Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

·.VO E · .. IC S· letters to the editor.. Volume XXXI Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers. Editor Kit Palmer, AssociattEditor Donn Maeda, AssociattEditor Chris Jonnum, Associatt Editor Scott Rousseau, Assistant Editor Graphics and Production Ree Johnson, Production Superoisor Mandy Lao, Production Milnager Dennis Greene. LAb. Tech. Stacey Guest, Graphic Artist Amy Faught, Graph ~ Artist Administration Judy Klinger. Coordinator Peggy Rivera. Secrttary to the Publisher Advertising Terry Pratt. National Accounts Manager Mark Mitchell. Eastern Accounts Milnager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Thomas Ganter, Western Sales Milnager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Greg Mitchell. Eastern Sales Milnager RickMatheny, Eastern Sales Milnager Rhonda Crawford. Western Ad Coordinator Carla Allen. Eastern Ad Coordinator Want Ads Laurie Snow, Want Ad Sales Marketing &: Promotion Mark Thome, Manager Dealer Sales KellyBranscome Dealer Sales Representative , AccountingfData Processing . Donna Bryan-Diamond. AIR Coordinator Geneva Repass. Assistant Herlane lewis, Credit Circulation RhebaSmith, Milnager Alma Anguiano. Processing Coordinator Pam Klein. Billing Coordinator Carol Begovic, Dealer Coordinator Kim Mazenko, Data Entry Coordinator Service and Support Chris Aitcheson, Headquarters Receptionist Leonard Herring, Service and Support National Headquarters 2201Cherry Ave., Long Beach. CA 90806, P.O. Box 498. Long Beach. CA 90801-ll498 (310) 427·7433;(213) 636-8844. FAJ«310)427~ Eastern Office 4188First Ave.•Tucker. GA, 30084; mailing address P.O. Box 805. Tucker, GA 30085-0805. ISDE hallucin ations I didn't make it to Woodstock in '69 (or '94) but I did attend what was for me and a lot of other guys a sort of Wood st ock this past weekend - the International Six Day Enduro in Tulsa . I didn't se e any naked bodies or stoned hippies at the Zink Ranc h, but I did meet a bunch of folks like me, who had come to revel in th e m oment and share wi th o the rs the pass ion of mot orcycling . To see that many rid er s, bikes and spectators in one location was mind boggling. It had been over 20 years since I'd ridden in a competitive event. The sights, sounds and even smell of th e bikes brought back a lot of great memories. My ll-year-old son looked at me in awe when I told h im, "I used to rid e desert races with that gu y," as I pointed ou t Larry Roeseler - who led much of his final 125cc mot o . Young Jeff co uld no t believe tha t his old dad wa s once one of "those guys." Twenty-five years ag o I was rid ing e nd u r os in Southern C a liforn ia. My friends and I were all going to become end uro stars and rid e in the ISDT (now it's end uro, no longer a trial). We started an end uro club, the Checkpo int M.e., put on endures, and practiced changing tires to hone our Six Days skills. To listen to us talk, a stranger might ha ve thought that we were all Six Days veterans as we contrasted the rocks and dust of Spain with . the mud and fog of Czechoslovakia. To look the part, I mail-ordered a Barbour jacket from London. My dreams of ISDE glory we re tempered one afternoon in 1971 at the Greenhorn Enduro. I was hustling through the Angeles National Forest en route to my best-ever finish at a National Enduro. I'd zeroed many of the checks and my bike and I were one; I had visions of sponso rs waiting at the finish line to hand me contracts and a new bike. Suddenly, reality rudely intruded in the form of the entire Penton clan (remember John, Tom and Jeff?) passing me like I was at a dead stop. When I did reach the finish, the Pentons were already there joking, relaxed. I was whupped out. In 1972 I had an opportunity to go with the U.S. !SDT team to Czechoslovakia as a part of the support crew. I wasn't (404)934-7850. FAJ< (404)934-3112 able to ride like the good guys, b ut I could tag along and help out. At the las t m inute I backed out and spent my Six Days money on a new bike (an Ossa Pioneer), confident that I would be ridi ng the 1973 event in Massachusetts' Berkshires. Nice bike, dumb decision. In a weak moment I enlisted in the Air Force a nd that effectively ended my enduro career. In 1973 Uncle Sam's plans for me did not include participation in the !SOT. And now over 20 years later, I find myself in a field in Okl ahoma, surro un ded by seve ral hundred gu ys jus t like me g raying 40- or 50-ish types wearing o ld finisher pins and cycle club T-shirts. For many of us this was our firs t and maybe las t Six Days . Most of th e tim e w e are more concerned with our mortgages and mutual funds than motorcycling, but this aftern oon we were all out there on that track with Larry and Ty and Guy, streaking to the front one last time. Let's do it again som e time, fellas , Dan Kno us Alva, OK Dan the Man Your reader Michael Green is absolutely right (Vo ices, Issue #38. September 28, 1994). He could have sa id I was a pr etty good driver. I'm a bigger motorcycle fan than all those other bums that did win it. Just remember me as a p retty good driver and a super motorcycle fan. Da n Gurney Sa nta Ana, CA Moose on ISDE I know you've probably