Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

;' IN THE WIND ...,.,.,.... . Form er AMA Formula Xtreme Champion Andrew Stroud will co n tes t th e 1998-1999 New Zealand Road Raci ng Ch amp ion sh ip o n a Br itten VI000 . Stro ud had been planning on runnin g hi s ex- Ro b Mu zzy Ka wa s ak i in th e series, w hic h runs from Novem be r to January, but decided to rid e the Britten aga in w he n s po nso r s hi p fro m PPG Industri es ena bled the team to return to competition after miss ing last seaso n. In additi on, th e u pg raded Britt en h a s repo rted ly gai ned some 20 horsepow er over its pred ecessor. Australian 600cc Superspo rt Series ru nnerup Andrew Pitt has s ig ne d a oneyea r contract with Team Kawasaki Australia to ride its 750 and 600 in 1999. The 22-year-old will replace Damon Buckma st er on th e team, w it h Buckma ster recently signing a deal that will see him on Cha pa rral Suzu kis in AMA Su persport racing. The fate of 1998 Australia n Su perb ike Cham pion Martin Crag gill remains un certain after he failed to meet a d eadline to sig n a Kawasaki contra ct for 1999. Cr aggiII is trying to secure a ride outside of Aust ralia for '99, according to Cycle News co n tri bu tor Darryl Flack. Th e A MA ha s a nnou nced th a t it wiII pres ent its fi rs t-ever AM A Li fet im e Ach ievement Award to thr ee-time 500cc Wo rld Champio n Kenny Rob erts at its AMA Natio nal C ha m p ions Awards Ban qu et a t the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 21. This yea r marks the 25th ann iversary of the tw o AM A Gra nd Na tio na l Cha m pions hips that Rob er ts won in 1973 and 1974 - wh en racers compe ted for the title in both road races and dirt track Grand Na tio na l Cha m p io ns h ip eve n ts. Th e King the n went on to win his three 500cc World Championshi ps in 1978, 79 and '8 0, prior to bei n g a Gra nd Prix team owner and now a motorcycle cons tru ctor with his Modenas KR3. Noted biker coo k Billy Biker will be the featu red guest for Vanso n Leathers' Fire & Leat her weeke nd , s ch ed u le d fo r November 19-22 a t Vanson's Stoughton, Massachusetts head quarters. The Team Ob solete bikes w ill also be on display. For mo re in forma tion, ca ll 781 /3445444. There are still en tries available for the 15th annua l Los Ange le s-B arstow to Las Vegas Dual Sport Rid e, scheduled for November 27-28. The Toys For Tots ben efit rid e is the season finale of th e AMA / Suzu ki Nationa l Dual Sport Trail Rid e Series. For mor e info rmation, all 818/249-2141. B B ~ 00 0\ 0\ ,...... 00 ..... l-< OJ .c E OJ ;> o Z 2 . k -,.< Yos hi mura Suzu ki's Ja son " Exte rna l Fixa tor" Pridmore und erw ent minor surgery to his bro ken wrist on Wednesday, ovember 4. Dr. Art hur Ting perform ed the surgery and told Prid more that he plans to rem ove the external fixa tor fro m his wrist in tw o weeks. Pridmore, who has previou sly had an external-fixator device on his leg, isn' t certain when he'll be able to begin preseason testing. Montclair Yam aha and Ty Davis Racing w ill b e offe r ing p it se rv ic e fo r th e upco mi n g Terrible Town 250 in Pa hrump, N evada . For mor e information, call 877/TY-DAVIS. Speaking of Ty Davis, th e N ational Hare & Hound Champion has re-signed w it h Mon tcla ir Yama ha a nd w ill be aboard a Yama ha YZ400 agai n in 1999. On Satu rday, Jan uary 16, 1999, a Glamis Dune Clean-Up will be held at the popular rid ing area in Sou thern California. For mor e info rmation, callthe BLM a t 760/337-4451, or Rob or Jenni fer Whyte at 714/532-3504. A John Myers Memorial Fund Auction wi ll be held on Nov ember 13, immedia te ly foll owin g Pro qu ali fying at the NHRA Winston Finals in Pomon a, Californ ia. The auction, wit h many NH RA stars on hand , will benefit Myers' famil y and will feature man y special d onati on s of sports and racin g hist or y. For mor e in fo rm a ti on , call St e v e Jo hns on at 205 / 970-9007 or Ty van Hooyd onk a t 714/427-3123. The openi ng round of the 1999 World Superbike Series has cha ng ed d a tes. Th e Kyalami, Sou th Afr ica, ro und w iII be held on March' 28 inst ead of April 4, as origi nally published. . Acco rd ing to r e p or ts from Ne w Zealand, the Britten Motorcycle Company is consid erin g producing