Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

(jJill .~ VOICES America'sweekly motorcyclenewspaper V olumeXXXV Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher LffiERSTO THE EDITOR • Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor Mark Hoyer, Managing Editor Keith Bush, Assistant Editor/CoT'!! Editor Alan Cathcart, European Editor David R. Holther , Copy Editor Deborah Regius, Editorial Assistant Advertising Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Thomas Center, West,.,,, Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Greg Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Jim Clark, Eastern Sales Manager . Rhonda Crawford, Westerll Ad Coordinator Bridgett Bobrofsky, Assistant Carla Allen, Eastern Ad Coordinator Tina Farr, Assistant Marketing & Promotion Mark Thome, Director Forrest Hayashi, Manager Kory Klinger, Dealer Rcprescntatioe New Media Development Rick Matheny, Webmaster Stepha nie Lea mo n, Assistant Classified Ads Teri Kerr Graphics and Production Mandy Loa, Production Manager Dennis Greene, Lab. Tech. Amanda Wollny, Graphic Artist Sandi Gettvs, Graphic Artist Paul Fisher, Graphic Artist Administration Judy Klinger, Coordinator Leann e Sims , Administrative Assistant AccountingIData Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Geneva Rep ass, Assistant Theresa Milburn, Credit Circu lation Alma Anguiano, Circulation Mallager Ca rol Magg io, Processing Coordina tor Pam Klein, Billillg Coordinator . Joy Lau, Deale Coordinator r Jessica Schroeder, Assistant Service and Support Shannon Clark, Receptionist Jim Olson, Service and Support National Head ~ 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 r .o. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 FAX(714) 751-6685 Eastern Office 41 88 First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.O. Box 805,Tucker, GA30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770) 934-3112 e-mail editor@cyclenews.eom subscribe@cyclen ews .com ad ver tising@cyclenews.co m Internet http://www.cyclenews.com Cycle News (USPS 141-3-10) is published weekly except the last two weeki.of tht' calendar year for $50.00 per year by . CycleNews, lnc., 3505MCadillac Avenue, Costa Mesa. CA 92628. Periodical.. Postage Paid at Costa Mesa, CA and at additional mailing office. Canada Post Internation al Publications Mail #546615. I e n joy ed readin g th e a rticle o n th e BMW R1100S ("Der Spo rt," Issu e #35, September 9) so mu ch that I am signing up fo r a test r id e . H oweve r, Mark H oyer' s co m ments th a t the non-A BS model may be the way to go prompted th is mes sage. Wh en th e Rll O ORS first came ou t, my wife took a test rid e and fell in love with it. It was a p rot otype that di d not have ABS. It is incong ruo us for a 5-foo t-4-inch wom an to be riding such a large piece of machinery, but she loved it. The third day she rode it, she put on the brakes on a patch of sand and cras hed , breaking her thumb . She never reall y rod e the bike after that a nd it became my bike. A lmos t a yea r later, CLA SS tr a ck schoo l da wn ed a nd I chose to ta k e the R110 0RS ins tea d o f the 900 RR as I feared th at wit h m y li mit ed a b iliti e s th e la tt e r w ould get m e in to tro u bl e . A n ywa y , I lost the bra kes going int o th e Co rk s crew (the le ve r ca m e to th e handle , h ard ly p ro vid ing a ny s to p p in g p o we r) a nd o nce I h it th e lit t le dip at th e top of t h e h ill , a ny b raking I ha d going for me l o c k ed th e fr ont w hee l. I w a s s la m m ed t o th e pa v em e n t a n d th e ' b i k e end e d up a bo u t w here p o o r A k i r a Ya na gaw a e n de d u p at t h e World Su perbike ra ce . The bike was rebuilt and, thanks to a misread of an X-ray, I now have a per manently bu s ted righ t ri ng finger as a m em ent o . T he bi k e b ec am e a co mmut er , as I los t co nfi d e nc e in it in agg ressiv e s i tua t io ns . So o ne ra in y ni g h t I'm rid in g th e b ike h om e a n d someone ahead slams on the br akes. I swerve aro und the car to d iscover that the reason for the hard brakin g was that a tree had fallen onto the highway. The fron t w heel locked , a nd d own I wen t aga in. All these cras hes we re from rid er erro r - but I' ve ridden over 50,000 miles on othe r bikes and have never locked the front wh eel bad enoug h to crash -. On the non-ABS BMW, my wife and I locked the brakes an d fell three times . Draw your ow n conclusions. Ride wit hout ABS and your br a in had bett er be trained to igno re the lack of div e wh en computing leve r pulL The purpose of this d etail is to press home a poin t. You arc d ealing with a uniqu e sus pe ns ion - the Telelever. On e aspec t of that sus pens ion is tha t it d oes no t dive. I'm no eng inee r, bu t commo n sense tells me that this must mean ther e is less pressur e on the front tire a t hard brakin g - wit h more of it bei ng transformed into the suspension. Even if my INSIDE Issue #37 FEATURES To determine the expiration date of your subscription, check the four numbers on the first line of your address label. The first two digits indi cate the last issue number you'll receive and the last two characters indicate the year of the l.asl issue. FIRST LOOK Yamaha' s 1999 YZF-R6 Subscription rate Rate for the United State and its pos.o;e;.. s s s sions for one Y (SO issues), $50.00; two years (100 issues), Cilr $95.00 six months (25 issues), $2b'{)() trial sub (15 issues), ; ; $19.00. Canada and Foreign, one yeM (50 iSSUl'S ), $I;I(WO two ; years 000 issues), $175.00;six months (25 issues), $45.00; trial sub OS issues), $.. 8.00. 1 INTERVIEW Ca rlos Checa Greg Crow W/Boll VI A UDITED -!""~ CIRCULATION. Printed in U.S.A. 4 Co~yrigh tCl Cycle News, Inc. 199 .8.Trademark Cycle News registered U.S. PatentOffice All rights reserved. . (ouchl), Dave Pansius San Jose, CA A return to tradition Th is is a reques t to re tu rn to tradi tion. Our talent-lad en squad of Dou g Henry, John Dowd and Ricky Ca rmichae l w ill ta ke on the world this month and w in the Motocross des Nations. I am hop ing th at th e helmet pa in ters to th e sta r s re mem be r ba ck to th e d ay w he n one cou ld easily pick out ou r rid ers' blu ewith-w hite-sk u nk- s tripe helmet s fro m the first-tu rn melee. Th e he lm ets of th e la st few yea rs wer e com pletely unrecognizabl e. If the rid ers wa nt to stand ou t, wi n both your motos. Painters, we've seen you r work n ow rela x a nd pa in t some th ing clean and team-ori ent ed . Ryan Chapin Los Angles, CA Ku dos to Despain Havin g just returned fro m Springfield , Illinois, over th e Labo r Day week en d an d enjoyi ng the best racin g I've see n in a long time, tak ing in the Hall of Fame ind ucti on ceremony and talkin g w it h the heroes I grew u p with , I would like to take a moment and say "thank yo u" to Dave Despain. . It was great of him to make his "Ha ll of Fame " d rea m a rea lit y an d to pa y these gu ys what they are really worth . I jus t hope these othe r p romot er s sit up and tak e notice. It's the rid ers who we pay to see. It's the rid ers who are on the line, bu t it's always been the promoters wh o have go tten fat. A purse of $100,000 for next yea r - I'm already makin g plans for the trip. Bill Keys San Leandro, CA And more The ina ugu ral Dirt Track Hall of Fame weekend at the Springfield Mile and all those who helped make it possible are wo rth of the Hall o f Fa me - esp ecially Da ve Despain, Th e IMD A has a lways don e a great job of promoting the races at the Springfield Mile - it's the pinnacle of th e spor t. But th is weekend rai sed d irt track racing to a