Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

DAY'SIX '" . By Kit ~almer , . '. . veryone has an ego . Some people's egos are bigger than others. Mine ? Well, as a whole, I'd like to think of it being pretty small- kind of like my payeck, You see, when it comes to sports I y don't mind if I get beaten as lang as I ow I gave it my best shot. Don't get me ng; I don 't like losing - but if I don't . hey, it's not the end of the world. . But I must admit, if there's one area in hich I don't like getting out-done or hown up, it would have to be off-road acing or just plain trail riding. Here, my o is susceptible to getting bruised. I don't necessarily have to be the as test over a tough trail (though I'll try e damnedest), but I really don't enjoy atching someone ahead of me pull awa y d disappear around the next bend on a ight trail. When it comes to those mudog-in fested, root-plagued, rocky, slipry and tight trails- where just making it m point A to point B is an accomplishent in itself - I simply don't like being ut-done. Period. (Of course, that's my o talking) . While I ta ke pride in getting fr om int A to point B no matter how difficult he terrain is in between, maintaining orne sort of dignity in the process is of igh importance. Unless I've used up very option, I won't let anyone help me . ,push or shove my bike, or, God forid, let someone else ride my bike out of a d situation! Thanks, but no thanks. My couldn't handle that. You see, I used to think I was some otshot end uro guy. But then I went to awaii, where whatever ego I had was ot only bruised, but reduced to the size fa BB Let me explain. . Last May.-I participated in an orgaized dual sp ort ride on the island of auai in Hawaii (see page 22), which rought back memories of the first time I ode in Hawaii - in 1985at the Mauna Kea Enduro. Since then I've ridden in the Islands several times, and if there' s one thing that I've learned whe n riding there it is: Never , and I mean never, judge a Hawaiian dirt biker by his motorcycle or riding gear. Here on the Mainlan d, off-road riders are very style conscious. We just have to wea r th e latest, raddest and mo st invogue riding gear on the market, and our bikes have to be in immaculate condition at all times. A crooked decal is a serious fashion fau x pas. And if you look good, you 're automatically branded as be ing "fast." So, when I went to Hawaii to ride the Mauna Kea Enduro for the first time and saw some of the locals wearing op enfaced helmets wi th football face masks bolted on, or wearing old riding gear that hadn't been washed in months, I thought I had it made. And some of their bikes looked like they had seen the last 10 Blackwater 100 races w ithout ever being washed! That confirmed it; I had th is enduro won - a piece of cake. Boy,was I in for a shock! These guys that I secretly giggled at under my new $300 helmet with a $500 paint job simply blew my doors off. In fact, they beat me so badly that I used the wimpiest of excuses not to start the second day of the two-da y event. Those memories came storming back in Kauai when we turned onto the "Powerline Trail, " a d irt road that my dual sport tour guide Phil Ovel and (a damn local) had warned me about. "It can get pretty ugly, espec:ially if it rains up there," said Phil pointing to a mountain up ahead of us. He looked genuinely concerned , and that bothered me because I have also learned that when a local Hawaiian says that a particular trail is "ugly" or "tough," he isn't joking. So I was a little apprehensive as we continued on our way up the Powerline Trail. The wide two-tra ck trail soon became we t a nd muddy, jus t as Phil had promised. I was fighting to keep the bike tracking straight, not to mention upright. Befo re I kn ew it, Phil had long since pulled away from me and had vanished up ahead - eerg! And the two other guys I was riding with - Sam and Paul- had fallen bac k when Paul dr op ped his bike in the gooe y mud. As Paul picked himself up, Sam waved me on. "We'll catch up," Sam said. A couple of miles later, I was already pumping out sweat by the gallon - I was hot and tired (and, believe it or not, actually having a little bit of fun). Up ahead I could see someone on a bike. It was a Hawaiian kid, abou t 16 or 17 years of age, on a Ho nda XR80. He was jus t sit ting there on his bike, his elbows on his handlebars. H e d idn't look happy. He was wearing tennis shoes, jeans and a T-shirt, but had no goggles or gloves , and was . caked in mud. "My throttle cable broke," he said. 'TIl be all right." "You sure?" He nodded. Reluctantly, I left hirp behind as I continued on my merry wa y, slip ping and slid ing from one side of the trail to the other, until I finally caugh t up to Phil, who had stopped in front of the nastiest, meanest-lookin g mud hole I'd seen in quite some time - probably since the last time I'd ridden in Hawaii. Sam and Paul soon rode up. We studied the situation for a while , then we teamed up to push, shove and lift each other's bikes - one at a time - through the bog. It was exhausting work. After what seemed like hours, we finally got all four bikes across. We were . ju st ab out to continue on our journey when, off in the d istance, we heard the strain in g sound of a sma ll four-stroke engine coming up behind us. "It's the kid on the XR," said Paul. Without saying a word, we all hopped off our bikes and sloshed our way back across the mudhole to help the kid thro ugh. He rode up to the hole, bu t as we approached him, he waved us off. Huh? Without hesitation, he dropped right sma ck d ab in to the middle of the bog, completely submerging his little XR. He held the throttle wide open by pulling on the broken throttle cable with his thumb and forefinger, while his other three fingers gripped the handlebars. Steam rose off the bike's red-hot