Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

.... Ii IN THE WIND ~ '- Marc Colomer (Mon) won the opening day of the fourth round of the World Championship Observed Trials series in Nepomuk, Czech Republic, May 23-24, thu bringing to an end the unbeaten streak of championship leader Doug Lampkin (Bet), who was two points behind Colomer's score of 11 on Saturday and just ahead of Kenichi Kuroyama (Bet) and his score of 14. On Sunday, it was back to normal for Lampkin as he crushed the opposition with an amazing core of four points. His closest rival was Steve Colley (G-G), who carded a 15-pointtotal. Takahisa Fujinami (Hon) was third with ]8. Colomer, meanwhile, slumped to 10th. Beta-mounted World Trials star Kenichi Kuroyama has had his championship points from the first leg of the San Marino round on April 25 removed due to an infringement of the fuel regulations. Kuroyama say~ he used local pump fuel, but it was evidently carrying too high a lead content. Kuroyama, who must bear the expense of the test, has five days to appeal. Mike Lafferty (KTM) scored the overall win at the Ohio Two-Day ISDE Qualifier in McArthur, Ohio, May 23-24. Lafferty finished the rain-soaked event ahead of Doug Blackwell (Yam) and Chris Smith (Hon). Fourth place went to Robbie Jenks (Yam), with Pat Garrahan (KTM) rounding out the top five. The event also paid points toward the AMA ational Championship Enduro Series. Once again, Lance Smail (Hbg) won the AMA Western Four-Stroke National Motocross Series round with ]-1 moto scores, in Anderson, California, on May 24. Finish:ing second overall was Greg Schnell (Yam), followed by Rusty Holland, Dustin Nelson (Yam) and Spud Walters (Yam). Steve Zoll (Kaw) carded the overall win at the Mauna Kea 200 Two-Day Enduro, held on the big island of Hawaii, May 23-24. Finishing second to Zoll was Steve Trinies (KTM), followed by Phil Oveland (KTM), Jade Leitner (KTM), and Mat Lyman (Hon). Multi-lime Motocross National Champion Jeff Ward finished 13th in the indianapolis 500 on May 24 after losing four laps early on when he was hit by another tar in pit lane. Ward's crew had to replace the right side of his front wing when it was damaged in the pit-lane incident, but Ward came bac~ to finish 13th. His result moved him to second in the Indy Racing League points standings with 90 points, just six behind points behind leader Tony Stewart. Oakley unveiled its latest creation at its Foothill Ranch, California, headquarters on May ]2 - the first shoe in its line of performance footwear. In a lavish introduction for media, retailers and Oakley athletes, chairman and president Jim Jannard showed the shoes for the first lime and explained the technology and innovations· that went into the eyewear maker's first endeavor into the athleticshoe market. Using "race-tire technology," the shoes will feature Oakley Unobtainium soles designed to match the grip and grab of a race tire. The hoes also feature "three-point triangulatedsole geometry" for improved support, and the uppers are made of Oakley's "0 Matter" and Kevlar. Following Jannard's-presentalion, invited guests were taken on a tour of Oakley's production facilities to watch as the first shoes were being made - the shoes are manufactured entirely in Oakley's Foothill Ranch headquarters. The shoes will sell for $125 and will be available on Jlme 22 through some 200 Oakley retailers and also through direct distribution via Oakley's home page on the World Wide Web (http://www.oakley.com). The high-tech-looking shoes will be available in three color combinations and Oakley's target is to produce 75,000 shoes each month. Several of Oakley's top athletes were in attendance, including AMA 125cc National Motocross and Supercross Champion Ricky Carmichael and Suzuki's Mickael Pichon. Carmichael brought a smile to Jannard's face when he asked if he could do away with his motocross boots and race in Oakley's new athletic shoe. Former 125 and 250cc World Champion Luca Cadalora will replace the stillinjured Jean-Michel Bayle on Yamaha Team Rainey for the French and Madrid Grands Prix. The announcement came following Bayle's special test on the YZR500 at Mugello on Monday, May ]8. It was the Frenchman's second outing on the bike since suffering a concussion in preseason testing and he did 27 laps before deciding (with team owner Wayne Rainey) that it was still too early ATK to unveil AMA-Iegal Pee Wee for 1999 A 00 0\ ~ 2 TK' the Centerville, tah-based motorcycle manufacturer, recently had this 50cc "Big Wheel" on display at the Chaparral Amateur MX Championships in San Bernardino, California. Although this 1998 model is not AMA-race-Iegal since it use a 12-inch rear and 14-inch front wheel (lO-inch wheels are required), for] 999 ATK plans to bring in AMA-Iegal Pee Wees that feature lO-inch wheels, Paoli suspenSion components, disc brakes and reed-inducted, high-output, SOcc Moto Morini engines. The bikes - which, oddly enough, will be made in Italy for ATK - will co t $1795 for the "Big Wheel" version (including the 1998 model), while the 1999 AMA-Iegal 50MX Pee Wees will sell for $2095 and should be available in August. Harley-Davidson to debut new en ine for I n our last issue (Issue #20, May 27), we hinted that we intended to follow up on the rumor that a new Harley-Davidson engine may be forthcoming. Since then Cycle News has confirmed that the next-generation Harley powerplant will make it debut for the 1999 model year. Although Harley-Davidson officials declined to comment on the specifics, trusted sources inside the company have confirmed that the engine is an all-new 45-degree Vtwin, known