Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the fact that none other than Kansas City's own Jeff Emig was our guest speaker. I want to take the time to thank him for coming home to his most loyal fans and for never forgetting where he came from. Gass acts like the Emigs are what motocross is all about. Jimmy Rippy c.rippy@earthnet.att.net. Tears of Doug I just finished reading your article on Doug Henry (Issue #50, January 6). I must say it brought a tear to my eye more than once. He is such an inspira. tion. I have been injured often myself, and although I'm not a rider of Doug's • caliber, I can relate to the same feelings. His is a model of what racing is supposed to be abou t: determina tion, discipline, effort and, of course, a lot of luck. I believe if more "stars" would act like him, it would give the sport more truly deserved respect. Anyway, I thought the article was excellent - keep up the good work. Scott Sheard Denver,CO Doug Henry: Rider of the Year Great article by Eric Johnson on Doug Henry. Being from Connecticut, and living within a moto or two from Doug, makes what he has accomplished very special. ow the world knows about him. Hopefully, young riders will read this and other articles about Doug and see tha tit ta kes more than gti tz to become a champion of this sport. Doug is truly a fine example for all to follow in motocross or any other dream one may have. Dan Mootz Newtown, cr Great Scott... Mark Great article on Mark Brelsford (Issue #50, January 6). There was nothing greater than watching Mark and Kenny Roberts backing it in at San Jose. I remember at a San Jose half mile, Mark was on a warmup lap, riding a wheelie all the way down the back stretch - it was great. I can also remember Scott Brelsford coming down the front straight at a San Jose mile on Erv Kanemoto's mad bumblebee Kawasaki triple, feathering the clutch and pulling it up on the rear wheel at 120 mph plus. Those were the best days of flat-track racing. Please do more "Time Remembered" stories on retired Oass-C riders. Greg Howell spdway206@aol.com Two vs. four Desperate for another opinion on the YZ400-in-the-250cc-class debate? Here you go: Based on my limited understanding of engines, I believe that the reverse pulsing of the exhaust charge in a two-cycle motor packs extra intake gases back from the exhaust pipe into the cylinder, creating a sort of natural supercharging. This allows a 250cc twostroke, by my rough calculations, to contain about 360c<; of fuell air mixture before combustion. A four-cycle enjoys no such effect and in fact is unable, at speed, to even completely fill its combustion chamber before the beginning of the compression stroke. I figure the practical capacity of a 400cc four-cycle motor to be about 352cc of fuel lair mixture. It therefore seems that when we compare apples and apples, or in this case the amount of combustible mixture available to produce power, the bikes are fairly equal. Combine this with the fact that a fourcycle motor only gets the chance to bum this mixture every other revolution, and it seems that any superiority the YZ400 has comes from exceptional design and execution - not an unfair advantage. Mark Makuch Stafford Springs, cr Tecate or bust What kind of event draws Ty Davis, Steve Hatch, Destry Abbott, Fred Andrews, Nick and Russ Pearson, Mike Lafferty, Larry Roeseler, Dave Ondas and Jimmy Lewis, yet pays no points in any series? The Los Ancianos Tecate Hare Scrambles. All of these top riders, the press and a pack of other fun-seekers showed up on Saturday, December 12, for a great race. Held on a private ranch just an hour from the U.S. border, the three-hour Tecate Hare Scrambles was the replacement for the Tecate Enduro this year - a great course consisting of fresh- cut trails, tight trees, sand washes and high-speed dirt roads that had never been raced on before that day. Running a format similar to a GNCC event made this race familiar to the guys from the ea t, and the manzanita and fire-road section made it familiar to the guys . from the west. No whooped-out trails, no rock-strewn washes, no womout old trails. (D-37 riders - are you listening?) It was just IS-mile laps of challenging, well-marked, fun trials. Everyone from the guys in the top five to the last finisher of the C class had big smiles on their tired faces as they crossed the fillish line. In other words, if you weren't there, you really missed out. Hats off to the Los Ancianos MC for working with the local ranchers to put on one of the best, most fun races of the year. If they do it again next year, do whatever it takes to be there. I know I will. Robert Gladden San Diego, CA Wanting tips I've been a subscriber for just under a year now (the best subscription I've ever had, by the way). I recently let my other subscriptions lapse because there is really nothing they offer that I can't get from you - with one exception: Some of the magazines offer riding tips. I learn a lot about improving my riding by reading these. I go faster, safer. I believe that you could do a much more interesting job on riders' tips because you cover all styles of riding and, of course, any true enthusiast is interested in all styles. If it sounds like I'm kissing up, it's probably because I am. Really, you could save us a lot of money by giving us a tips section. The magazines are old news and usually a waste of money otherwise. Tylor D. Carlson paildaroo@email.msn.com The riding tips section is on the way... Editor Crusty dorks? I just finished watching the Fox Files Oanuary 7, 1999) show about the Neanderthal idiots responsible for these crusty-dorksof-dirt-type videos that are the fad right now. It left me embarrassed to be associated with what used to be a port and not some sort of freak sideshow. As Mr. McGrath put it on the nationally televised show, it's all about image. Unfortunately, that image happens to be that of a grunge-rocking, hair-dying, earring-wearing, body-piercing, trashy, , greedy airhead. Call me sentimental, but I liked it better when it was about the _racing and not the money and sluts. I preferred the image of a polite, cleancut, respectable, finely tuned athlete not a spoiled idiot. This is a sorry period in the history of motocross, and these morons aren't heroes to be looked up to - they're just idiots. L. Greer Springdale, AK Not a drag After reading Jay Ingersol's opinion on drag racers ("Voices," Issue #1, January 13), I was compelled to respond. 1 have never ridden and will never ride a drag bike because it's not my cup of tea. One of the reasons it's not is the speed at which these bikes run and the short time it takes for them to attain such peeds. I am certain that those things are a handful and take much more than good timing to race them at their full potential. As far as a monkey being able to "hang on to the thing" - please! Anyone who has ever ridden a 500cc motocrosser or any bike with a good amount of power knows that they don't accelerate in a straight line. What makes Jay think that a mega-horsepower drag bike would be any different? If just anyone could ride those monsters, there would be many more winners than there are in drag-bike racing, or drag racing period. Tell John Force that a monkey could handle his funny car once the tree had gone green. I have an immense amount of respect for the winners and champions, re,gardless of my affinity of their type of racing. I think we all should. Mark McGowan Bakersfield, CA Letters 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. Letters should not exceed 200 words and all letters are subject to editing. Anonymous leiters will not be considered for publication. All letters should contain the writer's name, address and daytime phone number ... Editor. 5

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