Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

VOICES · America's weekly motorcycle newspaper . Letterstothe editor : Volume XXXIII Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Assodate Editor Donn Maeda, Assodate Editor Scott Rousseau, Assodate Editor Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor Keith Bush, Copy Editor Advertising Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Mitchell, Eastern AccountsManager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Thomas Gonter, Western Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Greg Mitchell, Eastern Sales Manager Rick Matheny, Eastern Sales Manager Rhonda Crawford, Western Ad Coordinator Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Laurie Snow, Assistant Marketi ng & Promotion Mark Thome, Manager New Media Development Mark Mitchell, Director Rick Matheny, Operations Classified Ads Sharon Van Hazelen Graphics and Produ ction Roo Johnson, ProductionSupervisor Mandy Loo, Production Manager Dennis Greene, Lab. Tech. Stacey Guest, Graphic Artist Amy Faught, Graphic Artist Administration . Judy Klinger, Coordinator Peggy Rivera, Secretary to the Publisher AccountinglData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, N R Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Herlane Lewis, Credit Circulation Rheba Smith, Manager Alma Anguiano, Processing Coordinator Pam Klein, Billing Coordinator Carol Beg ovic, Dealer Coordinator Service and Support Bridgett Bob rofsk y, Receptionist Leonard Herring, Service and Support NationalHeadquarte~ 2201 Cherry Ave., Long Beach, CA 9080 6, r .o, Box498, Long Beach CA 90801-0498 , (310) 427-7433;(213) 636-8844. FAX (310) 427-6685 Eastern Office 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA, 30084; mailing address P.O. Box 805, Tucker, GA 30085-0805. (770) 934-7850. FAX (770) 934-3112 e-mail editor@cyclenews.com subscribe@cyclenews.com adverlising@cyclenews.com Internet http:/ / www .cyclenews.com Cycle News (USPS141-340)is published weekly except the last two weeks of the calendar year for $50.00per year by Cycle News, Inc, 2201Cherry Avenue, Long Beach. CA 90806 . Second class postage paid at Long Beach, CA and at additional mailing office. Canada Post International Publication.. Mail . #546615, POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Cycle News. P.O. Box 498,Long Beach. CA 90801-6498. To determ ine the expi ration date of your subscripti on, ch...ck th e fou r numb ers on the firs t lin e of your address label. The first two digits in dica te the last issue nu mber you'U receive an d the last two characters indicate the year of the last issue. Subscription rates: Rates for the United States and its posses· sions for one year, (SO Issues), $50,00 two years (100 issues), ; $95.00; six months, (25 issues), $26.00; trial sub (15 issues), $19.00. Canada and Foreign, one year (SO issues), $90.00; two years (100issues), $175,00 six months (25 issues), $45.00;trial ; sub (15 issues), $38.00. Cycle News welcomesunsolicited editorial material including stories, cartoon'), photos, etc. Such material, if published. becomes the exclusive property of CycleNews. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. Advertising rates and circulation inform ation will be sent upon request. See S.R.DS. W §P ~i/P~T!ON ,8 Printed in U.S.A. 4 Co~ght" CycleNews,Inc. 1996. Trademark CycleNews registered u.s. Patent Office.All rights reserved. Godspeed, Jack I was saddened by th e recen t passing of Jack Milne. Th e sp ee d way world has lost a truly col o rful an d stau n ch su p porter. Mr . Milne w as no t only a World Champion rid er, he was a World Cha m pion person. I had the privil ege of working with Jack when he w as a mot orcycle deal er in P asadena, Ca lifornia, an d I was a you ng d istri ct m ana ge r working for Yamaha M oto rs U.S .A . Harry Oxley w as h is gene r al man a ge r , but Jack always had his hand on the th rottle. I am cer tain th e checkered flag will wave "a d in finitum" for this world-class person. Chuck Berry Ojai, CA Everything's swine Awesome job on Issu e #50 (ja nua ry 3, 1996) - th ere was so much info I had .to take a day off just to di gest it. One question, however, regarding the pigs "Anthon y" (Go ber t ) a n d "Colin" (Edwards), pictured with Carl Fogarty on page 12: Are those th e sam e swine th at Fogarty used to call "Scott" (Russell) and "Aaro n" (Slig ht), o r has Fog gy been eating a lot of pork si nce Slight became hi s team mate and Rus sell defected to the GPs? Inquiring minds want to kno w ... Joh n Gamer Sa n Francisco, CA Helpin'g hand As an avi d fan of Class C racing, I would like to tell y ou abo u t a family who d eserv es th e utmost.in respect. The family I am writing about ar e the Sweetens of Sicklerville, New Jersey. If you h a v e ever attended an ind oor sh ort track, half mile, or mi le race, chances are yo u know th em too. Bob Sweeten Sr. is in the flan nel shi rt and dungar ees, and he can be seen helping racer s old and young in th e pits. Bob Jr. and br other Larry are the guys w ho ar e running at the fro nt of the feature. And Georgie - Price is th e Grand National racer who is making the m ain event in the 750 and . 