Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

U THE WIND IN I ... CO l-l Q) S Q) u Q) o B Mike laRocco (Kaw) and Jeff Stanton (Hon) split wins in the Tokyo Supercross at the Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, November 27-28. LaRocco topped Stanton and Mike Kiedrowski (Kaw) on Saturday night, and then Stanton beat LaRocco and Damon Huffman (Suz) in Sunday's World Championship round . Guy Cooper (Suz) ma intained his lead in the Supercross World Championship Series with tw o fifth place finishes in Japan. He leads Greg Albertyn (Hon), 55-45,. after four round s in the five-round series. Jeremy McGrath (Hon) was inv olved in a start-straight crash on the first night, and bruised his hand. He sat out Sunday night but should be fine for the approaching Camel Supercross Series . Kevin Windham (Kaw) and Ricky Carmichael (Kaw) were the big winners at the 22nd AMA Florida Winter National Olympics at Gatorback Cycle Park in Gainesville, November 23-27. The event combined motocross, TT scram bles and grand prix races, and drew 3122 entries form 32 states, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Canada, Great Britain and Australia. Windham scored overall wins in the 125 and 250cc A classes, while Carmichael topped the 85cc (1213) division. Other class winners included James Stewart (Kaw) in the Pee Wee class, Oscar Medrano (Kaw) in the 65cc (7-11) division, Travis Pastrana (Suz) in the 85cc (7-11) category, Charlie Bogard (Suz) in the 85cc (14-15) class and Kristy Shealy (Kaw) in the Women's division . Windham also earned the Dunlop Silver Tire and Ricky Joseph Sportsmanship Awards, and his father Duane won the Mechanic Award. Carmichael won the AXO Bronze Bike and Scott Golden Goggles Awards. An estimated 400 riders turned out for the 10th Annual LA.-to-B-to-V Dual Sport Ride during the Thanksgiving weekend, November 26-27. The ride was the final event of the AMA Suzuki Dual Sport Trail Ride Series. The 400plus-mile dual sport ride started in Colton, California, at the Honda Rider Education Center and concluded in Las Vegas at the Hacienda Hotel & Casino. Even though the event is not a "race," Richard Jackson, aboard a Honda XR650L, was the first rider to complete the event. Upon arriving in La s Vegas, Jackson immediately turned around and rode back home to California. His wife was patiently waiting for him so he could continue to help pack for the couple's move to a new house. One of those who participated in the L.A. -to-B-to-V dual sport ride was KTM's Scot Harden, who rode a prototype KTM 620cc dual sport bike, which is based on the company's LC4 620cc E/XC four-stroke model. KTM will actu ally offer two dual sport models - a 620 and 400cc LC4 R/XCs - by April. "It (the LC4 620 R/XC) and the 400 R/XC are 90% based on our competition mode ls : ' says Harden. "The 620 uses a counter-balancer and weighs less than 300 pounds; that's with fluid but no ga s. No, it doesn't have an electric start, but it starts super easy, anyway." 2 Speaking of KTM, the Aust rian manufac tu re r will be imp orting two 50cc "pee-wee" motorcycles into the U.s. for 1994. The bikes, SX and SX3, are actually built for KTM by an Italian company called LEM. Both bikes feature 47.6cc, two-stroke Moto Morini engines, with automatic transmissions. They also feature inverted fo rks and single-sho ck rear suspension systems. The SX model has lO-inch wheels and, accord ing to Scot Harden, is AMA-Iegal, meaning it can compete on t he tr ack aga in s t Yamaha's PW50. The SX3 has longertravel suspension and a ta l1e r sea t height, as compared to the SX model, and it also uses bigger 12-inch wheels. The MSRP for the SX is $1048; the SX3 $1248. The "micro" KTMs shoul d be a vail able by mid-Dec ember, ju s t in time for Christmas. Oriol Mauri, th e p r esid e nt o f the Spanish motorcycle fede ra tion (RFME), re signed on Saturday, N ov ember 27. According to sources in Spain, Mauri was the number on e op po nen t of FIM president Jos Vaessen. Road racer Miguel DuHamel still hasn't decided what he will race in 1994, but the announcement is expected to be made this week, according to his manager Alan Labrosse. The French Canadian has two offers on the table: a World Superbike ride with Ducati and an AMA Superbike National Championship ride with HarleyDavidson. "This week for sure," Labrosse said on Monday, November 29. "We're coming to the finish line we're almost there." World Superbike Champion Scott Russell is currently building a short track at his cousin's house in Georgia that will be the focus of his off-season training program. "We've been riding a lot of motocross lately and when we get the short track finished we'll be out there riding," Russell said. "We'll get Mike Smith and Brian Gibbs and some other local guys out there and get after it." Russell and Muzzy Kawasaki also have an extensive off-season testing schedule planned. The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a safety recall of "LBL" helmets, made by Chico of Fort Lauderdale, Inc., and "LBL Winner" helmets, made by Florida's Choice Lite Lids, Inc.. According to Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena, the helmets do not comply with requirements of the federal motorcycle helmet safety standard. The department has filed a federal court action against the companies for