Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

VOICESLetters to the editor AH RMA responds I agree en ti rely wit h th e senti ments expressed in B.B. Stein's letter head ed "Just say no" in your Daytona resu lts issue. The American Historic Racing Mo to rcycl e Asso ciati on (AH R MA) will not to lerate th e type of beh av ior Mr. Stein described. Our ru le book clearl y sta tes, in secti on 6.1.4: " All personnel, offi cials, rid ers, mech anics, and anyone associ at ed with th e r iders or p hotograph er s sh all not hav e co nsumed or be under th e in flue nce o f a n y intoxicant or drugs of any nature which co uld affect the ir normal mental a nd physical ab il ity. " . T he AHRMA o p tions for dea ling wi th various infrac tio ns of o ur rules range from rep rimands th rough fines, sus pension, ri gh t up to banish ment . Wh ile there are ex-World Champions who are members of AH RMA - Geoff Duke, John Surtees and Dave Bickers, to name th ree, the person referred to by Mr. Stein is not. The behavior described was reprehensible and was apparently not observed by any offi cia ls, o the rwise appropriate action wou ld have been take n . The next. and exclusive, AH RMA event to be held at Sa ndhill Ranch will be o n Ap ri l 14. We inte nd o ur events to be good, wh o lesome fu n. We try to recrea te the sig hts, so u nds a nd even the sm ell s o f a bygon e age o f mot orcycli ng. A time whe n ma chines were sim p ler and rid ers ac tua lly spo ke to and help ed each ot her! Dick Mann is p utting toge the r a sparkling even t fo r Ap ri l 14 with ma chines and people who will rekin d le the da ys o f yore . I wo u ld like to invi te Mr. Stein to contact me a t 715/ 842-9699. AHRMA would be del ighted if he a nd his family would be our gu ests a t Sandh ill for th at event. It will be an enj oyable da y wa tching the " bikes he used to ra ce." This is on e of th ose occasions wh en it's okay to say "yes." Jeff Smith Executive Director AHRMA Wausau, WI Get him out I was o u tra ged at th e actions of the California OHV program director, Lee Chauvet , as rep orted in th e Ma rch 20 issue o(Cycle N ews. During my five-year tenure as an OHV co m m issio ne r, one o f o ur ma in p riori ties was to retr ieve the $21.5 m illion which was " stolen" from the O H V green s tic ker fu nd. In 1983 Senato r Rob bi ns carried SBI56, a bill passed by th e leg islature a nd sig ned in to law . That bill required repayme nt o f th e fu nd as the co m m issio n needed th e money to fina nce projects. Our co m missio n wo u ld "oversubscribe" the a n n ua l a llocation in order to tap into th ese "c haptered" mon ies. Our own OHV staff woul d consistently blo ck any attempt a t reaching the thres hold o f SB 156 by sa bota g ing via ble projects. We were a lways told it was th e Department o f Finance's decision. Now I read th a t Lee Chauvet tri ed to oppose fresh legislation , AB253, th at would accomplish th e pa yba ck in a fair a nd timely man ner. In my opinion, th ese underhanded tacti cs must no t be tol erated , as it has always been m y under st andin g tha t indiv id ua ls a p po inted to head a p u bli c program mu st o perate in a man ner whi ch retains publ ic tru st. I ur ge all motorcyclists, bot h dirt a nd street, to write G over nor Pete Wil son a t th e State Capitol, Sacra. rnento , CA 95814. It is cru cia l that we INSIDE regis ter o u r o utrage towards this pub lic official's ma lfeasance in office, a nd dem and hi s replacement with a person wh o will be ben eficial for the p rogram. Orange Co u nty ·residents shoul d remember to support Assem blywoman Doris Allen in her bid for state sena tor , as she is ca rry ing th e new legislatio n , AB253. You should also co ntact yo ur elec ted rep resen ta tives a nd ask the m to sup port th is bil l. Mi cha el Bish op Santa Barb ara, CA FEATURES MOTOCROSS Privateers cash in at Hangtown National. .. , 6 , ENDURO Russell roosts Great PineyWoods National . . , SUPERCROSS Reynard tops amateurs at Sun Devil Stadium 16 DEPARTMENTS 10 LOCALRACING A winner's thanks Than ks for the coverage o f th e open ing ro und of the AH RMA/Vi ntage Iro n 'Na tio na l Championship Vintage MX Series. Though it wasn't mentioned