Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

m1ffi~. VOICES America's weekly motorcycle newspaper LETTERS TO THE ED/TOR VolumeXXXV Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers. Editor Kit Palm er, Aseociate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor Mark Hoyer, Mallagillg Editor Keith Bush. Assistallt Editor/Copy Editor Alan Cathcart. European Editor David R. Holther, Copy Editor Advertising Terrv Pratt, National Accoullts Mana ger Marl< Thome, Western Sales Mallager Thomas Gonter, Western SalesMallager Forrest Hayashi, Westerll SalesMallager Greg Mitchell. Ea SIt.,II Accoullts Mallager JimClark, Easterll SalesMallager Rhonda Crawford, Western Ad Coordillator Bridgett Bobrofskv, Assistant Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Tina Farr, Ar;,sistant Marketing & Promotion Mark Thome. Director Forrest Hayashi. Managa Kory Klinge r, Dealer Representative New Media Development Rick Matheny. Web",aster Stephanie Leamon, Assistant Classified Ads Teri Kerr Graphics and Production Mandy Loo, ProductiollManager Dennis Greene, Lab. Tech. Amanda Wollny, Graphic Artist Randy 5. Hess, Graphic Artist Sandi Gettys, Graphic Artist Admi nistration Judy Klinger, Coordinator Lean ne Sims, Administrative Assistant AccountingfData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Geneva Repass, Assistant Theresa Milburn. Credit Circulation Alma Anguiano, Circulation Mallager Carol Maggio, Processing Coordinator Pam Klein. Billillg Coordinator Jov L,U , DealerCoordinator Jessica Schroeder, A'Sistant Service and Support Shannon Clark, Receptionist Jim Olson, Seroice and Support Natio n al H eadq yarters 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084,Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751·7433 FAX (71 4) 751-6685 Easte rn Qffic e 41 88 First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.O. Box 805,Tucker, GA 30085-0805 m O) 934-7850 FAX (nO) 934-3112 e-m ail editor@cyclenews.com su bscribefscyclenews .com adver tisingfecyc lenews.com Internet http:/ / www.cyclenews.com Sidecars 'R' Us I am writing in regar ds to the Chicanery column pe nned by Henny Ray Abrams . (Issue #26, July 8). First of all, based o n the writing style in which Mr. Abrams pens his column, I find him a very poo r reporter . His attempt at humor when addressing serious matters concerning sidecar racing, track promotion and track sa fety falls way, way short of acceptable journalism . By way of history, sidecar racing has been an integral part of motorcycle racing in all forms since the 1920s. In its current form at the world level, sidecar racing has p roduced some of the most innovative engine and chassis dev elopm e nt s in m o torsp or ts - as well as thrilling on-track action. It is because of the specta tor appea l of sidecar road racing th a t promoters are in terested in add ing the class as an exhibition at even ts. Mr. Abrams is very u ninform ed abou t m an y aspects of the business of motorcycle racing, including why p rom ot ers stage events - it is to en te rtain the attendees and to make a profit. Prom oters have fou nd that, statistically, sidecar raci ng adds to their profits . That alone is no reason why any class of racing should be included in a program as the w ho le package must be looked at. Th e safety issue of modern sidecar racin g is of major concern to both the SRA (Sidecar Racin g Association), each and every competitor, and to promoters. Oi l pans , absorp tio n mats, tighter tech inspections, etc., are all being incorporated and enforced in modern sideca r racing. (I emphasize that I do not speak for vi n tage sideca r racing. ) The same procedures that are used on superbikes to contain fluids are used on sidecars. I mi ght add that th e superbi kes have add ed new rules in just th e la s t few years. Leaking motorcycles is no t a new iss ue, is not confined toju st o ne class, and unfortunately will not go away wi th the wave of an irresponsible jou rn alist's pen. It w ould seem lo gi cal for so meone like Mr . Abra ms to co ntac t concerned p arti e s before writ in g s uc h an ill info rm ed article, and it woul d see m that the editor of Cycle News wo uld find th is type of w riting offens ive - regardless of wh o is being imp rope rl y repo rt ed about. Larry Coleman Ch ico, CA HenllY Ray Ab rams was writing a column .based all his views. He was not reporting. Reportillg is fOllnd elsewhere ill a l1l'u'i'papa - 1I0t on its edito rial page. Editorials are based 011 opillion... Editor. Passenger see, passenger do 1was very saddened when 1 reached the end of your-July 8 issue (Issue #26, July 8), and for good reason. In one blow yo u not only knocked my favorite spo rt, but al so shattered yo u r credibility. Ever since I started subscribing at the 1996 AMA Superbike race a t Laguna Seca (I went specifica lly to see the sidecars), I have enjoyed yo ur publication. It provides me with cu r rent informatio n about almost eve ry aspec t of m o torcycling and , until now, did so in a very professio na l ma n ne r. So what happened? The offending article rem inded me of the art icles that occas ionally show u p in the m a in s t re a m p ress abo u t m ot orcycl ing -you kno w, the ones wri tten by so meone how has never eve n tou ched a motorcvcle bu t ha d to w rite about one wh en th ey unk nowing ly guessed th at they have two w heels - thereby becom ing the residen t expert and obvious choice for the job. They strike o u t in writing a witty a rticle tha t