Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

the aid of a skilled machinist. Footpegs, bodywork, wheels, chassis - you name it - it all needs to be ma ssaged by someone who knows di rt tra ck bi kes and h a s d on e it before. It takes a tr emend ou s amount of tim e, talen t and co mmitment if yo u wa nt the fini sh ed produc t to be so mething tha t you can be proud of. Since I lacked the firs t two of th ose ingred ien ts, it too k twice as much of the thi rd for this project to be realized . It is fo r this re ason that I decided to show veryone the finished project first. In the next three or four issues of Cycle News, I p la n to walk through it, showing yo u w hat it too k to get the chassis and engi ne built, the fi na l assembly, and then give you insight in to the hig hs (and lows) of some of my racing expe riences .th this particular bike. MANY THA NK S Keepi ng in mind tha t this w as a twoyear project, I wo uld like to conclude by doing someth ing that yo u w on' t ofte n see on the pages of this o r any other p ublication in th e industry: formally thanking all of the jobb ers and vendors invo lv ed with th e buildi ng of thi s m o t orcy cl e . O u r in d us try is s ma ll enough, and tha t circle tig h tens even further w hen you go lookin g for help o n a. pro je ct s uc h as th is o ne . T here is absolu tely n o wa y tha t it co u ld ever ha ve been com p leted withou t the help of the following people and their respective compa nies. In no particular order: Th anks to Jay Clark of Wiseco Pistons and Co me tic Gaskets for having the stuff and gett ing u s th e s tuff that w e needed. To Ray and Roch elle Abra ms of A&A Racing, thank yo u for supplying th e sp rocke ts and the set of Good year CD2s that - becau se of the time liness of this particula r pro ject - ha ve lasted tw o full seasons! Th anks to Robert Buchanan of Buch anan' s Spok e and Rim for su pp ly ing th e h ig h-qu ali ty Sun rims a nd spoke sets. Judging by the deal tha t was ma de with regard to their purchase, he knew what we we re in for with this pro- je ct. Tha nks to Steve W hite lock at AFA M for se nding u s th e cou nte rs haft sprockets that fit both 76 XT500s and 1999 YZ250s; d on't forget to cross reference those part numbers, Stev e. To Rick and Chris Anders of Anders Racing Products, than ks for loaning me that first bike to show me w hat cou ld be d on e, and for all of th e g rea t fab a nd machine wo rk that helped ge t th is one d on e, no matter how lo ng it took. To Barbara Dour at Megacycle Ca ms who go t u s the right ca m a n d th en go t u s Do nn Rickard's phon e number at RI D Spri ng Corporation to ma ke sure th at we got th e ri ght va lve s prings. A n d th ank you, Mr . Ri ckard , for bei ng a TI500 fan. Thanks to Ma tt Hilgenbe rg at Speed & Sport for the sundries and the bitchin' powder-coat ing, and to Gil Vaillancou rt at Works Pe rformance, who su pplied us wi th a se t of Works' usu al excellent quali ty da mpers. To Yama ha communications boss Bob Starr, I say thanks for d igg in g old bi kes. An d to Yamaha communications s tud Te rr y Beal, I say thanks for putt in g u p with old bik es. Tha nk yo u, Don Kistler of Power Pros, for bu ilding a gre at custom exhaust sys tem wi thout cha rgi ng a custom price. ' Spec ial thanks to that 01 sk id der, the always great Tom White of White Bro the rs . W he n qu eried a b o u t o ur p a r ts requests for th is project, I wi ll never forge t how you repli ed : "Cy cle News . Dir t track. Hand le it. " And another special thanks to Johnny Isaacs of Total Performance Racers & Restoration. Th e moto r runs great. You're one of the tru e good _ guys. And still another special thanks to Rick Doug hty of Dirt Dyna mics (w ho?) for coming in off the ben ch an d hitting a winni ng run la te in the ga me to keep this p rojec t goi ng forwa rd w hen it was clear ly getting stale. Finally, to that old di rt track friend w ho gave m e my first rid e on a rea l d irt track bi ke, w ho helped me in the speedway d ays, who nev er balked on th e promise tha t one d ay we would get to go racing toget he r, and w ho put in co u n t less d a ys a n d n ights o f blood, swea t and tears to turn th is project into reality - fina lly mak in g the whole thing loo k for real w ith th e g rea t glass a nd the imm aculate paint jo b - I say thank you, Dennis Vall. All I can add is th at yo ur friendship means fa r mo re to m e than a ny m o to rcycle ev er could . I am as proud of tha t friendship as I am of th is bike, which I feel is a true sy mbol of it. Yo u're si m p ly th e bes t, man . I mean it. Eno ugh said; I invite you to tune in nex t week, and I promise to start br ea king this thing do w n a bit and showing you how you can do one of these things. CN Then you can go skiddin' too! T.tal P.rt.rmance Racea & R.st.ratl.n 1&1 ... ---------------------------------------- 6"710East Pine Tulsa. OK "74115 Ph: 918/836-6999 Fax: 918/836-0099Engine r.ebuiliJingand balancing, $400 Shifter conversion , $150 (magnesium caseiiJ Frontiiub. $140 Beal: hub, bearings, $ /rhO IUrheart ,br.ake system, hangars. etc., W.rks P.f.....nce -----------~!!!I~~~_I!~: _--------- 21045 Osborne St. Canoga Park. CA 9 1304 Ph: 84817:01 -1010 Fax: 8 t81"701-9043 Dual-rate, aluminum bodied shocks, $389 Engineering fee. $25 • - '" m .r N ~ Q) .c E ~ o z 21

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