in th e report , I'd like to personally thank my employer and sponsor, Bike Jour nal magazine. Without their help, the Florida trip would not hav e been pos sible. Greg Bastek No rwal k, CT Bastek, the managingeditor of Norwalk, Connecticut-based Bike journal, rode a Honda Elsinore 10 the win in the Sportsm an 125cc Expert class at Ocala, Florida, March 6 . . . Editor. INTERVIEW K IM's off-road sensation Danny Hamel ,, , 18 CALENDAR 28 WANT A DS 34 12 RIDING IMPRESSION Suzuki GSX750FM Katana 14 RESULTS , 46 ON T HE FRONT PAGE: 7 Parked under the same B- 17 bomber used in the movie Memphis Belle is the la test sport/touri ng Suzu ki GSX750 Katana. Check out page 14 for a riding impression of Suzuki's "samurai sword." Pho to by Kit Palmer. Godspeed, Lynn O n Ma rch II , Lyn n Holloway of Plymou th , Iow a, pa ssed away. Lynn was a former Expert flat trac ker. H e ma de hi s mark a t Asco t as a J u nior whi le in th e Marin e Corps a nd he became o ne o f the bes t a nd most popu lar riders in the Midw est. He was a da ri ng and ski llful rid er a nd b ut for th e lack of top eq ui pm ent and retu rn ing to a small town to care for his elde rly fo lks, would have reach ed th e top. We will all mi ss him . Godspeed , Ly n n. Bob Ben nett Mason City, IA Legend in his ow n mind In regar d to the In T he Wind item where J eff Sta nt on and Rick Johnson discus sed Da m on Bradsh aw 's comments (that appeared in Dirt Ri der magazine ), I m ust say Bradsh a w made h imse lf look like a n id io t. I've witnessed the top riders in act io n over the past 13 years and R ick J ohnson . David Bail ey and Bob Hannah have been th e only riders quasarfast. Kent Howerton was the ultimate when p hysically fit . So, wake up, Damon. As o f now you are o n ly a legend in your own mi nd! Timmi e Bowman Taylo rsville, NC The Wind item Bow man refers to concerned St artlon's mechanic, Dan Betley, blow ing up a Bradshaw quote lhat appeared in Dirt R ider ma gazine and po stin g it ins ide their box van. It read in pari , " He (St an Ion ) does n't ha v e an y tal ent o r fi nesse w hatsoever, .. he's go t to uratcn me do it, or a rider that's go t talent." . , . Edi to r. Letters to the editor sho uld be sent to: Voices , Cycle News, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 908010498. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News, In c. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all letters are subject to editing. America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Volume XXVIII Michael Klin ger, Pu blisher Caroline Gendry, Executive Secretary to the Publisher Editorial J ack Man gus, Associat e Publ ish er! Ed itor Kit Pal mer. Associate Edit or Paul Ca rruthers, Associat e Editor Nate Rauba, Associate Ed itor Ken Faugh t, Assistan t Editor Donn Maeda, Assistan t Edi to r Edwina Man gus, Calendar Edi to r Graphics and Producti on Ree Johnso n. Produ ction Supervisor Mandy Loo, Produ ct ion M an ager Dennis G reene, L ab. Tech. Stacey Gues t, G raphic A rtist Amy Harris, G raphic Artist Carolyn Branham . T v pcseu er Circu lation Rh eba Smith, Manager Sarah Tay lor, Rill ing Coordinator Al ma Anguiano . Processing Coordinator Gabrielle G ill iam, Processing Assistan t Debbie Weller, Dealer Coo rdinator Want Ads Linda Von de Veld, Want Ad Sales Advertising T erry Pratt, National Accounts Man ager Mark T ho me. Western Sales Mana ger Ron Davi dso n, Western Sales Ma nager T hom as R. Go nter, Western Sa les Manag~ Mark Mitchell , Eastern Accounts Manag~ , Greg Mitchel l, Eastern Sales Manager Cu rtis Campbell, Eastern Sales Manag~ Joan Russian , Westnn Ad Coordinator Carla Borden Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinato r Dealer Sales Allen Dennison, Dealer Representative Marketi ng Be Promotion Mark Thome, Manager Accountin g/Data Processin g Donna Bryan-Diamon d. A IR Coordinator Ge neva Repass, Assistant Herl ane Lewis, Credit Service and Suppon . Chris Aitcheson. H eadq uarters Receptionist Leonard Herri ng , Serv ice and Suppo rt Na tio nal Headquarters Eastern Office 2201 Cher ry Ave" Long Beach. CA 90806, P.O. Box 49B, Lo n g Beach, CA 9OBO I·IH98 4190 Fir st Ave.• Tucker. 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