Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

" dP S afety Sch o ols will hold 14 sessions between Ma rch 1 and November 15 in 1999. Lag u na Seca will host eight se ssions wit h Sears Poi nt, Thunderhill and Bu tto nwi llow holdin g tw o ses s io ns each . Th e firs t sess io n will be hel d at Bu tto nwillow in Bu tto nwillow, California, on Ma r ch 1 . For m o r e information on th e d P Safety School, call 805/ 772-8301 or see th e school's s i te o n the Wo rld Wide Web at http: / /www .d psafetysc hoo l.com. Mu zz y Kawasa ki's Doug Ch an d ler is a frequent visitor to th e school when it is held at Lag una Seca Ra cew ay in Monterey, California . TI)e dates for the 17th annual Laughlin River Run have been releas ed . The 1999 versio n of the run will be held Ap ril 2225 in Laug hlin, Nev ad a, and w ill feature a co ncer t by Ly nyr d Skynyrd at th e Fla mingo Hilt on Am ph ith ea ter , Ap ril 24-25. For com plete room-package informatio n, ca ll Da l-Co n Promo t io ns a t .909/ 340-0094. M oto Sport Training will release a trai nin g vid eo featuring three- time AMA Fou r-Stroke Motocross Cha mpion Lance Smail in January 1999. For mo re information , call 907/ 488-8332. The Wome n ' s Moto cross Le ag u e, in conjunction with Gary Semics and Colora do St a te Uni vers it y, will hold a n Olym pic-style mo tocross training cam p for fema le racers near Fort Collins, Colorado, April 12-16, 1999. For mor e information , call 970/587-5770. Excels ior-Hen derson has anno u nced a suggested retail price for its 1999 Su pe r X cruiser motorcycle. The Rave n Black Super X will sell for $17,950 while twotone models will go for $18,515. Effecti v e im mediately , the Wegman Be n e fit Fu n d will n o lo nge r solicit do na tions fo r inju r ed road race r s , acco rding to a pr ess release issu ed by fu nd p resident Go rdon Lu nde Sr. "For p e r so n al rea so n s , I ca n n o lon g er d ev ot e the time and ene rgy to run thi s fu nd," Lu nd e sai d . " I have d evoted 12 years of m y p er son al life to this effort, b u t kn o w I m u s t ta k e ca re of so me person al busin ess which takes prec ed ence ov er all else. It is with a ve ry h e a v v h e a r t t h at I h av e m ad e th is decision. I kn ow the fu nd meant a lo t, to a lot of p e o p le . I m ad e so me tremend ous, lif e-l ong fr iend s while d oin g thi s and I truly ap p reciate you r su p po rt." Kiwis to field 500cc GP racer A New Zealand team is set to tak e on the world next year in motorcycle racing's top category - the 500cc World Champion sh ip . . Buckley Systems Ltd., a high -tech Auckland compan y that is a world lead er in the manufacture of pr ecision electromagnets, is producing a th ree-cy linder racer called the BSL 500. Company lea der Bill Buckley is a lifelon g mot or cycle enthusia st, and his so n Scott raced superbikes in New Zealand a few yea rs ago. The BSL 500 is the product of a group of New Zealanders and the advanced technologies of the Buckley Systems manufactu rin g facilitv. Th~ new bike was launched in Auckland on November 11, and forme r GP sta r Randy Mamola is slated to give the BSL its initial shakedown before the bike goes on to Australia for the IRTA tests early next yea r. BSL will run one rid er - yet to be named - in the 500cc World Champion ship in 1999, wi th two bikes. Bill Buckley started the project two yea rs ago , at the suggestion of engineer and racer Loren Poole. Wayne Wri ght , whose experience as engine bu ilder and tuner for two-strok e racin g engines includes th r ee Wo rld Sidecar Championships w ith Hewitt and Webster, was responsible for the engine while Poole w orked o n chassis design . Apa rt fr om components su ch as whee ls and carburetors, which ar e normally purchased from outside so u rces, the en tire bik e is design ed and mad e in Buckley Systems' Auckland manufacturing facility . In celebration of Harle y-David son 's 95th annivers ary, GT Bicycle s has created a limi ted-ed ition bicycle - the Velo Glide Ultra. Prod uction of the new bike will be limited to just 1000 with delivery for the h olida y se as o n . Under li cens e from H arley-Da v id son , GT Bicycles has wo rked closely with designers from the mo torcycle co mpany. "Capturing th e heritage and spiri t of Harley-Davidson in a bicycle is qui te a challen ge," said Susan McPherson , GT' s senior ma nager of gen-: eral merchandise. 