Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Voices America's weekly motorcycle newspaper Volu me XXXVI Sharon Clayton, President Michael Klinger, Publisher Editorial Paul Carruthers, Editor Kit Palmer, Associate Editor Scott Rousseau, Associate Editor Keith Bush, Assistant Editor/Copy Editor Matt Freeman, Associate Editor Chris [onnum, Managing Editor Alan Cathcart, European Editor David R. Holther, Assistant Editor . Jennifer J. Du tcher, Proofreader Advertising Western States (714) 751 -7433 Terry Pratt, National Accounts Manager Mark Thome, Western Sales Manager Forrest Hayashi, Western Sales Manager Dan Legere, Western Sales Maltager Rhonda Crawford, Ad Coordinator Bridgett Bobrofs ky, Assistant Advertising Eastern States (770) 934-7850 Greg Mitchell, Eastern Accounts Manager Jim Clark, Eastern Sales Manager Carla Allen. Ad Coordinator Marketing & Promotion Mark Thome, Director Forrest Hayashi, Manager Shannon Clark, Dealer Representative New Media Development KoryKlinger, Site Manager Classified Ads Melissa Parker G rap hics an d Prod uct ion Mandy Loa, Art Director Amanda Wollny, Lead Graphic Artist Paul Fisher, Graphic Artist Lynda Vu. Graphic Artist Admi nis tration Judy Klinger, Coordinator Pam Klein, Administrative Assistant Accounting/Data Processing Donna Bryan-Diamond, A/R Coordinator Geneva Rep ass, Assistant Theresa Milburn, Credit Manager Circulation Alma Anguiano, Circulation Manager Carol Maggio, Processing Coordinator Donna Sharp, Billing Coordinator Ashleigh Klein, Dealer Coordinator Service and Support Amber Hill, Receptionist Jim Olson, Service andSupport Na tional Headquarters 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 Office 41 88 First Ave., Tucker, GA 30084 P.O. Box 805, Tucker, GA 30085-0805 (770) 934-7850 FAX (770) 934-311 2 e-mail ed itor@cydenews.com subscribe@cyclcnews.com adver tising@cyclene ws .com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Treat Chris better The subject o f Mr. Allan Curtis' letter, Chris Ca rr, brou ght to mind the Del Mar Mile in Oc tober. The annou ncer at the race comp letely ignored the fact that the Gra nd National Championship had been won by Chris Carr. Had I no t been at the Las Vegas Na tio nal, I w ouldn 't hav e kno wn wh o won the cham pionship. Likew ise, I qu estion your coverage of Chris Carr. I expected his achieveme n t would hav e been announced before the crowd left and his fans would have had the usual opportunity to give the new champion the recognition he is en titled to. Aft er all, isn' t winnin g th e Gra n d Na tiona l Cha mp io ns hip th e goa l? The year he won his first titl e he also won the 600cc cha mpio ns hip - I thou ght for sure that would have ea rned him "Rider of the Year" from Cycl e N ews and the cove r of one of your issues . Chris Carr deserves bett er treatment than wha t you' ve given him. I wonde r if other di rt track fans feel as I do . Annette Frey Fallbrook, CA We covered each and everyone of Carr' s races in 1999 - somelhing thai no other publication can lay claim to. In fact, we were there whCll he won his first AMA Nat ional at the Peoria IT in 1986, and we'll be there when he w ins his last National, wherever that may be. To say that we don' t treat Carr fairly is ludicrous... Editor Roc ket Rex I appreci ate you r coverage of the Vintage Iro n World Cha mpionships (Issu e #45, Novem ber 17). I th ink it 's wo rth mentioning that "Roc ke t" Rex Sta te n r od e in the Evolu ti on Ex pe r t cl a s s ins tea d of th e Plus 40 class. Not on ly was h e ra cin g ag ai ns t forme r fac to ry s ta rs, but he was a lso ra ci ng agains t guys who we re up to 15 years you nge r an d he still finished second overall. As a Plus-40 ride r, it's nice to see guys from my era get ou t there and still be able to mix it up with the you nge r guys. Way to go, Rocket Rex. Gary Hart Westminster, CA Wanting a new model You see, I've been, d are I say it, smitten by a never-been-seen new mod el. The new RC51? No . O h, then you mu st be referring to the Kawasaki KX? Har d ly . Wh a t I' m re ferr in g to is th e new mod el in the Moto Fas hion section speci fica lly , the raven-ha ired beauty. She is und oubtedly the fi nes t to ever grace a page of Cycle News . I would be eternally gratefu l if yo u guys could forward my info to her . As a lif e-l on g mo torcycli s t / ex-road rac er / dirt biker and current Formula car racer, I feel I'm owed at least tha t much. Gl en n Coop er Rosw ell, GA Get in line, Glenn ... Editor More enforcement? I'm in s hock a fte r reading th e articl e a bou t mo re law enforcement at the Im perial Sand Dunes. Thi s is just more go ve r n men t w elfare a t our ex p en se . Greg Thomsen sa ys that after list ening to the public's comments, he's going to s pen d tax paye rs ' mon ey and cr eate ano the r parasitic agency. Plea se d on 't encourage them by printing their propaga nda . Writ e your cong ress man and tell him how you wan t your mon ey spen t. Mark Brown Yum a, AZ Rose Bowl SX I have on e word for wh at was passed off as a "S u pe rc ross " a t t h e Rose Bowl : Lame! I have atte nded a lot of motorcycle races - big time and local - and this was the absol u te wo rst. Only 19 en tries in the 250cc class! Even if the pr etty boys from Europe didn't want to race, you 'd th in k in a sta te