Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

while more stabilit y and better tracti on ha ve been obtai ned by strengthen ing th e rigid ity of the fram e yet more and building a new swingarm to work in conju nction with th e new KYB shock. We ar e also u sing co nve n tio na l KYB forks. " Motocross d es N ati on s 125cc class champion Sebastien TortelIi will com pe te aboard a 125 wh ich features th e same chassis . At Beaucaire, sta nd ard eight-liter tanks were used, but a choice o f 2.6 or 3.1 gallon tanks with extra capacity under th e seat are read y for the GPs. Tallon Vohland could not believe it wh en he got to Beau caire and found he h ad number eight. " Ye a h, we jus t spen t three year s tr ying to get rid o f that number, and they give it me here again," he said . Tallon was third in last year's World Championship 250<:c MX Series after three succe ssive e ig h thplace finishes. The problem in Beau- • caire was that 125cc GP number three Seba stien Tortelli had priority for the day. French tobacco advertising restrictions prevented the Rinaldi Chesterfield Yamahas displaying their fu ll image, but the new Yamaha corporate multi-colored flash logos will fea ture in the final design anyway. Externally, th e bikes bore few signs of cha ng e, but th e linkage has been alt ered , and it wa s confir me d that th er e h ave been internal ch a nges in th e engine. In recen t years, th e Rinaldi team ha ve a lways used the previous year's bikes a t Beau caire, and Rinaldi exp lained what had happen ed th is yea r : " C hes te rfie ld would have preferred us to rid e them fi rst ne xt week in Italy, but Yam ah a were keen for us to sho w th e new bikes at this race because there is more p ress inte res t," h e sa id . " Do n't ta ke too man y ph ot os tho ug h; we still have not fitted m any of the tit an ium and fiber fea tu res w h ich will s trengthen a n d lighten th e bike." Team Premier Magic Bike teammates Bob Moore and Ted Campbell arrived in Europe just three d ays before Beau caire and rode 250s, a ltho ugh th ey wer e av ailable for ph ot o call with the factory 125 Yamaha on Saturd ay. "This w ill be m y onl y r ac e on th e 250 ," e xp lained Moore. " I will con test th e Italian preseason races on the 125, just as I d id in m y title-winnin g year of 1994." Wh en asked to comment on his ne w GP bike, Moore said, "The chassis is basicall y standard , and I wo uld compare my ' 94 bik e with ' 96 produ ction . Th e motor has much more bottom and midrange power." Ph ysicall y, Moore reports that he has never felt be tter. " 1 still can 't run, but my ankle gives me no problem at all an ymore wh en I am rid in g . It did m e good to spe nd th e whole winter back home in the States." Moore' s new teammate Campbell is a close neighbor o f Moore in Americ a. The 20 -y ear-old 125 / 250cc A rizona St ate Ch amp ion will rid e m od ifi ed production bi kes. The fac tory eng ine originally intended for Jimmy Button w i ll now go to Yam ah a Fr an ce for Frederic Vialie. Federici and Malin get th e other tw o. H onda of Am eri ca Manu facturin g in Marysv ille, Ohi o, h a s des ig na te d Th u rsd ay, Jul y 25 th rou gh Sa turd ay, Ju ly 27, as th e d ates for its 8th Annual Honda Homecoming. As in yea rs pa st, th e City of Marysville will be ho sting events in th e downtown area including the fam ou s electric light parade. And th is yea r visito rs can en joy th e 150th . Un ion County Fair. The Hom ecoming will feature events su ch as plant tours o f t he Ma ry sv ill e Motor cycl e Pl ant (ho me of th e H on d a Gold Wing ), live entertai nmen t, d emo r id es, a ve ndor mall, sem ina rs, th e Ride For Kids ben efit ride and p roduct d ispl ays. ishers who us e Pirelli tires during the 1996 season will receive spo nsors hi p contracts and free tires for the '97 sea son. Furthe rmore, all ' 96 class Champions w ho u se Pirell i tir es wi ll receive one free set o f tires at the season-ending ~MA ban qu et. