Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

EVENTS Edited by SCOtt ~sseau Malcolm Smith Dual Sport Ride Malcolm draws • agrin By Nate Rauba Photo by Kinney Jones RNERSlDE, CA, OV. 12 s depicted in the legendary motorcycling movie "On Any Sunday," there's nothing better than getting together with some friends and going for a trail ride, especially if you are Malcolm Smith - the motorcyclist star of the film - and nearly 200 of your friends join you on your own ISO-mile dual sport trek. The legendary off-road motorcyclist A (Top) Bob Phillips (4) led Brad Schultz (79) and Peter Cessna (131) Into turn one in the 250cc Novice class at Castaic MX. (A~ve) This deep-water crossing was just one of the many challenges that awaited participants during the third annual Malcolm Smith Dual Sport Ride In the san Bernardino National Forest. hosted his third annual event out of his immaculate multi-line dealership in Riverside on a beautiful fall day. "We do this ride more as a'promotion for the store," Smith said. "Half the people here have never seen it." Sign-up began at 6 a.m. in the store's parts department. A steady line snaked through the accessory displays for the next two hours. One person new to the store but very familiar with the person behind it was entertainer Lyle Lovett. "I've been a big Malcolm Smith fan since I saw 'On Any Sunday' when I was a kid," said the singer, who was in the Los Angeles area recording his next release. "It's always exciting when you get to meet your heroes." You could tell that Lovett was excited as he wore a grin as big as the one that made Smith famous in the movie. Together they pulled out of the parking lot and were among the last riders to head for some of Smith's favorite trails in the San Bernardino ational Forest. Getting to those trails involved nearly 30 miles of pavement, and the riders chose between the freeway route and surface streets. Smith acknowledged that there were some complaints about the lengthy pavement sections, but most riders understood ·that in order to leave from his store the blacktop was necessary. "Plus, they are supposed to be dual sport bikes," Smith added. "We don't want to give the anti-oH-road movement any more ammunition, so we've got the Forest Service making sure everyone plays by the rules." Once the ride headed into the west end of the San Bernardino Mountains, there was very little pavement for nearly 100 miles if you counted all the difficult sections. However, quite a bit of dust could be found as the region had seen very little rain since the spring. '1 ordered a water truck, but it didn't come," Smith joked. Those who took the difficult route found the first real challenge near Silverwood Lake when an OHV trail made a steep climb. There were three different routes up the hill, and a crowd formed at the bottom. "There ·were about 30 riders stopped, looking at the hill," Smith said. "50 I went up it to give them some encouragement." Most m!"de it, even though it took them several attempts. Others didn't. "It was a tough hill," sa~d Steve . Peters of Simi Valley. "After four tries I turned around and went back. That's very rare for me." . Another optional OHV-trail section awaited the riders after the lunch stop, but perhaps one of the most difficult sections turned out to be on the general route - a 20-foot-deep creek crossing. A hole in the middle of the creek diopped riders into cylinder-head-deep water, leaving plenty of riders who had lost momentum and fallen or simply drowned out, drying their machines on the other side. The dirt road heading out of the creek was rather challenging for everyone, and another difficult section awaited those who really wanted to test their ability. Smith returned to his shop as the sun went down, some participants would come in even later. But almost everyone was happy. "It is fun to ride with guys I can keep up with," said Ed Stewart, a dentist out of Fallbrook. "And Malcolm... the guy's legendary. Unfortunately, you still only see his license plate!" 