Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127980
A View from the Fence BY ERIC JOHNSON t was Friday evening, May 22, 1998, and Stefan Everts and I were standing in the lobby of the Marriott Hotel in windon, England. "Heh, there's joel," Stefan said mater-<>f-factly as we waited around to go et something to eat. "Let's go say ello." While we all get a bit nervous when e meet an idol, joel Robert was a differt matter altogether. This was Ute man ho is, arguably, the best motocross acer ever to pres knobby marks in to il, and there he was: big, burly, smiling nd puffing on a cigarette. In this day and age, driving over to he Waffle House Doll!e on the outskirts f town to watch Kevin Windham race is Honda, Jeff Emig his Kawasaki, arry Ward his Suzuki or jimmy Button 's Yamaha, is all taken very much for ranted. Why? Because if it weren't for oel Robert and a decision he made hile taking"a breather on the side of a est track at Fuji Speedway in Japan in anuary of 1970, there may have been no uch thing as the factory motocross eam. Or, if we really want to be blunt, he sport of professional motocross itself .ght not exist. This warmhearted tale begins in an gineering office at the Suzuki motorycle factory in Hamamatsu, Japan, in e year 1965. It was there that two men Mr. Okano, the general manager of e earch and development, and Mr. hikawa, the head of the racing departent - dreamed up a scheme that would e the Japanese motor company to the rand Prix motocross circuits of Europe. In the early and mid-1960s, Suzuki as a road racing company, winning its 'rst constructor World Championship 'n the humble SOcc class in 1962. To them, and all of the other Japanese manacturers trying to create a global reputation for their products at the time, motocross was something better sui ted for European manufacturers - mainly names such as CZ and Husqvarna. That 11 changed in 1965, when a merry band of Suzuki employees - sportsmen motocross enthusiasts who raced stock Suzuki bikes with crude, handmade modifications.in local events - convinced the company to go Grand Prix motocross racing. "We can do it," they claimed in optimistic unison, and by aligning themselves with a few influential racers that Suzuki supported at that time, upper management took notice and greenlighted the project. After developing and shaking out the crude and cobby RH-66 250cc machine, Mr. Ishikawa, who had once managed the road race program, was sent out to get familiar with the GP circuit, accompanied by Suzuki's top rider, Ka uo Kubo. The two men arrived in Europe with a pair of recently completed RH67s, which signaled the next step in the RH's constant tate of evolution. While things did not go spectacularly well, Suzuki wa encouraged. Cognizant of whar it was going to take to become a winning outfit, Ishikawa soon realized that Suzuki would need a seasoned and experienced European rider who could help them sort out the still-nascent RH. Ishikawa didn't want the best rider, but one who was analytical, consistent, dependable and, most importantly, one who could gi ve them immediate and concise feedback on what the bike was doing out on the muddy, choppy, sandy, sweeping race track. In comes Olle Pettersson, a 3O-year-<>ld Swede. Although Ishikawa got what he was looking for in a test rider, Pettersson was no spring chicken (at least by mot 0 s standards). Still, he would play a crucial role in the genesis of the RH. During the winter of 1967, Petters on showed up in Hamamatsu to shake down the new RH-68. It was a handshake deal that lasted for 10 days, which ended wi th Pettersson saying, "Redesign it." What had happened was that Suzuki, because they utilize Japanese test riders, had made the motorcycle too short. Furthermore, due to testing religiously on a typically short japanese motocross circuit, as opposed to the more-sweeping, whooped-out tracks of Europe, the wheelbase was far too short. Petters on suggested that the engineers and machinists move the engine back in the frame (it was alleged1 too far fory ward, thus throwing off weight distribution), moving the footpegs further back, lengthening the swingarm, changing the steering head a ngle and reconfiguring the frame. In other words, there was a hell of a lot of work to do again. Petter son then hopped in a cab and headed for the airport, figuring there was no way that a competitive bike could be fabricated in time for the GPs. Suzuki, undaunted, had other ideas. Coffee cups were filled, clean pieces of paper pulled out and pencil sharpened. Less than a month later, Pettersson got a phone call telling him to get back to Japan, because his new bike was complete. Upon riding the bike, Pettersson was astonished at the new machine. Everything he had requested had been done, and done right. It was now time to take a serious swing at the FIM 250cc World Motocross Championship. It all wen t well from the get-go. Pettersson won a moto and was in the top three in the points standings before bailing off hard in a Swedish ational Championship race on July 7. The re ult: a broken femur. Both he and Suzuki were out of commission for the rest of the season. By March of 1969, Pettersson was back racing the new RH-69, which had gone under even more development while the Swede was healing. The RH-69 had the potential to be a world beater. Based on input from Pettersson and their