Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.," V IC S', .: OE America's weekly motorcycle newspaper, ,Letters to the .editor ," Mind Pollution Having recen tly read the " In The Pad dock" articl e in the December 14 issue, I felt compelled to comment. The article's writer, Michael Scott, apparently decided to share with us his idea that motorcycle road racing crashes are funny. In his view, motorcycle road racing crashes " are all , in retrospect, screamingly funny" - if there are no injuries. He goes on to inform us that the racing crashes detailed in the Two Wheeled Pr omotions summary were " incidents that relieved the monotony of one perfect lap after another" during th e 1994 GP season. He sums up the various GP rid ers who had the misfortune of crashing this year as "a bunch of clots." Since when is crashing a motorcycle at speed funny? My question to you is: Where d id you get this guy? H is d a ys must be filled w ith so ap operas, tabloid tal k shows and TV "cop" shows. He p robably accepts The Enquirer as a legitimate news sou rce. Mr. Scott's disjointed outlook is a perfect example of one of the unfortunate characteristics of American society today - a great fascination for the misfortunes of others. Mr. Scott drives this point home when he says "Nobody needs reminding that crashes are even funnier when they happen to other pe0ple." What a pathetic little life he must lead in order to find humor in the rid ers' misfortunes. Motorcycle racing is a dangerous sport and the practitioners of it are brave men and women. It's a shame that he sees fit to mock their efforts by laughing at their accidents. I am also surprised the Cycle News would provide a platform from which a person like that may offer his mind pollution to the public. ' Kevin E. Red ner Quincy, IL Missing invitation A situation has come to my attention to which motorcycle race enthusiasts ought to be alerted. Particularly those historic race and / or BMW enthusiasts for whom the Battle of the Legends has . become a major event, even the focal point or reason for attending race meets. For reasons, not at all clear, Reg Pridmore has yet to be invited Jo return for Volume XXXI this season's events. It certainly can 't be for performance, for Reg has been a top finish er in every one of the Legend races to date. There has been absolutely no behavior, on or off track... e.g, trashin g or crashing a bike, or unsportsmanlike conduct... that can jus tify his exclusion. One only can assume that some individual w ith a persona l a xe to grind is r esponsible for th is m ea n-s p ir it ed action. ' For yea rs, Reg has been "Mr. BMW" in this coun try. First for his Na tional Superbike Championships won w ith a hopelessly outclassed BMW twin; for his BMW agency and its ancillary accessory business; for his CLASS program, featuring BMW bikes; and not the least for his performances in earlier Legends e ven ts . Hi s identification with BMW s tre tches back to the days when the marque, in this country, was an obscure one, s u p p o r te d by a small band of devoted fana tics. I cannot believe that BMW North America is aware of what is going on . They sim ply could not be so short-sighted or so u ngrateful to one of their earliest, longest, and in many ways" most wi dely known rep resentatives. Much of their success has been based upon identification with their product by loyalists like myself. Nasty behavior of this sort is very destructive to the very image that has produced our loyalty. I , for one, had been planning to attend Daytona. The single largest reason was to view the Battle of the Legends, and to see how the new Roadster performed. As a longtime BMW enthusiast , I certainly anticipated cheering for "Rego." Stephen R. Holman Grants Pass, OR Godspeed, K.C. On December 26, 1994, motorcycling lost one of its biggest enthusiasts. Kevin "KC" Cox died doing what he loved doing most in life - riding motorcycles. He was 39 years old. . K.C. and his close friend Ron Dickson were trail riding when they collided , head-on, killing both riders. K.c. loved the sport in every form. He worked as a service manager at Kawasaki of Riverside for four years, and raced his YSR80 on the weekends he wasn't riding his street bike to the Laguna Seca Grand Prix or riding his KX in the hills . If he wasn't riding, he was read ing Cy cle News or an y other magazine involving the sport he loved. He will be missed by many. K.C. is survived by his wife Diane, daughters Ashley' and Di ane, and friends too numerous to count. Friends who wish to se nd flowers can instead send d onations to Ke vin Cox fund, care of Kawasa ki of Riverside, 1605 Un iversity Ave., Riverside, California 92507. Cheri Woodard Riverside, CA Desert