'The Velo Glide Ultra s ucceeds in every as pect." T he Velo Glide Ultra carries a suggested re ta il price of $2499 and is ava ilable at Ha rleyDavidson and authorized GT dealers. This year Paul Treacy, back in New Zealand after 10 seasons with Kenny Roberts' 500cc GP tea m and a worl d- lead ing expert in da ta acqui sition, joined the team, working from his Welling ton base on the electronic sid e of the bike. He was also ab le to offer advice in other areas, d rawi ng on his great experience of GP racin g. \ The engine is a V-t hr ee, w ith an angle so mewhe re between 110 and 130 degrees. On e cylinder points down a nd forward, w hile the other tw o - separate but side by side - point up and forwa rd . BSL chose a tripl e because it saw this forma t as the best compromise between power and weight (under FIM rul es, fou rcylinder bike s have a minimum weight limit of 288 pounds, . w hi le tri p les ca n carry as little as 255 pounds and tw in s 222 po unds). The chassis is relatively conventiona l in design - althoug h the tea m looked at a nu mber of mo re radical pos sibili ties - bu t the way the fra me and much of the engine is bu ilt is qu ite different. Most o f the bi ke's compone nts, in clud in g th e crankcases, are milled from solid alu mi num-a lloy billet, using Buckley Systems' CNC machines. The triple engine is yet to run, but a sing le-cylinder version has been tested on the team's ow n dy namometer , w ith posi tive results. "The first time it was absolutely phenome nal - co mpetitive horsepo wer immed iately," Poo le said . BSL views 1999 as a learning season, but hopes the team wi ll be fully com petitive by 2000 and may eventually be ab le to sell repli ca bikes to privateers. Bernard Carpinter the Triu m ph racing team fro m 1967-68 and 1970 al so on th e schedule. Eddi e Mu ld e r a n d Dick H amm er a re pear. For more inform asched uled to ap tion , call Pat Owens at 626/ 443-9630. Bos s Be a ri n g is cu rren tly acce p ti ng rid er resumes for the 1999 racing season. Resumes can be sent to Boss Bearing, a ttn : Da llas Nor ma n, 1915 W. Front Street , Statesville, NC 26677. BO RN: Mika yl a Ann to AMA 250cc Grand Prix road racer Mark Foster an d his wife, Tarnmv, on N ovember 17 in San Juan Ca pistrano, Ca lifornia . A PPOINTE D : La r ry Co le ma n to the positi on of public-rela tions representative for the Sidecar Racers Association , effective im med iately. The Lodi Cycle Bowl in Lod i, Californ ia , wil l ru n a m arat h on race o n December 6, beginning a t 9 a .m . The course will feat ure all of the sho rt track and IT, plus mu ch of the ba nk and pit ar ea . Fo r m ore in for m at ion , call 209/544-1027. CORR ECTION: The rider pho to g r a p h ed o n page 39 o f Iss u e #44 (November 11) from the freestyle ju m ping contest in Costa Mesa, California, was mis id en tified in our caption. The rider is ac tua lly Suzuk i of Ca nada backed Chris Garwasiuk, who finished ninth in the com petition. T he 7th a n n ua l Te am E d uca ti on Award s Banque t w ill be held at the Pomon a Fai rp lex in Po mona, Ca lifornia , on December 6, w ith a reu nion of BO RN : A b a b y boy , Cory Kit, to motocross racer Barry Carsten and his w ife, Ta m my , in Bayvill e, N ew Jersey, on November 18. NAMED: Dana Bell, the western states rep resen ta tive for the AM A, to th e America n .Trails Board , the nation ' s p re mier orga nization for tra il ad vo cates. HIRED : Phil McDowell, by O p tim u m Power Technology , to head up its fuelin jection d iv ision . For more info rma tion, call 412/257-9070. SI G N ED: Lar r y Huffma n, by A dv a n s t a r Ex posit io ns , to b e t h e "voice" of the nine Cycle World International Mot orcycle Shows p rese nted b y Toyo ta Tru cks . T he s hows beg in Dece mber 4 in Long Beach, Californ ia. CHA N G ED : Th e na me of Mars hall Design Associa tes to Ma rs ha ll Advertising & Design . 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