Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

, .;.'f.~~ TIME REMEMBERED Steve Wise ('$''-,. %;..: _OM _~_ • _ ..._~ '::". '. (Left) Steve Wise as a member of Team Honda In 1982. His only supercross ... .....,...•.".;':';::··.;'<:·:·:wlil came In 1979 at the Super Dome In New Orleans. (Above) Wise today with his "':: .....:' . ' . wife saundra and children Whitney, Joshua and Jonathan. ' .... ;' .:,'. By Kit Palmer .C.. · ,>;'.; ou might call Steve Wise /(" the Dick Mann of the mod.., :,,,"ern motorcycle racing era. . "'.,;... ' '. Like Mann, Wise proved his mastery on two wheels in three very different forms of racing - motocross, road racing and dirt track. And, again like Mann, Wise was very good at all three. However, not even Mann, despite winning two AMA Grand ational Championships and two Daytona 200s, can brag of having visited podiums in AMA National Motocross, Supercross, Road Race and Dirt Track competition, Wise can. Throw in a couple of made-for-TV Superbikers races that Wise won and you have one of the most talented and versatile riders ever to have thrown a leg over a motorcycle. And probably one of the most interesting. Wise never won a championship. But had motos been run 30minutes instead of 40 as they were in the 1970s and the early '80s, things might have been very different for the Texan. "1 look back on my career and it was 0.. wonderful, it was such a great experi<:t: ence for me," Wise says. "But 1 sure wish they would've run 30-minute motos back then. 1 would've won a lot of -"....'. ' 20 races. 1 probably lost 20 races in the last town, ride up the canal banks. I had an 10 minutes, and that's no pulling your absolute blast." Wise quickly went from the canals to leg. You can ask Howerton, or Glover, or Hannah, they'll tell you." the race tracks and immediately began turning heads. In 1973, at the age of 16, Throughout his career that spanned some eight years, Steve Wise won only Wise won the Texas State Champione AMA Supercross and just two outonship and along the way beat some door AMA Nationals, once in the 125cc fairly well-known riders, such as jones, class and once in the 250cc class, yet, he as in Gary, and Weinert, as in Jimmy. Wise hit a couple of the ationals that won something that many would say is year but had no real success, but he did more important than championships - a lot of people's respect. capture the attention of Weinert and Wise's motorcycling career began not jones, as well as fellow Texan Steve much different than Stackable, who helped most other's. "My dad open some big doors was a big motorcycle for Wise. ~ "In 1974, Kawasaki enthusiast," Wise says. "He'd bring home a ...the works Kawasakis were so was talking to Steve Bultaco Pursang, or a Stackable but he wantbad. And they pulled out Montesa. We'd run ed to stay with around the streets here Maico," Wise rememhalfway through the year. in McAllen, Texas, on bers. "He told them his race bike and he'd (Kawasaki), 'Hey, let me drive. Here I there's a real up-andwas, 8 years old; he'd coming rider in hold on to the bars a little bit and we'd Texas,' and he gave them my name. 1 ride down the street. McAllen was a litreally have to credit Stackable for that, tle bitty 01' town and we knew all the that was really nice of him to do that. policemen. My dad bought a motorcycle Kawasaki called and 1 flew out to Calishop, and·all the policeman were comfornia. 1 raced at Carlsbad and did okay, ing in and we got to know them all. I'd and they hired me." wheelie down the middle of 10th Street just 17 at the time, the still relatively and wouldn't get in trouble for it. It was unknown Wise was a factory rider with wonderful. I'd take a dirt bike from my a teammate who was already welldad's shop and go up the middle of established on the MX scene in Gary / Semics. Things could not have been any better for the teenager, or so you'd think. "That year, the works Kawasakis were so bad," Wise says. "And they (Kawasaki) pulled out halfway through the year." What began as a dream year for Wise quickly turned to disappointment. With Kawasaki dropping out and going back to the drawing boards, Wise was forced to go back to the privateer route and bought a Honda CR125. FMF gave Wise some parts and he was off to the races again. The year wasn't all bad. He finished second to Marty Smith at a National in San Antonio, and he posted some other good finishes as well. At the end of the '75 season, the phone rang and it was Kawasaki on the line. They wanted Wise back and again offered him a spot on their team and, with it, a "much-improved" Kawasaki works bike for him to ride. But before the '75 MX season was barely warm, Wise was again a privateer. "The bike (works Kawasaki) handled great but just didn't have the horsepower the Honda had - 1 quit after three races," Wise recalls. "1 said, 'I can't ride this bike: The very next race, 1 won (on a privateer Honda). The neat thing Was that Kawasaki called and said, 'Steve, you know, we were a little upset with you quitting, we thought you were real-

• Cover