angels I ha ve been a participan t of th e Los Angel es-t o- Ba rs tow-to- Vega s du a l spo rt ride for the last six yea rs . I have had my sh are of problems, but I have always fin ished, until thi s yea r. Sixty miles into d ay tw o, I develop ed a case of extreme food poison ing or a s train of violent flu. I was abl e to ho bble into the Tro na gas stop, but it was clear I cou ld go no further . That's when Tom and Anne Van Beveren volunteered to take me to Vegas. It seems Tom and Anne were covering the event for Cycle News. Tom hit a deer on day one, putting his bike out, so they were heading to Vegas in their van. I can only say that they were trul y life savers in my eyes. I was cold, sweating, vomiting and read y to "d ie" when they asked if they co u ld help. They went out of their wa y to accommodate me and even saw me safely to my hotel room ! Thanks Tom and Anne, and thanks Cy cle News for covering the e ve n t. Wh o knows if I w o uld have fo u n d someone as helpfu l as you r reporters! Steven Dickinson Syl mar,CA Letters to the editor should be sent to Voices , Cycle News, P.O. Box 498, Long Be ach, CA 908 06 -0498 or faxed to 310/427-6685. Published letters do not nec essarily reflect the position of Cycle News, Inc. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all letters are subject to editing. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number ... Editor. Issue #1,January 11, 1995 . SHOOTOUT 1995 250cc MX comparison INTERVIEW Colin Edwards IT 6 ROAD RACING Spencer's the Michelin man at Daytona tire test 10 RACER TEST Harley-Davidso n VR1000 16 SUPERCROSS The wrath of McGrath hits Genoa SX : . ...~.mson feasts at. Bolo~ SX 26 GRAND PRIX Windham winds up at Carlsbad Christmas GP rr 30 DEPARTMENTS NEW PRODUCTS LEADERBOARD 19 _ .31 EVENTS .23 .24 SHOW ·..• Andiamo a'l Bologna MotOrShow......24 .32 CALENpAR .37 WANT ADS -OAV. SIX.._.._ LOOKINGBACiC .:.:.::..: Editorial Pa ul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, AssocUzte Editor Donn Maeda, AssocUzte Editor Chris [onnum, Associate Editor Sco tt Rousseau, Assistant Editor Mark Hoyer, Copy Editor Graphics and Production Ree Johnson, Production Superoisor Mandy Loo, Production Ma7Ulger Dennis Greene, LAb. Tech. Stacey Guest, Graphic Artist Amy Faught, Grap Artist hic Administration Judy Klinger, Coordinator Peggy Rivera, Secretary to the Publisher Advertising Terry Prall, Natio7Ul1Acrounts Ma7Ulger Mark Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Mark Thome, Western SalesManager Thomas Gonter, Western Sales Ma7Ulger Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Ma7Ulger Greg Mitchell, Eastern Sales Manager Rick Matheny, Eastern Sales Manager Rhonda Crawford, Western Ad Coordinator Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Want Ads Laurie Snow, Want Ad Sales Marketing &: Promotion Mark Thom e, Ma7Ulger Dealer Sales Kelly Branscome. Dl>ller Sales Rrpresentat~ AccountingfData Processing Donna Bryan-Di am ond, AIR Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Herlane Lewis, CrediJ Circulation Rheba Smi til, Ma7Ulger Alma Anguiano, Processing Coordinator Pam Klein, Billing Coordi7Ultur Carol Begovic, Dealer Coordinator Kim Mazenko, Data Entry Coordinator Service and Support Chris Aitcheson, Headquarters Recepti nist o Leonard Herring, Serviceand Support National Headquarters 2201 Cherry Ave., Long Beach , CA 90806, P,O. Box 498, Long Beach, CA 90801-0498 (310) 427-7433; (213) 636-8844. FAX (310) 427-M85 Eastern Office 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA, 30084; mailing address P.O. Box805, Tucker, GA 30085-0805. (40-1) 934-7850. FAX (40-1) 934-3112 Cycle News (USPS 141-340) is publw...! w ee kJ y"""'" tho last two Wet"Ks 01 the aLend.ar year for $50 per ~ar by .00 1 CycleNews. tee, 220 CherryAv...... Lmg IIeoch. CA 9OllO6, 5erond class postog< paU:l al Lmg - . CA.Canada Post International Publications Mail1Sl6615. POSTMASTEIt: 5l;a to Cyd . New" P.O. Box498 Long Buch, CA 9OllO1-ll-1'l8. . To dttflmiM the expinticm!lUte' of yourlubtcription. ch«k the four numbers on tM filst liM of yoa r addrns label, The first two dipb india~ the bst issue number you11ft'Crive and the Ltsttwo ch.aradt'rs india lr the yen of the wtiss ue. ·'fN ID S E· FEATURES Sharon Cayton, Presiden! Michael Klinger, Publisher ..40 _ ._.._.: ..:.55 .ss ON THE FRONT COVER Freddie Spencer looked to be in fine form at the recent Michelin tire test. Photo by Henny Ray Abrams. See page to. Inset. photo: It's 25Occ..shootout time and. the wIDner is...turn to paSe 6. PhQ.~o by BOo' Harvell. Subscription rall:S: Rates lor the United Sl:ngllt" C~Ncwt, """'1'l94..Tude~ Cyde N.... reg;steied ratent Office.AUngllb mcrved. u.s. 5

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