a 500cc four-s tro ke mo tocross bike. The engi ne wo u ld featu re the head from one cylinder of the Britt en V-tw in VI000 w ith a new bo ttom end - placed , naturally, in a mot ocross-bike chassis. Don Emde will be the featured guest of Flat Track Chat on Mond av, November 16, sta rting at 7 p.m. (Pacific). The topic of th e o n-li ne cha t is : "What do you th ink of the AMA's Formula 2000 and what must be don e to increase the popu larity of dirt track racing?" To enter the cha t, visi t the fo llowing site on t he World Wi d e Web: http: / / w w w .f1 a ttra ck.com/ chat. html. Eyewi tness re po r ts fr om La s Vegas M otor Speedway say that forme r AMA road racer and d irt tracker Jeff Haney was recent ly spotted with former Team Ho nd a team mate Freddi e Spe nce r at one of Spencer' s riding schoo ls. Reported ly, the pai r we re clicking off extremely quick lap times while pa inti ng black marks wi th their rear tires all over the Speed way'S su rfa ce . Ha ney fin ish ed third in the 1985 Dayton a 200, the same year that Spence r wo n. Haney may end up helping Spencer instruct at so me of th e for me r three -time World Champ ion's adva nced riding schools in Las Vegas, Nevad a. Little-known-fact d ep t. : PAC E Mo tor Spo rt s was a s ponsor of th e Uni ted States' 1998 Mo tocross d es ations team . According to sources close to the tea m, PACE ch ipped in about $10,000, and also bou gh t custom leather team jackets an d travel bags. New ly crowned AMA Superb ike National Champion Ben Bost rom suffered a broken left wrist while riding his mo tocross bike for a film c rew that was d oin g a d a y-i n-th e- li fe- type s tory on Bo strom . Bostrom bailed o ff his mo tocross bike a fter reali zin g he was going to come up short on a jump, and his left hand struck a cliff face. Bostrom said tha t he will still take part in the Dun lop tire test at Dayton a Interna tional Speed way the first week in December. It will be his first ou tin g on the Van ce & Hines Ducati after win nin g the title on a Honda RC45. A lead s to ry on the fro nt p age of th e Novembe r 3 issu e of the Los Angele s T imes is comi ng und er scru tiny from off-roa d riders , wit h e nviron men ta l writer Fran k Clifford tak ing so me sho ts a t off- roa d m ot orcycli n g a nd o the r groups who use the Nati onal Fores t in So u the rn California . How' s th is for a lead to the story? "Five motocy cles are wallowing up to th e ir tailpipes in a mountain stre am. The p ine air is filled with clouds of exha us t and the snarling of high-performan ce machines clawin g for tracti on amid the mud, pebbles and will ow sho ots of one of Sou the rn Californ ia's las t w ild trout strea ms." Th e sto ry also tak es iss u e with American Honda, whic h it calls the biggest contributor to the San Bernard ino Natio nal For est As sociation, a no nprofit gro u p that helps pay for ed ucation and recrea tio n a l p ro gram s . "C r it ics s ay th at Honda and other companies wit h financia l in terests in the for est a re helpin g sha pe fores t policies throu gh the associ ation," the story sa id . Accord ing to a pr ess release issue d by Indian Motorcycles, a $30 million merger between Ame rican Indi an Motorcycle Com pany, Ind ian Motorcycle Company In c., California Mot o rcycl e Co m pa ny a nd s ix rela ted compan ies will mak e th em th e seco n d- largest p roducer of hea vy cruiser m otorcycl e s in No rt h Ame rica. "The com pa ny will spend in excess of $17 millio n to p u rc hase th e trademark rights of Ind ian Moto rcycle in the United States fro m the receivership of Ind ia n Motorcycle Ma nufacturing lnc., finally consolidating the tradema rk in North America an d endi ng mo re than 45 years of confusion aro u nd tradema rk ownership," the release states. Former AMA Gra nd Na tional Cha mp io n Mert Laww i ll wi ll b e t h e g ues t spea ke r at the 11th a n nua l America n Motorcycle Heritage Foundati on breakfas t on Sa tu rday, March 6, in Deland , Florid a , d u rin g 1999 Da yton a Bik e Week. According to Terry Co rd ray , the owner a n d o p e rato r o f V i lla g e C reek Mot ocross Park Inc., the ope ni ng d at e for th e n ew ly com ple ted qu arter-mile fl at tr a ck - Ro s s Downs II - w ill b e No