Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Voices America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Volume XXXVI Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher LEITERS TO THE EDITOR American Expressio n I New Media Development Kory Klinger, SiteManager Tha nk s a ton for Ken ny 's ed itorial in Issu e #33. That's certainlv one of, if not the most , in form at ive an d inte resting articles I've ever read . We all read abou t how difficul t the 500 is to ride and set up. Kenny's article shed niuch lig ht on the reason w hy . I had also recen tly read abou t Mic k' s frus tra tio n w it h the '99 NSR's fram e, and how they d iscov ered thro u gh test in g that Ho nda had m ad e an alteration wh ich changed the SR's w eig h t dis tr ib utio n by fi ve p erce nt. And accord ing to Mick, that differen ce was huge w hen it cam e to how the bike h and led . Ken n y s a y s th e y (Su z uki) need to she d a coup le kilos yet. It see ms to m e that d oin g so wo u ld once again ch an ge n ot o n ly ove ra ll weig ht, b u t weight di st ribution , and hen ce, a whole new se t of sus pe nsion se tu ps wo uld be required . Anyway, tha nks to you and Kenny fo r th e g r ea t ar t icle . Be st w is hes to Kenny and team for th eir continue d su ccess. It's great! Paul Juderich pj uderi ch@aoI.com Classified Ads Alicia Franklin American Expressio n II Editorial Paul Carruthers, Edit"r Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rou sseau , Associate Editor Keith Bush, Assistant Editor/Copy Editor Mall Freeman, Assistant Editor Alan Cathcart, European Editor David R. Holth er, Assistant Editor Jennifer J. Dutcher, Proofreader Advertising Western States (714) 751 -7433 Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Tho me, Western Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Dan Legere, Western Sales Manager Rhonda Crawford, Ad Coordinator Bridgett Bobro fsky, Assistant Advertising Eastern States (770) 934-7850 Greg Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Jim Clark, Eastern SalesManager Carla Allen, Ad Coordinator Marketing & Promotion Mark Thome, Director Forres t Hayashi, Mnna ~er Shannon Clark, Dealer'Representatit'" Graphics and Production Mandy Loo, Art Director Amanda Wollny, Lead Graphic Artist Paul Fisher, Graphic Artist Lynda Vu, Graphic Artist I' m tot all y di gg in ' th e co ntribu tio n by Kenny Roberts Jr.! It is awesome for the fan to ge t the perspective of the nu m ber one American contende r for the p remier road racing serie s. I'm lookin g forw ard to futu re columns. Chris Tlack ch ris. tlack ssus.p wcg lob a l.co m No sideshows There is no such thing as freestyle. If it isn't a race th en it is play ridi ng. Th ese side shows are no more mo tocross than a monster tru ck show is a SCORE offro ad race. Why doesn' t PACE s tic k to real racing and leave th e side shows to the Ringling Brothers? Lewis Greer Sp ringda le, AR May be because sideshows can be entertaining, and sell tickets, too. A 'ld PACE is not only in the supercross business, but a/50 in the entertainment business... Editor Speaking of slide rules O nce a gain, th e AMA h as p roven its inability to p ro vide a soli d set of rules w hich a com petitor can rely on. I, along wit h several o the r Pro- Sp ort licensed riders, fell victim to the AMA's vagueness of rul e enfo rce m en t a t the Ind y Grand Champions hips. I. wen t to Dori na Groves , Assistant Adm ini stration Jud v Klinge r, Coordinator Pam Klein, Administratioe As sistant Acco unting/Data Proc essing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Ge neva Repass, A~sjsftmt Theresa Milb urn, Credit Managa Circulation _ Alma Anguiano, Circulation Manager Carol Magg io, Processing Coordinator j oy Lau, Dealer Coordinator Donna Sharp, Billing Coordinator Service and Support Shan no n Clark, Receptionist Jim Olson. Serviceand Support ~ a I He a d qua~ 3505-M Cadillac Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626 P.O. Box 5084, Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084 (714) 751-7433 FAX(714) 751-6685 Eastern Qffice 4188 First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.Q. Box 80S, Tucker, GA 30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX(770) 934-31 12 e-mail ed itor®cyc lenews.com su bscribC® cyclenews.com ad vertising@cyclencws.com Internet www.cycle ncws.co m Weekl y Websit e Password : series Cycle News (uSPS 141·340) is published weekly except the l...st two wee ks. of the calendar year for $58.00 per year by . sa Cycle News, lnc.,3S05-MCadillac Avenue. Costa Me . CA 92626. Periodicals Postage Paid al Cost" Ml'Sc1, CAand "I ad ditional mailin~ office. Cana da Post Internatio nal Publica- hans Mail #5466 . 