Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

GINTERVIEW Kevin Hines ~ By Mkhod So"'" erhaps one of the closest battles and greatest rivalries of all in the off-road National Championship Series last year was the one for the enduro title between defending champ Ra nd y Hawkins and former ti tl e holder Kevin Hines. T he title chase went down to the wire between the two, and when the scorecards were tallied it was Hawkins clinching the championship at the last round of the series. For Hawkins it was his third gold in a row ; for Hines, it was his third silver in five years. It 's been a som ewhat frustrating three years for New Englander Hines. He captured hi s first and only National Championship title in 1987, but ever since then, Hawkins and his Suzuki have been ruling the woods. Both Hines and Hawkins are two o f the most competitive off-road motorcyclists around and are fierce . rivals on the trails. But in a surprise move during the off-season, Hines ended his five-year association with KTM and signed with American Suzuki, becoming a teammate of his most respected opponent - Hawkins, as well as National Reliability Enduro Champion Dave Bertram. The decision by Hines to part company with KTM caught the offroad world by surprise, for most everyone thought that Hines and the Austrian manufacturer had a strong and what looked to be a long-lasting relationsh ip. Not only did KT M fully back Hines on the National Championship Enduro circu it, bu t they also supported him at the annual International Six Day Enduro and at many international rallies (one of hi s favorite forms of competition). H ines mad e his debut ride on hi s factory-backed Suzuki RMX250 a t the National Ch ampionship Enduro Series opener in California , February 17, and pro ved to hi s new bosses tha t he is as serious as ever when it comes to competi tio n; he fin ished second to Kawasaki 's La rr y Roeseler. Hines foll owed that up with sixth overa ll in th e second ro u nd of th e ser ies at Pi tki ns, Lou isian a, March 17. We tracked dow n Hines just before ' the season opener and cha tted wi th h im about hi s decision to cha nge teams and other off-road to p ics. Your decision to leave KTM and sign with Suzuki surprised many people. Wh y did yo u leave KTM? KT M opted to focus its atte ntion toward motocross. T hey were goi ng to take a big chun k of the budget and put it into Mik e Fisher and th eir motocross effort. I think it was pressure from th e factory in Aus tria as to why they don 't sell more (MX) bike s in a ' coun try as big as this one. I disagreed, because I feel that KTM 's bread and P ,n didn't want to leave the company (KTM). I thought I had a good relationship with them.I! 20 butter started in the enduro market. So I had a big disagreement there , and they told me a couple mont h s ago, " We are going to cut the bud get back for you , and we're going to hire a motocross rider." I told them I didn't want to leave th e company and I thought I had a good relationship with them, which I did. I rode for them for five years. I brought them the National Championship in 1987 and broke the 16-year Husky streak . I didn 't want to leave, but I went ' to Suzuki because the y want to race and win and, I think, after leaving KTM. KTM got a lot of repercussion from the people out in th e field saying, " H ey, you just can't stop enduro raci ng," then all of a sudden, KTM comes back with a five rider (enduro) team. I don 't know what the riders are getting or how serious they'll be, bu t KTM sort of let me down last year as the year went on. .They (KT M) sort of backed off on me and I feel it hurt my performance and, I feel, it cost me the championship. Last yea r , I su ffe red more mechanical failures and it effected me in a way my pride was hurt. I don 't want to be associated with not finishing. The Blackwater 100, the final round of the National Enduro Series and the Tectate Enduro were three DNFs in a row that really hurt me. Anyway, I'm really excited about my dea l with Suzuki. Cagiva was also interested in your supporting it 100 percent and I think that's great. Randy and I go back a long ways , to when we were racing SETRA (So u th eastern Enduro and Trail R id i ng Asso ciation) enduro even ts when Randy was very young and unk nown. He would stay with me up here (Massach usetts) to race around this area and I did the same wit h him dow n there (South Carolina). We sti ll have a very good relationship and, I feel, that he is the best competitor that I compete against head-to-head. I don't feel that it 's going to hurt our relationship at al l. We are both good sportsman and we both want to win, it 's going to be interesting. How is th e adapting p rocess going with the Suzuki? The bike requires a different styIe of riding. It 's a completely different motorcycle and we've been doing a lot oftesting wit h everyth ing. I really like it. (It has) plenty of power and Mike McAndrews of Factory Connection set up the suspension just righ t. . program. I started out with Malcolm Smith back in 1983 and I want to stay with them because they 've been so good to me. I hon estl y believe that they make the best enduro gear, bar none, and with Ma lcol m back, 'they will continue to. Are you going to be racing any more rallys in the future and, now that you are with Suzuki, do you think Suzuki will give you a shot on their special 'works 650 Rally racer? Oh , I rea lly hope so. It 's always been a dream of mine to race in the Par isto-Dakar Rally. I'm tryi ng to do the Australian Safari th is year. That's o ne race that I really want to do and, hopefully, Suzuki can supply me a bike. What do yo u think it will take for the U.S. to win the ISDE? It's goi ng to ta ke some years of devo tio n and ti me. First thi ng we have to do is change our Nation al Enduro for mat to Eu ropean style. Combine the National End uro, Hare Scra mble and If you can't beat'em services. it was rumored th at the y offered you a very attractive deal. Wh y didn't you sign with them? , I talked with Cagiva and dealing with the Italians is a very lon g and lengthy process, I felt them o ut and I was willing to talk to them and see what they had to offer. I wanted to see how serious they were about racing, and I feel that their marketing in America isn't big or strong enough, it'll tak e them years to develop. They are a very small company in America. very big in Europe. Hopefully, they can work out something in the fut ure . More bran ds competing' can on ly help o ut ' o ur sport. ' Even though Randy Hawkins and you are good friends, how do you feel your rela tions hip with him will be effected now that you both are riding for the sam e factory and tryi ng to achieve th e same goa ls? I think it will be good. I really respect Randy for not having any problem with me coming to Suzuki. He was Is yo ur contract with Suzuki the same as Hawkins' or Bertram's? I do n 't know. I think we're all on the same basi c program. Randy and I will be competing in the National Enduro Series and I will also be competing in the Grand National Cross Country Series and all three of us will be doing the ISDE Qualifiers. I have the most events to be ridden compared to everyone else on the team. As far as what their programs are, I really don't know. The Suzuki enduro team has worn Yoko riding gear for the past couple of years. Will yo u be changing from your longtime sponsor Malcolm Smith Racing to Yoko for I99I? I' m goi ng to stay with Malcol m Smith . 'Was there a n y p ressUre to Change? 'Yes, there was a IlttIe p ressure, I thought of going elsew here . but the company (T ucker-Rocky, that recently purchased Malcolm Smith Products) hired Malcolm back as a consultant for Tucker-Rocky on a three- or four-year ISDE Q ual ifiers into one series. Combin e all that, use Eu ropean rules, and just be persistent. Try to go to Europe a couple times a year and compete against those guys to see where we stand. We go over and we're no t even in the hunt. T he races over there are 100 times more difficult, and those guys are in so much better shape than any of our riders. It's a real pride th in g over there, too . T here is a lot of nationalism within the teams of the ot her countries whe re a lot of our riders don't have the level of pri de that our competitors have. We just don't wor k as a tea m. We go over the re and everybod y gets into their own little nich e together and tha t's no t right. In my eyes, a good rider is a good rider an d wh at brand motorcycle (he rides) sho u ld n't have anyt hi ng to do with it. Unfortunat ely, it gets a little political with the choosing system. At las t year 's ISDE. th e best I co uld have don e was eighth in the 250cc class if I didn ' t have some problems. I don't

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