Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Scrambles and Best in the Desert Series. Like teammate Larry Roeseler, Davis will not concentrate on anyone series, instead riding only selected rounds from each, and will also ride events like the Tecate Enduro, the Nevada Rally, the Baja 500 and 1000, and perhaps the ISDE. Davis rode for ATK in 1992 until August, when he began riding Kawasakis as a privateer. Dirt track racer Terry Poovey reports that the plate and screws on the collarbone he broke at the Pomona Mile last fall were removed on December 18. "I'm wearing a shoulder sling and will use that for a few more weeks," Poovey said. I expect to be ready for the Daytona Short Track (the opening round of the AMA Grand National Championship Series)." Poovey, who also suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung in the accident, added, "My medical bills are around the $25,000 mark. The two days I spent in the hospital in Pomona cost $8500 and that ate up most of the $10,000 AMA insurance real quick. Lu.ckily, my personal health insurance covered the rest. I hear the AMA is upping our (professional racers) medical insurance to $20,000." The AMA confirmed that the coverage has been increased to $20,000. Kenny Roberts led his team to victory in the 3rd Annual Hook & Slice Golf Tournament at northern California's Carmel Valley Ranch Resort on December 31. Roberts and his teammates shared the victory with a team led by John Kenneday. Both teams carne in nine under par. Kenneday won the long drive competition, and Steve Rana, husband of Laguna Seca Raceway's Mary Ellen Wright-Rana, garnered the closest to the pin honors at the event which was hosted by Wayne Rainey. Participants spent New Year's Eve celebrating the birthdays of Roberts, 41, and Rainey's father, Sandy, and wife, Shae. Kenneth Dwaine Beard, 49, died as a result of injuries suffered in a practice session crash on the Salem (Oregon) Arenacross track in early December. Beard, a flat track and desert racer in the '60s, was a lifetime member of the Mt. Scott Me. Beard is survived by his wife Janice, daughters Staci and Darci, mother Martha Beard and brother Wendell. The Motorcycle Heritage Museum has acquired the complete archives of the Excelsior Motor Manufacturing and Supply Company, one of America's leading early motorcycle manufacturers. The valuable documents include original linen engineering draWings, blueprints, product brochures, dealer bulletins, advertising materials, stock certificates and correspondence related to Excelsior and Henderson motorcycles. Excelsiors were built in Chicago from 1908 to 1931 by a branch of the Schwinn Bicycle Co. The company was most famous for its V-twin machines. From 1919 on, however, Excelsior produced Henderson four-cylinder motorcycles. Through the '205, the company was the third-largest American manufacturer of motorcycles, after HarleyDavidson and Indian. The archives were purchased from the financially troubled Schwinn Co. "This is a landmark acquisition," said Jim Rogers, the museum's director. "It will serve as an invaluable source of information about America's motorcycling history." The archives also include more than 1100 copies of motorcycle magazines da ting from 1906 to 1923. The Motorcycle Heritage Museum, which is located at the AMA headquarters in WesterVille, Ohio, also reports that they have received a unique and lasting gift. The Sand Blasters M.e. of Ridgecrest, California, is winding down after more than 40 years of staging offroad races, hosting charity road rides and participating in community service projects. From a high of nearly SO, club membership has dwindled to seven. When those seven members decided they could no longer maintain the clubhouse and 2.5 acres of land that surrounds it, they voted to shut down the facility and donate it to the American Motorcycle Heritage Foundation, which operates the museum. The Foundation was able to sell the land to raise money for the museum. The sale brought in $26,000, making it an extremely generous donation on behalf of the remaining Sand Blasters. "I think that by making this donation, " said Bob Perkins, treasurer of the Heritage Foundation, "the Sand Blasters have gone the ultimate mile. The club members' generosity will be forever memoraIized on the wall of the museum foyer. They've reserved their place in motorcycling history." Bill Faith, secretary of the Sand Blasters, said, "We owed our club's success over the years to the AMA. It's sad to wind things up after so many years, but we're glad we've had the opportunity to give something back to the AMA and to motorcycling." Acerbis announces Nevada RaIl A s reported previously, a European-type off-road motorcycle rally will take place in Nevada this summer. Acerbis released details on the rally at a December 23 press conference in Long Beach, California. The competition portion of the Nevada Rally will.start in Las Vegas on August 22 and will cover approximately 2200 miles in seven days, including a 24-hour rest period in Ely on day five. The event will loop around much of the eastern half of the state, covering anywhere from 175 to 475 miles a day. Most of the route will be mountainous, though the first and last days will take place in the desert around Las Vegas. Special tests will make up the majority of the course, with transfer sections in between. A trade show at the Excalibur Hotel race headquarters will precede the competition, and an awards ceremony will take place the day after the competition ends. Acerbis Adventure, the promotional division of Acerbis Italla, has established a $300,000 operating budget for the rally and has hired Best in the Desert's Casey Folks as the event coordinator. A minimum purse of $25,000 will be awarded, with $500 going to each day's top rider and th.e overall winner collecting $5000. A limit of 200 riders has been set, although 100 spaces will be reserved for American racers. Some of the bigger names expected to participate are Dan Ashcraft, Chuck Miller, Scot Harden, Danny Hamel, Danny laPorte, Rodney Smith, Geoff Ballard, Heinz Kinigadner, Stephane Peterhansel, Fabio Farioli and Edi Orioli. According to Bill Berroth, vice president of Acerbis USA, the