1:l POSTMASTER: Sen d add ress changes 10 Cycle News, r.o. Box SOS4. Costa Mesa, CA 9262s-.S084. To det erm ine the expiratio n da te of your su bscri ption , check the four nu mbers on the first line of yo ur address lab el. The firs t two dig ltsindicate the l.lsi issue num hcrlou'lI receive and the last two charact ers indicate the year 0 the IJs! issu e. Subscription rail'S: Rates for the United States and i ~ pOSS4;'Ssions for one vear (SO issues), $58.00; two years 000 ISSUes), S1 11'(XJ; six months (25 issue ), S2Q.OO; tn.'1sub (15 i~..ues), s $21.00. Canada and Foreign. one year (50i!'>sut.':'), $105.00 two ; n ye,lrs (IO issues), 5195.00; six months (25 issues), $55.00; trial sub (15 issues), $42.00. en en en A unique opportunity bl'COmL'S the exclusive property of Cycle Ne~'s . Reprinting: in whole or part only by pl'missinn of the publisher. Advertisi n~ rate and circulation information will be sent upon s request. Sec 5.R.D.5. W/SPA V IIIlt_TlOMAl. AUD ITED CIRCULATION Printed in U.S.A. CopyrightC Cycle News, Inc. 1999 Trademark Cycle News . registered U.S. Patent Office. All rights reserved. I jus t w a n te d to tak e a m o m en t and th ank Ra lph a nd Caro l H u ffm a n and Kenny Roberts Jr: His column scored a big hit with Cyc le News rea ders. INSIDE : ISSUE #34 SEPTEMBER 1, 1999 FEATURES ROAD RACING Rou nd 10: FIM Wo rld Ch am pion ship Road Racing Series from the Czech Repu blic : 8 COMPETITION Buell Old Highway 40 Mot orcycle Days 14 DIRTTRACK RoundI o: AMA Grand Nationa l Dirt Track Series from Hagerstown 18 TEST Apri lia RSV1 000 HILLCLIMB Roun d 7: AMA Nationa l Hillclimb Series from Dansv ille, Ne w York 38 DRAG RACING Rou nd 6: AMA /Prostar Thunder Na tiona l Serie s from Ind ianapolis, Indiana .40 DEPARTMENTS EUROFILE RESULTS EVENTS LEADERBOARD CALENDAR WANT ADS A VIEW FROM THE FENCE .4 37 .42 58 59 66 83 22 Cvcle News welcomesunsolicitede itorial material including d stories, cartoons. photos, etc. Such material. if published. In d y to co m pe te in th e O p en T w in s cla ss es wit h a Ha rley-David s on 883 a nd a Triu m p h 750. I race d th is class last yea r: Rig ht before ra cin g was to begin, the AMA re feree came to me and as ked me if I had a Pro -Sport license, and co ntinu ed to in form m e th at , per Bill Amick, no Pro -Sp ort licen se hol d ers would be allowed to com pe te as an am a teur . I had to either rid e as a Pro Sp ort or for feit my Pro-Sport licen se for the remain der of 1999 to com pete as an ama teur. Since ther e were .no Pro -Spo rt classes offer ed for either th e 883 o r th e 750 , I wa s forced to s ur re n d e r m y licen se or pack u p a nd go home. This was my vacation . I came to race. In the spirit of Pro-Am or Pro-Sport competition, I always believed that as a Pro-Sport you cou ld rid e the Pro-Sport classes ye t still maintain yo ur am ateur s tatus. Th e AMA rule book sta tes th at Pro-Sport riders may com pe te in ama teur classes in th e highes t class offered, for awards only. I was d oin g just this. A Pr o-Sport r id er is n ot pr ofes s ion al eno u gh to co m p ete in a ny Na tio na ls , but now I can no t co m pe te as an am ateur. Rather unfair! When I talk ed to Mr. A m ick ab o ut thi s ruling, he sa id it was a su p pleme ntal rul e to the Gra nd Cha mpions hips . Yet he cou ld provide no basis in writing, press release, bu lletin o r otherwise as to th e fo u nd ation of this ru le . He insi sted on enforcing a ru le that is co ntrad ictor y to the AMA rule book withou t of feri ngrid ers any p reviou s no tice o r recourse. This en force me nt and th e effect o n man y Pro-Spo rt licen se hold ers was detr im en tal. We were give n an ultimatum by th e AMA: either rid e as a Pro -Sp o rt o r forfeit yo u r licen se for th e rest of 1999. I b eli ev e th at if the AM A find s this rule to be fair, then the a ffected Pro-Spor t licensees d eserv e a refu nd of th eir licen se app lica tio n fees. I do n ' t fe e l i t' s fa ir th a t t h e A MA s ho u ld ha ve both m y li cen se and m y fee. I am currently pursui ng a resolu tion to thi s va gue rulin g, and if a ny o ther P ro -Sport li cen se ho ld ers th at were fo rced to give up the ir lice nse a t Ind y w is h to co n tac t m e, w e can all wo rk togeth er toward a reso lu tion to this matter. I can be reached at 630/773-0734. G eorge MackJr. Itasca,IL ON THEFRONT COVER MOTOCROSS Budds Creek 250cc USGP preview 26 RALLY Stur gis Rally and lo ts of racing 28 Nicky Ha yd en s co re d his firs t career G ra nd Na tio na l victory a t th e Hagers to wn Half Mil e .-Pho tos by Flat Tr ak Fotos,

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