Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

::VOICES ~·. :' . i America's weekly motorcyclenewspaper Letters 1 the ecfrtor:. 0 Volume XXXI Sharon G ayton, Pr esident MichaelKlinger, Publisha Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor . KitPalmer, Associate Editor Donn Maeda, Associate Editor Chris [o nnurn, Associate Editor ScottRousseau, Assistant Editor Wayne's new world "One hour of life, crowded to thefull with glorious action, andfilledwith noble risks, is worth whole years of those = n observances of paltry decorum, . in whichmen steal through existence, likesluggish water through a marsh, without eitherhonouror observation." Sir Walter Scott Graphics and Production ReeJohnson, Production Supervisor Mandy 1.00, Production Managa Dennis Greene, lAb. Tech. Stacey Guest, Graphic Artist Amy Faught, Graphic Artist Victoria Vaus, Graphk Artist Ad m in istratio n Judy Klinger, Coordinator Peggy Rivera, Secretaryto thePublisher Advertising Terry Pratt, National AccountsManaga Mark Thome, Westan SalesManaga Thomas Gonter, Westan SalesManaga Forrest Hayashi, Westan Sales Managa Mark Mitchell, Eastern AccountsManaga Greg Mitchell, Eastern Sales Managa Rick Matheny, Eastern SalesManaga Rhonda Crawford, Westan Ad Coordinator Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Want Ads Kelly Branscome, Want Ad Sales Marketing & Promotion Mark Thome, Managa Dealer Sales Toni Kerr, DeJJ1a &presentative A<:countingfData Processing Donna Bryan -Diamond, AIR Coordinator Gen eva Repass, Assistant Herlane Lewis, Credit Circulation RhebaSmith, Managa Alma Anguiano, Pr ocessing Coordinator Pam Klein, Billing Coordinator Carol Begovic, Dealer Coordinator Kim Mazenko, Data Entry Coordinator Service and S.upport Chris Aitcheson, Headquarters Receptionist LeonardHerring, Sersic« and Support National Headquarters 2201 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 90806, P.O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-Q498 (310) 427-7433; (213) 636-8844. FAX (310)427-6685 This could easily be the philosophy of Wayne Rainey's life. Words alo ne cannot describe th e tremen d ous debt all motorcyclists, in fact all members of society, owe Wayne . He h a s s e t an unimpeachable exa mpl e of how we crea te o u r own qu a lity of life, how we s hape our own destiny, and how we sometimes subconsciou sly cau se something to happen that will slow ourselves down or change our life in w ays we seem unable to do consciously. Wayne's story in the January 5 issue of Cycle News clearly verifies the statement that "Your Message is You r We," Not only has he achie ved the Holy Grail of motorcycle racing three times through the extensive use of visualization, focus, intention and determination , but he is now able to demonstrate tha t the physical, material world is n ot rea ll y a s important to us as society wo uld have us believe. Raising that beautiful son to be a participant in life, a risk taker, and to be able to overcome all obs tacles to achieve his goals is much more important than a fourth championship could ever be. Wayne's attitude will enable him to live a long, abundant and fulfilling life. This in spi te of, or perhaps because of, an event tha t has taken away from him 'so me aspects of life that most of us take for granted, yet consider essential to the quality of life on this pl an et. He h as shown u s wha t it is really like to be alive! Wayne, we thank you for the inspiration and wish you even mo re of the very best of life's experiences. Clay Can field Evergreen, CO THNX B2V Eastern Office 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA, 30084; mailingaddress P.O. Box 805, Tucker, GA 3OlJ85.{)S(J5. (404) 9347850. FAX (404)934-3112 CycleNews (IJSI'S 141·340)is published week iyexcept tbe L1st two weeks 01the calendar year lor S50 per year by .oo CycleNew>. Inc.. 2201 O>erty Avenue. Long Beach, CA 9OllO6. Secondclass postage paid al LongBeach. CA. Canada Post Inremational Publications M.>il.S4661s. I would like to express my appreciation to a ll the riders wh o attended th e Barstow-to-Vegas Pro tes t Ride on November 27, and to Keith Collins for organizing the rally. That the BLM chose to send SO few ran gers to oversee our event is testimony to the ir gra d ual accep tance of ou r right to express our oppositio n to their arbitrary land closures. May be .next year there will be no closure at all, thanks to our persistence. I would especi ally like to thank Louis "Phantom Duck" McKey and friends for welcoming me, a complete stranger, to their campfire on Friday night and for sharing with me their countless memories of past B2Vs, ridden on Triumphs, BSAs and Ha rleys. Their dedica tion to our spo rt is a n inspiration, which strengthened my own reso lve to oppose arbi trary land closures championed by self-serving, en vironmental elitists, Da vid W.Kay Ma r Vista, CA Good or bad? I was mildly interes ted in an ite m that ran in your " In the Wind" secti on o f issue number 48 . The it em in cl u ded BLM director Jim Baca's statements tha t there will be a new emphasis on recreation on BLM la nds. Please note tha t there was no mention of motorized recrea tion. I've heard all this B.S. before, but in the las t 10 years, not one of the three so-called "recreation specialists" at the loca l BLM office has ever ridden a dirt bik e or ATV (and didn't want to). Until that changes radically, the people writin g re source