engine, the rear tire spi nning wil dly. The kid kept pushing a nd pushing, fin all y fo rgi n g hi s way through th e mudhole, H is b ik e so on clawed and sc ratche d its way up the op posi te side of the bank and he disappeared down the trail Phil, Sam, Paul and I stood the re wi th our jaws dropped in amazement. We passed the kid a few miles down the road before coming to a another mud hole, where Phil, Sam, Pau l and I again had to incorporate the buddy system to get through. Sure enough, here came the kid on th e XR. Without eve n slowing down, he leapt into the soupy mess, sendin g up w aves of muddy water that would 've made Moses proud. As he had done before, the kid and his XR- broken throttle cable and all- plowed through that mud hole like it was nothing more than a puddle. The four of us rested for a While as the kid continued on his way. We later came to th e end of the Powerline Tra il and turned onto the pavement. There, parked on the side of the road, was the kid's truck with his XR already loaded into the back. As we rode past, we all traded waves. I must admit, Iwas shown up by that kid. Could I ha ve done what he did? I doubt it. But at least it didn't bother me like it wou ld've in '85, because another lesson I learned about riding in Hawaii is: Always leave your ego at home. DI . . .~·' ''···. · : I N ..THrWI N D· ·· ,' ..,'..::.... < .C ontinued from page:! . ' OVED: Bieffe USA, Inc ., to 6630-A a t ter so n Pass Rd ., Livermore, CA 4550. The new phone and fax numbers re as follows: 510/606-1505 (phone) nd 510/606-1209. IRED: Buck Lovell as editor of Ame rian Big Twin Dealer magazine and as ontributing editor of Dealernews magzine. Dealernews and Am erican Big win Dealer are published by dvanstar Communications, Inc., in anta Ana, California. 25 YEARS AGO.M July 29, 1969 oh n DeSoto and Mert Lawwill shared the spotlight on the cpver of "' ... " . _.,,issue number 28. Lawill had won his third Grand National of the year, a t the Castle Rock TT...The Voices column ran a letter to President Richard Nixon from Miles E. Schofield, complaining about the attitude of the Bureau of Land Management. The response from Nixon's office? "There are many areas well-suited for the operation of off-road vehicles for outdoor recreation purposes. These areas will remain open for use and enjoyment." ...Don Emler was pictured leaping his Suzuki at the Deadman's Point motocross... A movie review J AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Honda of Troy in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday, July 22 from 5:00 p .m. to 7:00 p .m . Team Honda's Jeff Stanton, Steve Lamson, Jeremy McGrath and Doug Henry, along with Honda of Troy's Craig Decker and Davey Yezek are scheduled to appear. For more information call 513/294-1577. James and Colin Edwards II are schedul ed to appear. For more informat ion call 614/ 267-Q318. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Beechmont Yamaha in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Friday, July 22 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p .m. Team Yamaha ' s Jeff Em ig a n d Michael Craig are scheduled to appear. For more information call 513/752-0088. and public relati ons agency known for its exper tise wi th high-tech accounts. Zukowski was formerly wo rking on the Kawasaki account at Freeman/McCue. HIRED: Dan Zukowski, b y Roberts, Meale r & Co ., a fuI1-service advertising CORRECTION: In ou r report of the 1995 Yamaha YZS and 250WR, we said tha t a,nyone riding a 1994 or '95 Yamaha YZ will be eligible for Yamaha's YZ Bucks contingency program, and while this is all true, we failed to mention that this program also includes riders on '94 and '95 Yamaha WRs. a focused on the film, "Easy ......... I mounted Donnie Hansen was top privaRider," calling it "a new and i:l if fJJJj' teer, finishing seventh. The story was by l daring type of motion picture: ' _ Charles Morey, with photos by Morey and Ron Lawson...The Belgian Road Race GP was cancelled when the riders boy cotted the event. Their reason ? The newly 15 YEARS AGO.M was too slippery...Bob July 25, 1979 ..... _' laid tarmacth e Donkeys Hare Balentine w on Scrambles...Johnny O'Mara en n y Roberts rode his factory captured the 125cc Pro win at Yamaha VZR500 to a win at round Indian Dunes. 14 of the AMA Grand National Championship/Winston Pro Series, at California's Sears Point Raceway. Lawson 5YEARS AGO... was racing against Yamaha TZ750s. The Superbike and Lightweight divisions July 19, 1989 were won by 17-year-old Freddie Spencer...Before a crowd of 76,064 cheernadilla u.s. GP - Johnson wins, ing spectators, Mark Barnett was victoriHannah says good-bye," read ous at the Superbowl of Motocross VIII in the cover line of issue 28. Rick the Los Angeles Coliseum. Can-AmJohnson won both motos of th e GP, which was the final ra ce of Bob Hannah's career...Kawa saki-mounted Scott Plessinger won the Sun Valley GP in Hailey, Idaho...A st ory on the Belgian Road Race GP was featured, though the race was under protest at press time, and the winner was not yet known. The wet, slippery course had caused several crashes, and two restarts...Angelo Signorelli turned in a la st-m inute, come-frombehind v ictory a t the Incas Rally in Peru...The Voices section contained a letter from Rick Sieman, criticizing Dirt Rider magazine for running an ad in Cycle News. Sieman had endorsed Dirt Rider in the ad, but since changed his opinion...The San Morino 500cc MX GP was w on by Jeff Leisk, while the Czechoslovakian 125cc MX GP was topped by Trampas Parker. a AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Hinds Motorsports in Columbus, Ohio , on Thursday, July 14 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p .m .. Vance & H ines Yamaha's Jamie 'iii' K "U 55

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