Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Cycle News 1998 01 14

Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles

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Big Do g Motorcycles recently built its 500th motorcycle. "We are particularly proud of number 500," Big Dog's CEO, Sheldon Coleman, said . "This red , white and blu e Vinta ge Classic celebra tes not only a production mil estone, but al so ou r America n ro ot s. As we e n te r the 1998 model year, we expect our growth ro co n tin u e, fueled by e xciting n e w models and high-quality product." Big Dog manufactures a lin e of six hea vy we igh t cruisers, all u sing an 88-cubicinch V-twin engine. ' Pat Moroney announced at the AMA Awards Banquet on Saturday, December 13, that SaddlemenfT ravelcad e will become the title sponsor of Mo roney's AMA G rand Nationa l Cha m pionship and 883 race tea ms for the 1998 season. The team wi ll be head ed by 883 National Cha m pio n D avey Cam lin, who will no t only d efend his 883 title but w ill also compete for the Grand Nati onal Ch ampio nship. Mike Hack er and Jason Fletcher will joi n Ca rn li n, w it h tu n e r Sk ip Eaken re tu rn ing as crew chief and eng ine builder. VP Racing Fuels ha s cha nged the specific gravity of its C12 Ra ci ng Fu el to .717 at 60 d egrees to make the C12 legal for AMA competition in bo th two- and four- stroke applications. VP has al so anno u nced that it is posting a total of $41,125 in contingency awards for privateers in su percro ss, motocross , su perbike a nd dirt track . For more in form ation, call VP at 909/ 674-9167. The ICE World Championship Ice Racin g Series is set to begin January 9-10, with two rou nd s scheduled for the Corel Cen tre in Ottawa, On tari o, Can ada. The seve n-rou nd se ries co ncl udes with the g ra n d final e sc h ed u le d for th e San Diego Sports Aren a in San Diego, Cali- : forn ia, on Febru ary 20. For mor e information, call Gary Densford at 970/ 2629067. Steven Frederick Tanner, 19, took his own life at his ho me in La Mirada, Ca lifornia. ion December 5. Steven Tan ner is the so n of former top- level di rt tracker Sammy Tanner. Ta n ner is su rvived by his father Sam my, mother Betty Tanner Ca mp , and sibli ngs Jack Tanne r, Lau rie Tanner As t, Ritch ie Hutchi ns a nd Chery Hutchins . Services were he ld on December 9, 1997 an d condolences can be sen t to P.O . Box 2065, A rtesia, CA 9070 2. 2065. In lieu of flowers, the family has req uested that contributions be ma de to the Clayton Fou n dation, a fun d for injured mot orcycle racer s. Ra ce Tech has announced th a t it has joined forces with Hooters Suzuki Racing to become the Hooters/Suzuki/Race Tech racing team for the 1998 AMA 750cc Supersport and Formula Xtreme Ser ies . Race Tech w ill p ro vide all suspension products and on-si te service for the team , while a lso offering su p port and service for other teams and rid ers at each ve nue. For more informa tio n, call 909/ 594-6682. Will ie G. Da vid son wa s a ward ed th e Da ve Ta yl o r Lifeti me A chievemen t Award by England's Mo tor Cycle News. Will ie G . w a s ch o s e n for th e a wa rd becau se " h e h a s b ee n a m arv e lo u s am bas sad or for 'motorcycling th ro ughou t his lifetime and is one of the motorcycle ind u s try' s greatest asse ts. " The MCN award has been permanently dedica ted to the memory of Dave Taylor, a racer and stunt rider who died last year after a 13-year battle with cancer. After a 2D-year hiatus, the San Francisco Police Departm ent will ride HarleyDavidsons again, according to a press release from Harley. The department recently purchas ed 20 new Road King police models. Elf Ra ce Fue ls an d Lu bricants h a s