? ;> ''I'd have to say Sugo (Japan) was my best race because it was a track I'd never been to before." or It was his second taste of World . Superb ike competition, the other ( coming months before in Brai nerd, Minnesota. Those two internationaL I performances p ut him on track for the offers he's since received , although, as he says , the AMA series isn't far behind the world series. b " T he only difference is that there are just more guys than what we have jj here that can run together. I don't think they have any better riders over ' there. There are just more guys wi th ) " 1990NX2SO WAS $3098 1989 XR600RK NOW $2399 WAS $3346 or 8325 ON & $105.86 per mo. SAVE $700 with 4 -yeer warranty ID # 20009 9 NOW $2869 or $345 ON & $112.40 per mo . 10 #401051 .' Chandler tries to surviv e th e Florida heat during the Miami Na tional. 1990 XR2S0RL 18 pushing the whole motorcycle, letting it slide and knowing its limit," he said. "The front defi ni tely has a lo t to do with it as far as your cornering speed, and a lot of guys 'are scared to put it into the corners because they think they're going to lose the front . I th ink I was able to gain quite a bit on the ot h er guys j ust going into the corners. But it's so mething I had to play around with quite a bi t this year, using different sus pe nsion setups." Ch an dl er di dn't ma ke many mistakes in '90. Bu t he says he did miscalcu late in setting up the Kawasaki for the second to last ro und at Heartland Park Topeka . " We kn ew it (the Kansas race track) wou ld be rea lly hard on fro nt ends. so we ended u p taking some weight off the front ,to save the fro nt tire. I knew it would be h ard to ri de bu t I tho ught th at a t the end we mi gh t have some front tire left a nd the other guys mi ght shred theirs." It was one of the best races of the year while it lasted. but Chandler WAS $2998 1990CRSORL NOW $2529 WAS $1998 or $310 ON & $100.54 per mo . 1 #600212 0 NOW $1469 or $0 ON & $70.63 per mo . 10 #700873 1990XRSORL HONDA Come ride with us. WAS $1298 NOW$1149 or $0 ON & $58.20 per mo. 10#001458 818 3 34 1288 1989CRSOO NOW $2999 10#802198 SE NABLA 7 OPEN -:'Tr::u =~rr~ BERT'S MOTORCYCALE ";YA L L ~ 900 lIVEST FOOTHILL BL." AZUSA