received a few letters criticizing the organization of the Tulsa !SDE. As a vendor/sponsor, we too suffered our share of inconveniences during the event, but these instances were overshadowed by the efforts of a great many people all volunteers - who soldiered on through the difficulties to try to keep the race running. First to receive my thanks are the h undreds of workers - those from the Tulsa Trailriders and others from around the country - w ho sacrificed their time and often their vaca tions to spend two weeks working at all the odd jobs that made the large event a reality. Many of these jobs involved ridi ng to clear and mark the course. and most of the workers I saw had thoroughly trashed their own motor> cycles in the process. The investment that each of these workers made in the !SDE should not be forgotten. Every rider I talked to felt that the racing part of the event was very well organized. Vern Street's timekeeping crew set new standards for scoring and results , and managed to keep tabs on all 600 riders without a hitch. Vern's countless hours of software development and testing at local events delivered a computerized daily race summary that was state of the art. Carl and Terri Sensi ntaffer, who gener ously tu rned their sma ll ranch into a tent city and cam pground. were simply fan tastic . Th ey charged very fair prices, provided every possible convenience, and in the end used their own money to hire a band for a farewell barn-dance blowout. I've never met nicer people. Most of all I want to say thanks to the American Ride to Win e ff o r t, to the wives, parents, mechanics and sponsors of all the racers, and to give my hearty congratulations to all who finished this grueling 'event. Regardless of the difficulties, these people carried on and gave a performance that all of us in the sport can be proud of. Pete V. Denis on President, Moose Racin g , Denver, CO Remembering Nick In Maureen Lee's otherwise superb tribute to Nick Nicholson. she misspelled a gentleman's na me that is worthy of C?rrection. That person was Hap Alzina (not Alz iner, as it appeared in print). Headquartered in Oakland, Mr. Alzina spent over a ha lf-cen tu ry in the motorcycle business, was the western distributor of Indian and, later, BSA - building his territory from five to over 250 dealers in the western U.S. A number of riders and dealers (Ed Kretz, Sr .• Gene Thiessen, Nick Nicholson, Dick Mann. etc.) owe a good deal of their success to Hap Alzina (pronounced: Al-zee-na). I had the pleasure of being his son-in-law. Bill Bagnall Irvine, CA Lerte ... to the edi tor .hould be M'pl 1 Vol,", Cydl' N~ P.O. 0 Boll 498, Long Such" CA 9080fr.0498 or l.ued to 3101421-6685. Published IdleR do no' RKnU ril, nntd the podtlon of Cycle N_... Inc. utteR I ho uld not ncHd ZOO worcb and .U lriten , r lubjn1 10 editing. Anonymoul lelle'" will nol be comldl'red u for publication. All Iltllel"l should con lain the writer's aa me, Mldrna an d daythrttf' phone numb er ••. Editor. INSIDE' . . . Issue#41J October 1 ,1 S 994 Cycl.N' sions forone yeM (SO issues). 550.00; two years (100issues)• , . $95,00; six months. (25 issues),$26.00 trial sub (15issues), ; $19.00. Canada and Foreign, one year (50 issues), $90.00; two years (100issues), $115 six months (25 issues ), $015.00; trial .00; sub (15issues), m .oo. Cyelt Neows welromes unsolicited editorialmaterial including stories. cartoons. photos. etc. Such material if published. becomes the exclusive p~ of CycleNews.Such accepted matmal15 sut;ectto revis100 as is necessary in the sole discretion of Cycle News. Unsolicited matrrial which is not used will be returned ilaa:ompanied by a selladdressed stamped envelope. All unsolicited material will behandled with reasonable care, however. Cycle Newsassumes no responsibility for the safety loss or damageto suchmaterial. Reprinting in , whole or part onJy by permission of the publisher. AdvertisIng rates and circulation information will besent upon request SeeS.R. 5. D WJ'BD'A V ....!'":-. . A UDITEO ClRCULATl O N Printed in U.S.A. COfyright" Cycl. N...s. lnc-l 994.Trad.mark Cycl. Newe ~stert'd u.s. P~tent Office. All rights reserved. FEATURES DIRT TRACK Davis wins Pomona Nat'l HM DUAL SPORT Ridin' the range in Colorado 6 ROAD RACING Russell takes World Superbike .........10· Kaw asaki Can ad a cops WERA Endurance 27 NEW BIKES Kawasaki presents its 1995Iineup .....12 TEST 1995 Honda CR250 CROSS COUNTRY Plessinger ho t at Bonner Ridge ........24 INTERVIEW Kevin Schwantz 26 HILlCUMB Gerencer Jr. wins Asheville Nal'l .....27 D R EPA TMENTS EVENTS :.36 LEADERBOARD 14 39 40 HARE AND HOUND Hamel handles Reno Nat'I 16 CALENDAR SPEEDWAY Erm olenko wins UiS, Nat'I 18 TEAM SMITTY MOTOCROSS Ferry tops at Dirt Shirts MX 22 WANT ADS RACER X 20 LOOKINGBACK. ..45 _ _.. 45 .59 .59 ON THE FRONT COVER Lensman Scott H offman captured a member of the Cycle News test crew wringing out the 1995 Honda CR250 at Rainbow Motocross Park. Is it as good . as it was last year? Tum to page 14 for a complete test. Inset photo: For trail riders, Colorado might just be heaven. See page 22 for the Cycle N f.WS trip. Photo by Kinn ey Jones.

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