in-house only as the "Twin-Cam 88," in reference to two obvious changes over the Single-cam, 80-cubic-inch Evolution engine. The source went on to confirm that the air-cooled engine displaces 88 cubes, thanks to an all-new bore and stroke. It features a twin-cam-in-block, pushrod valve train, with an all-new two-valve cylinderhead design. The head design is, according to the source, "as big a change as when they went from the Panhead to the Shovelhead." The entire rocker-box configurntion is· distinctly different from the Evo, as is the larger finning on both the heads and cylinders. The Wter blocks (housing lifters that are similar to tl10se found in the Sportster engine), pushrods and oil pump are said to be contained within the confines of the engine - not externally, as on the Evolution. Another new item in the 88 will be a pressed-together crankshaft, which the source says is an improvement over the bolttogether design found in the Evolution. The entire crankcase has been beefed up to provide a stronger mating surface to the revised five-speed tran mi sion, which tile" source says is not unitized with the engine. According to the SOUTce, this new engine has been in development for "about five years" and was close to being released during the '98 model year. Instead, it will see the light of day - in both carbureted and EFl versions - on models in the Dyna and FL families for '99. The Softaillineup will remain Evolution-powered for now. Remember, you heard it here first. to return. Both Bayle and Cadalora will test at the Paul Ricard Circuit in the south of France the day after the French GP on May 31. ''I'm happy that we've got this solution and Luca's happy," Rainey said. "Jean-Michel felt better again at Mugello, but he just isn't ready yet to be racing. We'll just keep testing him and take things step by step. In the meantime, I'm excited about working with Luca for the first time. It should be fun. We know that the Yamaha's good, but we just haven't had the luck this year so far. I think with Luca we can get some good results and I also hope he'll be able to help (Norick) Abe. I would like to thank (Kyoji) Nanba for his help in the first four races. He was great to work with and he always gave it 100 . percent and stayed cheerful. But obviously he doesn't know the European tracks like Luca, and havi.ng Luca gives us the possibility to battle for a win. Of cour e, it's not going to be easy. Nobody's had this long a lay-off and then been straight back up to race pace, but if anyone can do it, I th:ink it's Luca. He never did any training anyway." The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District has upheld a lower court decision that found police in Spartanburg, South Carolina, guilty of violating the constitutional rights of 107 motorcyclists who were stopped and searched during a charity poker run therein September of 1994, according to the AMA. The cla s-action suit, originally filed in February, 1995 and supported in part through a grant from the AMA, was brought on behalf of the motorcyclists who were subjected to searches at a charity ride benefiting the American Red Cross. The suit charged that Spartanburg Police Chief W.e. Blain Jr., who has since resigned his post, ordered officers to stop, search and videotape all motorcyclists as they arrived at the Piedmont Interstate Fairgrounds for a concert at the end of the ride. The lower court found that, while the searches violated the motorcyclists' rights under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, the act of stopping and requesting identification from motorcyclists at the entrance to the fairgrounds didn't con- stitute unlawful action. However, the appellate court did vacate the lower court's decision to deny the plantiffs damages. City officials have been ordered ~o pay nominal damages to the motorcyclists who were subjected to the searches. Off-road enthusiasts will be treated to a wide array of interesting and educational discovery" points on the new SelfGuided Off-Road Tour, which opened to the general public on May ]6 at the Hungry Valley State Vehicular Recreation Area near Gorman, California. According to William Stewart, chief ranger at Hungry Valley, thi is the first self-guided trail offered at any of the state's seven vehicular parks. The trail is approximately 14 rniles long and takes about two hours to complete. Los Ancianos M.e., promoter of the Tecate Enduro, recently announced that it will be hosting a hare scrambles event later this year. The hare scrambles will be a first for the cl ub and will take place in Baja California, Mexico, just east of the Tecate border crossing, on December 12. Final details are still being compiled, but if you would like to be put on the club's entry list or want more information, you may contact club members at the following numbers: Jerry Deberry at 619/281-1400 (days), or Greg Reynolds at 619/561-0431 (nights). Harley-Davidson's home page on the World Wide Web (http://www.harleydavidson.wm) will begin a daily video journal documenting the experiences of riders during the 95th Anniversary Ride - a week-long cross-country trek that ends in Milwaukee on June 9. The site also fea tures trivia games, a photo scrapbook, rider profiles, activity updates and an online guest book. The video journal will debut on June 2 in Road Stories, a feature section of www.harley-davidson.com. Dirt track fans in the Pacific Northwest can look forward to a round of the AMA Hot Shoe National Championship Series, as Chris Agajanian ",'ill be promoting the Seattle Mile at the

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