as big and vers atile as Ca lifo rnia the promoters co u ld find a few local rid er s to fill the ranks. And wha t happened to the freestyle portion of the prog ram ? They bl ew th at o ne v..ithout even a word to the fans. Borin g. One o ther th in g: Would someo ne pl ea se tell Rick Johnson to find so me thin g else to d o be sides co mme n ta ry? Nex t year, leave the racing (and the pr omot er s) in Europe . We like ou r Su pe rcross an d Nationals just the way they are . Valerie Martin mrspotatohead@worldnet.att.net I just wa nted to d rop you a line to say th anks for all th e lat es t an d tastiest that' s fit to print. The Y2K Moto Fashion issu e (Iss u e #45, November 17) was a perfect exam ple. In fact, I'd have to vote it as one of the best of 1999. Rose Bowl SX II Let me start off by say ing tha t the promot ers of the u.s. round of th e World Su pe rc ross Series pu t on a fin e sh ow. INSIDE : ISSUE #48 DE CEMBER 8, 1999 Internet w ww.cyclenews.com Weekly Web site Password: roadracing Cyc leNews (USPS141 -340) is pub lishe weekly except the d last two weeks of the calendar year for S58.00 per year by Cycle News, Inc.,3505--M Cad illac Avenue, Costa M CA esa. 92626 Periodicals Postage Paid at Costa Mesa. CA and at . additional mailing office. Canada Post International Publications Mail #54661 5. POSTMASTER: Send ad dress changes 1 Cycle News, P.O. 0 , Box 5084 Costa Mesa, CA 92628-5084. To determi ne the expiration date of your subscription, check the four numb ers on the first line of you r addres s label. The first two digits indica te the last issue numberl ou'lI receive and the last two characters indica te the yearo the last issue. Subscription rates: Rates for the UnitL'CI States and its posst-Ssions for one year (SO L'Isut.-:o). 558.00 two years (100issues), ; 5111.00; six months (25 issues), 529.00; hia l sub (15 issues), $21.00. Canada and Foreign. one year (SO issues), S105 two .00; years (100 issues), $195.00; six months (25 i..sues),$55.00 trial ; sub (15 issues). $42.00. m m m a> C;; .c E e Q) c 4 Cycle News welcomes unsolicited editorial material including stories, cartoons. photos, etc. Such material. if published. becomes the exclusive property of Cycle News. Reprinting in whole or part only by permission of the publisher. Advertiss ing ra te and circulation information will besent upon request. See 5.R.D.S. W/BDJ\ V AUDITED ~~ CIRCULATION Pri nt ed in U .S .A. Co~yrigh Cycle News, Inc. 1999. Trademark CycleNews registered U.S. Patent Office. All rights reserved . DEPARTMENTS FEA RES TU INTERVIEW GP road racer Valentino Rossi ARENACROSS Rounds 5 & 6 - Nation al Arenacross Series from Worchester, Massachuset ts RIDING IMPRESSION CCM 640 Supermoto PROJECT BIKE Yamaha 540 dirt tracker, Part 3 6 12 EVENTS 18 CALENDAR 32 LEADER BOARD 14 11 NEWPRODUCTS 8 PRODUCT EVALUATONS 36 WANT ADS 37 FINAL MOTO 55 LOOKINGBACK 55 16 ONTHE FRONT COVER Buddy Antu nez (1) and Pedro Gonzales (49) were some of the big winners at the Na tional Are nacross ro u nd in Massachusetts . Phot o by Karl Ockert. W ha t I'm personally upset w it h is the fact that the Los Angeles-area cro wd was almost non exist ent. I've rea d th a t the re as o n th e roun d was b ein g held in So u the rn Ca lifornia was th e fact th at most of the motorcycle ma nufact u rers have thei r head quarters loca ted in the area. I suppose I can appreciate that way of thinki ng, bu t if the sparse turnout was any indic ation of things to come wi th the first three rounds o f th e AM A Supercross Series next year, we're in trouble. Maybe it' s the fact that Southern California has the first three rounds of the AM A Supercross Seri es - mayb e tha t' s why they didn' t ap preciate it wh en the World Supercross came to town. My family and I mad e the six-ho ur drive from San Jose, California, becau se we have n't had a Supercross round here in a number of yea rs (even thou gh we have one of the la rges t riding di stricts and some of the fastest rid ers) and we wanted to see the bes t rid er s from all ov er th e world race on u.s. soil. I w as personally embarrassed that the peo ple of Los An geles could n' t even make the drive to a race that' s right in their backya rd. Please bring Supercross back to San Jose where it will be much more appreciated than what I witnessed in Pasad ena . Keith Crerar Cupe rtino, CA Rose Bowl SX III I just returned from the so-called World Supercro ss at Pasad ena . In a wo rd - boring . Nine teen rid ers? What a joke. If the Euros will not pay to come her e, fine but do n' t tell m e th ey' re co ming and th en , a fte r I' ve p aid m y m on ey, say, "Oh, they didn't show." And , really, if I wanted to hear a disc jockey and watch dancing girls, I'd go to a ge n tle ma n's club. Bring on January and the real Supercross season. Erick Hinks San ta Clarita, CA Rose Bowl SX IV So I first kn ew so me thing was wrong w hen I mad e the m istake of ass u ming the race festi viti es at the Worl d Su percross round were of the regul ar -even ing type. Th en to m y d ism ay, m y brother tol d m e that ra cin g w ou ld s ta r t a t aro und 2 p.m. Since I live in the area, I rushed to the Rose Bowl at around noon to se cu re th e popular pit p asses tha t u su a lly r un o u t. Hey , what do you

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