Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.VO E IC S··:· America'sweekly motorcycle newspaper Letters to the editor.. VolumeXXXI SharonClayton, President Michael Klinger Publisher , Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Donn Maeda, AssociateEditor Chris [onnum, AsSociateEditor ScottRousseau, Assistant Editor Graphics and Production ReeJohnson, Production Supervisor Mandy Loa, Production Manager DennisGreene, Ulb. Tech. StaceyGuest, Graphic Artist Amy Faught, GraphicArtist Administration Judy Klinger, Coordinator . Peggy Rivera, Secretary tothe Publisher Advertising Terry Pratt, National AccountsManager MarkThome, Western SalesManager ThomasGonter, Western SalesManager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sal sManager e Mark Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Greg Mitchell, Eastern Sales Manager RickMatheny, Eastern SalesManager Rhonda Crawford, Western Ad Coordinator Carla Allen, Eastern AdCoordinator Want Ads KellyBranscome, Want Ad Sales Marketing & Promotion MarkThome, Manager Dealer Sales Toni Kerr, Dealer Representative AccountingfData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, AIR Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Herlane Lewis , Credit Circulation Rheba Smith, Manager Alma Anguiano, Processing Coordinator Pam Klein, Billing Coordinator Carol Begovic, Dealer Coordinator KimMazenko Data Entry Coordinator , Service and Support Chris Aitcheson, Headquarters Receptionist Leonard Herring, Service and Support National Headquarters 2201 Cherry Ave., LongBeach, CA90806, P.O.Box 498, LongBeach, CA 90801.Q498 (310) 427-7433; (213) 636-8844. FAJ< (310) 427-6685 Eastern Office 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA,30084; mailingaddress P.O. Box 805, Tucker, GA 30085-0805. Final Moto 1 I respectfully take excep tion to the. oP~ ions expressed by Mr. [onnurn in h ts "Final Moto" column of Mar ch 16 (Issue . #10, March 16). I woul d very much like to modify his appraisal: first of the qua lity of European enduros relative to U.S. enduros, and second of the skill level of European enduro racers in comparison to their American counterp arts. The majority of Eu ro p ean en d u ro s (and the Gilles Lalay Classic) are laid out to showcase a select gro up of high ly skilled and sponsored riders; as such, they serve as adv ertisi n g venues for European manufacturers. Th: y. a~e mo~e specta tor-oriented than parlicl pa~t-on ented . This is quite th e oppos it e o f American endures, which are in reality financed by the A, B an d C riders who make up the majority of the entries . If one of our national events was so technical as to allow only nine finishers (like . the Lala y event), the spo ns orin g club would be deluged by complaints and never again granted a na tiona l sanction. Most Ll.S, sponsoring clubs would wel come the chance to layout rea ll y "killer" enduros; but to be on the European level they would ne ed to limit those "killer" events to A and AA racers and charge a $250 entry fee. While we have made recent changes, U.S. racers at the ISDTI ISDE ev ents have, for the most part, "co me u p" from enduros /hare scramble s or dese rt events, with skills in staying on the gas for extended periods of tim e. This is not the same as European ev en ts, which may requ ire a slower trail pace and short bursts of extreme speed in special tests. To wit, our highest fin ish in the Team Trophy (not in Vase ) w as in Czechoslovakia in '82. Conditions there resembled U.S. enduros (long, wet, grueling), and our rid ers' ab ility to go allout all day (a U.S. enduro skill) would have gotten us the big prize were it not for a minor injury. . Finally, to put the concept of "technicality" or "dif~iculty" in per~pe~tive, imagine runnmg the ISD E in either Southern California or Southeast Ohio. Imagine using indigenous native rid ers and teams, the most difficult terrain, the fastest possib le speed averages, and either flat-out desert or th e sl owest, mudd ies t s peci al tests possible. You should be able to de d uce a Ll.S. victory; and a Mr. Hamel, a Mr. Hawkins, or a Mr . Cunningham as a top rider. Shortly the rea fter, a Europ ean version of Cycle News woul d descr ib e th e glories o f American rid ers and eve nts; and a firstgeneration American-Eu rop ean would send a reply. Heinz D. Raidel Asheville, NC And more Recently there was an letter in "Voices" by the Tulsa Trail Ride rs (March 9, Issue #9), criticizing you for poor coverage of their qualifier . . Yo ur res p on se was an article b y Chris Jonn um stating his credentials and your p ledge to giv e better coverage of the ISDE in Tulsa. Part of the ISDE is the qua li fiers h eld in d ifferent