Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

~~ VOICES America's weekly motorcycle newspaper LETTERS TO THEED/TOR Vol ume XXXV Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Pub/is/rer The 'sound or thunder" I read with great interest the interviews with Mick Doohan and, in particular, Yamaha engineer Tos hi mitsu Iio. I totally agree tha t in Gra nd Prix racin g th e engines used should be rela ted to what the company sells to th e public - this will ren ew interesting in th e engineering an d for the fans . I have worked with the Ho nda 250cc six-eylinde r bike for a short bu t intense period of time. I co ul d n ' t beli eve the immense in teres t and enthusias m from fans, both you ng and old, for this bike. They as ked q u estions over a nd over about the inner workings of the engi ne, and particularly abo u t th e so u nd . Th e huge cro wd it drew w hen started was incredible. I cannot believe the 'financial cost to build a four-stroke four-eylinder with a seven- or eight-speed ge a rbox ca n be any more than th e two-strokes n ow being used. Rules for th e four-cylinder six-speed mean a tw o-strok e w ith tw o or three different engines and multiple cassette gearboxes that are d iffer ent for different riders and race tracks. Also, the more useful technology has to filter down to production products to be so ld to the public. I think the fo ur-cylin der o ne-lit er engi ne proposed by Doohan wo ul d be a step in th e righ t d irect ion . However, I haven' t seen any resu lt s as to raci n g l000cc four-eylinder s being any faster than 750s - if as fast at all . This would be no more th an an Open Superbike class . Th e G P class must be fas ter than the su per bike cla ss o r it is d o o m ed . It woul d be ideal if it co u ld be kept a t SOOcc. But it sho uld nev er be more than 750cc or its pe rforman ce wou ld only be attributed to its size. Th e sound wou ld be th e sa me. As Mr . lio sa id, new so u nd s cou ld ren ew the interest of fa ns an d enginee rs. In mot ocross, en th usiasm has been generated wi th th e four-stroke. As I no t ed w ith th e Hond a Si x' s design, the forethou ght of production is ,,-ery evident. As it was explained to me, Mr. Honda's thinkin g was th at ra cin g was to learn for prod uction more than it was to win races . Let's be realistic - twostrokes are a d ead end. The reason the ru les we re changed back in the '60s was because it was too costly for manufactu rers to produce sixcylinders, V-eights and so on. However, these d ays we have GNC ma chines and ma terials th at weren' t even dreamed of in the '60s. I think the rules laid down by th e FIM of four-cylinder, six-speed (m ea ning four-cylinder tw o -s trokes ) should go the wa y of the flat world and flath ead thinking. In the '60s it was only a dream to be able to bu y a fo u r-c ylinder bike with 12,000 rpm and l00-p lus horsepower. Now these b ikes a re al mos t b oring . Who kn ows - ma ybe a re plica GP bike wo uld filter d own to the com mo n soul in the form of a six-eylind er or even a Veight ? Th e sounds of these exotic multis with n arro w po w erbands a n d u ltraclose rati o, seven- to eight-speed gearb o xes wo u ld b e the so u n ds o f re a l Grand Prix motorcycles. Revive the dreams of e xotic GP bik es. Build so mething .that dares to be different from superbikes. Jim Cot herman Motorfolk@aoI.com Four vs. two revisited With th e recent tw o wi ns in th e AM A National Motocross Series b y Doug Hen ry , yo u will soon start hearing complaints from othe r manufacturers about th e unfa ir nature of his m ot orcycle . lf you pay close att ention to who is complainin g, yo u will see it is people like Roger DeC oster w ho want th e limitation set to 360cc. He only defends th is ruling b eca u s e Suz uki and th e o ther manufactu rers are asleep at the wheel. The fou r-stroke cc rule has been in effect for 20 years. Wit h Yamaha's in troduction of th e YZF, yo u began to ha ve pe0ple like myself lacking the inter est in th e product available to become stim ulated enough to lay d o wn $6000 for a new ma chin e. Th is is only creating jobs, cas h flow and interest in our beloved spo rt of motocross. People als o tend to forget tha t Dou g He nry had to strugg le wi th th e bike for many races before he even tually becam e co mfo r ta b le. It w ouldn ' t matter if H enry w ere riding a nother brand o f bike - he is hard -working and has come back wi th incredible determination . Do you kn ow anyone else tra veling the series in a motorhom e? Th e ru les s hou ld stand as is. Other co m panies such as Ca nnonda le ha ve invest ed too much time and m on ey in the development process to ha ve so me 20-year-s ta nd in g rule be changed by complaints from .another company th at refuses to develop techn ology and make m otocross a better sport. Then again, maybe DeCos ter can't afford to develop a ne w b ike when he is still trying to develop the bike he has - just look at Larry Ward 's second- moto results th is week . Ju s t keep u p t h e h ard work , Roger, and maybe Ca nnondale ca n just buy your semi ar a reduced rate and only ha ve to have it pain ted in Cannond ale colors for next year. Randy Geniec Santa Clarita, CA Injured dirt tracker Jim Su mner, Grand N a tio nal Number 45, was se riously in jured on June 7 a t the Peoria IT during a sem i-fina l wh en he w as involved in a four-rid er pileup. He wa s airlifted to St. Francis Ho spital in Peoria and stay ed in the neuro-inten sive-eare unit for five days before being airli fted to Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospi tal for surgery. His injuries included a bilateral d islocation of bo th sho uld ers, and a frac tu red left cheek, left orbita l (eye) bone, n os e, s in us caviti es a n d upper ja w . Surg ery was performed on June 18 and Jim was released to recu pe rate at home o n Ju n e 20. H is insurance co m pa ny refu sed to p a y to tra nspo rt h im to Froedert, d eeming it a convenience for th e family. We wish to th ank everyone for th e cards, calls, letters, gifts, donations and prayers during th is difficult tim e. Alan Sumner Stelshoe@execpc.com Cards, letters and donations can be sent to Jim S um ner at 463 0 W. M ill Road, M ilwaukee, W15321 8... Editor Letters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle News, P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628 -5084, faxed to 7141751-6685 or e-mail, editor@cyclenews.com, P ublishe d letters d o not necessarily reflect th e position of Cycle News, In c. Letters shoul d n o t exceed 200 words an d all letters are su bject to editing. An onymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name, add ress and d aytim e phone number ... Editor. Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Associat

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