Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I'EVENTS: ~ .. ~ Edited by scOtt Rousseau.. .' ".: ·'·1 ': .": . . The BMW GS Rendezvous IV By Bruce Armstrong 46 RENO, NY,)Ul.Y4 . Reno BMW owners Jan Cutler and Steve Losofsky - Iron-Butt/longdistance " w ackos" both - again hosted the GS Rendezvous in the northern deserts of Ne vada. This annu al .event brought together GS owners from 'as far aw a y as Wisconsin, some of .whom were actually aware of the very lreal difference between riding a bike in the dirt and riding a dirt bike. A show of hands at rally's end indicated that only four of the 40 participants had actually icompleted the route without falling off at least once, a GS Rendezvous norm. (Top) Forty riders participated at this year's running of the BMW GS Rendezvous IV held near Reno, Nevada. The event Is opened to all riders aboard any BMW GS (on/off-road) model. (Above) What would a true GS ride be without dry lake bed crossing? Here, participants take a break on the 4O-mlle-long Black Rock Desert Dry Lake. Iation that BMW North America was the sub rosa sponsor of the event. The route, laid out again this year by Dr. Kurt Brickner, crossed the 4D-milelong, tabl e-smooth Black Rock Desert Dry Lake and looped far out into the mountains surroun ding Gerlach. Brickner spends one day a week tending to the medical needs of those living on remo te ranches, mining camps and indian reservations in this unpopulated 'corner of Nevada. His loca l knowledge leads Rendezvous participants to spots rarely seen by others: a ranch headquartel'? originally built in the 1860s as a U.5. Cavalry supply outpost; wagon-wheel r u ts cut in stone on the App legate / Lassen Trail; hot springs used by Orego n Tra il p ioneers; and a reactivated opal mine, to name but a few. Saturda y's ride ended with a night of camping under the stars at a remote hot springs, complete with a fabulous steak barbecue and Sunday breakfast of eggs and chili, labeled for some unkn own reason "The Reno BMW Flaming Grommet Breakfast." Various rally activities put a definit e Nevada-only stamp on the event. Proficiency with fir earms garnered participants extra points, and the merits of ace ty lene vs. aerosol brake cleaner as a prop ellant in a potato gun were investigated in some detail. This year's Rendezv ous end ed Sunday night much as it began - w ith a gigantic banquet at Brun o's restauran t in Gerlach. Th is remote town, whose motto is: "Whe re the paveme nt ends and the West begins," is owned by one Bruno Selmi - the restaurant, the bar, the motel, the gas station, the works. As luck woul d have it (being 100 miles from the nearest town), Selmi is a fantastic cook, hosting a yearly invitation-only Italian dinner for which people fly in from as far awa y as the East Coast. Find in g the world's best ra violis where the pavement ends, riding 1 00 mph across a d ry lake, launching potatoes skywa rd from a plastic potato gun: all this can be had at no other event but the BMW Rendezvous. And just as the GS is no ordinary dual sport motorcycle, the Rendezvous - when hosted by Reno BMW- is no ordinary dual sport ride . Overshadowing all other aspects of the f ourth annual BMW Rendezvous was the death of rider Tom Walsh . A recent dual sport convert, Walsh told rally co-host Jan Cutl er at a checkpoint moments before his accident that he was having his best day of motorcycling in memory. Cutler leamed at Tom's funeral that he had recently been diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, but had been caref ul not to let any of his friends lcnow of his condition . Walsh's wife, Barbara, made a simple request at the funeral: "Perhaps the next Rendezvous could be named