renewed it s title s ponsors h ip of th e AMA 250cc Gr and Prix Series for 1998 while al so s te p p ing up it s su p port of other AMA road race classes. Elf paid $10,000 in season-end ing bonuses to the top 250cc GP rid ers in 1997. In 1998, Elf will also pa y contingency awards in the other classes, according to the AMA. Ha rley-Davidson Screarnin' Eagle Performance Accessories, First Auto Spo rts Television (FAST), ESPN2 and the AMA w ill bri n g 10 AMA G rand Natio nal Champions h ip D irt Track Series races to prim e-time tel evision audiences in 1998, accord in g to the AMA. The races wi ll be taped for 3D-minu te broad casts. The selec ted Grand National races an d broadcast sched u le will be annou nced in Feb rua ry, thou gh the shows wi ll air on ESPN2 during prime time on weekdays and on weekend afternoons. "I think it's rea ll y g reat tha t the TV package ha s come together," eig ht-time AMA Grand National Champion Scott Parker said at the AMA Awards Banquet in Las Vegas, evad a . "Hopefu lly, this will interest new companies and spo nsors to become involved in the spo rt, and a lot of people will ge t their first look at Grand National racin g. That first look is all it takes to hook you." Road racer Steve Grigg will ride Fast By Ferracci Ducatis in the 1998 Formula USA and se lec te d AMA Superbike Ch ampionship eve nts. The North Ca rolinian will compete on a Ducati 748sp and on a 995 su perbike, Initial plans call for Gri gg to ride in fou r AMA Superbike ro u nds as well as the co mplete F-USA Series . Reg Pridmore is hopi ng for a big year in 1998, with his Cla ss Motorcycle Schools offe ring, among othe r thi ngs, a to ur to the Isle of Man in the late sp ring of '98. Pri d mo re wi ll a ls o hos t two Premier Executive Schools (one at Sears Point, the other at Laguna Seca) and the regular school will al so return to Pocono International Raceway in Pocono , Pen nsylvania . For more informatio n, call 805/933-9936. Acco rding to a press r el ea s e d a ted December 5, Team Suzuki Endurance owner John Ulrich has anno u nced that Tea m Hammer Inc. will not compete in t he fu ll WERA a t io n al Enduran ce Series in 1998. The team wil l concentrate its efforts on Formula USA as Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki, and will also compete in selected AMA eve nts . Team Suz uki Endurance won 127 races in the WERA End urance Series and 13 WERA Na tional Endurance Champio nships - as well as four WERA Formu la USA titles. Though he wasn't sig ned up prior to tes ting th e team's bik es durin g th e Michelin tire test a t Dayt ona Int ern atio nal Speedway in December, M ike Smith has since signed a contract with Team Valvoline EMGO Suzuki to contest the Formula USA and AMA Formula Xtre me Series. Tr ay Bat ey w ill join Sm it h in runn in g both se ries for th e team. The team also has Josh Hayes and Grant Lopez under contract, with those tw o slated to rid e su ppo rt series in 1998. Road racer Chris Ulric h wil l race a Kids Jeff Emig: AMA Pro Athlete of the Year A MA 250cc National Motocross and Supercros s Champi o n Je ff Em ig was sele c te d as th e 1997 AMA / Speedvision Professional Athlete of the Year at the AMA N ational Champions Awards Banquet in Las Vegas, Nevada , on December 13. Em ig top ped five o ther no minees - AMA Su p erb ike Na tio na l Cha mpion Dou g Chand ler, 600cc Su pers port (Above, from left to right) Natio na l Champ ion Former AMA Pro Athlete Mig uel DuH am el , of the Year winners World Sp eed w a y Miguel DUHamel, Tony Cha m pion G reg Han DiStefano, Johnny O'Mara cock, World Su pe rb ike and Scott Parker joined Champion John Kocins1997 award w nner Jeff ki and Grand ational Emlg on stage at the AMA Champion