Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

'm on a roll. It's been two full years since my last ticket (or should [ say, "moving violation"?). A while back, it seemed that I had a huge sign on my back reading: Tickets Wanted. If 1 didn't pu t my foot d own a t an in tersection busted. [f I just cracked the 55-mph speed barrier - busted. [f I even clipped the bicycle lane - busted. If I crossed the double yellow line - busted. And to make matters worse, these tickets always seemed to come in bunches. But, in all honesty, I can't complain. For every ticket I've amassed, ['ve probably "gotten out" of at least two or three. I wish I could attribute this to quick thinking or by saying the right things to the officers who pulled me over, but - more or less - I have to attribute it to just plain good luck. Many times, paperwork seems to get me out of trouble. Oftentimes, things get a little messy when [ get pulled over on a test bike and have to explain who actually owns the motorcycle. Usually the manufacturers are pretty good about supplying us with the proper paperwork, such as a loan agreement, the motorcycle's registration, an up"to-date license plate and tag, and all that - but not always. And it always seems to be that bike that [get pulled over on. One time, late at night, I was motioned to the freeway's shoulder because I was (admittedly) speeding. It was cold out, and I guess I was a little too anxious to get home. The highway patrolman asked me for my license. I handed it to him, hoping he wouldn't notice that I had let my Class C1M (motorcycle) license lapse. He noticed. He asked me for the bike's registration. I looked under the seat and - pretty much as I had expected - there was no little white piece of paper. He asked me why the bike I was riding had no license plate even though, at one time or another, one had been issued to it. I didn't know. He asked me where I got the bike. Errg. Here we go. This is the question I hate most of all. The officers always respond: "Editor? Magazine? Test bike? Oh, really." So, here I was, busted for speeding, no license, no registration, no license plate - the works. This is going to be a long night, I thought. I The highway patrol officer must have thought the same tlUng. After a lengthy discussion with his partner, he eventually walked back to me and said, "Here's your license. Have a nice night and take care of all this stuff. And keep the speeds down." Suddenly, it wasn't so cold out anymore and I rode 55 mph the rest of the way home. I'm guessing that the ton of paperwork the officer would have had to fill out just wasn't worth it. Maybe his shift was just about to end. Maybe I should stop asking why. A similar situation happened to me a few weeks later while riding a Cagiva Elephant (remember those?), but that time 1 was initially stopped for not putting my foot down at a stop sign. Then he said 1 accelera ted too quickly (on an Elephant?). This allIed to another registration/paperwork headache. He gave me a choice: [ could take the notpu tting-m y-foot-d own-and-accelera ting-too-quickly ticket, which would go down on my driving record, or 1 could take a sort of "fix it" ticket and get the registration stuff taken care of, which would not go down on my driving record. 1 chose the latter, but I'm still not sure if that was the right choice - Cagiva and paperwork; need 1 say more? More recently, I was driving home from work on the freeway, less than one hour into my well-earned vacation. Ah, the beach, the barbecues, the trail-riding, the mountain-bike riding, the lake... The week is going to be great. Yes, 1 was daydreaming. The motorcycle cop behind me knew 1 was daydreaming, too. After all, he had been following me for miles - the two of us doing roughly 80 mph in tandem - before I finally noticed him when he gave me a quick blast of his siren. Busted. Red-handed. If the BMW Rl100RT 1 was riding were a gun, smoke would have been pouring out the pipes. I wasn't even about to argue. Where do 1 sign? As he was writing, he started asking questions about the bike and the magazine 1 work for. He said he reads Cycle News but went on to say how he thought that all magazines - not just motorcycle magazines - base their tests and product evaluations on advertising. "They (the magazines) always say everything is great," he aid. I quickly countered (while, however, covering up any tone of anger in my voice). I told him that, at least with us, this isn't true. We chatted long after I signed on the dotted line. About seven months and one trafficschool graduation later, I was heading to work in the morning on a GSX-Rll00, motoring along with the proverbial How of traffic when, in the corner of my eye, I see a motorcycle wheel pull up alongside me. Further investigation revealed a highway patrolman signaling me to· pull over. I did. I surrendered to him my well-used driver's license. He studied it for what seemed a long time, looked up !It me and asked. "Haven't 1 seen you before?" As a matter a fact, he did look a little familiar. Then it hit me: This was the same cop who busted me on the BMW seven months earlier. "Ah - maybe," 1said. "Yeah. You're the guy I pulled over on the BMW, aren't you?" . "Ah - maybe." "I remember now: You work at that cycle magazine - wha t was it? Cycle World!" "Ah - yeah," [ finally gave in. 'That was me." He looked a little disgusted. I figured at this point that it was just best not to say anything. Might as well savor the moment. 