after Tom? " Be assured, Barbara, that Tom and his enthusiasm for motorcycling wil/ be remembered well beyond the next BMW Rendezvous! Walker waxes Lake Sugar Tree Motocross By Barbara Williams AXTON. V A,JULY 2·3 Either skill, luck, or fear was certainly a factor if you wer e included in this lucky four some, since Telelevers, fuel injection, catalytic converters, or BNGs (bold new graphics) harkening back to previous Paris-Dakar victories are unable to overcome the basic physics of rid ing a 500+ pound motorcycle do wn sand washes and over boulders. The glitter of orange turn signal lenses in th e sand marked the pa th as su rely as did the excellent route sheets, leading to specu- Yamaha Cycle Center/Gear Racew ea r /FMF / Bar r' s Comp /Scott USA /Pro-Action / H ammerhead Gr aphics /Dunlop /Big Bill Racingba cked Kevin Walk er celebrated the Ind ep en d enc e Day w eekend at Lake Sugar Tre e in a bla ze of glory, ad d ing fou r more titl es to hi s collecti on of motocro ss hon ors - Virginia Ch amp ion in 125 a n d 2S0cc A o n Saturda y, plu s victo ries in bo th classes in Sun d ay's round of the AMA Pizza Plus Southeast ern Reg ion al Mot ocro ss Ch ampionship MegaSeries at Lake Suga r Tree MX. Walker had little trou ble with Saturday' s Pro fields. His closest competition came in the form of three "comeba ck kids" : Team Green 's Richie Horton in 125cc A, Brian McElro y in 250cc A, and Kawasaki-mounted Paul Currie in both classes. . Horton sped to the head of Saturday's 125cc A first molo. Currie and Walker followed, with the rest of the field waiting (or a miscue. At the halfway point, Walke r had cau ght and passed Horton to assume the lead, whi ch he held to the finish. Hort on was a close second until Walker bega n to wor k lapped Bcriders, and his intimate knowledge of the track enabled him to use the traffic as a buffer between himse lf and Hort on. Walker claimed the lead from the start of the second roun d of 125cc A, tow ing Currie, Horton . and the rest as he went on to victory. Currie h ole shot Saturday 's first round of 250cc A mote s, bu t Walker qu ickly squ elch ed that brief challenge to his sup erio rity and used the tricky bac k section to launch in to the lead and take the win . That left Curri e, McElroy, Tim Hodock, Mike Eastw ood, and Ch uck Shirl ey to fight over the remaining positions. The second 250cc A moto produced the closest start of the four Pro-Am motes, with Walker , McElroy, Currie and Shirley going four 'abreast into tum one. Walker was the las t to sh u t off speed, making the sharp right comer by a ha ir to lead the runaway train. Throughout the moto, McEl ro y and Cu rri e d o gged Walke r, b ut coul dn't dislodge him from the lead with Walk er scoring yet another mot o and overall victory" The second roun d of each class was a d ifferent story for Walker. Currie stung Wa lker for the second moto win in 12See A on the last half of the last lap. But Currie's first moto third was not good enough to take the class victory from his riva l, who earned the overa ll with a 1-2 finish. Mike Andrews bedeviled Wa lker in bo th ro u nds of 2S0cc A class, never lell in g up th e pressure and causing WalkeT to wo rk hard for the wins . Results 50: 1. Step hen Martin (Ya m); 2. Aaron Day (ya m); 3. David Mitche ll (Hon) ; 4. Binny Orrell (Yam); 5. KMn Williamson (Ya m). · 60; 1. Isha Wood (Kaw); 2. Danny Kelsey «Kaw» ; 3. Ch ase Sh uma tll." (Kaw); 4. Rick Rikard (Kaw) ; 5. Steven Dailey (Kaw) . 80 (7-11); 1. Trav~ Pas tra na (Suz ); 2. Da niel Tesh (Kaw); 3. lsha Wood (Suz); 4. Scott McAlpen (Kaw); S. Rick Rikard (Kaw ). 80 (12-15): 1. [osh Wood (Kaw l; 2. Jon-Boy Monk (Hon); 3. Michae l Meek (Suz); 4. Derreck Hedrick (Suz) ; 5. Jeff Day (Yam ). 