883cc classes. The success this fam ily has enjoyed is the result of 40 years hard work and experience behind Bob Sr. He is as dedicate d as any one ca n b e and one of th e frie nd liest guys I h ave ever met. Unfottunately, t raged y struck this very special family . A fir e leveled Bob Sr.ts garage, a facility which contained all of th e family's racing and machin e shop eq u ip men t. Five XR-750s, four Rotax, one Honda RS750, and 40 years worth of equi pment and to ols are go ne . I can o nly w ond er w hat goes through Bob Sr/s m ind as he looks at the rubble. It's just not fair. Motorcycle racin g of any kind needs grassroo t p eople like th e Sw eetens to su rvive. They have p aid their d ues. Racing is in their blood. If any one can help th e Sw eetens rebuild for the 1996 Dayton a o pener, it ' s u s - th e p eo pl e w ho read Cycle News. Please help by do nat ing w hatever possible. Th ey need bikes, engines, wheels; tir es, and anything else th at goes along wi th raci ng . Tom Nort on Ch atswo rth, NJ The Sweetens can be reached at 113 Laurel Ave., Sicklerville, NJ 08081... Editor. Rider of th e Year I cong ratu la te Jerem y McGrath on his incredible seaso n and his new resort h om e. I wond er, however, if this is the sam e Canyon Lak e that has successfully defended itself in court against residents who seek to rid e their s t r ee t -leg a l motorcycles from the gate of th eir posh co mmunity to ,their d rivew ay s? If so , and if Jerem y also rides stre etb ikes, I hope hi s new home is close enough to the gate th at he can use his admirab le jumping skills to reach the driveway. Let' s see now ... a new home in Can yo n Lake, a boycott in Las Vegas, a m issed trip to the Motocros s d e s Nations - does this have anything to do with th e AM A Pro At hlete of th e Year aw ard? Congratulations, Miguel. Christopher E. Joh nso n Albuquerque, NM Jeremy's home II Perhaps I'm m ista ken, bu t is Jeremy McGrath now paying homeow ners d ues to an association that does not allow its residen ts to ri de motorcycles on its streets? Thank yo u fo r clarifying th is information for all my fellow AMA members and Cycle News fans . Keith Finnerty Altamonte Sp rin gs, FL Same place'. .. Editor. I enjoyed your article in th e january 'S (Issue #50, "Th e measure of success"). It loo ks like Tri umph is fina lly building a machine that even the Ge rmans are impress ed w ith. Keep up th e -g ood work. Richard Casey rccasey@aol.com INSIDE' FEATURES 7 RACER TEST Max Biaggi's Aprilia RSV250 10 RIDING IMPRESSION 1996 Suzuki GSXR750-T 14 SUPERCROSS FIM World SX Finale 18 EVENTS CALENDAR WANT ADS TURN FOUR LOOKINGBACK :.: .28 31 47 47 ON THE FRONT COVER DEPARTMENTS 20 I had the biggest smile beneath my helmet when I pulled my Cycl News (Issu e #49, e Decemb er 13, 1995) ou t of th e box. I see John Kocinski on the cover. For John not to have a top-notch factory rid e is a com plete waste of talent. Gee, I wonder w hat the top five SOOcc Grand Prix point standings woul d have looked like this year if John had an NSRSpo at his disposal? Oh, I know - that "Bad Boy " image thing. Well corporate America loves Bad Boys . Look at the stick and ball spo rts. They h ave their Rodmans... Wh y can 't we have John? The first time I met John was at the 1991 U.S. GP and he w as very approa chable and polite. And while taking the pit tour at the '93 U.S. GP, John was the only factory rid er (or only ride r) there to greet fans an d sign autographs. I m ea n c'rnon . I h ad to b ribe Doriano Romboni with a decen t haircut just to get him to com e out of the tent. John, if you take Mr. Cas tiglioni's offer I'll have my new ly purchased Du cati 916 at the Laguna Seca ro und of th e World Superbike Series . Then you can do me a favor an d sign an autograph on the tail section - right after you win the race. Tharan M ansell Vacaville, CA ' Kocinski signed a deal with Ducaii shortly before the New Year, and he'll be at Laguna Seca... Editor. Scotty's thanks I g uess a p er son never really knows how m any friends they have un til so mething hap pens. After breaking my neck, I fo u nd o ut I h ave a ton of them an d how great they are . This past yea r they have put on th e Fou rt h Annual Sco tty Adams Benefit Bash to raise m oney for me. Unfortunately, space will not allow me to thank each and every one of them by name as th ere are so m any . I hope thi s than k you sh ows m y gratitude to all, n ot only for th eir help but als o fo r the moral support they have giv en me sin ce my injury in 1991. A special thank you goes to my mo m an d dad for all they have done an d go ne through wi th me for the past four an d a half years. I love both of you very much. Thanks again, everybody . Sco U Adams sad ams@ezi n. net Triumphant , lssue#1 , January 10,1996 ROAD RACING Michelin Tire Test.. Kocinski fan Su zuk i re cently unve iled its 1996 GSXR750-T to m embers of the p ress at the new Homestead tr ack in Florida. Ph oto by Tom Riles. Inset: Troy Corser a t speed duri ng t h e Michelin t e sts at Day tona. Pho t o b y Henny Ra y Abrams. . Le tters to th e editor sh oul d b e se nt to Voi ces, Cyd e Ne ws, P.O . Box 498, l ong Beach, CA 90!l1l60498, faxed to 3101421-6685 or e-mai l, e dito r@cyde~ . n ew s.com. Pub lishe d le tters do n o t necessarily refl ect th e position ofCyc1e Ne ws, Inc. Lett e rs sh o ul d not excee d 200 w or ds a n d all le tte rs ar e su bject to ed iting. Anonymous l e tters will not b e cons ider ed for publication. All Ietters should conb in th e write r's name, add ress and daytim e phone number ... Editor. '

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