new level, The open infield and great d ispl ays of old and new, th e Ha ll of Fame tent wi th " th e cha m p io ns " s ig n ing-au tog ra p h s, th e Cycle News 1en t, t h e pit access, the ind u ction ceremo ny, incredi ble racing and the fantastic announci ng tea m of Dave Despai n and J.B. Norris all made it special . I wo uld like to con gra tul at e a ll th e in d u ct ees in th e Ha ll of Fame - yo u are our heroes. Thanks to all the dirt track fan s who d u g deep on race da y to ad d a no ther $50,000 to the purse next year so that it will be a $100,000 race. I can' t wait. Erick Timmons Chicago,IL It's in the mail A month ago, ou r family atte nded the. AMA Mot ocross Na tio na l a t Kenworth y' S. At the end of th e d a y, th e kids were allowed in to th e pits to see the ir favori te Pro s. O u r so n, Bra ndon, wen t up to Ricky Carmicha el and as ked him for his jersey , Ricky said he d idn' t have an y more to give awa y. Just as Brando n sta rted to walk away, Mrs. Ca rmichael told Brandon tha t if h e ga v e her hi s name and add ress, she wou ld send him an au tographed jersey. We told Brand on no t to be d isa p pointed if he d id n' t receive one, knowing that she is a very busy lady . A few weeks later, a bra nd-new autographed Axo jersey arrived in the maiL It's nice to know that there are peopl e in this bu siness who keep their word to young fans . Th ank y o u ve ry m u ch to th e Ca rmichaels for making our son's day. The Dietrichs Amelia,OH Leiters to the editor should be sent to Voices, Cycle News, P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084, faxed to 714/751-6685 or email, editor@cyclenews.com. Published letters do not necessarily reflect the position of Cycle News, Inc. Leiters should not exceed 200 words and all leiters are subject to editing. Anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name, address and da ytime phone number ... Editor. ber 23, 1998 POSTMASTER:Send address changes to Cycle News, P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa. CA 92628--5084. Cycle News welcomes unsolicited editorial material including . stories, cartoons, photos, etc. Such material. if published, be comes the exclusive property of Cycle News. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. AdvertisinJ;rates and circulation information wil l besent upon reques t. See S.R.D.S. ph ysics a re wrong, certainly there is less feedba ck to the rider. Th e per son who wants to forgo the ABS in orde r to save 20 pound s is, mor e likel y than not, an agg ressive rider . If the bik e is going to the tra ck, that' s one thing, but for street rid ing - even agg ressive street rid ing - I would not ride a BMW oilhe ad Boxer withou t the ABS activa ted . It's too eas y for a per son of little or modes t skill to make a "mistake." This is not a -kn ock on BMW. To the contrary, I have owned literally 10 nonBMW bikes and tw o BMWs and I have .tota led m ore mil es on th e tw o BMWs than on the o ther 10 combined . If yo u don' t get the ABS, then recalibra te your b rai n w he n yo u rid e it. Ta ke it fr om so meo ne who has learn ed the hard way 6 : .8 16 DIRTTRACK Washington Speed Week l0 Round 13 - AMA Hot Shoe Series from Springfield, Illinois 18 MOTOCROSS· Round 15 - Swiss 250cc Grand Prix......20 . . Broom e-Tioga Amateur Nati onals 25 Round 1 - GFI Racing Fall Series fro m San Bernardino, California , 26 DRAG RACE Round 10 - NHRA series from Ind iana , ROADRACE Final round - Canad ian Superbi ke Series 22 24 DEPARTMENTS INTHE WIND EVENTS LEADERBOARD RESULTS CALENDAR WANT ADS CHICANERY, LOOKINGBACK : , , 2 .24 ..48 .50 52 .58 .75 .75 ON THE FRONT COVER Get you r first look at Yama ha's all-new YZF-R6 600cc Su perspo rt contende r; see page 6. Phot o by Paul Carruthers.

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