125 A; 1. Kevin Wal ke". (ya m); 2. Pau l C urrie (Kaw) ; 3. Richie Ho rton (Kaw) ; 4. Ch uck Shirley (Ya m): 5. Richard Ibison (Suz) . J25 B; I. Robb ie Ho rton (Kaw ); 2. Ramsa y Bulke ley (Hon) ; 3Mitchell Hodges (Kaw) ; 4. Phillip Myers (ya m); 5. Chri s Ans tead (y am) . 125 C: 1. Marcus Hedrick (Suz ); 2. Co lin Hincks (Hon); 3. Ca ven Woodru ff (Kaw) ; 4. Dou glas Ne ig hbors (Han); 5. Da niel Dailey (Hon). 250 A: 1. Kevin Wa lker (y a m); 2. Brian McElroy (Yam); 3. Pau l C urrie (Kaw); 4. Tun Hodoc k (Yam); 5. Chuck Shirley (Yam) . 250 B; 1. Ramsay Bulkek'Y (Hon); 2. Roderick Forest (Kaw) ;3. ~ Anstead (Yam); 4. James Tom Rya n (Suz ); 5. John Palakans- 1 250 C: 1. Ca ven Woodruff (Kaw); 2. Craig Hillia rd (Ho n ); 3. Jeffrey Wade (Yam) ; 4. Wade John son (Yam ); s . Pa ul Fra nklin (Hon) . li /L AM: 1. Phi llip Myll."f'S (Kaw) ; 2. Alan And erson (Kaw); 3. Da rren Mcllhatlan (Suz); 4. Sco tt Beard (Suz ); S. Dan ie l Dai le y (Hon) . TRL RDR; 1. Da vid Owens (Hon); 2. Jamie Trayer (Suz) ; 3. Billy Wyatt (Hon) ; 4. David Ho weres (Suz ); 5, Greg Giles (Hon). A 25+ A; I. Brian McElro y (Yam); 2. Sonny Mitchell (K.aw) ; 3. Tun Man tooth (Hon); 4. Edw ard Santu k (Suz ). 25+ B: 1. I..any Sparks (Han); 2. Run Williams (Kaw); 3. Randall Row e (Han); 4. Ierry Wh itson ()(aw l; 5. Mike Utz (Kaw ). 30+ A: 1. Cla ude R. Mitch ell Jr. (Ka w ); 2. Tim Man tooth (Ho n); 3. Michael Curry (Yam) . 30+ B: 1. Jen')' Robertson (Kaw) ; 2. Dennis Pri llaman (K.aw ); 3. Steve Utz (Yam); 4. Jeffrey Hoo ks (Suz); 5. Joey Sing1c..>ton (Hon). 35+: 1. Stua rt English (Hon ). 40+: 1, Gary Bailey (Kaw); 2. Ken Jo rdan (Hon ). Su nday 50 (4-6) : 1. Ryan Wooden (y am); 2. Binny Orrell (Yam); 3. Jorda n Oley (Ya m); 4. Ty1er Shumate (Yam) ; 5. Blake Home (Yam). 50 (1-8): 1. Stephen Martin (Yam); 2. Rob Wood~ (Yam) ; 3. , Chase Jones (Yam); 4. Billy jo oee (ya m); 5. Kevin Prillama n (ya m). 60: 1. Joshu.a Summey (Ka w); 2. Chad Hampton (Ka w); 3. Richard Cames (Ka w ); 4. Barry Kelse y (Kaw ); 5. Rick Rikard (Kaw) . 80 BEC ; 1. Travis Yo~g (Kaw ); 2. Jos h ua CApp S (Suz); 3. 0wJe Fitzgmlld (Ya m); 4. Casey Co rde ll (Kaw); S. Tanner Jones (ya m) . 80cc (7·11) : 1. T ravis Pastrana (Suz); 2. Je ff Gibsoa (Kaw); 3. Josh ua Summey (Kaw) ; 4. Daniel Tesh (Kaw ); 5. Q\ad H"mpton (Kaw ), 80 (12-J5): 1. Mark Burkhart (Ho n); 2. Jake Morri s (Ya.m); 3. Nick Citron (y am); 4. Aaron Day (K.aw ); 5. Jeffery Ryan (Kaw). SCHB Y: 1. Robbia! Horton (Kaw) ; 2. Derren McIlha ttan (Suz) : 3. Qlris Ans tead (Yam); 4. Ma r'CWl Hed rick (Suz) ; 5. Travis Pastrana (Suz). 125 A: 1. Kevin Wa lker (Yam); 2. Paul C urrie (Kawl ; 3. Richill." Horton (Kaw);4. Chuck Shirl ey (Yam) ;S. Mike Nu tter (Yam) . J25 B: J. Robbie Hort on (Kaw ); 2. Jommy Briggs (H on ); J . larry Andrew s (Suz ); 4. Alan And erson (Kaw); 5. Philli p Mye rs (ya m). 125 C: 1. Man:u s Hedri ck (Suz ); 2. [ason Sain (Hon ); 3. Kurt Sims (}(aw); 4. Caven Woodruff (Kaw); 5. Jeffrey W. Fields (Suz ). 125 D: 1. Chris Pa rsons (Suz ); 2. Teny Adams (Y"m); 3. Jason Smith (Ya m); 4. RogtorCarrico (Ho n); 5. JlI."ff Halsey (Hon). 250 A: 1. Kevin Walker (yam ); 2. Michae l Andrews (Suz ); 3. Pa ul C urrie (}(aw); 4. Ch uck Shi rky (Yam); 5. Mike N utter (Yam) . • 250 B: 1. Ram sa y Bulkeley (Hon ); 2. Jimm y Briggs (Hon) ; 3. Alan Anderson (Kaw); 4. Randa U Rowe (Hun); 5. Rartdy Wo mack (Suz) . 250 C: J. Kurt Sims (Kaw); 2. Cav~ WoodNH (Kaw); 3. Wf5ley McCoy (Yam); 4. Jus tin McCoy (Yam); 5. John B.1stin (Y~). 250 0: J. David Ho we rto n (Suz ); 2. Roger Arnold (Yam); 3. Chris Beddi ngfield (Yam); 4. Jeffre y H ill (Yam) ; 5. Mike Taylo r (Hon). 'lWC: O PEN AM : 1. Ron [ones (Han); 2. La ny Sp

• Cover