vember 28. A noon sta rt is plann ed for the first event a t the new fa cili ty. For m ore inform ation , ca ll 972 /9861179. La Fo rz a Motorspo rt s is acce p ti ng resumes fo r the 1999 raci ng season . Resumes can be sen t to La Forza, attn: Kat her in e Mill er, 4220 Ensena da Dr ., Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Pro Action Suspension is now acce p ting resumes for the 1999 racing season. Resumes can be sent to Pro Actio n, 3611 Eigh th Ave ., Beaver Falls, PA 15010. Whe n Joe Kl ein recently rode into San Fra ncisco, California, it mark ed the successful com pletion of the Rock to Rock Victo ry Tour, in w hich Kle in ro de a Vic tory mo t o rcy cl e from New York City to San Fran cisco . It took th e 63yea r-old Kle in eigh t d ay s to ri de th e 3300 miles. Keith Code' s California Sup e rbike School - the subject of a five-min u te film fea ture seg me n t d ir ect ed b y Ro bert Man ciero - won an Emmy for Best Director in the Creati ve category. "Superbike Scho o l," a se g men t s ho t at Wi llow Sp ri ngs in Rosa m ond , Cali forn ia , in Oc to be r o f 1997, fo r the Enco re 'N e twork's "Sports Rap " program , began airing in Janua ry of 1997 and was sho wn on mor e than 125 s ta tions nati onwide, according to Code. Copi es of the show are available by calling 818/246-0717. Cru ise America has signed an agreement wi th Sears Point Raceway to become the 1999 title sponsor of Sonomafest, a ioday motorcyclin g eve nt in Sonoma, California, scheduled for April 16-25. The 10da y event will culminate wi th a round of the AMA / MBN A Su pe rbi ke Na tio na l Championship. Countd o wn to Su p erc ross: As Cycle News wen t to press on Monday, November 9, there were only 61 days left before the start of the AMA U.S. Supercross Series season a t Edison In tern at iona l Field in Anaheim, California. This year's seri es wi ll mark the 25th anniversary of th e se rie s, a cco rdin g to PACE Motor Sports. I Th e Motorcycle Heritage Museum is look in g for com pe tition machines to be includ ed in it s "75 Yea rs of Exci tem ent" exh ibit, se t to o pen in Ju ly of 1999 as pa r t o f th e AMA' s 75t h a nn ive rs a ry ce le bra tio n . Tho se in teres ted in loaning machines for the tw oyear exhibit can con tac t Aaro n Fitch at 614/891-2425. CORRECTION: We are gu ilty of a typo in ou r Gra nd Nationa l Nu mberama box, which ran in las t wee k's III the Willd section . We. mistak enl y typed th at AMA Gra nd Na tional num be r 26 belongs to Steve Butler wh en in fact it is aga in the property of Steve Beattie, the Canadia n rider, w ho cras hed so hard a t the 1998 Peoria TT tha t it apparen tly ru ng our bells, too. BORN: Makenzie Lynn, to dirt track racer Victor McAnally and his wife, Tiffany, in Tulsa, Oklah oma, on October 14. OPEN HOUS E: At Heli mot Eu ro pean M o torcycle A ccess ori es in San Jo se , Ca lif orni a, o n N ov ember 21. STA R Mo torcycle School' s Ja son Pr idmore a nd La n ce H ol st a re s c he d u le d to a p p ea r . For m o r e in form atio n , call 408 /298-9608. RESCHEDULED: T he WFO End u ro , round 10 o f the N o rth e rn Ca li fo rn ia C h amp ion sh ip En d u ro Associ a tion Series, to Decem ber 6 in Stonyfiel d, Californi a. The Novem be r 8 race was canceled due to snow. O PEN ED : Mo n tclair Yama ha's Desert Recr eat ion , in Bullhead City , Arizona, effe ctive immed iat ely. For mor e info rmation , call 877/ BANSHEE. OPE NED: Valkyrie Things' home page on the World Wide Web. The site can be fou n d a t the followi ng a d d ress : http:/ / www .valkyriethings.com . OPEN ED : PACE Mo to r Spo rts' home page for the Ultracross Series . The site can be fou nd at the following ad d ress: http :/ /www.ultracross.com. , OPENED: Kevco-Stubbs Kidney Belts' home page on the World Wide Web. The s it e can b e found a t the fo llowi ng add ress : http:/ / www.kevco-stubbs.com . OPENED: D av ey Ca m li n 's Sidewa ys Circus ' home page on the World Wid e Web. Th e site ca n be fou nd a t the follo w in g a d d ress: ,http :/ /w ww .davey camIin-27.com / merchandise. ht ml. CORRECTIO N: The retail price in 'last w eek' s riding im pression of th e 1999 Yamaha Ven ture Royal Star was incorrect. The actu al suggested retail price is $15,999. 1':\

• Cover