Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Rules Committee starts work on five-year dirt track· Ian AMA Pro Racing has released a list of tentative an d very ea rly rul esz'g uideli nes for the implementation of the new dirt track equipmen t outlined in its five-year dirt track plan . The new rul es are the prod uct of several meetings by the ru les committee, which consists of members from the sanctioning bod y a nd the Professional Motorcycle Racing Owners Group. Items thus far conside red inclu de the following: 1) Engines mu st be based on production cases, cylinder heads and cylinders from motorcycles sold by U.s. dea lers tha t can be titled for operation in the United States A minimum of 400 units must be available, and the engi ne must be on the "eligibility list." 2) Rim wid th is limited to WM6 (3.5 inch es). 3) Engin es limited to lOOOcc displacemen t, two-cyli nder four-strok es . . 4) Maximum tire width " ill be 6 inches overall. 5) DOT-approved tires must be used . 6) Mini mum weight is upped to 325 lbs, 7) A claiming ru le will be in effect. Engines can be claimed for $15,000 while com plete motorcycles caJl be claimed for $25,000. More information will be available after forthcoming meetin gs. In the meantime, it is reported that several teams hav e alread y initiated engine/motorcycle research programs to study the feasibility of the new Japanese-buill V-twins from Honda and Suz uki, and at least one team has acquir ed a Ducati engine and will be building a chassis shortly. Some Harley-Da vidson teams have also debated the feasibilty of an Eve-based engine, thou gh the Harl ey-Davidson factory has remained silent as to what its rider(s) will use under the future rul es package. The VRl ooo engine is, at least for now, not an op tion . went well. I hope we can do the same again this yea r. We d on't really expect to " in, bu t [ hea r the bike has im proved a lot since last year when we were mak ing up places through the comers. It' s nice to do so met hing a little crazy each year and I'm still planning to do the Bol d' Or in the year 2000: ' Road racer Erik Schnackenberg is still recovering from the brok en leg and tom lig aments he suffered in a motocross train ing accid en t o n March 22 . Eve n though his leg can barel y reach the foot peg, Schnackenbe rg recently completed some 16 laps at Lagu na Seca Racewa y in Monterey, California , during a DP Safety School sess ion, "It was really good for my spirits," Schna ck enberg s a id . " I h av en 't ridd en an yt h in g fo r fo u r mo nths . We a lso thou gh t it w ou ld be smart to get back on the bike so [ don't ge t too rusty, but aft er on e la p it a ll ca m e back. 1 ca n ' t wait to ra ce." Schnackenberg still d oesn't know when he will mak e his retu rn to AMA supersport racing. A Red l Hart upda te: Th e 29-year- old Edwards vill e, Illinois, rider wh o suffered serious head injuries at the Terre Hau te G ran d N ational H a lf Mil e in Terre Hau te, Ind ian a, on Jun e 14 has s hown so me sig ns o f improvement. Hart remains on life support and in a medica lly ind uced coma in the Neurologica l ICU a t Ba rn es Hospital in 51. Louis, Missouri, bu t he has repo rtedly opened his eyes and responded to some voice co mma nds when doctors have reduced his sedation. Cards and letters can be sent to Recil Hart, 66:l!J Fox Creek r», Edwardsville, IL 62025. The Southwest Vintage Racing Group will ru n a IT Scrambles event a lo ng with its motocross . . ational on Saturday, Ju ly 5, a t Carls ba d Ra ceway in Carlsbad , Californi a, The track will feature a porti on of the circu it used by the Superbikers of yea rs past. All AHRM A dirt track classes will be ru n, including Sup port, in both Cla ss C and knobby trac tio n. Fo r mor e informa tio n} call 760/744-8042, Hon da is no w offe rin g th e H o n d a Motorcycle Platin um Visa card, issued by Firs t USA, one of the nation 's largest credi t-eard providers. The card is being laun ched at the Great Smok y Mountain H onda Hoot and is available in eigh t d ifferent designs: custom / tourer; sport touri ng ; to uri ng ; v intage; spo rtsb ike; o ff-road; ATV ; a nd th e Ph oto Card , which allo ws ca rdmem bers to su bm it ph otos of themselves with their motorcycles for display on the card . Tw o -time EsPN Xtreme Games gold medali st Ja y M iron will headline th e Schwinn Bicycle Stunt Show at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, Californi a, during the World Su perbike Champions hi p weekend nn Jul y 11-13. Miron w on h is second gol d med al in th e X Gam es in San Diego, California , on Jun e 22. Micha el Dooha n can tha nk Suz uk i for helping him to three World Cham p io ns h ips, a ccording to fo rmer World Ch ampio n Wayn e Ga rdn er, Th e 1987 500cc W orld C ha m p io n rec entl y reveal ed that the a ll-co nq ue ri ng 1992 Honda NSR 500 chassis tha t remains relati vely unchanged was based largely on the 1989 Suz uki RGv500, rid den by Ke vin Schwa nt z, accord ing to Cycle News contributor Darryl Flack. "Rea lly, the V-four Ho nda s I rode from 1986 to 1989 we re heaps of shit in terms of han d ling," Gardner said . "They had plenty of po wer, of course, but they all han d led poo rly - even the '87 bike [ wo n the cha mp ionship w ith. The Su zuki was consid ered the best -handling bike of the ti me , so th e Honda enginee rs configured the 1990 NsRSOO to the