test riders, the engineers had played around with cylinder ports and pipe configurations to help stretch out the formerly "peaky" RH powerband. Moreover, the RH-69 was sent to "Fitness Beach," where, with hard work and a di t of titanium, the bike was slimmed down to a mind-boggling 187 pounds - far and away the lightest machine on the circuit. During the 1969 250cc World Champion hip Series, it all came into sharp focu for Suzuki when Pettersson placed third overall in the final point standings. Flus-hed with pride and confidence, Suzuki knew the time had come to make a serious run at their first World Championship, and a phone call was placed to Belgium. Joel Robert had already won three World Championships for the prestigious and intimidating CZ motorcycle company 0964, 1968 and 1969), and he was rated as the best motocross racer on the planet. Intrigued by an invitation 0 come to Japan with CZ teammate and fellow Belgian Sylvain Geboers to test the impressive new RH-70, the two racers showed up at Fuji Speedway and suited up for the test. When all was said and done, they were 'dazzled by thl! bike's light weight, razor-sharp handling, and linear and tractable powerband. For all intents and purpose , Robert made his decision on the spot. He would travel the world with the stunning RH-70 in 1970. With a dry weight of 187 pounds, a five-speed transmission, 32 hp at 7300 rpm, an aluminum gas tank, plastic fenders, and 6.5 inches of fork travel, the RH-70 was the talk of the GP paddock. Like a proud father, Mr. Ishikawa watched a Robert and his teammate Geboers, who had also left CZ, rode Suzuki's beloved RH-70 to Grand Prix victory at Paa!, Belgium; Sabadell, Spain; Donington Park, England; San Severino, Italy; Szczecin, Poland; Apolda, East Germal)y; Lvov, Russia; and Maribor, Yugo lavia. After five hard years of faith and devotion, Suzuki had clinched Japan's first World Motocro Championship. As a result, the Japanese on laught onWorld Championship motocross had begun in earnest, thus sounding th death knell for the old-school European manufacturers such a CZ, Husqvarna and Maico. The sport would never again be the same. The next time you are at an AMA Supercross or National, you just may want to cheer a little bit louder for Team Suzuki, because without them and the hard work and diligence they displayed back in the late 1960s, we all migh t be CIII watching the Pro Bowlers Tour. Lookinn Back c 30 YEARS AGO... FEBRUARY 18, 1969 N ovices chase ducks wa the head line at the top of i sue number 5, which fea tured one of the most memorable cover photos in Cycle News history. The photo depicted novice IT rider Alex Armstrong 009R) in midair over the duck pond on the infield at Ascot Park after missing a corner. Before it was over, Lance Vallery (125R) would join Armstrong for a swim. In the Expert ranks, Skip Van Leeuwen (Tri) won his heat, the trophy dash and the main event... Gordon Kateley (H-D) had never tried drag racing before he showed up at Lions Drag Strip in Santa Ana, California, and won the Top Fuel class, of all things, on his nitroburning 65-incher... In our 1969 AMA Grand National season preview story, all evidence was pointing to Fred Nix for the title... Speedway racer Rick Woods came back to Whiteman Stadium and showed his pals what he had learned in Europe by winning the A main event in fine style. 10 YEARS AGO... FEBRUARY 8,1989 20 YEARS AGO... FEBRUARY 14, 1979 M ickey Fay (Hon) and Ted Boody (Yam) surprised the heavies at the opening rounds of the AMA Grand ational Championship/Winston Pro Series at the Houston Astrodome. Fay bagged the seriesopening TT, and Boody, who was once again a privateer after stint with the Harley-Davidson factory, won the short track on an ex-Randy Cleek motorcycle... In an article entitled "Big brother is stepping on your head!" the efforts of ational Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Joan Claybrook to enact national helmet-law legislation was examined ... Our Championship Enduro series was back after a oneweek layoff. This time the focus wa on getting into good physical shape for the rigors of enduro riding... Jeff Ward (Kaw), Darrell Shultz (Suz) and Rex Staten (Yam) each &cored a class win at round five of the CMC Golden State MX Series in Sacramento, California... The going rate for a clean 1978 BMW RI00S in the Want Ads section was $3625. a TI e Red Riders struck goLd at .the season-openIng Anaheim Supercross, as Rick Johnson (Hon) nailed down the victory, with teammates Jeff Stanton (Hon) and Guy Cooper (Hon) finidshinghsedcc ond an t ir , re pectively. Jeff Matiasevich (Kaw) sailed to the 125cc main-event win... Cycle 'dNew~ European Efdlh'torcAl~n CvathcarGtpdelivered a n Ing unpresslOn 0 t e aglva 588 racer being campaigned by Randy Mamola. The machine was the first non-japanese bike to finish on a 500cc GP rostrum since Michel Fruitsci won on a Sanvenero at the 1982 French GP, which was boycotted by all the top riders... Chuck Miller (Hon) won the opening round of the AMA National Championship Hare & Hound Series in Lucerne Valley, California... Garth Brow (Hon) took the race win and Dan Ingram (Hon) the title at the AMA Invitational Pro Indoor Ice Race Series finale in Erie, Pennsylvania ... Jeff Emig (Kaw) was unstoppable at the MTEG Anaheim Ultracro s. CIII M 1 ~ lliii ... ~ ~ :iii Q en ~ 0 ~ .. .c .f :::J 75