management plans will translate his words into more land being close d to OHV recreation to provide gr eater recreation opportunities for their frien ds; hikers and bicyclists. A wor d of warning to all : One proOHV lobbyist who has presented our case to The Man, and whose nam e you w ould recognize immediately, told me that as far as OHV users are conce rned, "Jim Baca is one bad son of a bitch." Richard A. Brass Helper, UT When we published Mr. Baal's comments, our intention was not to take a stand for or against him, but simply to inform our readers of something that the BLM director fwd said. To quote Robert Rasor, A MA vice president of government relations, "W flile Jim Baca does have a land conserv ation background, he hasn't yet made a judgment that would qualify him as being opposed to motorized recreation. In the interest of trying to work with him in thefutur e, it's probably best to give him the benefitof the doubt until he showshis hand."...Editor. The luck of the Irish Get yo ur facts straight. Robert Dunlop and Jeremy McWilliams are not Brits as yo u referr ed to them in your December 15 issue. They are indeed both Irish and both ride with license s issued by the M.C.V.I. (Motorcycle Union of Ireland). Sean McGl oi n Yon kers, NY It matters not which federation issues your racing license. Since both Dunlo p and McWil/iIlms are indeed from Ulster, which is in British-gooemed northern Ireland, I'll bet you a Guinness that they both travel with British passports...Editor. Open-class wimps? Please inform Messrs. Maeda, Palmer and [o nnurn that their fear of riding and owning Open class b ikes, well documented in yo ur Jan uary 5 article (Battle of the Mo ns ter Bikes - Issu e #50), d oes n o th in g to enhance the fu tu re of bi g bores and their d evelopmen t. Sure, rid in g tidd lers and p opco rn powerband quarter-li ter bikes may be less physically demanding, but not every rider wants to limit their riding options to variations of the same supercross theme. Similarly, no t all riders desi re, or need, the explosive mid-range and ballistic top end hit of a 125 or a 250. After 22 years of riding and racing in the Open class, I feel the current bikes offer more fun and versatility:than ever. Perhaps the timid Cycle Neto« editors, rather than expressing their phobia of Open class bikes (and instilling fear in prospective owners of same), could use . their editorial comment and influence to exp ress the continued interest in Open class bikes for many uses other than motocross, and prevent their demise by manu facturers and race promoters. Randy Rattaro San Rafael, CA When 1 went to reprimand Maeda, Palmer and Jonnum , they were nowhere to be found. 1 discovered them at our motorcycle storage compound, still trying to kick start a KTM 550 MXC. But don't give up on them yet - check out an upcoming issue for an impressi on of a modifi ed Honda CRSO ...Editor. O Letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle News, P,O, Box 498, Long Beach. CA 90806-0498 or faxed to 3101427-6685. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News, Inc. Letters should not exceed 200 words and .all letters are subject to editing. Anonymous Jetters will not be considered for pub lication. All letters sh oul d contain the wri ter's name, ad d ress and daytime phone number ... Editor. POSTMASTER: Sendilddms dw\sn to CycleNrws, r.o. 8m<498, Long Boach. CA '10801-()4'/8. To drinmine the npiration d.1teof yOUflub5aiptiOn,. cbKk the four nwnbrn on the fi m line of your addrrss ~brL Thr first two digits ind icolte the last issue numbtT youll receive ~d tht bst two charaduJ indicatr the yur of the issue. wi Subscriptionrates: Rates for the United States and its p0ssessions for one year. (SO issues). $50.00; two years (100 issues). 595.00; six months, (2S issues), $26.00;trial sub (15 issues). $19.00. CanadaandForeign.one year (50 issues),$9O.lXJ; two ye." (100issues). $17S sixmonths (2S issues), 545.00; bia l .lXJ; sub (15issues), $38.00. Cycle: News welcomes unsolicited editorial rn.lterial including stories,cartoons, photos,etc. Suchmaterial. if published. becomes the exclusi e property ofCycleNews. Such accepted v material is subjectto revision as is ne:rssary in the sole discretion of CycleNews. Unsolicited material which is not used will bereturned if accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope. All unsolici ed material will be handled with reat sonable care. however Cycle News assumes no responsibility . for the safety. lossor damage to such material. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. Advertising rates and cin:ulationinformationwill be sent upon request. SeeS.R.DS. W~A ~~~TION Printed in U.S.A. 4 Co~yrigbl· CycleN..... Inc. 1994.Trad emark CveJeN.... replrml us, Patent Olfice. All rigbts ........L FEATURES TESTS 1994 Kawasaki ZX-9R ., 1994 Suzuki DR350 6 14 SNEAK PREVIEW Ha rley-Davidson VR-lOOO superbike , , 10 INTERVIEW Racing's Hayden brothers 12 TRAVEL A loo k at Tokyo's Bike Street 16 IMPRESSION 1994 Suzuki GSXR750 ,18 DEPARTM S ENT EVENTS ,.., CALENDAR RESULTS WANT ADS , TEARDOWN LOOKINGBACK , , 20 24 28 29 43 43 ONTHE FRONT COVER Cycle News r ides into 1994 o n Kawasaki's new ZX-9R. See page 6 for the full test. Photo by Rich Ch enet . We also catch Harley-Davidson's VR-1000 in the act. See page 10 for the not-so-secret test. Pho to by Henny Ray Abrams.

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