0' Little big at Castaic Motocross By Donn Maeda Photos by Tony Alessi CASTAIC, CA, NOV. 19 t may have been a while since Mike "Chicken"· Little raced regularly, but the Racers Edge / Spike Racing-backed rider showed that he hasn't lost any of I his speed at the opening round of the sse Promotions Thousand Oaks Yamaha Winter Warm Up Series, held at the Castaic Lake MX Park. Nearly 200 riders showed up to do battle on the specially designed track, and most agreed that the course was one of the best ever. In addition to 4'corporating most of the usual stadium-style track, the race course wound up, down and through the hills that surround the area. A steep downhill was one of the highlights of the new design, and many likened it to the famous Mammoth Mountain downhill. A brand-new 1996 Yamaha YZ125 is up for grabs, courtesy of Thousand Oaks Yamaha, and the top finishers in each class were awarded raffle tickets which will determine the lucky winner at the end of the three-nice series. Mounted aboard his trusty 1991 Suzuki RM250, Little blasted into the lead at the start of the first five-lap Vet Novice moto. A full field of 13 riders trailed Li ttle around the course, bu t no one could match the pace ·set by the leader. Bob Bang suffered a terrible start and worked throughout the moto to end up an ev.entual third behind runaway winner Little and Richard An!"ya. "That's the way I like 'em," said little." ice and boring." Unfortunately for Little, the second moto would be anything but boring. Lit. tie nabbed his second holeshot of the day, but this time, Band started second and shadowed him right from the getgo. Bang pres ured Little for three laps before sneaking past in the new back section of the track, and fended off LittIe's attacks for the remainder of the race. Though Bang greeted the checkered flag first, it was Little who emerged victorious in the overall standings. little's 1-2 scores beat out Bang's 3-1. Anaya was third overall with a 2-3. Andy Anaya piloted his Thousand Oaks Yamaha/Enzo Racing-sponsored YZ250 to the 250cc Intermediate class win via 3-1 moto scores. Darrin Hoeft topped the first moto with ease, beating Adam Pierce and Anaya home with relative ease, but elected to head home before the start ofmoto two. This left the door wide open for Anaya, and he stormed.to the second-moto win ahead of Kenny Terracciano and Shawn Davis. Pierce could only manage a fourth-place finish in moto two, but still emerged second overall. rx Results P!W (4·8), 1. Cole Seeley (Cob); 2. Chad Gore. (Yam); 3. Ouis }llJlden (Yam); 4. Kanyeron Scott (Yam); 5. Tye Hames (Yam). 60 Ffr, 1. Richard Bach (Kaw); 2. Ryan MaIherl>e (Kaw~ 3. Josh Flint (Kaw~ 4. Blake Watkins (Kaw~ 60 (0-8): 1. Mike Alessi (Kaw); 2. Brett Mountain (Kaw); 3. Tate MisJasreIc (Kaw~ 4. Jeff Alessi (Kaw); 5. Michael Bi""hiro (Kaw). 60 (9-11): 1. Chris Nihan (Kaw); 2. Sean Collier (Kaw~ 3. Vincent Foltz (Kaw~ 4. Andy J>;erce (Kaw); 5. ).}. Hall (Ka,.,. 80 OPEN, 1. Billy Payne (Kaw); 2. Brandon Morgan (Yam); 3. Oint Rei! (lion). 80 BEC: 1. Vince.nt Rhoads (Yam); 2. Andrew Turner (Yam); 3. Steve Price (Kaw); 4. Darin Blonkenship (lion); 5. Patrick Brown (Yam). 80 NOV: 1. J.J. Bonanno (Yam); 2. Brian Hulsey (Kaw~ 3. Matt Armstrong (Yam); 4. Scott Howe (Yam~ 5. Cale Wallace (Yam). 125 BEG: 1. Colby Peck (5uz); 2. Brian Terry (lion); 3. Kory Klinger (Kaw); 4. Masashi Motohashi (Suz); 5. Mark Valengurla (lion). 250 BEG: 1. Patrick Wade (Kaw); 2. Cra.ig Wirths (Yam); 3. Paul Schultz (Yam); 4. Steve Weiser (Yam); S. Steven Blonkenship (lion). 25+ BEG: 1. Craig Wirths (Yam); 2. $ean White (Kaw); 3. Brian Bennett (Yam); 4. Angel Rodriguez (lion). VET BEG: 1. Ralph Collins (Kaw); 2. Michael Weeks (Hon); 3. Mike Malherbe (Yam); 4. Phillip Kuhn (Yam); S. Ron Wade (K.w). 125 NOV: 1. Damon Bivens (Yam); 2. Andrew Labrador (Han); 3. Scott Palphten (Yam); 4. George La'Monte (Suz); 5. Brian Morgan (Hon). 250 NOV: 1. Peter Casano (Hon); 2. Brad Schultz (Yam); 3. Rick Jacobsen (lion); 4. Ian Shippen (lion); 5. Tom Hayes (Hon). 25+ NOV: 1. Bob Phillips (Yam); 2. Seymour Betty. (Suz); 3. Bob Bang (Yam); 4. Greg Pierce (Yam); 5. Rick Jacobsen (Hon). VET NOV, L Mike Little (Suz); 2. Bob Bang (Yam); 3. Richard Anaya (Yam); 4. Karl ADen (lion); 5. Rick Davis (Yam).

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