Scott Parker National Champions - in winning the award. Award Banquet In Las In addition to the Vegas. vari ou s champions who (Left) AMA 250CcGrand w ere h onored on the Prix Champ ion Rich Oliver n ight, the 1997 AMA (left) and his crew chief, Award of Mechanical Je ff Myers (right), were Excell ence w e n t to Team Oliver, the 1997 awarded the AMA Award 250cc Grand Prix Series of Mechan ical Excellence for two years of perfection In the Champions, a n d t h e 250cc Grand Prix class. Pro fessional Sportsman of the Year Award went to AMA / Pros tar rid er Paul Gas t. Oliver a nd cre w chief Jeff Myers recently completed thei r second perfect season, wi nning every race of the 1996 and 1997 250cc Grand Prix Series . Pros tar racer Pau l Gast wo n the Sports ma n of the Year award for providing assistance to compe titor Ricky Gadson when Gadson's bike refused to start as the two riders came to the lin e at th e 1997 Dixie Na tiona ls. "In 20 yea rs of drag racin g; that mom en t was the most ultimate show of sports manship I ha ve eve r see n," said Prostar president Keith Kizer . Don 't Smoke-backed Yamaha TZ250 in the 1998 AMA 250cc Grand Prix Series. Ulrich, who took pa rt in th e Micheli n tire test at Day tona in December, will be the on ly Michelin-backed rider in the 250cc Grand Prix Series in '98. Last year, Ulrich raced a H o nd a RS125 in t h e NASB Series . Three off-highway vehicle organizations have bee n awa r ded grants fro m the AMA's Open Trails Fund to help p romot e off- road riding activit ies, acco rding to the AMA . The Open Trials Fund was crea ted by off-road racing cham pion Scott Summers in coo pe ra tion with th e AMA to enhance OHV opportunities. The fund is supported by donations from motorcycle aftermarket com panies. The Ohio Valley Trail Riders, the Volunteer Sta te Trails Associa tion and the Colorado Off-H ig hway Ve hicle Coalition received the gra nts. S how case Bik e Nig h t wiII fea t u re Supercross Night on January 8 fro m 7 to 10 p .m . at Speedway Internationa l Racin g Bistro & Bar in Newport Beach, California. Ma ny of the top rid ers and team s from the AMA Supe rcross Series are sched uled to ap pear. For mor e informati on , call FS Productions at 714/7521669 or Speedway Internat ional Bistro & Bar at 714/ 675-5900. The AMA has released its 1998 Natio nal Championship H ill clim b Series sched- u le. The 12-round series is as follows: May 17 - Middlebury , Ind ian a; Jun e 7 Jefferson , Pennsylvania; Ju ne 14 - Steel City, Pennsylvani a; June 21 - Avoca, New York; July 18 - N ashville, Indiana; July 25 - Ha ydenville, O hio; August 2 orton Shores, Michiga n; Aug us t 16 Dansvill e, New York; Se ptem be r 13 Steel City, Pennsylvania; September 20 Mi d dlebury, Ind ia na ; Septe m ber 27 Jefferson , Pennsyl van ia; October 11 Oregonia, Ohio. ESPN and AM A Pro Racing have inked a deal that will see the AMA Motocross National Championship Series broadcast on ESPN through th e yea r 2001. Du ri ng th e May- thro ugh -Se p te m ber motocross season, ESPN w ill d edicat e two h ou rs of weekend afternoo n o r weekday pr im e -t im e coverage to motocross. The 1998 AMA Natio nal Motocross season kicks off on May 10 at Glen Helen Raceway in San Berna rdi no , Californ ia. The AM A' s Go vernme n t Re lat ion s Department is accep ting reservation s for th e AMA's In trod uc tion to Washington , a four-d ay seminar intended to e n h a n ce con cerned mo to rcycl is ts' understa n d ing of the processes th at sha pe the future of ro ad an d off-h ighway mot orcycling. Scheduled for Feb ru ary 7-10, the event will give particip an ts the chance to to u r th e Ca p ito l, mee t 3

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