1 just stood there, smiled and shrugged my shoulders, showing him the palms of my hands. "You know," he said, "in your line of work, you probably don't need another one of these." "Ah-yeah." He handed my license' back to me and said, "Try to keep the speeds down and have a nice day." So, you see, 1 can't take the credit for talking my way out of that one. Sometimes just looking really stupid does the trick. There are times, however, when nothing works and traffic school is in your future. My last class wasn't too bad, really. At first, it was comforting to see another helmet-carrying person in the class. I looked out the window and saw a Pacific Coast parked out front. 1 couldn't decide whether or not the cop had given him a ticket for speeding or for riding a Pc. [ found out later that it was for speeding. [t never seems to fail that the subject of motorcycles comes up during traffic school, which is always succeeded by the subject of lane-splitting, something that is still legal in California (and should be in all states). At this 'particular g.athering, a woman, describing herself as a housewife, started going on and on about how motorcycles "zoom in and out of traffic" and how they "startle" her when they go by. Of course, others agreed and hopped on the we-hate-motorcycles bandwagon. The PC guy and I just rolled our eyes and bit our lips. Things could've gotten ugly hqd one of us spoken up. I've learned to avoid lane-splitting debates at all costs; I just get too fired up. Instead, much to my amazement, the "teacher" - an off-duty police officer answered back in favor of us motorcyclists. He explained to her and everyone else in the room that it's legal to split lanes in California - and for good reason, he added. He went on to say that lane-splitting helps alleviate gridlock; that motorcycle cooling systems aren't as efficient as those of automobiles and that, as a result, motorcycles m).lst keep moving to keep from overheating; that most motorcyclists are skilled riders; and, most importantly, that this country and the environment would be much better off if more people rode motorcycles. Amen. The jam-packed room suddenly became very quiet. The housewife and everyone else seemed to accept his reasoning. It was nice to leave the place knowing that there would be at least 50 more motorists out there who might cut us motorcyclists a bit more slack in the future. Anyway, 1 have been lucky lately, and 1 will continue to keep my fingers crossed and my eyes scanning. Maybe my editor, Paul Carruthers, should do the same, as his latest ride ended with the GSX-R600 he was riding strapped to the back of a flatbed bound for Impound Land. Some cops just don't have a sense of humor. t:II 30 YEARS AGO." FEBRUARY 25,1969 20 YEARS AGO... FEBRUARY 21, 1979 10 YEARS AGO... FEBRUARY 15, 1989 our-time World Speedway Champion Barry Briggs showed up to the Houston Astrodome to ride the short track on a radically modified BSA and made the main, where he finished last. An Ohio dairyman named Ronnie Rail (Bul) beat a Micl1igan toolmaker by the name of Bart Markel (H-D) to win the Expert main. Dave Aldana (BSA) won the Amateur main event. In the Expert IT, Skip Van Leeuwen (TrO held off a determined Mark Brelsford (H-D) for the win. Keith Mashburn (Tri) won the Amateur IT... A huge crowd showed up to watch riders.do battle in the incredibly muddy conditions at the Elsinore Grand Prix. Husqvarna-mounted Gunnar Linstrom scored the overall win... Our test of the new three-cylinder Triumph Trident began: "If a $1700 price tag doesn't shake you up too much and you want a motorcycle that· will do nearly 100 mph - in Wrd gear. - trot down to your neighborhood Triumph dealer and have a look at the Trident." actory Yamaha teammates Mike Bell and Bob Hannah took one win apiece during the backto-back rou nds . of AMA/Toyota Supercross racing at the Seattle Kingdome. Bell WOll on Friday night, and Hannah won on Saturday night... Scot Harden and Brent Wallingsford teamed up and scored the win in the SCORE Parker 400 for the second year in a row... Danny "Magoo" Chandler (Mai) landed victories in two classes at round six of the CMC Golden State Series MX at Dunlap Cycle Park in Dunlap, California. Chandler won the 250cc and 500cc Pro classes, while Brae Glover (Yam) won the 125cc Pro class... We ran an interview with Yamaha factory ra.ce-team manager Ken Clark... Our Championship Enduro series of articles pressed on, this time dealing with motorcycle preparation... DG Performance put together a Yamaha YZ250 project bike for us, showing that you could be competitive with a few well-executed mods on a year-old motorcycle. ick Johnson (Hon) busted ou t the broom and swept both nigh ts of racing at the Seattle Su percross doubleheader, rounds tWo and three of the AMA Supercross Series ... Kawsaki Team Green's Larry Roeseler had a busy weekend. First, he teamed· up with former 250cc MX World Champion Danny LaPorte to win the SCORE Parker 400 in the Arizona desert, then he raced up to Hollister, California, in time to net the overall win in the Cowpuncher National Hare & Hound... We tested the 1989 Honda CR125RK, noting that it featured a powerhouse of a motor... John Kitsch (Suz), Kevin Foley (Hon) and Dag Boyesen (Kaw) eacl1 grabbed a share of the $1000 pro purse for taking wins at the opening round of the Florida Supercross. Countdown Series at the Motocross of Marion County track in Reddick, Florida... Jimmy Button (Hon) nailed the 125cc In termed ia te-class win in CMC Golden State MX action at Carlsbad Raceway. CIII F F R II !Iii IIIii III :! y :iii Q • §! ~ ::: 2:~ .Q If 67

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