inevita bly makes fun of moto rcycles and ra ises every negative point tha t exists. Why? Because thev don't have a clue . ow you w rite no th ing about road race sidecars until this article written by some poo r guy who doesn' t know anything about sidecars and is not interes ted in learnin g. Yet he wri tes the mos t poorly resea rched article your magazine has published - at leas t since 1996. Now I have to wonder about the credibility of vo ur articles fro m here on ou t. - Th e au th or ad d resses a ve ry re al issue - oil. An d ves, the modern sidecar o rganizations a-re worki ng to re medy th is problem. As for compa ring sidecars to superbikes, w hy not com pa re su perbi kes to NASCA R? In o ne co rner w e have big-dolla r sponsors, prize mon ey, publicity, factory -sponso red teams an d good m agazine coverage. In the oth er corner, w e have non e of the above. How ca n yo u ex pect sideca rs to co m pa re? Give n equal opportunities, w hich would dra w th e mos t inter est? I a m tal ki ng abo ut a totall y neutral crow d w ith equal budgets fo r si deca rs a nd s u perb ikes. Interesting, isn 't it? Th e qu ali ty of the sid eca rs wa s questioned throughout the article and at one poi n t a 650 Yamaha w as o ffered as an exa m ple of the antiquated engines being used . I guess mentioning that the rig in question was racing in Su nday's vin tage race was not importa nt? Th ere were tw o organizations racin g sideca rs at Loudon - an d, yes, one w as vintage. That would hav e been the grou p that we nt ou t Saturday mo rning and ran on a we t tra ck to help dry it o u t so the so lo classes cou ld go ou t sooner - just as the mod ern rigs had done a t Roa d America n the week before. Wha t th e a u thor doesn' t men tio n, a nd probably didn ' t know, was that there were so me beautifully pre pared rigs racing, including an LCR/ ADM GP rig . Unfortunately, th ese G P rigs a re expensive and are the exception and not the ru le. No money equa ls less-sophis ticated machinery. If you wa nt to be competitive o n a sidecar, yo u also have to be a ble to work on them and ofte n fabrica te sp ecial parts. There ar e no bo lt-on mods he re . Now, w ha t is it wi th this " monk ey" bu siness? Again, her e is an exam ple of igno ra nce at work. The pr eferred title is p assenger and a lways ha s been . The insu lts you laid upon genera tion s o f mo torcyclists are inexcusable. What yo u need to reali ze is that close to 100 per cen t are currently or have bee n motorcyclists, an d quite a few are employed in th e mot orcycle ind ustry . It ha s always been this wa y. For exa mple, here are a few of those w ho raced sidecars: Reg Pridm ore , th e la te Denis Jen kin son , Mike Taylor, Mick Woo llell, Colin Seeley - and the list goes on. Sidecar racers ar e no t a bunch of rich o ld farts. Thev are everyday peo ple - aged 17 and up -w ho put as much of the ir pa ychecks as pos sible to w a rd s th e sport th ey love. Could yo u imagine if all of motorcyclin g w as that ded icated? To be able to ans we r w hy they have tha t level of dedication, yo u need so mething yo ur staff p robab ly lacks - sidecar expe rience. The final fact is tha t I ha ve never seen an yb od y ge t off a road ra ce sidecar and say they did not have fun . Roy Richar d s Boron, CA Still laughing In re spons e to H enn y Ra y A brams ' "Chica nery" art icle (Issu e #26, Ju ly 8), pl ease g ive him a ra ise for hit ting th e nail square on the head . Either get a bike, a car, or get a grip tra ck-o ilers! I'm still lau gh in g . Ag ain, a no the r grea t job. John Lynch Millbrae, CA Cycle. t."W S CUSPS 141 -340 is published weekly except the" ) last two weeks of the calendar year for$50.00 per year bv Cycle News. fnc.•JS(5.M Udillitc Avenue. Costa Mesa. CA 926ZS. Feriodkals Postage Paid at Costa \1esa. CA andat additional mailingoffice Canada Post International Pub lica. lioM M.til '54661S. 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Adverr a ing rate and circulation information will be sent upon request. Sec S.R.D.S. W/BI")I\ A UDITED V -r~ CIRCULATION Printed in U.S.A. CopyrightCl Cycle News, Inc.]998. Trademark Cycle ews registered U.S. PatentOffice. All rights reserved. FEATURES ROAD RACE Round 10 - AMA Nationa l Su pe rbike Series fro m Mid -Ohi o 6 Round 9 - World Championship Road 14 Race Series from German y .46 24 - Hours of Spa MOTOCROSS Round 7 - AMA Natio nal C'ship MX Series from Una d iJIa 18 Rou nd 9 - World C' ship 125cc MX Series from Austria , ; 40 Round 6 - AMA Western Regional Fou rStroke MX Series from Idah o .42 Kest~r Trophy from Belgium 50 DIRT TRACK Rou nd 8 - AMA Q\l ries half mile fr?m Oklahoma ~ty .., 24 Amateur DT raci ng from Ind y Andy Tresser Memorial 30 44 INTERVIEW Road racer Simon Crafar 28 OFF-ROAD Round 8 - AMA i atio nal End uro fro m Rhod e Island 34 N ETRA HS from Massa chu setts 52 VINTAGE AH RMA Vintage Mo torcycle Days from Mid -Ohio 38 AHRMA Ind ~ Dirt Track 48 DRAG RACING AMA / Prostar Pro Star Drag Race from Illinois .47 DEPARTMENTS INTHE WIND EVENTS NEWPRODUCTS RESULTS CALENDAR LEADERBOARD WANT ADS IN THEPADDOCK LOOKING BACK : 2 53 63 64 66 73 .74 91 91 ON THE FRONT COVER Jeff Em ig pulled off ano ther close one at the AMA National Motocro ss at Unadilla; Ph ot o by Karl Ockert. Aaron Yates w on th e AMA Superbike at Mid-Ohio; photo by_Henny Ray Abrams . Rich King sli d es to vie t t the, Oklahoma C itv Half Mile; plioto brFIat Trak Fotos. .

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