Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

v Letters tothe editor 0ICES INSIDE Speak up FEATURES TRIALS 13th Annual Lau gh-in Trial INTERVIEWS l25cc MX champ Mike Kiedrowski Superbikechamp ThomasStevens Trials champ Ryan young Dirt tracker Ricky Graham Off-road aceSteve Hatch: TECH Honda's exotic NR750 Baja hop-ups for the' Honda XR600 6 8 12 44 64 16 60 POINT STANDINGS Abreakdown of dirt track. motocross and road race point standings 22 DIRT TRACK Slidin' through Italy, American style. . . ... ... .. ...• . . ... .34 38 RIDING IMPIlESSION BMW RIOOR 48 EVENT Bologna Motor Show NEW BIKFS Ducati's 1992 lineup 54 : 56 GREETINGS Happy Holidaysfrom the Cycle News staff 62 DEPARTMENTS LOCAL RACING 68 CALENDAR ........ •...... ... .... 78 RESULTS 8l WANT ADS 82 ON THEFRONT PAGE: T he $60,000 o val-piston H onda NR750 co u ld well be the u ltimate street b ike. Alan Cathcart p rovides ' detailed i n formation on the d evel opment of the NR750 , beginning on page 16. A few observations o n th e 1991 road raci ng season: Freddie Spencer's win in Miami and J immy Fil ice's 250cc champions hip sho w th e indomitable human sp irit so man y bring to racing. Colin Edwards ' rapid ascent shows how new talent brings new life to raci ng. Rober t Meister's win in ProTwins in Texas, and his cham pio nship in H eavyweight Su pertwin s sho w how organiza tio n and skill combine to make a winning formula against formidable odds. All competitors br ing these q ua lities to the track and all competitors sho u ld have a voice in the rules tha t govern th e classes the y compete in . The AMA has chose n to elim ina te Pro Twins G P2 in favor of one Pro Twins class . This is a logical deci sio n considering the sma ll starting field s of GPI. H owever, it ro bs the spectators of a clas s (GP2)-tha t provides excellent co mpetitio n and large fields. Anyone who questions the wisdom of such actions by the AMA without the voice of the raci ng p ublic should ai r their concern no w, before the rules are fina lized and distributed (usually, shor tly before Daytona). David Karlen Millbrook, NY Godspeed, Horace America's weekly motorcycle newsp aper Volume XXVIII Michael Klinger, Pu blish er Caroline Cendry, Executive Secretary to the Pu bl isher Ed itorial Jack Mangus, Associate Pu blish er! Edi tor Kit Palmer, A ssociat e Ed itor Paul Carruthers. Associate Editor Nat e Ra u ba , A ssociate Edi tor Ken Faught. Assistant Editor Donn Maeda, A ssistant Editor Edwina Mangus, Calen dar Editor Graphics a n d Production Ree J ohnson, Prod uction Supervisor Mandy LoO' Product ion Ma na ger , Advertising Terry Prall. National A ccounts Manag~ Mark Thome, Western Sal es Manager Ron Davidson, W~stan Sales Managn Thomas R. Gonter, W~stern Sale s Manager Mark Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Ma nager Greg Mitchell. Eastern Sa les Manag~ Rick Matheny, Eastern Sales Manager Joan Bell, Wes tern Ad Coo rdinato r Carla B orden Allen, Eastern Ad Coo rdina tor Dealer Sales Den ni s Greene, Lab. T ech . Stacey Guest, Grap hic A rtist Amy Harris. G raphic A rtis t Steve Gotoski, Dealer R epreseruo tiue Carolyn Branham. Typ esett~ Mark Thome, M a nag~ Circulation Marketing &: Promotion Alma Anguiano. Processing Coordinator Accounting/Data Processing Donna Bryan-Diam ond, A I R Coordinator Ge neva Repass, Assistant Her lane Lewis, Cred it Gabrielle Gilliam, Processing A ~istant DebbieWeller, Dealer Coordinato r Service and Suppon Want Ads Linda Von de Veld. Want Ad Sales Chris Aitcheso n, H eadq uarters R ecep tion ist Leonard Herring. Service and Support Rheba Smith. Manag~ SarahTaylor, Billin g Coo rdinator National Headquarters 2201 Cherry Ave., Long Beach , CA 90806 . P.O . Box 498, Long Beach , CA 9OBOI-G-I98 (310) 427·7433; (310) 63&-8844. FAX (310) 427-6685 Eastern Office 4190 First Ave., T ucker , GA. 30084; ma iling address P.O. Box 805. Tucker, GA 30085·0805. (404) 934·7850. FAX (404) 934·3112 Cycle News (USPS 141·340) is published weekly except the last two weeks of the calendar year for $50.00 per year by Cycle News, Inc., 2201 Cherry Avenue, Long Beach. CA 90806. Second class postage paidat LongBeach. CA andatadditional mailing office. Canada Post International Pub licatio ns Mail #546615. . POSTMASTER: Send address changes toCycle News. P.O.Box 498, Long lkach. CA 90801·0498. To determine the expiration date of your subscription, check the four numbers on the first line of your address label. The first two digits indicate the last issue number you'll receive and th e last two characters indicate th e year of the last issue. Subscriptio n ra tes: Ra tes for th e Un ited States an d its poss essio ns for o ne year . (50 issues). $50.00; two years (100 issues). $95.00; six months. (25 issues), $26.00; trial sub (15 issues), $19.00. Canada and Foreign, o ne year (50 issues), $90.00; two years (100 issues), $175.00; six months (25 issues), $45.00; trial sub (1 5 issues), $38.00. Cycle News welco mes un solicited editoria l mater ial in cludin g stor ies , cart oo ns, p hotos, etc. Such material, if published, becomes the exclusive property of Cycle News. Such accep ted mat eri al is subjec t to revision as is necessary in th e so le discret ion o f Cycle News. Unso licited material whic h is not used will be return ed if accompa ni ed by a self addressed stampedenvelope. All unsolicited material will be handled with reasonable care, however, Cycle Ne ws ass u mes no respo nsibil ity for the safet y. loss or da mage to suc h materi al. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. Advertising rates and circu latio n in fo rmat ion will be sent upon req uest. See S.R.D.S. W/BPA' V 4 . AUDITED CtRCULATION Copyright8 Cyde News, Inc. 1991. Trad.mm Cycle News registered U.s. PaleDt Office. All rights reserred. On October 30, o ur brother H orace Volkmar pa ssed away at his home in Hialeah. Florida, after a fight with emphysema. From the m id -fifties to the mi d-sixties, we co m pet ed up and down the East Coas t - from Laconia to Daytona Beach - aboard l65 cc Harley-Davidsons. The two of us still live in New Jersey, and we've been motorcycle enthusiasts all our lives, as was Horace. We keep up with motorcycling with Cycle N ews. Chick Volkmar Hap Volkmar Elmer, NJ . Yes, th ere is a San ta Claus Our club held its year-end banquet in December. After months of prepara tion, it went off like a dream. Sure, we made our share of mistakes, but nothing great enough to dampen the sp iri ts of those who gathered together as friends, famil y and competitors to recognize and praise those who had stri ved to win for th e past 12 months. Motocrossers are a strange breed. But back to Santa Claus. We gave away over $12,000 in contingencies and $5000 in give-aways at our banquet. If you could hav e seen the bags full of goodies donated by manufacturers and retailers, there'd be no doubt in your mind that the spiri t of giving is 'alive and well. Remember, Santa Claus knows who's been naughty and nice. Ken RiIdd Secretary, Florida Motocross Club Jacksonville, FL So long, Thick Leg I'm very sad to report that one of North Carolina 's friendliest motocross racers was tragi call y killed on Novem ber 29. Craig " T h ick L eg " Walters was a top 500cc Amateur rider and my good friend. H e was a first class guy wh o always brought smiles and laughs to everyone who knew him. Like many of us, Craig's love for riding and racing motocross was his personal wa y of expressing himself. It came seco nd only to'his family which he loved more than anything. He is survived by his wife Lynn, 10-year-old daughter Christy, and seven-year-old son " L it tle Craig." Vann Gibson Cunningham Cycle World Fayetteville, NC He's back! Californ ia motorcycli sts sh ould know tha t Assemblyman R ichard Floyd's not finished. If yo u're ready to stree t ride after J anuary I, you'll need to take yo ur helmet alo ng (on your head ), as we all kn ow. But if you' re going dirt bi ke riding, Floyd has so methi ng fo r yo u to take alo ng. · Assembly Bill 206, which was introduced by Floyd and signed by Governor Wil son, crea tes a new crime pos session .of a milk Crate without a recei p t. Loca l gover n me n ts a re required to enfo rce the law which is really quite simple: yo u m ust retain pro of of purchase for your milk cra te or be subjec t to th e criminal penalty of theft. So , if yo u 're going dirt bike riding, rem ember your Green Sticker and your milk cra te receipt. Dan Kasper Clayton, CA Disappointed , but n ot surprised I recently received my December issue of American Motorcyclist (AM) magazine. I was disappointed, but not surprised, to see the meager amount of space devoted to reporting Steve Eklund's passing. Although I often find myself disgusted by the AMA's inept stewardship of dirt track racing, this is the first time I have been driven to write a letter to the editor. A nearly identical copy of this letter went to the AMA magazine, but) have little hope of seeing it in print. Accordingly I have sent it to you with the hope that it will be presented in a less biased forum. . I can only assume it is a measure of the AMA's respect for di rt track racers in general, and Eklund in particular, that a decision was made to devote more space to covering a story about some road rep finding a lost walkie-talkie, than it would to the passing of one of dirt track's great stars of the '70s and '80s. The San Jose Mercury News, a traditionally anti-motorcycle publication, devoted half a page to reporting Ek lund's death. It noted that he was one of the rare privateers to ever win the number one plate and that he was ' a member of the elite group of professional racers who have won short track, half mile, mile and 'TT National events. Of all publications, one would think that the AMA's own monthly magazine would have given him the respect he was due. At the very least, AM should have inclu ded a picture of him. Instead, AM buried the news of Eklund 's passing between stories about quirky roadside attractions in the Midwest and news of the latest amateur road race. On behalf of dirt track racing fans , I apologize to Steve Eklund's family. Despite the AMA's official indifference, his memory occupies an important place in the hearts of dirt track racing fans everywhere. Christopher G. Rud y Ben Lomond, CA Letten to the editor should be sent to: Voices, Cycle News, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801·0498. Published letten do not necessarily rdlect the j>ooition of Cycle News, Inc. Letten should not esceed l!OO words and all letten are subject to editing.

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