RGv genmet ry, w hic h was refin ed all th e way thro ugh to the '92 model with the big-bang engine. Honda thou gh t that carrying the en gin e high in the cha ssis w as t h e w ay to go, b ut the Su zuki design wa s the opposite. It's no secret tha t [ beli ev e the '92 bike is th e best th in g I' ve ev e r rid d e n ," Alo ng wi th Su zuki's in ad v e rtent co nt ribu tio n, ma ny have cred ited Eddie Lawson 's in p u t du rin g his o ne -year stin t with HR C. Wh ile Ga rd ne r ack n ow le d ges Kawasaki unveils '98 KXMXers F (Above) The 1998 Kawasa ki KX250 (and KX125) features a Power Jet carburetor. (Below) The KX100 Is a new addition to the KX line. e w but sig n if ica n t c ha n ge s grace the Kawasaki KXI25 and 250 MXers for 1998. Most obvio us are the new graphics that now resemble those of the factory race bikes ridden by Jeff Emig, Ryan Hu ghes and Damon Huffman . Internally, the bigg est new s is the use of Power Jet carburetors in both bikes. Similar to the '97 Honda CR25O, Kawasaki's Power Jet system incorporates a solenoid-eontrolled jet in the Keihin PWI< carb uretors that boosts richness as the revs build, then closes as the engine passes peak torq ue, for a leaner hig h-speed mixture, which Kawasaki claims extends peak powe r and produces a longer overrev on both bikes. Both bikes feature modifications to their Kawasaki Integrated Power Valve Systems (KIPS), whil e the KXI25 gets an all-new cylinde r, It now uses two exhaust ports instead of four for w hat Kawasaki claims improves low-end and midrang e power, and the connecting rod is 2mm shorter for more primary compression. The piston is also lighter an d features an "intake window" to boost top-end power. Not only did the KXI25 receive the Power Jet carb , but the actual size of the carb has also been increased from 35mm to 36mm. Cha nges to th e KX250' s cy linder include new ma in and su b-e xhaus t p or ts for "improved" low-end and midrange torque; crankpin holes tha t are now plugged for more primary compression; and a connectin g rod that now incorporates two oil holes (ins tead of one), bigger oil groo ves and chamfered was hers at the big end for im proved lub ricatio n an d durability. Suspen sion cha nges are the same on both the KXI25 and 250. Both bikes achieved a lowe r center of gravity by shortening the shock by l.5mm and lowering the fork in the tripl e clamps by 5mm. In the back, an all-new triple-rate spring is used on both bikes, and both shocks fealu re d ifferent damping rates . Up front , both KXs received new aluminum upper fork lubes tha t are sma ller in diameter at the low er clamping area; and the springs are new , too. The sea t covers on all the KX mod els are co lo red gree n and , on most models, inclu de Kevlar reinforcement in the front area , which will make those who wear knee braces happy, Perh aps the biggest news of all is the new add ition to the KX line - a KXl00. It uses the same perimeter frame as the KX80but wit h bigger 19-inch (front) and 16-inch (rear) wh eels, The engine is based on the KX80's powerplan t but with a bigger 99cc d isplacement, while using the sa me stroke as the KX80 at 45.8mm . Both the KXlOO and 80 share the same 26mm Keihin carburetor. The seat height of the KXl00 is 34.3 inches, while the KX80's is 33.1 inches . The 100 also weighs seven pounds more than the 80 at a claimed d ry weight of 150 pounds, The KX80 is basically an all-new machine for 1998. It featu res a new cylinder; a larger-d iameter clut ch; a se parate clutch co ver for easier access; a new airbox; beefier spokes and nippl es; a larger swing arm with new box-style axle ad justers; new inve rted , 36mm cartri dge forks; and w ider footpegs. Both the KX60 and KXSOO will return for " 98 bu t feature no mecha nical changes , just cosmetics . While both bikes take on the new green sea t covers, they do not feature the Kevlar reinforcement. Off-ro ad w ise, no cha nges were mad e to eithe r th e KDX200, KDX220R or the KLX300R mod els, Law son's invol ve men t, he cl a im s it does n' t go as d eep as the press would hav e us think. "Tha t's bullshlt." Gard ner said. "It's amazing how journalists ca n ge t things wro ng. H ond a sta rted re deve lo p ing th e NsR before Ed die (Law son) really go t a handle on it. Su re he p layed a part, bu t th e real ca talys t was the Suz u ki." The San Diego' Antique Motorcycle Club has a nnounced that the 26t h Del Mar Concours d ' Elega nce Intern ation al will be held aga in at the Del Mar Fairgroun ds in Del Mar, California, on October 11. The theme of this year's show is "100 Yea rs of Moto rcycling." For more .informa tion, call 619/270-6347. Jeff Bracy of ew Sharon , Iowa, was the winner of the 1997 Cycle N,,",s/Ya ma ha / Thor Supcrcross Sweepstakes, Bracy will receive a 1997 Yamaha YZ250 and ' Thor rid ing gea r. AUT O GRArij S IGNING: At Buck' ~ Powenporu. in Valparaiso. Indiana. on July 4. from 6 to 7 p.m. Members of Tearn Sw:w.i MotlJO'1.J» are scheduled to appear. Formore informa tion. call 219/.;77-4700. CO RRECTION : TIa- correct cld~ (or M~ Factory Outlet's site on the World Wide Web is AS foll ows: http :/ /h om e.spryn et .com / spr ynet / motofac /mofo-l .htm RESCH ED ULED: The Motocross Racing A ssoda rained-out v eteran's Class ic. (or July 13 in ti on '~ Michigan . For more informati on . call 3 13/2411600. n 3

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