violating the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, and will take appropriate steps to enforce the order, but warns that "if the manufacturers fail to repurchase or replace these helmets at no charge, owners should take note of the adverse safety consequences of continuing to wear these unsafe helmets.' McGrath's new Honda? ot quite, but it is "The America - The Monster Motorcycle." This Honda CRSOObased monsterbike is owned, and was created, by William Townes of Chesapeake, Virginia, and is expected to make its debut at monster truck events sometime in 1994. The "motorcycle" is eight feet tall and weighs in at 2000 pounds, well over the AMA minimum. N finalize the 1994 Vintage Classics VII race schedule is underway. The County of Santa Clara Motorcycle. Park in San Jose, California, now has a hotline recording offering information on track and trail conditions as well as upcoming park events. The hotline number is 408/972-0810. Former motorcycle racer and NHRA top fuel champion Eddie Hill was honored in his hometown of Wichita Falls, Texas on November 20 as thousands of people turned out for ''''Eddie Hill Day." Hill, who owns a motorcycle dealership in Wichita Falls, was joined in an autograph session ' by former Indianapolis 500 veteran Lloyd Ruby, another ex-motorcycle racer. Newly crowned 500cc MX World Champion Jacky Martens signed a letter of intent for a two-year deal to stay aboard Husqvarna four-strokes. The Belgian will begin testing three new chassis in early December, and there are rumors that a semi-automatic transmission may be used, borrowing technology from the road race program. Canadian off-road star Blair Sharpless has announced his retirement from racing. The multi-time Canadian Enduro champion, who has also won nationals in the U.S ., clinched this year's Canadian Nation a l End uro and National Hare Scrambles titles, and will now focus his attention on sta rting an off-road products business. The start of the Supercross of Barcelona (Sp a in ) was delayed on Saturda y, Nov ember 20, when spectators participated in an eight-minute standing ovation to honor three-time World Champion Wayne Rainey. When even t promoter s showed a video of Rainey, the crowd stood and cheered. It wasn't until the announcer promised tha t the video of the supercross and the ovation wo uld be hand delivered to Rainey that the cro wd finally took the ir sea ts and allowed the racing to continue. The Vintage Dirt Track Racers Association ann ounced its class champions for the 1992 -1993 Denver Buffalo Company's Vintage Classic s VI d irt track racing season. John Fike topped the Open Pro Tw in and 600cc cla sses while Dan Deubler was na med champion of the Masters a nd 250cc cla sses. Chris Smith won the Dinos aur cla ss, and Ron Stone took top honors in the Open Twin class. Sanction activity to According to the Motorcycle Ind ustry Council (MIC), BLM director Jim Baca has pledged to give high priority to rec rea tio n as it redefines its managemen t of public lands to reflect changes in the nati on. Baca spoke at a Recreati on Exchange luncheon on Nov ember 16, and ad mitted that recreation has "been in th e background" of BLM management, but said he intends to emphasize recreation uses of BLM's 270 million acres as he restructures the agency . Baca said his agency has a responsibility to help rural economies diversify as they move from dependence on single natural resources such as minerals or timber. He added that recreation could play an important role for such communities. Baca also said that public-private partnerships are an important component in his plans to advance recreation on BLM lands. He cited a current partnership with the MIC as an example of this philosophy in action. According to Baca, the BLM is undertaking an extensive internal review, and a new management strategy and reorginazation plan will be completed by next summer. Baca added that he will invite the recreation industry to review the new plan, stating, "We will do whatever is possible to further recreation on BLM lands." U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy named Jack Ward Thomas as chief of the Forest Service on November 18. Thomas replaces Dale Robertson, who was chief since 1987. Robertson was moved to a position as a special assistant to Deputy Agriculture Secretary Richard Rominger. Thomas, a wildlife biologist and career Forest Service employee, most recently led a scientific team attempting to resolve the northern spotted owl/old-growth forest issue in the Pacific Northwest. He will be the first Forest Service chief to serve as a political appointee at the discretion of the president. The appointment makesThomas the chief steward of 156 national forests and 19 national grasslands covering 191 million acres. The forest service cu rren tly manages thousand s of mil es of trails and primitive roads accessible by off-highway motorcycles. Kyle Lewis (Yam) was the big winner at the 3rd Annual Nevada Arenocross at the Reno Livest ock Event Center in Reno, Ne vada; November 19-20. Lewis topped the 250cc Expert class both Fr iday a n d Saturday nights, while Lance Smail (Hon) and Cory Keeney (Kaw ) topped the 125cc Expert classes. Lew is also finished second in Saturday's 125cc Expert class feature.

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