Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

,. ', . . .. . :'INTERVIEW·: Miguel DuHamel . ': ; .. : . " : -: :. . ... . . . By Dean Adams Photos by Henny Ray Abrams and Adams n.~ arleyinto maidenAMA .1) a ge Davidson's of JJ. Superbike the world beenvoyracing has met w ith emotional responses from both ends of the spectrum. Harley enthusiasts fell lock-st ep behind the effort, although grumbling about how this may affect the existence of their sanctified machines. Members of the press aren't . happy with the way Harley granted an exclusive of the story on the VR to a monthly glossy magazine while not supplying information, and at times even denying its existence, to nearly everyone else. All in all, it must be noted that nearly everyone wants the project to succeed, as it could concievably increase interest in the sport tenfold. French Canadian and 1991 Daytona 200 winner Miguel DuHamel had been offered a smorgasborg of rides once his Muzzy Kawasaki contract ran out last year. A proven winner, Honda, Kawasaki, Ducati and others wanted DuHamel's services. Surprisingly, DuHamel bucked the trend and decided to sign with Harley for a chance at Milwaukee immortality and lifetime employment. You thought Eddie Lawson was popular in Italy for winning Cagiva's first GP? If DuHamel pulls this off, he could drag all of superbike racing into the mainstream of American sporting events. The Japanese and Italian factories have a guarded enthusiasm regarding Harley's Superbike effort. While eating -dinner with them in Daytona, I asked a visiting HRC executive and several of his henchmen for their thoughts on the VR. Normally close-mouthed to a fault, they immediately went into a slapstick rendition of what they thought riding the VR would be like - loud backfiring sound effects always ending with the machine's engine dying. Then with frank seriousness, the HRC man then said: "For America , the Harley good. For Superbike racing, the Harley good. But, you know, for Japanese, the Harley Superbike could be not so very good." While at Daytona, we took a minute to sit down and discuss the 1994 season with DuHamel himself. You're sporting a new look with your goatee this season. Are you trying to look more Harley-Davidson-ish? Actually, it was a condition of my contract. Harley-Davidson wasn't sure that they were even going to come to Day. tona because the y weren't sure that I would have time to fully grow it out. If I couldn't grow it , they weren 't even going to come. (He breaks into laughter) . No, it was just something that evolved. During the off season, I didn't have anything else to do other than my training. When did you first speak to the Harley-Davidson people about riding their bike, and how did things evolve from there? Mid-Ohio of last year - that is where I met Steve Schiebe and that is where he made his debut as a team manager, negotiating the contract with me. We spoke, too, at Sears Point and they said that they were prob ably going to go racing this year and they wanted to do it with me. We told them that we would consider it. We were prett y open as to looking at it, but as priorities go it was not a high priority. Our curiosity wa s very high right th ere, thou gh. An d when' we saw the bike for the first time, it looked very goo d . We were q uite impressed and tho ugh t that this was quite a bit more seriou s th an pe op le ma y be letting on . So , tha t's how it began and it has progressed to here at Daytona. I was quite impressed with the machine and with Steve Schiebe as well - his determination, as well as the whole team's determination. They're all great guys and great mechanics and do a great job. They are all so enthusiastic. It looked like a really good challenge for me. I like to go out and do things that people say I can 't do . That's basically what we 're doing now. Did you ride the bike b-efore you signed? No. I sat on it in the shop in Milwaukee and started it, but I did not ride it before signing. Everything was going down to the wire with the other teams we were talking with. The Ducati is a good bike , and there was a chance I would have raced a Ducati here in the States, as well as in Europ e. Things were happening with Rob Muzzy, too, and with Honda, although Honda had a very short deadline to wo rk with. There, too, was a chance that I could have gone GP racing again. So, you see, there was much to look over and choose. It was really difficult, but I think that the right decision has been made. I try to keep myself stable and when we're not going forward , we're chasing our tail - that's that. This morning (Friday at Daytona) we went better, but the fuel pump stopped, for what reason we don't know . So, that is the kind of things we're go ing through right now. I have confidence in the team tha t they will make it run well. Your decision to ride for Harley is said to be very money-motivated. True? Well, it wasn't really money-motivated because we had very good offers from other tearns as wei!. Money was really not as big a role player as many people think. It was an opportunity to work for and to ride for Harley-Da vid son. That was quite appealing to me - not to mention that I'm going to get a Fat Boy. All in all, it was really the challenge and the spirit of it. There is no team the same as a Harley-Davidson team. The y are as professional as can be and the y do a great job, but they 're different. It's just like the bike - there are a lot of motorcycles ou t there, bu t only one HarleyDavidson. The people that work at that company are the same as the machines that's part of their success. HarleyDavidson is quite unique. Would you concede that they are easier to communicate with than the Japanese? I'm not ready to say that . In saying that, one must remember that we don't deal with the Japanese too much here

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