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Yamaha of Texas, in Fort Worth, Texas, Mar ch 22, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Team Yamaha riders Damon Brad sh aw , Jo h n Dowd an d Kevin Windham are scheduled to appear. Fo r m o re informa ti o n, ca ll 817/ 285-9999. This yea r's Vintage Motorcycle Days, the AMA' s an n ual celebra tion of th e heritage of m ot or cyclin g, will take place on July 19-21 a t th e Mid -Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexin gton, Ohi o. Th e VMD '96 w ill fe ature the m o st popular attraction s of p revious years, includi ng vin tag e and antique motorcycle shows, m ajor clas sic-bike a nd m em orabilia auctions by [erryWood and Compan y, a hu g e s w a p m eet, demo rides o f new bikes and a ro ad ride designed speci fically for historic machines. New for '96 will be the ad dition of AHRMA vin tage motocross racing an d ob served tr ials com p etit ion. Also new will be the recognition of a featured marque, a fea tu re likel y to de velop into an honored tradition. Britain's BSA m arque ha s been selected for recognition in 1996. For more information, contact Bru ce Truxall, AMA touring and transp ortation manager at 800 / AMA-JOIN , or, to order tic kets, contact Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course at 800/ MID-OHIO or 419 / 884-4000. The officia l race headquarter s for the Starved Rock Grand National Short Track and Harley-Da vid son 883 race in LaSalle, Ill in ois, se t for June 1, h as already fille d up . Th ree m ore hotels ha ve joined up wi th Ma gic Racing Gr oup to offe r special "Starved Rock Nat ional" rates. For more info rmation, call the Comfort Inn at 815/ 223-8585. NAMED: The Ram ad a Inn, in N ew H artfor d, New York, as the official race h e adqu arters for the 1996 AMA 125 /250cc Pro Motocro ss Nationals at th e Una d ill a Vall ey Sp orts Center in New Berlin, New York, July 20-21. For rese rv ati ons , ca ll Mi ch el e Smith at 315/ 735-3392. Peter Gio, a longtim e off-road en thusiast, wa s killed in an off-roa d accid ent, Sunday, February 11. Gio is su rv ive d by his wi ve Erin and sons Trav is, Tyler and Troy. A tru st fu nd ha s been es tablished for h is child re n. If yo u woul d lik e to d onate to th e fund, se nd you r contribution s to th e Pete r Gio Memorial Fund,.P.O. Box 311, Santa Rosa, Californ ia, 95409. Fo ur tee n yo u ths fro m a ro und the country took part in th e fir st -of-itskind National 4-H Yo u th O ff-Highway Vehicle Vision Team, which met for the first time last mo n th in Washin gton, DC, at the National 4-H Cen ter. Th e Vis ion Team m et in th e na tion' s capital to ide n tify and d iscu ss iss ues pertinent to th e future of o ff-hig hway vehicle rec rea tion as it rel at es to th e you nger gen eration of riders in Am erica. The main emphasis was on shaping a positi ve a nd ex ci ting fu t u re for enthusiasts of thi s sport ev erywhere. The Vi sion Team will m eet a t least twice a year and regularly submit articles, pictures and d rawin g to consistently reinforce th e posit ive messa ges of off-ro ad vehicle recreation. The Ll .S, Women ' s Mot ocro ss Leagu e and the AMA have combined efforts to ho ld the first ever AMAIU.S. Women's Motocross League Outdoor Championship Series to be held in conjunction w ith selec te d ro un ds o f th e A MA N ati onal Ch am p ionsh ip M X Se ri es. The dates for the fou r-r ound series are as follo ws: Mount Morris, Pennsyl va nia, Ma y 25-26; New Berlin, New York, July 20-12; Wa sh ou gal , Wa shington, Au gust 17, and Delmont, Pen nsylv ania, Au gu st 31-Sep tember 1. For more in formation, call 714/837-3374. PireIli Tires has annou nced th at it has cont ra cted Sumac Services to provide r ace s u p por t for th e co m pany's offr o ad tire s at every AM A Gra n d Nat ional Cross Cou ntry even t for th e 1996 ra cing seaso n. Sum ac wi llbe selling and mounting Pirelli tires from its new, full y-equipped truck. Plu s, Pirelli will be po sting ove r $15, 000 in cash and products for th e se rie s. Selected class champion s and seco nd-place fin- The board of directors of the Pikes Peak Au to Hill Climb Educat ion al Mu seum has vo te d to change th e name of its a n nual even t to th e Chevrolet Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Pre viou sl y the e vent w a s known as the Chevrolet Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb . As alwa ys, thi s yea r's running of the 74year-old race will take place on July 4. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING : At Plain fiel d Cycle Ranch, in Plainfield, Indiana, Frid ay, March 29, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p .m. Team Ya m a h a's D am on Br ad shaw , John Dowd, Doug Henry and Kevin Windham are sched uled to . a p pea r. For m ore in fo rm a tio n , call 317/839-2391. BORN: Hann ah Ka itl yn Faught, to Cy cle N ew s graphic artist Amy Faught Malcolm Smith Motorcycles has a d d ed the BMW, Ducati and Husaberg motorcycl e lin es to it ' s dealer ship . For more information, call 909/687-1300. The Donnie Hansen Motocross Academy wi ll conduct tw o motocross schools at Rainbow MX Park II in Hemet, Cal ifornia, on Mar ch 22, 23 and 24. For m ore information, call 916/755-2799. A Fre sno Amateur Mile dirt tr ack eve nt has been sche d uled for Sunday, May 5, at the Fres no Sta te Fairgrounds in Fresn o, California. Th e ev en t will feature sev era l different classes including a mon ey-payin g Semi-p ro even t. Pre-en tr y w ill be $30 unti l April 20, after which time th e e ntry fee will increase to $45. Ga tes o pen a t 7 a.m. w it h practice sta rti ng at 10 a.m. Th e first race begi ns at no on. For m ore in forma tion, contact Ray Com e r at 209 / 992- 2367 or Da n D o w d in g at 805/ 836-3594. Th e r ain ed- o ut Febru ary 25 Blockbuster Pavilion MX round at Gl en H elen has been rescheduled for April 7, a nd w ill be th e final ro u nd o f th e ser ies . Plu s, th e Chap arral 6- H o ur Endurance Team GP at Glen Hel en has been resc hed uled from April 14 to Jun e 16. NAMED: Bob Rutten , as War eh ouse M an ag e r fo r Wh ite Br o s . Rutten' s duti e s wi ll includ e o ver see ing a ll recei vin g, ship pi ng, R&D, sus pe nsio n, carbu retion and p rod uctions activiti es. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At D&S Kaw asaki /Honda in Arlington , Texas, March 22, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Team Kawasaki rid er Dam on Huffman , Jeff Emig and Ryan Hughes are scheduled to ap pear, as is SX announcer Larry Mai er s w ho w ill h ost th e e vent. For more informat ion, call 817/465-5454. MOVED: Ca lifo rn ia Su pe rbike School ha s changed the location of its April 23 schoo l fro m Sears Poin t Rac e w ay in Sonom a, Ca lif orn ia, to Th un d e rh ill Park in Willows, California. For m or e information , call 800/530-3350. AUTOGRAPH SIGNING: At Dreyer' s Suz uki in Ind iana po lis, Indiana , March 29, from 6 p .m. to 7 p.m. Members of th e factory Suz u ki MX team are sche d u ed to appear. For more info rm ation, call 317/ 243-2203. a nd her husband Ken, editor of Dirt Rider Magazine, on Mar ch 4 in Lorna Lind a, California. NAMED: BrianChurch as president of G len H e len Racew a y Park in San Bernardino, California. Glen Helen will host th e AMA 125/250cc Nati on al MX Champion sh ip round on May 12. REAPPOINTED: Don Ama dor, to the Off-H ighway Motor Vehicle Recreat ion Commission at th e California Department of Pa rks and Recreati on, by Ca liforn ia Gov erno r Pete Wilson. Amador has se rve d on the OHMVR commission since 1994. CHANGED: Th e name o f th e AM A 600cc Su p e r s p o r t Se ri es to t he P ro Ho nda Oils 600cc Superspor t Series . The former name of the series was the HP4 600cc Superspo rt Se ri e s . " P ro Honda Oils will b ette r identi fy t he family of products that a re ava ila ble fro m Pro Hond a Oils an d Chemica ls, including HP 4," AMA Pro Ra cin g ' s execu tive d irector Tom Mueller said . OPENED: AGV H elmets' home page on the World Wid e Web. The address is as follows : http:/ /www.agv.com . OPENED: Bell Helm ets' home pag e on th e World Wide Web. The address is as follows : http: / /www.bellhelmets.com . OPENED: Acerbis' home page on th e Wo rl d Wid e We b . The a d d ress is as follows: h ttp: / / www. acerbi s.com. NAMED: White Bros., as title sponsor at th ree of th e eight AM A Western Natio nal Sou nd of Th unde r MX Series events. Th e th ree even ts will include the World Fou r-Stroke Champion sh ip a t Gle n H el e n , Ap ril 28; th e fo u rs troke race in co njunc tion with th e AMA N at ion a l MX r o u n d at Glen H e len , May 12; a nd the o ne a t th e Ma mmo th Mo u n tai n Mo to cross, June 28. AU TOGRAPH SIGNING : A t H o n d a of H o u st o n , in H ou st on, Te x as , on March 15 , s ta rti ng a t 6 p .m . Team H ond a' s Jeremy McG r ath and Steve La mson, an d H o nd a of Hous ton Ra ci n g & Re-Cl a im ' s Jeff Dement, and Honda o f Tr oy' s Larry W ard, Mike Brown, Mike Crai g a n d Bri an Swin k a re sc he d u le d t o ap pea r. For m ore in fo rm ation, call 713/ 467-2426. f ':\

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