locations throughout the na tion to see who gets to rid e the ISDE in Sep tember. If you were truly interested in good ISDE cove rage, yo u would have info rmed your readers that it w~uld be a waste of time and money to ode the qu alifiers. The Tu lsa Trail .Riders ~~ve sold entries and are full, With a waiting list of ove r 300. They were sold out last Christmas. There are 40 entries reserved for the AMA. When you take the World Trophy and Junior teams and a few top club riders, it doesn't leave any room for the.rest of us. Please check this ou t and let us , the re aders, know wh at 's going on betw een the FIM, AMA an d Tulsa Tra il Riders. Remember, you promised us good coverage of the ISDE. Dave Hutchens Desert Hot Springs The intent of the Final Moto column was neither to insult A merican off-road events and competitors, or to "respond" to the letter by the Tulsa Trail Riders, but to shed some light on European off-road events and racers. This is an area of international motorcycle compet ition that often goes ignored by American fans. . Still, Mr. Raidel, the fact remains that Americans have failed to consistently score well in international off-road competitions; including long, wet, grueling events (like the '93 Dutch ISDE) that supposedly favor our riders. Perhaps this has to do with the fact that European riders - as you mention - are paidfor their talents, while Americans for the most part fund their own efforts. In regards to Mr. Hutchens' letter, the Trail Riders' letter criticize US not for our d "poor coverage" of their "qualifier," but for an In the Wind item (February 23, Issue #7) that provided the exact infor:nation tha~ !Iou are criticizing us for ignoring. In addition, Kit Palmer devoted an entire Day Six column (January 26, Issue #3) to his opinions on the AMA and Trail Riders' decision to allowAmerican "pre-entries" in the '94 SixDays. Still, for those who appar~tly m~sed those pieces, we have, once agam, explame~ the selection process in a sidebar to the ariicle on the first qualifier, which you will find on page 32 of this issue. Regardless of whether or not we totally agree with this year's selection proc we ess, plan to provide exciting coverage of each of the qualifiers, and have even added coverage of the World Enduro Championship Series. And while we feel that our coverage of the ISDE is consistently the most comprehene sive, timely and prof ssional of any publication, we have pledged to give the event even more priority this year - not because of t~ promotingclub's complaints, but because .It is an important international event that WIll beheldon American soil...Editor. Disappointed in McGrath I was very disappointed to see a great rider like Jerem y McGrath say that Daytona "isn 't even a real supercross track." Rough, physicall y d emanding courses are what mo tocross and supercross are all about (or should be)! The tough, grueling Daytona track, which mixes.rough sections and big jumps, sounds like the perfect supercross track. After all, supercross is s u p p o se d to be moto cross brought into a stadium setting: Kudos to the Daytona track d esigners and builders. . Other supercross venues should take a clue from them an d build tracks that are more than just well-groomed launching pads for big jumps. Bill Yates Los Alamitos, CA Letters to the edttcr s h o u ld be se nt to Voices, Cycle Ne ws , P.O . Box 498, Long BeliCh, CA 90806-0498 o r faxed to 31 01427-6685 . Publi shed letters d o not necesurily reflect th e position of Cycle News, Inc. Letters s houl d n o t exceed 200 wo rd s .and .all letters ilft subject to editing. Anonymou s letters w ill not be co!,~ eidered f or publication. All letters, s h ou l d. contain th e w ri ter's nam e, .addrelS and daytime phone number ••• Editor. (404) 934-7850. FAJ< (404)934-3112 Cycle New. (USPS 141·340) is published weekly except the last two weeks of the calendar year for $50.00 per year by CycleNews, Inc., 2201 Cherry Avenue, Long Beach, CA 90B06. Second dass postage paid at Long Beach, CA. Canada POOl International Publiations Mail ' 546615. POSTMASTER: Send add.... changestn CycleNews P.O. . Bo.498, Long Beach, CA'10801.()4'l8. 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AU unsolicited material will behandled With reasonable care however. Cycle New s assumes no responsibility for the safetY, loss or dama~e ~ such male~. Reprint ing .in whole or partonly by pemusslon .of th~ publisher. Adv ertising rates an d circulation infonnabon WIUbesent upo n request. See S.R.05. W/Bnll. V wn.!:"'!! AUDITED CIRCULA TION Printed in U.S.A. COfyrigh" CycleNews,lnc.l994. TrademarkCycleNew. regut

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