Nevada Rally will be an annual..event for at least the next three years. Entry fees are $1500 each, and bikes can be rented from KTM. Hotel and support packages may also be purchased. For more information, call 619/562-1440. If you're headed to Troy, Ohio, for the AMA National Championship 125/250cc MX Series round over the July 24-25 weekend and want to stay near the Kenworthy's GP Club track, you'd better make hotel/motel reservations now - and we mean right now! Promoter Don Kenworthy says the Dayton Air Show will take place the same weekend and that event draws over 100,000 people. It was originally scheduled for the weekend prior to Kenworthy's race, but it is now set for the same weekend. The National's headquarters facility is the Comfort Inn at the Miami Valley Center in nearby Piqua, Ohio. For reservations, call 513/778-8100. A host of chain motels are located in the Dayton/Troy/Springfield area, including L&K, Roadway, Red Roof and Ramada. The Arborgate Inn in Troy (513/339-1515) is offering discounts for race goers. Kenda Tire and Motorcycle Tires and Accessories (MTA), the Kenda tire distributor, will sponsor a six-rider dash race at both the January 16 and January 30 Flint M.e. Charity Indoor Ice Races. The winner of each dash will pocket $1000. The first race takes place in the Ferris State College Hockey Rink in Big Rapids, Michigan, and the second in IMA Stadium in Flint. For more information, contact Bob Bolis at 313/6867083. The Missouri Hare Scrambles Championship Awards Banquet will take place on Saturday, January 16, at the Lake of the Ozarks. National Champion Scott Summers will be the guest speaker. A planning meeting will take place prior to the evening's banquet and the 1993 MHSC schedule will be set. For more information, call Frank Leivan at 314/392-6380 (days) or 314/392-2475 (evenings). Michigan motorcycling activist Larry Lindenberg has been awarded a letter of commenda~ion by the AMA for his work in organizing and di recting tha t state's unique Off-Road Vehicle Safety PatroL The Patrol works with the U.s. Forest Service and law enforcement authorities in the Mio Ranger District of the Huron/Manistee National Forest to assure that trails are used responsibly. It assists in the speedy rescue of injured riders, helps encourage good relations with communities in the region, educates trail users on local regulations and helps federal agencies design trails that won't disturb enivronmentally-sensitive areas. We erred in our last issue by stating that the AMA will allow semi-active or active suspension in the 1993 AMA Superbike National Championship Road Race Series. The sentence which read: "Active, or semi-active, suspension will be allowed in AMA racing in 1993" should have had a bold "not" in front of "allowed." We repeat, active, or semi-active, suspension will not be allowed in AMA racing in 1993. AMA National Technical Manager Merrill Vanderslice called to tell us that the exceptions to the AMA's ban on carbon fiber and titanium parts in the AMA/CCS Supersport Series are approved exhaust systems and silencers. "There are approved systems that are made of titanium," Vanderslice said. "And a few with carbon fiber silencers. Those are the exceptions. We won't tolerate brackets and those kinds of things being made out of titanium or carbon fiber." Marlboro Roberts Yamaha team owner Kenny Roberts reports that he has yet to sign a tire deal for the 1993 Grand Prix season. "We've tested both Michelin and Dunlop, but we haven't made a commitment yet," Roberts said on Monday, January 4. "As of today we don't have an agreement with anyone. I still have to talk to Wayne (Rainey) some more." According to reports in the January 3 issue of the Sydney (Australia) Herald, a five-year-old gelding named Schwantz won its first race in the Ossie Roberts Handicap at Rosehill in Sydney. The horse is named after Grand Prix road racer Kevin Schwantz and coincidentally carried the number 34 in the race on January 2. According to the Herald, "Coming out with a belated run out wide, Schwantz, backed from 20/1 into 14/1, snatched victory in the shadows of the post by a neck over Steel Yarn (13/1)." CORRECTION: Several motorcycles were inadvertently dropped from our 1993 buyer's guide (issue #50) due to a myriad of problems, including computer and, yes, human error. Elsewhere in this issue you'll find a supplement to the guide. We suggest you remove it and attach it to the buyer's guide for future reference. CORRECTION: The distributor of KTM motorcycles in the U.S: is KTM Sportmotorcycle USA, Inc. The listing in the 1993 buyer's guide was incorrect. KTM Sportmotorcycle's address is 930 Fesler St., El Cajon, CA 92020, and their phone number is 619/258-6300. The correct phone number for their eastern office is 216/246-1060. CORRECTION: The correct phone number to call for information on the February 20 Vintage Dirt Track Racers Association Awards Banquet is 316/265-8624. Information is also available at 918/445-0671. BORN: Guy Stefan Schneider, son of Cycle News contributor Don Schneider and his wife Laurie, on December 24 in Cornelius, Oregon. Schneider, a Vet Pro class motocrosser, named his son after 1990 AMA 125cc MX National Champion and 1992 Mickey Thompson Award of Excellence winner Guy Cooper and 1991 125cc MX World Champion Stefan Everts. MARRIED: Michael Sarver, Seattle-area race promoter, and Kristina Fountain, on December 11 in Kahalah Beach, Hawaii. MOVED: Cycle Concepts, distributors of PBI Sprockets, to 26841 Ruether, Suite A, Santa Clarita, CA 91351, 805/2527189, FAX 805/252-6319. HIRED: Dan Poe, by Acerbis USA to fill the new position of special projects coordinator. Poe will be responsible for the development of the sales of new items. MOVED: Varner Racing, an aftermarket hop-up shop, to 3227 Producer Way #108, Pomona, CA 91768, 909/598-9776. STOLEN: A 1992 Honda CRI25 (frame number JH2 JEO 103 NM 300 602) from Barry Denton in Morristown, Tennessee. Call 615/586-1904 with any information. STOLEN: A 1991 Kawasaki KX125 (frame number JKA KXR H17 MAOO 7303) from William E. Hardin in Asheville, North Carolina. If you have any information, call 615/581-8245. (N 3

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